10.3 The Ideational Metafunction: Transitivity Analysis
The Ideational Metafunction is realized through the Transitivity system, which provides a framework for analyzing how meaning is made about "goings-on" in the world. Every clause represents a process, and this process involves participants and circumstances.
There are six main types of processes in English, each with its typical participants:
3.1. Material Processes (Doing)
These processes describe actions, events, and physical changes. They answer the question "What did X do?" or "What happened to X?".
Process: Material verb (e.g., run, build, destroy, eat).
Participants:
Actor: The one who performs the action.
Goal: The entity affected by the action (optional).
Recipient/Beneficiary: The one to whom something is given or for whom something is done (optional).
Examples:
The boy kicked the ball. (Actor: The boy, Process: kicked, Goal: the ball)
The house collapsed. (Actor: The house, Process: collapsed)
She gave him a book. (Actor: She, Process: gave, Recipient: him, Goal: a book)
3.2. Mental Processes (Sensing)
These processes describe internal states of sensing, such as thinking, feeling, and perceiving.
Process: Mental verb (e.g., think, feel, see, hear, like, believe, understand).
Participants:
Senser: The conscious being who experiences the mental process.
Phenomenon: What is sensed, thought, or felt.
Examples:
I believe in miracles. (Senser: I, Process: believe, Phenomenon: in miracles)
She saw a bird. (Senser: She, Process: saw, Phenomenon: a bird)
He likes chocolate. (Senser: He, Process: likes, Phenomenon: chocolate)
3.3. Relational Processes (Being)
These processes describe states of being and identification, linking two entities or an entity with an attribute. They answer the question "What is X?" or "What kind of X is it?".
Process: Relational verb (e.g., be, seem, become, remain, have, own).
Participants:
Carrier/Token: The entity being described or identified.
Attribute/Value: The quality or identity ascribed to the Carrier/Token.
Types of Relational Processes:
Attributive: Assigns an attribute to a Carrier (e.g., She is happy.).
Identifying: Establishes an identity between a Token and a Value (e.g., John is the leader.).
Examples:
The sky is blue. (Carrier: The sky, Process: is, Attribute: blue)
My brother became a doctor. (Carrier: My brother, Process: became, Attribute: a doctor)
The winner was Sarah. (Token: The winner, Process: was, Value: Sarah)
3.4. Verbal Processes (Saying)
These processes describe acts of communication or saying.
Process: Verbal verb (e.g., say, tell, ask, promise, report, announce).
Participants:
Sayer: The one who says or communicates.
Receiver: The one to whom something is said (optional).
Verbiage: What is said (optional).
Examples:
She said, "Hello." (Sayer: She, Process: said, Verbiage: "Hello.")
He told me a story. (Sayer: He, Process: told, Receiver: me, Verbiage: a story)
3.5. Behavioural Processes (Behaving)
These processes represent physiological and psychological behavior, often a blend of material and mental processes. They are typically conscious and volitional.
Process: Behavioural verb (e.g., laugh, cry, smile, look, breathe, dream).
Participants:
Behaver: The conscious being performing the behavior.
Examples:
The baby slept soundly. (Behaver: The baby, Process: slept)
He sighed deeply. (Behaver: He, Process: sighed)
3.6. Existential Processes (Existing)
These processes describe that something exists or happens. They are typically introduced by "there is/are."
Process: Existential verb (e.g., be, exist).
Participants:
Existent: The entity that exists.
Examples:
There is a book on the table. (Process: is, Existent: a book)
There were many people at the party. (Process: were, Existent: many people)
3.7. Circumstances
Circumstances provide additional information about the process, such as time, place, manner, cause, etc. They are typically realized by adverbial phrases or prepositional phrases.
Common Types of Circumstances:
Extent: How long? How far? (e.g., for an hour, five miles)
Location: Where? When? (e.g., in the park, yesterday)
Manner: How? (e.g., quickly, with enthusiasm)
Cause: Why? (e.g., because of the rain, for fun)
Accompaniment: With whom/what? (e.g., with his friends)
Role: What as? (e.g., as a leader)
Matter: About what? (e.g., about the project)
Example with Circumstances:
She sang beautifully (Manner) in the concert hall (Location) last night (Location: time).
Transitivity analysis helps us understand the speaker's or writer's perspective on events and how they choose to represent reality.