Transitivity Systemic Functional Linguistics

static or dynamic location, possession, and quality of the participant through the process. It differentiates relational process from the material one. In relational clauses the participants undergo static location, possession, and quality through the process while in material clauses they undergo dynamic ones 2004: 212. Halliday presents the following examples to make the concepts clear: 1 She is in the dining room 2 She is walking into the dining room Sentence 1 is an example of a relational clause and sentence 2 is a material clause. In sentence 1 the participant She is static in location while in 2 She is dynamic since it moves from one place to the dining room. Those sentences show the different concepts of relational and material process. By the nature of configuration, the participants of relational and mental clauses are compared. First, mental clauses require “conscious” participant as the Senser, while relational clauses do not. The participants in relational clauses do not necessarily own consciousness. Thus, inanimate being might be a participant in a relational clause without any attached “consciousness”. Second, the configuration of the process and participant in relational clauses convey attributive and identifying relationship. Third, related to the second, the participants in relational clauses belong to the same domain. In other words, “something is said to ‘be’ something e lse” 2004: 213. It brings consequences that in relational clauses; there are always two participants in one process. The identification of relational clauses into attributive and identifying seems to be too broad. In each attributive and identifying process using relational clauses, the process might have three types of relations namely “intensive”, “possessive”, and “circumstantial”. Intensive attributive clauses require participants namely the Carrier and the Attribute. The relation of the process and participants in intensive attributive clauses might be classified into three categories namely; membership specification, phase attribution, and domain of attribution. The followings are the exemplifications of those categories as mentioned by Halliday and Matthiessen 2004: 220-223: 3 He was an architect 4 The New Yorker is very generous 5 His face grew very flushed 6 It’s true the food down there it’s really fresh Sentence 3 and 4 are examples of relational clauses showing membership specification. While sentence 3 shows the participants membership to an entity, sentence 4 shows the membership to a quality. Sentence 5 represents the phase attribution in a relational clause. The process of attribution in sentence 5 undergoes o ver time. Halliday and Matthiessen define the process as “processes of attribution unfold through time” 2004: 222. By sentence 6 Halliday and Matthiesen exemplify the semiotic domain of attribution rather than the material one. They mention that the s emiotic domain “construe” the inner experience. Intensive identifying clauses are different from the intensive attributive ones in terms of that in identifying clauses; one participant gives identity to the other participants. Thus, the participants are called the Identifier and the Identified. Halliday and Matthiesen overcome the possible problem that “identifying” clauses might be similar to intensive attribution ones. They propose four characteristics of the “identifying” clauses to differentiate them from the attribution ones. However, two of them are easily identified. First, the nominal group as the Identifier is usually definite. Second, the clauses are reversible, except for the process in be, and become and remain have passive forms 2004: 228. The participants in “identifying” clause, the Identifier and the Identified, are distinguishable by the terms the Token and the Value. This is due to what Halliday and Matthiessen mention, “the clause is not a tautology” 2004: 230. In other words, the clause does not only present synonyms but it presents two different concepts. The Token refers to the participant of the expression while the Value to the participants of the content. The circumstantial relational and the possessive relational clauses present also the relation of identifying and being attributive. The participants in the circumstantial clauses are the Carrier and the Attribute. A transitivity analysis on this type of relational clause has to be able to identify whether the clause has a circumstantial element as an attribute or as the process. Halliday and Matthiessen exemplify those clauses by the following example: 7 My story is about a poor shepherd boy 8 My story concerns a poor shepherd boy Sentence 7 is a circumstantial clause with the circumstantial element as an attribute introduced by the preposition about. In sentence 8, the circumstantial element is represented by the verb group as the process in concerns. The “identifying” circumstantial relational clauses are also analyzable in the same manner that the circumstantial elements might