CClause
Clause as RepresentationClause as Representationin in Hallidayan Functional EnglishHallidayan Functional English
By
Muhammad Sajid us SalamMuhammad Sajid us Salam
Mphil LinguisticsMphil Linguistics
Islamia University BahawalpurIslamia University Bahawalpur
[email protected]@gmail.com
Halliday’s concept of languageHalliday’s concept of language According to Halliday A language
evolves in response to the specific demands of the society in which it is used
“the nature of language is closely related to the functions it has to serve”
“It reflects aspects of the situation in which it occurs”
Representation of human experience
we use language as an instrument of thought or to conceptualize or represent the experiential or real world to ourselves, including the inner world of our own consciousness. Therefore, another name for clause as representation is clause as experiential construct
Halliday terms this aspect as the ideational function of language.
Halliday’s Functional Grammar
Functions(m etafuntions) of language accord ing to H al l iday
I deational function
I t is a m eans of refl ecting on th ings
I nterpersonal function
I t is a m eans of acting on th ings by m eans of a sym bol ic system
FU N C T I O N S O F L A N G U A G E A C C O R D I N G T O I T S U SE R S
Components of Clause as representation
F ig u re .2
Partic ipant1.subjects2.objects
ProcessVerbs
Circum istancesadjuncts and adverbs
T hey are also called the com ponents of Process
Ali gave me a book yesterday with a smile in the garden.
Process: gave
Participants: Ali ,me, a book
Circumstances: yesterday,with a smile,in the garden
What is centrally important in clause as
representation?
Process.It is so because it is process that largely determines the types of participants that are possible.Halliday refers to it as the system of transitivity.Transitivity is the overall resource for constructing goings on(experience). It means the kind of activity expressed by a sentence,participants and the manner of participants.The following figure shows the importance of process in
transitivity .
Transitivity structure
Process
participants
circumstances
Types of processes
E xis ten tia l p rocesses M ateria l p rocesses
M en ta l p rocesses R e la tion a l p rocesses
B eh aviou ra l p rocesses V erb a l p rocesses
Typ es o f p rocesses
1.Material process 2.Mental Process
3.Relational process
Behavioral process
Verbal processExistential process
Material ProcessesMaterial Processes(processes of doing)
They express the notion that some participant(called actor)does something(may be to some other entity,called goal).
Verbs of action like run,kick,climb,spring,etc are used.
Material process
ParticipantProcess
Participant
Actor Material process
Goal (optional)
Example The boy kicked The post
Example The mayor resigned (no goal)
Mental processesMental processes processes of perception,affection,cognition(thinking,knowing)
These are expressed by verbs of feeling,perceiving and thinking such as like,hate,love,know,think and understand.
Here, participants have different names of Senser(the conscious being animate or inanimate that is feeling,thinking or seeing) and Phenomenon(that which is sensed or felt)
Mental processParticipant
ProcessParticipant
Senser Mental process
Phenomenon
Example Mary liked The gift
Example I Can recognize
The king
Example Jim knows (Implied phenomenon)
Relational processesRelational processes(being and having)(being and having)
In these clauses a relation is being set up between two separate entities.
Relational clauses construe being and do this in two different modes – attribution and identification.These two types of this process have different sets of participants roles:(1)attributive clauses with Carrier+attribute, and (2)identifying clauses
Attributive clauses
Carrier Process Attribute
Your story
Mice
Sarah
My brother
Ali
sounds
are
is
is
is
complete nonsense.
timid creatures
wise
tall
a poet
Attributive and Identifying modes
In attributive mode we ascribe some quality to some entity and it means that entity is a member of the class having that quality. Ali is a poet. Poet is the name of a class.So Ali is a member of the class of poets.
1.My brother is tall. My brother(carrier=member)is tall(attribute=class) My brother belongs to the class of people who are
tall.It implies that there are other tall people besides. My brother is the tallest one in the family. My brother(identified)is the tallest one in the
picture(identifier)
Identifying mode
Identified Process Identifier
Mr. Garrick
Alice
Played
Is
Hamlet
The clever one
The difference of reversibility
The identifying clauses are reversible.It can be said The tallest one in the picture is my brother. But we can not say Tall is my brother.
Behavioral processesBehavioral processesphysiological and psychological,verbal and mental behavior
They are expressed by verbs such as cough,yawn smile,breathe,faint,sleep,,look,watch,stare,listen,think,worry,dream,sing ,dance,lie(down).sit up/down. chatter,grumble,talk,cry ,laugh, smile,frown,sing ,snarl,whine.
As distinct from other groups, only one participant is required ,the person doing the laughing,smiling and coughing or yawning.This participant is termed the BEHAVOR,a conscious being like the SENSOR but the process is more like one of “doing”
Participant
participant
Process
Behavior Behavioral process
Example They laughed
Example He frowned
Verbal processesVerbal processes(processes of saying)
This is a large category that not only includes not only the different modes of saying(asking,commanding,offering ,stating) but also semiotic processes that are not necessarily verbal(showing,indicating),as in His face tells stories untold.
The central participant is the SAYER. The VERBIAGE is what is said and TARGET or RECEIVER is the person it is said to
Verbal process
Sayer Verbal process
Receiver verbiage
Example He told me a story
Example Willie said it
Existential processesExistential processes
These represent that something exists or happens, as in There was a cat.or There was a solitary girl..In these cases what we are doing is affirming the existence of something,or someone.
As with behavioral verbs there is only one participant here.
In these clauses there acts as a grammatical subject but it doesn’t fulfill any function outside of its grammatical role.The only significant element is the thing ,or person,being affirmed as existing.This is termed the existent.
Existential verbs
Circumstance Grammatical subject
Existential process
Existent entity
Example On the wall there hangs A picture
Example There Was An old woman
Example There Seems to be
A problem
Processes and their components
process Participant 1 participant 2
Verbal Actor goal
Mental Sensor Phenomenon
Relational Carrier / identified Attribute/identifier
Behavioral Behavor
Verbal Sayer Receiver/target
Existential existent
Main types of Circumstance in EnglishType Specific categories Example
Extent Distance, duration For three hours
Location Place, time In June, from Paris
Manner Means, quality, comparison
With a hammer
Examples of circumstance
Ali had slept in the car.(location,place) See you in the morning(location,time) They pulled the ropes again(extent
frequency)
RecapRecap Significance of clause as representation Importance of process Components of process types of processes participants Types of circumstance
QuestionsQuestions
What do we mean by clause as representation ?
According to Halliday functions of language according to its users are of two types,
1 ideational function, 2.interpersonal function of language. In clause as representation we deal with
ideational functional.Speaker’s experience of the real world including his own inner world of consciousness is represented or conceptualized.
What is centrally important in clause as representation?
Answer: Process
What are the components of clause as representation?
1.Process 2.Participant 3.circumstances
What are the different types of processes? What are the main types of processes?
There are six types of processes Material processes(main)(doing) Mental processes (main)(thinking) Relational processes(main)(being and having) Behavioral processes Verbal processes Existential processes
What is VERBIAGE? What is PHENOMENON?
In verbal processes,main participant is SAYER,and VERBIAGE is what is said and RECEIVER or TARGET is the person it is said to.
PHENOMENON is the term used in mental processes it refers to the thing sensed or felt by the SENSOR
What are the three main types of circumstance?
Extent Location Manner
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