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Vasemaca Ledua Alifereti


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School of Foreign Languages and Literatures

Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

Analyzing Verticality in the University of the South Pacific Students'Argumentative Writing Texts : a Systemic Functional Perspective

December, 2013

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PhD

Foreign Languages and Literatures

Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

Analyzing Verticality in the University of the South Pacific Students'Argumentative Writing Texts: a Systemic Functional Perspective

December, 2013

Vasemaca Ledua Alifereti23 rd June, 2014

P.O. Box 10928, Laucala Beach, Nasinu

Fiji Islands

6 Kabi Place, Nasinu, Fiji Islands

Analyzing Verticality in the University of the South Pacific (USP) students’

argumentative writing texts: a Systemic Functional perspective

Dissertation submitted to

Tsinghua University

in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

In Foreign Languages and Literatures

By


Dissertation Supervisor : Professor Zhongshe Lu

December, 2013

1

2

3

Abstract

II

Abstract

Writing is a skill that is difficult to acquire, especially for NNE students studying

at tertiary institutions. This claim is supported by research findings on the status of

academic writing. Reports indicate most students fail to complete their studies in

Europe, USA and in Australia, as a result of poor academic writing skills (Bjork, Brauer,

Reinecker & Jorgensen, 2003). Similar problems are recorded to be experienced by

NNE students at USP. Among the various writing problems cited, the study chooses to

explore the ‘lack of abstract and metaphorical concepts’ (Khan & Mugler, 2001).

It is assumed that abstract and metaphorical concepts are manifested in the use of

nominalization and grammatical metaphor. This assumption is based on one of the

central arguments of the study that a Vertical knowledge structure is realized by the use

of nominalization and grammatical metaphor. Bernstein defines Verticality as

knowledge acquired in education contexts, compared to Horizontal that refers to

learning in our various homes (2000).The distinction between home and school learning

explored in Verticality is what relates it to the two concepts; nominalization and

grammatical metaphor. They are related to Verticality because they all represent

relocation in meaning making from homes, to the education contexts. This relocation in

meaning is the major motif of Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor, defined by

the shift to Thing. Based on this understanding, the two concepts are explored in this

study as realizations of Verticality.

A corpus-based analysis is conducted by using two independent sources of data.

The first is from NE student texts of Michigan University in the USA used as referenced

corpora (MICUSP, 2010). The second set, from NNE student texts includes second and

third year students of USP. From the Transitivity system, Relational processes are

selected to elicit data, based on Halliday’s (1985, 1994) claim that here circumstances

are mostly incongruently realized.

To determine Verticality in USP student texts, distribution of nominalization and

grammatical metaphor between the two groups are compared against the background of

the semogenetic timeframe within the congruent and metaphorical continuum. Although

distribution is manifested in texts of both cohorts, a detailed analysis reveals glaring

findings. At the lexical level, analysis of nominalization indicates semantic categories

Abstract

III

used in USP student texts are closer to the congruent pole rather than the metaphorical.

Distribution of grammatical metaphor at the clause level also indicates the nearness of

USP student texts to the congruent pole. A comparison on condensation of information

through rank downgrade illustrates it is common in NE but not USP student texts. This

is embodied through the relocation in circumstantial meaning of ‘cause’ normally

expressed through conjunctions in inter-clausal relations, to prepositions, processes or

participants in Relational clauses. An overall analysis to determine Verticality proves

that USP student texts are closer to the congruent as opposed to the metaphorical pole.

The use of authentic student texts as corpora is significant in relation to

pedagogical implications and language policy making. On the same token, adoption of

Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor and the system of Transitivity broadens

their scope of credibility. Most importantly, the study has identified a framework where

USP students can explore abstract and metaphorical concepts that are cited to be lacking

in their academic writing texts.

Key Words: Systemic Functional Grammar; Transitivity; Vertical and Horizontal

knowledge structures; grammatical metaphor; nominalization

TABLE OF CONTENTS

IV

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One Introduction .......................................................................................... 1

1.1 Background of the study .......................................................................................... 1

1.2 Purpose of the study ................................................................................................. 8

1.3 Significance of the study ........................................................................................ 12

1.4 Overall structure of the thesis ................................................................................ 12

Chapter Two Literature Review .............................................................................. 15

2.1 Conception of Verticality ....................................................................................... 15

2.1.1 Definition of Verticality .............................................................................. 16

2.1.2 Verticality and its relation to nominalization and grammatical metaphor .. 17

2.2 Studies on Verticality ............................................................................................. 20

2.3 Conceptual view of nominalization and grammatical metaphor ........................... 28

2.3.1 Prototype theory .......................................................................................... 31

2.3.2 Basic level categories .................................................................................. 32

2.3.3 Theory of iconicity ...................................................................................... 33

2.3.4 Figure and ground theory ............................................................................ 36

2.4 Functional view of nominalization and grammatical metaphor ............................. 37

2.4.1 Manifestation of nominalization at the lexical level ................................... 42

2.4.2 Manifestation of grammatical metaphor at the clause level ....................... 44

2.5 Summary ................................................................................................................ 48

Chapter Three Theoretical Framework .................................................................. 49

3.1 Transitivity System ................................................................................................ 49

3.1.1 Material clause: processes of doing and happening .................................... 53

3.1.2 Mental clause: processes of sensing ............................................................ 55

3.1.3 Relational clause: processes of being and having ....................................... 56

3.2 Circumstance in Relational clauses........................................................................ 62

3.3 Summary ................................................................................................................ 67

Chapter Four Research Methods ............................................................................ 68

4.1 Research Paradigms ............................................................................................... 68

4.1.1 Quantitative vs qualitative .......................................................................... 68

TABLE OF CONTENTS

V

4.1.2 Research design: Exploratory Interpretive .................................................. 69

4.2 Pilot study .............................................................................................................. 70

4.3 Main study.............................................................................................................. 70

4.3.1 Subjects of study ......................................................................................... 71

4.3.2 Text type chosen to be analyzed .................................................................. 72

4.4 Procedures followed in the selection of corpora .................................................... 73

4.5 Research ethics ....................................................................................................... 75

4.5.1 Willingness to participate in the research ................................................... 75

4.5.2 Protection of subject Rights ........................................................................ 75

4.6 Summary ................................................................................................................ 75

Chapter Five Data Analysis and Discussion .......................................................... 77

5.1 Results obtained from the pilot study. ................................................................... 77

5.2 The main study ....................................................................................................... 80

5.3 Distribution of nominalization in Relational clauses ............................................. 84

5.3.1 Semantic categories commonly employed .................................................. 84

5.3.2 Thing functioning as classifier .................................................................... 88

5.3.3 Element process functioning as qualifier for head Thing ........................... 91

5.3.4 Ambiguity created due to condensing of information ................................. 92

5.3.5 Elemental paradigmatic shift ...................................................................... 93

5.3.6 Syntagmatic metaphoric shift: figure to element ........................................ 94

5.4 Distribution of grammatical metaphor in Relational clauses ................................. 99

5.4.1 Syntagmatic metaphoric shift: sequence to figure ...................................... 99

5.4.2 Prototypical vs peripheral subject position ............................................... 102

5.4.3 Circumstance in Relational Attributive clauses ........................................ 105

5.4.4 Abstraction in Relational Identifying clauses ............................................ 107

5.4.5 Lexical density- a comparison ................................................................... 111

5.5 Conceptualization of nominalization and grammatical metaphor ....................... 115

5.5.1 Prototypicality and nominalization ............................................................ 116

5.5.2 Basic level categorization and nominalization........................................... 117

5.5.3 Theory of iconicity and grammatical metaphor ......................................... 118

5.5.4 Figure-ground theory and grammatical metaphor .................................... 120

5.6 How is Verticality manifested in USP student texts? .......................................... 121

5.6.1 Verticality and nominalization .................................................................. 121

TABLE OF CONTENTS

VI

5.6.2 Verticality and grammatical metaphor ...................................................... 123

5.7 Summary of Findings ............................................................................................ 125

Chapter Six Conclusion .......................................................................................... 128

6.1 Major findings ...................................................................................................... 128

6.2 Theoretical and practical implications ................................................................. 131

6.3 Suggestions to improve USP students’ academic writing texts ........................... 133

6.4 Limitations of the research study ......................................................................... 135

Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 136

Acknowledgement ....................................................................................................... 145

.......................................................................................................................... 146

Appendix A Data description of NE ....................................................................... 147

Appendix B Data of NE ............................................................................................ 148

Appendix C Data description of NNE ................................................................... 149

Appendix D Data of NNE ........................................................................................ 150

Appendix E Paired t-test ......................................................................................... 151

Appendix F Identifying semantic categories worksheet ...................................... 152

Appendix G Raw data NE Relational Attributive (Part I) ................................... 153

Appendix H Raw data NE Relational Identifying (Part II) ................................... 154

Appendix I Raw data NNE Relational Attributive (Part I) ................................. 155

Appendix J Raw data NNE Relational Identifying (Part II) ............................... 156

.................................................. 158

L IST OF ABBREVIATIONS

VII

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CASRO Council of American Survey Research Organization

EAP English for Academic Purposes

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ESL English as a Second Language

HE Higher Education

L1 First Language or Mother Tongue

L2 Second Language

LAD Language Acquisition Device

MICUSP Michigan Corpus of Upper Level Student Papers

NE Native English speakers

NNE Non-Native English speakers

RA Relational Attributive

RI Relational Identifying

SF Systemic Functional

SFG Systemic Functional Grammar

SPSS Statistical Software Package for the Social Sciences

USP University of the South Pacific

Chapter One Introduction

1


This chapter introduces and presents background information on academic writing

problems that are found to be predominant with Non-Native English students studying

at tertiary institutions. Next, the research problem explored is identified followed by a

discussion on the purpose of the study with research questions posed. In addition, a

description is made on theoretical frameworks adopted, methods employed to elicit data,

major research findings and significance of the study. Lastly, organization of the thesis

is explained.

1.1 Background of the study

The importance of acquiring academic writing skills at tertiary institutions cannot

be emphasized enough. This is shown in the way English for Academic Purposes (EAP)

is made a compulsory course with almost all Non-Native English (NNE) students. In the

EAP course, students are taught the four macro language skills of listening, speaking,

reading and writing (Alexander, Argent & Spencer, 2008; Thaiss & Zawacki, 2006;

Jordan, 1997). Out of the four skills, the current study argues writing is the most

important. Skills and knowledge of academic writing taught in the EAP course are

associated with the elaborated or high register (Martin, 2007; Thaiss & Zawacki, 2006;

Swales 2004; Swales & Feak, 1994; Jordan, 1997). It is the type of writing that is

accepted in publications and within the hierarchies of academic discourse communities.

All students who aspire to pursue tertiary studies have to acquire and be familiar with

academic writing knowledge and skills, in order to communicate and be understood in

their various academic disciplines (Alexander et al., 2008; Thaiss & Zawacki, 2006;

Jordan, 1997). It is in the EAP course that undergraduates are introduced to knowledge

and skills of academic writing.

Defining academic writing is difficult when one takes into account the various

disciplines students who are enrolled in EAP come from (Hyland, 2009; Thaiss &

Zawacki, 2006; Murcia, 2001; Swales & Feak, 1994). Some of the disciplines include

Engineering, Architecture, Law, Sciences, Economics, Social Sciences, and the Arts to

cite a few. The various disciplines have their own standards and conventions of writing

and learning. Consequently, teachers’ expectations in regards to academic writing


2

produced by students will differ amongst the various disciplines. This may also relate to

factors such as differences in entry qualifications, age groups, ethnicity, cultural

backgrounds, work experience or those that are fresh from high school (Alexander et al.,

2008; Murcia, 2001). However, while taking into account all the differences, it is noted

that EAP as a course of study aims to initiate the novice tertiary student to knowledge

and skills in academic writing that are found to be common across the disciplines.

Theories that guide EAP are derived from the context-oriented approach, features

of which can be traced to a branch of linguistics called ‘Functionalism’ (Alexander et al.,

2008; Hu, 2007; Murcia, 2001). According to Hu, there are three schools perceived to

be pioneers in this field namely; Prague, Copenhagen and the London School. He adds

Mathesius of the Prague school for instance, argues that the combination of both

‘function and form’ is essential if language learning is to be enhanced. This means, in

language learning the student’s ability to produce and also to describe how texts

function in certain contexts are emphasized (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999;

Halliday, 1994). Hjelmslev (1953: 37) of the Copenhagen school iterates that the sign

function creates ‘…a space for the interdependence between thought and language’. The

claim implies that the context-oriented approach considers and encapsulates both the

social and cognitive domains in language learning (Lier, 2004; Murcia, 2001; Wells,

1994; Flower & Hayes, 1981).

From the London school, two leading figures worth mentioning are Bronislaw

Malinowski and John Rupert Firth. Malinowski is remembered as the father of the

Functionalist School (Hu, 2007). Around the 1920s while doing field work in the

Trobiand Islands, he came to realize that language plays a very important role in

organizing social activities for these islanders. He found that language is not learned out

of imagination but of action. An understanding of the meaning of the tribal language is

dependent on the context in which it is used. From arguments put forth by the European

Functionalists, it is obvious that construction of meaning in context is emphasized. The

interactive role of the social context and thought processes by using language as the

most important mediating tool is recognized. Additionally, acquiring the skills not only

to produce but also to describe how language functions in text is highlighted to be

critical components in language learning.

Michael Alexander Kirkwood Halliday who got his inspiration from his teacher

and colleague John Rupert Firth, further expands on the influence of context in the


3

interdependence between thought and language in meaning making through his

Systemic Functional grammar (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Halliday,

1994, 1985). He addresses the elements identified by the Functionalists in a

metalanguage he developed with three strands of meaning and three metafunctions. The

three metafunctions include textual, interpersonal and ideational as exemplified in

Figure 1.1. These three strands of meaning are conflated in the grammar of the clause

and can be teased out depending on the point of entry one chooses to analyze a text. In

the current study, the ideational metafunction which corresponds to the system of

Transitivity in its modeling of human experiences is explored. Results obtained from the

analysis should throw some light on how experiences embodied in language learning

contexts influence knowledge acquired (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999).

Well, usually means mostly, doesn’t it Mary?

textual theme

rheme textual topical

interpersonal

mood residue mood tag vocative

subject finite predicator complement finite subje

ct

experiential token process value

syntagm: conjun. group

adv. group verbal group adv group verbal

group

nominal

group

nominal group

Figure 1.1 Three lines of meaning in the clause (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014: 212 )

The ideational metafunction includes experiential and logical relations but this study

will mainly focus on the experiential metafunction in relation to how one’s experiences

are modeled in the grammar of the clause (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004; 1999;

Thompson, 1996; Bloor & Bloor; 1995). In text analysis, Halliday’s notion of

grammatical metaphor is adopted to examine how experiences are modeled in text. This

is explored by making a comparison between the different contexts referring to either

the congruent or metaphorical mode. It is the assumption of this study that a good

quality academic writing text is one that sparingly incorporates metaphorical variants.

This presupposes the incorporation of nominalization and grammatical metaphor.


4

In relation to context, academic writing is found to be more skewed to the

metaphorical rather than the congruent mode of language that is commonly used in our

everyday communication (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; Martin, 2007; Thompson,

1996; Eggins, 1994). For instance from the two clauses given below, it is apparent that

example (1.1b) is more metaphorical thus is typical of academic writing when compared

to example (1.1a). Example (1.1b) is claimed to be compatible with academic writing

because features that associate the text to ‘here and now’ are filtered out like the process

‘failed’, is now realized as Thing ‘failure’. This metaphoric shift of the element process

to be realized as Thing is called nominalization. Another feature of academic writing

embodied in example (1.1b) is the concept of abstraction where an abstract concept

‘failure’ is realized as Thing.

(1.1a) when an engine failed…

(1.1b) in times of engine failure…

A characteristic of grammatical metaphor that is in harmony with academic

writing is the potential to condense information. This is shown in example (1.2b) a

nominal group derived from the figure in example (1.2a). The element process ‘act’ of

the figure is realized as Thing in the nominal group ‘our act’.

(1.2a) we act effectively

(1.2b) the effectiveness of our act

The relocation in mapping of meaning (semantics) to corresponding wording

(lexicogrammar) which is a typical feature of grammatical metaphor is aligned with

features of texts accepted in academic contexts.

In a nutshell, two concepts encompassed in a high quality academic writing text

that are found to be common across the disciplines include nominalization and

grammatical metaphor. This is illustrated among other things through elements

embodied in the two concepts such as condensing of information, abstraction and the

shift to Thing (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; Martin, 2007; Painter, 1999; Thompson,

1996; Eggins, 1994). This study suggests a quality academic writing text is defined by

its manipulation of nominalization and grammatical metaphor which retrospectively is a

realization of a Vertical knowledge structure. The next section discusses studies that

highlight problems in academic writing that are faced by Non-Native English (NNE)

students globally and likewise students at the University of the South Pacific (USP).


5

Various reports gathered on studies conducted to find out more on the status of

academic writing in European Higher Education (HE) reveal that one third of the

students fail to complete their dissertation due to lack of academic writing skills (Bjork,

Brauer, Reinecker, & Jorgensen, 2003). In USA, Boice (1993) explains that about fifty

percent of all students who qualify to write dissertations do not complete because they

are not able to express themselves using academic writing conventions. Likewise, in

Australia research findings by Jones (2005) highlight that standards of students’ generic

skills and attributes in academic writing are declining. Bjork (2003) says that decline in

the quality of academic writing cited by other colleagues is not uncommon. In a German

newspaper ‘Die Welt’, an article titled ‘The organization of thinking by writing’ reports

that half of the university dropout rate in Germany is due to poor academic writing

skills. Similar problems are faced by international students studying in Tokyo

University in Japan as presented by Buker (2003) and likewise by Chinese students

studying in Canada (Yang, 2006).

To put into perspective what particular language problems are predominant and

common in NNE speakers’ academic writing, a study undertaken by Tony Silva (1997)

is discussed. He collected 72 reports of empirical research that examine undergraduate

college NNE student texts against their NE counterparts. The participants are in their

late teens and early twenties. About 27 different L1s are represented with native

speakers of Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish as predominant. The subjects are

described by Silva as having a high level of English proficiency and they exhibit a wide

ranging level of writing ability. The writing tasks are mainly short expository or

argumentative essays timed for thirty or sixty minute sessions in class or during

examinations.

Findings show that texts written by NNE students are less effective compared to

their NE counterparts (Campbell, 1987). Out of the many other studies examined,

Campbell in particular identifies this to be true for his subjects who are mainly of

Chinese, Indonesian and of Korean backgrounds. Those that comment on comparison of

the length of writing show conflicting results. Some mention that NNE texts are shorter

in word count (Silva, 1990; Reid, 1989; Hirokawa, 1986) while other authors argue they

are longer (Hu, L. Brown, & D. Brown, 1982). The conflicting findings can be

attributed to cultural influence or maybe differences in the cognitive demand of the task.

Yet another study finds that there are more errors in NNE texts (Yang, 2006). Some


6

common errors identified are; morphosyntactic (Hu et al., 1982), lexicosemantic

(Dennett, 1985), spelling, punctuation (Hirokawa, 1986), errors in cohesive device use

(Scarcella, 1984; Mahmoud, 1983), and more verb, noun-pronoun, article, and

preposition errors (Silva, 1990).

In a study concerning how Arabic students present their arguments, Mahmoud

(1983) identifies a number of weaknesses. He finds that in most cases conditions are not

stated, key terms are not defined and there is less exemplifying but more warning and

emphatic communion. Moreover, students do not often state or support their positions.

In the case of text organization, paragraphing is sporadic and less utilized. There is less

rhetorical connectedness in writing, a looser segmental structure in regards to

introduction-discussion-conclusion. Other similar studies highlight NNE texts exhibit

more coordination and less subordination (Silva, 1990; Hu et al., 1982). Moreover, texts

reveal that students address audience less and overexploit emotive words. In a similar

study, Connor and Kramer (1995) report that NNE students do not adequately justify

their claims and do not link concluding inductive statements to the sub topics of the

problem of study. Texts are found to have fewer adjectives, possessives, verb forms

used as noun modifiers, fewer prepositions, prepositional phrases (Reid, 1989) and

fewer definite articles (Oi, 1984). Additionally, NNE texts are found to contain less

passive voice (Webb, 1988).

Researches done regarding the differences in the use of cohesive devices primarily

focus on two areas; the use of conjunctive and lexical ties. Findings show that NNE

texts use more conjunctive ties (Hu, Brown, & Brown, 1982; Oi, 1984; Scarcella, 1984)

and fewer lexical ties (Hu, Brown, & Brown, 1982). The lexical ties explored are

limited and often recycled. Moreover, NNE texts show shorter words (Reid, 1989) and

less of lexical variety and sophistication (Hu et al., 1982). Silva (1997) mentions that

although there is evidence in NNE text of metaphorical awareness, this knowledge is

not fully explored to fill in the gaps in the second language vocabulary.

The problem of academic writing for NNE students at USP has been an ongoing

concern since and even before the introduction of EAP in 1993 (Deverell, 1989).

Although no other study has been recorded in the last ten years or so on the status of

academic writing at USP, the few earlier ones conducted, all seem to have raised similar

findings (Deverell, 1989; Moag & Allen, 1978). A qualitative study administered in the

form of interviews, reports that students who are enrolled for undergraduate studies at


7

USP believe they have acquired adequate language skills to support them in tertiary

studies (Deverell, 1989). However, this finding is contradictory to what is reported by

Khan and Mugler (2001) in another study involving both students and their lecturers.

The study explores survey methods by using both interviews and questionnaires.

Academic writing problems mentioned by lecturers to be common in student texts are

not specified but cited as grammatical errors, unsatisfactory referencing, lack of

research, lack of cohesion, problems in structuring of text, vagueness in expression,

problem in constructing an argument, inability to use the appropriate style, inadequate

vocabulary and lack of abstract and metaphorical concepts. The academic writing

problems are similar to those encountered by NNE students in other parts of the world.

Most importantly, one that the current study chooses to explore is the lack of ‘abstract

and metaphorical concepts’ in USP student texts.

The researcher believes academic writing problems identified are the consequences

of language learning pedagogies adopted. This claim is based on her experiences both as

a student and teacher of English in Fiji schools. Additionally, information obtained

during informal conversations with teachers while collecting research data indicate that

the two earlier language learning traditions might still be widely adopted in Fiji schools.

The text-oriented approach which is informed by theories of behaviorism emerged

around the 1960s (Alexander et al., 2008; Christie & Macken-Horarick, 2007; Murcia,

2001). This approach emphasizes repetitive drills, learning of grammar rules and

language learning without consideration of its context (Hyland, 2009). Murcia adds a

drawback identified is that students are not able to speak the language and they continue

to reproduce texts they are taught to copy in language classes. In the 1970s, the writer-

oriented approach guided by cognitive theories was developed to address the criticisms

made towards the text-oriented approach’s oversight on the learner’s cognitive

development (Murcia, 2001; Raimes, 1983; Flower & Hayes, 1981; Emig, 1971). Since

learner autonomy is the focus of attention in this approach, students are left to pursue

their own learning according to their own interests and at their own pace (Murcia, 2001).

A weakness noted from this approach is in maintaining a standard format for evaluation

because of the diversity in students’ areas of interests (Alexander et al., 2008; Christie

& Macken-Horarick, 2007; Thaiss & Zawacki, 2006; Murcia, 2001). The rebirth of the

context-oriented approach in the 1980s was anticipated to address the pivotal and

mutually constitutive role played by both the internal and external environment of the


8

child in language learning. EAP is a course of study founded on theories that inform the

context-oriented approach.

1.2 Purpose of the study

In this study ‘argumentative writing’ is used interchangeably as ‘academic writing’.

This stance is based on Hyland’s (2009:1) definition by referring to academic discourse

‘as ways of using language in the education contexts in the form of essays, presentations,

dissertations, research articles’ and so on. Hence, argumentative writing is viewed as a

text type categorized under academic writing texts. The central purpose of this study is

to highlight that ‘argumentative writing’ or academic writing can be improved through

the incorporation of nominalization and grammatical metaphor. On the same token,

texts that employ the two concepts nominalization and grammatical metaphor are

claimed to be reflective of a Vertical knowledge structure. To prove these claims,

Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor and his Functional view of Transitivity are

explored (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Halliday, 1994, 1985). The theory

argues grammatical metaphor involves the relocation in mapping between meanings to

corresponding lexicogrammar. This relocation in mapping implies it is an alternative to

the congruent mode of meaning making normally observed in our everyday

communication. It is the assumption of the study that this alternative mode maps on to

metaphorical modes of expressions embodied through the use of nominalization and

grammatical metaphor. Hence, by using the Transitivity system as a grammar that

models human experiences, it is anticipated that texts analyzed should be able to inform

us whether nominalization and grammatical metaphor are manifested in USP student

texts or otherwise. In order to attain the purpose of this study three research questions

are posed.

Research Question One: How are nominalization and grammatical metaphor

reflected and distributed in Relational clauses?

Research Question Two: What is concluded from the comparison of NE and NNE

texts in relation to the realization of Verticality in USP (NNE) student texts?

Research Question Three: What suggestions are put forth to improve the

realization of Verticality in USP student texts?


9

A corpus-based analysis involving two sets of corpora is conducted to make a

comparison on the distribution of nominalization and grammatical metaphor. The first

set comprising of NE speakers from Michigan University in Ann Arbor, USA is used as

referenced corpora (MICUSP, 2010). The second set is from tertiary students of the

University of the South Pacific. Thirty scripts comprising of argumentative writing texts

from the school of Humanities are selected from each cohort. The argumentative text

type is chosen to lessen variability. In addition, it is a text type that explores persuasive

rhetorical devices that trigger higher cognitive skills found to be in harmony with the

attainment of Verticality (Chandrasegaran, 2007; Hormazabal, 2007; Flowerdew, 2003).

At the outset, a pilot study is undertaken to verify Halliday’s (1994)

‘Circumstantial theory’ and to select corpora for the study. The ‘Circumstantial theory’

refers to the relocation in mapping of circumstantial meaning to corresponding

grammatical labels. It is argued that in Relational clauses circumstances are remapped

to process, preposition or participants (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014). The configuration

of elements in Relational clauses emphasizes relations between the two inherent

participants where element process is non-salient. This relation realizes the primary

motif of grammatical metaphor in the shift to Thing. After the theory is verified

selection of corpora for the main study is then commenced.

Two software programs Excel and Software Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS)

are used to code, record, describe and statistically analyze the data. Selected corpora

identified as NE and NNE texts are then analyzed to determine how nominalization and

grammatical metaphor are reflected and distributed in student texts. In order to

determine Verticality, a comparison is made between USP student texts and NE texts

against the semogenetic timeframe (Chen & Foley, 2005; Halliday & Mathiessen, 1999).

Analysis is conducted at the lexical and clause levels. At the lexical level,

Halliday’s metaphor taxonomy is employed to compare prevalence and frequency in

usage of selected semantic categories between the two cohorts NE and USP student

texts. The most common semantic category employed then determines their location

within the congruent and metaphorical continuum. The potential of element participant

to adopt a secondary role such as qualifier, possessive or classifier is also examined.

Texts that fully employ this shift indicate they are able to condense information through

rank downgrade from figure to element. In addition, the metaphoric shift of element

process to function as qualifier and to be recognized as head Thing in a nominal group


10

is also investigated. The ability to utilize these metaphoric shifts should improve the

quality of students’ academic writing texts.

At the clause level, condensation of information is also examined on the

downgrade in shift from sequence to figure. A sentence that has a higher frequency of

nominalized groups illustrates a higher lexical density which means more abstract and

metaphorical concepts. Additionally, a comparison is made on the students’ ability to

violate the dominant subject position. Information gathered is then used to determine a

text’s positioning within the congruent and metaphorical continuum. Another analysis

compares relocation in circumstantial meaning that is normally expressed through

conjunctions in inter-clausal relations to process, preposition or participant in clause-

internal relations. The ability to incorporate this metaphoric shift is compatible with

academic writing texts because quantum of change is inertly brought about in such

clause relations. Furthermore, an important factor found to contribute to the creation of

a particular circumstantial semantic space is the choice of expansion type. It is

important to note that the meaning of expansion changes in Relational clauses as a

consequence of metafunctional manifestation (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014: 674). This

implies the use of ‘cause’ typical of logico-semantic relations where conjunctions such

as ‘so’ and ‘because’ are changed to process, preposition or participant in clause-

internal relations. To add credibility to the research findings, the Functional view of

grammatical metaphor is further substantiated from the Conceptual view of grammatical

metaphor (Ungerer & Schmid, 1996; Lakoff, 1993; Givon, 1985; Lakoff & Johnson,

1980).

Major findings highlight that in relation to realization of Verticality, USP student

texts are far behind their NE counterparts. Although texts reveal incorporation of

nominalization and grammatical metaphor in USP student texts, a comparison against

the semogenetic timeframe portrays they are closer to the congruent instead of the

metaphorical pole. Significant findings on the analysis of nominalization show that the

semantic categories commonly employed in USP student texts such as, ‘quality thing’

and ‘process thing’ are closer to the congruent rather than the metaphorical. This is

because they appear earlier in language development. A comparison on the frequency

illustrates that USP student texts employ the semantic categories 50% less than NE texts

(see Figure 5.11). Findings also reveal the dire need to employ ‘process as qualifier’

(see Figure 5.15) and likewise ‘participant as classifier’ (Figure 5.14) in order to expand


11

nominal groups. Additionally, an examination of the metaphoric shift of element

process to become head Thing in a nominal group proves to be almost non-existent in

USP student texts.

Analyses of grammatical metaphor through downgrade in rank from sequence to

figure depict nominal groups that have been downgraded are semantically loaded and

more complex in NE texts rather than USP student texts. This claim is made while

comparing alternative congruent rewordings (see section 5.4.1). NE texts employ

clauses and clause complexes whereas USP student texts only include simple clauses

with simple lexical items. A comparison on the violation of the prototypical subject

position indicates it is scarcely exploited in USP student texts (see section 5.4.2). This

finding is a clear indication of USP students’ inability to utilize the systemic deviation

that is anticipated to trigger suspense to the unfolding of the ‘new’ information

(Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; Martin, 2007). Another examination is conducted to

determine the circumstantial semantic space created as a consequence of expansion

types chosen to dispense meaning. It is noted that circumstance of ‘cause’ is quite

significant in NE texts as a consequence of the choice of enhancement expansion types.

In relation to texts from students of the University of the South Pacific (USP),

circumstance of manner is created as a result of mostly using elaboration. While making

a comparison between the two groups on the metaphoric expression of circumstance, it

is obvious that NE texts are located nearer the metaphorical pole compared to USP

student texts.

An overall evaluation on the distribution of nominalization and grammatical

metaphor indicates the two concepts are employed in USP student texts. However, in

terms of determining Verticality data show they are behind their NE counterparts. This

is because their placement is more skewed towards the congruent rather than the

metaphorical pole. Findings have justified the reliability of the theoretical frameworks

explored because they are able to identify academic writing problems cited to be lacking

in USP students’ academic writing texts. The study has also proven a major argument

proposed by the study that Verticality is realized through the use of nominalization and

grammatical metaphor. Additionally, clause-internal relations made that contribute to

the creation of grammatical metaphor have also justified the choice of Relational

clauses as an appropriate framework to elicit data for the study.


12

1.3 Significance of the study

Some innovative contributions of the study include the use of a corpus-based

analysis where Native English speakers’ texts are used as referenced corpora. The use of

authentic student texts has value and significance for USP students in regards to

pedagogical implications and policy formulation. The choice to analyze incongruent

circumstances in Relational clauses is innovative because it tests and validates

Halliday’s ‘Circumstantial theory’ (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 1999). Subsequently,

adopting Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor broadens the scope of its

applicability. In the dialogue between Bernstein’s Sociological and the Functional

perspective in relation to building Verticality, literature shows few studies have been

conducted at primary schools, secondary and with preschool aged children but none has

been conducted at the tertiary level. Hence the current study’s analysis of student texts

at the tertiary level serves as an innovative contribution to this field of study.

1.4 Overall structure of the thesis

The research study comprises of six chapters. The ‘Chapter One’ is an introduction

to the whole thesis. It includes background study, purpose, research questions,

theoretical framework, methods employed to elicit data, followed by this section on

organization of the thesis.

Chapter Two explores the notion of Verticality on how it was conceived and

discusses how the features embodied in the two concepts nominalizations and

grammatical metaphors contribute to the realization of Verticality. Next some studies

that had explored and highlighted the importance of the two concepts in building

Verticality are presented. The Conceptualization of grammatical metaphor as an integral

component of human communication is discussed next. Following this is a presentation

of the various approaches chosen by this study to analyze texts from the Functional

view of grammatical metaphor.

Chapter Three discusses Halliday’s Functional perspective of Transitivity as the

theoretical framework of the study (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999). It

explains that Transitivity is adopted because it has a grammar that models human

experiences. It is thus anticipated that experiences embodied in language learning

contexts can be examined as an object of study through the unfolding of meaning in


13

texts analyzed. Halliday identifies six process types but only the three major ones

namely; Material, Mental and Relational are discussed. Out of the other two clauses,

Relational is chosen to elicit data since human experience is modeled differently in this

clause type. The configuration of elements in a Relational clause emphasizes the

relation between two inherent participants where the role of the element process is not

given much weighting. Moreover, relations made in a Relational clause contribute to a

quantum of change that is inertly brought about. These characteristics are found to be in

harmony with the general motif of grammatical metaphor in the shift to Thing and thus

the realization of Verticality.

