Misconstruing Ideational Semantics As Ideational Context (Field)

Martin & Rose (2007: 307):

Distinctive sequences implicate distinctive events, linked by expectations derived from participation in a field:

They posed for pictures together

signed autographs

compared callouses on their fingertips

Vincent Lingiari, a Gurindji elder, led his people off the cattle station

They subsequently sent a petition to the Governor-General

And events implicate distinct participants, arranged in relation to one another according to the classifications and compositions of a given field, for example, blues guitarists and their songs ...

blues guitarists

Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan

SRV set list (partial)

Texas Flood, Pride and Joy, Riviera Paradise, Crossfire, Couldn't Stand the Weather, Goin' Down, Voodoo Chile, Sweet Home Chicago

... vs prospective mates bearing gifts:

mates

the prime minister Gough Whitlam/Vincent Lingiari

important White men/us Aboriginals

White men, White/Aboriginals, Black

gifts

land, country; cattle, horses, bores, axes, wire

Blogger Comments:

[1] To be clear, in terms of SFL Theory, here Martin & Rose misconstrue the stratum of semantics as the stratum of context, mistaking ideational meaning (sequence and figures) of a text for its cultural field.

In terms of the authors' own model, Martin & Rose misconstrue their stratum of discourse semantics as their stratum of register, mistaking experiential language (activity sequences) for ideational context (field).

[2] And again, in terms of SFL Theory, here Martin & Rose misconstrue the stratum of semantics as the stratum of context, mistaking ideational meaning (participants) of a text for its cultural field.

And again, in terms of the authors' own model, Martin & Rose misconstrue their stratum of discourse semantics as their stratum of register, mistaking experiential language (participant taxonomies) for ideational context (field).