Chapter 6
Process and
Participant Systemic Functional
Linguistics
Table of contents
01 Introdution 02 Material process
What is process? • Actor and Goal
What is participant? • Beneficiary
• Scope
03 Mental process
• Senser and Phenomenon
Introduction
The kind of meaning we are concerned with in this
chapter is the kind in which active and passive are seen
as in some sense substitutable for each other.
There is a systematic relationship between the active
form and its passive counterpart, and part of that
relationship is to do with the representation of ‘real
world 'relationships. This is the ideational metafunction,
the clause as representation as Halliday puts it.
Participants Process
The participants are the entities
involved in the process. they are The term ‘process’ as a technical term in
mostly humans; Such as, [Jerry, you, SFG, is used in two senses: (i)to refer to
he, we, more men, us, ten of us.] what is going on in the whole clause,
and (ii) to refer to that part of the
However, not all the participants are proposition encoded in the verbal group.
human or even animate. In the Processes can be subdivided into
clause in (3) below, there are two different types.
participants something and door, And different types of process mostly
both inanimate. involve different types of participant.
(3) Presently something hit the
door.
02 Material process
Most material processes involve 'doing-words‘.
In an action-oriented narrative, such processes tend to
occur frequently.
Example 1: Jerry took the money, picked up a hat from
the table and strolled out.
Example 2: Half an hour later he returned
Actor and Goal
Example 1: Jerry took the money.
Example 2: Half an hour later he returned.
In example 1, Jerry is explicitly the performer/doer of an action represented by the
Process took.
Therefore, we label Jerry as Actor.
It is Jerry who performs the action & it is the money that undergoes the action.
The label we give to the money in this clause is Goal, 'the point of impact', the
thing acted upon.
In example 2, there is only one participant: the Actor he.
There is no Goal involved in the Process realized by the verb returned.
The items retain the same
functions of Actor and Goal
regardless of voice.
Intransitive clauses have
no corresponding passive
clauses and in the examples
considered have only the
Actor as Subject (Fig. 6.3).
Beneficiary
In the following clause, we have a material process with
three participant roles:
He gave some of the bills to Thaler.
The Process is realized by the verbal expression gave.
( Ditransitive)
The Subject he is Actor, while some of the bills is Goal.
The third element to Thaler is Beneficiary (benefits from
the process).
If the proposition is negated, it does not affect the label In active voice
given to the participant. clauses the Beneficiary
In the clauses(16b) and (16c), the Beneficiary label still is usually the indirect
attaches to Thaler. object Complement,
(16b) He didn’t give some of the bills to Thaler. but in passive
clauses it is often the
(16c) He gave no money to Thaler.
Subject
Scope
The Scope is a participant that The first type where the Scope is an
represents the domain or range of the identifiably existing entity and can be
process but does not undergo any subclassified as Scope: entity.
physical change as a result of the action. Examples of Scope: entity are: cross the
She sang a song ( Scope; it is not alley; climb a mountain; run a mile; play a
affected physically) piano.
The chef cooked dinner. •
Here, dinner is NOT a Scope; it is a Goal, The second where the Scope is essentially
because it is affected by the process of an expression of the process itself is
cooking. subclassified as Scope: process.
Difference Between Scope and Goal Examples of Scope: process are take a
Scope: Refers to an entity that is involved bath; die a death; sing a song; play football.
in the process but remains unaffected
(e.g., “sing a song”). Scope is a sort of subcategory of a broader
Goal: Refers to an entity that is directly functional category known as Range.
affected or changed by the process (e.g., Scope is Range occurring in material
“cook dinner”). processes.
Initiator
A rather rare participant in material
process is Initiator.
This shows up in such structures as
He marched them up to the top of the hill
Here he is not Actor; the actual marching is done by them. He is
the prime instigator of the action, which he initiates; hence
Initiator.
Distinction Between Initiator and Actor:
Initiator: Causes or motivates the process indirectly (e.g.,
through command, encouragement, or permission).
Actor: The one who actually performs the physical action of
the Material process.
03 Mental process
Some processes involve not material actions but phenomena
best described as states of mind or psychological events.
These are called mental processes.
These are realized through the use of verbs like think, know, feel,
hate, smell, hear, want, like, see, please, disgust, admire, enjoy,
fear, frighten.
Example: He knew what speed was.
The clause could not serve as an answer to the question What
did he do? Knowing is not doing.
Other examples:
He didn't see me.
You didn't want it this morning.
I heard the shots.
I dislike your manner.
Senser and Phenomenon
In all these examples, the Subject is the It might be possible to come across
one who experiences/senses the structures with the Senser omitted (I
process: the Senser. wasn’t seen; the shots were heard)
That which is experienced/sensed is
given the label Phenomenon.
One constraint: the Senser is by
definition a sentient being: a human
Even with the same verbs, a change from or at least animate creature
active to passive would make the (except in metaphorical or fantastic
Phenomenon the Subject. uses).
Only animate beings can think, feel,
or perceive.
The Phenomenon may be animate
or inanimate.
Phenomenon realized as clause
He knew what speed was.
where he is Senser, knew is Process and what speed was is Phenomenon.
the Phenomenon is realized by a full clause.
This is fairly common in the type of mental process that involves ‘knowing’ (with verbs like know, guess,
suspect, deduce, calculate)
Since the Phenomenon that Thaler came here is a
clause in its own right, it too expresses a process, this
time a material process with Thaler as Actor.
Thanks!
Presented by: Jumana Hasan Zain Al-abdeen
Systemic Functional Linguistics
Dr. Mohammad Alali
