[713] The report presents the truth about conditions in what is, probably, the poorest (financially) of all the countries I have visited. (African Primary Schools)
[714] Gedge explained the reasons why the group had become a magnificent obsession. (Wedding Present) Label Texts merely indicate a particular sort of Communication without indicating either words or content:
[715] Don Bennett lavished high praise on my finding and training of pathfinders (Hamish) [716] The relaxed atmosphere breeds bantering conversation. (Independent)
[717] The mixture of cheap jokes and pretentious philosophising becomes increasingly hard to stomach (Daily Telegraph)
[718] French farmers staged an anti-British protest at Calais at the weekend, throwing stones and hurling insults at Britons coming off ferries (Today)
Dispositive Texts occur in the Active for doing something, usually Pejorative, to somebody, again without representing the words or content:
[719] The Headmaster had shouted at him so loudly he was deaf for a week. (Endill) [720] Kylie, said press reports, lost her cool and screamed at the intruders. (Kylie) [721] The sledger cursed the dogs and swore at the television crew (Arctic Odyssey) [722] She slandered her husband, her friends, and her own self. (Amnesty)
Enactive Texts occur in the Medial for producing speech or writing, also usually Pejorative, using yourself as Medium, whilst words or content are devalued.
[723] Cassie talked and talked until her throat ached and her mouth was dry (Strawberries) [724] I lay on the floor on my stomach, scribbling away and laughing (Deborah Moggach)BNC [725] I tramped round the room, blabbering with the excitement. (Midsummer Killing)
[726] Mrs Thatcher ranted and raved. It was typical of the way she conducts Cabinet Government. (Observer) 75. The Passive can omit an irrelevant Communicator [727], e.g., if the Subject is the Circumstantial ‘it’ for ‘saying’ [728], or the Receiver for ‘telling’ [729].
[727] A story was told whose smear value demands immediate publication (Punch) [728] It was said that the poet Shelley had been here to sail paper boats. (C.S. Lewis) [729] I was told one flight was full, and left the gate to mooch around (Independent)
The Dispositive or Ergative of ‘making say’ rarely has one Human Agent acting on another [730]. More often, the Process expresses a factor ‘making people say’ what they otherwise might not [731]; or some uncertainty about what factor could possibly have done so [732]. Also, a Reflexive use occurs when people compel themselves to say something they would rather not [733]. And ‘making tell’ can be used for two Human Agents [734], maybe implying compulsion.
[730] his mother made him always say what he thought (Possession)
[731] ‘She’s strong’, said Rachaela. It was instinct which made her say it. (Dark Dance)
[732] ‘There’s nothing.’ What on earth had made him say that? He sounded as if he were denying an affair.
(Like Out)
[733] ‘Take care of your baby’, Birdy made herself say cheerfully. ‘Jerk’, she said, after they hung up.
(Nobody’s Girl)www
[734] There are two men on her. They’ll find the book. They’ll make her tell them where it is. And then they’ll kill her. (Heathen)
76. As we saw for Cognition (III.43), some types of Communication imply the truth [735-736], whilst others entail no such implication [737]. Especially uncertain are the things ‘told’ to a court [738].
[735] He admitted that Ipswich had been fortunate to beat Newcastle (Daily Telegraph) [736] The board confirmed that Les Jones is to continue as Britain’s team manager (Guardian)
[737] Reagan claimed that US presence in the Lebanon was ‘vitally important to the security of the United States and the Western world’. (Intelligence Game)
[738] Today his closest friends told the court he was always honest. But according to the prosecution, the Cheltenham magistrate is a blatant liar. (TV news)
The British press plays it safe by Framing court proceedings (III.79).
77. Communication readily ‘expresses’ Emotions:
[739] She shut herself in out of the drizzling rain, and expressed her delight with every-thing. The roads were quaint, [and] wasn’t Dublin just beautiful! (No Enemy)
[740] Indian and Inuit leaders expressed anger over the result of the referendum. (Keesings)
[741] All those attending the lobby have expressed their outrage at the deepening crisis in housing (Leeds Diocesan Catholic Voice)BNC
[742] Peers expressed their sorrow at the separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales (Today)
Emotion also animates the popular media (plus Mills and Boon, natch) to some curious Verbs of saying:
[743] ‘I have my connections’, he gleamed. (Imajica)
[744] ‘There is no such thing as a good morning’, she grumped. (Roman Spring)
[745] He came back to the dressing room in tears. ‘What do you think?’ he blubbed. (Kenneth Williams)
[746] ‘Where are you going?’ he grated hotly, his eyes alive now, glittering dangerously. ‘To Steve, of course’, she rasped bitterly. (Love or Nothing)
[747] ‘What big blue eyes you have’, husked Lucenzo. (Mask of Deception) Mercifully, these too cannot be converted to Indirect:
[743a] *He gleamed that he had his connections.
[746a] *He grated hotly where she was going, and she rasped to Steve.
78. On the other side of Communication, ‘hearing that’ and ‘reading that’ often occur without the Communicator [748-51] and vagueness can increase with ‘somewhere’ [752-53]. On the whole, what is ‘read’
carries more authority, that what is ‘heard’, especially when citing the Bible [751] or ‘taking as read’ [754].
