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Dersss

Chapter 5.2 discusses transitivity in language, focusing on how verbs categorize processes and participants, influencing sentence structure and meaning. It outlines various types of processes, including material, mental, relational, and verbal, and defines the roles of participants such as Actor, Senser, and Carrier. The chapter emphasizes the complexity of transitivity and its impact on grammatical and semantic relationships in language.

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3 views5 pages

Dersss

Chapter 5.2 discusses transitivity in language, focusing on how verbs categorize processes and participants, influencing sentence structure and meaning. It outlines various types of processes, including material, mental, relational, and verbal, and defines the roles of participants such as Actor, Senser, and Carrier. The chapter emphasizes the complexity of transitivity and its impact on grammatical and semantic relationships in language.

Uploaded by

husey.novachinara
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Summary of Chapter 5.

2: Transitivity: Processes
and Participants
Transitivity in language refers to how verbs interact
with their arguments, particularly focusing on the
processes described by verbs and the participants
involved in those processes. It categorizes verbs based
on whether they require objects (transitive) or not
(intransitive) and examines how these choices affect
sentence structure and meaning.

Key Concepts

1. Processes: Types of actions or states expressed by


verbs, such as:
• Material Processes: Physical actions (e.g., “She
kicked the ball”).
• Mental Processes: Internal experiences (e.g., “He
thinks about the future”).
• Relational Processes: Relationships between
entities (e.g., “The sky is blue”).
• Verbal Processes: Actions of saying (e.g., “She said
hello”).
• Behavioral Processes: Human behaviors (e.g., “He
laughed”).
• Existential Processes: Existence of entities (e.g.,
“There is a cat”).
2. Participants: The entities involved in the processes,
typically categorized as:
• Actor: The doer of an action in material processes.
• Senser: The experiencer in mental processes.
• Goal: The entity affected by the action.
• Carrier: The entity to which an attribute is ascribed
in relational processes.
• Sayer: The one expressing a message in verbal
processes.
• Receiver: The participant receiving the message.
3. Transitivity: A system that describes how different
verbs categorize these processes and participants. It
influences the complexity and structure of sentences,
determining how participants are marked and their
roles within the action or state described.

By analyzing transitivity, we gain insights into the


grammatical and semantic relationships in language,
enhancing our understanding of how meaning is
constructed.

Chapter 5.2 explores transitivity, focusing on how


various processes shape participant roles in clauses. It
emphasizes a systematic approach to categorizing verbs
beyond traditional definitions.

5.2.1: Material Processes


Material processes involve physical actions. The Actor
(doer) performs an action on the Goal (affected entity).

• Example: In “The chef cooked the meal,” “the chef”


is the Actor, and “the meal” is the Goal.
These processes are split into:
• Creative Processes: Introducing new Goals.
• Example: “I’ve made a sculpture.”
• Transformative Processes: Acting on existing Goals.
• Example: “She never eats Christmas pudding.”

Passive constructions shift focus from the Actor to the


Goal.

• Example: “The meal was cooked by the chef.”

5.2.2: Mental Processes


Mental processes focus on internal activities like
thinking or feeling. Here, the Senser (experiencer)
interacts with the Phenomenon (object of thought).

• Example: In “She loves chocolate,” “she” is the


Senser, and “chocolate” is the Phenomenon.
Key distinctions include:
• Participants: Always involve humans, while material
processes can include inanimate entities.
• Subcategories: Include perceptive (e.g., “He saw
the sunrise”), emotive (e.g., “They feared the storm”),
cognitive (e.g., “She knows the answer”), and
desiderative processes (e.g., “He wants a bike”).

5.2.3: Relational Processes


Relational processes define relationships between
entities:

• Attributive: Assign qualities.


• Example: “This bread is stale.” (Here, “this bread”
is the Carrier, and “stale” is the Attribute.)
• Identifying: Equate entities.
• Example: “His objective was the church.” (Both
phrases refer to the same entity.)

Identifying processes allow for reversibility.

• Example: “The church was his objective.”

5.2.4: Verbal Processes


Verbal processes represent actions of saying, with
participants including the Sayer (speaker), Receiver
(listener), and Target (content).

• Example: In “The teacher explained the lesson,”


“the teacher” is the Sayer, and “the lesson” is the
Target.
These processes can project messages as independent
clauses.
• Example: “She said, ‘I’ll be late.’”

5.2.5: Other Process Types

• Behavioral Processes: Combine mental and physical


actions.
• Example: “He stared at the stars.”
• Existential Processes: Indicate existence.
• Example: “There was a ramp.”

The chapter also addresses oblique participants (e.g.,


“She baked a cake for her friend”), circumstantial
elements (e.g., time, place), and highlights variations
in transitivity across different contexts,
demonstrating the complexity of language use.

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