The textual metafunction

"The textual metafunction creates discourse"

"Of the various structures which, when mapped on to each other, make up a clause, we will consider first
the one which gives the clause its character as a message. This is known as thematic structure.”

We may assume that in all languages the clause has the character of a message: it has some form of
organization giving it the status of a communicative event. But there are different ways in which this may
be achieved. In English, as in many other languages, the clause is organized as a message by having a
special status assigned to one part of it. One element in the clause is enunciated as the theme; this then
combines with the remainder so that the two parts together constitute a message." (Halliday, 1999)

 creates discourse
 clause as message
 the linguistic expression of the other two metafunctions (ideational, interpersonal)
 theme vs. rheme

1. The chef is preparing dinner in the kitchen.

2. Dinner is being prepared in the kitchen.
3. In the kitchen the chef is preparing dinner.
4. In the kitchen dinner is being prepared by the chef.

Definitions of Theme.

a) Think of the main characteristics of THEME:

Theme in declarative, interrogative and imperative clauses

b) Read the following clauses and decide if their themes are marked or unmarked

a. The two Indians stood waiting.

b. Nick and his father went into the stern of the boat.
c. Oh, you’re a great man.
d. No, I think it’s pretty easy.
e. There was no need of that.
f. Are you interested in syntax?
g. Where are we going?
h. Wake me up before the coffee break.
i. Don’t disturb me while I’m taking a nap.
j. Let’s have a look at this recipe.
k. Then, in the name of goodness, why does she bother?
l. If it's true that contented cows give more milk, why shouldn't happy ball players produce more base
hits?
m. Would you like a cup of tea?
n. Of course it’s an accident.
o. Across the bay they found the other boat.

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p. The Indian who was rowing them was working very hard.
q. But I will have some photographs taken.
r. In February 1979 he was awarded the George Cross posthumously.

c) Complete the definitions

Theme Rheme
 point of 1________________ as message.  Non-Theme – where the presentation
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_______ after the point of departure; what is
presented in the local context set up by Theme.
 2
__________position in the clause  position 4____________initial position
(table from Martin et al)

Theme–Rheme analysis of some texts:

a) Read the following text and its analysis.

To get a real sense of what Theme systems contribute to meaning, we need to examine a longer piece of
text. The following passage is from The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell

(a) Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the
search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. (b) These passions, like great
winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to
the very verge of despair.

(c) I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy — ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed
all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. (d) I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness — that
terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold
unfathomable lifeless abyss. (e) I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a
mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. (f) This is what
I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what — at last — I have found.

(g) With equal passion I have sought knowledge. (h) I have wished to understand the hearts of men. (i) I
have wished to know why the stars shine .... (j) A little of this, but not much, I have achieved..

(k) Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. (l) But always pity
brought me back to earth. (m) Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. (n) Children in famine,
victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of
loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. (o) I long to alleviate the evil,
but I cannot, and I too suffer.

(p) This has been my life. (q) I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were
offered me.

In the first three paragraphs, notice how Russell directs our attention through his consistent use of theme in
each paragraph, usually either Three/These passions or I. That technique allows us to attend especially
carefully to the rheme in each sentence, where his new information is.

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In the fourth paragraph, notice the dramatic shift in Russell's use of thematic structure. Gone are the
sentences with I as their themes. Here instead Russell wants us to focus on a different set of ideas, ideas
that are much more important than he himself. So he puts those ideas in thematic position at the beginning
of sentence (l), (m), and especially (n). By shifting theme in those sentences, Russell can direct our
attention to the ideas that he most wants to express, namely that some issues (like human suffering)
transcend the needs of the individual.

As we can see from these few examples, Theme systems can create a "texture" in the fabric of conversation
or written language; they guide our point of view as we perceive and interpret the flow of information in
the discourse. Theme systems help us follow the "thread of discourse" and in so doing provide cohesion
within language.

b) Identify Theme and Rheme in the following texts and try to provide and accurate explanation for
their choices.

