15
goings-on. Therefore, the participant roles in mental processes are Senser and Phenomenon. The Senser is a conscious being, while the Phenomenon is that which is
sensed: felt, thought or seen. For example:
Tin Tin likes adventures Senser
Mental:Affect Phenomenon
Steve knows the answer Senser
Mental:Cognitive Phenomenon
That little kid wants an ice cream Senser
Mental:Inclination Phenomenon Harry saw
a ghost Senser
Mental:Perceptive Phenomenon
2.4.1.3 Behavioural Processes
Behavioural processes are processes of physiological and psychological behaviour, like breathing, dreaming, snoring, smiling, hiccuping, looking, watching,
listening, and pondering. There is one obligatory participant, which is Behaver. The Behaver is also a conscious being like a Senser, but the process is one of doing, not
sensing. Besides, there is also Range, which is the scope of the process. For example:
The Hulk threw a tantrum Behaver Behavioural
Range
2.4.1.4 Verbal Processes
Verbal processes are processes of saying, or symbolically signaling. Very often these are realised by two distinct clauses: the projecting clause encodes a signal
16
source Sayer and a signalling Verbal Process and the other projected clauses realises what was said. The participants are Sayer, Target, Receiver, and Verbiage.
Sayer is the signal source, Target is the one acted upon verbally, Receiver is the one to whom the verbalisation is addressed, and Verbiage is a name for the verbalisation
itself. For example:
Peter Parker told Mary Jane his secret Sayer
Verbal Receiver
Verbiage
2.4.2 Relational Processes
Relational processes are Relational, Existential, and Meteorological processes Gerot and Wignell, 1994:67-73. Each of them will be explained as follows.
2.4.2.1 Relational Processes
Relational processes are processes of being and having. They can be classified to assign a quality to something or to identify something. Processes which
assign a quality are called Attributive processes. In Attributive processes, the participant roles are Carrier and Attribute. Whereas processes which establish an
identity are called Identifying processes. In Identifying processes, the participant roles are Token and Value. The easiest way to distinguish between Attributive and
Identifying processes is that Identifying processes are reversible. It means that in Identifying processes, the clause can be reversed in order and the semantic
relationship still holds. Relational processes can be further sub-classified according to whether they are: intensive, possessive or circumstantial.