serve as the participants of the clauses or as the processes. The circumstantial elements as the participants might be in forms of time, place, or other circumstantial elements. The next type of relational clauses is the Possessive clauses. The clauses represents the relationship of ownership. In other words, one participant is owned by the other. In the clauses, thus, the participants are defined as the Possessor and the Possessed. The att ributive and “identifying” types of possessive clauses seem to be not distinguishable through the grammatical clues. The difference lies on the interpretation of the clauses. In an example by Halliday and Matthiesen the piano is Peter’s, the clause can be interpreted as both attributive and “identifying”. As Attributive clause, then, the piano is interpretable as one of the possessions of Peter. Whilst, as an “identifying” clause the piano is a thing that Peter possesses. Both in Attributive and “Identifying” clauses, the possession might come as the process. However, different verb groups would represent them differently. In Attributive clauses, the verbs are among others have, belong to, need, deserve, contain, etc. In “identifying” clauses, the verbs are such as possess, own, consist of, provide, afford, etc. The fourth type of processes in transitivity analysis is behavioral process. In behavioral clauses, the process represents physiological and psychological behaviors. They are for example breathing, smiling, dreaming, etc. Behavioral process is partly material and partly mental Halliday and Matthiesen, 2004: 250. The participants of this process are the Behaver and the Behavior. Further, Halliday and Matthiesen note that particular types of circumstance are related to behavioral processes. Those types are Matter and Manner circumstance. The Matter circumstances are as in dreaming of you and grumbled about the food while the Manner circumstance are as in breathe deeply and sit up straight 2004: 251. The fifth type of processes in transitivity analysis is verbal process. This process represents the process of Saying. The participants of this process are the Sayer, the Verbiage, the Target, and the Receiver. The Sayer is the participant that make the process of Saying into realization. Halliday and Matthiessen mentions that the process of Saying “has to be interpreted in a rather broad sense” 2004: 253. What they mean is that in practice, the verb groups representing the process are not limited to verbs as speak, say, tell, or mention but they also include the other verb groups denoting to process of “symbolic exchange of meaning”. Thus, the verbs such, among others, point out, suggest, assert, might be included into verbal processes. In short, Halliday and Matthiessen introduce the Receiver and the Verbiage as obligatory participants while the Target is not. The Receiver is the participant that receives the saying. The Verbiage might refer to the content of what is said or the name of the saying. The Target is the entity that is targeted by the process of Saying. The Target does not necessary receive the verbiage directly. The last type of processes in transitivity analysis is Existential process. In this process, there is only a participant namely the Existent. The Existential process represents the existence of something. Grammatically the clauses in this process must have Subject even though the Subject of the clause does not represent any representational function. It serves as the theme or, interpersonally, the subject of the sentence. Usually the word serves as the subject is there. The Existent is the entity or the event “which is being said to exist” 2004: 258. It has a special category to differentiate from material processes, namely meteorological processes such raining, blowing, thundering, etc. The following table shows the summary of the transitivity processes and their participants: Table 2.1. Transitivity Processes and Their Participants Material Processes Mental Processes Verbal Processes Relational Processes Behavioral Processes Existential Processes a. Actor b. Goal c. Recipient d. Beneficiary a. Senser b. Phenomenon a. Sayer b. Verbiage c. Addresse a. Carrier b. Attribute c. Possessor d. Possessed e. Token f. Value a. Behaver b. Behavior Existent Transitivity analysis focuses also on another internal component of clauses namely the circumstances. Halliday and Matthiesen 2004: 262-263 categorize the circumstances into four major types and then they break down the types into nine detailed types of circumstances. The nine types of circumstances are namely: Extent, Location, Manner, Cause, Contingency, Accompaniment, Role, Matter, and Angle. Extent and Location expand processes with time and space expansion. While Extent adds processes with the distance over time or place, Location serves expansion in time or place. Manner as a circumstance adds the information on the way processes undergo. Manner is divided into four types, namely Means, Quality, Comparison, and Degree. Means refers to the way or