(1)Parts of Northern Britain were brought to a standstill by heavy snow and ice yesterday with roads closed
and dangerous driving conditions.

Scotland was worst hit. Two hundred schools were closed in Aberdeenshire, where roads were impassable,
and more than seven inches of snow was recorded at Aberdeen airport.

An injured climber survived 18 hours in sub-zero temperatures clinging to an ice-covered ledge after
falling 400ft in Glencoe. Lawrence Reeve, 40, a computer operator from Chessington, Surrey, was
recovering in hospital yesterday after suffering severe facial injuries, a punctured lung and frostbite.

The lone walker was making his way along a ridge when he fell into Glen Cam, striking a boulder which
saved him from a further drop of 300ft.

Newspaper article (from The Daily Telegraph, Feb 10, 1999)

(2)Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by
himself under the name of Sanders. One day when he was out walking, he came to an open place in the
middle of the forest and in the middle of this place was a very large oak tree and from the top of the
tree there came a large buzzing noise.

Winnie-the-Pooh sat down at the foot of the tree, put his head between his paws and began to think.
First of all, he said to himself: "That buzzing noise means something. You don’t get a buzzing noise like
that, just buzzing and buzzing, without its meaning something. If there’s a buzzing noise, somebody’s
making a buzzing noise and the only reason for making a buzzing noise that I know of is because you’re a
bee."

Then he thought for another long time and said: "And the only reason for being a bee that I know of is
making honey." And then he got up, and said: "And the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat
it." So he began to climb the tree.

Theme Rheme
Parts of Northern Britain were brought to a standstill by heavy snow and ice yesterday
with roads closed and dangerous driving conditions.

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Theme Rheme
Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself
last Friday under the name of Sanders.

COMPULSORY READING

 Module 28- Angela Downing & Philip Locke. English Grammar a University Course. 2nd Edition.
 Chapter 4 and 5. The functional analysis of English: A Hallidayan Approach. Thomas Bloor& Meryl
Bloor

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Textual cohesion

As we already mentioned, an authentic translation involves more than just translating sentences, however
grammatically accurate. One has also to bear in mind the interaction between these sentences, and the semantic
and stylistic implications of this interaction.
Besides the thematic and information structure of a text, another important element is textual cohesion.
Cohesion can be defined as the property that distinguishes a sequence of sentences that form a discourse from a
random sequence of sentences. It is a series of lexical, grammatical and other relations which provide links
between the various parts of a text. In studying cohesion we should make a distinction between “linguistic
cohesion” and “pragmatic cohesion” or coherence.

Consider the following exchanges:

(a)John likes Helen.

(b)She, however hates him.

(c)Do you have coffee to go?

(d)Cream and sugar?

In the first case the link between (a) and (b) is provided by pronominalization, which is a purely linguistic
link; in the second, the connection between (c) and (d) depends on knowledge and experience of the real
world.

Linguistic presupposition and pragmatic presupposition differ in a similar manner. While in linguistic
presupposition the information can be extracted from the linguistic context, in the case of pragmatic
presupposition, the information is deduced from outside the linguistic context.

Example:

John gave his brother two books.

Linguistic presupposition: John has a brother.

Possible pragmatic presupposition: John’s brother likes books.

We shall start from linguistic cohesion.

 Halliday and Hasan have identified five kinds of cohesive devices in English:

Reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction and lexical cohesion

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 Reference

The term reference is traditionally used in semantics to define the relationship between a word and what it
points to in the real world, but in Halliday and Hasan’s model it simply refers to the relationship between two
linguistic expressions.

In the textual sense, though, reference occurs when the reader/listener has to retrieve the identity of what is
being talked about by referring to another expression in the same context.

References to the “shared world” outside a text are called exophoric references.

References to elements in the text are called endophoric references.

 Only the second ones are purely cohesive, although both of them are important to create texture.
There are times when the reference is not explicit in the text itself, but it is obvious to those in a particular
situation. This is called exophoric reference.