Chapter Four ‘Research Methods’ explains that the current study conducts a

corpus-based analysis on the distribution of nominalization and grammatical metaphor

in Relational clauses. It is a comparative analysis between Native English speakers and

Non-Native English speakers to determine manifestation of Verticality in USP (NNE)

student texts. A pilot study is conducted at the outset in order to ascertain validity and

reliability of data selected for the main study. Two sets of data are employed in the

main study, the referenced corpora is from Native English speakers who are tertiary

students of Michigan University in the USA. The second set is from students who are

Non-Native English speakers of the University of the South Pacific. Data are

statistically described and analyzed using two sets of software programs. In the course

of acquiring data research ethics are closely observed.

Chapter Five ‘Data Analysis and Discussion’ analyzes and presents results

obtained from the pilot and main study. Analysis is presented in two parts; firstly at the

lexical level on the distribution of nominalization, followed by the distribution of

grammatical metaphor at the clause level. Distribution illustrates that both

nominalization and grammatical metaphor are embodied in USP student texts. However,

in attempting to determine Verticality findings are compared against the semogenetic

time frame within the congruent and metaphorical continuum (Halliday & Mathiessen,

1999). To further substantiate credibility of findings, the Conceptual view of

grammatical metaphor is also explored. Results gathered from the comparison show that

USP students are behind their NE counterparts. Some recommendations to improve

Verticality in student texts are then put forth.

Chapter Six ‘Conclusion’ summarizes the major research findings and presents

some theoretical and practical implications of the study. Lastly, limitations faced by the


14

researcher are explained and some prospects for further research in the field are put

forth.

Chapter Two Literature Review

15


This chapter highlights the importance of Verticality and how it is realized through

the use of nominalization and grammatical metaphor. Firstly, the notion of Verticality

and how it was conceived is explained followed by a discussion on its relation to

nominalization and grammatical metaphor. Previous studies are presented to prove the

main argument of this research that nominalization and grammatical metaphor are

critical in building Verticality in students’ academic writing texts. Next, the

conceptualization of grammatical metaphor is explored followed by a presentation on

the Functional view observed in the analysis of student texts in this study.

2.1 Conception of Verticality

‘…if there is no grammatical metaphor there is no Verticality’ (Martin, 2007:54).

The process enabling the drift from spoken to written discourse is referred to by

Halliday among others as grammatical metaphor (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; Martin,

2007; Schleppegrell, 2005). The authors concur that grammatical metaphor is Halliday’s

most important concept because it names the process which engenders Vertical

discourse. Verticality is explored in this study as a type of knowledge structure

associated with Bernstein’s triangular metaphor to depict the hierarchical view in the

organization of knowledge (Maton & Muller, 2007; Christie, 2002; Hasan, 2001;

Bernstein, 2000, 1999). The notion of Verticality was first conceived and explored by

the British linguist and anthropologist Basil Bernstein (2000, 1999). His main intension

was to find solutions to the academic disparity prevalent in schools between the upper

middle class children and those from the lower socio-economic backgrounds. The

concept of Verticality had emerged as a result of his research findings in relation to the

pivotal role played by language in shaping the world views of a group of people

(Bernstein, 1996, 1977, 1971). He discovered that language codes such as the ‘restricted

code’ spoken by the lower social class and the ‘elaborated code’ spoken by the upper

middle class differentially organize their ways of thinking. What is perceived important

by the upper middle class may not be accorded significance by the lower social class.

This is supported by Hasan’s (1989) notion of ‘semantic variation’ to refer to

‘systematic variation in the meanings people select in similar contexts as a result of


16

social positioning’ (Williams, 2005:457). In this study, Hasan provides credible

evidence comparing natural conversations between mothers and their pre-school

children drawn from ‘high autonomy professionals’ (HAPs) and ‘low autonomy

professionals’ (LAPs). The study confirms Bernstein’s claim that the language code

spoken influences the way students perceive the world relative to what is valued in their

respective social groups.

Bernstein (1990, 1996) further adds the code functions as a regulative principle, it

is tacitly acquired, ‘… selects and integrates relevant meanings, forms of realizations

and evoking contexts’ (Christie, 2007: 6). The regulative principle of the language code

theory transpires into the pedagogic discourse of the school. This is an advantage to the

upper middle class children because their home language is recognized as the language

of instruction (Hasan, 2001; Bernstein, 2000). The pedagogic device is facilitative in the

creation of pedagogic discourse. It takes practices in identified sites and relocates or

recontextualizes these for purposes such as teaching in schools (Christie, 2004; Hasan,

2001; Bernstein, 2000, 1971). In this discussion on pedagogy, Bernstein realizes that

little has been done on the nature of knowledge communicated in pedagogic activities

(Bernstein, 2000). It was this concern that led him to the study on Vertical and

Horizontal knowledge structures.

2.1.1 Definition of Verticality

Bernstein (2000:157) distinguishes between Horizontal and Vertical discourses out

of which a theory of knowledge structure emerged. He defines Vertical as;

a discourse that takes the form of a coherent, explicit and systematically principled

structure, hierarchically organized as in the sciences or it takes the form of a series

of specialized languages with specialized modes of interrogation and specialized

criteria for the production and circulation of texts as in the social sciences and

humanities. Horizontal discourse entails a set of strategies which are local,

segmentally organized, context-specific and dependent, for maximizing encounters

with persons and habitats.

According to Muller (2007) Verticality is to do with how theory develops. In

hierarchical knowledge structure, knowledge develops through integration towards ever

more integrative or general propositions, the trajectory of development of which lends a

hierarchical knowledge structure. It develops through integration towards ever more


17

integrative or general propositions, the trajectory of development which lends

hierarchical knowledge structure a unitary convergent shape. Horizontal knowledge

structures on the other hand ‘are not unitary but plural, consisting of a series of parallel

incommensurable languages’ (Muller, 2007:70). On the other hand, Painter (2007, 1999)

defines Horizontal discourse as oral, local, context dependent and specific. It is

multilayered, contradictory across but not within contexts and most crucially,

segmentally organized. Painter agrees Horizontal discourse is called commonsense in

being accessible to all, in applying to all, and in arising out of common problems of

living and dying. This type of knowledge stands in contrast to specialized and

institutional forms of knowledge accessible only via specialist or Vertical forms of

discourse.

Painter further asserts that a Horizontal knowledge structure is acquired through the

use of language in our various homes while a Vertical knowledge structure is acquired

in the school or educational institution. Martin (2007: 54) elaborates on Bernstein’s

definition of Verticality by comparing Horizontal with commonsense and Verticality

with uncommonsense knowledge. He postulates that the Verticality of a discourse

depends on the uncommonsense organization of participants where verbs, adjectives

and conjunctions are not realized by their grammatical labels but are realized as nouns.

This metaphoric shift contributes to the creation of grammatical metaphor. On the other

hand, a discourse that lacks utilization of grammatical metaphor is said to be Horizontal.

This study agrees with the definitions given by the various authors which all highlight

that a Vertical knowledge structure is mostly acquired in the school context. It is

coherent, explicit, systematic and hierarchically structured. Martin among others refers

to Verticality as uncommonsense because it is not immediate but mediated through the

utilization of symbolic language (Muller, 2007; Schleppegrell, 2004; Bernstein, 2000,

1999; Painter, 1999; Hasan, 1989).

2.1.2 Verticality and its relation to nominalization and grammatical metaphor

The current study argues characteristics common to Verticality, nominalization and

grammatical metaphor are in harmony with features embodied in a high quality

academic writing text. Maton and Muller (2007: 29) concur a key advantage of

Bernstein’s Verticality is its capacity to render knowledge visible as an object of study.


18

The perception of ‘knowledge as an object of study’ allows it to be evaluated within a

continuum according to the two types of knowledge structures Horizontal and Vertical.

Figure 2.1Grammatical pairing or commonsense knowledge (Martin, 2007:52)

The two concepts nominalization and grammatical metaphor are both aspects of

the same general metaphorical strategy by which we expand our semantic resources for

construing experiences (Halliday & Matheissen, 2014; Martin, 2007; Painter, 1999).

Nominalization comes under the umbrella term grammatical metaphor because it occurs

at the lexical level as delicate elaborations of grammatical metaphor which manifests at

the clause level. This is because grammar and lexis form a continuum related by

delicacy (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004,1999; Martin, 2007; Painter, 1999).

Nominalization is characterized by the drift to Thing where a lexical item such as a

‘verb’ shifts to be realized as a ‘noun’ in order to rid itself of features that relate it to

‘here and now’.

On one hand, Martin (2007) compares Horizontal with commonsense knowledge

and this is illustrated in Figure 2.1 as grammatical pairings. On the other hand, a

Vertical knowledge structure maps on to Figure 2.2 as ungrammatical or

uncommonsense knowledge. The shift to Thing is embodied in Halliday’s notion of

grammatical metaphor which involves the relocation in mapping between meaning and


19

lexicogrammar (see Figure 2.2). In order to express meaning suitable for an academic

context it is explored as an alternative to the congruent mode. This may manifest in a

verb which is from the closed class system. One example is illustrated by the

grammatical shift of the verb ‘laugh’ to the noun ‘laughter’ which gives the verb

‘laugh’ the potential to adopt two semantic categories ‘process thing’. This

characteristic of nominalization to move towards abstraction where ‘laughter’ is

recognized as a non-conscious Thing and likewise to expand meaning is in agreement

with Verticality (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, Christie, 2002; Painter, 1999).

Figure 2.2 Ungrammatical pairings or uncommonsense knowledge (Martin, 2007:53)

While nominalization involves reconstrual of meaning at the lexical level,

grammatical metaphor is manifested at the clause level (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014;

Martin, 2007; Halliday, 1994). Halliday’s Functional notion of grammatical metaphor is

different from the traditional view because it explores variation in expression of a given

meaning. The variation in expression illuminates the distinction made in relation to the

context which refers to either congruent or metaphorical. Grammatical metaphor has the

potential to package quantum of information, for instance where a figure in the

congruent variant is condensed into a nominal group (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014;

2004, 1999; Painter, 1999; Halliday, 1994). An example is illustrated in the figure,


20

‘Jane has a red car’ when condensed it becomes ‘Janes’ red car’ a nominal group. In

the metaphoric shift, the Subject from the congruent variant ‘Jane’ adopts a secondary

role as qualifier/possessive ‘Jane’s’ for head Thing. Grammatical metaphor is also

embraced in the clause by the metaphoric shift from concrete to abstract in the violation

of the dominant subject position where a noun is substituted by a process or other.

Instead of the conventionalized subject that is realized by a noun such as ‘Jack’ in the

figure ‘Jack swept the tomb’, it is replaced by ‘Jack’s sweeping of the tomb’ where the

verb ‘sweep’ is recognized as a non-conscious Thing. It is this potential of grammatical

metaphor to expand meaning by exploring the metaphorical variant that is found

agreeable with the realization of Verticality (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999;

Bloor & Bloor, 1995; Eggins, 1994).

Functional linguists postulate that both concepts nominalization and grammatical

metaphor involve condensing of information. This means moving away from language

use that is context dependent, to one that is self-contextualized embodying abstract and

metaphorical concepts (Schleppegrell, 2004; SimonVandenbergen, Taverniers & Davies,

2003; Maton, 2000; Painter, 1999). The reliance of nominalization and grammatical

metaphor on the use of abstraction and metaphorical concepts categorize them with the

elaborated and high registers. From the definitions and explanations given, it can be

confidently asserted that Verticality is a conceptual construct realized through the

incorporation of nominalization and grammatical metaphor. Therefore, to determine

Verticality analysis of meaning unfolding in the form of text is viewed from the

semogenetic timeframe within the congruent and metaphorical continuum. The next

section reviews previous studies conducted on Verticality and illustrates how it is

realized through the utilization of nominalization and grammatical metaphor.

2.2 Studies on Verticality

The relevance of Basil Bernstein’s (2000, 1996, 1971) sociological perspective in

relation to Verticality and language learning cannot be denied and this is supported by

its on-going conversations with Functional linguistics (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014;

Christie, 2007; Hasan, 2001). As a sociologist, Bernstein (1996, 1990, 1971) was

concerned with the way society is stratified in terms of socio-economic classes and the

effects on children’s academic achievement. He learned a reason the disadvantaged

group’s academic attainment was lower than children from the upper middle class was


21

because of the barrier between language spoken in the home and that used for

instruction in school. It is the home language of the upper middle class children that is

used as the language of instruction in the school context. Bernstein noted that

negotiating the gap between the home and school language was a stumbling block for

the disadvantaged group. In relation to the two knowledge structures, it presupposes the

need to move from Horizontal to a Vertical knowledge structure (Martin, 2007;

Schleppegrell, 2004; Painter, 1999). From the point of view of the western world, organization of knowledge in this

coherent, systematically principled and hierarchical way is the function of our various

educational institutions. In relation to Bernstein’s triangular metaphor, acquiring a

Vertical knowledge structure means developing an alternative mode of making meaning

from that explored in our everyday communication (O’ Halloran, 2007; Christie, 2004;

Maton, 2000; Painter, 1999; Bernstein, 1971). This means to shift from the base of the

triangle by distancing oneself from the concrete or congruent mode associated with

‘here and now’. Inspired by the findings of the ‘restricted and elaborated code theory’,

Bernstein (2000, 1999) furthered his study into the way knowledge is structured in

relation to what is taught. The theory of ‘classification and framing’ is focalized in

regards to what is chosen to be taught and how the content is legitimized through

evaluative means (Bernstein, 1971; Hasan, 2001; Christie, 2004; Christie & Martin,

2007).

Figure 2.3 Horizontal & Vertical knowledge structures (O’Halloran, 2007: 209)

The conclusion points to the fact that if the dominant group in society continues to

dictate what content to include and how it is to be taught, the disadvantaged group will

remain marginalized (Martin, 2007; Sadovnik, 1995; Martin & Veel, 1998). A

significant outcome of this research was the development of the two knowledge


22

structures Horizontal and Vertical (Martin, 2007; Bernstein, 2000, 1999; Painter, 1999).

It is further elaborated by O’ Halloran (2007) as illustrated in Figure 2.3. Bernstein

among others noted that students with Horizontal knowledge structures are those that

can only comprehend things that are immediate and concrete (Christie & Macken-

Horarick, 2007; Maton, 2000; Painter, 1999). When it comes to abstract, mediated and

metaphorical, they have not yet acquired the skills to accomplish such thinking

capabilities. This is how they are disqualified when competing with the advantaged

group. They fail not because they are mentally deficient but because they have yet to

reach the language development stage where they are able to explore skills in using

abstract and metaphorical concepts (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; Painter, 2005;

Halliday, 1994). The findings point to the crucial role played by language in

assimilation and internalization of one’s bodily experiences (Wells, 1994; Vygotsky,

1987) as this becomes manifest in meanings encoded as wordings and recoded as

expressions in the form of texts (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Halliday,

1994).

From the perspective of the ‘socio cultural theory’, the disadvantaged group cannot

relate easily to language, infrastructure and learning resources in the classroom because

the environment they have been immersed in has organized their forms of thinking in a

unique way (Lantolf & Thorne, 2006; Lier, 2004; Wells, 1994; Vygotsky, 1987). As a

theory of mediated mental development, socio-cultural theory observes that cognitive

development is shaped by the culturally organized concepts appropriated through the

activity of living. This activity of living can be related to the school setting and how it

can be fully utilized in transforming one’s mental activity and abstract conceptual

knowledge. Learning a new language means ‘acquiring new conceptual knowledge and

modifying already existing knowledge as a way of remediating one’s interaction with

the world and one’s psychological functioning’ (Lantolf & Thorne, 2006:5). In terms of

academic writing when viewed from Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor, this

means developing an alternative mode of making meaning from one that relies on

context to one that is self-contextualized (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999;

Martin, 2007; Painter, 2005, 1999; Halliday, 1994). It can be compared with the shift

from Horizontal to Vertical forms of discourse postulated in this study is realized

through manipulation of nominalization and grammatical metaphor. Some studies that

substantiate this claim are discussed next.


23

Literatures reviewed in relation to the study of Verticality from a Functional

perspective show that not many studies have been conducted in this field. However,

those recorded mainly involve primary, secondary and pre-school children. In a research

on Cultural Studies carried out by Christie and Macken-Horarik (2007:171) some of the

lexicogrammatical resources identified to contribute to Verticality include lexically

dense nominal groups, and the use of rankshifted clauses. These are shown in the

examples given below where the nominal groups are underlined, head nouns are in bold

and rankshifted clauses are in brackets.

(2.1a)…as she eased past the leafy tendrils of the branches [[that beckoned her.]]

(2.1b)…accentuated by the tingling drops of rain [[that fell on her head.]]

(2.1c)…and there, beside the pool, was the rock [[her mother had always sat on.]]

To prove the argument of the study that Verticality is realized through the incorporation

of nominalization and grammatical metaphor, a more detailed analysis is explored to

identify how the two concepts are embodied in the examples given. It is apparent that

the nominal group in example (2.1a) ‘leafy tendrils of the branches’ is semantically

loaded. The noun ‘tendrils’ realized as Thing is prequalified by another noun that is

functioning as qualifier ‘leafy’ in the nominal group. The metaphoric shift of the noun

‘leaf’ to function as qualifier ‘leafy’ involves the lexical domain. This potential of the

noun ‘leaf’ to take on other functions in the need to expand meaning realizes the

secondary motif of grammatical metaphor in the shift to qualifying or classifying

( Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; Martin, 2007; Chen & Foley, 2005; Painter, 1999). The

nominal group ‘the leafy tendrils’ is semantically loaded and can be unpacked into a

figure as ‘Tendrils are full of leaves’.

In terms of grammatical metaphor, the nominal group ‘the leafy tendrils’ is

metaphorical. This is illustrated in the downgrade in rank from figure to element

depicted in the alternative congruent rewording ‘Tendrils are full of leaves’. Similarly,

in example (2.1b) the nominal group ‘the tingling drops of rain’ is metaphorical with

the shift from figure to element as depicted in the rewording ‘Rain drops tingled’. The

element process ‘tingled’ of the figure is realized as qualifier ‘tingling’ in the nominal

group. The utilization of the specific deictic ‘the’ in the examples indicates that the

nominal groups have already been mentioned. The two variants exemplify the different

contexts of use where the metaphorical is typical of a written text and the congruent of a

spoken text (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999). The illustrations are in line


24

with the central argument of the study that Verticality is realized through the use of

nominalization and grammatical metaphor.

Martin (2007) concurs with Halliday and Mathiessen (2014, 2004, 1999) that the

most important resource for developing Verticality is grammatical metaphor. In his

Science and Geography exemplars a major theme highlighted by Martin that contributes

to building Verticality is the students’ potential to condense information in order to

create technical terms to facilitate classifications (Martin, 2007:40). Some examples are

given below.

(2.2a) Monostremes are egg-laying animals.

(2.2b) Marsupials are pouched mammals.

(2.2c) …heat accumulates to a certain extent that it does cause local melting of rocks to

form a molten mass called magma.

The examples cited are Relational Identifying clauses where the two parts of the clause

are equal. They are related by a token-value relation (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014,

2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996; Bloor & Bloor, 1995). This means, the two parts refer to

the same thing but it is not a tautology. The difference is related to form and function in

terms of their generalized labels ‘token’ and ‘value’ where one can identify the other

(Halliday, 1994: 124). In example (2.2a) the element participant of the figure

‘monostremes’ is the token defined by a nominal group ‘egg-laying animals’ which is

the value. This clause is reversible and can be rephrased as ‘Egg-laying animals are

monostremes’. Likewise in example (2.2b) the element participant of the figure and the

token is ‘marsupials’ defined by a nominal group ‘pouched mammals’ that is the value.

If the clause is reversed it derives the figure ‘Pouched animals are marsupials’. On the

same note, example (2.2c) is from Physical Geography, a technical term ‘magma’ which

is the token is defined by a figure that is the value ‘heat accumulates to a certain extent

that it does cause local melting of rocks to form a molten mass’. Regarding Verticality,

the students’ ability to dispense meaning depicts their potential to make use of the

internal semantic system without referring to context or other observable entities.

Another feature typical of Verticality employed is the creation and utilization of

technical terms such as ‘monostremes, marsupials and magma’ to condense information.

Martin (2007) further explores how grammatical metaphor is incorporated in text

by looking at clause-internal relations and the circumstantial semantic space created as a

consequence. He explains clause-internal is different from inter-clausal relations typical


25

of Horizontal discourse that involves one thing leading to another via conjunctions such

as; so, because, therefore and so on. To elucidate the use of semantic resources he

identifies some clause-internal resources where circumstance of ‘cause’ is presented

through prepositional phrases. The first clause beginning with ‘In another part of

Australia’ in example (2.3) employs the prepositional phrase ‘to assert their rights’ to

explain why the Aboriginal people were acting. Likewise, the second clause beginning

with ‘On the 23rd of August’ the prepositional phrase ‘in protest against their wages and

conditions’ is encompassed to reflect what led people off the cattle station. The same

applies to clauses where prepositional phrases are expressing other circumstantial

information to relate one part of the clause to the other without reference to context or

direct experience (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; Martin, 2007, Painter, 1999; Halliday,

1994). In other words, the change construed or the circumstantial semantic space

created in a Relational clause is brought about without any input of energy unlike in

Material clauses. This metaphoric expression of circumstance is related to one of the

major arguments of the study. It argues clause-internal relations made in Relational

clauses contribute to the creation of grammatical metaphor and the realization of

Verticality.

(2.3) In another part of Australia, Aboriginal people were themselves acting to assert their

rights. On 23rd August 1966 Vincent Lingiari, a Gurindji elder, led his people off the cattle

station operated by the giant Vesteys pastoral organization in protest against their wages

and conditions. Their calls for Commonwealth involvement also strongly argued the case

for land to establish their own cattle station. They subsequently sent a petition to the

Governor General, with no immediate result. Their stand against injustice, however

attracted national publicity for Aboriginal land rights grievances. The strike developed into

a seven-year campaign by the Gurindji for the return of their traditional lands and became

a ‘cause celebre’ across Australia (Martin, 2007:45).

In extract (2.3) there is only one explicit temporal relation realized through the

conjunction ‘subsequently’ while the rest involves abstract relations. It is apparent from

the clause-internal relations created that abstraction is embodied through lexical items

such as ‘their rights, the case, a petition, the protest and injustice’. The students’ ability

to make clause internal relations is in harmony with Verticality since it involves among

other things relations between abstract and metaphorical concepts.


26

At the clause level, (refer to example 2.3) grammatical metaphor is noted in the

perturbation of the dominant subject position where the head Thing in the nominal

group ‘Their stand against justice’ is not realized by a noun but is derived from a

process ‘stand’ (Halliday & Mathiessen, 1999: 233). A similar example is illustrated by

the nominal group ‘Their calls for Commonwealth involvement’ in the metaphoric shift

of the element process ‘call’ to be realized as a pseudo Thing ‘their calls’. From the

Functional perspective in relation to grammatical metaphor, violation of the subject

position in this way is facilitated as a means of foregrounding (Halliday & Mathiessen,

2014; Martin, 2007; Painter, 1999). It sets the stage for the unfolding of the new

information in the next part of the clause. A clearer understanding of this concept of

foregrounding can be viewed from the textual metafunction in terms of the ‘theme-

rheme’ relation and ‘given-new’. Another case of nominalization that involves

condensation of information in the rank downgrade from figure to element is manifested

in the nominal group ‘Their call for Commonwealth involvement’ which can be

reworded to a congruent variant as ‘They called the Commonwealth to be involved.’ The

examples analyzed have proven the argument proposed by the study that Verticality is

realized through the utilization of nominalization and grammatical metaphor.

Painter (2007, 1999) also recognizes the importance of nominalization and

grammatical metaphor in building Verticality in language by analyzing naturally

occurring conversations with her preschool aged son Stephen. She agrees that

Horizontal discourse is context-bound and concrete whereby categories are learned

through contextually-supported language and not by processing definitions. An example

is shown in (2.4a) where reference is made to observable reality manifested in the

demonstrative ‘that’. However, a greater reliance is put on textual rather than tangible

experiential reality when Stephen progresses in his use of language as expressed in

example (2.4b). This stage in language development explores Stephen’s ability to build

taxonomic relations. He construes categories linguistically and then refers to those

categories rather than to material reality. In example (2.4b) a single class of thing ‘a pet’

is defined in terms of another thing ‘an animal’.

(2.4a)That is a pet

(2.4b) A pet is an animal.

Another example highlighted by Painter to illustrate the pivotal role played by the

two concepts nominalization and grammatical metaphor in building Verticality is


27

related to the difficulty Stephen encountered in understanding nominalized entities. For

instance, when the meaning congruently expressed by the verb ‘laugh’ is instead

expressed by the noun ‘laughter’. The same problem applies to his comprehension of

the nominal group ‘traffic jam’ portrayed in the two expressions given in examples

(2.5a) and (2.5b) below. The metaphoric variant in example (2.5b) shows element

participant and element process of the figure are combined into a nominal group ‘a

traffic jam’. It is obvious that the difficulties Stephen faced are related to his negotiation

of the shift from Horizontal to Vertical where he is required to make abstract relations

as in example (2.5b). Additionally, making meaning through definitions exerts pressure

on his mental capacity since he is just beginning to make use of semantic resources

without reliance on context. The interpretation of the expression ‘traffic jam’ by

reference to the perceptual context is challenging as it requires the skill to employ

‘abstraction’ a feature typical of a Vertical knowledge structure. Example (2.6)

illustrates the incorporation of grammatical metaphor where a non-conscious Thing

‘traffic jam’ is defined by another nominal group ‘when you can’t go even when the

light is green’ that is realized by processes (Painter, 2007:147).

(2.5a)This traffic is jamming up close together. (2.5b) This is a traffic jam

(2.6) A traffic jam is when you can’t go even when the light is green.

Understanding of abstraction, nominalization and grammatical metaphor is

problematic for Stephen because linguistic features realizing these concepts are not

associated with Horizontal but that of a Vertical knowledge structure (Painter, 2007). It

is critical to acquire skills in employing these concepts in order to realize Verticality in

academic writing texts. Painter among others adds it is a necessary development for the

achievement of literacy and other knowledge acquired in the educational context

(Schleppegrell, 2004; Simon-Vandenbergen et al., 2003).

A similar study illustrating the importance of nominalization and grammatical

metaphor in students’ academic writing texts is reported by Chen Youping and Joseph

Foley (2005). In their analysis of EFL Chinese students’ expository essays,

inappropriate deployment of lexicogrammatical resources was cited to be one of the

major problems.

(2.7a) Girls means to save money.

(2.7b) Having girls means the saving of a lot of money.


28

Two examples identified in their study which are relevant in this discussion include the

construal of meaning as conscious Things instead of macro Things. The examples in

(2.7) suggest students are not able to violate or substitute the prototypical position of the

‘noun’ by other entities such as ‘having girls’ a macro Thing. Another weakness shown

in example (2.8a) is the students’ inability to condense information through rank

downgrade. An alternative rewording is supplied in example (2.8b).

(2.8a) ‘Now the world is full of serious problems such as environment polluted’.

(2.8b) ‘Now the world is full of serious problems such as the pollution of the

environment’ (Cheng & Foley, 2005:200).

Literatures reviewed all support the central argument of the study on the pivotal role

played by nominalization and grammatical metaphor in improving students’ academic

writing texts. The next section explains conceptualization of grammatical metaphor by

tracing its genesis to the traditional view of metaphor.

2.3 Conceptual view of nominalization and grammatical metaphor

An understanding of nominalization and grammatical metaphor can be traced to

the traditional view of metaphor. Metaphor is not uncommon in our various language

communities and for the western culture its usage dates back to as early as Aristotle and

Plato. In traditional rhetoric, metaphor is understood as a figure of speech (Lakoff,

1994). To Aristotle and his followers, metaphor is an adornment to language but to

Plato and his associates it embodies the nature of language (Liu, 2008; Ungerer &

Schmid, 1996; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). It is used for something resembling that which

it usually refers to. This is done to suggest a similarity as expressed in this example

‘drowning with money’. The verb ‘drown’ literally means to ‘suffocate by being

submerged in water’. However, it is used metaphorically in this particular example to

mean ‘possessing plenty of money’ (Liu, 2008:13). Metaphors are considered important

in human communication because they are explored to assist us in making sense of

unfamiliar or abstract concepts.

A breakthrough in the use and understanding of metaphor was brought about by

cognitive linguists around the 1970s and 1980s. The remarkable contribution was made

by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) in their seminal book ‘Metaphors We Live By’. This

publication raises awareness on the importance of metaphor as a powerful cognitive tool

to conceptualize and symbolize concepts that are abstract. The conceptual metaphor


29

theorists claim that metaphors have been an integral component of everyday human

communication (Ungerer & Schmid, 1996; Lakoff, 1994; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). It is

different from the literal-figurative notion of traditional metaphor in the sense that ‘it is

a cross-domain mapping in the conceptual system’ (Lakoff, 1994: 43). Hence, its

identification as a cognitive process in the conceptual system makes it not only a way of

expression but also a way of conceptualization. This means that metaphor is conceptual

rather than merely linguistic in nature.

Philosophical groundings that inform conceptual metaphor are drawn from

experientialism (Ungerer & Schmid, 1996; Lakoff & Turner, 1989; Lakoff & Johnson,

1980). In relation to ‘conceptual metaphor theory’, this involves everything that makes

up actual or potential experiences as human beings interact with their environment. In

Johnson’s words; ‘we are what we are at this instant, and our world is what it is at this

instant only because of our embodied interaction’ (1991: 8). It is within this background

that the ‘conceptual metaphor theory’ maintains that metaphorical mappings are not

arbitrary but are constrained by our embodied nature. This means the mappings of

inference patterns from more concrete domains to more abstract domains are motivated

by and grounded on our bodily experiences (Lakoff, 1994; Johnson, 1993; Lakoff &

Johnson, 1980).

Some studies that have testified to the conceptual nature and pervasive use of

metaphor in human communication are explored. An example discussed by Lakoff

(1994) and Johnson (1993) is on the Journey metaphor such as ‘Love is a Journey’. The

domain ‘Love’ is understood in relation to the domain ‘Journey’. The learner’s

understanding of the source domain ‘Journey’ is explored to assist him or her

understand the target domain which is ‘Love’. The followings are some commonly used

examples associated with the metaphor ‘Love is a Journey’: (a) We’ve come a long way.

(b) It’s been a long, bumpy road. (c) There is no turning back now.

In the ‘Life as a Journey’ metaphor, the human life cycle is conventionally

conceptualized in terms of three journeys (Liu, 2008; Boyd, 1993). The first journey is

marked when one is born, the second refers to the journey through one’s whole life and

the third is when one departs at the time of death. The three journeys are often reflected

in the following metaphorical expressions; (a) The baby is on the way. (b) The baby has

arrived. (c) He is still with us. (d) They brought him back (Ungerer & Schmid, 1996:

120).


30

Another example on the pivotal role played by metaphors in understanding abstract

concepts is discussed by Ungerer & Schmid (1996) in relation to making user-friendly

metaphorical computer icons. On the screen there are ‘windows’ one can ‘open and

close’, or when the computer ‘malfunctions’ it is referred to as having a ‘virus’. The

user-friendly icons exploit the familiar to assist users make the connection to the

unfamiliar so as to understand what the target domain represents. The recognition of

metaphor as conceptual asserts its importance as a powerful cognitive tool especially in

understanding abstract and metaphorical concepts.

In the field of linguistics, two well-known metaphors are the ‘Building Block’ and

‘Conduit Metaphor’ (Reddy, 1993; Langacker, 1987). The Building Block metaphor is

explored to illustrate how words and sentences are formed. In the case of compound

words such as, apple-juice and wheelchair, these words are constructed in the same way

a building is constructed by the use of bricks, woods, concrete, reeds and so on. As in

the ‘Conduit Metaphor’, (Reddy, 1993) linguistic communication is conceptualized in

terms of sending and receiving of parcels where ideas are being compared to objects.

They are put into containers in the form of words and are sent to a receiver by a sender.

The receiver then takes the object out of its container which refers to ideas (Reddy,

1993).

Although cognitive linguists have made notable developments in the study of

metaphor, there are controversies that do exist. One of which is between constructivists

and non-constructivists (Liu, 2008; Ungerer & Schmid, 1996). The proponents of

constructivism agree on the usefulness of metaphor in human communication and

cognition. On the other hand, the non-constructivists prefer to distinguish between the

literal and figurative meaning. Lack of empirical data in relation to the study of

metaphor has been cited as a drawback in this area of research (Liu, 2008; Cienki, 2005).