the channel that processes carry on. Quality represents the expansion of processes by adverbial groups ended with suffix –ly. Comparison acts like a metaphor or a simile in terms that it presents comparison of the participants to similar or different things. Degree is a circumstance that shows the degree of which processes carry on. Halliday and Matthiessen exemplify types of circumstantial Manner, i.e. the Means, Quality, Comparison, and Degree, by the following clauses: 9 The pig was beaten with the stick 10 Morgan calmly surveyed the scenery from the top of Rock Island 11 As you well know, we sometimes work like devil with them 12 I enjoyed it so much Circumstances might also come in form of Cause. By definition, this circumstance expands the process in a clause by providing reasons. However, further, Halliday and Matthiessen divide this type into three categories, namely Reason, Purpose, and Behalf 2004: 269-270. The other circumstance is Contingency. It gives further expansion to an element in a clause that the process depends on. Accompaniment is a circumstance that combines the participants in a clause. It is subcategorized into the comitative and additive ones. The difference between them lies in the number of processes. In the comitative accompaniment, the process is a single process while in additive accompaniment, the process is actually two occasions or “instances” Halliday and Matthiesen, 2004: 273. The next circumstance is the Role. As the Guise, the circumstance is preceded by a preposition as and as a Product it is introduced by preposition into. The last two types of circumstances are Matter and Angle. Matter is the expansion of verbal process. The expansion contains the message of the verbiage. It might answer a question of what about?. The Angle is a circumstance related to the Sayer in verbal clauses or the Senser in mental clauses.

2.1.3.2. Modality

Modality is one aspect of language in Systemic Functional Linguistics to analyze clauses as means of communication exchange in interpersonal relation. Modality is observable to examine the judgments of the speaker or the listener of the clauses. Modality is an answer to the question addressed to the concept of polarity that expresses the positive and negative expressions. Analysis on the modality examines the degree between the poles of yes and no Halliday, 2004: 146. The following table is the summary of the types of modality in English. Further, the table will be followed by the elaboration of the types. Table 2.2. Types of Modality P ro po sit io n P ro po sa l a bil it y inte rna l P o tent ia lity ex ter na l Pro bab ilit y Usu ality o ften ess R eq uir em en t co m m an d Of fer In clin atio n Hig h ce rtain ly Med p ro ba bilit y L ow p os sib ly Hig h Med L ow Hig h n ec es ity Med ad vice L ow p er m is sio n Hig h Med L ow Later on, Halliday proposes that modality works in two forms, proposition and proposal. In the first form, propositions, the modals are used to anticipate the gaps between assertion and denial by the polarity. The intermediate possibilities in proposition can be stated as in degrees of probability and in degrees of usuality. The degrees of probability are the intermediacy between positive and negative polarity that express either yes or no, maybe yes and maybe no. Halliday mentions that the degrees of probability come with different degrees of likelihood being attached 2004: 147. Lock clarifies the categories of the degrees of probability into three levels namely high, mid, and low. In other terms, those three levels might be stated as certainly, probably, and possibly 1996: 194. For instance, quoting Lock, he exemplifies them as follows 1996: 195: 13 that must be Aunt Agatha. That is certainly Aunt Agatha 14 We ought to make it, as long as tra ffic’s not to bad at the tunnel. We will probably make it 15 There may have been some contaminants in the test tube. There were possibly contaminants in the test tube Usuality comes also in three levels or degrees of difference. The levels are determined by the levels of ofteness. However, the levels of usuality using modals are not as observable as those as probability because usuality is more familiar to be expressed using the extensions of time adjuncts. Lock mentions ofteness as the degrees of frequency. He exemplifies by the following sentences 1996: 209: 16 He’ll walk past you without even saying ‘Hi’. 