Bill,
I would read "cautions" as verbal process. If so, the participants
would be "sayer" and "receiver".
He does use "actor" as a participant in a material process clause.
Since these are the easiest to deal with in an introduction of the
concept of subject function, it's possible to mistake what he's saying
by not reading his full treatment of transitivity.
I wish I had read your post before firing mine off. You handle the
three subject functions succinctly.
Craig
Spruiell, William C wrote:
>Johanna,
>
>Halliday doesn't define subject as actor; in fact, hasn't since at least
>the 60s, if he ever did at all. The strand of labels for what we might
>call "participant roles" (actor, beneficiary, etc.) is entirely separate
>from the strand of labels that includes "subject" (and "subject" is in a
>different strand than "theme"). Thus, as in most modern syntactic
>theories, one can mix-and-match roles with "subject," allowing one to
>deal nicely with active/passive pairs, etc. With the kind of
>introductory "reference" adverbials we've been discussing, Halliday's
>model would present them as being theme, but not subject, (and not any
>of the participant roles either, other than "circumstance").
>
>Eg:
>
> In Hrothgar's speech to Beowulf, he cautions against X.
>
> [ Theme ] [
>Rheme ]
> [Subj]
> [Actor]
>
>Actually, I should probably be using a different label than "actor," but
>I can't decide exactly how to treat "caution" in this case.
>
>Halliday's definition of subject does vary slightly from a traditional
>one: he considers the subject to be the nominal element that gets picked
>up as a pronoun in a tag question ("The spokeman was Ari Fleisher,
>wasn't *he*?" with "he" being A.F.). In practical terms, this produces
>the same result as traditional grammar except with there-constructions.
>
>Bill Spruiell
>
>Dept. of English
>Central Michigan University
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
>[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Johanna Rubba
>Sent: Monday, October 31, 2005 5:26 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Syntax question
>
>I'll have to dig up a few examples of repeat-reference sentences from
>my student papers.
>
>I've just been looking at various bits of Talmy Givon's "English
>Grammar: A Functional-Typological Introduction" that are about topic
>and focus. In the second volume of this pair of books, he discusses
>"topicalizing constructions", under which he includes both left- and
>right-dislocation ("My father, he rarely votes - He rarely votes, my
>father"). These books are challenging to make one's way through, but
>reveal a great deal about the relation between grammar and function. I
>know that some people in the functional/typological field have some
>problems with Givon's work, but I think, in the main, it is very
>valuable (as is functional syntax generally).
>
>As to Hallidayan functional syntax (I call it systemic-functional
>grammar to distinguish it from American funcitonalism): I haven't read
>extensively into this theory, but what I have read is both satisfying
>and unsatisfying. I believe the various notions are not adequately
>refined and teased apart. Perhaps this has been done over the history
>of the theory.
>
>Defining "subject" as "actor" is not a good idea, for example. All
>sorts of semantic roles get into subject position. While "actor" may be
>a preferred choice because of certain cognitive biases, the actual
>range of subjects found in text makes the "actor" definition too
>misleading. Just looking at one of today's headline stories in the NY
>Times, there is, indeed, a good number of actor-subjects, but there is
>also a large number of other kinds, e.g., "the nomination", "an up or
>down vote", "The president's new effort to fill a second Supreme Court
>vacancy", "public opinion polls", "American casualties", "parts of the
>president's domestic agenda", etc.
>
>As to grading drafts of papers, I just can't fit this in in many cases.
>My classes have 30 students, and there is a lot of content to cover. I
>usually have 3 classes of 30 students each on a 10-week quarter. In one
>class, I have the paper come in in three installments. Students do like
>this idea. I also got my best batch of papers in this class one
>quarter, when I really pushed them to work hard on meeting my
>formal-writing standards. I also got very low evaluation scores that
>quarter!
>
>My classes are junior-level, for the most part, and they aren't
>intended as writing classes. By their junior year, students should
>have had their comp and some practice writing for their courses. It's
>time for them to take responsibility for their editing and
>proofreading. I'm not saying they should be totally mature writers at
>that stage, but they should be _working on it_ -- taking a second look
>at their writing to see if they can make it more concise. Too often,
>they are rewarded for bulk. I also often get papers that really don't
>look like they have been proofread, or at least proofread carefully.
>
>Johanna Rubba, Assoc. Prof., Linguistics
>Linguistics Minor Advisor
>English Department
>Cal Poly State University
>San Luis Obispo, CA 93047
>Tel. 805.756.2184
>Dept. Tel. 805.756.6374
>Home page:
>http://www.cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba
>
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>
>
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