Decoding The Content Plane Of Language By Reference To The Content Of Consciousness

Verbal vs Mental Texts

Negative Polarity: Finite vs Adjunct; Mood vs Residue

 Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 145):

you may not leave before the end (‘are not allowed to’): not is part of Finite

you may not stay right to the end (‘are allowed not to’): not is part of Residue

Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 177):

Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 176n):

The principle is rather complex, but it works as follows: if the agnate finite clause is negative (as shown by the tag; e.g. she was never given a proper chance, was she?) then the negative Adjunct functions as Mood element. If the agnate finite clause is positive (e.g. she could not have known about it, couldn’t she?) then the negative Adjunct forms part of the Residue.

Uncovering Congruent Agency By Undoing Ellipsis And Unpacking Metaphor

A.

 (1) Reinstating the elided Agent:

(2) Unpacking the metaphorical Agent:

B.

Here, despite the fact that adults are killing children in a refugee camp, no agency whatsoever is construed.

Halliday (2003 [1993]: 215):

… it is precisely in the "reporting" of pronouncements and speeches on the one hand, and of massacres, terrorist acts and nuclear disasters on the other, that linguistic analysis most clearly reveals the opposing ideologies that are being promoted in different organs. Construing events as news is a highly political act.

Thing Realised By Paratactically Elaborated Word Complex

'Exist' As Material Process?

'Sing Out' As Attributive Process?

Complement As Theme, Subject As Rheme

Music As Inducer Of Mental Processes

Decoding Music By Reference To Mental Processes

Hypotactic Elaborating Nominal Group Complexes

Dissociation Of Subject And Theme

'Came' As Identifying Process

The lexical choice of came stylistically adds the features of 'motion' and 'direction' to the relational Process.

Language, Material Environment And Cultural Context

Dissociation Of Subject And Theme

Locational 'There' Or Existential 'There'?

Cf On the wide flats beside the noisy river there were marshalled …

If in many companies is how they were marshalled, then Manner;

If in many companies is where they were marshalled, then Location.

Tagged Imperative Or Metaphorical Interrogative?

The first analysis treats this instance as a tagged imperative clause, whereas the second treats it as an interpersonal metaphor of mood: a command realised as polar interrogative clause. Cf

This raises the question as to whether the tagging of the imperative facilitated the genesis of the metaphorical variant.

'Find' As Attributive Process

Matter Qualifier vs Cause Qualifier

'Strike' As Attributive Process

Cf 

Howard Carter was made silent by what he had found

Howard Carter was silenced by what he had found