Drawing on the works of Halliday (1978, 1985), Martin (1984, 1992), Wignell et al. (1989) and Poynton (1985), Eggins (2004) develops the functional model in the context of speaking as “Register Theory”, which clearly describes the relationship between spoken language and situation. A discussion of this theory of register will help to introduce some of the key concepts and terms behind the genre-based approach adopted in this study. Eggins (2004) examines more closely Halliday’s conceptual framework of a text by asking the questions:
1. What is meant by context of situation, and what are the register variables?
2. How is register realized in language?
She does this by describing exactly what field, tenor and mode refer to, in a clear and accessible way that allows teachers to consider how to effectively plan and implement a genre-based syllabus.
2.6.1 Field
Eggins (2004) claims that the most useful way to analyse a text’s field is to look at its pattern of “transitivity” (p. 213). Transitivity is the system for constructing experiential meaning in the clause. By examining transitivity patterns in a text, we can describe its field: the topic and the kind of treatment it is being given. Essentially this tells us “what is being talked about” (p. 249). This includes looking at three components of a clause:
• The participants: The people, places and things that can be related experientially to a process. Using functional grammar, this would be realized through the nominal group of the clause.
• The process type: Process tell us what is going on in terms of the physical world; the world of consciousness and of being. This is realized through the verbal part of the clause.
• The circumstances: The context in which processes take place and specific location. This is realized through adverbs or prepositions.
Eggins describes that participants and processes are central to our representation of experience, while circumstances are less central “attendant” processes.
2.6.2 Tenor
The tenor of discourse describes the social roles we assign ourselves and others when we are speaking. Our role in an interaction will influence the language we use. Eggins (2004) compares “informal” and “formal” situation types. Informal interactions are those between close friends who see each other often and freely express their feelings. Meanwhile, formal interactions are between strangers from different social levels who do not meet often and are not free to express feelings openly. Eggins divides the tenor of discourse into three different continua:
POWER equal unequal CONTACT frequent occasional AFFECT high low
Figure 2.2 The continua of power, contact and effect (Eggins, 2004, p. 100)
Power refers to the extent to which the relationship between the interactants is equal (such as between two friends) or unequal (an employer or employee). Contact means the frequency of interactions, with friends, family members and neighbours at one end, and strangers at the other. Affective involvement refers to the extent to which emotions or attitudes are expressed freely between interlocutors. This may be high between friends, spouses and children, and low between passengers on a train.
Tenor also influences language differences in other ways. Eggins (2004) describes the act of communicating as involving a speaker or writer and a listener or reader. The speaker or writer selects a role for themselves and in turn allocates a role to the listener. Halliday and Hasan (1985) state that all communication can be categorized into one of the following speech acts:
• Offer (to give goods or services) • Statement (to give information)
• Command (to demand goods or services) • Question (to demand information)
In each of these instances, the listener has some choice in how they respond: an offer can be accepted or refused; a statement can be acknowledged or contradicted; a command can be undertaken or refused; and a question can be answered or disclaimed. Who takes the role of speaker and who is the listener is an indicator of which of the interlocutors is in the more powerful position.
Eggins explains that in looking at how interpersonal meanings are expressed, the main grammatical features we need to examine are the subject and the finite, which combine to create the mood of the clause. The subject is realized by the nominal group, and the finite element is part of the verbal group. The remainder of the clause is called the “residue” (p. 150). The finite element has the function of locating an exchange with reference to the speaker making a statement/command that can be argued about. This is enacted through:
• Primary tense: past, present or future at the time of talking.
Through the primary tense we can argue whether an event did/will/should occur.
e.g. does, did, will
• Modality: this indicates the speaker’s judgement of the probabilities or the obligations involved in what is being communicated.
e.g. can, will, must
• Polarity: This indicates whether the clause is positive or negative.
e.g. was, wasn’t
Finally, another indicator of power is identified by Butt et al. (2000, p. 115) and Halliday (1994, pp. 82–83) as “Mood Adjuncts”. Examples of these are summarized in Table 2.5:
Table 2.5 Mood adjuncts in functional grammar
Mood adjuncts Lexical examples Polarity not, yes, no
Probability probably, possibly, certainly, perhaps Usuality usually, sometimes, always, never Readiness willingly, gladly, easily, certainly Obligation definitely, absolutely, by all means Time yet, still, already, once, soon, just
Typically occasionally, generally, regularly, mainly Obviousness of course, surely, obviously, clearly Intensity just, simply, merely, only
Degree quite, nearly, almost, totally, completely
In terms of real-life communication, the language choices we make on an
interpersonal level are extremely important to how we get along in the world. For example, in the Japanese classroom, the teacher is supposed to talk the most, and students are expected to listen carefully. Outside the classroom, however, different situation types involve different expectations about speech roles, such as politeness conventions, turn-taking, attitudinal expressions, and so on. The challenge in designing a genre-based syllabus is how to open up the demands of different tenors and to provide learning contexts which enable students to meet these in ways satisfactory to them.
2.6.3 Mode
By discussing mode, we can examine the difference between spoken and written language more fully.
Eggins identifies two central concepts (p. 91):
• Interpersonal distance • Experiential distance
Interpersonal distance relates to the spatial distance between interactants. Eggins places situations along a continuum based on the possibilities of immediate feedback between interactants.
casual
conversation telephone email fax radio novel
+visual contact +aural -visual +aural -visual -aural -visual -aural -visual +one-way aural -visual -aural +immediate
feedback +immediate feedback feedback +rapid feedback +rapid +delayed feedback
Figure 2.3 Representation of interpersonal distance (Eggins, 2004, p. 91)
Casual conversations typically allow both visual and aural contact between
interactants, and hence provide immediate feedback. Novels, on the other hand, do not allow visual or aural contact between interactants. The reader can only be imagined by the author, and not considered in a real way, as in casual conversations. There is no opportunity to give feedback to the author. The continuum could also be updated with video-conferencing, which would provide visual and aural contact, plus immediate feedback; but it may still constitute a spatial distance equal to the telephone.
Experiential distance relates to the distance between language and the social processes occurring; but this tends to be measured in time rather than space. Eggins represents this continuum in the following way (p. 91):
playing a game e.g. tennis
commenting e.g. calling a match
recounting experience e.g. news report
constructing experience e.g. non-fiction language accompanying social process language as ACTION language constituting social process language as REFLECTION
Figure 2.4 Representation of experiential distance (Eggins, 2004, p. 91)
In situations such as playing a game of tennis, language accompanies what is going on as it happens. In situations such as a non-fiction book about tennis, language constitutes “what is going on”. These two ends of the continuum represent language as action and language as reflection. When designing a syllabus, it is therefore essential to consider how the mode of discourse influences language choices, in order to support learners as they work along this continuum and select appropriate language choices for spoken situations.
This section has discussed the concept of register and Eggin’s notion of the
continuum, to bring out differences of register in different texts. This enables us to identify which language features are sensitive to which aspects of the context of situation. Changes in field will influence experiential meanings in a text; changes in tenor will influence
interpersonal meanings in a text; and changes in mode will influence textual meanings in a text.