Mention and unmention

 Passivization is a process whose outcome is delaying the agent of an event to end position in the sentence or even possibly stripping an event of its agent altogether and fronting the direct object to subject position SubjectVerbObject ActiveThe rebelskilledthe mercenaries SubjectVerbBy-agent PassiveThe mercenarywas killed(by the rebels)

 Unmarked uses  Lack of knowledge of agent  Mental processes (‘feeling, thinking, seeing’ processes)  Scientific discourse  Marked uses (agent is known)  Agent is deleted  Agent is kept but demoted

 Lack of knowledge of agent: Al-Jazeera said that three of the same family were killed and mutilated;  Mental processes: Mental processes are particularly frequent in the passive (e.g. We were thrilled by the sound of your voice / I wasn’t impressed by what he said);  Scientific discourse: “X-rays were discovered by accident while Roentgen was experimenting with electricity. Soon after, he built the first x-ray machine. Immediately, hospital operations were made much safer. For the first time, doctors could see inside people’s bodies before they cut them open! In 1901, Roentgen was awarded the very first Nobel Prize in Physics. His invention is still used every day by doctors and dentists, and is called ‘the window to the human body’.” (New Headway Plus, p. 87).

 Deleted agent: Furthermore, 70 percent had been exposed to false confessions, which were said to be given by comrades, and 82 percent were offered bribes to agree to falsify their own confession or incriminate a friend.  Agent kept but demoted: Beatings (100 percent) and cold water (78 percent) were commonly experienced by Palestinian detainees during interrogation.

ActiveThemeRheme The rebelskilled the mercenaries PassiveThemeRheme The mercenarieswere killed (by the rebels)

 Agent-defocusing by deletion: This has the effect of mystification of agency for the action performed, thus hiding moral responsibility  Agent-defocusing by demotion: This has the effect of highlighting agency by placing the by-agent in end position in the sentence, thus making it receive end-weight (by virtue of being placed in theme position as new information for the reader), with moral responsibility being emphasized rather than hidden

Urgent warning: The Israeli government may be contemplating crimes against humanity  (1) We, members and friends of Israeli academe, are horrified by US buildup of aggression towards Iraq and by the Israeli political leadership's enthusiastic support for it.  (2) We are deeply worried by indications that the "fog of war" could be exploited by the Israeli government to commit further crimes against the Palestinian people, up to full-fledged ethnic cleansing.  (3) The Israeli ruling coalition includes parties that promote "transfer" of the Palestinian population as a solution to what they call "the demographic problem". (4) Politicians are regularly quoted in the media as suggesting forcible expulsion, most recently MKs Michael Kleiner and Benny Elon, as reported on Yediot Ahronot website on September 19, (5) In a recent interview in Ha'aretz, Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon described the Palestinians as a "cancerous manifestation" and equated the military actions in the Occupied Territories with "chemotherapy", suggesting that more radical "treatment" may be necessary. (6) Prime Minister Sharon has backed this "assessment of reality". (7) Escalating racist demagoguery concerning the Palestinian citizens of Israel may indicate the scope of the crimes that are possibly being contemplated.  (8) We call upon the International Community to pay close attention to events that unfold within Israel and in the Occupied Territories, to make it absolutely clear that crimes against humanity will not be tolerated, and to take concrete measures to prevent such crimes from taking place. (Letter from Israel, September 29th 2002, signed by academics)