Transcript Interpersonal meanings

Interpersonal meanings
Language as interaction: the
clause as exchange
Interpersonal Function
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We use language to:
interact with other people;
to establish and maintain relationships;
to influence behaviour;
to express our own point of view;
to elicit or change the point of view of
others.
Interpersonal function has its own system of
meanings: Four basic speech roles as identified
by Halliday and Matthiessen (2004:108):
• giving information
statement
• demanding information
question
• giving goods and services
offer
• demanding goods and services command
Functions associated with particular
grammatical structures:
• Statements by declarative clauses
• Questions by interrogative clauses
• Commands by imperative clauses
• Offers odd one out; not associated with a
specific mood choice.
Interpersonal Function looked at in terms of:
• Mood
• Modality
Mood
• How clauses are structured: Subject and
Finite.
• e.g; They’ve all gone.
• They subject, have is the auxiliary verb:
in functional grammar, this is called the
finite.
• Mood = Subject + Finite
Finite – the first functional element of the
verbal group:
• Did you see him that day?
• Didn’t he come home last night?
• You can imagine his reaction
• What were you doing?
• Someone may have heard the shot.
Subject + Finite also called the mood block:
order and presence of the subject and
finite determine whether or not the mood
of the clause is:
• declarative (realizing a statement)
• interrogative (realizing a question)
• imperative (realizing a command)
Mood block = subject + finite: the rest of the
clause is called the residue.
Mood block can be either side of the subject
+ finite.
• i. Declarative: subject ^ finite:
Tom and Nicole were drinking red wine with their meal
• ii Yes/No Interrogative: finite ^ subject:
Were Tom and Nicole drinking red wine with their meal?
• Iii WH-Interrogative: where the question word (who,
what, which) is the subject: subject^ finite:
Who has taken all the wine?
• Imperative: no subject or finite, residue only:
Drink red wine with your meal
Activity 1
Identify the Subject, Finite and Residue of the following clauses. Write
the mood next to the example.
Example:
Cigarettes are as addictive as heroin or cocaine
Cigarettes
are
as additive as heroin or cocaine
Subject
Finite
Residue
Declarative
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Ask yourself these questions.
When did you have your last cigarette?
Why will you have your next?
Withdrawal symptoms can set in as quickly as 15 minutes later.
• Structure of the Residue:
• Predicator
• Predicator contains the lexical element/s of the verbal group (ie, not
the Finite group. It specifies what’s going on.
That bottle of wine
should
Subject
Finite
Mood block
be chilled
Predicator
Residue
for a few hours
That bottle of wine
Subject
Mood block
be chilled for a few hours
Predicator
Residue
should
Finite
Sometimes, Finite is fused with the predicator: e.g,
smoked, drank, threw
Gerald
threw
Subject
Finite/Predicator
Mood block
his cigarettes into the trash
Residue
Complement
A Complement is typically a participant in the
clause.
Gerald
threw
Subject
Finite/Predicator
Mood Block
his cigarettes
into the trash
Complement
Residue
Adjunct
Another potential constituent of the clause is an
adjunct:
Gerald
threw
Subject
Finite/Predicator
Mood Block
his cigarettes
into the trash
Complement
Adjunct
Residue
Modality
Modality refers to how speakers and writers take up a
position, express an opinion, point of view or make a
judgment. In order to do this, make ‘adjustments’ within
the mood block: strong, weak or middle ground.
Needle exchange programmes could be government
sponsored
Needle exchange programmes must be government
sponsored
• Speakers and writers can take a stand in
relation to both statements and questions
(modalisation) and offers and commands
Activity 2
Highlight examples of modality in the following two extracts:
• 1. The use of harmful substances in pregnancy interferes with a
woman’s ability to support the pregnancy and can even impair
prenatal development. Smoking during pregnancy may raise the risk
of a miscarriage and can sometimes hinder fetal growth by
suppressing women’s appetite. Heavy drinking can also lead to
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, the leading known cause of mental
retardation. Abuse of stronger illicit drugs during pregnancy can
often result in babies born drug dependent.
• (American Council for Drug Education (1999))
• 2. It is vital that women be informed about the possible dangers of
drinking and smoking during pregnancy. Women must be told that if
they drink or smoke during pregnancy, the development of their
babies will almost certainly suffer.
a) Which text is more opinionated?
b) How does the writer use modality in
extract 1? Why?
c) How does the writer use modality in
extract 2? Why?