Misrepresenting Their Nuclear Relations Analysis

Martin & Rose (2007: 104-5):

 

 

The analysis displays the following patterns…

• Relative centrality, agency and ‘voice’ of people are explicitly displayed in the analysis. The narrator is the predominant Medium but never an Agent. The policemen act on and talk to Leonard, but his actions and locutions affect nobody. 

• In the peripheral column, the chair stands out as the location of torture.

Blogger Comments:

[1] To be clear, the nuclear relations analysis, even when properly understood, merely labels elements of clause structure in terms of their degree of participation in the Process.  The actual rôles undertaken by participants are identified by the ergative functions (Medium, Agent, etc.) that Martin & Rose have inconsistently rebranded as nuclear, marginal, etc.

[2] To be clear, Martin & Rose have classified Agent as marginal in the exposition of "their" theory, but classified it as nuclear in their text analysis.  Moreover, all but two of the Agents were inserted into the text by Martin & Rose, thereby misrepresenting the text.

[3] To be clear, 'voice' is a feature of clauses and verbal groups, not 'people', and it serves a textual function, not an experiential function.  Moreover, 'voice' is not explicitly displayed in the analysis, and is actually hidden by the omission of the Finite element of the verbal groups serving as Processes (e.g. abused instead of was abused, slapped around instead of was slapped around, and 11 more).

[4] To be clear, Martin & Rose classify the narrator as Medium even when he construes himself as Beneficiary (the Receiver of the verbal Processes was told (twice) and was questioned) and Location (orientation) of the behavioural Process was screamed.

[5] To be clear, there are no locutions (verbal projections) in the text, by the narrator or anyone else.

[6] To be clear, the peripherality of the circumstances featuring the chair merely construes it as an indirect participant in various Processes. It is the transitivity of the clause that construes the Locations of the Processes:

• in a chair as the Location of the Process sit
• off the chair as the Location of the Process jumped
• on the chair as the Location of the Process put (back)
• through the chair as the Location of the Process handcuffed.