For he's a jolly good fellow

And so say all of us.

As outsiders, we don’t know who the he is, but, most likely, the people involved in the celebration are aware of
the he that is being referred to, and therefore, can find texture in the sentences.

Another type of reference relation that is not strictly textual is co-reference.

A chain of co-referential items such as Mrs Thatcher → the Prime Minister → The Iron Lady → Maggie
reveals that co-reference is not strictly a linguistic feature but depends on real-world knowledge. You need some
external information to realize that the terms refer to the same person.

At the level of textual co-reference, there is a continuum of cohesive elements that can be used for referring
back to an entity already mentioned. This continuum goes from full repetition to pronominal reference, through
synonym, superordinate and general word.

I saw a boy in the garden. The boy (repetition) was climbing a tree. I was worried about the child
(superordinate).The poor lad (synonym) was obviously not up to it. The idiot (general word) was going to fall if
he (pronoun) didn’t take care.

Patterns of reference can vary considerably both within and across languages. Within the same language, text
type seems to be an important factor in determining the choice of pattern.

Each language has general preferences for some patterns of reference as well as specific references according
to text type.

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Endophoric referencing can be divided into three areas: anaphoric, cataphoric, and esphoric.
Anaphoric refers to any reference that “points backwards” to previously mentioned information in text.
Cataphoric refers to any reference that “points forward” to information that will be presented later in the text.
Esphoric is any reference within the same nominal group or phrase, a NP that “is formally definite but in
fact realizes presenting rather than presuming reference" (pseudo-definite NP in unmarked existential
constructions).

Vaguely, he saw the form of a man.

In a room outside the court he talked with the French prosecuting

counsel.

For cohesion purposes, anaphoric referencing is the most relevant as it “provides a link with a preceding
portion of the text”.

Functionally speaking, there are three main types of cohesive references: personal, demonstrative, and
comparative.

Personal reference keeps track of function through the speech situation using noun pronouns like “he, him, she,
her”, etc. and possessive determiners like “mine, yours, his, hers”, etc.

All languages have certain linguistic items which they use as a reference in the textual sense.
In English the most common are personal pronouns (subject and object), determiners and possessives. Third
person pronouns are often used to refer back, and sometimes forward, to a participant that has already been
introduced or will be introduced into the discourse.

The prime minister has resigned. He announced his decision this morning.

Wash and core six cooking apples. Put them into a fireproof dish.

These are both cases of endophoric reference which signals to the reader that he or she needs to look back in the
text to find its meaning.

Unlike English, which tends to rely heavily on pronominal reference in tracing participants, Italian, which
inflects verbs for person and number (like French, Spanish and German), generally seems to prefer lexical
repetition or co-reference.

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Demonstrative reference

Demonstrative reference keeps track of information through location using proximity references like “this,
these, that, those, here, there, then, and the”.

I always drink a lot of beer when I am in England. There are many lovely pubs there.

This is not acceptable.

Comparative reference

Comparative reference keeps track of identity and similarity through indirect references using adjectives like
“same, equal, similar, different, else, better, more”, etc. and adverbs like “so, such, similarly, otherwise, so,
more”, etc.

A similar view is not acceptable.

We did the same.

So they said.

Substitution and ellipsis

Whereas referencing functions to link semantic meanings within text, substitution and ellipsis differ in that they
operate as a linguistic link at the lexicogrammatical level. Substitution and ellipsis are used when “a speaker or
writer wishes to avoid the repetition of a lexical item and draw on one of the grammatical resources of the
language to replace the item”.

Substitution

There are three general ways of substituting in a sentence: nominal, verbal, and clausal. In nominal substitution,
the most typical substitution words are “one and ones” . In verbal substitution, the most common substitute is the
verb “do” which is sometimes used in conjunction with “so” as in “do so”.

Let's go and see the bears. The polar ones are over on that rock.
Did Mary take that letter? She might have done.

In clausal substitution, an entire clause is substituted.

If you’ve seen them so often, you get to know them very well.
I believe so.

