Martin & Rose (2007: 4-5):
Realisation is a kind of re-coding like the mapping of hardware through software to the images and words we see on the screen on our computers. Another way of thinking about this is symbolisation. An example is the flag of the new democratic South Africa…
So we have the colours of the flag symbolising ‘diverse elements within South African society’, and their convergence symbolising ‘the road ahead in unity’. Symbolising is an important aspect of realisation, since grammar both symbolises and encodes discourse, just as discourse both symbolises and encodes social activity. The concept of realisation embodies the meanings of 'symbolising’, ‘encoding’, ‘expressing’, ‘manifesting’ and so on.
Blogger Comments:
[1] Symbolisation is neither 'another way of thinking about' realisation, nor 'an important aspect of realisation'. Realisation is the relation between two levels of symbolic abstraction.
[2] This misunderstands the relation between symbolising (realising) and encoding. Symbolising (realising) is the relation between two levels of symbolic abstraction, lower Token and higher Value. In such a relation, there are two directions of coding, encoding and decoding, not merely encoding.
When the direction of coding is construed as encoding, the identifying relation between the levels encodes the Value by reference to the Token. In the case of lexicogrammar and semantics, the identity encodes semantic values by reference to lexicogrammatical tokens:
On the other hand, when the direction of coding is construed as decoding, the identifying relation between the levels decodes the Token by reference to the Value. In the case of lexicogrammar and semantics, the identity decodes lexicogrammatical tokens by reference to semantic values:
When the direction of coding is construed as encoding, the identifying relation between the levels encodes the Value by reference to the Token. In the case of lexicogrammar and semantics, the identity encodes semantic values by reference to lexicogrammatical tokens:
lexicogrammar (wording)
|
realises
|
semantics (meaning)
|
Identifier Token
|
Process: relational
|
Identified Value
|
On the other hand, when the direction of coding is construed as decoding, the identifying relation between the levels decodes the Token by reference to the Value. In the case of lexicogrammar and semantics, the identity decodes lexicogrammatical tokens by reference to semantic values:
lexicogrammar (wording)
|
realises
|
semantics (meaning)
|
Identified Token
|
Process: relational
|
Identifier Value
|
In short, interstratal relations involve decoding just as much as encoding. Semantics (meaning) is decoded by reference to context (culture) just as much as context (culture) is encoded by reference to semantics (meaning).
[3] 'Manifesting' is not synonymous with 'realising', since it includes the notion of 'showing', and thus belongs to a different sub-type of identifying process, distinct from the 'symbol' subtype to which 'realising' belongs (Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 269).
Thank you for the explanation. Martin does a poor job of explaining most things because he is condescending, patronizing, self-righteous, and plainly arrogant with his insufferable political homiletics disguised as (not particularly clear) grammar. If I need a lesson in political correctness, I will be certain to pick up a newspaper. I don't need his books for that purpose (though in that, and that alone, they are peerless).
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