The current study agrees with the constructivists that metaphor is similar to

grammatical metaphor in the sense that they are not merely forms of expressions but are

means of conceptualization (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999; Ungerer & Schmid, 1996; Lakoff,

1994). However, for grammatical metaphor instead of variation in meaning of a given

expression as in the traditional view, it is the variation in the expression of a given

meaning. In the next section, theories associated with the philosophical groundings of

‘experientialism’ that have extensively influenced the conceptualization of grammatical

metaphor are discussed.


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2.3.1 Prototype theory

Prototype theory is based on the notion of gestalt in the categorization of objects in

relation to proximity, closure and continuation (Ungerer & Schmid, 1996; Brown, 1990;

Rosch, 1975, 1973). This presupposes that an object or organism is included into a

category according to how similar it is to what is accepted as goodness of example. The

ability to decide what particular organism to include in a category involves mental

processing. This will be affected not only by the attributes, family resemblances and

gestalt but also by its experiential or subjective associations to the person (Ungerer &

Schmid, 1996; Taylor, 1995; Barsalou, 1987; Coleman & Kay, 1981). This insight

shows the influence of the socio-cultural context on cognitive categorization and this

can be compared to the effect of language learning in the educational context.

In the various researches conducted in relation to prototypes, it is noted that people

associate goodness of examples to objects they are familiar with and have value and

significance in their language and culture. Objects and organisms that do not have

functional or cultural significances are sidelined as marginal or peripheral. For example,

in Rosch’s (1978) experiment on categorization of fruits, almost everyone gives apple

or orange as their first choice for central good examples, then lemon, bananas and

strawberries as secondary good examples and then tomatoes, cucumbers and avocadoes

as debatable examples. The conclusion obtained from the experiment reflects the

prototype effects. That is to say, information in human cognition is arranged in a radial

structure of network with central good examples, secondary poorer examples, and

peripheral examples (Ungerer & Schmid, 1996; Wierzbicka, 1990; Rosch, 1975). In the context of this study, if the prototype theory is seen against the semogenetic

timeframe within the congruent and metaphorical continuum, it is located closer to the

congruent pole. Therefore, in order for Verticality to be realized in writing texts, it

requires a shift in choices of lexicogrammatical resources from central good examples

to those that are more peripheral. This suggests, choosing more metaphorical variants

instead of the commonly employed congruent prototypes. In terms of nominalization,

this means the verb ‘laugh’ is realized as a noun ‘laughter’, or a noun ‘industry’ is

realized as qualifier for the nominal group ‘ industrial campaign’. Likewise in regards

to grammatical metaphor, a figure as shown in example (2.9b) is reduced to a nominal

group ‘a seven-year campaign’ illustrated in example (2.9a).


32

(2.9a) The strike developed into a seven-year campaign by the Gurindji for the return

of their traditional lands and became a ‘cause celebre’ across Australia.

(2.9b) The campaign lasted for seven years.

These examples show that a text needs to shift away from the prototype in order to be

identified as Vertical and this means manipulation of nominalization and grammatical

metaphor.

2.3.2 Basic level categories

The notion of class inclusion underlies the principle that informs the hierarchical

structure of basic level categorization (Ungerer & Schmid, 1996; Cruse, 1977; Brown,

1965). This implies the superordinate class includes all items at the subordinate level.

For instance, the class ‘animal’ includes birds and reptiles and on the next level the class

‘mammal’ comprises dogs, cats, cows and others of the same class. Still further down

the hierarchy the class ‘dog’ comprises of terriers, bulldogs, poodles and so on (Ungerer

& Schmid ,1999; Rosch, Caroline, Wayne, David & Penny,1976). Such classification

highlights that concrete entities in the world can be hierarchically ordered according to

class inclusion. It is from the notion of hierarchy that classification or taxonomies are

developed and this can be related to relations made in Relational clauses.

A research finding that substantiates the claim on the importance of basic level

categorization refers to plant classification of the Tzeltal community (Berlin et al.,

1974). Although their classification is not as complex as those of the western countries,

a significant observation is the emphasis put on the generic or basic level categorization.

Adherence to basic level categorization of the Tzeltal people reflects simple mindedness

which is the equivalence of a Horizontal knowledge structure. Basic level is accorded

primacy and centrality because it is the level where the most obvious differences can be

seen (Brown, 1990). For instance, in the classification of animals one can see category

items resembling either the superordinate or subordinate at the basic level categories. It

is argued that the basic level provides the largest amount of relevant information that

can easily be understood about the object and organisms of the world. Additionally, the

basic level offers the largest bundles of correlated attributes where the overlap is so

great that it facilitates reliable gestalt perception (Berlin et al., 1974). Basic level

categorization and the prototype theory have a symbiotic relation as they are both

guided by the principle of gestalt (Ungerer & Schmid, 1996; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980;


33

Rosch, 1977). Hence, for a text to realize Verticality this means choice of lexical items

shifts from basic to more peripheral levels which entails the use of nominalization. This

presupposes the principle elements of the clause such as element process, logical

relations and qualities are not realized by their respective grammatical labels but are

realized as Thing. Additionally, choice of lexical items is complemented by

superordinate and/or subordinate categories. In the case of grammatical metaphor,

abstract relations are explored through clause-internal relations as discussed in Section

2.2 examples (2.2c) and (2.3).

Another example of nominalization is where a figure such as ‘this is a traffic jam’

is realized as a noun ‘the traffic jam’ in the metaphorical variant as illustrated in Section

2.2 example (2.5a and 2.5b). Similarly, at the clause level a distancing from the basic

level means violation of the conventional sequencing of elements. This is discussed in

Section 2.2 example (2.3) where the dominant subject position realized by a noun is

substituted by some other element. In this example it is a non-conscious thing ‘stand

against justice’ introduced by a possessive deictic pronoun ‘their’. On the same token,

the concept of abstraction is also manifested in the process ‘stand’ in its paradigmatic

shift from process to be recognized as a Thing. From the point of view of Halliday’s

notion of grammatical metaphor, like the prototype theory, basic level categorization is

closer to the congruent pole rather than the metaphorical pole.

2.3.3 Theory of iconicity

The perception of ‘iconicity’ is based on the conceptualization patterns of human

cognition. The renowned American semiotician Pierce developed this ‘triadic sign

theory’ based on the relationship of three variables: representamen, interpretant and

object (Lier, 2004: 64). He argues it contrasts with the Saussurean binary definition of

signs the ‘signified’ and ‘signifier’. The signifier which refers to the formal sign is the

equivalent of ‘representamen’ in Piercean’s theory, and ‘signified’ maps on to ‘object’.

Pierce had incorporated an extra variable the ‘interpretant’ as a meditational device

which functions as translator. In terms of human communication, the interpretant acting

as the translator needs to identify and connect to the formally identified ‘representamen’

which in turn should produce a mental effect the ‘object’. The relationship is

diagrammed in Figure 2.4. While comparing the two interpretations, it can be concluded

that the Piercean triadic sign theory has improved on the Sausurrean binary signs. He


34

has taken into consideration the complementary contributions of both the socio-cultural

context and the cognitive processes especially in the role played by the interpretant to

make meaningful connections between the signs.

Interpretant

Representamen Object

Figure 2.4 Piercean triadic sign theory (Liu, 2008:79)

This approach in making meaning runs parallel to the theoretical premise on which

Systemic Functional perspective is grounded on the interactive role of language and

thought. In classroom learning and in particular writing for NNE speakers, the

interpretant’s role in making connections from representamen to derived object will be

enhanced or inhibited depending on associated cognitive models stored in their

background knowledge (Semino & Culper, 2002).

Pierce further developed a semiotic classification system to characterize the nature

of the triadic signs as shown in Figure 2.5 (Lier, 2004). The classification shows that in

human communication we connect to signs around us at three different levels. For

example, the sign representamen at the first level of understanding is referred to as

qualisign in its association with quality. This means, the interpretant’s attraction is just

surface level whereby one is connected to the representamen due to its overall appeal

and image. At the second level of understanding, the representamen is defined as

sinsign and this is when it is viewed not only as an image but as a concrete individual or

object. The third level of understanding is referred to as legisign and this is when the

representamen is apprehended as a conventionalized concrete realization. According to

Lier (2004:70), understanding at this level involves and embraces metaphorical variants.

The second classification in terms of nature refers to object and it falls into three

categories; icon, index and symbol. When object is referred to as quality, it is

understood by the interpretant as an icon. It is the surface level often superficial

qualities associated with the object that draws people to it. Pierce adds that the value of

an icon is purely imaginary. A sign becomes an index when it orients people mentally


35

towards it due to its existence, for instance smoke coming out of a chimney. Finally, a

sign is a symbol when it is of the third order.

Figure 2.5 Piercean’s taxonomy of signs

This means, the interpretant treats the object not as just existing but as an idea.

Adopting the theory of iconicity assists teachers to identify from texts analyzed at what

stage students are connecting with the signs. Making connections at the symbolic level

means, they are incorporating nominalization and grammatical metaphor. On the

contrary, if nominalization and grammatical metaphor are not sparingly employed, it

indicates students have yet to reach the symbolic stage.

Linguists have explored the concept of iconicity by contextualizing human

communication in cognition. A remarkable contribution on iconicity in relation to

language learning is made by Givon (1985:189) on the notion of ‘isomorphisim’. In his

‘isomorphically constructed code theory’, he suggests it is easier to store, retrieve and

communicate a coded experience if the code is maximally isomorphic to the experience.

In this regard, he proposes three types of morphosyntactic iconicity; iconic quantity,

iconic proximity and iconic sequencing. In ‘iconic quantity’, Givon explains that the

complexity of the morphosyntactic structure is relative to the complexity of the encoded

concept. An example is shown to illustrate this concept.

Thrid order: legisign

Second order: indexical -sinsign

First order: iconic qualisign


36

(2.10a) In bridging river valleys, the early engineers built many notable masonry

viaducts of numerous arches.

(2.10b) Many stone viaducts were built over river valleys (Liu, 2008: 82).

The two sentences represent the same event but it is apparent that sentence (2.10a)

encodes more details when compared to sentence (2.10b). The comparison shows

example (2.10a) employs more morphosyntactic resources which is reflective of

Givon’s theory of ‘iconic quantity’. In relation to the theory of ‘iconic proximity’, it is

likely that semantically related concepts are placed close to each other as highlighted in

the examples below.

(2.11a) They found him beneath the overturned car with a broken left leg.

(2.11b) They found him with a broken left leg beneath an overturned car.

Regarding the iconic proximity principle, example (2.11b) is acceptable because

the prepositional phrase ‘with a broken leg’ is semantically related to the pronoun ‘him’.

The third code ‘iconic sequencing’ implies, the sequential order of the morphosyntactic

structure corresponds to that of the encoded concept as reflected in the following

example; ‘I came, I saw, I conquered.’ In the analysis and examination of

nominalization and grammatical metaphor, Givon’s (1985) theory of isomorphism can

be exploited to evaluate how students are able to disturb the conventional arrangement

of elements in the clause. Texts that violate the theory of isomorphism suggest they are

able to shift from the congruent to the peripheral pole. On the other hand, texts that

observe the norm in the adherence to the theory of iconicity and isomorphism will show

deviance in the embodiment of nominalization and grammatical metaphor.

2.3.4 Figure and ground theory

The figure and ground theory was first introduced by the Danish psychologist

Rubin almost a century ago and has since been integrated into perceptual organization

by gestalt psychologists (Talmy, 2000; Ungerer & Schmid, 1996; Lakoff, 1987).


37

Figure 2.6 Figure and ground theory

There are two possibilities of perceiving the picture in Figure 2.6 however, only one can

be seen at a time depending on the phenomenon referred to as ‘figure-ground

segregation’. Ungerer and Schmid (1996:157) explain that the ‘figure-ground

segregation on the one hand confirms perceptual prominence of the picture’. The figure

is perceived as having a form and shape whereas the ground is shapeless and

unstructured. One’s choice to see one of the forms as ‘the figure’ proves its prominence

compared to the ground. This theory is relevant in analyzing student texts by comparing

figure to grammatical metaphor and how it is utilized in writing as a form of

foregrounding. The adoption of the conceptual view of grammatical metaphor to

substantiate interpretations from the Functional perspective adds credibility to research

findings. It also recognizes the contextualization of human communication in the

iconicity inherent between language and thought. The next section discusses the

Functional view of grammatical metaphor and illustrates how texts will be analyzed in

this study.

2.4 Functional view of nominalization and grammatical metaphor

Systemic Functional grammar comprises of Systemic grammar and Functional

grammar (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996; Bloor & Bloor,

1995). Systemic grammar concentrates on the internal relationship of language where

language is represented as comprising of three primary levels; substance, form and


38

situation. Substance includes the raw material of language such as, phonic and graphic.

Form on the other hand, refers to the arrangement of the substance into recognizable

and meaningful patterns, including lexis and grammar. Situation is the context in which

language is used. These primary levels of language are connected by two inter-levels; (a)

context that links form and situation, (b) phonology and graphology, linking form with

phonic substance and graphic substance illustrated in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Levels of language (Liu, 2008:69)

Substance Form Situation

Phonic substance Phonology Grammar Thesis

Graphic substance Graphology Lexis Context Immediate situation

Wider situation

Functional grammar examines the process and result of the linguistic choice in the

way language functions in the discourse. It is then viewed as a system comprising of

meaning potentials one can choose from to serve their purpose. Halliday & Mathiessen

(2014, 2004, 1999) identify three language metafunctions with three strands of meaning.

It is against this backdrop that one chooses the meaning to suit a particular situation.

This view of looking at language is not one-sided where there is no distinction made

amongst the many ways in which language functions. Systemic Functional theory

attempts to portray the various ways language functions in real life usage and how these

various functions are structured to produce the intended meaning.

From the Transitivity system, an alternative to the congruent mode of expressing

meaning is proposed by Halliday through his Functional notion of grammatical

metaphor (1985). The term ‘nominalization’ which is a kind of metaphor manifested at

the lexical level comes under the umbrella term grammatical metaphor. An

understanding of grammatical metaphor can be traced back to the traditionally

recognized types of ‘rhetorical transference’ or figures of speech: metaphor, metonymy

and synecdoche (Halliday, 1985). Focusing on metaphor, Halliday notes the traditional

notion which he labels as the view from ‘below’ only realizes metaphor as lexical. It

looks at the variation in the use of words; or the use of a word with a transferred

meaning. In Figure 2.7 for example the clause; ‘a flood of protests poured in’

(1985:319), the word ‘flood’ usually associated with rivers is transferred to refer to

‘protests’. Halliday argues the view of metaphor from ‘below’ as lexical can be

complemented by a view from ‘above’ (see Figure 2.7). This view from above is what


39

he called ‘grammatical metaphor’. The starting point here is a given meaning with the

corresponding alternative or various ways the particular meaning can be expressed. In

general, it is quite difficult to find alternative expressions of a given meaning that differ

from each other in one word. Some expressions supplied by Halliday for ‘protests

flooded in’ include; (a) ‘protests came in large quantities’, (b) protests were received in

large quantities’ or (c) ‘very many people protested’. The distinction between the view

from below where the focus is on a ‘word’ and that from above is related to variation in

meaning verses variation in expression of a given meaning. In the example (a) a

prepositional phrase is added whereas, in example (c) there is a grammatical shift from

‘noun to verb’ where the noun ‘protest’ now functions as a process. This argument on

the various ways a particular meaning can be expressed basically led to the enrichment

of metaphor that is, not only as ‘lexical’ but lexicogrammatical. It has since been

recognized and established that…

There is a strong grammatical element in rhetorical transference; and once we have

recognized this we find that there is also such a thing as grammatical metaphor, where the

variation is essentially in the grammatical forms although often entailing some lexical

variation as well (Halliday, 1994: 342).

Hence in discussing grammatical metaphor ‘literal’ is no longer appropriate (Halliday,

1994). The differences in the expressions of the same meaning are defined in terms of

‘markedness’; where those forms that conform to the typical ways are recognized as

‘unmarked’ thus are non-metaphorical variants also labeled ‘congruent’ realizations.

The term congruent refers to the natural mapping of semantics to lexicogrammar which

according to language semohistory is learnt first by children at an early stage. On the

other hand, metaphorical variants or the ‘marked’ forms are those that deviate from the

norm. These forms are learnt later by children and mostly learned in educational

contexts (Halliday & Mathiessen 2014; Chen & Foley, 2005). Thus, in the case of

grammatical metaphor, the grammatical configurations are compared, whereas in the

traditional perspective the focus is on the meaning of a single word. While in the

traditional view of metaphor, the opposition between literal and figurative is often clear-

cut, there is now a scale of congruency in grammatical metaphor. The two perspectives

are shown in Figure 2.7. Both Mathiessen and Halliday (1999: 233) agree that lexical

and grammatical metaphors should be viewed as ‘both aspects of the same general


40

metaphorical strategy by which we expand our semantic resources for construing

experience’.

Figure 2.7 Two perspectives on metaphorical meaning (Halliday, 1994: 342)

It is apparent from the discussions undertaken that the notion of nominalization and

grammatical metaphor in Functional grammar is derived from the traditional view of

metaphor. In traditional rhetoric (see section 2.3) an understanding of ‘abstract and

metaphorical’ concepts typically involves a cross-domain mapping in the conceptual

system (Lakoff, 1994) where a concrete entity or something familiar is used to

understand the unknown or unfamiliar. Normally, there are two levels of meaning given;

the literal and metaphorical. The same concept applies in the case of nominalization

and grammatical metaphor in Functional grammar. However, instead of two different

meanings there are two or more expressions of a given meaning.

An illustration of how abstraction is explored in this study is the grammatical shift of

the verb ‘laugh’ to the noun’ laughter’ whereby it is recognized as a non-conscious

pseudo Thing. This grammatical shift from ‘verb to noun’ of the word ‘laugh’ is also

an example of nominalization where the word ‘laugh’ now adopts two semantic

categories ‘process thing’. The illustration proves that abstraction is also a feature

typical of nominalization. Instead of two different meanings as in traditional rhetoric we

now have two different expressions of the same meaning.

In regards to ‘metaphorical concept’, this study identifies it with the incorporation of

grammatical metaphor. This is shown in the following examples where a particular

meaning can be expressed in two different ways; firstly in (a) as a figure and in (b) as a

seen from below

seen from above

literal metaphorical many people protested

a moving mass

a moving mass of

of water feeling or rhetoric

a large number a flood of of protests protests

flood congruent metaphorical


41

nominal group; (a) ‘Jane has a red car’ and (b) ‘Jane’s red car’. Again this example

confirms that metaphorical concepts are embodied through the use of grammatical

metaphor.

In the current study, text analysis closely observes Halliday’s metaphor taxonomy.

The taxonomy can be understood from the three time frames of semogenesis that

includes phylogenesis, ontogenesis and logogenesis. Semogenesis is the process in

which meaning and particular meanings are created (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014,

2004, 1999 Halliday, 1994). The process takes place through time and in order to make

sense of the literal and metaphorical dichotomy, it has to be viewed against its

semogenetic history. A continuum whose poles are ‘least metaphorical’ and ‘most

metaphorical’ has been developed based on historical evidence in reference to the three

axes of semohistory. Phylogenetic is defined according to how language has evolved

from the early years to the present time. Ontogenetic time frame is associated with the

language developmental process of an individual speaker. It is one of growth according

to the human natural life cycle from childhood, middle age and to old age. Logogenetic

concerns the act of meaning as it unfolds where potential of creating meaning is

continually modified in the light of what has gone before. An example is given to

illustrate the distinction between the least metaphorical labeled ‘congruent’ and the

most ‘metaphorical’. To locate the given pair in relation to the continuum, it is apparent

that the expression ‘engine failure’ evolved after ‘the engine failed’. This argument is

made on the rewording of the nominal group ‘engine failure’ as ‘an engine failed’ to

show that it has undergone a downgrade in shift from figure to element. The element

participant of the figure ‘an engine’ is realized as Thing and ‘failed’ is realized as

process. However, in the metaphoric shift the element participant ‘an engine’ in the

congruent form is now functioning as qualifier for head Thing.

Engines of the 36 class only appeared on this train…

Congruent Metaphorical

when the load was in times of reduced reduced ,or an engine failed loading, or engine

failure Figure 2.8 Literal & metaphorical continuum (Halliday & Mathiessen, 1999: 237)


42

The element process ‘failed’ in the congruent form functions as head Thing ‘failure’ in

the metaphorical form. This metaphoric shift where the element process ‘fail’ becomes

a Thing ‘failure’ reflects developments in language use in relation to the three time

frames. The same applies to the noun ‘engine’ in its metaphoric shift to be realized as

qualifier for the nominal group ‘engine failure’.

2.4.1 Manifestation of nominalization at the lexical level

Analysis at the lexical level focuses on three semantic categories that are found to

be commonly employed in USP student texts such as; (i) ‘quality thing’ (ii) ‘process

thing’ and (iii) ‘process quality’ (see Table 2. 2). The secondary motif of grammatical

metaphor where element participant functions as qualifier, possessive or classifier is

also explored. In addition, the metaphoric shift of element process to expand meaning

as qualifier and also as a head Thing in a nominal group is examined.

Nominalization is manifested at the lexical level through junctional elemental

metaphors where two semantic categories are created as a result of a metaphoric shift.

This is illustrated in Table 2. 2 for example in the grammatical shift of the adjective

‘stable’, to the derived noun ‘stability’. The shift allows the lexical item ‘stable’ to

adopt two semantic categories ‘quality thing’. This is shown in another example in the

grammatical shift of the verb ‘transform’, to the noun ‘transformation’. The metaphoric

shift expands the potential of the verb ‘transform’ to make meaning thus acquiring the

semantic categories ‘process thing’. Similarly, in Type 5 metaphor the semantic

categories ‘process quality’ are created as a result of the metaphoric shift of the verb

‘imagine’ to the adjective ‘imaginative’.

Table 2.2 Halliday’s Metaphor taxonomy (Chen & Foley, 2005:196)

Metaphor Congruent Metaphorical Grammatical shift Semantic shift

Type1 stable stability adjective to noun quality thing

Type 2 transform transformation verb to noun process thing

Type 5 imagine imaginative verb to adjective process quality

Secondary motif

Type 13 government decided

government’s decision noun to adjective thing quality


43

Type13 metaphor is defined by Halliday as realizing the secondary motif of

grammatical metaphor which involves a shift in the opposite direction (Halliday &

Mathiessen, 1999). This is where the element participant adopts a secondary role as

qualifier, possessive or classifier. In Table 2.2, this is illustrated in the metaphoric shift

of the noun ‘government’ to be realized as qualifier/possessive in the nominal group

‘government’s decision’. Type13 Metaphor is also analyzed at the lexical level to

illustrate condensation of information in the rank downgrade from figure to element.

Example (2.12b) shows it has been downgraded from the figure ‘the group decided

yesterday’ (2.12a). In the rank downgrade the verb ‘decided’ shifts to become the head

Thing ‘decision’. The element participant ‘the group’ of the figure expands the head

Thing in the metaphorical variant. Element circumstance ‘yesterday’ is

possessive/qualifier for the head Thing.

(2.12a) Congruent: The group decided yesterday;

(2.12b) Metaphorical: yesterday’s decision by the group.

In another example the nominal group in (2.13b) is downgraded from figure to

element as shown in the rewording in (2.13a). It is apparent that in the metaphoric shift

the adjective ‘stable’ of the figure adopts an alternative function as head Thing in the

metaphorical variant. The participant of the figure now functions as qualifier presented

in a prepositional phrase ‘of the society’ in the metaphorical variant.

(2.13a) Congruent: The society is stable

(2.13b) Metaphorical: the stability of the society

The function of element process as qualifier is also analyzed. It is evident that the

‘verb’ normally does not have the potential to expand because it is from a closed class

system. However, metaphoric shifts through the process of nominalization allow the

verb to adopt other roles such as qualifiers for head Thing as depicted in the examples

presented below.

(2.14a) a clearly demarcated line

(2.14b) a well justified argument

The potential of element process to adopt other functions is also illustrated in

examples (2.15). The slot that is normally observed for a noun is taken up by element

process. For instance, the nominal group ‘exponential increase’ illustrates how the

element process ‘increase’ is realized as head Thing. Similarly the nominal group


44

‘political intervention’ illustrates the metaphoric shift of element process ‘intervene’ to

be realized as head Thing ‘intervention’.

(2.15a) exponential increase

(2.15b) political intervention

Syntactic establishment is considered important in discussing manifestation of

nominalization at the lexical level to highlight how metaphorical variants evolve into

becoming demetaphoricalized. The concept is referred to as ‘transcategorization’ where

the syntactic status of the derived nominal group is well established that it allows for co-

occurrence with a plural inflectional morpheme ‘(e)s’ and/or the indefinite article

‘a(n)’(Halliday & Mathiessen, 1999; Liu, 2008). However, it must be noted that the line

between metaphorical and transcategorized forms are not always clear-cut. Some

examples that are claimed to be syntactically established are given in (2.16). A

discussion on transcategorization is important in order to determine creativity in

language use by comparing frequency of transcategorized and metaphorical variants

employed in student texts.

(2.16a) development (s) (2.16b) imitations (s) (2.16c) observation(s)

2.4.2 Manifestation of grammatical metaphor at the clause level

Analysis of grammatical metaphor focuses on the following metaphoric shifts; rank

downgrade from sequence to figure, violation of the prototypical subject position,

metaphoric expression of circumstance, manifestation of abstraction in text and lexical

density.

At the clause level, downgrade in shift from sequence to figure is analyzed to

examine how grammatical metaphor is incorporated through condensing of information.

Analysis specifically focuses on semantically loaded nominal groups employed in the

clause.

(2.17) Without funding for the education and sustainable community development

programs that the Universal Access Plan call for, financial support for HIV/AIDS

becomes a life-line to struggling communities.

(2.17a) Funding is provided to educate the people and to sustain programs that are

developed for the communities.

(2.17b)Support is provided in the form of finance


45

(2.17c)Financial support is viewed as a line that provides support for the communities

that are struggling.

The clause in example (2.17) comprises of three semantically loaded nominal groups

that have undergone a downgrade in shift from figure or some alternative rewordings

may even yield sequences. The alternative rewordings prove that grammatical metaphor

is embodied in text to condense information.

Manifestation of grammatical metaphor at the clause level also examines the

violation of the prototypical subject position. The analysis particularly examines the

shift of the element process and other abstract entities to be realized as Thing. The

metaphoric shift involves a move towards the concrete in the direction of ‘objectifying’

which means making like an object (Halliday and Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999;

Painter, 2007, 1999).

(2.18) Balance (Identified/token) means (process) you hold it on your fingers and it doesn’t

go (Identifier/value.

In example (2.18) the abstract participant ‘balance’ in the subject slot is not prototypical

but peripheral. It is a verb that has undergone a metaphoric shift to be realized as a non-

conscious pseudo Thing. It is said to be peripheral because it is occupying the slot that

is conventionally observed for a noun. The violation of the prototypical subject position

in this way contributes to the creation of grammatical metaphor. Similarly, in the

examples given below it can be argued that the prototypical subject position is violated

in example (2.19b) because a verb ‘impact’ is occupying the slot that is normally

reserved for a noun. The metaphoric shift sees the process ‘impact’ objectified to be

recognized as a non-conscious pseudo Thing ‘The impact’. The recognition of ‘impact’

as a concrete entity is further supported by its potential to co-occur with a plural

inflectional morpheme such as ‘impacts (s)’. This metaphoric shift is further illustrated

in the alternative congruent variant in example (2.19a) where the prototypical subject is

a noun ‘children’, the verb is realized by a process ‘are impacted’ while the

prepositional phrase ‘by the internet and technology today’ is circumstance.

(2.19a) Children are impacted by the internet and technology today (NE1).

(2.19b) The impact/ of the Internet and technology on children today (NE1).

Additionally, to identify how grammatical metaphor is incorporated at the clause

level, the metaphoric expression of circumstance is examined. Clause- internal relations

explored in Relational clauses contribute to the relocation in circumstantial meaning


46

that is normally expressed by conjunctions in inter-clausal relations to process,

preposition or participant. This is illustrated in the examples given below where the

conjunction ‘because’ in the congruent variant is remapped to participant, process or

preposition in the metaphorical mode. In example (2.20b) the circumstantial information

is expressed by the two participants ‘the cause of her death’ and ‘her ignorance of the

rules. In example (2.20c) circumstantial information is relocated to the process ‘caused’

and it is remapped to a preposition ‘through’ in example (2.20d).

(2.20a) She died because she was not familiar with the rules.

(2.20b)The cause of her death was her ignorance of the rules

(2.20c) Her ignorance of the rules caused her death.

(2.20d)Through ignorance of the rules she died (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014: 673).

The current study also explores how grammatical metaphor is manifested in

Relational Identifying clauses by analyzing the incorporation of abstract participants in

the clause. For instance in example (2.20b) the two abstract participants refer to ‘the

cause of her death’ and ‘her ignorance’. Such clause-internal relations involving

abstract participants where quantum of change is inertly brought about contribute to the

creation of grammatical metaphor and the realization of Verticality.

Moreover, an important feature analyzed found to contribute to the creation of

grammatical metaphor is the choice of expansion types. Elaboration is explored in

writing texts for exposition, exemplification and/or clarification. Extension is used for

addition, an alternative or replacement. Enhancement is argued by Halliday and

Mathiessen (2014) to be commonly employed in academic writing texts to provide

circumstantial information mainly of cause. However, in Relational clauses the meaning

of expansion changes due to the relocation in mapping of circumstance of ‘cause’ that is

normally expressed through conjunctions in inter-clausal relations to process,

preposition or participant in clause-internal relations (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014:

673-674). Some examples are discussed to illustrate the metaphoric expression of

circumstance through expansion.

(2.21a) The reality simply is that humanitarian organizations do not have the might to

create comprehensive far-reaching sustainability programs.

(2.21b) Humanitarian organizations cannot sustain the programs because they do not have

the might.


47

The rewording in (2.21b) shows the relocation in mapping of circumstantial meaning

expressed by the conjunction ‘because’ to the prepositional phrase ‘to create

comprehensive far-reaching sustainability programs’. Expansion type explored is of

enhancement and this is depicted by the circumstance of ‘cause’ created in the distilling

of meaning through the semantically loaded prepositional phrase. The use of Relational

clauses is a convenient way of introducing and making students become aware of how

abstract concepts are objectified and incorporated in writing texts as shown in the

examples. Furthermore, the creation of a circumstantial semantic space through clause-

internal relations contributes to the realization of Verticality. This type of construction

is recommended in academic writing because it incorporates abstract and metaphorical

concepts (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Painter, 1999; Bloor & Bloor,

1995).

One way to determine Verticality in a text is by comparing lexical density between

texts. Density of a text is determined by the frequency of nominalized entities in a

sentence. In written texts, words are condensed so that unnecessary information are

filtered out and on the same token to create a distancing effect from ‘here and now’

(Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; Martin, 2007; Eggins, 1994). Halliday & Mathiessen

among others postulate while written texts are lexically dense, the spoken version is

complex in terms of grammatical intricacy. In order to exemplify this claim, a

comparison is made between a written and its spoken variant. To measure lexical

density the number of lexical items is divided by the number of clauses in a sentence.

One example is illustrated below.

(2.22a) In bridging river valleys, the early engineers built many notable masonry viaducts

of numerous arches.

(2.22b) In the early days when engineers had to make bridges across a valley and had a

river flowing through it, they often built viaducts, which were constructed of masonry and

had numerous arches in them; and many of these viaducts became notable (Halliday,1994:

351).

It is obvious that example (2.22a) is from a written text with eleven lexical items and

two clauses which means a lexical density of around six. However, example (2.22b)

which is grammatically intricate is naturally of the spoken form. There are six

grammatically related clauses and seventeen lexical items, with a lexical density of

around three. Lexical density is high in written texts when compared to spoken texts as


48

a result of the packaging of quantum of information through the process of

nominalization (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Halliday, 1994). This is

employed in academic writing as an economical strategy to pack as much information

as required into a group, phrase or sentence. Additionally, it is embraced to eliminate

contextual and unnecessary features thus making the text conform to features promoted

in academic discourse. A lexically dense text exemplifies a high frequency of

nominalization which is reflective of a Vertical knowledge structure.

2.5 Summary

This chapter argues that a Vertical knowledge structure is attained through the

incorporation of nominalization and grammatical metaphor. This claim is supported by

various studies that had explored the pivotal role played by nominalization and

grammatical metaphor in building Verticality in academic writing texts. Features that

define the three concepts are found to be compatible with those accepted in the

elaborated register and academic discourse. Illustrations and discussions have justified

the claim that grammatical metaphor involves the relocation in mapping of meaning to

lexicogrammar. This is manifested at the lexical level in the use of nominalization and

at the clause level in the use of grammatical metaphor. They are said to be

representative of Verticality in their potential to condense information by filtering out

linguistic features that relate the text to ‘here and now’. Additionally, the potential to

package quantum of information facilitates creation of technical terms and relations

made in the clause between parts and kinds.

While tracing the genesis of grammatical metaphor, it is found to be related to

traditional metaphor connecting their philosophical groundings to the theory of

‘experientialism’. The theory of experientialism is aligned to the Functional perspective

of Transitivity and likewise Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor. They all

recognize meaning as the embodiment of one’s interaction with their environment.

