message which has good formulation. Metafunctions of language consist of three major functional components, they are : The Ideational Function, The Interpersonal
Function, and The Textual Function. 2.1.3.1
The Ideational Function The ideational function relates to the inner and outer worlds of reality, it is
“language about something”. Whenever one reflects on the external world of phenomena or the internal world of one’s consciousness, the representation of that
reflection would take the form of ‘content’. This form of content is called the experiential meaning.
i. Experential Meaning
Focusing the language on the clause level with respect to the notion of clause as representation. Clause as a representation means that one function of the clause is as
representation of experience of both external realities i.e. reality outside oneself and internal reality reality inside oneself. The experiential or representational function
of language clause is realized by the transitivity system of language. The outer world of reality that is brought into the inner world of reality in one’s consciousness,
which is encoded in the transitivity system of language, is interpreted as a what-is- going-on process, which is related to material actions, events, states, and relations.
The what-is-going-on process falls into various processes. Halliday has identified the encoding processes of the realities under discussion, and he has also linguistically
grammatically classified the various process types : 1 material, 2 mental, 3 relational, and he classified other processes into three subsidiary process types : 1
behavioral, 2 verbal, and 3 existential.
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ii. Logical Function.
The logical function is meaning which is in the semantics of functional relationships between the clauses that form the logic of natural language.
2.2 TRANSITIVITY
Transitivity system belongs to experiential metafunctions. Transitivity is normally understood as the grammatical feature which indicates if a verb takes a
direct object.When we look at the experiential metafunctions, we are looking at the grammar of the clause as representation. It is called so because the clause in its
experiential function is a way of representing pattern of experience. Through the system of transitivity, we can explore the clause in its aspects such is:
When people talk about what a word or sentence means, it is kind of meaning they have in mind. Meaning in this sense is related to content or idea. So, here the
clause that functions as the representation of processes explores by transitivity system. A fundamental property of language is that it enables human beings to build
a mental picture of reality, to make sense of their experience of what goes on around them and inside them. The clause is the most significant grammatical unit, in this
case because it is the clause that functions as the representation of processes. Transitivity analysis offers a description of one of the structural strands of the clause.
Transitivity specifies the different types of process that are recognized in the language, and the structures by which they are expressed.
Who = does = what = to = whom, when, where, why or how
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According to Halliday 1985: 101 There are three semantic categories which explain in general way about how phenomena of the real world are represented as
linguistic structures. They are : • The process it self
• Participants in the process • Circumstances associated with the process
These provide the frame of reference for interpreting experience of what goes on.
2.2.1 Circumstances answer such question as when, where, why, how, how many
and as what. Halliday 2004: 262 his classified into:
Circumstances
1 Time temporal: tells when and is probed by when? How often? How long?
Example: Faisal goes to her girl friend house every Saturday night. 2.
Place spatial: tells where and is probed by where? How far? Example: Indra goes to her girl friend house every Saturday night.
3. Manner: tells how. Circumstance of Manner has divided to 3 kinds, they are:
• Means: tells by what means and is probed by what with. Example: John goes by bicycle.
• Quality: tells how and is probed by how? Example: Ryan loved her madly, deeply, truly
• Comparison: tells like what and is probed by what like? Example: Pesta was jumping around like a monkey on a roof.
4. Cause: tells why. Cause has three kinds, they are:
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• Reason: tells what cause the Process and is probed by why? Or how? Example: the sheep died of thirst.
• Purpose: tells the purpose and is probed by what for? Example: Stephanie went to market for new pencil.
• Behalf: tells for whose sake and is probed for whom? Example: Sastri went to the market for his mother.
5. Accompaniment: tells without who or what and is probed by who or what
else? Example: Rani left work without his briefcase.
6. Matter: tells about what or with reference to what and probed by what about?
Example: This book is talking about functional grammar. 7.
Role: tells what as and is probed by as what? Example: Silvi lived a quite life as a beekeeper.
8. Contingency : circumstances of contingency specify an element on which the
actualization of the process depends. Contingency has three kinds, they are: • Conditional have to obtain in order for the process to be actualized; they have
the sense of ‘it’. They are expressed by propositional phrases with complex preposition in case of, in the event of, on condition of.
Example: Andi get back to the bedroom and change clothes in case of bloodstains.
• Concession circumstantial construe frustrated cause, with the sense of ‘although’; they are expressed by prepositional phrases with the prepositions
despite, in spite of, or regardless.
Example: In spite of its beacon, many ships have been wrecked on this rocky coast.
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• Default circumstantial have the sense of negative condition- ‘if not, unless’; they are expressed by prepositional phrases with the complex prepositions in
the absence of, in default. Example: In the absence of any prior agreement between the parties as to the
rate of salvage payable, the amount is assessed, as a rule, by the Admiralty Court.
