Friday 28 June 2013

Predicated Theme: Encoding Identifying Clause

It
is
John
that
I
love
Theme
Rheme
Theme
Rheme
Theme
Rheme


New
Given
Sub-
Finite
Complement
-ject
Val-
Process
Token/Identifier
-ue/Identified
Head/Thing


Postmodifier/Qualifier

For the textual and interpersonal analyses, see Halliday & Matthiessen (2004: 97, 157).
For the experiential analysis, the reasoning is as follows:
  • for Token-Value structure, compare the agnate clause: John represents the one that I love where John functions as (the less abstract) Token (see Halliday & Matthiessen 2004: 231);
  • for Identifier-Identified structure, consider the probe: Which represents the one that I love?; that is, the one that I love is identified by John, so John functions as the Identifier (see Halliday & Matthiessen 2004: 228).  Also, in the unmarked case, the Identifier conflates with the New information, as it does here (Halliday & Matthiessen 2004: 229).
The conflation of Token/Identifier and Value/Identified occurs in encoding identifying clauses.  In such clauses, the identity encodes the Value by reference to the Token, so in this clause, the identity encodes it…that I love by reference to John (see Halliday & Matthiessen (2004: 230).

Saturday 1 June 2013

Complement Realised As Prepositional Phrase


the only time the ceremony has been interrupted in the last 700 years
was 
during the Second World War
Value/Location
Process
Token/Location
Subject
Finite
Complement


Reasoning:

If 'a Complement is an element within the Residue that has the potential of being Subject but is not' (Halliday & Matthiessen 2004: 122), and 'an Adjunct is an element that has not got the potential of being Subject' (op cit: 123), then the 'circumstance as participant' during the Second World War functions as Complement, not Adjunct, despite the fact that a Complement 'is typically realised by a nominal group' (ibid), since it has the potential of being Subject, as the following agnate clause demonstrates:
during the Second World War was the only time the ceremony has been interrupted in the last 700 years (wasn't it?)

during the Second World War
was 
the only time the ceremony has been interrupted in the last 700 years
Token/Location
Process
Value/Location
Subject
Finite
Complement


See also Fig. 5-26 (op cit: 244).