How Language Use Varies

1. Some Linguistic Tools How Language Use Varies

2. Sentence Level Analysis

3. Sentence Level Analysis Linguistic features are analysed at the sentence level often to explore: • Interpersonal meaning • Ideational meaning • Textual meaning

4. Sentence Level Analysis

5. Ideational Meaning Representations of people, events or ideas

6. Ideational Meaning A particular view of people, events or ideas can be spread through the system of transitivity – i.e. a set of choices for representing different aspects of “who does what to whom in what circumstances?”. Thus, the use of language in relation to different views of people, events or ideas constructed by a text can be explored through an analysis of transitivity elements (who, what, whom, what circumstance).

7. Ideational Meaning The following table shows basic transitivity elements and their realisation by lexical categories.

8. Ideational Meaning For example: The student reads the book quietly in the library.

9. Ideational Meaning Elements represented in the subject and object of the clause can be referred to as the participants. The number and type of participants depends on the kind of process that is realised by a verb or verbal group.

10. Ideational Meaning The following table explains the basic process types.

11. Ideational Meaning Manipulation of transitivity elements (process, participants, circumstances) gives a number of options for representing events or ideas in different ways. In other words, events or ideas can be expressed by a text in different ways of manipulating patterns of processes, participants, and circumstances.

12. Ideational Meaning These patterns include:

13. Selection of process type As the type of participant depends on the type of process, dominant use of a particular process type in a text can reflect a certain representation of ideas or people involved in the events.

14. Selection of process type For example: In the representation of different characters in a story, a prominent use of material processes with the character as the actor acting upon some goal may give a notion of power to that character. It may represent the assertive and confident personalities of the character.

15. Use of passive form The subject participant is essentially the ‘actor’ in the process and the object participant is the ‘acted upon’ (i.e. the person or thing that the action happens to). But the use of passive form changes the positioning of ‘actor’ and ‘acted upon’ in a clause: e.g. • The army attacked the rioters. • The rioters were attacked by the army.

16. Use of passive form Different view of events or ideas can be presented by manipulating the participant positions. For example, by using a passive form, the role of the actor can be left implicit when presenting an event. E.g. • The rioters were attacked.

17. Use of passive form The choice whether to include or omit the actor from a process may constitute an important part of message construction. It can foreground or background the involvement of the actor. It then reflects a particular way of seeing / presenting events.

18. Nominalisation Nominalisation is substituting a noun for a verb (or an adjective). A process expressed by the verb can alternatively be expressed by the noun. E.g.

19. Nominalisation Nominalisation is a common feature of academic writing as it allows authors to compress a lot of information into a few words. Through this feature of nominalisation, things rather than actions can also be foregrounded.

20. Textual Meaning Organization / Method of Development of a Text

21. Textual Meaning Different meanings can be created by different ways a text is organised. Methods of development or patterns of relation between clauses in a text carry meanings both in the text itself and in relation to the context. This can be explored through an analysis of the grammatical feature – Theme, Rheme.

22. Theme & Rheme Theme is the element which serves as the point of departure of the message; the remainder of the message is Rheme.

23. Unmarked or Marked Theme It is more likely for the subject to be in the first position. Therefore, if the theme is the subject of the clause, it is Unmarked, e.g. “The library” in (i).If the theme is non-subject, it is Marked, e.g. “For students” in (ii).

24. Unmarked or Marked Theme The first positions of a clause can give the information particular prominence. Information in the first position has two important functions: • It links up with the previous text, and • It guides readers’ comprehension of subsequent segments.

25. Unmarked or Marked Theme With the possibilities of placing information in different places, placing of particular information in the first position can be a significant matter to communicate the message effectively. It will involve considering and manipulating the readers’ expectations. Thus the selection of themes can reflect, for example, the purpose or the target audience of the text.

26. Multiple Theme Themes at the clausal level can include more than the first content element. The first content element (e.g. “The library” and “For students” in the earlier examples) are topical themeof the clause. It may be preceded by elements whose function is: • Textual (organisation or development of a text) and/or • Interpersonal (creating relationships between language users)

27. Multiple Theme Some examples of textual and/or interpersonal themes preceding a topical theme are given in the following table:

28. Theme in Larger Context An analysis of theme can be done not only at the clausal level but also at the levels of paragraph or even whole text. For example, it can be done for an interpretation of the design of a text including the language and accompanying visual elements.