9. Angle is related either to i the Sayer of a ‘verbal’ clause, with the sense of
‘as…says’ or ii to the Senser of a ‘mental’ clause, with the sense of ‘as…thinks’. We can call type i ‘source’ since it is used to represent the
source information. Example: According to the phlogistic theory, the part remaining after a
substance was burned was simply the original substance deprived of phlogiston.
We can call ii ‘viewpoint’ since it is used to represent the information given by the clause from somebody’s viewpoint, such as: to, in the viewopinion of,
from the stand point of. Example: To Marry it seemed unlikely, they’re guilty in the eyes of the law.
2.2.2
Gerot and Wignel 1994: 54 processes are central of Transitivity. Participants and Circumstances are incumbent upon the doings, happenings, feeling,
and beings. We use term process and participant in analyzing what is represent through the use of language. They center on the part of the clause which are realized
by the verbal group. They are also regarded as what “goings-on” and suggest many
Processes
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different kinds of goings-on which necessarily involve different kinds of participant in varying circumstances. While participants and circumstances are incumbent upon
the doings, happenings feeling and beings. Processes can be subdivided into different types. There are six different
process types identified by Halliday in Gerot and Wignel 1994 : 54, they are: 1. Material
doing bodily, physically, materially
2. Mental sensing
emotionally, intellectually, sensorilly 3. Relational
being equal to, or some attribute of
4. Verbal saying
lingually, signaling 5. Behavioral
behaving physiologically and psychologically
6. Existential existing
there exist
Processes are realized by verbs. Traditional verbs have been defined as ‘doing words’. But as the above lists indicates, some verbs are not doing words at all,
but rather express states of being or having. There are different orders of doings and beings. For example, to write a funny story, to tell a funny story, and to hear a funny
story are three different orders of meaning. According the statement above, the examples:
1. Material Sammy went up the hill.
2. Mental Sammy realises the difficulties.
3. Behavioural Sammy snores loudly.
4.Verbal Sammy says ‘‘don’t eat a lot’’
5. Relational Sammy is my favorite singer.
6.Existential There’s a rabbit in the garden.
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The tripartite interpretation of processes is what lies behind the grammatical distinction of word classes into verbs, nouns, and the rest, a pettern that in some form
or other is probably universal among human languages. We can express this as Halliday 1985: 102:
Type of element: Typically realized by:
i. Process ii. Participant
iii. Circumstance Verbal group
Nominal group Adverbial group or prepositional phrase
The concept of process, participant and circumstance are semantic categories which explain in the most general way how phenomena of the real world are
represented as linguistic structures. In the following sections we shall explore the different types of process that
are built in to the semantics of English, and the particular kinds of participant role that are systematically associated with each.
1. Material Processess
Material processes are Processes of material doing. Halliday 1985: 103 material processes are processes of ‘doing’. They express the nation that some entity ‘does’
something—which may be done ‘to’ some other entity. So clauses with a Material Process obligatorily have a doing Process and a doer Participant.
The lion run
Participant process
Pesta wrote
a letter Participant Process
Participant
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The entity who or which does something is called “the actor”. Halliday 1985: 102 says, “the actor is the’ logical Subject’ of older terminology, and means
the one that does the deed. Example: The mouse ran up the clock. In the sentence, ‘the mouse’ is a
subject or participant who does something. A logical element is a function in transitivity structure. The traditional view
of transitivity in western linguistics is as follows. i.
Every process has an Actor. ii.
Some processes, but not all, also have a second participant, which we shall call GOAL.
The goal is the entity which may be done to. Example:
The lion run
Participant Process
An actor
Pesta wrote
a letter Participant
Process Participant
An Actor The Goal
According to Halliday 1985: 104 There are two varieties of Material Processes, they are:
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• Creative type
In the creative type, the Goal is brought about by the Process. Example:
The leader Dissolved
the commitee
Actor Process: Material
Goal
Pesta Wrote
a letter
Actor Process: material
Goal
• Dispositive type
In the dispositive type, we have doings and happenings. Example:
His boss Dismissed
Andi
Actor Process: material
Goal
My father Resigned
Actor Process: material
Material Processes ‘take’ both the active voice and the passive. The active voice is a happening rather a doing: the probe is not what did actor do? But what
happen to actor? The passive form is used, we can probe for an explicit actor—we
can ask who by? Example:Active Voice
Petter Sent
the letter
Actor Process: material
Goal
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Passive Voice The letter
was sent by Petter
Goal Process: material
Actor
2. Mental Processess
Mental Processes is process of sensing. Gerot and Wignel 1994: 58 Mental Processes are ones of sensing such as: feeling, thinking, perceiving. Halliday
1985:111 Mental Processes, on the other hand, are processes of feeling, thinking and seeing. Mental Processes has three types, they are:
a. Affective or reactive feeling
b. Cognitive thinking
c. Perceptive perceiving through the five senses.
