the idea of transitivity: relations and collaborations tim moore, language and learning lab,...

The idea of transitivity: Relations and collaborations

Tim Moore, Language and Learning Lab, Swinburne University

Glenda Ballantyne, Sociology, Swinburne University

Halliday’s transitivity: a very brief introduction

Grammatical transitivity - concerned with the relations between elements in a clause

I walked INTRANSITIVE CLAUSE

I walked the dog TRANSITIVE CLAUSE


In traditional grammar:

I walked the dog SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

In systemic functional grammar:

I walked the dog PARTICIPANT PROCESS PARTICIPANT


In systemic functional grammar:

I walked the dog

PARTICIPANT PROCESS PARTICIPANT

(ACTOR) (MATERIAL P) (GOAL)

The student wrote the essay(ACTOR) (MATERIAL P) (GOAL)


Other examples, other processes

The student wrote the essay(ACTOR) (MATERIAL P) (GOAL)

The student argued the case that ….(SAYER) (VERBAL P) (VERBIAGE)

The lecturer appreciated the essay (SENSER) (MENTAL P) (PHENOMENON)

*The essay impresssed the lecturer(PHENOMENON) (MENTAL P) (SENSER)


The student wrote the essayThe student argued the case that ….The lecturer appreciated the essay

PARTICIPANT PARTICIPANT

PROCESS

Material

Verbal

Mental etc.

Halliday: The system of transitivity in language is concerned with representing patterns of experience, “of goings on” and “happenings” in the world….It construes the world into a manageable set of PROCESS types and of PARTICIPANTS.

The use of transitivity in academic skills advising: An example

Student text: What’s wrong here?

Principal transitivity relations: Student text

Monet used a blush of atmospheric colour

The extremities of the painting were added later [by Monet]

Monet explained the finer details of the scene

Principal transitivity relations: Task

How readily does one begin dividing the composition into three level

Do we see the place as homely

Does the perspective make us feel cut off from the water

PARTICIPANT? PARTICIPANT?PROCESS?

Two ways to understand some of the problems in student writing

• Students don’t understand fundamentally the transitivity relations (“pattern of experience”) they are meant to be exploring in a piece of writing

• These relations are not explored in any substantive way

The use of transitivity in academic skills advising: A recent example from sociology

Major assessment: case study (condensed version)

The various developments that have shaped modern life have emerged at different times and in different locations. As we have discussed, these include the processes of industrialization, urbanization, secularization, democratization, gender equality, the rise of consumption, the rise of individualism.

In this case study, your task Is to illustrate the impact of two or three of these processes on the daily life of a member of your family. In order to gather first hand material, you will need to interview a family member (or other person) who has experienced significant change over the course of their life.

The use of transitivity in academic skills advising: A recent example from sociology

Major assessment: case study (cont’d)

In the first part of the case study you should outline the impact of the 2 or 3 processes you have selected. You should describe the main impacts each of these features of modernity have had on social life, as well as outlining major arguments or debates arising in the sociological literature.

In the other main part of the case study, you should discuss the findings of your interview in the light of the literature you have reviewed. How has the personal life and experiences of your interviewee been affected by these processes? How much do their experiences fit with what the literature has described?


The various developments that have shaped modern life …

What transitivity relations are involved in this opening clause? ie. What reality is being constructed here?

shaped various developments

modern life

Transitivity relations in case study task

shaped various developments

eg. industrialization, urbanization etc.

modern life



The various developments that have shaped modern life … (ie. industrialization, urbanization etc.)

[You should] describe the main impacts each of these features of modernity have had on social life

… illustrate the impact of two or three of these processes on the daily life of a member of your family

How has the personal life and experiences of your interviewee been affected by these processes?

Other clause examples

impacting onaffecting shapingprocesses

developmentsfeatures of modernity

eg. industrialisation, gender equality consumerism etc.

modern life/social life

daily life of family member/personal experiences



developmentsfeatures



daily life of family member/personal experience


How much do the experiences [of your interviewees] fit with what the

literature has described?


developmentsfeatures of modernity



daily life of family member/personal experiences


negotiating resisting?

Some reflections: Lecturer

GLENDA: I still have only a basic idea of what transitivity means, but since our discussion of it, I have been writing written lectures … in a complex theoretical field, and so have been very aware of trying to convey the ideas in meaningful, non-jargonised way. This has required quite a bit of reflexivity on my part. I think the principle of making the transitive relations between elements clear has been an important part of that.

Some reflections: Lecturer

GLENDA: I can’t think how to characterise the collaboration just at the moment, except to say it has transformed and expanded my understanding of what language and academic skills professionals can contribute (guilty of ill-informed prejudices common to academics previously), and that I see this work having a major impact on my teaching. This is particularly so in relation to structuring and content of assessments

Some reflections: ALL practitioner

TIM: The collaboration for me has been academically a very rewarding one. It has been interesting reading some of your sociology material (the book), and to find out how some of your sociological interests and concerns have found expression in your teaching practices. For example, your interest in the ideas of ‘agency’ and ‘creativity’ as sociological concepts.

About this, you explained how it was important in the work you set for students for them not to be engaged with material in some detached, and abstract way. Rather what’s important is for students always to be able to draw on personal or family experience in some way – though always in an informed way – so as to make the issues and concepts relevant, and also to help shed light on students’ own experience. It was interesting to see just how strongly this notion informed the design of the assignment – this is an idea I will certainly take with me to my work with other academics.

supporting

teaching ALL specialist students in their

learning

Transitivity relations in ALL practice #1 (as adjunct teacher/facilitator)

(seeking to)

supportinghaving an impact onaffectingshaping

ALL specialist teaching practices of academics in the disciplines

Transitivity relations in ALL practice #2 (as academic developer/agent of change?)

exchanging ideassharing expertise

ALL specialist discipline academic

Transitivity relations in ALL practice #3 (as academic collaborator)

mutual changes in practice

the idea of transitivity: relations and collaborations tim moore, language and learning lab,...

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