Nominal Group Qualifiers?

Beatriz Quiroz asked on Sysfling on 12 Apr at 5:24:

How would you analyse the underlined element in the following English nominal groups:

The year 1920
My friend John
captain Ahab
his wife Sarah
The city of Rome

Would they all be Qualifiers?

Blogger Comments:

Just the first and last.

But, even in IFG4 (p391):

Other than this type [nominal group as Attribute], Epithets and Classifiers do not normally function as Head.

Paratactic Elaborating Nominal Group Complex

Predicated Theme vs Postposed Subject

Note that both clauses have the same interpersonal structure, though the Subject is realised by a nominal group in the predicated Theme clause, but by an elaborating paratactic nominal group complex in the postposed Subject clause.

Note also that the predicated Theme clause is encoding (the Value is encoded by reference to the Token your good luck), whereas the postposed Subject clause is decoding (the Token is decoded by reference to the Value your good luck).

The Materiality Of Birth

Once upon a time, there was a girl and the girl had a shadow. The two were connected, tethered together. And the girl ate, her food was given to her warm and tasty. But when the shadow was hungry, he had to eat rabbit raw and bloody. On Christmas, the girl received wonderful toys; soft and cushy. But the shadow's toys were so sharp and cold they sliced through her fingers when she tried to play with them. The girl met a handsome prince and fell in love. But the shadow at that same time had Abraham, it didn't matter if she loved him or not. He was tethered to the girl's prince after all. Then the girl had her first child, a beautiful baby girl. But the shadow, she gave birth to a little monster. Umbrae was born laughing. The girl had a second child, a boy this time. They had to cut her open and take him from her belly. The shadow had to do it all herself. She named him Pluto, he was born to love fire. So you see, the shadow hated the girl so much for so long until one day the shadow realised she was being tested by God.

Reasoning:

1. In the first clause, the question is whether a beautiful baby girl is a depictive Attribute or a unit in a nominal group complex. Viewed 'from above', both interpretations construe an elaborating relation between her first child and a beautiful baby girl. However, viewed 'from below', a beautiful baby girl is realised by its own tone group, with the same tone choice as the preceding tone group (tone concord). This is a feature of paratactic elaboration (apposition), but not of depictive Attributes.

2. In the second clause, the question is how to analyse the shadow. In this instance, there is no possible tone concord with she, so the two do not form an elaborating paratactic nominal group complex, and so the shadow is a distinct clause element. The clue here is textual. Whatever its experiential function, the shadow is realised by its own tone group, making it the focus of New information, switching the focus of attention from the girl. Similarly, if the shadow is a distinct clause element, then it must function as marked Theme, since the Subject/Actor is she. The simplest explanation comes from taking the view 'from roundabout' and interpreting the shadow as agnate to such Matter circumstances as regarding the shadow, as for the shadow etc.

3. In the third clause, the question is whether open is the particle of a phrasal verb or a resultative Attribute. Viewed 'from above', both interpretations construe open as the result of cut, and viewed 'from roundabout', both interpretations have the same modal structure, since the particle of a phrasal verb and a resultative Attribute both serve as Adjunct. In this instance, the view 'from below', however, favours a resultative Attribute interpretation, since the particle of a phrasal verb is either a preposition or an adverb (Halliday & Matthiessen 2014: 413), whereas open is an adjective, which is a typical realisation of a resultative Attribute.

Theme Identification vs Theme Predication

See Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 94, 124, 198).

Discontinuous Nominal Group Complex (The Soldiers He Smiled At … Most Of 'Em)

“Good morning, good morning!” the General said

When we met him last week on our way to the line.

Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of 'em dead,

And we're cursing his staff for incompetent swine.

“He's a cheery old card,” grunted Harry to Jack

As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.

But he did for them both by his plan of attack.

The nominal group most of 'em elaborates the the nominal group the soldiers he smiled at by clarifying it. The interdependency relation is paratactic, because either nominal group can serve as Carrier in its own right.

Again, the motivation is textual, not just in conforming to the rhythm of the poem, but because the elaborating nominal group in this position forms a single information unit, with most as the focus of New. But this has the added effect of making dead the focus of New in a following one-word information unit. In this way the poet makes his point by giving maximum textual prominence to both most and dead, together with the previous focus smiled at within the Theme.

// 1 ‸ Now the / soldiers he / smiled at are // 1 most of them // 1 dead //