Gerot and Wignel 1994: 58 says, “Mental Processes are mental, convert kinds of goings-on.”Mental processes is diffferent from Material Processes ones in much
as much the letter are physical, moving and overt doing. And the participant in Mental is not much acting or acting upon in a doing sense, as sensing – having
feelings, perceiving or thinking. The participant roles in Mental Processes are:
• Senser
The senser is by definition a conscious being, for only those who are consious can feel, think and see.
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• Phenomenon
The phenomenon is that which is sensed: felt, though or seen. Example:
The clause with Senser and Phenomenon.
Silvi likes
banana
Senser Mental: affect
Phenomenon
Senser only:
The active and passive form in Mental Process: Active
Passive
3. Behavioural Processes
According to Halliday 1985 : 128 Behavioural Processes are Processes of physiological and psychological behovioural, like breathing, dreaming, smiling,
laughing, etc. Indra
doesn’t like doll
Participant: Senser Process: Mental
Participant: Phenomenon
Novi understood
Senser Mental: Cognitive
Nerly likes
banana
Senser Mental: affect Phenomenon
Banana is liked
by Nerly
Phenomenon Mental: Affect
Senser
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There in one obligatory Participant: the Behaver. The Behaver is a conscious being but the Process is one of doing, not sensing. But sometimes
involve a ‘behavior’. Example:
Indra weeps
for me
Behaver Process: behavioural
Circum: cause
The lion roars
loudly
Behaver Process: behavioural
Circum: manner
4. Verbal Processes
Verbal Processes are processes of saying, or more accurately, of symbolically signaling. Halliday 1985: 129 Verbal Processes are processes of saying. A things which need not to
be a conscious being signal source is called The Sayer. Gerot and Wignell 1994: 62 There are three participants in Verbal Processes, they are:
• Receiver: the one to whom the verbalization isaddressed • Target: one acted upon verbally insulted, complimented, etc.
• Range Verbiage: a name for the verbalization itself.
Examples:
Silvi Told
Anna a rude joke
Sayer Verbal
Target Verbiage
I am always praising
Him
Sayer Verbal
Target
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5. Relational Processes
Relational processes are those of being. They can be classified according to whether they are being used to identify some thing or to assign a quality to something.
In Relational Processes has three kinds, they are: • Identifying Processes
Processes which establish an identity are called Identifying Processes. In Identifying Processes the Participant roles are Token and Value. Token = which stands for what is being
defined. Value = which defined. • Attributive Processes
Processes which assign a quality are called Attributive Processes.In Attributive the participant roles are Carrier and Attribute. Attribute is quality or epithet ascribed to the
carrier X carriers the attribute and carrier X is a member of the class “a”. Example:
Attributive Processes
Identifying Processes Mian
may be the best games player
Token Identifying
Value
Ivo is
a good games player
Carrier Attributive Attribute
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There are three developments of the two sub type of relational process Halliday, 1985: 112:
• Intensive x is a • Circumstantial x is at a
• Possessive x has a Gerot and Wignel 1994: 68 show the option of relational process as the following:
Examples: Cytoplasm
Is sort of a jelly-like material
Carrier Attributive: intensive
Attribute
Fish Have
fish fin
Carrier Attributive: possessive
Attribute
My home Is
inside the city
Carrier Attrib: circumstantial
Attribute
Atom is
the nucleus of the cell
Token Identifying: intensive
Value
Attributive: carrier, attribute Indentifying: token, value
Relational Process
Intensive Possessive
Circumstantial
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All cells Contain
cytoplasm
Token Identifying: possessive
Value
Albumen Surrounds
the yolk
Token Identifying: circumstantial
Value
6. Existential Processes
Existential processes are processes of existence. Halliday 1985: 130 says, “Existential Processes are represent that something exist or happens.” ‘There’ has no
representational function; it is required because of the need for a Subject in English. Existential processes are expressed by verbs of existing: ‘be’, ‘exist’, ‘arise’, and the
Extent can be a phenomenon of any kind. If in an Existential clause containing a Circumstantial element the Circumstantial element is Thematic, the word ‘there’ may
be omitted. Examples:
There’s a baby dog
in the yard
Existential Existent
Circumstance: place
On the matinee jacket Was
a blood-stain
Circumstance: place Existential
Existent
On the wall There
hangs a photo
Circums: place Existential
Existent
There’s a man
at the door
Existential Existent
Circum: place
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2.3 Relevant Study