Realisation works somewhat differently in the two directions. In the encoding view, it is an activation of some possible choice at the next lower level: thus in the production of an utterance, context activates meaning, meaning activates wording. By contrast, in the reception of the utterance, realisation is construal of the relevant choice at the higher level: thus in decoding an utterance, the choice in wording construes meaning, the choice in meaning construes context. (Hasan, 2010: 12).
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If we turn SFL Theory back on itself, 'realisation' is an intensive identifying process that relates lower and higher levels of symbolic abstraction. Applied to the stratification hierarchy
- wording (Token) realises (Process) meaning (Value);
- meaning (Token) realises (Process) context (Value).
Identifying processes have two directions of coding: encoding and decoding:
- in encoding, the identity encodes the Value by reference to the Token;
- in decoding, the identity decodes the Token by reference to the Value.
Applied to the stratification hierarchy, in encoding
- the identity encodes meaning by reference to wording;
- the identity encodes context by reference to meaning.
Applied to the stratification hierarchy, in decoding
- the identity decodes wording by reference to meaning;
- the identity decodes meaning by reference to context.
However, Hasan interprets encoding as higher level (Value) activates lower level (Token)
- context activates meaning;
- meaning activates wording.
and interprets decoding as lower level (Token) construes higher level (Value)
- wording construes meaning;
- meaning construes context.
The key problem with Hasan's interpretation is that neither 'activate' nor 'construe' serves as an intensive identifying process, and so neither can serve as a 'direction' of the intensive identifying process 'realise'.
'Activate' can be interpreted as either a material process or a qualitative attributive process ('make active'), and 'construe' here serves as a metaphorical mental process, with the lower level as Senser and the higher level as Phenomenon (which has the effect of assigning consciousness to the lower level in each case).
Importantly, while 'activate' is inconsistent with the principle on which the stratal hierarchy is founded, 'construe' is not, though it is not synonymous with 'realise'. With 'construe', the claim is the lower level 'intellectually constructs' the higher level. That is, meaning is intellectually constructed by wording, and context is intellectually constructed by meaning.
A further problem is the proposed one-to-one association of encoding with production and decoding with reception, since decoding and encoding are involved in both production and reception
- wording is decoded by reference to meaning (meaning identifies wording);
- meaning is encoded by reference to wording (wording identifies meaning).
Both the speaker and the listener are simultaneously decoding wordings by reference to meanings and encoding meanings by reference to wordings in a speech event.
