Transitivity Flashcards
How can headlines differ?
They can differ in terms of participants, processes and circumstances.
Participants: active or passive, they indicate different levels of responsability
Process: different types of actions
Circumstances: how, why, when, where
What is transitivity?
It is the foundation of representation, since it can analyse the same event in different ways. It shows how speakers encode in language their mental picture of reality and how they account for the experience of the world around them.
Why is transitivity important?
The importance of the transitivity system lies in the evaluative slant that can be imposed on a story by juxtaposing processes and participants.
The reader is rarely consciously aware of this form of grammatical evaluation; the veracity of the sentence is intact, the utterance is therefore unchallenged and as a result is reinforced.
How does the tranitivity system work?
It has participants (who/whom), processes (“does what”) and circumstances (how, why, when, where)
Who can the Subject (who) be?
- Agent -> animated object (Obama warns…)
- Force -> inanimated object (Intelligence shows…)
- Experiencer -> animated object, for states, feelings, thoughts (White House fears…)
What are the types of processes?
material;
relational;
mental;
verbal;
behavioural;
existential.
What’s the difference between the material and the relational process?
In the material process the subject is presented as actor, therefore responsible for his/her actions.
In the relational process the subject is assigned a quality (no responsibility)
Apply transitivity analysis to this headline: “Israeli Tank Kills 3 Militants in Gaza”
It is a Pro-Palestinian headline.
Israel named as perpetrator; Palestinians (“Militants”) named as victims; described in active voice.
Apply transitivity analysis to this headline: “Israeli Girl Killed, Fueling Cycle of Violence”
Palestinian not named as perpetrator; killing described in passive voice.