What unfolds as text is extensively influenced by the interactive role of the social

context and thought processes with language as the critical mediating device. The next

chapter presents the Transitivity system and discusses why it is explored to elicit data

for the current study.

Chapter Three Theoretical Framework

49


The Transitivity system which is included in the three lines of meaning proposed in

Halliday’s Systemic Functional grammar is explored as theoretical framework of the

study (Halliday & Mathessen, 2014; 1999). Firstly, an explanation is made on

Transitivity followed by the three major processes; Material, Mental and Relational. A

more detailed discussion is then undertaken to justify the choice of Relational as the

clause type to analyze nominalization and grammatical metaphor.

3.1 Transitivity System

In traditional grammar Transitivity mainly involves the verb (Halliday, 1994). If

the action induced by the verb extends to another participant, the verb is said to be

transitive, if it does not then the verb becomes intransitive. However, from the

perspective of Halliday’s Systemic Functional theory, Transitivity is different because it

involves all the principle elements in the clause (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004,

1999). The choice of verb or process is not independent as it influences the functions of

the other two elements; the participant and circumstance.

Transitivity provides a grammar where human experiences are modeled (Halliday

& Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996; Eggins, 1994). This potential of the

Transitivity system to model human experiences makes it an appropriate theoretical

framework. It provides an environment where embodied human experiences unfolding

in the form of texts can be analyzed as an object of study. Subsequently, its

incorporation with Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor should be able to identify

USP students’ academic writing problems related to ‘abstract and metaphorical concepts’

the study intends to identify.

The Transitivity system construes human experience into meaning categories

comprising of clause complex, clause and group which stand in a natural relationship

with those of meaning in the form of sequence, figure and element (Halliday &

Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999). The clause plays a pivotal role in the construal of

experience since it embodies a general principle for modeling experience that consists

of a flow of events or ‘going-ons’ (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; Thompson, 1996;

Bloor & Bloor, 1995). The flow of events is embodied into a quantum of change


50

modeled as ‘figure’ with the principle elements; process, participant and circumstance.

The configuration of process and participant constitutes the ‘experiential center’ of the

clause and circumstantial elements augment this center either temporally, spatially,

causally and so on (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014: 221).

Figure 3.1 The grammar of experience: process types in English (Halliday &

Mathiessen, 2014: 216)

The world of experience is construed in the Transitivity system into a manageable

set of process types of which Systemic Functional grammar identifies six as shown in

Figure 3.1. It is further illustrated as a system of network in Figure 3.2. One of the

process types, Material maps on to experiences that go on in the external world around

us. The prototypical form of the outer experience is that of actions and events (Halliday

& Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996; Bloor & Bloor, 1995). Things

happen and people or others do things or make things happen. Mental, the other process

type corresponds to inner experience that is hard to sort out but it is partly a kind of

replay of the outer by recording it, reacting to it and reflecting on it. The grammar

clearly distinguishes between outer experiences, with processes of the external world on

one hand, and inner experiences with processes of consciousness on the other (Halliday

& Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996). To become a coherent theory of

experience, a third component is supplied where one can generalize and to relate one

fragment of experience to another such as, this is the same as that or this is a kind of the


51

other (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996; Bloor & Bloor,

1995). Here, the grammar recognizes the process of classifying and identifying in

Relational clauses.

Figure 3.2 Transitivity- a system of network (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014: 219)

There are three other minor processes on the borderline of Material and Mental are

Behavioural processes (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996).

These process types represent outer manifestations of inner workings, the acting out of

processes of consciousness and physiological states as illustrated in the following

examples.

(3.1a) She’s laughing. (3.1b) She’s happy.

On the borderline of Mental and Relational is the category of Verbal processes whereby

human consciousness is enacted in the form of language as shown below.

(3.2a) John told us he was hungry. (3.2b) John said ‘I’m hungry.’

In between Relational and Material are the processes concerned with existence called

Existential by which phenomenon of all kinds are simply recognized to ‘be’ to exist or

to happen as depicted in the given examples.

(3.3a) There was an old person of Dover. (3.3b) There’s a fine collection of Celtic crosses

(Halliday & Mathiessen, 2004: 251-257).


52

The tripartite interpretation of elements (i) process unfolding through time, (ii)

participants involved in the process and (iii) circumstance attendant on the process is

what lies behind the grammatical distinction of word classes into verbs, nouns and other

elements, a pattern that is somewhat universal among human languages as illustrated in

Table 3.1(Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996).

Table 3.1 Typical experiential functions of group and phrase classes

Type of element Typically realized by

(i) process verbal group

(ii) participant nominal group

(iii) circumstance adverbial group or prepositional phrase

The three elements of the ‘figure’ make distinct contributions to the modeling of a

quantum of change (Halliday & Mathiessen (2014, 2004, 1999). The two elements

process and participant make up the center of the clause by construing complementary

facets of change. One of the facets, ‘transience’ is the experience of unfolding through

time and it is construed by the verbal group serving as process. The other facet,

‘permanence’ is the experience of lasting through time and being located in concrete or

abstract space which is construed by nominal groups serving as participants.

Table 3.2 Deictic systems of verbal group and nominal group

Type of element Location in System Terms

process verbal group referential time Tense

past (did do) present (does do) future (will do)

participant nominal group referential space Determination

Specific: (the/this/that thing; it)

Non-specific: (a/some/any/everything)

The contrast between the participant’s permanence and the process’s transience is

further reflected in the organization of nominal groups and verbal groups in two ways as

depicted in Table 3.2. The nominal groups have evolved the system of ‘Determination’

for locating reference in a referential space while the verbal groups have evolved the

system of ‘Tense’ for locating a unique occurrence of process in time (Halliday &

Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996; Halliday, 1994).


53

The three major processes; Material, Mental and Relational are further discussed to

compare how the processes differentially contribute to the modeling of human

experience. Relational clause is then explored in more detail to justify the current

study’s choice of its adoption as the framework to analyze nominalization and

grammatical metaphor.

3.1.1 Material clause: processes of doing and happening

Material processes are those that involve the outer experiences of actions and

events (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996; Eggins, 1994).

Things happen and people or other actors do things or make things happen. This implies,

a Material clause construes a quantum of change in the flow of events as taking place

through some input of energy and this is shown in the example given below (Halliday &

Mathiessen (2004:179).

(3.4) Each year, replace the fruiting rod by tying down a lateral in its place. Either tie

down 1 shoot and cut it off where it meets the next vine, or tie down 2, one each way, and

cut them where they meet the neighbouring lateral. This is called the Double Guyot.

In terms of a Material clause construing a sequence of concrete changes, it is apparent

that the source of energy bringing about the change in example (3.4) is typically a

participant labeled the Actor. The Actor is the one doing the deed or bringing about the

change such as ‘replace the fruiting rod…tying down…tie down 1…cut off…tie down

2…’. The Actor is also the Subject, the element held modally responsible for the

proposal or proposition as in ‘replace the fruiting rod, won’t you?’

Table 3.3 Happening - intransitive material clause

The lion Sprang

Actor Process

Nominal group Verbal group

Table 3.4 Doing - transitive material clause

The lion caught the tourist

Actor Process Goal

Nominal group Verbal group Nominal group

In a Material clause, there is always one participant which is the Actor bringing about

change through the unfolding of process through time (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014,


54

2004, 1999; Halliday, 1994). Since there is only one participant ‘the Actor’, the clause

is said to be ‘intransitive’ because the outcome is not extended (see Table 3.3).

Alternatively, the unfolding of process may extend to another participant the ‘goal’

where the outcome is first registered with the ‘goal’ rather than the Actor. This type of

Material clause which represents a ‘doing’ is ‘transitive’ (see Table 3.4). From the

notion of Material clause as construing figures of ‘doing and happening’, we may probe

the clauses as ‘What did the lion do? What did the lion do to the tourist?

Table 3.5 Type of doing: Creative & Transformative (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014: 230)

Creative Transformative

intransitive transitive intransitive Transitive

What happened?

What happened?

Rocks formed

What happened? The pressure formed rocks

What happened? The rocks broke

(into pieces).

What happened? The pressure broke

the rocks (into small pieces).

What happened? He ran (away).

What happened? She chased him

(away).

What happened to

X?

What happened to

rocks? They formed.

What happened to rocks? The

pressure formed them

What happened to rocks? They broke (into small pieces).

What happened to rocks? The pressure

broke them (into small pieces).

What did X do?

What did the pressure do? It formed rocks.

What did the pressure do? It broke

the rocks (into pieces).

What did he do? He ran (away).

What did she do? She chased him

(away).

What did X do to Y?

What did the pressure do to

rocks? It formed them.

What did the pressure do to rocks? It broke them (into

pieces).

What did she do to

him? She chased him (away).

On the other hand, if perceived from the point of view of the tourist, the action is not of

doing but one of happening, so the probe can be ‘What happened to the tourist?

(Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014: 227). Subsequently, this means if there is an Actor as

well as a ‘goal’ in a Material clause, the representation may come in either of the two


55

forms. This refers to either operative (active) ‘The lion caught the tourist’ or receptive

(passive) ‘The tourist was caught by the lion’ (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2004: 180).

The quantum of change represented by a Material clause is construed as unfolding

through distinct phases, with at least an initial phase of unfolding and a separate final

phase as illustrated in example (3.4) ‘tying down, replacing, cutting off and cutting’

(Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014: 228). The final phase depicts the outcome of the process

which is anticipated to be reflected in a change in feature of either the Actor or goal.

The nature of change observed with the Actor or goal turns out to be a general criterion

for recognizing more delicate subtypes of Material clauses illustrated in Table 3.5

(Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014: 230). The subtypes refer to ‘creative’ and

‘transformative’. In creative clauses, the Actor or goal is construed as being brought

into existence as the process unfolds. On the other hand, a clause is identified as

transformative when a pre-existing Actor or goal is construed as being transformed.

From the discussion, it is apparent that modeling of human experience in a Material

clause is not aligned to the general features observed in the realization of Verticality.

This is specifically related to the quantum of change that is dynamic when compared to

the static change typical of academic register. Additionally, in a Material clause there is

always one participant, the Actor unless the process is extended to another the ‘goal’.

This is not agreeable with the shift to Thing observed in this study where relations

between participants are emphasized and the function of element process is of less

salience.

3.1.2 Mental clause: processes of sensing

While Material clauses mainly involve what goes on in the external world, Mental

clauses are concerned with the inner world (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999;

Thompson, 1996).

Table 3.6 Verbs ‘like & please’ as Mental clauses

Mary liked the gift The gift pleased Mary Senser Process Phenomenon Phenomenon Process Senser Nominal group Verbal

group Nominal group

Nominal group

Process Nominal group


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Table 3.7 Verbs ‘like & please’ as operative/receptive pair

Halliday maintains a Mental clause construes a quantum of change in the flow of events

taking place in our consciousness. The process of sensing may be construed either as

flowing from or impinging on a person’s consciousness (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014,

2004, 1999; Thompson; 1996). Halliday argues a Mental process is distinct from

Material in a number of significant ways. It involves only one human participant, the

one that senses. The Senser is human-like by being endowed with consciousness.

Moreover, the phenomenon being sensed cannot do anything or have anything be done

to it. This is because it is perceived as ‘fact’. The ‘tense’ associated with Mental

processes is either present participial as ‘he saw the dredger heading for the cruiser’ or

an infinitival one without the infinitive marker ‘he saw the sand dredger head for the

cruiser’ (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2004:204). The difference between them is temporal

where the participial clause represents the process as unbounded in time while the

infinitival one is bounded in time. Also, a feature typical of Mental process is its bi-

directionality. This is where either the ‘Senser or phenomenon’ can be placed in the

subject slot as illustrated in Table 3.6. Although a Mental clause appears to be similar to

Relational in the static quantum of change brought about in the unfolding of process,

there are major differences which are discussed next.

3.1.3 Relational clause: processes of being and having

A Relational clause is different from a Material clause in the way a process unfolds.

While unfolding of process is dynamic in a Material clause, it is static in Relational

similar to Mental clauses (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Martin, 2007;

Painter, 1999). Relational and Mental clauses are alike since both construe change as

unfolding inertly without any input of energy. The following examples compare the

differences inherent between a Material and Relational clause. A static location in space

that is construed relationally ‘she’s in the dining room’ and dynamic motion in space

that is construed materially ‘she’s walking into the dining room.’ In terms of static

possession ‘she has a mahogany dining table’ is construed relationally but a dynamic

transfer of possession ‘she’s being given a mahogany dining table’ is construed

Mary liked the gift The gift pleased Mary Goal Process Actor Actor Process Goal


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materially. Likewise, static quality is construed relationally ‘the bottle’s empty’ but

dynamic change in quality is construed materially ‘she’s emptying the bottle’ (Halliday

& Mathiessen, 2014: 260).

Functionalists agree the two verbs that occur frequently in Relational clauses ‘be’

and ‘have’ are both unaccented and phonologically reduced (Halliday & Mathiessen,

2014, 2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996). This view is different from both Material and

Mental where the verbs are salient with accented syllable. This weak phonological

presence of the process represents its highly generalized grammatical nature. The

limiting case of weak presence is absence. This relates to clauses where the process is in

fact structurally absent, for instance in the case of a non-finite Relational clause

(Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999). An example is in clauses introduced by

prepositions such as; ‘the animals might have moved about in family groups, with the

younger ones in the middle for protection’ where the preposition ‘with’ means ‘being in

the middle’. The lack of emphasis put on element process in Relational clause when

compared to its dynamism and fluidity in a Material clause, makes Relational a more

relevant choice to analyze nominalization and grammatical metaphor. The quantum of

change brought about without any input of energy is typical of a Relational clause. This

characteristic is agreeable with the move to Thing where elements are rendered as if

they are held at a standstill so that they can be measured and classed into taxonomies

(Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004; Martin, 2007; Christie, 2002; Painter, 1999).

Although Relational and Mental clauses are similar in their unfolding without input

of energy, participants involved differ in many ways. In Mental clauses, the Senser must

be endowed with consciousness but in Relational clauses not only Things, but also acts

and facts can be construed as participants (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999;

Eggins, 1994; Halliday, 1994). Furthermore, essential elements of a Relational clause

involve the nature of a configuration where there are two parts to the ‘being’. This

implies there are always two participants in a Relational clause and this contrasts with

the general class of Material and Mental with one inherent participant the Actor and

Senser respectively (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Eggins, 1994; Halliday,

1994). The difference highlighted in the prototypical configuration of ‘being’ is

suggestive in relation to the ‘experiential weight construed by the participants’

(Halliday & Mathiessen, 2004: 213-214). Again, this preference put on ‘participants’ in

comparison to the lack of emphasis put on element process supports the stance of the


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current study to choose Relational clause out of the other two major clauses, Material

and Mental to analyze nominalization and grammatical metaphor. As can be recalled, a

major motif of grammatical metaphor and likewise a feature of Verticality is the shift to

Thing.

In a Relational clause, class membership is construed by Attributive clauses and

identity by Identifying ones. These two clauses can operate and further bring out three

other semantic relations: (a) intensive - ‘x’ is ‘a’ (b) possessive - ‘x has a’ (c)

circumstantial - ‘x’ is at ‘a’ where ‘is at’ stands for ‘is at, in, on, for, with, about, along

and so on (see Table 3.8).

Table 3.8 Principle categories of Relational clauses (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014: 265)

Attributive - ‘a is an attribute of x’

Identifying – ‘a is the identity of x’

Intensive ‘x is a’ Sarah is wise Sarah is the leader; the leader is Sarah

Possessive ‘ x has a’ Peter has a piano The piano is Peter’s; Peter’s is the piano

Circumstantial ‘x is at a’ The fair is on Tuesday Tomorrow is the tenth; the tenth is tomorrow.

In the Attributive mode an entity has some quality ascribed to it. Structurally this

quality is labeled Attribute and the entity to which it is ascribed is called the Carrier

(Thompson, 1996; Eggins, 1994; Halliday, 1994). There are four characteristics of

Attributive clauses which distinguish them from Identifying ones. The nominal group

functioning as Attribute construes a class of things. It is indefinite and can be an

adjective or a common noun as ‘head’. It cannot be a proper noun or a pronoun since

they do not construe classes. The lexical verb realizing the process is one of the

ascriptive classes (see Table 3.9). If the Attribute is realized by a nominal group with a

common noun as ‘head’ without a premodifying adjective, it is usually expressed as if it

was a circumstance. Some interrogative probes for such clauses include; what? how?

What is Paula like? Attributive clauses are not reversible.

Features are further exemplified in the clause of intensive attribution where the

Attribute can be defined according to three different contrasts (Halliday & Mathiessen,

2014, 2004, 1999). Firstly, in ‘membership specification’ the class denoted by Attribute

can be defined by reference to an entity or quality.


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Table 3.9 Verbs serving as Process in Relational clauses (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014:269)

Attributive Identifying

neutral be, feel Be

Phase time

inceptive

become, turn (into), grow (into) become, turn into, grow into

get, go, fall, run

durative remain, stay (as), keep remain, stay as

phase: reality

apparent seem, appear, qualify as seem (+ superlative)

perceptive look, sound, smell, feel, taste (like)

realized prove, turn out, end up (as) Prove

measure weigh, cost, measure

quality [Process/Attribute:] seem, appear [be apparent]; matter, count [be

important], apply [be relevant], figure [be sensible], suffice [be enough],

abound [be plentiful], differ, vary [be different], dominate [be dominant], do [be acceptable, enough]; hurt, ache [be painful]; stink, smell [be smelly]; reek, drip, ooze [be over-

full]; suck, stink [be awful]

role play, act as, function as, serve as

sign mean, indicate, suggest, imply, show, betoken, mark,

reflect

equation equal, add up to, make

kind/part comprise, feature, include

significance represent, constitute, form

example exemplify, illustrate,

symbol express, signify, realize, spell, stand for, mean

When the attribute is an entity as ‘an architect’ that constitutes a class as in ‘He was an

architect’, the entity is realized by a nominal group. In the case of quality ‘is very

generous’ from the clause ‘The New Yorker is very generous’, the quality is realized by

a nominal group with epithet as ‘head. In this example although the Thing is left

implicit in the general sense it refers to ‘one’.

Secondly, the ‘phase of attribution’ can be neutral or phased. Like all other

processes, the processes of attribution unfold through time. In the unmarked case, the


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phase of unfolding is left unspecified (neutral); alternatively the phase is marked as

either (i) time phase – inceptive (e.g. become, go, grow, turn), or durative (e.g. keep,

remain) or (ii) reality phase – apparent (e.g. seem, appear), perceptive (e.g. look, sound,

taste) or realized (e.g. prove, turn out). Some examples borrowed from Halliday &

Mathiessen (2014: 272) are given below.

3.5 time phase

(3.5a) When a child loves you for a long time, you become real. Generally, by the time

you are real, most of your hair has been loved off, and you get very shabby.

(3.5b) This remains national policy all over the world.

(3.6) reality phase

(3.6a) At least we remember them as young before they decayed and grew old.

(3.6b) She said ‘well that seems pretty expensive but if they’re alright I don’t mind’.

(3.6c) You don’t look bad yourself either, Betty.

(3.6d) He doesn’t know he looks very funny, does he?

(3.6e) that you might have proved too strong and independently minded a figure to be in

exactly that role.

Thirdly, the ‘domain of attribution’ may be either material or semiotic because

Relational clauses may construe either external or internal experiences. In this case

attribution is generalized to include not only subjective sensations but also attributes

such as that denoted by the adjective ‘true’ as in the clause ‘it’s true food down there is

really fresh’. However, the general contrast in the domains of attribution is not that of

‘material verses mental’ but of ‘material verses semiotic’. This entails attributes

assigned to the Carrier are either material ones or semiotic ones (see Table 3. 10).

Table 3.10 Attributes within the semiotic domain

type Attribute

emotion/attitude sad, tragic/a tragedy; delightful/a delight, a joy, a relief, extraordinary good/a good thing, bad/a bad thing;

cognition/probability doubtful, certain, likely, unlikely, probable, possible, a question

desideration/obligation desirable, acceptable, appropriate, important, justified

In the Identifying mode, something has an identity assigned to it. This means that

one entity is being used to identify another (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999;

Thompson, 1996). For example; ‘x’ is identified by ‘a’ or ‘a’ serves to define the


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identity of ‘x’. Structurally, we label the ‘x’ element to be identified as the Identified

and the ‘a’ element, which serves as the identity as the Identifier. The nominal group

realizing the function of Identifier is typically definite. It has a common noun as ‘head’,

with ‘the’ or other specific determiner or else a proper noun or pronoun. The only form

with adjective as ‘head’ is the superlative as shown in this example ‘the chicken skin

was definitely the best’ (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2004: 228). The lexical verb of the

verbal group realizing the process is from the ‘equative’ classes (see Table 3.9). The

probe for such clauses is ‘which? who? which/who…as? or what? For example; who is

the one in the back row? which are the deadliest spiders? who/what did Mr. Garrick

play? These clauses are reversible. All verbs except the neutral ‘be’ and the phased

‘become, remain (and those with the following prepositions like; ‘as’ in ‘act as’) have

passive forms for example; Hamlet was played by Mr. Garrick, cat is spelled c-a-t.

Clauses with ‘be’ reverse without change in the form of the verb and without ‘by’

marking the non-Subject participant for example; the deadliest spiders in Australia are

funnelwebs: funnelwebs are the deadliest spiders in Australia. In an Identifying clause,

the two halves refer to the same thing but it is not a tautology because the difference is

related to expression and content or in terms of their generalized labels in grammar of

‘token and value’ (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Halliday, 1994). For

example, in the clause ‘Tom is the treasurer’ Tom is identified by being assigned to a

‘value’.

Table 3.11 Operative and receptive in Identifying clauses

Henry is the villain

The villain is Henry

Token/Subject Process Value/Complement Value/Subjec

t Process Token/Complement

Henry plays

[active] the villain The villain

is played [passive]

by Henry

On the other hand, if we say ‘Tom is the tall one’ we are identifying Tom by assigning

him a ‘token’. Every Identifying clause faces either way and it is this directionality that

determines the ‘voice’, whether operative or receptive. The operative voice is the one in

which the Subject is also ‘token’. This is further illustrated in Table 3.11 (Halliday &

Mathiessen, 2014: 281).

The second type of ‘being’ refers to possessive clauses and these also come in the

two modes Attributive and Identifying. In the ‘possessive’ type, the relation is one of


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ownership for example; ‘The piano is Peter’s’. If the relationship is construed as the

Attribute the thing possessed is the Carrier and in this clause it refers to ‘The piano’ and

the possessor is the attribute ‘Peter’s’. The piano is a member of the class of Peter’s

possessions. If the relationship of possession is construed as a process ‘Peter has a

piano’ the Carrier is ‘Peter’ and ‘piano-ownership’ is the attribute. In the Identifying

mode, again the relation takes two forms; possession as participant and possession as

process. When participants embody the notion of possession as in this example ‘Peter’s

is the piano’, one signifying property of the possessor is ‘Peter’s’, the other signifying

the thing possessed ‘the piano’. Both ‘the piano’ and ‘Peter’s’ express that which Peter

possesses. The relationship is one of identity. On the other hand when possession is

encoded as process such as ‘Peter owns a piano’, the possessor is Peter and the

possessed is the piano.

3.2 Circumstance in Relational clauses

The third type of ‘being’ is circumstance. Out of the three sub-types of Relational

clauses, intensive, possessive and circumstantial, it is claimed that circumstantial is the

most commonly explored in academic writing texts (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014;

Martin, 2007; Painter, 1999; Halliday, 1994). In the Attributive mode the circumstantial

element is an attribute that is being ascribed to some entity as illustrated in the clause

‘My story is about a poor shepherd boy’ where circumstance is construed as an attribute

‘about a poor shepherd boy’ that is realized by a prepositional phrase. When

circumstance is process as in ‘My story concerns a poor shepherd boy’ the attribute is

realized by a nominal group ‘ a poor shepherd boy’ and the circumstantial relation is

expressed by a lexical verb ‘concerns’ (see Table 3.12).

Table 3.12 Circumstantial attributive clauses (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014:291)

My story is about a poor shepherd boy

Carrier Process: intensive Attribute: circumstantial

Nominal group Verbal group Prepositional phrase

My story concerns a poor shepherd boy

Carrier Process: circumstantial Attribute

Nominal group Verbal group Nominal group


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In the Identifying mode circumstance takes the form of a relationship between two

entities, the entity is being related to another by a feature of time , place, manner, cause,

condition and so on (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996). Like

circumstantial relations, in the Attributive mode the relation can be expressed in two

ways (see Table 3.13). The first is as a feature of participants where the Identified and

Identifier are circumstantial elements of time, place, manner, cause, condition and so on.

In the example ‘tomorrow is the tenth’, both ‘tomorrow’ and ‘the tenth’ are time

elements. The realization of circumstance as process, prepositional phrases and

participants in Relational clauses means that they are metaphorical thus are forms of

grammatical metaphor (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014:332). This claim further justifies

the choice of Relational clause as an appropriate clause type to elicit data for the current

study.

Table 3.13 Circumstantial Identifying clauses

(a) Operative Receptive

Tomorrow is the tenth. The tenth is tomorrow.

Identified/ Token

Process intensive

Identifier/Value Identified/ Value

Process: intensive

Identifier/ Token

Subject Finite Complement Subject Finite Complement

Mood Residue Mood Residue

(b) Operative Receptive

The fair occupies the whole day

The whole day

is occupied by the fair

Identified/ Token

Process: circum Identifier/ Value

Identified/ Value

Process: circum Identifier/ Token

Subject Finite Pred. Complement Subject Finite Pred. Adjunct

Mood Residue Mood Residue

In Systemic Functional grammar, circumstance is normally perceived from three

different perspectives (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014:311). The first is where it is

attendant or associated with the process expressing circumstantial information related to

‘where, when, how or why’ things happen. This view links circumstances to the four

WH-forms that were adverbs rather than nouns. In the Mood grammar, circumstances

map onto adjuncts where participants function as either Subject or Complement. The

third view explored in this study is where circumstances are expressed either as


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adverbial groups or prepositional phrases. The latter is the most commonly accepted

view because adverbials are largely confined to circumstance of ‘manner’.

A prepositional phrase has a nominal group as a constituent hence it looks bigger

than a group but it is still not quite a clause. This nominal group inside a prepositional

phrase is no different from a nominal group that is functioning as a direct participant in

a clause. In principle, every nominal group can occur in either context. For example, in

the clause, ‘Little drops of water make the mighty ocean’, the nominal group ‘the

mighty ocean’ functions as a participant. In another example; ‘I’ll sail across the mighty

ocean’, the nominal group ‘the mighty ocean’ preceded by the preposition ‘across’

functions as circumstance. Halliday (1994) argues in a prepositional phrase, the relation

between a preposition and a nominal group is similar to that of a subject and predicator

in a clause. From this point of departure, the ‘circumstantial element’ is itself a process

that is parasitic on another process. Listed below are some circumstantial elements

normally expressed by prepositional phrases.

Relational: circumstantial Jack was building a house…

(1) When? (it was during) throughout the year. Extent: duration

(2) Where (it was at) near the river Location: place

(3) How? (it was by) out of brick Manner: means

(4) Why? (it was for) for his retirement Cause: purpose

(5) Under what conditions? despite his illness Contingency: concession

(Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014:312).

To further explore how circumstance is metaphorically expressed in Relational

clauses the semantic domain of expansion comprising of three sub-types; elaboration,

extension and enhancement is revisited (see section 2.4.2). In elaboration, one clause

further elaborates on another by specifying or describing it. The secondary clause does

not introduce any new element. There are three subcategories of elaboration namely;

exposition, exemplification and clarification. Extension on the other hand involves the

addition of something new, an alternative or a replacement. Enhancement, the third

expansion type is argued to be the most popular in academic writing. With the three

sub-types of expansion; ‘intensive’ clauses embody elaboration, ‘possessive’ clauses

extension and ‘circumstantial’ clauses enhancement (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014:

667). Some different environments where enhancement is expressing circumstance of


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‘cause’ in terms of metafunctions are illustrated in Table 3.14 extracted from Halliday

& Mathiessen (2014: 673).

Table 3.14 Manifestations of the enhancing relationship of ‘cause’

Domain System Metafunction Example Cohesive

sequence: Conjunction Textual She did not

know the rules. Consequently, she died.

Clause, complex:

Parataxis Logical She did not know the rules, so she died.

Hypotaxis Because she did not know the rules, she died.

Clause, simplex: Causation Logical + experiential

Her ignorance of the rules caused her to die.

circumstantiation Experiential Through ignorance of the rules, she died.

Relational process

Her death was due to her ignorance of the rules.

Her ignorance of the rules caused her death.

The cause of her death was her ignorance of the rules.

Nominal group Qualification Her death through ignorance of the rules.

A major argument of the current study is that in Relational clauses, the relocation

in mapping of circumstantial meaning to corresponding grammatical labels is a

consequence of clause-internal relations made here. This implies circumstantial

information that is normally expressed by conjunctions through inter-clausal relations is

remapped to process, preposition or participant in Relational clauses, for instance in the

examples given below.

(3.7a) metaphoric: their departure was the cause of his resignation.

(3.7b) congruent: they departed because he resigned.

Example (3.7a) illustrates clause-internal relations explored in a Relational clause

where circumstance of ‘cause’ is expressed by the two participants ‘their departure’

and ‘the cause of his resignation’. The quantum of change is inertly brought about


66

without any input of energy. The functions of the two participants are emphasized and

the role of element process is not given much emphasis. The configuration of clause

elements in this way which is typical of Relational clauses supports the general motif

of grammatical metaphor in the shift to Thing. On the other hand, example (3.7b)

exemplifies inter-clausal relations where circumstance of cause is expressed by a

conjunction ‘because’. The quantum of change is dynamic brought about by the

unfolding of processes where one event leads to the other. The fluidity in the flow of

events observed in inter-clausal relations is not agreeable with the primary motif of

grammatical metaphor in the shift to Thing. Other examples are given to exemplify the

relocation in mapping of circumstance to corresponding grammatical labels. In example

(3.8b) it is evident that the conjunction ‘because’ employed in the congruent variant

(3.8a) is relocated to a nominal group ‘the cause’. Example (3.8c) indicates that the

conjunction ‘because’ is remapped to a preposition ‘through’.

(3.8a) Congruent: She died because she did not know the rules.

(3.8b) Metaphorical: The cause of her death was her ignorance of the rules.

(3.8c) Metaphorical: Through ignorance of the rules, she died (Halliday &

Mathiessen, 2014: 673).

Importantly, the semantic motif of expansion is critical in the metaphoric

expression of circumstance (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; Martin, 2007). In Relational

Attributive clauses, ascribing of attributes to associated Carrier involves distilling of

meaning through expansions (see section 2.4.2). Out of the three subtypes of expansions

such as; elaboration, extension and enhancement, the latter is commonly exploited in

academic writing where circumstantial information of cause is encompassed (Halliday

& Mathiessen, 2014; Martin, 2007). It is worthy to note that in clause-internal relations

where quantum of change is inertly brought about, the meaning of expansion changes as

a consequence of metafunctional manifestation (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014: 674).

This means the use of ‘cause’ typical of logico-semantic relations where conjunctions

such as ‘so’ and ‘because’ are used is changed to ‘process, preposition or participant’

common to clause-internal relations. In Relational clauses, expansion types chosen

influence the circumstantial semantic space created such as ‘manner’ or ‘cause’. This is

significant especially in an argumentative text type where persuasion is imperative.

This section highlights metaphoric expressions of circumstance in Relational

clauses is greatly influenced by the choice of expansion types. Hence, by choosing


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Relational clauses to analyze nominalization and grammatical metaphor, the study

should be able to identify USP students’ academic writing problems related to abstract

and metaphorical concepts. The current study is guided by three major arguments listed

below.

(I) Verticality is realized through the use of nominalization and grammatical

metaphor.

(II) Distilling of meaning through expansions in clause-internal relations

contributes to the creation of grammatical metaphor and the realization of Verticality. (III) The use of Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor and his Functional

view of Transitivity should be able to identify writing problems related to ‘abstract and

metaphorical’ concepts mentioned by previous studies to be predominant in USP

student texts.

3.3 Summary

Relational clause is chosen over Material and Mental processes because human

experiences are represented abstractly and metaphorically in Relational clauses. This is

exemplified in Relational Attributives and Relational Identifying clauses where

relations are set up between the two participants ‘Carrier + Attribute’ and ‘Identified

and Identifier’. The lack of salience put on element process recognizes the shift to Thing

where the dynamism often brought about by processes is filtered out. Moreover, clause-

internal relations typical of Relational clauses where circumstantial information is

incongruently realized are found to be in agreement with the shift to Thing and the

realization of Verticality. The researcher believes that exploring Relational clauses

should be the most convenient and reliable framework to analyze the manifestation of

abstract and metaphorical concepts in USP students’ academic writing texts.

Chapter Four Research Methods

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This chapter gives a brief overview of the two research paradigms that have

extensively influenced research methods namely; quantitative and qualitative. Dornyei

(2007) argues that recently with experience and advances into research, it has been

highlighted that both camps overlap at times during the research process. The two

paradigms therefore should be seen as complementary, one enhancing the other. It is

recommended not to look at differences but to utilize how the attributes of the two

research traditions complement each other (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992). Next, the

Exploratory Interpretive research method adopted as research design is explained.

