Friday, 17 May 2019

Medium

Martin & Rose (2007: 91):
Nuclear relations within the clause
To set the scene for exploring nuclear relations, we first need to discuss a few of the semantic patterns within the clause described by Halliday (1994/2004). The essential experiential pattern is that people and things participate in a process. In Halliday’s terms the core participant in the process is known as its Medium, ‘without which there would be no process’. Here are some familiar examples:

Blogger Comments:

[1] To be clear, Martin's (1992) model of 'nuclear relations' is Halliday's ergative model of clause transitivity, misunderstood, and relocated from lexicogrammar to discourse semantics.  See the clarifying critiques here.

[2] To be clear, the subtitle of this publication is Meaning Beyond The Clause.  Martin's model of nuclear relations is concerned with the realisation of meaning as wording — within the clause.

[3] To be clear, 'people and things' are realised at the rank of group, not clause.

[4] To be clear, the Medium is the participant through which the Process is actualised (Halliday & Matthiessen 2014: 336).  The Medium is not obligatory in medio-receptive clauses like you were seen, they were told etc., or location-receptive clauses like this bed hasn't been slept in.

[5] To be clear, the mood Adjuncts even and never do not serve any experiential function, let alone Process.

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