17 … but long journeys like that can be very uncomfortable. Sentence 16 expresses the high degree of frequency so that the sentence means ‘He often walks past you’ and sentence 17 expresses less frequent activity that long journeys are sometimes very uncomfortable. Besides expressing the degree of probability and usuality, or the likelihood and ofteness, the interpretation of modalization requires careful examination. The modalization or application of modality varies depending whether they are used in statements or in questions. Halliday continues that in statements modality expresses speakers’ opinion and in questions it expresses a request for the listeners’ opinion 2004: 147. The concepts of modality in propositions are useful in this study to examine the likelihood and ofteness as characteristics of the characters. By applying the concepts the viewpoints of the narrator in characterizing the characters can be revealed. For instance, in the sentence they would never eat a teri fish again taken from one of the stories, the modal would expresses the meaning of low degree of ofteness. Interpreting the meaning of the modal in that sentence, therefore, the narrator characterizes the characters by their habits that they never eat a teri fish. The second form of modality is employed in proposals. Halliday divides the functions of modality in proposals into two depending on the speech functions 2004: 147. Modals in proposals differ in function whenever whether they are applied in command or in offer. In commands, the modals intermediates the poles of obligation. Lock denotes them as modals to express requirements. He categorizes the modals into three degrees; high, mid, and low obligation. High obligation is noted as obligation or necessity, mid as advice, and low as permission 1996: 205. He continues with the following examples to show the differences among the degrees 1996: 206: 18. …but there is something I must say to my people… 19 Animal lovers who think that hunting is cruel but do not subscribe to extremist view should first ensure that they know all the facts. 20 You can copy yours on to a piece of paper too now. Sentence 18 shows high obligation that the actor I is oblige to say something to his people. The sentence is also interpretable as that he is necessary to say something. Sentence 19 shows the use of modals to give advice to others. Paraphrasing the sentence, it means that it is an advice that those animal lovers know all the facts. Sentence 20 shows permission to the actor you to do the action of copying something on to a piece of paper. Those three levels of obligation or requirement bring implication that there is something or someone having authority or taking controls to the actors. Lock’s explanations are meant to give examples to English language teachers that modals can be utilized to differentiate obligation and necessity in the teaching practices. However, this concept is also practical to interpret literary works since the authors of literary works sometimes characterize their characters by giving them authority towards the other or by giving them obligation to do some quests. Excerpts from the object of this study show that modals to express obligation. 21 You must promise that you and your people will never hunt and eat my kin from this day forth. A12359 22 …but on one condition: you must never ever eat another teri fish again.A12126 Sentence 21 and 22 exemplify the use of modal to show high obligation that the actors receive. Those sentences also show that the obligations come from other characters. In interpreting the sentences through the concepts of power relation, then, the actors receiving the obligation are being less powerful compared to those giving the obligation. In offers, the use of modals expresses inclination to proposals. Halliday mentions that in this case the modals show the degrees of willingness or determination of the speakers to act or to do something. Inclination is divided into three levels also accordingly to Lock 1996: 210; high, mid, and low inclination. The followings are the examples given by Lock to show the differences: 23 I will g o and you can’t stop me 24 Now. I will tell you right now what the activity is. 25 I’ll take some of the scripts so long as you’re not expecting anything in before next week. Those sentences use the same modal will but expresses different degree of inclination. Sentence 23 has the high degree of inclination that the subject I is determined to go. Sentence 24 has mid degree or level of inclination that the subject I only show intention to tell the other participant you about the activity. Sentence 25 has the lowest degree of inclination that the modal only shows the participants willingness to take some scripts. Further Lock defines other meanings and interpretations of the use of modals. The use of modals might show ability and potentiality of the participants. This meaning and interpretation are likely useful in reading literary works since characters are usually characterized by their ability or potentiality. Lock mentions that the difference between ability and potentiality lies on where the abilities or skills come from 1996: 211. Ability is internal while potentiality is external. In addition, the modal can to show ability of the participant can be replaced by be able to. To clarify the differences, Lock provides the following examples: 26 I am someone who can make friends easily ability 27 …this situation can and will be changed potentiality Sentence 16 showing the use of modal to express ability can be paraphrased by I am someone who is able to make friends easily. The following