Although it is more skewed towards the qualitative paradigm, it has also utilized

elements from the quantitative research tradition. Following this is a discussion of the

pilot and the main study with a description of subjects and text type chosen to be

analyzed. Lastly, procedures observed during selection of corpora with important

research ethics are presented.

4.1 Research Paradigms

Generally research is demarcated between the quantitative and qualitative research

traditions. Some significant distinctions noted between the two paradigms are explained.

4.1.1 Quantitative vs qualitative

On one hand, the traditional scientific approach also known as Positivism has been

the conventional approach used in many areas of investigation (Borg & Gall, 1989).

This model is guided by the belief in its ‘…objectivity, reliability, generalizability and

that truth tends to be fixed and singular which is reflective of a factual and causal view

of reality’ (Burns, 1997: 3). Bogdan & Biklen (1992) assert that quantitative research is

more controlled, objective, generalizable, outcome oriented and assumes the existence

of facts which are somehow external to the researcher. The definitions given by the

various authors all seem to agree that quantitative research is controlled, objective,

factual, outcome-oriented, reliable and generalizable.

On the other hand, qualitative approach recognizes the importance of the

‘…subjective, experiential life-world of human beings where a given setting is seen not


69

as a fixed and stable entity but a kind of variable that is made meaningful through

various forms of understanding’ (Burns, 1994: 12). Other writers like Verma and

Mallick (1999) share similar views that qualitative research is concerned with the social

processes and involves gathering of evidence that reflects experiences, feelings or

judgments. Researchers in this tradition use descriptive, exploratory and interpretive

approach to find out how participants make sense of their experiences (Burns, 1997).

Additionally, it is argued that there can be little meaning, impact or quality in activities

and practices if isolated from the context in which it is found (Eisner, 1979). In giving a

comparison between the two paradigms, Malhotra (1993: 159) posits that quantitative

and qualitative researches are different because they ask different questions. For

quantitative, its goal is to examine variables that have already been established in the

literature and to see to what extent hypothesis regarding these variables can be

confirmed or refuted. As for qualitative, the aim is to identify variables for further

research and to formulate hypothesis for testing in the future.

4.1.2 Research design: Exploratory Interpretive

After considering the two different definitions, the researcher asserts that the

current study is more skewed towards the qualitative tradition. It therefore adopts an

Exploratory Interpretive research design. However, this is not to say that it did not

incorporate some features of the quantitative research approach. Below some reasons

are discussed to support the standpoint undertaken.

Exploratory Interpretive refers to research that utilizes non-experimental methods

hence yield qualitative and provides an interpretive analysis of data (Malhotra, 1993:

159). This research is exploratory because research hypotheses are formulated based on

previous research findings, in particular that Verticality is realized through the use of

nominalization and grammatical metaphor. Another feature that is exploratory is the

belief that knowledge is relative thus there is a subjective twist to all knowledge. This

argument is made while taking into consideration a number of factors. One is the

influence of the English language curriculum students may have been exposed to from

primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. Yet another is that, participants are of the

same cultural group therefore their world views basically will be somewhat similar.

Although the approach is more subjective, the researcher claims it can be generalized to

other Non-Native English speakers in similar socio-cultural contexts.


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To support credibility for this research design, Dornyei’s (2007) insight is cited

where he explains that one disputes the existence of ‘objective reality’ that is

independent of the subjective view of the researcher. It is believed that any research

involving the human element cannot avoid but to embrace subjective points of views.

Hence, it is anticipated that within this context research findings will be influenced by

socio-cultural meanings. The choice of Exploratory Interpretive approach as a research

design will be able to identify strengths and weaknesses which are common to this

particular cultural group. Therefore instructions formulated to address identified

strengths and weaknesses will be more relevant and culture-inclusive.

4.2 Pilot study

In the early stages of the research process, a pilot study is administered to select

corpora used for text analysis. In order to select the required data Halliday’s

‘Circumstantial theory’ is firstly tested. The theory argues that circumstances are mostly

incongruently realized in Relational clauses (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999;

Halliday, 1994). The assumption is that if the theory is verified it should provide a

convenient framework to identify and develop abstract and metaphorical concepts. After

the hypothesis was verified selection of corpora employed for text analysis was then

conducted. In his ‘Circumstantial theory’ Halliday (1994) claims that between the two

modes Relational Attributive (RA) and Relational Identifying (RI) circumstances are

realized as (i) preposition in RA: My story is about a poor shepherd boy. (ii) process in

RA: My story concerns a poor shepherd boy. (iii) process in RI: The whole day is

occupied by the fair. (iv) participant in RI: Tomorrow is the tenth.

Data used include fifteen scripts each from NE and NNE of the main research data.

Particular texts analyzed are those coded NE1-NE15 and NNE 1-NNE15 (see Appendix

I for NE data and Appendix III for NNE). A detailed description of the respective

cohorts is undertaken in the main study because texts used in the pilot study are part of

those used in the main study.

4.3 Main study

In the main study a number of significant changes are carried out as a result of the

findings obtained from the pilot and these are discussed next. Initially, the number of


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scripts acquired for both cohorts is fifteen but in the main study this is increased to

thirty (30) to meet statistical requirement (Wen, 2001; Miles & Huberman, 1994). As in

the pilot, subjects chosen for the NNE category are from both second and third year

students because it was difficult to collect third year scripts. In the pilot study after

Relational clauses are isolated, the Excel software is then employed to code, record,

analyze and illustrate data. However for the main study this is improved whereby

samples of text selected from each cohort to be used as corpora are statistically

described and analyzed using the Statistical Software Package for the Social Sciences

(SPSS).

4.3.1 Subjects of study

Subjects chosen for the study comprise of two cohorts NE and NNE. Native

English (NE) speakers are final year tertiary students from the University of Michigan,

Ann Arbor in the United States of America. In acquiring NE data, the current study

adopts ‘convenience sampling technique’ in data selection (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2004;

Wen, 2001). This suggests the researcher uses data that are readily available. For this

particular group, referenced corpora are extracted from the Michigan University

Elicorpora website (MICUSP, 2010). NE student texts identified are those from the

School of Humanities and whose texts are graded as either ‘A’ or ‘A+’. Additionally,

scripts selected are from students within the age range of 20-22 years. Altogether 30

scripts are selected and this is based on the ideal number of subjects according to

statistical requirement (Wen, 2001; Miles & Huberman, 1994).

Non-Native English [NNE] speakers are tertiary students in their second and final

year (3rd) at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Fiji. Data selected for NNE

texts are also collected in the form of ‘convenience sampling’. At USP, the duration for

one student to complete all the required courses for a Bachelor Degree in the School of

Humanities is approximately three years. The cohort of 30 used in this study includes

students from Fiji with ages ranging from 20-22 years. Texts selected are from both

second and third year students due to difficulties encountered in acquiring final year

student texts. Scripts obtained are those in the ‘A and B’ grades as it was not easy to

find ‘A’ grade papers. It is important to note that although these students are commonly

labeled English as Second Language Speakers (ESL), they may not use English as a

second but a third or fourth language depending on which island of the Fiji group they


72

come from. For instance in the case of ‘i taukei’ or indigenous Fijian students, most

come to school with the knowledge of their Mother Tongue (L1) or dialects and this

varies for the fifteen (15) provinces that make up the population of the Fiji islands. In

school, students are required to use a different vernacular the ‘Baun’ language which is

recognized by the government as the standard Fijian. This is the language used in

schools, government, and in media and for publications. This scenario puts into

perspective the difficulties Fiji students face in reorganizing their existing language

backgrounds in order to cope with language demands in the educational context.

4.3.2 Text type chosen to be analyzed

Argumentative writing text is chosen to be analyzed for both cohorts to lessen

variability and thus contribute to credibility in the findings. Argumentation as a text

type has essential components to be included. Hormazabal (2007) discusses six

elements presented in Toulmin’s argumentation model, three of which are essential

comprising of claim, data and warrant.

Figure 4.1 Toulmin’s argumentation model

A ‘claim’ made needs to be supported with credible ‘data’ or evidence so that

readers may be convinced of the argument put forth. Equally important is a ‘warrant’, it

illustrates the anticipated outcomes should one agree with the stance proposed.

Hormazabal (2007) iterates in order for the writer to attain the purpose of this text type,

it is critical to acquire the relevant skills. Such skills include problem solving that is

aligned to the cognitive and social complementary views of writing (Alexander et al.,

2008; Flower & Hayes, 1981). This is shaped by the way the writer interprets and seeks

to address the rhetorical problem, and to be able to influence the analytical reader. As a

social and goal-oriented process, the writer not only considers the subject matter but the

Qualifier Data/Ground Claim

Rebuttals Warrant

Backing


73

target audience, the context and the conventions and practices of the particular discourse

community (Alexander et al., 2008; Chandrasageran, 2007; Thaiss & Zawacki, 2006).

Grounded within these perspectives argumentative writing is chosen as an appropriate

text type to analyze features of Verticality. In order to fulfill the requirements of

argumentation, students are expected to exploit rhetorical features and devices that

trigger the higher thinking skills. These skills involve incorporation of abstract and

metaphorical concepts.

4.4 Procedures followed in the selection of corpora

Data collection made at the early stages of the research was executed in the form of

a pilot in order to select corpora used for analysis in the main study. Corpus is defined

as a large body of text which has been collected according to defined principles which

can be examined to assist the researcher in testing hypothesis about the language (Neale,

2006). In Systemic Functional theory, real language is always recommended in the hope

that the study of instances of language used in the text should assist the researcher

understand what the language users know (Halliday & Mathiessen, 1999). Based on the

theory that we are the embodiment of experiences from our environment (Lakoff, 1994;

Lakoff & Johnson, 1980), Transitivity is chosen since it has a grammar that models

human experiences. While considering the three major processes encompassed in the

Transitivity system, Relational is found to be the most appropriate choice to test the

research hypotheses. The grammar of the clause is compatible with the realization of

Verticality such as, clause-internal relations made and the emphasis put on the

participants. Additionally, the processes of ‘being and having’ commonly employed are

unaccented and of less salience. Most importantly in the unfolding of process the

quantum of change is inertly brought about.

After Halliday’s (1994) ‘Circumstantial theory’ was verified, data collection for

the main study was then undertaken. Procedures observed to select corpora for both the

pilot and the main studies were similar. The difference however was in relation to the

number of scripts analyzed. While the pilot used fifteen scripts from the main research

data it was increased to thirty in the main study.

The following procedures were closely observed in the collection of research data.

Step.1 NE and NNE data were downloaded and saved into a Word document

file coded NE and NNE raw data respectively. To code data the open coding system was


74

used. This suggests that data are raw and have not been classified into different

categories (Wen, 2001; Verma & Mallick, 1999).

Step.2 The thirty (30) scripts were each coded NE1, NE2, NE3 up to NE30 for

Native English speakers and similarly for USP students as NNE1, NNE2, NNE3 up to

NNE30.

Step.3 Analysis started with NE1 but first sentences were counted and numbered

from #1, #2, #3…and some up to #130 and over depending on the word length of each

essay. This was done for all the scripts NE1-NE30 and likewise NNE1-NNE30.

Step.4 The first round of selective coding was administered to narrow the focus

to the core category (Burns, 1997). This was done by analyzing each sentence according

to process type; Material, Mental, Relational, Verbal, Behavioral or Existential in order

to isolate the focus to Relational clauses. The percentage of Relational clauses explored

in a text was also recorded. This procedure was observed for both sets of data, NE and

NNE.

Step.5 After Relational clauses were isolated they were then saved into separate

files; coded NE Relational and NNE Relational clauses. At this stage the category was

further narrowed down where Relational clauses were again counted and numbered

from #1, #2, #3, #4 and so on; and analyzed to distinguish the two modes of Relational

clauses comprising of Relational Attributive (RA) and Relational Identifying (RI).

Step.6 Sentences were categorized into Attributive and Identifying then saved

separately for each NE and NNE coded Relational Identifying and Relational

Attributive.

Step.7 Sentences for both Attributive and the Identifying modes were again

analyzed to determine frequency of circumstantial types explored. This is administered

for both cohorts NE and NNE and firstly in the mode RA followed by RI for example if;

circumstance is preposition in RA, or process in RA. Similarly, this was undertaken

with Relational Identifying clauses for both sets of data to see if circumstance is process

in RI, or participant in RI.

To record data two software programs were used the Excel in the pilot and SPSS in

the main study whereby frequency of each circumstance was recorded and the mean

calculated. This procedure is observed for both sets of data.


75

Step 8

Corpora comprising of two sets NE and NNE were then used for analysis in the

main study.

4.5 Research ethics

Ethical issues have recently become a concern for educational research worldwide.

A high sensitivity to the rights of individuals has triggered the move towards

formulation of research ethics and the need to conform to the established norms (Drew

& Heritage, 1992). Some ethical principles that researchers may consider are those

promoted by the Council of American Survey Research Organization (CASRO, 2011).

These ethical principles were closely observed where it was found to be relevant.

4.5.1 Willingness to participate in the research

In the course of research at USP, the researcher sought approval to collect data

from the Postgraduate Research Affairs of the Faculty of Languages Arts and Media.

This process involves filling of certain forms which has to be approved first by the

school before acquiring of data commenced. The students that participated were made

aware of the aims and objectives of the research study. It was explained that data would

be used solely for research purposes and not in any way be abused.

4.5.2 Protection of subject Rights

Similarly, subjects were assured their rights, identity and anonymity would not in

any way be violated. In the case of the referenced corpora (NE data) permission was

granted on the understanding that data would be used primarily for educational purposes

and not for any financial gains.

4.6 Summary

This chapter discusses two significant research traditions, the qualitative and

quantitative including features that distinguish one from the other. While quantitative is

known for its objectivity, reliability and generalizability, qualitative is said to be

subjective and ungeneralizable. The study argues that the qualitative approach is more

realistic and relevant since it relies on authentic data. Thus findings generated are


76

anticipated to reflect the cultural group and how they attach meaning. Although the

study adopts an Exploratory Interpretive research method which is skewed towards the

qualitative tradition elements of the quantitative are also employed. The study maintains

that the two research paradigms are complementary and should be used to enrich each

other. Two sets of corpora are acquired from two independent sources. The first set

includes Non-Native English student texts from the University of the South Pacific. The

second set is from Native English speakers who are students of Michigan University,

Ann Arbor in the USA used as referenced corpora. Selection of the main study data

commenced after verification of Halliday’s (1994) ‘Circumstantial theory’. Two

software packages were used to code, record and statistically describe and analyze data.

In the course of doing research internationally recognized ethical issues were closely

observed.

Chapter Five Data Analysis and Discussion

77


Data analysis and discussion of the findings are carried out in two parts. In the first

part, results from the pilot study on the reliability of corpora selected are presented.

Secondly, the main study data which are again verified against the background of

Halliday’s ‘Circumstantial theory’ are discussed. Corpora identified as NE and NNE are

analyzed guided by Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor that involves the

relocation in mapping between meanings to corresponding lexicogrammar. The

consideration of the conceptualization of human communication in the iconicity

inherent between language and thought is also taken into account.

5.1 Results obtained from the pilot study.

Data used for the pilot study as previously introduced in section 4.2 were randomly

selected from the two cohorts NE and NNE. Analysis shows that Relational process

types account 38% for NE texts and 34% for NNE and these results are illustrated in

Figure 5.1 and Figure 5. 2.

Figure 5.1 Frequency of Relational clauses in NE data

Relational processes, 38%

other process types, 62%


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Figure 5.2 Frequency of Relational clauses in NNE data

Figure 5.3 Distribution of circumstance in NE data

This result can be compared to a recent research finding reported by Halliday &

Mathiessen (2014: 215) that claims Relational is second to Material in the most

commonly used clause type in student writing texts. In the current study, particular

scripts analyzed are those coded NE1- NE15 and NNE1- NNE15 from both cohorts.

Verification of the theory proves that in Relational clauses circumstances are realized as

preposition in Relational Attributives (RA), process in RA, process in Relational

3%

28%

5% 2%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Circum.Preposition

in RA

Circum.Process in

RA

Circum.Process in RI

Circum.Participant

in RI


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Identifying (RI) and participant in RI. Frequency distributions of circumstantial

realizations are reflected in Figure 5.3 for NE data and Figure 5.4 for NNE data.

Figure 5.4 Distribution of circumstance in NNE data

A finding worth noting refers to the low frequency in the use of Relational Identifying

clauses when compared to Relational Attributive clauses by both cohorts as illustrated

in Figure 5.5 and Figure 5.6. According to Halliday (1994), the use of Relational

Identifying clauses is not easy even for some mature writers. This claim can be

attributed to the fact that relations made in Relational Identifying clauses emphasize

clause-internal relations between abstract entities that involve the use of symbolic

language (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, Martin, 2007; Painter, 1999). The function of

the element participants are emphasized while the element process is not given much

weighting. If perceived against the semogenetic timeframe they are quite detached from

the congruent pole. These features typical of Relational Identifying clauses are similar

to those accepted in the elaborated register which this study asserts are realizations of

Verticality.

Overall analysis of results from the pilot study proves Halliday’s theory that

circumstances are mostly incongruently realized in Relational clauses. This claim is

supported by the various comparisons illustrated in relation to the distributions of the

circumstantial realizations. After the verification of Halliday’s ‘Circumstantial theory’

the collection of the main study data is then conducted.

5%

25%

3% 1%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Circum.Preposition

in RA

Circum.Process in

RA

Circum.Process in RI

Circum.Participant

in RI


80

Figure 5.5 A comparison - RA vs RI in NE data

Figure 5.6 A comparison - RA vs RI in NNE data

5.2 The main study

Data collection for the main study closely followed procedures administered in the

pilot. To compile two sets of corpora, circumstantial elements in Relational clauses are

again verified if they are incongruently realized. As in the pilot, the belief is that

incongruent circumstantial realizations are metaphorical therefore they should provide a

convenient framework in the identification of abstract and metaphorical concepts. After

verification of the hypothesis, selection of corpora for both independent variables NE

and NNE was then carried out. The software program SPSS was used to statistically

describe and analyze the data. Statistical analysis showed the number of ‘observations,

31%

7%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Relational Attributives Relational Identifying

30%

4%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Relational Attributives Relational Identifying


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mean, standard deviations, minimum and maximum’ of variables for the respective

cohorts.

Table 5.1 Statistical description of NE data

Table 5.2 Statistical description of NNE data

Figure 5.7 Circumstance as preposition in NE data

While ‘mean’ is a kind of average level, ‘standard deviation’ is a kind of measure that

highlights variety of data. Description adopted for both data NE and NNE can be found

in the Appendix section (I – Data description of NE, II – Data of NE, III- Data

NNEfre_procRI 30 .0447551 .0418998 0 .1530612 NEprocRI 30 3.533333 4.15836 0 16NEfre_partRI 30 .0151882 .0217066 0 .0909091 NEpartRI 30 1.2 1.540264 0 5 NEfre_procRA 30 .2247636 .0899121 .0142857 .35 NEprocRA 30 16.36667 9.155678 1 36NEfre_attrRA 30 .0358027 .0291165 0 .0909091 NEattrRA 30 2.566667 2.112089 0 7 NEobs 30 72.9 30.07387 30 137 Variable Obs Mean Std. Dev. Min Max

NNNEfre_pro~I 30 .0453726 .0379674 0 .1162791 NNEprocRI 30 2.3 1.896458 0 6NNEfre_par~I 30 .0185266 .0259103 0 .0769231 NNEpartRI 30 .9666667 1.401559 0 5 NNEfre_pro~A 30 .22825 .0805428 .0714286 .3636364 NNEprocRA 30 11.76667 4.568885 3 24NNEfre_att~A 30 .0287663 .0342033 0 .1176471 NNEattrRA 30 1.7 2.215152 0 8 NNEobs 30 53.4 16.81666 23 105 Variable Obs Mean Std. Dev. Min Max


82

description of NNE, IV- Data of NNE). However, statistical description of each cohort

is illustrated in Table 5.1 for NE data and Table 5.2 for NNE. Figures gathered are in

tandem with results obtained in the pilot study.

Distribution of circumstances in Relational Attributive clauses indicates that

circumstance realized as preposition is not commonly explored by both cohorts as

illustrated in Figure 5.7 for NE data and Figure 5.8 for NNE. Nevertheless,

circumstance realized as process is found to be a popular choice for both cohorts.

Likewise in Relational Identifying clauses, choice of process as circumstance is more

frequent than participant for both groups NE and NNE.

Figure 5.8 Circumstance as preposition in NNE data

Figure 5.9 Circumstance as process in NE data


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Another analysis seeks to determine what incongruent circumstantial realization is

commonly explored in student texts. The purpose is to determine in relation to the

semogenetic timeframe where students are located between the congruent and

metaphorical continuum. It is identified that out of the circumstances identified the most

frequently employed incongruent realization for both modes – RA and RI and for both

sets of data is ‘circumstance as process’ (see Figure 5.9 and Figure 5.10).

Figure 5.10 Circumstance as process in NNE data

A comparison on the choice between the two modes Relational Attributives and

Relational Identifying indicates that students in both cohorts explore more RA when

compared to RI. A closer look at Table 5.1 and Table 5.2 for both cohorts NE and NNE

portrays that students are familiar and thus fully exploring the use of Relational

Attributive clauses. However, on the other hand there is much to be desired in the

manipulation of Relational Identifying clauses. Results collected signify that the

exploration of the Relational Identifying clause type is still at a very low level.

Although the figures show that usage in NE text is higher when compared to NNE, there

is still room for both cohorts to further develop the skill in using Relational Identifying

clauses. Halliday (1994) reiterates that given the importance of acquiring the skill to

construct Relational Identifying clauses, even most mature writers still struggle to

incorporate them in their writing texts.

Results obtained from the main study are similar to those presented in the pilot.

They both authenticate Halliday’s ‘Circumstantial theory’ that circumstances are mostly


84

incongruently realized in Relational clauses (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999).

This revelation is enriching most importantly because prevalence of incongruent

circumstances means texts selected as corpora embody abstract and metaphorical

concepts. For the current study this implies, the use of Relational clauses to elicit data is

reliable as it will be able to identify what has been cited to be lacking in USP student

texts which is the ‘lack of abstract and metaphorical concepts’.

5.3 Distribution of nominalization in Relational clauses

Using the selected corpora from both cohorts NE and NNE, this section seeks to

find answers to the study’s ‘Research Question 1’ in particular on how nominalization is

reflected and distributed in student texts analyzed. Most importantly, it seeks to prove

the major arguments of the study that by employing Halliday’s Functional notion of

grammatical metaphor and the system of Transitivity, the study should be able to

identify academic writing problems predominant in USP student texts. Text analysis

explores Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor which refers to relocation in

mapping of semantics to corresponding wording (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004,

1999; Thompson, 1996; Halliday, 1994). From the perspective of Transitivity as a

grammar that models human experiences, it is assumed that in the analysis of

nominalization, a text should be able to reveal whether it is a realization of Verticality

or otherwise . This will be determined by comparing texts of both cohorts on the choice

of nominalized entities against Halliday’s metaphor taxonomy (Halliday & Mathiessen,

1999). Some instances whereby nominalizations are created and manifested in student

texts are discussed next.

5.3.1 Semantic categories commonly employed

The purpose of this analysis is to illustrate that a good quality writing text employs

a high frequency of nominalized lexical items. Nominalization as discussed in section

(2.4.1) evolved from junctional metaphor where a word adopts two semantic categories;

the congruent referred to as ‘ordinary’ and derived which is the ‘metaphorical’ variant.

Out of the thirteen types of metaphors identified in Halliday’s metaphor taxonomy (see

Table 5.5) three nominalizing metaphors commonly employed in USP student texts are

selected to be compared at the lexical level. Type1 metaphor involves the grammatical

shift from adjective to noun where the derived pseudo Thing is recognized with the


85

semantic categories ‘quality thing’. This is shown in example NE15 (5.1) the non-

conscious pseudo Thing ‘perfection’ derived from the adjective ‘perfect’. Similarly, in

example NNE25 (5.2) from USP student text the non-conscious pseudo Thing ‘wisdom’

is derived from the adjective ‘wise’. This metaphoric shift that allows the ‘ordinary’ or

congruent variant to adopt two semantic categories ‘quality thing’ is an example of

nominalization suggested in this study contributes to the realization of Verticality in

student texts.

Example (NE15): Adam's idea of perfection (Identified) resembles (process) the Platonic

creation story of humans who were perfect in their cylindrical merged state (Identifier).

(5.1) perfection

Grammatical shift: adjective to noun

Semantic shift: quality to thing

Example (NNE25): In the last lines of the poem the old man represents the voice of

wisdom in a traditional….

(5.2) wisdom

Grammatical shift: adjective to noun

Semantic shift: quality to thing

Another example involves the grammatical shift from verb to noun thus

manifesting the semantic categories ‘process thing’. This is identified as Type 2

metaphor in Halliday’s taxonomy. Some instances where the categories are embodied in

student texts are illustrated. In its grammatical shift from verb to noun the non-

conscious pseudo Thing ‘infection’ in example NE25 (5.3) adopts the junction in

meaning between the two semantic categories ‘process thing’. Likewise, example (5.4)

extracted from USP student texts the non-conscious Thing ‘intervention’ maintains the

semantic categories ‘process thing’ as a consequence of the grammatical shift from verb

to noun.

Example (NE25): The underlying theory of the plan is that if the appropriate amount of

financial support is received, HIV/AIDS could be so effectively subdued that infection

rates would stabilize and begin to taper, eventually even diminishing.

(5.3) infection

Grammatical shift: verb to noun

Semantic shift: process to thing


86

Example (NNE4): The question the Dube points out is the climax of the scene because it is

the point in time that will create a particular space for political intervention.

(5.4) intervention

Grammatical shift: verb to noun

Semantic shift: process to thing

On the other hand, the Type5 metaphor with semantic categories ‘process quality’

involves a grammatical shift from verb to adjective. In example NE1(5.5) the lexical

item ‘unavoidable’ maintains the semantic categories ‘process quality’ in its

grammatical shift from the verb ‘avoid’. Example (5.6) from USP student text illustrates

the adjective ‘descriptive’ in its grammatical shift from the verb ‘describe’ hence

deriving the semantic categories ‘process quality’.

Example (NE1): The impact of the internet and technology on children today is

unavoidable: children are increasingly immersed in the digital world through a variety of

media.

(5.5) unavoidable

Grammatical shift: verb to adjective

Semantic shift: process to quality

Example (NNE20): Dissanayake’s review of Darius’s article highlights descriptive

discrepancies in Chess Players.

(5.6) descriptive

Grammatical shift: verb to adjective

Semantic shift: process to quality

A comparison between the two cohorts in regards to the frequency of nominalized

entities explored in the clause illustrates that USP students employ nominalization fifty

percent (50%) less than their NE counterparts and this is depicted in Figure 5. 11. This

finding is important because it specifies areas in the use of nominalization that USP

students need to further develop to improve the quality of their academic writing texts.

Additionally, the higher frequency noted in NE texts compared to USP student texts in

the manipulation of nominalized entities proves another argument of the study that

nominalization contributes to the quality of a writing text and likewise the realization of

Verticality.


87

Figure 5.11 Frequency of nominalization – a comparison

Figure 5.12 Semantic categories in NE texts

The most commonly employed semantic categories between the two groups are

also compared. Results are shown in Figure 5.12 for NE data and Figure 5.13 for

NNE/USP student data. While examining the findings against Halliday’s metaphor

taxonomy, it is observed that the most frequently explored semantic categories in USP

student texts are ‘quality thing’ and ‘process thing’. According to the taxonomy, the two

semantic categories are from Type 1 and Type 2 which locate them closer to the

congruent as opposed to the metaphorical continuum (Chen & Foley, 2005; Halliday &

Mathiessen, 1999). The minimal use of nominalizing metaphors in USP student texts

and their proximity to the congruent pole is suggestive. This is in relation to one of the

NE texts, 85%

NNE texts, 40%

quality thing, 15%

process thing, 30%

process quality, 35%


88

central arguments of the study that nominalization contributes to the creation of

Verticality in text. Additionally, it throws light on the credibility and reliability of the

theoretical framework explored in its potential to identify specific writing problems

related to ‘abstract and metaphorical’ concepts that are prevalent in USP student texts.

Figure 5.13 Semantic categories in NNE texts

5.3.2 Thing functioning as classifier

Although manifestation of Type13 metaphor is glaringly lacking in USP student

texts, an attempt is made to examine how it is incorporated. This stance is taken to

illuminate a major feature of nominalization which is condensing of information.

Type13 metaphor involves the shift of element participant to qualifying, possessive or

classifying which manifests the secondary motif of grammatical metaphor. Some

examples extracted from student texts are examined.

Example (NE8): Undoubtedly, the world is becoming more inter-connected with the

evolution of the internet and an exponential increase in communication.

(5.7) exponential increase

Example NE8 (5.7) depicts the metaphoric shift of element participant ‘exponent’ to the

derived ‘exponential’ realized as qualifier/classifier in the nominal group ‘exponential

increase. This potential of element participant to adopt various roles in order to expand

meaning demonstrates the secondary motif of grammatical metaphor in the shift to

qualifying, classifying or possessive. In this shift, it is adopting the function of

classifying, a type or class of ‘increase’ labeled as exponential. Similarly, in example

quality thing, 20%

process thing, 15%

process quality, 5%


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NE12 (5.8) the shift is from the noun ‘finance’ to ‘financial’ an adjective. In this

metaphoric shift, the element participant ‘finance’ now functions as classifier. It is

signifying a type of classification on the various kinds of support such as, health support,

educational support or financial support.

Example (NE12): Without funding for education and sustainable community development

programs that the Universal Access Plan calls for, financial support for HIV/AIDS

becomes a life-line to struggling communities.

(5.8) financial support

Example (NE9): while evidence is not necessarily conclusive of either freshwater or

marine origins, recent evidence seems to indicate that tetrapods likely arose in marginal

marines and possibly lowland freshwater environments and it is possible that they could

have been tolerant of both marine and freshwater conditions, as are many vertebrate types.

(5.9) lowland freshwater environments

On the other hand, the nominal group (5.9) in example NE9 shows a more complex

combination where two nouns are expanding the head Thing ‘environment’. The

combination of nouns to expand the nominal group and in particular the choice of

compound words such as ‘lowland ‘ and ‘freshwater’ portrays the students’ ability to

move beyond basic level to subordinate level categories. The two nominal groups

‘lowland and freshwater’ are classifying the types or classes of environments. It is

apparent that the two nominal groups are already metaphorical. For instance, ‘lowland’

can be unpacked and reworded as ‘a class of lands defined or classed as low.’ A

rewording of ‘freshwater’ may yield a figure as ‘a class or type of water that is fresh’.

Example (NE11) The reality simply is that humanitarian organizations do not have the

might to create comprehensive, far-reaching sustainability programs.

(5.10) humanitarian organizations

Another example illustrated in NE11 (5.10) is the noun ‘human’ functioning as

qualifier/classifier in the nominal group ‘humanitarian organizations’. The grammatical

shift of the lexical item ‘human’ from noun to adjective gives it the secondary role to

make classifications. There are types and kinds of organizations such as religious

organizations, cultural organizations and so forth but our example refers to the type

‘humanitarian organizations’.


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Figure 5.14 Thing – as qualifier/classifier

Example (NNE4): The question the Dube points out is the climax of the scene because it is

the point in time that will create a particular space for political intervention.

(5.11) political intervention

Likewise, in the nominal group (5.11) in example NNE4, the grammatical shift is from

the noun ‘politics’ to adjective ‘political’. The metaphoric shift illustrates the potential

of the element participant ‘politics’ to adopt an alternative role as classifier for a non-

conscious pseudo Thing ‘intervention’. There are types and kinds of ‘interventions’ for

instance health intervention, education intervention, cultural intervention, political

intervention and so on. This metaphoric shift of element participant to function as

qualifier or classifier embodies the secondary motif of grammatical metaphor which is

the shift in the opposite direction (Halliday & Mathiessen, 1999: 264).

While comparing the use of element participant as qualifier/classifier for head

Thing as shown in Figure 5.14, data indicate USP students have yet to master the skill

to employ the metaphoric shift. This deviance is striking while analyzing texts. It

vividly indicates USP students’ choices of nominal groups are mostly of ‘one word’

when compared to the ‘expanded nominal groups’ typical of NE texts. Writing

problems that are emerging in the analysis of USP student texts prove the reliability of

Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor and the Transitivity system. In addition, it

NE texts, 40%

NNE texts, 10%


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justifies one of the major arguments of the study that nominalization contributes to the

realization of Verticality.

5.3.3 Element process functioning as qualifier for head Thing

Moreover, a discussion is also explored on the function of element process as

classifier/qualifier for Thing. The intention is to highlight how the element process

broadens its function to make meaning. The examples given in Table 5.3 embody a

major theme in Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor in the reconstrual of

meaning. It indicates the metaphoric shift of element process from construing human

experience as going on to relations made between types and kinds typical of Relational

clauses.

