The Thought Occurs

Wednesday 29 November 2017

Knowledge

Halliday & Matthiessen (1999: 3):
We contend that the conception of ‘knowledge’ as something that exists independently of language, and may then be coded or made manifest in language, is illusory. All knowledge is constituted in semiotic systems, with language as the most central; and all such representations of knowledge are constructed from language in the first place.


Friday 24 November 2017

The Transitivity Of Bamboozlement

One of the main points of these papers (derived from our 12 year collaborative research center on space ...) is to open up the 'space' (ha ha) between a grammatically-induced semantics and any contextualised use of involved grammatical constructions so that the enormous flexibility of ranges of interpretation is both made visible and constrained sufficiently so that it can be worked with productively.
This is a hypotactically elaborating clause complex, with the dependent clause enclosed within the main clause:

One of the main points of these papers
<< derived from our 12 year collaborative research center on space >>
is to open up the 'space' between a grammatically-induced semantics and any contextualised use of involved grammatical constructions so that the enormous flexibility of ranges of interpretation is both made visible and constrained sufficiently so that it can be worked with productively

β

α

Ranking α Clause


The ranking α clause has a lexical density of about 23, depending how it it measured.  It metaphorically construes an identity of purpose, wherein the Value (one of the main points of these papers) is encoded by reference to the Token (to open up the 'space' between a grammatically-induced semantics and any contextualised use of involved grammatical constructions so that the enormous flexibility of ranges of interpretation is both made visible and constrained sufficiently so that it can be worked with productively):

One of the main points of these papers
is
to open up the 'space' between a grammatically-induced semantics and any contextualised use of involved grammatical constructions so that the enormous flexibility of ranges of interpretation is both made visible and constrained sufficiently so that it can be worked with productively
Identified Value
Process
Identifier Token

The clause is marked for both voice (receptive) and direction of coding (encoding).

Identifier Token


The Identifier Token in this relation is realised as an embedded clause complex in which the main clause is hypotactically enhanced, first in terms of result — and this includes a nested paratactic extending nexus — and then in terms of purpose:

to open up the 'space' between a grammatically-induced semantics and any contextualised use of involved grammatical constructions
so that the enormous flexibility of ranges of interpretation is both made visible
and constrained sufficiently
so that it can be worked with productively
α
x β cause: result
x γ cause: purpose

1
+ 2


Embedded α Clause


The α clause in the embedded complex serving as Identifier Token is a non-finite abstract material clause:

to open up
the 'space' between a grammatically-induced semantics and any contextualised use of involved grammatical constructions
Process
Goal

The Goal of this clause is realised by a nominal group in which the Thing is both metaphorical (circumstantial) and abstract:

the
'space'
between a grammatically-induced semantics and any contextualised use of involved grammatical constructions
Deictic
Thing
Qualifier

The Qualifier of this nominal group is realised by a prepositional phrase whose Range is realised by a paratactically extending nominal group complex:

between
a grammatically-induced semantics
and any contextualised use of involved grammatical constructions
Process
Range

1
+ 2

The first nominal group construes a semantic theory as Thing and sub-classifies it as grammatically-induced:

a
grammatically-induced
semantics
Deictic
Classifier
Thing

The second nominal group metaphorically construes a process ('use') as Thing, which it sub-classifies as contextualised, and metaphorically construes the congruent medium of the process involved grammatical constructions as Qualifier:

any
contextualised
use
of involved grammatical constructions
Deictic
Classifier
Thing
Qualifier

The Qualifier of this nominal group is realised by a prepositional phrase:

of
involved grammatical constructions
Process
Range

The Range of this prepositional phrase is realised by a nominal group that sub-classifies constructions as grammatical, and identifies them as involved:

involved
grammatical
constructions
post-Deictic
Classifier
Thing

Embedded β1 Clause


The β1 clause in the embedded complex serving as Identifier Token is an attributive clause that assigns the enormous flexibility of ranges of interpretation to the set visible:

so that
the enormous flexibility of ranges of interpretation
is
both
made
visible

Carrier
Process
Attribute

The Carrier is realised by a nominal group that metaphorically construes a quality as Thing:

the
enormous
flexibility
of ranges of interpretation
Deictic
Epithet
Thing
Qualifier

The Qualifier is realised by a prepositional phrase:

of
ranges of interpretation
Process
Range

The Range of this prepositional phrase is realised by a nominal group:

ranges
of interpretation
Thing
Qualifier

Embedded β2 Clause


The β2 clause in the embedded complex serving as Identifier Token has an ellipsed Mood element:

the enormous flexibility of ranges of interpretation
is constrained
sufficiently
Carrier
Process
Attribute
Manner: degree

Embedded γ Clause


The γ clause in the embedded complex serving as Identifier Token is a receptive material clause:

so that
it
can be worked with
productively

Goal
Process
Manner: quality

Ranking β Clause


The ranking elaborating clause can be analysed as 

derived from
our 12 year collaborative research center on space
Process: circumstantial
Attribute

The Attribute is realised by the nominal group:

our
12 year
collaborative
research center
on space
Deictic
post-Deictic
Classifier
Thing
Qualifier

The Thing of the nominal group is realised by a word complex:

research
center
β
α


Conclusion


This is the wording of someone who expects not to be understood, the social function of which has been described by Halliday & Matthiessen (1999: 272):
So the more the extent of grammatical metaphor in a text, the more that text is loaded against the learner, and against anyone who is an outsider to the register in question. It becomes elitist discourse, in which the function of constructing knowledge goes together with the function of restricting access to that knowledge, making it impenetrable to all except those who have the means of admission to the inside, or the select group of those who are already there. 
It is this other potential that grammatical metaphor has, for making meaning that is obscure, arcane and exclusive, that makes it ideal as a mode of discourse for establishing and maintaining status, prestige and hierarchy, and to establish the paternalistic authority of a technocratic elite whose message is 'this is all too hard for you to understand; so leave the decision-making to us.

Wednesday 1 November 2017

Meaning "Beyond" The Clause

Halliday & Hasan (1976: 10):
It will be clear from what has been said above that cohesion is not just another name for discourse structure.  Discourse structure is, as the name implies, a type of structure; the term is used to refer to the structure of some postulated unit higher than the sentence, for example the paragraph, or some larger entity such as an episode or topic unit.

Note that the units postulated by Martin (1992: 325, 385) for discourse semantic structure — move, participant, message, message part — are not 'higher than the sentence', and have no postulated internal structure.

As Halliday & Hasan (1976) theorised, on the SFL model, "meaning beyond the clause" is realised by the systems of cohesion, the non-structural resource of the textual metafunction.