Interpersonal meanings Language as interaction: the clause as exchange

Interpersonal Function We use language to: interact with other people; to establish and maintain relationships; to influence behaviour; to express our own point of view; to elicit or change the point of view of others.

Interpersonal function has its own system of meanings: Four basic speech roles as identified by Halliday and Matthiessen (2004:108): giving informationstatement demanding informationquestion giving goods and services offer demanding goods and servicescommand

Functions associated with particular grammatical structures: Statements by declarative clauses Questions by interrogative clauses Commands by imperative clauses Offers odd one out; not associated with a specific mood choice.

Interpersonal Function looked at in terms of: Mood Modality

Mood How clauses are structured: Subject and Finite. e.g; They’ve all gone. They subject, have is the auxiliary verb: in functional grammar, this is called the finite.

Mood = Subject + Finite

Finite – the first functional element of the verbal group: Did you see him that day? Didn’t he come home last night? You can imagine his reaction What were you doing? Someone may have heard the shot.

Subject + Finite also called the mood block: order and presence of the subject and finite determine whether or not the mood of the clause is: declarative (realizing a statement) interrogative (realizing a question) imperative (realizing a command)

Mood block = subject + finite: the rest of the clause is called the residue. Mood block can be either side of the subject + finite.

i. Declarative: subject ^ finite: Tom and Nicole were drinking red wine with their meal ii Yes/No Interrogative: finite ^ subject: Were Tom and Nicole drinking red wine with their meal? Iii WH-Interrogative: where the question word (who, what, which) is the subject: subject^ finite: Who has taken all the wine? Imperative: no subject or finite, residue only: Drink red wine with your meal

Activity 1 Identify the Subject, Finite and Residue of the following clauses. Write the mood next to the example. Example: Cigarettes are as addictive as heroin or cocaine Cigarettes areas additive as heroin or cocaine Subject Finite Residue Declarative Ask yourself these questions. When did you have your last cigarette? Why will you have your next? Withdrawal symptoms can set in as quickly as 15 minutes later.

Structure of the Residue: Predicator Predicator contains the lexical element/s of the verbal group (ie, not the Finite group. It specifies what’s going on. That bottle of wine should Subject Finite Mood block be chilled for a few hours Predicator Residue

That bottle of wine should Subject Finite Mood block be chilled for a few hours Predicator Residue

Sometimes, Finite is fused with the predicator: e.g, smoked, drank, threw Gerald threw Subject Finite/Predicator Mood block his cigarettes into the trash Residue

Complement A Complement is typically a participant in the clause. Gerald threw Subject Finite/Predicator Mood Block his cigarettes into the trash Complement Residue

Adjunct Another potential constituent of the clause is an adjunct: Gerald threw Subject Finite/Predicator Mood Block his cigarettes into the trash Complement Adjunct Residue

Modality Modality refers to how speakers and writers take up a position, express an opinion, point of view or make a judgment. In order to do this, make ‘adjustments’ within the mood block: strong, weak or middle ground. Needle exchange programmes could be government sponsored Needle exchange programmes must be government sponsored

Speakers and writers can take a stand in relation to both statements and questions (modalisation) and offers and commands

Activity 2 Highlight examples of modality in the following two extracts: 1. The use of harmful substances in pregnancy interferes with a woman’s ability to support the pregnancy and can even impair prenatal development. Smoking during pregnancy may raise the risk of a miscarriage and can sometimes hinder fetal growth by suppressing women’s appetite. Heavy drinking can also lead to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, the leading known cause of mental retardation. Abuse of stronger illicit drugs during pregnancy can often result in babies born drug dependent. (American Council for Drug Education (1999)) 2. It is vital that women be informed about the possible dangers of drinking and smoking during pregnancy. Women must be told that if they drink or smoke during pregnancy, the development of their babies will almost certainly suffer.

a) Which text is more opinionated? b) How does the writer use modality in extract 1? Why? c) How does the writer use modality in extract 2? Why?