Table 5.3 Process as qualifier for head Thing

Texts Congruent: process Metaphorical: quality

NE4 demarcate a clearly demarcated line

NE15 create platonic creation story

NE11 reach out, sustain comprehensive far-reaching sustainability programs

NNE20 describe Descriptive

For instance, the nominal group ‘a clearly demarcated line’ in example NE4 illustrates

how the element process ‘demarcate’ expands its functions as qualifier/classifier in the

nominal group. The verb ‘demarcate’ is used in this example to specify the type or class

of lines. Another illustration in example NE15 is the nominal group ‘a platonic creation

story’ where the element process ‘create’ is functioning as qualifier/classifier ‘creation’.

Example NE11 identifies two verbs ‘reach out’ and ‘sustain’ functioning as qualifiers in

the nominal group ‘comprehensive far-reaching sustainability programs’. The

processes specify the class or type of program that reaches out to as many people as it

possibly can and one that can be sustained.

An awareness of the alternative role of element process to function as

qualifier/classifier for head Thing is important. This is because the verb normally does

not have the potential to expand in its congruent form since elements that comprise its

experiential structure are from a closed class system (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014;

Martin, 2007). A comparison between the two cohorts in the use of the element process

as qualifier in Figure 5.15 depicts it is not fully exploited in USP student texts. The

finding further proves the main argument of the study that academic writing problems


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of USP students can be identified by exploring Halliday’s notion of grammatical

metaphor and the Functional view of Transitivity (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004,

1999).

Figure 5.15 Process functioning as qualifier for Thing

5.3.4 Ambiguity created due to condensing of information

Given the potential of element Thing to expand, it has also led to the creation of

ambiguous word clusters. In regards to academic writing or the elaborated register, such

an effect illustrates that the more abstract and metaphoric language becomes the more it

restricts its readership to only those of the same academic discourse community

(Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; Martin, 2007; Painter, 1999). Examples previously

explored are further employed to illustrate ambiguity created as a result of condensation

of information. In the case of the nominal group ‘exponential increase’, one cannot

clearly make out the relation between the two lexical items; ‘exponential’ and ‘increase’.

Such pairs become ambiguous as a result of the filtering out of unnecessary elements in

the clause in order to condense information. Hence, a rewording to a congruent variant

might be agnated to ‘the increase has been exponential’, or ‘the increase is exponential’

or there can be other alternative variants. In the case of the nominal group ‘financial

support’, it might be agnated to ‘support is given in the form of finance’ or ‘finance had

been given for support’. The examples given indicate that ambiguity is expected in

academic writing texts as a consequence of condensation of information. Martin (2007)

among others argues this is a typical feature of the elaborated register where

25%

15%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

processfunctioning as

qualifier-NE texts

processfunctioning as

qualifier-NNE texts


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comprehension or understanding becomes restricted to only those who belong to the

same academic discourse community.

5.3.5 Elemental paradigmatic shift

Another analysis focuses on the metaphoric shift that involves the objectification

of the element process in its potential to be recognized as head Thing in a nominal

group. Some nominal groups are discussed to compare how this metaphoric shift is

exploited between the two cohorts NE and USP student texts.

Table 5.4 Elemental paradigmatic shift

NE texts NNE texts

exponential increase lifestyle choice

financial support political intervention

scrutinizing challenges culturally inclusive learning

the restriction of access

In the nominal group ‘exponential increase’, the metaphoric shift is noted in the element

process ‘increase’ which is objectified as a non-conscious Thing. The metaphoric shift

has boosted the capacity of the element process ‘increase’ to expand meaning.

Moreover, it is quite obvious that the conventional sequencing of elements is violated.

The element process is occupying the slot that normally belongs to the noun while the

element participant ‘exponent’ adopts a secondary role as qualifier/classifier. Similarly,

in the nominal group ‘financial support’, the pseudo Thing ‘support’ is derived from a

process and it is recognized as a non-conscious Thing in the nominal group. The shift

from process to Thing boosts the potential of the process ‘support’ to make meaning by

taking on the function of head Thing in the nominal group.

Another illustration where a process is objectified to become like a concrete entity

is in the nominal group ‘scrutinizing challenges.’ The head Thing ‘challenges’ is

derived from a process. It is also worthy to note that in this metaphoric shift the element

process is enabled to be classified into types and kinds. This is a good example of one of

the central arguments of the study in the relocation in mapping of meaning to

corresponding lexicogrammar whereby the derived nominal group ‘scrutinizing

challenges’ can be traced to the two processes ‘scrutinize and challenge’. A process is

realized as head Thing ‘challenge’ and another process is functioning as qualifier

‘scrutinizing’. Likewise, in the nominal group ‘the restriction of access’, the head Thing


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‘restriction’ is derived from a process ‘restrict’. The metaphoric shift enables the

process to be realized as an entity. Its capacity however, to co-occur with a plural

inflectional morpheme as in this example ‘restriction(s)’ indicates it is a

transcategorized variant. Furthermore, the non-conscious pseudo Thing ‘restrict’ is

being expanded by another process ‘access’ presented in a prepositional phrase.

Examples extracted from NNE texts show the nominal group ‘lifestyle choice’

where the head Thing ‘choice’ is derived from a verb ‘choose’ in its congruent form. In

the nominal group ‘political intervention’, the head Thing ‘intervention’ is derived from

a verb ‘intervene’. Similarly, the derived non-conscious Thing ‘learning’ in the nominal

group ‘culturally inclusive learning’ can be traced to the verb ‘learn’.

Comparisons conducted between the two cohorts in the metaphoric shift of element

process to be realized as head Thing highlight its near absence in USP student texts.

Again, findings emerging from the distribution and manifestation of nominalization in

the clause prove the reliability of the theoretical frameworks employed. Specific

problems related to abstract and metaphorical concepts are being identified and

described in relation to their functions and contributions to the effectiveness and quality

of a text. At the same time, it illustrates that incorporation of the metaphorical variants

contributes to the realization of a Vertical knowledge structure.

5.3.6 Syntagmatic metaphoric shift: figure to element

Analysis of this metaphoric shift is important to illustrate that condensing of

information is a feature typical of a high quality text realized through nominalization. A

rank downgrade is noted during the process of nominalization and in academic writing

this is undertaken as an economical strategy to pack in as much information into a

word/group and to remove features that are unnecessary. Some examples extracted from

student texts are reworded to illuminate the rank downgrade. In example (NE1),

analysis reveals that the nominal group ‘the digital world’ has undergone a downgrade

in shift from figure to element and this is illustrated in the alternative rewording (see

5.12b).

Example (NE1): The impact of the Internet and technology on children today is

unavoidable: children are increasingly immersed in the digital world through a variety of

media.

(5.12a) Group (metaphorical): the digital world


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(5.12b) Figure (congruent): Internet and technology are dominating the world.

In the rank downgrade the nouns ‘internet and technology’ of the figure are condensed

to a technical term ‘the digital’ and it is functioning as classifier for head Thing. The

indirect participant of the figure ‘the world’ (goal) is realized as head Thing in the

metaphorical variant. It is apparent that the verbal group ‘are dominating’ has been

filtered out as unnecessary.

Example (NE7): The stinky Cheese Man is a collection of scrutinizing challenges to

classic fairy tales that requires the reader have an understanding of the original tales, of

story structure, and of comedy.

(5.13a) Group (metaphorical): scrutinizing challenges

(5.13b) Figure (congruent): Challenges are scrutinized.

In example (NE7) three nominal groups are identified to have undergone a rank

downgrade from figure to element. For instance, in the nominal group ‘scrutinizing

challenges’, the congruent rewording shows that the element participant of the figure

‘challenges’ shifts to become head Thing in the metaphorical variant. The element

process ‘are scrutinized’ functions as qualifier for head Thing in the metaphorical

variant. In adopting this role, the process rids itself of its fluidity and thus is rendered

the potential to expand.

(5.14a) Group (metaphorical): classic fairy tales

(5.14b) Figure (congruent): Fairy tales are classic.

In relation to the nominal group ‘classic fairy tales’, condensation of information has

seen to the elimination of the verb ‘are’ and reduced the figure into one nominal group.

The element participant of the figure ‘fairy tales’ is functioning as head Thing in the

metaphorical variant while the adjective ‘classic’ is realized as qualifier in the

metaphorical variant.

(5.15c) Group (metaphorical): original tales

(5.15 d) Figure (congruent): The tales are original.

A rewording of the nominal group in the above example derives a figure comprising of

element participant ‘the tales’ realized as Thing ‘are’ is process and ‘original’ as

circumstance. In condensing information the verb ‘are’ is being removed. The element

participant ‘tales’ is head Thing and the adjective ‘original’ is classifier for head Thing.


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Example (NE12): Without funding for the education and sustainable community

development programs that the Universal Access Plan calls for, financial support for HIV-

AIDS becomes a life-line to struggling communities.

(5.16a) Group (metaphorical): sustainable community development programs

(5.16b) Figure (congruent): The community develops programs that can be sustained.

Nominal groups that have undergone the metaphoric shift from figure to element in

example (NE12) are illustrated. In the nominal group ‘sustainable community

development programs’, a congruent variant to highlight the downgrade in rank from

figure to element is suggested; ‘The community develops programs that can be

sustained.’ The figure is of a hypotactic clause relation and this is illustrated by the

rankshifted clause ‘that can be sustained’. The element process is realized by ‘develops’

while the clause ‘that can be sustained’ functions as qualifier. In condensing

information the indirect participant ‘programs’ of the figure now functions as head

Thing in the metaphorical variant. The element participant ‘the community’ realized as

Actor in the congruent variant becomes a qualifier in the metaphorical variant. The roles

of element process ‘develops’ and process ‘can be sustained’ of the figure are expanded

to be realized as qualifiers for head Thing in the metaphorical variant.

(5.16c) Group (metaphoric): financial support

(5.16d) Figure (congruent): Finance is given to support the community.

Similar cases of metaphoric shifts are manifested in the following nominal groups with

corresponding congruent variants. In example (5.16d), the figure comprises of element

participant ‘finance’, element process ‘is given’ and the prepositional phrase ‘to support

the community’ is circumstance. In condensing information the minor process ‘support’

presented in the prepositional phrase shifts to be realized as head Thing ‘support’ in the

metaphorical variant. The element participant ‘finance’ in the congruent variant now

functions as classifier/qualifier for the head Thing in the metaphorical variant. Other

elements associated with ‘here and now’ deemed unnecessary are being filtered out.

(5.16e)Group (metaphoric): struggling communities

(5.16f) Figure (congruent): ‘Communities are struggling.’

Likewise, for the nominal group ‘struggling communities’ in example (5.16e), it is

realized by a figure comprising of element participant ‘communities’ and element

process ‘are struggling.’ In the rank downgrade, the participant ‘communities’ of the


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figure is realized as head Thing in the metaphorical variant and the element process

‘struggling’ now functions as qualifier in its metaphorical form.

The following section examines how the downgrade in shift from figure to

element is employed in NNE student texts.

Example (NNE6): That, she is a spendthrift is obvious immediately in her over-generous

tipping of the porter in the first scene.

(5.17a) Group (metaphorical): her over-generous tipping

(5.17b) Figure (congruent): She generously tipped the porter.

The nominal group with the possessive deictic ‘her over-generous tipping’ can be

reworded to an alternative congruent variant such as ‘She generously tipped the porter’.

In the rank downgrade, the element participant is indexed to the personal pronoun ‘she’

of the figure and it maps on to the possessive deictic ‘her’ in the metaphorical variant.

The element process ‘tipped’ of the figure is realized as a non-conscious Thing ‘tipping’

(possessed) and prequalified by element circumstance ‘generous’ .

Example (NNE3): Thus a core characteristic of colonialism in practice is through the

different views of the colonizer and the colonized idea on the meaning of and constructions

of masculinity, femininity and sexuality.

(5.18a) Group (metaphoric): the different views

(5.18b) Figure (congruent): Their views are different.

In example (NNE3) the nominal group ‘the different views’ manifests a downgrade in

rank from figure to element. An alternative congruent variant can be traced to the figure

‘Their views are different’. It is evident that in the metaphoric shift to condense

information, the element process ‘are’ is filtered out. The element participant ‘views’

(possessed) of the figure is realized as head Thing in the metaphorical variant and

prequalified by the adjective ‘different’. The introduction of the nominal group with the

specific deictic ‘the’ can be related to the ‘textual metafunction’ in the sense that it is to

be taken for granted that the information has been previously mentioned.

Example (NNE20): Dissanayake’s review of Darius’s article highlights descriptive

discrepancies [in Chess Players].

(5.19a) Group (metaphoric): Dissanayake’s review

(5.19b) Figure (congruent): The article reviewed by Dissanayake.

In (NNE20) the rewording of example (5.19a) is made up of a figure comprising of

element participant ‘the article’, process ‘reviewed’ and the prepositional phrase ‘by


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Dissanayake’ is circumstance. In condensing information, the figure is reduced to a

nominal group ‘Dissanayake’s review’. The indirect participant ‘Dissanayake’ of the

figure shifts to be realized as qualifier/possessive while the element process of the

figure now functions as head Thing (possessed) ‘review’.

(5.19c) Group (metaphorical): Darius’s article

(5.19d) Figure (congruent): Darius wrote the article.

The rewording of example (5.19c) yields a figure with element participant ‘Darius’

realized as Actor, the indirect participant ‘article’ is goal, and element process ‘wrote’.

The downgrade in rank derives a nominal group ‘Darius’s article’ where the element

participant functioning as Actor in the figure becomes qualifier/possessive and the

indirect participant ‘article’ of the figure is head Thing. Element process ‘wrote’ and

other unnecessary items are filtered out.

(5.19e) Group (metaphorical): descriptive discrepancies

(5.19f) Figure (congruent): Discrepancies are described.

A congruent variant highlights example (5.19f) as a figure with element participant

‘Discrepancies’ realized as Thing, and the element process ‘are described’. Condensing

of information derives a nominal group in which the element process of the figure is

realized as qualifier ‘descriptive’ for the head Thing ‘discrepancies’.

Analysis on rank downgrade from figure to element illustrates condensation as a

significant feature typical of Verticality. An attempt to compare frequency of

nominalized entities within a sentence proves that it is higher in NE rather than

NNE/USP student texts. This claim is further substantiated in the discussion on lexical

density (see section 5.4.5). Rewording of nominal groups indicates the packaging of

quantum of information is more complex and sophisticated in NE texts rather than NNE.

This is proven in the use of clause simplexes and clause complexes derived from

congruent alternative rewordings (see NE12/5:13b). Results gathered on the exploration

of rank downgrade to condense information are important in relation to identifying

solutions to the lack of ‘abstract and metaphorical concepts’ mentioned to be glaring in

USP student texts.

An overall comparison on the distribution of nominalization in Relational clauses

illustrates that USP students are far behind their NE counterparts. This is depicted in the

semantic categories they commonly employ such as ‘quality thing’ and ‘process thing’

which are closer to the congruent pole. The near absence of Thing as qualifier, classifier


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or possessive in their texts again confirms USP students’ nearness to the congruent pole.

An analysis of element process functioning as qualifier for head Thing indicates that it

is hardly explored in USP student texts. The shift of element process to be realized as

head Thing is not sparingly employed in USP student texts. In addition, analysis of

downgrade in rank from figure to element is interesting especially when comparing

alternative rewordings. While rewordings for NE texts comprise clause simplexes and

clause complexes, USP student texts only include simple clauses and simple lexical

items. Important results emerging from the distribution and analyses of nominalization

in Relational clauses prove that nominalization contributes to the realization of

Verticality. Similarly the reliability of the theoretical framework employed is justified

because writing problems related to abstract and metaphorical concepts inherent in USP

student texts are being identified.

5.4 Distribution of grammatical metaphor in Relational clauses

The previous section looked at the distribution of nominalization at the lexical

level and this section will examine the distribution of grammatical metaphor at the

clause level. Again as in section 5.3 the analysis is guided by Halliday’s notion of

grammatical metaphor that involves the relocation in mapping of meanings to

corresponding grammatical labels (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 1999). The Functional

view of Transitivity is also explored as it provides a grammar that models human

experiences manifested in texts analyzed (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 1999). It is

anticipated, analysis of grammatical metaphor should be able to reveal writing problems

associated with abstract and metaphorical concepts that are cited to be lacking in USP

student texts (Khan & Mugler, 2001).

5.4.1 Syntagmatic metaphoric shift: sequence to figure

A feature common to both nominalization and grammatical metaphor typical of a

high quality text is that of condensation of information (Martin, 2007; Painter, 1999).

Hence, this section illustrates and compares how condensation of information is

encompassed at the clause level between the two cohorts. Focus is particularly on

nominal groups and figures included in the clause that have been downgraded.


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Example (NE7): The stinky Cheese Man (Carrier) is (process) /a collection of scrutinizing

challenges to classic fairy tales /that requires the reader have an understanding of the

original tales, of story structure, and of comedy (Attribute).

(5.20) Rewording: The stinky Cheese Man comprises of fairy tales that are classic/while

collecting the fairy tales they are well scrutinized; additionally the fairy tales are

challenging because readers have to read and understand the original tales, the structure of

the story, and of comedy.

A rewording of example (NE7) highlights the various levels of metaphoric shifts

employed in order to condense information. For instance, at the group level the nominal

group ‘a collection of scrutinizing challenges to classic fairy tales’ illustrates that it has

been downgraded from figure to element as observed in the rewording ‘while collecting

fairy tales they are well scrutinized’. Another example of rank downgrade is embraced

in the clause ‘that requires the reader have an understanding of the original tales, of

story structure, and of comedy’. The clause has been downgraded from a sequence and

this is obvious in its congruent rewording ‘additionally they are challenging because

readers have to read and understand the original tales, the structure of the story and of

comedy’. In this rank downgrade circumstantial information normally expressed by the

conjunction ‘because’ is remapped to a non-finite clause where a process ‘requires’

expresses circumstantial information of ‘cause’.

Example (NE8): Undoubtedly, [the world] (Carrier) is becoming (process) more inter-

connected with the evolution of the Internet and an exponential increase in communication

(Attribute).

(5.21) Rewording: One cannot doubt that the world is becoming more inter-connected/this

is shown in the way internet has evolved/ because of the increase in modes of

communication.

The downgrade in rank emerges while unpacking nominal groups included in example

(NE8). In the nominal group ‘the evolution of the internet’ the shift is from the figure

‘The internet has evolved’. A similar example is depicted in the nominal group ‘an

exponential increase in communication’ in its shift from the figure ‘Modes of

communication have significantly increased’.



AIDS (Carrier) becomes (process) a life-line to struggling communities (Attribute).


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(5.22a) Rewording: If funding that the Universal Access Plan calls for is not provided,

(5.22b) it will be difficult to educate the people and to sustain programs that are developed

for the communities/ that are struggling, since most of them rely on these funds for their

everyday living;

(5.22c) Financial support is like a line that provides life to these communities.

An alternative rewording of example (NE12) highlights condensation of information as

portrayed in the congruent variants. This is embodied at the lexical level in the nominal

group ‘the education and sustainable community development programs’. A rewording

to an alternative congruent variant may yield a clause or clause complex as in (5.22b).

In the lexical metaphor ‘a life-line’, an alternative rewording derives a figure shown in

(5.22c). The use of lexical metaphor is appealing, as it further illuminates the conceptual

nature of grammatical metaphor by exploring the concrete domains to understand more

abstract domains. At the same time, it adds complexity and sophistication to the text.

The next section analyzes instances of syntagmatic shift from sequence to figure

identified in NNE texts.

Example (NNE3): Thus a core characteristic of colonialism in practice (Carrier) is

(process) through the different views of the colonizer and the colonized idea on the

meaning of and constructions of masculinity, femininity and sexuality (Attribute).

(5.23a) Rewording: when colonialism is practiced;

(5.23b) the views are different;

(5.23c) the meanings that are constructed;

The downgrade in rank in example (NNE3) is manifested in the congruent variants of

the semantically loaded nominal groups employed. For instance, a rewording of the

nominal group ‘colonialism in practice’ derives a figure ‘when colonialism is practised’.

The unpacking of the nominal group ‘the different views’ also derives a figure ‘the

views are different’. Another example is in the nominal group ‘the meanings of and

constructions of’ which may be reworded as ‘the meanings that are constructed’.

A summary of findings in terms of the downgrade in rank from sequence to figure

proves that grammatical metaphor is created through the contribution of metaphorical

variants at the various levels such as; word, group/phrase and at the clause level.

Illustrations and rewordings of metaphorical variants prove that grammatical metaphor

is employed to condense information and to facilitate the shift from the fluidity and

dynamism typical of the element process, to the permanence representative of the


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element Thing (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014). This is a feature embraced and

recognized in the elaborated register and academic discourse.

A comparison in the downgrade in rank from sequence to figure between the two

cohorts examines alternative rewordings. Findings indicate that expansion of nominal

groups is definitely lacking in USP student texts. Another very important finding noted

in NE texts but not USP student texts during rank downgrade from sequence to figure is

the remapping of conjunctions to process, preposition or participant. This finding points

to the pivotal role played by grammatical metaphor not only in improving academic

writing texts but most importantly in the realization of Verticality. Analysis shows

utilization of rank downgrade to condense information is not fully explored in USP

student texts. In contrast, NE texts are found to fully employ rank downgrade as a

means of packing quantum of information into nominal groups and figures. This makes

their text of a better quality compared to USP student texts.

5.4.2 Prototypical vs peripheral subject position

To identify how grammatical metaphor is embodied in the clause, analysis focuses

on the choice of subject. From the perspective of traditional grammar, the subject is

prototypical if it is realized by a noun but when this choice is violated, it is said to be

peripheral. To examine how this is manifested in text, a comparison is made against the

prototypical subject position of the English clause where it is realized by a noun.

Example (NE1): The impact/ of the internet and technology on children today (Carrier) is

(process) unavoidable: children are increasingly immersed in the digital world through a

variety of media (Attribute).

(5.24) Congruent rewording: Children are impacted by internet and technology.

In example (NE1), an analysis of the subject slot shows that the head Thing ‘the impact’

is peripheral. Its root can be traced to the verb ‘impact’ as illustrated in the congruent

variant in example (5.24). A comparison against the congruent rewording portrays that

the participants of the figure ‘children, internet and technology’ are not adopting their

conventionally recognized obligatory role as Subjects. They are functioning as

qualifiers thus manifesting the secondary motif of grammatical metaphor. The violation

of the dominant pattern according to Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor is

strategically employed as a means of foregrounding (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014,

1999). The question one may raise is what is being foregrounded in example (NE1). If


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this clause is to be examined from the ‘textual perspective’ in relation to the ‘theme and

rheme’ relation it is the ‘new’ information that is foregrounded.




(5.25) Congruent rewording: Finance is provided to support the community.

In example (NE12), the nominal group ‘financial support’ is peripheral thus is explored

as a form of foregrounding. The non-conscious pseudo Thing ‘support’, is derived from

a verb as shown in the congruent rewording (5.25). Additionally, the noun ‘finance’ is

adopting a secondary role functioning as classifier for head Thing. From Halliday’s

notion of grammatical metaphor, this systemic deviation manifests the shift from

congruent modes of communication to more metaphorical in order to arouse attention to

the unfolding of the new information (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 1999). Presentation

of the ‘new’ information as a lexical metaphor further adds complexity and

sophistication to the text. Moreover, placement in the initial position of a non-finite

clause ‘Without funding’ adds tension to the anticipation for the new information.

Martin (2007) observes if viewed from the textual perspective, non-finite clauses

foreground the particulars of psychological and sensory experience, framing and

deferring the message encoded. This type of construction is a powerful device for

reasoning and argumentation (Halliday and Mathiessen, 2014; Christie & Macken-

Horarick, 2007; Martin, 1992).

Example 4 (NE13): ‘… the restriction/of access to contraceptives (Identified) is (process)

the demographic that is generally believed to utilize them, in particular, teenagers and

unmarried women.

(5.26) Congruent rewording: Contraceptives are restricted and cannot be accessed.

The pseudo Thing ‘the restriction’ in this nominal group ‘the restriction/of access to

contraceptives’ is peripheral, since it is derived from a verb ‘restrict’. The element

participant ‘contraceptives’ which is head Thing in the congruent mode, now takes on a

secondary role functioning as qualifier for another participant. Likewise, the element

process ‘cannot be accessed’ is functioning as qualifier for the head Thing. The

violation of the conventional sequencing of the principle elements in the clause is found

to be sparingly employed in NE texts.


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The next section examines violation of the dominant subject position in NNE/USP

student texts in relation to the metaphoric shift of the element process to be realized as

head Thing. There is only one example identified from NNE texts in this category.

Example (NNE20): Dissanayake’s review/ of Darius’s article (Identified) highlights

(process) descriptive discrepancies in Chess Players (Identifier)

(5.27) Congruent variant: Darius wrote an article which was reviewed by Dissanayake.

The subject in example (NNE20) is peripheral because a process ‘review’ is occupying

the slot that is normally observed for a noun. Its shift from element process to be

realized as head Thing is metaphoric. Additionally, the element participant

‘Dissanayake’ is adopting a secondary function as qualifier/possessive for the head

Thing. The violation of the conventional sequencing of elements contributes to the

creation of grammatical metaphor.

In the analysis of the violation of the subject position, it is obvious that the two

variants the congruent and metaphorical differ in textual meaning. At the first

occurrence it is presented as ‘new’ information and in the second it is to be taken for

granted and used as a point of departure for a further item or information. The

grammatical resource explored to elucidate how and why the two variants differ in

meaning is from the textual system of ‘theme’ and ‘information’ that organizes

discourse in terms of ‘theme-rheme’ and ‘given-new’ (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014,

2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996; Eggins, 1994). The location of the theme as ‘given’ has a

very powerful backgrounding effect in the sense that it reminds readers of what they

already know and gearing them up to the ‘new’ information that is to follow. On the

same token, the remainder of the clause or part of it is strongly foregrounded because

the total construction is obviously a powerful device for reasoning and argumentation.

Moreover, the two variants congruent and metaphorical are not free variants as they are

context dependent. This shows the metaphorical variant is most likely to be associated

with the written mode whereas the congruent is typical of the spoken mode.

An overall evaluation of the violation of the prototypical subject position,

illustrates it is fully employed in NE texts but not noticed in USP student texts. This

finding further proves the proximity of USP student texts to the congruent pole because

they are not able to violate the conventional sequencing of the elements in the clause.

The ability to violate the dominant subject position is important because it contributes to


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the creation of grammatical metaphor and the realization of Verticality (Halliday &

Mathiessen, 2014, Martin, 2007; Schleppegrell, 2005; Christie, 2002).

5.4.3 Circumstance in Relational Attributive clauses

The purpose of this analysis is to highlight how grammatical metaphor is

incorporated in text through relocation in mapping of circumstantial meaning to

corresponding grammatical labels. In a Relational clause, circumstance of ‘cause’ that

normally maps to a conjunction in inter-clausal relations is relocated to either ‘process,

preposition or participant in clause-internal relations. This claim is explored in the

following examples.

Example (NE7): The stinky Cheese Man (Carrier) is (process) a collection of scrutinizing

challenges to classic fairy tales that requires the reader have an understanding of the


Example (NE7) is a Relational clause where the Carrier is a nominal group ‘The stinky

Cheese Man’, the process refers to the verb ‘is’ and the Attribute is the nominal group

‘a collection of scrutinizing challenges to classic fairy tales’. The Attribute is ascribed

to the Carrier which means ‘The stinky Cheese Man’ is construed as a member of the

class ‘of scrutinizing challenges to classic fairy tales. ‘The stinky Cheese Man’ is related

to its attributes by a nominal group ‘a collection of scrutinizing challenges to classic

fairy tales, that requires the reader have an understanding of the original tales, of story

structure, and of comedy’. In terms of dispensing circumstantial information,

elaboration is employed. This is depicted in the use of a non-finite rankshifted clause

‘that requires the reader have an understanding of the original tales, of story structure,

and of comedy’. It is used as a descriptive gloss of the semiotic domain of attribution

and at the same time expressing circumstantial information of manner. This can be

further proved by an alternative congruent rewording using inter-clausal relations such

as; ‘The reader needs to have a good understanding of the story structure because the

book is very challenging’. In this example, the circumstance of ‘cause’ expressed by the

conjunction ‘because’ in the congruent rewording, is remapped to a process ‘requires’

presented in a rankshifted clause. This finding proves that clause-internal relations

observed in Relational clauses contribute to the creation of grammatical metaphor.


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In example (NE12) the Carrier is the nominal group ‘financial support’ and the process

‘becomes’ is of ‘phase time’ (see Table 3.9). The Attribute refers to the nominal group

‘a life-line to struggling communities’. The Attribute is ascribed to the Carrier ‘financial

support’. The Carrier ‘financial support’ is construed as a member of the class of ‘life-

lines to struggling communities’. In terms of attribution, it is from the semiotic domain

and the circumstantial semantic space created is of ‘cause and concession’ conveyed by

the prepositional phrase ‘to struggling communities’. This circumstantial information is

an expansion of the lexical metaphor ‘a life-line’ which is made clearer with the

following alternative rewording; ‘if the line referring to financial supply is disconnected,

it can be a matter of life and death to the communities that are struggling’.

Metaphorical expression of circumstance through the relocation in mapping between

meanings to corresponding grammatical labels is a distinct feature of Relational clauses.

This makes Relational clauses reliable as the framework to analyze nominalization and

grammatical metaphor. Additionally, in terms of the second major argument of the

study, it is proven that clause-internal relations made in Relational clauses contribute to

the realization of Verticality.

Example (NNE5): The aims and objectives of the organization (Carrier) seem to be

(process) functional (Attribute).

The Carrier in example (NNE5) is the nominal group ‘The aims and objectives of the

organization’, the process ‘seem’ is of the ‘phase reality’ (see Table 3.9) and the

Attribute is an adjective ‘functional’ or ‘the functional one’. The Attribute ‘functional’

is ascribed to the Carrier. The Carrier ‘aims and objectives of the organization’ is

construed as a member of the class that is functional. While the phase of attribution is

semiotic, the circumstantial semantic space created is of manner depicted in the

adjective ‘functional’.

A comparison in the choice of expansion types to express circumstantial

information reveals that USP student texts mostly employ elaboration which results in

the creation of the circumstance of manner. On the other hand, findings indicate NE

texts explore both elaboration and enhancement to express circumstantial information.

The choice contributes to the creation of a more elaborate circumstantial semantic space.


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The finding is revealing in relation to ‘argumentation’ the text type chosen to be

analyzed where the use of circumstance of ‘cause and concession’ is critical in attaining

the purpose of this text type. The limitation of USP students’ choices on elaboration

indicates lexicogrammatical resources employed are mostly for descriptive purposes.

The metaphoric expression of circumstance emphasizes and proves the importance of

Relational clauses in building Verticality. It also justifies the second argument proposed

by the study that clause-internal relations made in Relational clauses contribute to the

realization of Verticality. Similarly, problems identified in USP student texts such as,

the limitation on elaboration to distil meaning in clause-internal relations confirm the

reliability of the theoretical frameworks adopted in this study.

5.4.4 Abstraction in Relational Identifying clauses

Relations made in Relational Identifying clauses are found to be more complex

compared to Relational Attributives. An observation noted is in the exploitation of

abstraction. This section examines how abstraction is incorporated in student texts

particularly focusing on the ‘lexicalized token’. According to Painter (1999), the use of

lexicalized tokens is common in Relational clauses of the Identifying mode where

definitions involve a token-value relation. The relation is between a fairly delicate type

that is lexicalized in the lexicogrammar and its restatement by means of other resources

in the ideation base ( Halliday & Mathiessen,1999:76). Abstraction involves a shift

towards the concrete, a move in the direction of ‘objectifying’ which means making like

an object. Similarly, as in section (5.4.3) in the case of extending and reconstrual of

meaning, expansion types explored to further define and clarify abstract categories are

also examined. The intention is to highlight, in addition to an awareness of abstraction,

to also elucidate students’ ability to describe, explain, argue or negotiate in order to add

value to their classifications and taxonomies.

In Relational Identifying clauses meaning is related by definitions and this is

illustrated next.

Example (NE4): On the surface the grey zone (Identified/token) demonstrates (process) the

absence of a clearly demarcated line between good and evil (Identifier/value).

Example (NE4) is a Relational Identifying clause that sets up a relation between token

and value. The element participant ‘the grey zone’ which is the token is a non-conscious

pseudo Thing related to its value by the element process ‘demonstrates’ which is an


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equative verb. The token ‘the grey zone’ is defined in terms of a semantically loaded

nominal group ‘the absence of a clearly demarcated line between good and evil.’ It is

obvious that dispensing of meaning is through elaboration. This is expressed in the

prepositional phrase ‘between good and evil’. Abstraction is said to be embodied in this

clause because the two entities identifying each other ‘the grey zone’ and its definition

‘the absence of a clearly demarcated line’ are both abstract. In Relational Identifying

clauses, the two participants such as ‘the grey zone’ and ‘the absence of a clearly

demarcated line’ are circumstantial elements in disguise, one identifying the other

(Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996; Eggins, 1994).

Example (NE13): A major factor in the restriction of access to contraceptives

(Identified/value) is (process) the demographic that is generally believed to utilize them, in

particular, teenagers and unmarried women (Identifier/token).

