Sunday, 11 April 2021

Jim Martin On Process Types

It would be unusual to have a ‘process type’ which in effect crossclassifies the others:
They allowed us to leave/chat/ask/believe/be/have…
A case would need to be made.
When not involved in what IFG treats as a verbal group complex, these verbs typically take a complement realising a figure (or one of Hao’s activity or semiotic entities):
They allowed the application/petition/objection/extradition/extract…
I have tried to make a case for Tagalog relationals crossclassifying material, verbal and mental processes, most clearly perhaps in this in this paper:
Relational processes in Tagalog: A Systemic Functional perspective. (J.R. Martin & P. Cruz) in K. Rajandran & S.A. Manan (eds.), Systemic Functional Linguistics: South East Asian perspectives. Universiti Sains Malaysia Press. 2019. 225-251.


Blogger Comments:

[1] Here Martin misunderstands O'Donnell (see previous post). O'Donnell interpreted these types of instances as projection nexuses — clause complexes — not as clause simplexes in which one type of process "cross classifies" another type.

[2] This is misleading, because it is untrue. On the one hand, the Complements of Martin's examples are nominalised processes, and as as such, realise elements not figures. On the other hand, apart from its function in verbal group complexes, and such metaphorical variants, the verb allow typically serves as a verbal Process, as in 

She allowed ['admitted'] that the penalty appeared too harsh for the crime
Bush allowed ['conceded'] that he himself could never support Trump

or a material Process, as in

I'll allow ['allocate'] you just ten minutes.

[3] To be clear, the reason why Martin introduces the irrelevant notion of cross classification here is simply to provide a pretext for promoting his own paper, in which he claims to provide the "case that needs to be made". The function of not clarifying the notion of 'cross classifying process types' is to bamboozle the theoretically naïve.

Saturday, 10 April 2021

Mick O'Donnell On Process Types

In my own practice, I have added a 7th process type modal-process, to cater to this type of process. For example, in English:
He allowed me to smoke.
They required us to teach long hours.
Verbs such as allow/permit/authorise, require/oblige, all allow projection. Yet they are not verbal in the sense that they do not necessarily involve communication, no addressee, etc. They are not mental, in that they are externalised in the real world, not just mental activity.

One could say that these last exclusion criteria are notional, while process type classification should be based on grammatical reactance. But in practice, our process type classification has always been somewhat of a hybridisation of semantic classification linked to common grammatical reactance. Halliday actually groups together various subtypes of verbal process, such as "she blamed him ..." (which do not project), the central verbals (say/tell etc,) which do project, and sometimes the non-projecting verbs such as talk/grumble etc. which in some issues of IFG are verbal. The only thing these all have in common is the shared notional involvement of verbal activity, or expanding out, communicative activity. But in the case of these "modal" processes, there is no necessary explicit communicative activity.

I haven't seen Halliday dealing with these verbs explicitly, but I may have missed it.


Blogger Comments:

[1] Here O'Donnell mistakes allowed and required for Processes of a clause in a clause complex, and on the basis of that misunderstanding proposes a new 'modal' PROCESS TYPE. In SFL Theory, each of these is the primary verbal group of a verbal group complex that serves as a material Process:

In hypotactic verbal group complexes, it is the (last) secondary verbal group that realises the PROCESS TYPEHalliday & Matthiessen (2014: 568):
It is the secondary group, or last secondary group if there is more than one, that realises the process type of the clause, e.g. [material:] she seemed to mend it, [behavioural:] she seemed to laugh, [mental:] she seemed to like him, [verbal:] she seemed to tell us, [relational:] she seemed to be nice.

[2] To be clear, there is no projection in either of O'Donnell's examples, both of which are clause simplexes, not complexes. The relation between the verbal groups in each nexus is enhancement. See Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 580, 582-4) on modulation in enhancing causative verbal group complexes.

[3] To be clear, this argumentation is irrelevant to the analysis of the two examples; see [1] and [2] above.

[4] To be clear, this misrepresents SFL methodology. Analysis requires taking a trinocular perspective, while giving priority to the view 'from above'. Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 48-9):

We cannot expect to understand the grammar just by looking at it from its own level; we also look into it ‘from above’ and ‘from below’, taking a trinocular perspective (Halliday, 1978: 130–131; 1996). But since the view from these different angles is often conflicting, the description will inevitably be a form of compromise. …
Being a ‘functional grammar’ means that priority is given to the view ‘from above’; that is, grammar is seen as a resource for making meaning — it is a semanticky kind of grammar. But the focus of attention is still on the grammar itself.

[5] This is misleading, because it is not true. In the first edition of IFG (1985), the verbs talk and grumble do not feature at all. In the second edition (1994), these verbs are explicitly listed as exemplifying 'near verbal' behavioural processes. Halliday (1994: 139):

The two verbs are again listed as exemplifying behavioural processes in both the third edition (2004: 251), and the fourth (2014: 302).

[6] To be clear, what (genuine) verbal processes have in common is the symbolic exchange of meaning. Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 303, 304):

‘Saying’ has to be interpreted in a rather broad sense; it covers any kind of symbolic exchange of meaning … verbal processes might more appropriately be called ‘symbolic’ processes.

[7] To be clear, O'Donnell's notion of "modal" processes derives from a misunderstanding; see [1] above.

[8] When subsequently alerted to Halliday's (1994: 285Iff) analysis by BartlettO'Donnell replied:

Totally right, Tom. p287 actually gives examples of force/oblige/allow as causative structures.

Not that I will give up on my own approach.