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 Everyone thinks he’s guilty. If so, no doubt he’ll resign.
We should recognise him when we see him.
Yes, but supposing not: what do we do?

Ellipsis

Ellipsis (zero substitution) is the omission of elements normally required by the grammar which the
speaker/writer assumes are obvious from the context and therefore need not be raised.

If substitution is replacing one word with another, ellipsis is the absence of that word, "something left unsaid".
Ellipsis requires retrieving specific information that can be found in the preceding text.

There are three types of ellipsis too: nominal, verbal, and clausal.

(a) Do you want to hear another song? I know twelve more [songs]

(b) Sue brought roses and Jackie [brought] lilies.

(c) I ran 5 miles on the first day and 8 on the second

A translator needs only be aware that there are different devices in different languages for creating “texture”.
This has clear implications in practice. Usually what is required is reworking the methods of establishing links to
suit the textual norms of the target language and of each genre.

Discourse markers and conjunctions

A third way of creating cohesion is through discourse markers and conjunctions. Discourse markers are
linguistic elements used by the speaker/writer to ease the interpretation of the text, frequently by signalling a
relationship between segments of the discourse, which is the specific function of conjunctions. They are not a
way of simply joining sentences. Their role in the text is wider that that, because they provide the listener/reader
with information for the interpretation of the utterance; that is why some linguists prefer to describe them as
discourse markers.

Conjunction acts as a cohesive tie between clauses or sections of text in such a way as to demonstrate a
meaningful pattern between them, though conjunctive relations are not tied to any particular sequence in
the expression. Therefore, amongst the cohesion forming devices within text, conjunction is the least directly
identifiable relation.

Conjunctions can be classified according to four main categories: additive, adversative, causal and temporal.

Additive conjunctions act to structurally coordinate or link by adding to the presupposed item and are signalled
through “and, also, too, furthermore, additionally”, etc. Additive conjunctions may also act to negate the
presupposed item and are signalled by “nor, and...not, either, neither”, etc.


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Adversative conjunctions act to indicate “contrary to expectation” and are signalled by “yet, though, only, but,
in fact, rather”, etc.

Causal conjunction expresses “result, reason and purpose” and is signalled by “so, then, for, because, for this
reason, as a result, in this respect, etc.”.

The last most common conjunctive category is temporal and links by signalling sequence or time. Some sample
temporal conjunctive signals are “then, next, after that, next day, until then, at the same time, at this point”, etc.

The use of a conjunction is not the only device for expressing a temporal or causal relation. For instance, in
English a temporal relation may be expressed by means of a verb such as follow or precede, and a causal relation
by verbs such as cause and lead. Moreover, temporal relations are not restricted to sequence in real time, they
may also reflect stages in the text (expressed by first, second, third, etc.)

Examples: time-sequence

After the battle, there was a snowstorm.

They fought a battle. Afterwards, it snowed.
The battle was followed by a snowstorm.

A more comprehensive list of conjunctions could be the following:

Some languages (like Italian) tend to express relations through subordination and complex structures. Others
(like English)prefer to use simpler and shorter structures and present information in relatively small chunks.

Whether a translation has to conform to the source-text pattern of cohesion will depend on its purpose and the
freedom the translator has to reorganize information.

Lexical Cohesion

Lexical cohesion differs from the other cohesive elements in text in that it is non-grammatical. Lexical
cohesion refers to the “cohesive effect achieved by the selection of vocabulary” We could say that it covers any
instance in which the use of a lexical item recalls the sense of an earlier one.

The two basic categories of lexical cohesion are reiteration and collocation.

Reiteration is the repetition of an earlier item, a synonym, a near synonym, a superordinate or a general word,
but it is not the same as personal reference, because it does not necessarily involve the same identity.

After the sequence:

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I saw a boy in the garden. The boy (repetition) was climbing a tree. I was worried about the child
(superordinate). The poor lad (synonym) was obviously not up to it. The idiot (general word) was going to fall
if he (pronoun)didn’t take care.