Abstraction is manifested in example (NE13) in the relation set up between the two

abstract entities ‘ a major factor in the restriction of access to contraceptives’ and ‘the

demographic that is generally believed to utilize them, in particular, teenagers and

unmarried women’. It can be claimed that ‘demographic’ is the lexicalized token. It is

expanded through elaboration by a rankshifted clause in the form of exemplification

‘that is generally believed to utilize them, in particular, teenagers and unmarried

women’. The value ‘a major factor in the restriction of access to contraceptives’ is a

semantically loaded nominal group conveying circumstantial information of ‘cause’.

This is proven in the congruent variant where circumstantial information is expressed

through inter-clausal relations such as ‘these citizens are restricted from accessing

contraceptive mainly because they are teenagers and unmarried women’. The

incorporation of both circumstantial information of cause and manner is found to be a

feature typical of NE texts that makes their text more complex and sophisticated when

compared to USP student texts.

It is worthwhile to also highlight that relocation in mapping of circumstantial

meaning to corresponding grammatical labels is facilitated through rank downgrade as

illustrated in the rewordings. Compacting of information in this manner through clause-

internal relations made in Relational clauses contributes to the realization of Verticality.

This finding supports the major argument of the study on the reliability of choosing

Relational clauses from the system of Transitivity and Halliday’s notion of grammatical

metaphor to analyze texts.


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Example (NE11): The reality (Identified/token) simply is (process) that humanitarian

organizations do not have the might to create comprehensive, far-reaching sustainability

programs (Identifier/token).

Example (NE11) is a Relational Identifying clause that realizes the figure of ‘being and

having’. The two parts of the clause are equative pairs that construe a token-value

relation. The element participant ‘the reality’ is the token realized as a non-conscious

Thing. It is defined by its value a semantically loaded nominal group ‘that humanitarian organizations do not have the might to create comprehensive, far-reaching

sustainability programs.’ To distil meaning, enhancement is employed providing

circumstantial information of ‘cause’ as reflected in the alternative rewording

‘comprehensive far-reaching sustainability programs cannot be sustained because humanitarian organizations do not have the might’. In the metaphoric shift to eliminate

continuity typical of inter-clausal relations the conjunction ‘because’ is remapped to a

prepositional phrase ‘to create comprehensive far-reaching sustainability programs’

that is expressing circumstantial information of ‘cause’.

Abstraction is depicted in example (NE10) by the nominal group ‘the sum’ which

is realized as a non-conscious Thing. It is expanded by a nominal group ‘these

modifications’, the root of which can be traced to the verb ‘modify’. However, it has

undergone the process of syntactic establishment as illustrated in its potential to co-

occur with a plural inflectional morpheme ‘s’. The Thing is further expanded by a non-

finite clause ‘occurring during the Devonian Carboniferous periods’. In the case of the

lexicalized token ‘the sum’ it is defined by a nominal group that is enhancing by giving

information of manner and cause. The two parts of the clause are circumstantial

elements, one identifying the other where circumstantial information of ‘cause’ is

expressed by the process ‘led’. This claim is clarified in the rewording ‘The eventual

filling of the terrestrial realm was caused by these modifications’. Analysis indicates

that relations made between abstract entities without input of energy contribute to the

creation of an abstract circumstantial semantic space.

Example (NE10): The sum/ of these modifications/ occurring during the Devonian and

Carboniferous periods (Identified/token) led to (process) the eventual filling of the

terrestrial realm with vertebrate life, forever altering the structure and ecology of terrestrial

communities (Identifier/value).

The next section looks at how abstraction is employed in USP student texts.


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Example (NNE17): The main idea portrayed in the Kakala metaphor by Konai

(Identified/token) is (process) culturally inclusive learning, learning in specific cultural

context (Identifier/value).

Example (NNE17) is a Relational Identifying clause that is realized in the figure of

‘being and having’. The two parts of the clause are equal, one identifying the other and

related by a token-value relation. Abstraction is embodied in the nominal group ‘the

main idea’ which is realized as a non-conscious pseudo Thing. The lexicalized token is

defined by a nominal group that elaborates by restatement ‘culturally inclusive learning,

learning in specific cultural context, a feature similar to apposition in traditional

grammar.

In the analysis it is evident that USP students’ choices of non-conscious lexicalized

tokens are limited. Expansion types manipulated to define tokens are mainly for

elaboration in the form of restatement and exemplification as illustrated in Figure 5.16.

However, in the case of NE texts the choices of lexicalized tokens are various. In

addition, the circumstantial semantic space created is not only of ‘manner’ but sparingly

embodies both ‘cause and concession’ a consequence of the expansion types explored

which are found to be predominantly on enhancement (see Figure 5.17). This

observation is significant in regards to attaining the purpose of an ‘argumentative text

type’ where persuasion is critical.

Figure 5.16 Distribution of expansion types in NNE data

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

no expansion1

elaboration1

extension2

enhancement3


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Figure 5.17 Distribution of expansion types in NE data

An overall analysis reveals clause of the Identifying type is rarely used in USP

student texts. This lack suggests USP students have yet to acquire the skill to make

clause-internal relations between the two entities ‘Be-er1’ + ‘Be er2’ where element

process is non-salient. Relation made in this clause type is important in order to

incorporate abstract and metaphorical concepts. Data collected have proven and

justified the choice of Relational clause as a framework to analyze abstract and

metaphorical concepts. Findings have also identified writing problems found in USP

student texts related to abstract and metaphorical concepts.

5.4.5 Lexical density- a comparison

At the clause level lexical density is analyzed to determine frequency of

nominalized entities in a sentence. Lexical density of a text is a consequence of

nominalization whereby information is condensed into word(s)/groups. Its significance

in the development of nominalization and grammatical metaphor in student texts is also

sought. It is claimed that while written texts are lexically dense spoken texts are

grammatically intricate (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014, 2004, 1999; Thompson, 1996;

Eggins, 1994). Lexical density is measured by dividing the number of lexical items with

the number of clauses in a sentence. A comparison in lexical density is important in

order to determine Verticality by locating a text within the congruent and metaphorical

continuum. Comparisons between the written and their spoken variants are made to

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

no expansion1

elaboration2

extension3

enhancement4


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illustrate the differences in lexical density between the two cohorts NE and USP student

texts.

Example (NE8): Undoubtedly, the world (Carrier) is becoming (process) more inter-

connected with the evolution of the internet and an exponential increase in communication

(Attribute).

Spoken variant: We do not doubt that the world is becoming more inter-connected mainly

because our means of communication is greatly increased especially for the way internet

has evolved.

In example (NE8) there are ten lexical items and only one clause, the lexical density is

ten. In contrast, to illuminate the difference between lexical density and grammatical

intricacy, the spoken variant is also analyzed with sixteen lexical items and four clauses

with a lexical density of four.

Example (NE13): A major factor in the restriction of access to contraceptives (Identified)

is (process) the demographic that is generally believed to utilize them, in particular,

teenagers and unmarried women (Identifier).

Spoken variant: Contraceptives are restricted and they cannot be accessed easily mainly

because those who utilize them are generally believed to be teenagers and unmarried

women.

There are fourteen lexical items and two clauses in example (NE13) which means a

lexical density of seven. In the spoken version there are fourteen lexical items and four

clauses with a lexical density of around four.

Example (NE7): The stinky Cheese man (Carrier) is (process) a collection of scrutinizing

challenges to classic fairy tales that requires the reader have an understanding of the


Spoken variant: The stinky Cheese man comprises of fairy tales that are classic and have

been well scrutinized and are challenging; the readers are required to have an

understanding of the original tales, of story structure, and of comedy.

Example (NE7) has sixteen lexical items and three clauses. The lexical density is around

six. On the other hand, the spoken version has seventeen lexical items and five clauses

arriving at a lexical density of three.

The next discussion looks at lexical density in NNE student texts.

Example (NNE17): The main idea portrayed in the Kakala metaphor by Konai (Identified)

is (process) culturally inclusive learning, learning in specific cultural context (Identifier).


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Spoken variant: Konai Helu Thaman says that the main idea in the Kakala metaphor is

learning that takes place in specific contexts; this includes values from our culture and also

considers our ways of thinking.

In example (NNE17), there are ten lexical items and two clauses. The lexical density is

approximately five. There is not much difference noted in the lexical density of the

spoken version comprising of sixteen lexical items and five clauses with a lexical

density of three. This finding reveals the distance between the congruent and

metaphorical is minimal which means nearness to the congruent rather than the

metaphorical pole.

Example (NNE10): The term for education (Identified) is (process) Pardhana Likhana

which means reading and writing in the western notion of schooling that /has been widely

practiced since Indenture system (Identifier) (NNE10).

Spoken variant: Pardhana Likhana is the term that refers to education in the Indian

community; it means reading and writing in the western way of schooling that has been

widely practiced since the Indenture system was introduced.

Figure 5.18 Mean lexical density in the written texts

The lexical density in example (NNE10) is around five which is the quotient of fourteen

lexical items and three clauses. The spoken version comprises of seventeen lexical items

and five clauses arriving at a lexical density of around three. Again, it is quite obvious

that the difference is marginal.

7

4

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

NE texts NNE texts


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Example (NNE28): One of Dewey’s theories regarded to be very important to the home

cultures of learners in my country (Identified) is (process) the theory of progressivism

(Identifier).

Spoken variant: Progressivism which is one of Dewey’s theories is regarded to be very

important to the learning of home cultures of those who are learning.

In example (NNE28) there are eleven lexical items and two clauses. The lexical density

is around six. However, in its spoken variant ten lexical items are noted with three

clauses thus arriving at a lexical density of three.

Figure 5.19 NE texts – lexical density in the written and spoken variants

Figure 5.20 USP student texts – lexical density in the written and spoken variants

3.285

7

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

NE texts -spoken variant NE texts - written

3

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0.5

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2

2.5

3

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USP texts -spoken variant USP texts - written


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From the comparisons, differences in the choice of lexical items are revealed when

analyzing lexical density in a sentence. Results obtained on the average lexical density

in written texts between the two cohorts show it is around seven (7) for NE texts and the

average is four (4) for USP student texts (see Figure 5.18). High frequency of lexical

density noted in NE texts indicates they are sparingly employing nominalization which

is the most important tool in realizing grammatical metaphor. In contrast, for USP

student texts, lower lexical density implies they are not fully utilizing nominalization in

their writing texts. Results point to the dire need to employ lexically dense items, a

feature that contributes to the creation of grammatical metaphor and the realization of

Verticality in academic writing texts.

An overall evaluation on the distribution of grammatical metaphor in Relational

clauses between the two groups produced interesting findings. In the syntagmatic shift

from figure to element, the comparison illustrates nominal groups that have been

downgraded are more semantically loaded in NE texts rather than USP student texts.

Analysis in the violation of the dominant subject position shows, it is rarely employed

in USP student texts when compared to NE. An investigation of the circumstantial

semantic space shows, circumstance of manner is common in USP student texts as a

consequence of the choice of elaboration to distil meaning. In contrast, circumstance of

cause and concession are predominant in NE texts due to their choice of both

elaboration and enhancement to dispense meaning. Additionally, results obtained from

the comparison on lexical density reveal USP student texts are behind their NE

counterparts (see Figure 5.18).

5.5 Conceptualization of nominalization and grammatical metaphor

This section substantiates the Functional interpretation of student texts from the

conceptual view of grammatical metaphor. Interpretation is guided by the

contextualization of human communication in the iconicity inherent between language

and thought (Lakoff, 1994; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). This view is similar to the

Functional perspective that recognizes the interactive and participatory role of language

and thought and what unfolds as text is a reflection of embodied language learning

experiences (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; Christie & Macken-Horarick, 2007; Painter,

1999). It is thus anticipated that interpretations will support credibility of the Functional

perspective.


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5.5.1 Prototypicality and nominalization

In relation to the use of language in academic writing, the concept of

prototypicality suggests that students are more comfortable at this stage (Ungerer &

Schmid, 1996; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; Rosch, 1978). The reason being that, it is at

this stage that comprehension is made easier because lexical items or other elements

employed are from what students are familiar with. A comparison with the Functional

perspective shows that prototypicality is similar to the congruent mode. The similarity is

proven in the current study’s findings at the lexical level in the choice of semantic

categories. Results reveal categories that share semantic junction commonly employed

in USP student texts are closer to the prototype whereas choices made in NE texts are

more peripheral (see Figure 5.12 & 5.13). This argument is made when evaluating the

prevalence of both the primary and secondary motif of grammatical metaphor. While

both metaphoric shifts are quite predominant in NE texts they are not noticeable in USP

student texts. USP student texts commonly employ the semantic categories ‘quality

thing’ and ‘process thing’ which are Type1 and Type2 in Halliday’s metaphor

taxonomy (see Table 2.9). Manipulation of Thing as classifier, possessive or qualifier

for head Thing which is Type 13 (see Table 2.2) metaphor is lacking in USP student

texts. Furthermore, the near absence of the metaphoric shift of element process to

function as qualifier for Thing in USP student texts illustrates their nearness to the

prototype which is the equivalent of the congruent pole (see Figure 5.15). This lack

suggests USP students cannot violate the conventions of the congruent prototype which

definitely influences the quality of texts produced. As a result they are placed closer to

the prototype than the peripheral pole. Similarly, the metaphoric shift of element

process to function as head Thing in the nominal group is not fully explored in USP

student texts.

In the metaphoric shift from figure to element, a comparison against the prototype

theory depicts USP student texts employ lexical items from the prototype rather than

peripheral level. The interpretation is reached while viewing the nominal groups within

the congruent and metaphorical continuum. Alternative rewordings of nominal groups

in NE texts are complex and this is indicated through clauses and clause complexes

employed (see section 5.3.6). In contrast, rewordings of nominal groups from USP

student texts mainly include simple clauses with simple lexical items.


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5.5.2 Basic level categorization and nominalization

To substantiate credibility of research findings, it is also explored from the

perspective of basic level categorization. In the context of human communication basic

level categorization is understood in terms of class inclusion as viewed within a

hierarchy (Ungerer & Schmid, 1996; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). This means, in

categorization basic level is located between the superordinate and subordinate where

attributes and resemblances amongst the family or class members are said to be most

common. As a result students relate better to basic level rather than the other two

categories superordinate and/or subordinate. This suggests the concept of basic level

categorization is aligned to that of the congruent mode. Some examples are discussed

to prove the similarities between the congruent and basic level categorization. In regards

to research findings obtained at the lexical level, it is apparent that USP students’

choices are all within basic level categorization. This is also supported in the discussion

on the prototype theory. For instance, in the analysis of semantic categories, lexical

items explored in USP student texts indicate that they are mostly one word

reproductions and those that occur earlier in one’s language development. Moreover, it

can be argued that most of them are syntactically established as observed in examples

where they are able to co-occur with plural inflectional morphemes such as imitation(s),

and observation(s). This argument indicates that USP students are closer to basic level

and the congruent pole. Conversely for NE texts, the choice of semantic categories and

lexical items shows a variety including both transcategorized and metaphorical variants.

In another example, inability of USP students to fully employ the metaphoric

shift of element process as qualifier for Thing also means they are placed closer to the

focal point of basic level categorization. This is the equivalent of the congruent pole.

They have not acquired the skill to relocate meaning to corresponding grammatical

labels as in this shift where element process functions as qualifier for Thing. Another

significant finding which positions USP students closer to basic level and the congruent

pole is the choice of nominal groups employed. Results gathered on the downgrade in

rank from figure to element indicate, the derived nominal groups of NE texts are more

complex than USP student texts (see section 5.3.6). This is shown in the alternative

rewordings produced. This lack shown in the manipulation of nominal groups in USP

student texts demonstrates they are mostly reproducing lexical items they have

embodied from their previous language learning contexts. Although there are a few


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examples cited in USP student texts, they are not as glaring as in the case of NE student

texts. In terms of placement within the focal point of basic level categorization, they are

closer to the center compared to NE students’ positioning towards the periphery. From

the perspective of experientialism on the iconicity inherent between language and

thought, interpretation of findings on the minimal use of nominalization in USP student

texts is suggestive. What unfolds in the form of text reflects students’ embodied

language learning experiences. The similarity of interpretation between the conceptual

and Functional view of grammatical metaphor substantiates and adds credibility to the

research findings.

5.5.3 Theory of iconicity and grammatical metaphor

The theory of signs or iconicity is relevant when considering the interactive role of

the social domains and thought processes with language as the most important

mediating device (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999; Lakoff, 1994). The concept of sign is

improved by Piercean in his triadic sign theory where it is maintained that the relation

between signs is not arbitrary as argued by Saussurean linguists but the relation is one

of naturalness (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; van Lier, 2004; Ungerer & Schmid, 1996).

The naturalness is evident in language use where it is a natural mapping from meaning

(semantics) to corresponding wording (lexicogrammar). The use of grammatical

metaphor however arouses and triggers attention because it chooses to shift away from

the congruent prototype towards the peripheral level.

While analyzing the downgrade in shift from sequence to figure, it can be claimed

that according to Piercean’s triadic sign theory, NE texts but not USP student texts are

able to use language at the symbolic level. This is reflected in the embodiment of

grammatical metaphor in their texts. For instance, in the analysis of rank downgrade

from sequence to figure, it is evident that semantically loaded nominal groups have been

downgraded from figures (see section 5.4.1). It is symbolic thus a manifestation of

grammatical metaphor because condensation of information through rank downgrade

allows information that is normally presented in a figure to be compacted into a nominal

group.

Another example to draw a similarity between the theory of iconicity and

Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor is in the violation of the dominant subject

position (see section 5.4.2). Results indicate that NE texts but not USP student texts


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violate the dominant subject position. This means, in terms of Piercean’s triadic sign

theory, NE students are able to use language symbolically which implies the use of

grammatical metaphor.

Still on the violation of the conventionalized subject position, it is important to also

interpret the metaphoric shift of element process to become like a concrete entity from

another perspective (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014; Martin, 2007, 1992). Givon’s (1985)

theories of ‘iconic sequencing’ and ‘iconic proximity’ show that students are familiar

with the sequences or the way elements in a clause are arranged from the point of view

of the congruent prototype. In order to incorporate grammatical metaphor in their

writing texts, it requires rearrangement or relocation in mappings between meanings to

respective lexicogrammatical realizations. For example, in this research study it

involves placing a process instead of a participant in the subject slot or maybe an

abstract entity or other. Results gathered from analysis of USP student texts portray that

they are not yet able to violate the ‘iconic sequencing’ and likewise ‘iconic proximity’

in order to incorporate grammatical metaphor in their writing texts.

Also relevant to this discussion is Givon’s (1985) theory of ‘iconic quantity’ in

which he argues that the complexity of the morphosyntactic structure is relative to the

complexity of the encoded concept. In the comparison between NE and USP student

texts, the concept of ‘quantity’ can be related to the density of the lexical items

employed. Findings highlight that NE texts use more lexically dense items when

compared to USP student texts. In addition, the complexity and sophistication of the

semantically loaded nominal groups employed by both cohorts can also be examined in

the light of the theory of ‘iconic quantity’. The rewordings of nominal groups in NE

texts yield clauses and clause complexes while for USP student texts they are mostly

simple clauses. Similarly, in another example manifestation of grammatical metaphor

through relocation in mapping between circumstantial information and corresponding

lexicogrammar is symbolic (see sections 5.4.3 & 5.4.4). However, while NE texts

sparingly employ this deviation, it is not quite noticeable in USP student texts.

Interpretations explored from the perspective of the theory of iconicity illustrate that

USP students have yet to make meaningful connections at the symbolic level in order to

encompass grammatical metaphor in their writing texts. Unless and until students are

able to make meaningful connections at the symbolic stage, their texts will continue to

lack abstract and metaphorical concepts.


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5.5.4 Figure-ground theory and grammatical metaphor

The figure and ground theory is employed to examine grammatical metaphor and

its effect on the quality of a written text. As has been highlighted in the literature

review (see section 2.3.4) the figure ground theory is based on the principle of gestalt

pragnaz. The figure is perceived as the important element that has form and structure

compared to the ground with no form or structure (Ungerer & Schmid, 1996; Lakoff,

1994; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). In the context of the current study, figure refers to

grammatical metaphor in the sense that it is employed to highlight or elucidate some

important concepts or points the writer wishes to present or argue. This implies if there

is no figure or no grammatical metaphor, it will be just ground the equivalent of the

congruent prototype. In this respect, from the backdrop of figure-ground theory there is

nothing standing out of the familiar or ordinary to catch one’s attention.

A comparison shows that grammatical metaphor is fully embraced in NE texts but

not in USP student texts. An example of ‘figure’ is the violation of the dominant subject

position. It is strategically employed as a means of foregrounding to trigger the readers’

attention and anticipation to the unfolding of the ‘new’ information. In contrast, without

grammatical metaphor employed as in USP student texts, there is no figure hence

everything is just ground. The comparison depicts the pivotal role played by

grammatical metaphor not only in creating suspense and excitement but in contributing

to the quality and Verticality of a text.

Moreover, the metaphorical and congruent variants can also be examined in the

light of the figure-ground reversion (Talmy, 2000; Ungerer & Schmid, 1996). It is

apparent that the metaphorical form tends to be found more in written texts whereas the

congruent form appears mostly in spoken texts. The two different expressions of the

same meaning can be viewed in the light of the figure-ground reversion theory where

the variant chosen to be highlighted is definitely determined by the context of use. From

the background of the Functional notion of grammatical metaphor, the two agnate forms

‘congruent and metaphorical’ are not and never have been free variants. They have

always been to some extent context-specific. Discussion explored on the figure-ground

theory throws more light on the significance and contribution of grammatical metaphor

in the creation and realization of Verticality in academic writing texts. It is obvious the

conceptual view of grammatical metaphor substantiates and authenticates interpretations

from the Functional perspective. Additionally, it is proven that a high quality text is a


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consequence of the incorporation of nominalization and grammatical metaphor. Most

importantly, Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor and his system of Transitivity

have enabled human experiences unfolding in the form of a written text to be examined

as an object of study. The next section seeks to answer how Verticality is realized in

USP student texts.

5.6 How is Verticality manifested in USP student texts?

To determine Verticality significant findings are compared between the two

cohorts on the manifestation of nominalization and grammatical metaphor against the

backdrop of the semogenetic timeframe and Halliday’s metaphor taxonomy.

5.6.1 Verticality and nominalization

Analysis of nominalization to determine Verticality shows USP students are far

behind their NE counterparts. This argument is made while analyzing a number of

features where nominalization is manifested at the lexical level. Semantic categories

embodied in USP student texts when viewed against the semogenetic timeframe are

closer to the congruent instead of the metaphorical continuum (see Figure 5.13). This is

further clarified and supported from Halliday’s metaphor taxonomy in Table 2.2 (Chen

& Foley, 2005). The semantic categories mostly explored in USP student texts ‘quality

thing’ and ‘process thing’ are those that are acquired first in relation to one’s history of

language development. This finding is supported from the prototype theory and basic

level categorization. It highlights that USP students only employ what they are familiar

with and those that do not challenge their intellectual capacity. Data also show that

while NE texts add sophistication to their choice of words with the use both

transcategorized and metaphorical variants, USP student texts mainly employ

transcategorized variants. This demonstrates the lack of innovation and creativity in

language use and also portrays USP students’ placement closer to the congruent rather

than the metaphorical pole.

Another comparison examines the rank downgrade from figure to element in order

to find the complexity of the condensed information. Analysis reveals that nominalized

items are more compact and semantically loaded in NE texts compared to NNE. The

congruent variants in NE texts show a cause and effect relation created in the clause.

For example in (NE12), the rewording of the nominal group ‘sustainable community


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development programs’, yields ‘Programs are developed so that they may sustain the

community.’ Likewise, in the nominal group ‘financial support’ the rewording

highlights the cause and effect relation and that is ‘Finance is provided in order to

support the community.’ The lexical metaphor ‘life-line’ is an excellent example where

the congruent rewording manifests both cause and condition circumstantial information.

The differences noted between NE and USP student texts are glaring in the rewordings

as shown in the comparisons of the examples. USP students’ congruent variants depict

their surface level and simplicity. This locates them closer to the congruent prototype

and basic level categorization. It is apparent that options available to choose from in

their meaning potential are limited. What unfolds as text is what they have embodied

and internalized which may have been influenced by various contributing factors such

as, language learning pedagogies and other socio-cultural factors.

In relation to theories of experientialism, what is emerging from the data gathered

is indicative of claims made on some drawbacks of the text-oriented approach. That is,

students are not able to think for themselves and as a result they reproduce what they

learn and memorize in the classrooms (Christie & Macken-Horarick, 2007; Thaiss &

Zawacki, 2006 Murcia, 2001). This finding also reechoes Halliday’s (1971) discussion

of the Neanderthalians which may be compared to language learning contexts in Fiji. It

suggests the limitation of USP students’ choice of words at basic level is probably the

result of the language learning experiences they have embodied from previous language

learning contexts.

This argument can also be compared to Bernstein’s claim (1999, 2000) and

Hasan’s (1989) research findings on the variation in meanings produced as a result of

the differences in one’s social positioning. Basic level is emphasized relative to their

linguistic and cultural significance and such a perspective may also explain the

limitation of USP students’ choice of lexical items at the basic level. Ungerer and

Schmid (1996:68) elaborate on the basic level of understanding by referring to the

notion of ‘cognitive economy’ arguing that most students remain at this level because

the largest amount of information can be obtained with the least cognitive effort. In

determining Verticality, information gathered from the comparison in the use of

nominalization illustrates there is a lot that has to be done by USP students to improve

their writing texts.


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Overall, a comparison made in the manipulation of nominalization by USP

students against their NE counterparts indicates the big gap that exists between the two

cohorts. NE texts fully employ nominalization and their texts are claimed to be

realizations of Verticality but the same cannot be claimed for USP student texts. This

assertion is well substantiated in the texts analyzed and especially in the comparisons of

the utilization of nominalization at the lexical level. Findings have proven the important

contribution of nominalization to the realization of Verticality. Likewise, the reliability

and credibility of Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor and his Transitivity

system are justified through the identification of USP students’ academic writing

problems related to abstract and metaphorical concepts.

5.6.2 Verticality and grammatical metaphor

A comparison on the manifestation of grammatical metaphor to determine

Verticality in USP student texts again shows that they are behind their NE counterparts.

Results obtained from the analysis are discussed to justify this claim. To prove

embodiment of grammatical metaphor in text, the shift from sequence to figure is

compared. The shift examines the effect of condensation of information during rank

downgrade. Results illustrate condensing of information is encompassed in texts of both

cohorts but nominal groups are semantically loaded in NE rather than USP student texts.

This is portrayed through lexically dense nominal groups that are elaborately expanded

shown in the texts analyzed (see section 5.4.1). These nominal groups are claimed to

contribute to the creation of grammatical metaphor because they have been downgraded

from sequence to figure as reflected in the alternative rewordings (see section 5.4.1).

Not being able to qualify nominal groups is definitely an area that USP students are

lacking in. Reid (1989) in one of his studies had cited similar findings arguing NNE

student texts do not have enough adjectives, possessives, verb forms or prepositional

phrases to qualify nouns. Results obtained in the analysis of the downgrade in shift from

figure to element illustrate that condensing of information is a typical feature of

grammatical metaphor. However, while condensing of information through rank

downgrade is fully explored in NE texts, it is not noticeable in USP student texts. This

finding proves that in determining Verticality, USP students are behind their NE

counterparts.


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Furthermore, in the analysis of the prototypical subject position (see section 5.4.2)

results prove that grammatical metaphor is encompassed in student texts through its

violation. This is exemplified in the placement of element process in the subject slot

which is normally observed for nouns. A comparison between the two cohorts indicates

violation of the prototypical subject position is common in NE rather than USP student

texts. Some examples are given to further illustrate this claim.

Example (NE1): ‘The impact of the internet and technology on children today …’

Example (NE10): ‘The sum of these modifications occurring during the Devonian and

Carboniferous periods…’

For instance, in example (NE1) the non-conscious Thing ‘the impact’ is peripheral

because it is a ‘verb’ that has undergone a metaphoric shift to be realized as pseudo

Thing. In this way, it is contributing to the creation of grammatical metaphor. Similarly,

the nouns ‘internet and technology’ are contributing to the creation of grammatical

metaphor by adopting secondary roles functioning as qualifiers for the head Thing. In

example (NE10), ‘the sum’ a non-conscious Thing is taking over the position

conventionally intended for a noun thus, it is contributing to the creation of grammatical

metaphor. Moreover, it is expanded by a prepositional phrase ‘of these modifications’

and a non-finite clause ‘occurring during the Devonian Carboniferous periods’. The

elaborate expansions of nominal groups in NE texts are worth highlighting because in

USP student texts expansions of Thing are mostly through the use of prepositional

phrases. They have not quite reached the stage as in NE texts where non-finite clauses

are alternatively employed with prepositional phrases to expand the head Thing. Results

gathered on the violation of the dominant subject position demonstrate it is not fully

employed in USP student texts. This deviance can be attributed to their lack of

understanding on how the metaphoric shift is incorporated and its effect on the

realization of Verticality in a text. Results emerging from the comparison prove that

violation of the dominant subject position contributes to the creation of grammatical

metaphor and the realization of Verticality. Nevertheless, while it is fully explored in

NE texts, the same cannot be claimed for USP student texts which means in terms of

Verticality they are behind their NE counterparts.

Another analysis to illustrate embodiment of grammatical metaphor in the clause

involves the relocation in mapping between circumstantial meanings to corresponding

grammatical labels. This is related to circumstantial meaning that is normally expressed


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through conjunctions such as ‘because’ in inter-clausal relations, to process, preposition

or participant in clause-internal relations. This metaphoric shift is obvious in NE texts

but not fully explored in USP student texts. This finding can be related to research

findings presented by Silva (1997) stating that there are more conjunctive ties than

lexical ties in NNE student texts.

Also most worthy to highlight that in the relocation in mapping of circumstantial

meaning to process, preposition or participant, expansion is explored to dispense

circumstantial information. Findings indicate the creation of a particular circumstantial

semantic space is influenced by the choice of expansion type. A comparison on

circumstantial semantic space created maps USP student texts to circumstance of

manner which is a consequence of choosing elaboration. On the other hand,

circumstances of cause and concession are mapped to NE texts as a result of the choice

of both elaboration and enhancement. Analysis shows, while NE texts are found to fully

embody abstract and metaphoric expression of circumstance, its near absence in USP

student texts is definitely notable.

5.7 Summary of Findings

An overall evaluation on the distribution of nominalization and grammatical

metaphor in USP student texts produced interesting findings. At the lexical level,

analysis on the manifestation of nominalization indicates that semantic categories

commonly employed in USP student texts ‘quality thing’ and ‘process thing’ are closer

to the congruent pole rather than the metaphorical (see Figure 5.13). A comparison on

the frequency of semantic categories show USP student texts employ them 50% less

than NE texts (see Figure 5.11). Type13 metaphor which represents the metaphoric shift

of Thing to qualifier, possessive or classifier is hardly noticed in USP student texts

when compared to NE (see Figure 5.14). Similarly, analysis of element process in its

function as qualifier illustrates that USP students use them less than NE texts (see

Figure 5.15). The metaphoric shift of element process to be realized as head Thing in a

nominal group is not at all noticed in USP student texts. Moreover, an examination on

the downgrade in rank from figure to element indicates semantically loaded nominal

groups in NE texts but not USP student texts. This is expressed in the comparisons

made between the two cohorts in the alternative rewordings of nominal groups explored.


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While rewordings in NE texts produce clause simplexes and clause complexes,

rewordings of USP student texts only yield simple clauses.

The following results emerged from the distribution of grammatical metaphor in

Relational clauses. Comparisons made in the syntagmatic shift from sequence to figure,

illustrate that the frequency of nominal groups that have been downgraded is higher in

NE texts compared to USP student texts. In addition, nominal groups employed are

more semantically loaded in NE rather than USP student texts. Results gathered on the

violation of the dominant subject position show that it is rarely employed in USP

student texts when compared to NE. Investigation of the circumstantial semantic space

demonstrates circumstance of manner is common in USP student texts as a consequence

of the choice of elaboration to distil meaning. In contrast, circumstances of cause and

concession are predominant in NE texts due to the choice of both elaboration and

enhancement to dispense meaning. A comparison in lexical density between the two

cohorts reveals a higher density in NE compared to USP student texts (see Figure 5.18).