[748] I heard that his family once had money, but lost it in some way. (Seasons of My Life) [749] I had heard that in the South things are better (English Crime)
[750] I read that the US is in the grip of Japanophobia following the purchase of Columbia Pictures by Sony.
(Independent)
[751] We read that the apostles in Jerusalem sent Peter and John to them. (Church Planting)
[752] I heard somewhere that Frank Worthington claimed to sleep with a different woman before every match (Leeds United)BNC
[753] I read somewhere that your body is warmer in the winter if you shave your legs. (Well-Woman)www [754] Need to have it ratified by the Board. But you can take it as read that you have the contract. (Nudists) A Communicator can be ‘heard’ (but apparently not ‘read’) as an Agent of ‘saying that’ [755], and yet be left unspecified [756]. The interesting variation of ‘hearing oneself say’, suggests speaking without firm Intention or Control [757-58] — rather the opposite of ‘making oneself say’ (III.75).
[755] I distinctly heard you say that some of my designs weren’t quite suitable. (Miracles) [756] You sometimes hear people say that it is not worth eating differently (Get Slim)
[757] ‘Oh dear’, Ianthe heard herself saying, feebly, she felt, but it was difficult to know how best to express her sympathy. (Unsuitable Attachment)
[758] I heard myself saying that I had got so smashed I was sick. (Sexual Health)www
79. Emotions again figure as effects of what you ‘hear’ or ‘read’ [759-60]. Anger can be expressed by just exclaiming that you ‘heard’ something [761]. Fearful warnings are issued ‘not to let someone hear’ what you just said [762].
[759] I am happy to hear that the UN security council has eased some sanctions against Iraq. (James McKenna)www
[760] I’m terribly sad to read that Michael Kelly has been killed in Iraq. (Virginia Postrel)
[761] ‘Dratted animal! He ought to be shot.’ The old woman bed flashed her a look. ‘I heard that!’ ‘You were meant to’, snapped Araminta instantly. (Hidden Flame)
[762] ‘Bit of a slut, if you ask me.’ ‘Don’t let Barney hear you say that’. (Finishing Touch) Like ‘told’ in [738], British legal proceedings can be reported as what was ‘heard’:
[763] Fireman Richard Pearson loved putting out fires so much that he started 11 of them himself, a court heard yesterday (Today)
Such Frames handily allow publishing courtroom data without judging the potential validity or truth of the Communications (III.76).
80. These then are the Processes I would propose to recognise for a functional Lexicogrammar of English, summarised in Table III.1
Process Prototypes Clause Transitivity Commands Denial of Denial of Core Intention Control Outer Processes
Dispositive ‘doing to’ Disposer, Active, many yes less Disposition, Passive
Disposed
Productive ‘making’, Producer, Active, few no no ‘creating’, Production, Passive
‘manufacturing’ Product
Enactive ‘moving’, Enacter, Medial selective yes yes ‘behaving’ Enactment,
Circumstance
Developmental ‘becoming’,, Developer, Medial phoney no no ‘growing’ Development
‘changing’
Inner Processes
Perception ‘seeing’ Perceiver, Active, selective rare selective ‘watching’ Perception, Passive,
‘looking’ Perceived Medial ‘hearing’
‘listening’
‘touching ‘smelling’
‘tasting’
Cognition ‘knowing’, Cogniser, Active, highly no few ‘learning’, Cognition, Passive, selective
‘finding out’ Cognised Medial?
Aspirations ‘wanting’, Aspirer, Active, implausible no yes
‘wishing’, Aspiration, Passive ‘hoping’, Aspired
Representive Processes
Existential ‘there being’ Existent Medial no no no ‘existing’
Circumstantial ‘being Circumstance Medial uncommon very very somewhere’, few few
‘being sometime’
‘raining’
‘snowing’
Identification ‘being Identified, Medial highly no no somebody’ Identity selective
Attribution ‘being Attributed, Medial no no no some way’ Attribute
Evaluation ‘being good’ Evaluated, Medial Ameliorative yes no ‘being bad’ Value Pejorative
Possession ‘having’, Possessor, Active rare no rare ‘owning’, Possessed Passive no no no ‘being mine or yours,’ Medial rare no no ‘giving and getting’,
‘selling and buying’
Expressive Processes
Emotive ‘being happy’ Emoter, Medial Ameliorative few many ‘feeling sad’ Emotion Medial Pejorative
Communicative ‘saying’, Communicator, Active ‘telling’ Communication, Passive ‘talking’ Communicated Medial Table III.1
To be sure, each one could be described at higher Delicacy as a cluster of Processes, steadily revealing more interactions between Lexicon and Grammar. Even the sturdier Prototypes go separate ways in some
lexicogrammatical preferences, notably the ‘five senses’ for Perception and the variegated Texts for Communication.
81. Still, this rough outline was derived from attested and authentic samples of English in large corpora and the Internet, covering a wide span of times, regions, and varieties. Moreover, it may serve for discussion and analysis of text and discourse in later chapters, complementing the Standards of Textuality, especially with Colligations for Cohesion and Collocations for Coherence.