Saturday 3 February 2024

Theme Will Tear Us Apart Again


But in Halliday ± Matthiessen (1985, 1994, 2004, 2014), in cases of predicated Theme, the embedded clause is also analysed for Theme:

Friday 12 May 2023

Direction Of Coding And Agency

A decoding identifying clause can be middle or effective:



but an encoding identifying clause is always effective:


Thursday 29 December 2022

'Used To'

 The Finite used to conflates the meaning of a temporal Adjunct with past tense:

Saturday 17 December 2022

'As Usual' vs 'Usually'


as usual serves as a comment Adjunct of the type 'predictable'.
See Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 191).

Monday 7 November 2022

An Enclosed Structurally Unrelated Clause

Mr Minter, 'Call me Ted', was  a large, untidy, perpetually smiling man with the look of an astute rabbit.
— John Mortimer Rumpole And The Asylum Seekers


One way to analyse the enclosed clause as structurally related is to take the view from below. Because it is realised as its own tone group (TONALITY) and realised by tone concord with what precedes (TONE), the enclosed clause is realised as if it were in non-defining elaborating relationship with the surrounding clause. Such an interpretation, though, requires treating the clause that projected it as ellipsed.

Monday 31 October 2022

Intense Emotion Without Graduated Affect


This is an experiential construal of intense emotion but not an interpersonal enactment of graduated affect. This is because AFFECT is the system of enacting a positive or negative appraisal by reference to emotion, and no such appraisal is enacted here. (Any enactment of a judgement by the author of the clause is a separate matter.) 

Sunday 11 September 2022

Tuesday 9 August 2022

Chemical Symbolism As Metaphorical

It is the grammatical metaphor afforded by chemical symbolism that enables the systematic expansion of the semantics of the field of chemistry, most explicitly in terms of quantified composition. Cf. Halliday & Matthiessen (1999: 288-9):

It is the fact that metaphor multiplies meanings within the semantic system that opens up the possibility of metaphorical chains, with one congruent starting-point and another highly metaphorical end-point (A"' stands for A" stands for A' stands for A; e.g. 'engine failure* stands for 'the failing of an engine' stands for 'an engine failed'). The semantic system is being expanded along the dimension of the metaphorical token-value relation; but the expansion is still within the semantic system itself.

NaCl stands for sodium chloride stands for salt. (Thing+Thing stands for Classifier^Thing stands for Thing.)

Wednesday 4 May 2022

'For' As Minor Process Of Accompaniment


Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 324):
Accompaniment is a form of joint participation in the process and represents the meanings ‘and’, ‘or’, ‘not’ as circumstantials;

Wednesday 13 April 2022

'Portray' As Relational Process


In Deploying Functional Grammar (Martin, Matthiessen & Painter 2010: 124), portray is interpreted as a behavioural process, despite it occurring in effective clauses, and despite its Range not being a behaviour.

Sunday 27 February 2022

Polarity In Mood vs Residue




Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 175):
Finally, we should note that the negative word not occurs in two functions: either it is simply a formal or written variant of the Finite negative element n’t, in which case it is part of the Finite; or it is a distinct modal Adjunct in Mood or Residue. In the latter case it is phonologically salient and may also be tonic…