Misapplying Their Own Model Of Nuclear Relations [2]

Martin & Rose (2007: 105-6):

Some texts or text phases consist of activities but do not construe activity sequences; rather their primary function is classifying and describing. An example is the behaviour phase of the Goannas report above. A nuclear and activity analysis for this phase is displayed in Table 3.5. The central column includes both Process and Range:class/part. The nuclear column to the left includes both Agent in effective clauses and Medium in non-effective clauses, while the nuclear column to the right includes Range:entity/quality. 

Blogger Comments:

[1] To be clear, the claim here is that the text in question construes activities, but does not construe activity sequences, despite the fact that the text consists of a sequence of activities, and despite the fact that Martin & Rose analyse the taxonomic relations between 'central' elements of different activities, as they do for activity sequences.

[2] For clarification, the text is:

All goannas are daytime hunters, They run, climb and swim well. Goannas hunt small mammals, birds and other reptiles, They also eat dead animals. Smaller goannas eat insects, spiders and worms. Male goannas fight with each other in the breeding season. Females lay between two and twelve eggs.

[3] To be clear, the 'central' column omits the attributive Process of the first 'activity' are, and includes the Manner circumstance well, which in the authors' scheme is peripheral (in the verbal group).  Moreover, it makes false claims about the relations between its elements, specifically that:

• there is a part-whole relation between daytime hunters and run, climb and swim well;
• there is a part-whole relation between run, climb and swim well and hunt;
• the material Processes hunt and eat are co-hyponyms of 'behaviour';
• the material Processes eat and fight are co-hyponyms of 'behaviour';
• the material Processes fight and lay are co-hyponyms of 'behaviour'.

[4] To be clear, the agency of the clause, effective or middle, was not presented as a factor in determining the nuclearity of elements.  Moreover, in the authors' own scheme (p95), Agents (Goannas, They, Smaller goannas, Females) are marginal, not nuclear.

[5] To be clear, there are no instances of Range:entity/quality in the the right-hand 'nuclear' column.  As the analysis below shows, the only element that is not a Medium is the Accompaniment circumstance, which, on the authors' scheme, is peripheral, not nuclear.

All goannas	are	daytime hunters
Medium Carrier	Process	Range Attribute
nuclear	central	central

They	run, climb and swim	well
Medium Actor	Process	Manner: quality
nuclear	central	peripheral

Goannas	hunt	small mammals, birds and other reptiles
Agent Actor	Process	Medium Goal
marginal	central	nuclear

They	also	eat	dead animals
Agent Actor		Process	Medium Goal
marginal		central	nuclear

Smaller goannas	eat	insects, spiders and worms
Agent Actor	Process	Medium Goal
marginal	central	nuclear

Male goannas	fight	with each other	in the breeding season
Medium Actor	Process	Accompaniment: comitative	Location
nuclear	central	peripheral	peripheral

Females	lay	between two and twelve eggs
Agent Actor	Process	Medium Goal
marginal	central	nuclear

Ignoring all the misunderstandings and inconsistencies in the authors' nuclear relations model, as previously identified, if they had analysed the text using their own model, it would have looked as follows:

marginal	central	nuclear	peripheral
	are	All goannas
	daytime hunters
	run, climb and swim	They	well
Goannas	hunt	small mammals, birds and other reptiles
They	eat	dead animals
Smaller goannas	eat	insects, spiders and worms
	fight	Male goannas	with each other
			in the breeding season
Females	lay	between two and twelve eggs