We could conclude by saying: “Boys can be so silly”. This would be an instance of reiteration, even though the
two items would not be referring to the same individual(s)

As we have already seen, collocation pertains to lexical items that are likely to be found together within the same
text. It occurs when a pair of words are not necessarily dependent upon the same semantic relationship but rather
they tend to occur within the same lexical environment.

Examples

Opposites (man/woman, love/hate, tall/short).

Pairs of words from the same ordered series (days of the week, months, etc.)

Pairs of words from unordered lexical sets, such as meronyms:

part-whole (body/arm, car/wheel)

part-part (hand/finger, mouth/chin)

or

co-hyponyms (black/white, chair/table).

Associations based on a history of co-occurrence (rain, pouring, torrential).

John drove up in his old estate wagon. The car had obviously seen a lot of action. One hubcap was
missing, and the exhaust pipe was nearly eaten up with rust.

Lexical cohesion is not only a relation between pairs of words. It usually operates by means of lexical chains
that run through a text and are linked to each other in various ways.

The notion of lexical cohesion provides the basis for what Halliday and Hasan call instantial meaning.

The importance of this concept for translators is obvious. Lexical chains do not only provide cohesion, they
also determine the sense of each word in a given context.

For example, if it co-occurs with terms such as “universe, stars, galaxy, sun”, the word “earth” must be
interpreted as “planet” and not as “ground”.

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In a target text, it is not always possible to reproduce networks of lexical cohesion which are identical to those
of the source text, for example because the target language lacks a specific item, or because the chain is based on
an idiom that cannot be literally translated. (ex. It was raining cats and dogs and the dogs were barking). In this
case one has to settle for a slightly different meaning or different associations.

Cohesion is also achieved by a variety of devices other than those we have mentioned. These include, for
instance, continuity of tense, consistency of style and punctuation devices like colons and semi-colons which,
like conjunctions indicate how different parts of the text relate to each other.

In the approach to text linguistics by de Beaugrande & Dressler (1981), text, oral or printed, is established as a
communicative occurrence, which has to meet seven standards of textuality. If any of these standards are not
satisfied, the text is considered not to have fulfilled its function and not to be communicative.

Cohesion and coherence are text-centred notions. Cohesion concerns the ways in which the components of the
surface text (the actual words we hear or see) are mutually connected within a sequence. Coherence, on the other
hand, concerns the ways in which the components of the textual world, i.e. the concepts and relations which
underlie the surface text, are relevant to the situation.

The remaining standards of textuality are user-centred, concerning the activity of textual communication by the
producers and receivers of texts:

Intentionality concerns the text producer’s attitude that the set of occurrences should constitute a cohesive and
coherent text instrumental in fulfilling the producer’s intentions.

Acceptability concerns the receiver’s attitude that the set of occurrences should constitute a cohesive and
coherent text having some use or relevance for the receiver.

Informativity concerns the extent to which the occurrences of the text are expected vs. unexpected or known vs.
unknown.

Situationality concerns the factors which make a text relevant to a situation of occurrence.

Intertextuality concerns the factors which make the utilisation of one text dependent upon knowledge of one or
more previously encountered texts.

The above seven standards of textuality are called constitutive principles, in that they define and create textual
communication as well as set the rules for communicating.

There are also at least three regulative principles that control textual communication: the efficiency of a text is
contingent upon its being useful to the participants with a minimum of effort; its effectiveness depends upon
whether it makes a strong impression and has a good potential for fulfilling an aim; and its appropriateness
depends upon whether its own setting is in agreement with the seven standards of textuality.

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Have you seen the latest exhibition at the Art Gallery? Through prints and paintings

from the Edo period to the present, this exhibition presents images of the famous and

infamous men in Japanese literature, poetry and folklore. The exhibition immortalizes

heroic deeds, victorious battles and tragic deaths. If you would like to join a guided tour,

please check the tour times below. Are you bringing a school group? For teacher

resource materials, click here.

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