From the data gathered, it is noted that the use of nominalization and grammatical

metaphor in USP student texts when compared to NE texts positions them closer to the

congruent rather than the metaphorical pole. This may mean, although texts show

manifestations of abstract and metaphorical concepts, students are not familiar with

them and neither do they understand their effects on the text as a whole. This argument

is supported by Silva (1997) saying that while there is evidence of metaphorical

awareness in NNE student texts this knowledge is not fully utilized to fill the gap in the

English language vocabulary. It can be argued that instances of nominalizations and

grammatical metaphors encompassed in texts are reproductions from their embodied

classroom experiences. An understanding at the symbolic level from the perspective of

Piercean’s (Lier, 2004) triadic sign theory is anticipated to manifest new constructions

and not mainly reproductions. This argument brings to bear the importance of Systemic

Functional grammar. The metalanguage helps students not only to produce texts but

also to be able to describe how clause elements function in texts. Not being able to fully

incorporate nominalization and grammatical metaphor in texts, may be attributed to the

way English language is taught in Fiji schools. It is unbalanced in the sense that it only

focuses on the productive aspect while the descriptive is overlooked. The root of this

problem can be examined from the perspective of language learning pedagogies with

their theoretical underpinnings. Results presented on the distribution of nominalization


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and grammatical metaphor illustrate that the incorporation of the two concepts in USP

student texts are definitely lacking. The next section summarizes major research

findings and proposes some measures that can be explored on how Verticality can be

developed in USP student texts.

Chapter Six Conclusion

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This chapter summarizes major research findings. Firstly, a discussion is conducted

on the distribution of nominalization and grammatical metaphor in Relational clauses.

Additionally, results obtained from the comparative analysis between the two cohorts in

relation to how Verticality is realized in USP student texts are presented. Following, an

explanation is given on the significance of the study, some suggestions to develop

abstract and metaphorical concepts, limitations encountered, and some prospects put

forth for future research.

6.1 Major findings

Major findings are presented according to research questions posed. Using

Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor and his system of Transitivity the study is

able to identify USP students’ academic writing problems related to abstract and

metaphorical concepts. Analysis on the distribution indicates that nominalization and

grammatical metaphor are embodied in texts of both cohorts. However, a more detailed

analysis produced interesting findings.

At the lexical level, one way nominalization is manifested in student texts is

through semantic categories that form a junction in meaning. This means, a lexical item

called the ‘ordinary’ share a junction in meaning with its ‘metaphorical’ variant, for

instance, the verb ‘laugh’ and noun ‘laughter’ with the semantic categories ‘process

thing’. Analysis of semantic categories reveals USP student texts use the semantic

categories 50% less than their NE counterparts (see Figure 5.11). Out of the three

semantic categories selected to be analyzed, two are commonly employed ‘quality thing’

and process thing’ (see Figure 5.13). In Halliday’s metaphor taxonomy, they are Type1

and Type2 metaphor (Table 2. 9). This suggests, they appear earlier in language

development thus are closer to the congruent pole rather than the metaphorical pole

(Halliday & Mathiessen, 1999).

Another important finding noted is the inability of USP students to use Thing as

qualifier, possessive or classifier. According to Halliday’s taxonomy, this is Type13

metaphor representing the secondary motif of grammatical metaphor. From the

comparison, data show that USP student texts use Thing as qualifier 30% less than NE


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students (see Figure 5.14). This finding vividly illustrates USP students’ nearness to the

congruent rather than the metaphorical pole.

Additionally, a comparison between the two groups on the use of process as

qualifier for Thing again shows USP students explore this metaphoric shift less than NE

students (Figure 5.15). Analysis of the paradigmatic shift of element process is found to

be sparingly employed in NE texts while it is almost non- existent in USP student texts.

A further analysis related to downgrade in rank from figure to element produced notable

findings, especially when comparing alternative rewordings. While rewordings for NE

texts comprise clauses and clause nexus, USP student texts only include simple clauses

(see section 5.3.6). Results on the distribution of nominalization in USP student texts

are not very encouraging and a comparison with NE texts shows their positioning closer

to the congruent rather than the metaphorical continuum. By using Halliday’s notion of

grammatical metaphor and the Transitivity system, the study is able to identify writing

problems related to abstract and metaphorical concepts. Moreover, results collected

have also proven one of the major arguments of the study that nominalization

contributes to the realization of Verticality.

At the clause level distribution of grammatical metaphor also highlights

suggestive results. The comparison of the syntagmatic shift from sequence to figure

shows frequency and complexity of nominal groups that have been downgraded from

figure are higher in NE rather than USP student texts (see section 5.4.1). The

incorporation of more compact and semantically loaded nominal groups makes NE texts

of a better quality compared to USP student texts. In the violation of the dominant

subject position, analysis shows that it is rarely employed in USP student texts when

compared to NE (see section 5.4.2). The ability to violate the dominant subject position

is a strategy employed in writing as a means of arousing anticipation and suspense for

the unfolding of the ‘new’ information. Its near absence in USP student texts influences

the quality of texts produced.

Another investigation is also undertaken to compare metaphoric expressions of

circumstance between the two groups NE and USP student texts. This refers to the

relocation in mapping of circumstance of ‘cause’ that is normally expressed by

‘conjunctions’ in inter-clausal relations to ‘process, preposition or participant’ in clause-

internal relations (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014). Findings reveal circumstance of

manner is common in USP student texts as a consequence of the choice of elaboration


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to distil meaning (see section 5.4.3). In contrast, circumstance of cause is predominant

in NE texts due to their choice of both elaboration and enhancement expansion types.

Results illuminate the important contribution expansion types play in the creation of a

particular circumstantial semantic space. A comparison in lexical density between the

two cohorts shows a higher density in NE texts compared to USP student texts (see

Figure 5.18). Findings collected on the distribution of grammatical metaphor raises the

need for USP students to incorporate grammatical metaphor in order to improve quality

of academic writing texts.

Analysis on the distribution of nominalization and grammatical metaphor in

Relational clauses has produced some very important findings pertaining to USP

students’ academic writing problems. Moreover, the identification of problems related

to ‘abstract and metaphorical concepts’ has proven the reliability of Halliday’s notion of

grammatical metaphor and the Transitivity system. Results have shown that the

incorporation of both nominalization and grammatical metaphor contributes to the high

quality of a writing text

To determine Verticality, findings are viewed against the semogenetic timeframe

by employing Halliday’s metaphor taxonomy. Comparisons reveal USP student texts

are closer to the congruent pole while NE texts are nearer the metaphorical pole. This

claim is substantiated from results obtained in the distribution of nominalization at the

lexical level. In the analysis of semantic categories, the commonly chosen are ‘quality

thing’ and ‘process thing’ which places USP student texts closer to the congruent rather

than the metaphorical pole. In terms of determining Verticality when viewed against the

congruent and metaphorical continuum, they are behind NE student texts. Similarly,

with the other features examined, USP student texts are behind NE students. For

instance, in the use of Thing as qualifier a comparison with NE texts against the

continuum places USP student texts closer to the congruent rather than the metaphorical

pole. A comparison of process as qualifier also positions USP student texts nearer the

congruent pole. The shift of element process to be realized as a concrete entity again

shows that in determining Verticality USP students are behind their NE counterparts.

At the clause level findings gathered are similar to those obtained in the

distribution of nominalization. In terms of determining Verticality, USP student texts

are behind NE texts. For example, a comparison between the two groups on the

syntagmatic shift from sequence to figure illustrates nominal groups that have been


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downgraded are more frequent and semantically loaded in NE texts rather than USP

student texts. This finding positions USP student texts behind NE texts when viewed

against the semogenetic timeframe. In the violation of the dominant subject position, a

comparison also places USP student texts behind NE. An examination on the

metaphoric expression of circumstance shows circumstances of ‘cause and concession’

to be common in NE texts compared to ‘manner’ in USP student texts. The

circumstantial semantic space created when viewed against the semogenetic timeframe

places USP student texts behind NE. Likewise, findings obtained from the comparison

in lexical density between the two cohorts indicate a higher density in NE texts

compared to USP student texts. This finding again locates USP student texts behind NE

texts.

A comparison between the two cohorts to determine Verticality has shown that

USP student texts are behind their NE counterparts. The adoption of Halliday’s notion

of grammatical metaphor and his system of Transitivity has proven to be very reliable.

The reason being that contributions of both theoretical frameworks have assisted in the

identification of writing problems related to abstract and metaphorical concepts cited in

previous studies to be lacking in USP student texts (Khan & Mugler, 2001). The

credibility of findings obtained from the Functional perspective is further substantiated

from the conceptual view of grammatical metaphor. The study has proven that

Verticality is realized through the use of nominalization and grammatical metaphor.

Additionally, it has justified the choice of Relational clauses and proven that clause-

internal relations made in Relational clauses contribute to the creation of grammatical

metaphor and the realization of Verticality. From the research findings presented, it can

be claimed that the study has realized its intention in the investigation of Verticality in

USP student texts.

6.2 Theoretical and practical implications

The study has theoretical implications as it broadens the scope of Halliday’s notion

of grammatical metaphor through its adoption (Halliday, 1994; Halliday & Mathiessen,

1999, 2004; Thompson, 1996; Eggins, 1994, 2004). It indicates that Halliday’s notion of

grammatical metaphor is an appropriate framework where students can develop and

incorporate abstract and metaphorical concepts in their academic writing texts.

Additionally, its recognition on the constitutive role of the social context and thought


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processes in the creation of text is realistic and reflects how language is naturally used.

On the same token, one’s ability to distinguish between the congruent from the

metaphorical mode and their relation to the realization of either Horizontal or Vertical

knowledge structure is expected to assist in language learning. Furthermore, the on-

going dialogue between Bernstein’s Sociological perspective and Halliday’s Functional

perspective is expanded in this study. This is illustrated through the claim that

Verticality is realized through the use of nominalization and grammatical metaphor.

The Systemic Functional notion of grammatical metaphor is further proven to have

theoretical implications in its view that language learning is a naturally occurring

phenomenon where meaning is not fixed but is constructed in its context of use. This is

supported in the analysis of grammatical metaphor where its salience and relevance to

the realization of Verticality is prompted through the relocation in mapping between

semantics and its corresponding wordings. The recognition of this deviation as a natural

phenomenon illuminates the various levels and contexts at which humans communicate.

Subsequently, the deviance illustrates the shift from the congruent mode representative

of everyday communication to the metaphorical mode typical of academic writing texts.

The researcher’s choice to adopt the Transitivity system as theoretical framework

is significant because no such study is recorded to have been previously undertaken at

the University of the South Pacific. The use of Relational clauses in particular is

commendable to address the research gap identified. This is because the focus is

narrowed to this particular clause type where majority of the relations made involve

abstract and metaphorical concepts. The recognition of the interactive and participatory

role of the social context and thought processes in language learning embraced in the

Systemic Functional perspective and Halliday’s notion of grammatical metaphor is

promising. It is anticipated to assist Fiji students and teachers address language learning

problems that are mentioned to be brought about as a result of the imbalance evident in

the text and writer-oriented approaches (see section 1.1).

In regards to practical implications, adopting a corpus-based analysis by using

Native English speakers’ texts as referenced corpora is promising. On the other hand,

using authentic student texts is valuable especially in identifying writing problems that

are common to this specific cultural group. The study is worthwhile as it identifies the

distance that exists between the two cohorts and at the same time employing NE texts as

a benchmark that USP students may strive to reach. A corpus-based analysis involving


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authentic texts is realistic in terms of pedagogical implications, culture inclusivity and

in language policy making. Subsequently, solutions identified to address academic

writing problems are relevant and within their academic level.

Most importantly, this study has attained its initial intension by identifying how

abstract and metaphorical concepts are manifested in student texts both at the lexical

and clause levels.

6.3 Suggestions to improve USP students’ academic writing texts

Some suggestions related to research findings gathered are proposed to improve

undergraduate students’ academic writing texts. An awareness of how abstract and

metaphorical concepts are embodied through the incorporation of nominalization and

grammatical metaphor in texts will assist students understand the two concepts. The

current study has identified and presented some very interesting findings both at the

lexical and clause level that teachers and students can further explore to improve the

realization of Verticality in text. Additionally, the use of Halliday’s metaphor taxonomy

presented here in Table 6.1 is suggested as a guide to check and monitor semantic

categories employed.

Given the importance of the interactive and participatory role played by both the

social context and thought processes in learning, Systemic Functional grammar is

chosen to be a holistic language learning approach (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014;

Martin, 2007; Christie & Painter, 1999; Thompson, 1996). It respects the naturalness of

language learning and prioritizes meaning as the first and foremost function of language.

Adherents of the Systemic Functional approach agree that although form is important, it

is viewed as a bi-product of the function (Halliday & Mathiessen, 2014). Just the notion

of meaning before grammar is uplifting in the sense that the mention of grammar shuts

off many Non Native English students. The metalanguage developed in Systemic

Functional grammar assists teachers and students not only to produce but also to be able

to describe how language functions in various contexts. The ability to describe how the

clause elements function in texts gives students the confidence to take ownership of

their language learning. Moreover, the three strands of meaning and three metafunctions

distinguish the various functions and corresponding contexts in which language is

normally used. The system of Transitivity as a grammar that models human experiences

is recommended due to the fact that it provides an environment where knowledge is


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rendered visible as an object of study. Consequently, analysis of student texts against

the background of Halliday’s metaphor taxonomy should be instrumental in monitoring

the shift from the congruent towards the metaphorical pole.

Table 6.1 Halliday’s Metaphor Taxonomy (Chen & Foley, 2005:196)

Metaphor Congruent Metaphorical Grammatical

shift

Semantic shift

Type1 stable stability adjective to

noun

quality thing

Type 2 transform transformation verb to noun process thing

Type 3 very fast the speed adv/prep to

noun

circumstance

thing

Type 4 .. so the brake

failed

the result

of … .

conjunction to

noun

relator thing

Type 5 Imagine imaginative verb to

adjective

process quality

Type 6 The driver

drove the bus

down the hill.

The downhill

driving of the

bus.

adv/prep to

adjective

circumstance

quality

Type 7 so resultant conjunction to

adjective

relator quality

Type 8 instead of replace adv/prep to

verb

circumstance

process

Type 9 so cause conjunction to

verb

relator process

Type 10 so as a result of conjunction to

prep/phrase

relator

circumstance

Type 13 government

decided

government’s

decision

noun to

adjective

thing quality

This study is claimed to have theoretical and practical implications since it has

presented a framework to explore abstract and metaphorical concepts mentioned to be

lacking in USP student texts. It has identified academic writing problems that students


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and teachers can directly address and also has put forth suggestions that can be

employed. An awareness of nominalization and grammatical metaphor as realization of

Verticality is anticipated to assist students develop abstract and metaphorical concepts

in order to improve academic writing texts.

6.4 Limitations of the research study

A limitation encountered is the time consumed due to the difficulty faced in the

collection of ‘A’ grade papers from final year Arts students at the University of the

South Pacific that will be compatible with NE data. As a result scripts that make up

USP student data include both A and B grades from second and third year students.

Another limitation faced by the researcher was not being able to experiment

research findings gathered with tertiary students at USP due to time constraints.

However, the researcher intends to test the findings once she is given the opportunity in

the very near future. Although it can be argued that NE and NNE texts are not

comparable, the main purpose however of the analysis was to use NE texts as

referenced corpora.

Language barrier is another major hindrance for the researcher while studying in

China. It is quite challenging for one not being able to speak nor read Chinese

characters to access the library catalogue, withdraw books, fill in forms and just to live

up to the expectations and academic demands of a PhD candidate. It will therefore be

accommodating to prepare a prospective student guidebook written in the English

language where one can easily access all information required.

Research in this area can be improved by using a widespread selection of corpora

from authentic student texts instead of limiting it to thirty participants. Also to yield

promising results, variables should be minimized to ascertain validity and reliability of

data. Instead of selecting only Relational clauses, choice can be expanded to include

other processes.

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Acknowledgement

145

Acknowledgement

First, and foremost I thank the almighty God for empowering me with His strength

and wisdom for without Him I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish this task.

Secondly, I extend my heartfelt thanks to the Director of International Students’

Affairs Professor Yuxin Wu for accepting my application and offered me a place to

study here at Tsinghua University. Most importantly, I also acknowledge with

appreciation the Chinese Government’s contribution through their Scholarship Council

that funded my four years of study here at Tsinghua University…xiexie nin.

To my supervising professor Professor Zhongshe Lu, there are no words that can

aptly express my most humble gratitude for all that you have contributed to get me

where I am today. Thank you very much madam. The panel of examiners that had

mentored and given me professional advice; the renowned Professor Hu Zhuanglin,

Professor Fan Wenfang, Professor Zhang Wenxia, Professor Cui Gang, Professor Liu

Shisheng, Professor He Honghua, Professor Chen and those I have not mentioned. I do

sincerely acknowledge the informative and constructive contributions. I must admit that

I hear your voices and see your faces in parts of my dissertation. To the anonymous

evaluators, thank you for your constructive criticisms. My academic sisters who

assisted me in so many ways, I’ll always be indebted to you all.

To Dr. Rajni Chand at USP who acted as my external advisor, your assistance in

the collection of my field data and time given for professional guidance is greatly

appreciated. Thank you so much madam for your kindness especially in giving some of

your time to help me despite your busy schedule. My acknowledgement is also extended

to the Ambassador Mr Esala Teleni and the staff of the Fiji Embassy in Beijing and their

respective families for their support. Most importantly, to our Women’s prayer group in

the capable hands of Mrs Teleni, sa vakamalua na yaloqu ena i vakarau ni veiciqomi kei

na veitokoni. Finally, to my good family and especially to my dear husband Filipe

Alifereti and children Vanessa, Tai, Samu and Lita, I thank you all for your support. To

Lote, Lola, Bond and your respective families, vinaka sara vakalevu na veivuke kei na

veinanumi ena masu. Me vakacerecerei ga ko Jiova na noda Kalou ni sa vakavuna na ka

kecega, ka na sauma vei keda me vaka na noda dui valavala (Jeremaia 32:19).

Appendix A Data description of NE

147

Appendix A Data description of NE

NNEfre_procRI float %9.0g frequency of process in RI NENEprocRI byte %8.0g number of process in RI NENEfre_partRI float %8.0g frequency of participant in RI NENEpartRI byte %8.0g number of participant in RI NENEfre_procRA float %9.0g frequency of process in RA NENEprocRA byte %8.0g number of process in RA NENEfre_attrRA float %9.0g frequency of attributive in RA NENEattrRA byte %8.0g number of attributive in RA NENEobs int %8.0g number of sentence NE variable name type format label variable label

Appendix B Data of NE

148

Appendix B Data of NE

30. 30 0 0 8 .2666667 0 0 1 .0333333 29. 52 2 .0384615 15 .2884615 0 0 2 .0384615 28. 65 3 .0461538 19 .2923077 1 .015385 2 .0307692 27. 39 0 0 5 .1282051 0 0 1 .025641 26. 38 0 0 11 .2894737 0 0 4 .1052632 25. 36 2 .0555556 12 .3333333 0 0 0 0 24. 98 1 .0102041 29 .2959184 1 .010204 2 .0204082 23. 80 7 .0875 28 .35 1 .0125 3 .0375 22. 84 3 .0357143 29 .3452381 0 0 7 .0833333 21. 39 0 0 12 .3076923 0 0 0 0 20. 72 2 .0277778 17 .2361111 0 0 0 0 19. 62 5 .0806452 20 .3225806 0 0 0 0 18. 58 0 0 5 .0862069 0 0 1 .0172414 17. 137 2 .0145985 36 .2627737 2 .014599 2 .0145985 16. 70 1 .0142857 20 .2857143 0 0 0 0 15. 69 2 .0289855 13 .1884058 0 0 1 .0144928 14. 57 5 .0877193 6 .1052632 0 0 5 .0877193 13. 44 4 .0909091 7 .1590909 2 .045455 1 .0227273 12. 88 4 .0454545 19 .2159091 4 .045455 10 .1136364 11. 120 1 .0083333 26 .2166667 4 .033333 2 .0166667 10. 112 7 .0625 18 .1607143 1 .008929 2 .0178571 9. 122 5 .0409836 27 .2213115 2 .016393 9 .0737705 8. 98 0 0 32 .3265306 2 .020408 15 .1530612 7. 57 4 .0701754 18 .3157895 0 0 5 .0877193 6. 81 1 .0123457 13 .1604938 0 0 6 .0740741 5. 98 6 .0612245 16 .1632653 5 .05102 2 .0204082 4. 70 2 .0285714 1 .0142857 3 .042857 4 .0571429 3. 44 2 .0454545 4 .0909091 4 .090909 2 .0454545 2. 126 4 .031746 18 .1428571 3 .02381 16 .1269841 1. 41 2 .0487805 7 .1707317 1 .02439 1 .0243902 NEobs NEattrRA NEfr~rRA NEprocRA NEfr~cRA NEpartRI NEfr~tRI NEprocRI NEfr~cRI

Appendix C Data description of NNE

149

Appendix C Data description of NNE

NNNEfre_procRI float %9.0g frequency of process in RI NNENNEprocRI byte %8.0g number of process in RI NNENNEfre_partRI float %9.0g frequency of participant in RI NNENNEpartRI byte %8.0g number of participant in RI NNENNEfre_procRA float %9.0g freqency of process in RA NNENNEprocRA byte %8.0g unmber of process in RA NNENNEfre_attrRA float %9.0g frequency of attributive in RA NNENNEattrRA byte %8.0g number of attributive in RA NNENNEobs int %8.0g number of sentence NNE variable name type format label variable label storage display value

Appendix D Data of NNE

150

Appendix D Data of NNE

30. 52 0 0 16 .3076923 0 0 1 .0192308 29. 23 1 .0434783 6 .2608696 0 0 2 .0869565 28. 51 1 .0196078 15 .2941177 0 0 0 0 27. 42 0 0 5 .1190476 0 0 1 .0238095 26. 51 4 .0784314 9 .1764706 3 .0588235 3 .0588235 25. 61 0 0 19 .3114754 4 .0655738 6 .0983607 24. 43 1 .0232558 10 .2325581 2 .0465116 5 .1162791 23. 46 3 .0652174 10 .2173913 3 .0652174 0 0 22. 44 3 .0681818 8 .1818182 3 .0681818 1 .0227273 21. 65 0 0 10 .1538462 5 .0769231 4 .0615385 20. 39 0 0 12 .3076923 1 .025641 4 .1025641 19. 80 0 0 15 .1875 0 0 6 .075 18. 68 8 .1176471 14 .2058824 1 .0147059 1 .0147059 17. 72 4 .0555556 12 .1666667 0 0 0 0 16. 39 0 0 12 .3076923 1 .025641 4 .1025641 15. 33 0 0 12 .3636364 0 0 0 0 14. 65 2 .0307692 7 .1076923 0 0 2 .0307692 13. 33 0 0 12 .3636364 0 0 0 0 12. 60 5 .0833333 16 .2666667 0 0 2 .0333333 11. 39 0 0 12 .3076923 1 .025641 4 .1025641 10. 105 5 .047619 24 .2285714 1 .0095238 4 .0380952 9. 41 2 .0487805 13 .3170732 0 0 1 .0243902 8. 42 0 0 3 .0714286 0 0 3 .0714286 7. 44 1 .0227273 9 .2045455 0 0 1 .0227273 6. 63 1 .015873 15 .2380952 2 .031746 3 .047619 5. 72 4 .0555556 12 .1666667 0 0 0 0 4. 60 0 0 20 .3333333 0 0 4 .0666667 3. 52 0 0 10 .1923077 0 0 3 .0576923 2. 69 6 .0869565 9 .1304348 0 0 0 0 1. 48 0 0 6 .125 2 .0416667 4 .0833333 NNEobs NNEatt~A NNEf~rRA NNEpro~A NNEf~cRA NNEpar~I NNEf~tRI NNEpro~I NNEf~cRI

Appendix E Paired t-test

151

Appendix E Paired t-test

Pr(T < t) = 0.0000 Pr(|T| > |t|) = 0.0000 Pr(T > t) = 1.0000 Ha: mean(diff) < 0 Ha: mean(diff) != 0 Ha: mean(diff) > 0

Ho: mean(diff) = 0 degrees of freedom = 29 mean(diff) = mean(NEfre_attrRA - NEfre_procRA) t = -10.9338 diff 30 -.1889609 .0172822 .0946587 -.2243071 -.1536148 NEfr~cRA 30 .2247636 .0164156 .0899121 .1911899 .2583373NEfr~rRA 30 .0358027 .0053159 .0291165 .0249304 .0466749 Variable Obs Mean Std. Err. Std. Dev. [95% Conf. Interval] Paired t test

Appendix F Identifying semantic categories worksheet

152

Appendix F Identifying semantic categories worksheet

School is one of the places where assimilation into the American melting-pot is

supposed to happen. Language policy and education clearly shows that for now, this so-

called melting-pot society is actually a coercive assimilation, where established

Americans insist on newcomers shedding whatever makes them different, in order to

blend in with existing ideas and practices. At the same time, each new group has hung

onto its identity, including its language, as long as possible, until shamed and

intimidated into shedding all or most evidence of its 'non-Americanness' (Dicker 52).

One of the ways that immigrant children become assimilated into American society is

through the acquisition of the English language. Various forms of language instruction

programs have been designed for language minority students, including bilingual

education programs, ESL, English-immersion, and dual-immersion programs. The

education of immigrant children is an important issue because first- and second-

generation immigrant children are the most rapidly growing segment of the U.S. child

population (Landale and Oropresa 1995, 1). The country's public school system has not

ever adequately served minority and poor children, and it is even less prepared to serve

immigrant, linguistic minority children. The increasing cultural and linguistic diversity

and needs of these immigrant children are a unique challenge that more and more public

school districts are facing. The language education of immigrants is an issue that is

closely linked with attitudes and policies on immigration. It is also closely linked with

public opinion on ongoing school reform legislation for the past few decades, including

No Child Left Behind.

Identifying semantic categories

derived ordinary junctional semantic categories

i assimilation assimilate ‘process thing’

ii diversity

iii acquisition

iv generation

iv immersion

v instruction

vi minority

Appendix G Raw data NE Relational Attributive (Part I)

153

Appendix G Raw data NE Relational Attributive (Part I)

St.no no.sent cir.atr atr% cir.proc proc% atr.tot atr% NE.1 41 2 4% 7 17% 9 21% NE.2 126 4 3% 18 14% 22 17% NE3 44 2 4% 4 9% 6 13% NE4 70 2 2% 1 2% 3 4% NE5 98 6 6% 16 16% 22 22% NE6 81 1 1% 13 16% 14 17% NE7 57 4 7% 18 31% 22 38% NE8 98 0 0% 32 32% 32 32% NE9 122 5 4% 27 22% 32 26% NE10 112 7 6% 18 16% 25 22% NE11 120 1 1% 26 21% 27 22% NE12 11% 4 5% 19 21% 23 26% NE13 44 4 9% 7 15% 11 24% NE14 57 5 9% 6 10% 11 19% NE15 69 2 3% 13 18% 15 21% NE16 70 1 1% 20 28% 21 29% NE17 137 2 2% 36 26% 38 28% NE18 58 0 0% 5 8% 5 8% NE19 62 5 8% 20 32% 25 40% NE20 72 2 3% 17 23% 19 26% NE21 39 0 0% 12 30% 12 30% NE22 84 3 4% 29 34% 32 38% NE23 80 7 9% 28 35% 35 44% NE24 98 1 1% 29 29% 30 30% NE25 36 2 5% 12 33% 14 38% NE26 38 0 0% 11 28% 11 28% NE27 39 0 0% 5 13% 5 13% NE28 65 3 4% 19 29% 22 33% NE29 52 2 4% 15 28% 17 32% NE30 30 0 0% 8 26% 8 26%

Appendix H Raw data NE Relational Identifying (Part II)

154

Appendix H Raw data NE Relational Identifying (Part II)

circ.part part% cir.proc proc% Iden.tot Ident% Rel. tot Rel.% word count

1 2% 1 3% 2 5% 11 26% 1235 3 3% 16 12% 19 15% 41 32% 3212 4 9% 2 4% 6 13% 12 26% 1401 3 4% 4 6% 7 10% 10 14% 2108 5 5% 2 25% 7 7% 29 29% 3034 0 0% 6 7% 6 7% 20 24% 2575 0 0% 5 8% 5 8% 27 46% 1892 2 3% 15 15% 17 18% 49 50% 3176 2 2% 9 7% 11 9% 43 35% 3212 1 1% 2 1% 3 2% 28 24% 2760 4 3% 2 2% 6 5% 33 27% 3871 4 4% 10 11% 14 15% 37 41% 2387 2 4% 1 2% 3 6% 14 30% 851 0 0% 5 8% 5 8% 16 27% 1767 0 0% 1 2% 1 2% 16 23% 2068 0 0% 0 0% 0 0 21 29% 2031 2 1% 2 2% 4 3% 42 31% 4796 0 0% 1 2% 1 2% 6 10% 1990 0 0% 0 0% 0 0 25 40% 1816 0 0% 0 0% 0 0 19 26% 2286 0 0% 0 0% 0 0 12 30% 1405 0 0% 7 8% 7 8% 39 46% 1804 1 1% 3 4% 4 5% 39 49% 1992 1 1% 2 2% 3 3% 33 33% 3239 0 0% 0 0% 0 0 14 38% 940 0 0% 4 11% 4 11% 15 39% 1063 0 0% 1 2% 1 2% 6 15% 933 1 1% 2 4% 3 5% 25 38% 1603 0 0% 2 4% 2 4% 19 36% 1444 0 0% 1 3% 1 3% 9 29% 897

63788

Appendix I Raw data NNE Relational Attributive (Part I)

155

Appendix I Raw data NNE Relational Attributive (Part I)

St.no no.sent cir.attr attr. % cir.proc proc.% Attr.Tot. Atr.% NNE.1 48 0 0% 6 12.50% 6 12.5% NNE.2 69 6 8% 9 13% 15 21% NNE.3 52 0 0% 10 19% 10 19% NNE.4 60 0 0% 20 33% 20 33% NNE.5 72 4 6% 12 16% 16 22% NNE.6 63 1 2% 15 23% 16 25% NNE.7 44 1 2% 9 20% 10 22% NNE.8 42 0 0% 3 7% 3 7% NNE.9 41 2 6% 13 31% 15 37% NNE.10 105 5 5% 24 22% 29 27% NNE.11 39 0 0 12 30% 12 30% NNE.12 60 5 9% 16 26% 21 35% NNE.13 33 0 0 12 36% 12 36% NNE14 65 2 3% 7 10% 9 13% NNE15 33 0 0 12 36% 12 36% NNE16 39 0 0 12 30% 12 30% NNE17 72 4 6% 12 16% 16 22% NNE18 68 8 12% 14 20% 22 32% NNE19 80 0 0 15 19% 15 19% NNE20 39 0 0 12 30% 12 30% NNE21 65 0 0 10 15% 10 15% NNE22 44 3 7% 8 18% 11 25% NNE23 46 3 6% 10 22% 13 28% NNE24 43 1 2% 10 23% 11 25% NNE25 61 0 0 19 31% 19 31% NNE26 51 4 8% 9 17% 13 25% NNE27 42 0 0% 5 11% 5 11% NNE28 51 1 2% 15 29% 16 31% NNE29 23 1 4% 6 26% 7 30% NNE30 52 0 0 16 30% 16 30%

Appendix J Raw data NNE Relational Identifying (Part II)

156


cir.par par.% cir.proc proc% id.tot id.% rel.tot rel.% word count

2 4% 4 8% 6 12.5% 12 25% 1593 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 21% 1738 0 0 3 6% 3 6% 13 25% 1985 0 0 4 7% 4 7% 24 40% 1833 0 0 0 0% 0 0 16 22% 1550 2 3% 3 5% 5 8% 21 33% 1882 0 0 1 3% 1 3% 11 25% 1485 0 0 3 3% 3 7% 6 14% 645 0 0 1 2% 1 2% 16 39% 850 1 1% 4 4% 5 5% 34 32% 1881 1 3% 4 10% 5 13% 17 43% 1549 0 0 2 3% 2 3% 23 38% 1153 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 36% 736 0 0 2 0 2 4% 11 17% 1532 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 36% 736 1 4% 4 10% 5 14% 17 44% 1519 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 22% 1550 1 1.5% 1 1.5% 2 3% 24 35% 1543 0 7% 6 7% 6 7% 21 26% 1799 1 3% 4 10% 5 13% 17 43% 1549 5 2% 4 7% 9 13% 19 28% 1861 3 7% 1 2% 4 9% 15 34% 1010 3 6% 0 0 3 6.00% 16 34% 1119 2 8% 5 11% 7 19% 18 44% 829 4 7% 6 9% 10 16% 29 47% 1136 3 6% 3 6% 6 12% 19 37% 1094 0 0 1 3% 1 14% 6 14% 992 0 0 0 0 0 0% 16 31% 971 0 0 2 9% 2 9% 9 39% 849


157

0 0 1 2% 1 2% 17 32% 1894

40863

158

1956 10 26

1994 1996

2006 2007

2009 9

Publication Records

[1] Alifereti, V. (2010). Fijian Language and Learning: The status of Fijian language

as a subject in schools. VDM Verlag Dr. Muller.

[2] Ledua,V. (2011). Academic Writing in an ESL classroom: a socio-cultural perspective. In L. Zhongshe; Z. Weimin, & C. Aaron, Issues in English Language Teaching and Learning at Tertiary Level (65-70). The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon.

[3] Ledua, V. (2013). An investigation of Verticality in tertiary students’ academic writing texts: a Systemic Functional perspective. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature. Australian International Academic Centre, 2(3) 163-175.

vasemaca ledua alifereti - usp thesesdigilib.library.usp.ac.fj/gsdl/collect/usplibr1/... · meaning...

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