Some Aspects of the Systemic Functional Model in Text Analysis

Abstract

The article presents some aspects of text explanation in the systemic functional model of language. In the systemic functional model text is conceived as a semantic unit created in the process of selection and realization of meaningful choices encoded in words and structures. This implies that in order to uncover what types of meanings are being encoded in the text one has to take into account the lexico-grammatical patterns which realize it. The article treats some of the possibilities for the application of this model in a comparative text analysis involving texts in different languages. As an illustration it presents a comparison of some aspects of the experiential function of two presidential speeches, one in English and one in Slovene. The comparison focuses on the distribution of different process types in both texts.

Transitivity Analysis on Framing in the Online News Articles

“…The Most Participant Used in the Texts Plemenitas (2004) stated that 'agents' or participants are interpreted as the function which typically has the power to determine whether or not the process will occur or in other words, it is the controller of the process (p.35). Halliday (1994) earlier has mentioned that Transitivity also features of causation which the process comes to exist.…”

“…As it has been explained before, the actions which are involved in the texts mostly are caused by the function of the texts which are giving the actual descriptions about the match. Plemenitas (2004) assumed that actors are 'agents as the real instigators or controllers of the process' (p.35). In other words, actors are participants which are active in determining the process, which is the Material process and the using of actors supports the texts to give information about "who is actively involved" in the case.…”