ENGLISH

GRAMMAR
UNIT 1:

BASIC CONCEPTS
Module 1: Language and Meaning

English Grammar - Unit 1

UNIT 1: BASIC CONCEPTS

MODULE 1: LANGUAGE AND MEANING
There are 3 strands of meaning that form the basis of a FUNCTIONAL
INTERPRETATION OF GRAMMAR. Each of them derives from a different
approach to the subject:
1.
2.
3.

THE INTERPERSONAL MEANING represents the communicative

exchange between people.
THE REPRESENTATIONAL MEANING is related to the linguistic
representation of our experience of the world.
THE TEXTUAL MEANING derives from the consideration of the clause
as an organised message or text.

English Grammar - Unit 1

UNIT 1 > MODULE 1

1.1. THE INTERPERSONAL MEANING

The Interpersonal Meaning
represents the communicative exchange between people.
It is encoded through the COMMUNICATIVE ACTS or SPEECH ACTS.

COMMUNICATIVE ACTS / SPEECH ACTS

Speech Acts are the acts by which people communicate with each
other with the aim of getting the hearer to carry out some action.
There are 4 basic categories of Speech Acts:
Statements, Questions, Exclamations and Directives,
but the range of communicative acts is very wide: offers, reminders,
echo questions, promising, thanking, ordering, instructions, warning,
advising, requests, asking a favour, invitations, prohibitions, asking
for/giving permission, suggesting, refusing...
The CLAUSE is the major grammatical unit used by speakers in their
SPEECH ACTS.
English Grammar - Unit 1

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1.1. THE INTERPERSONAL MEANING

MOOD STRUCTURES
Each of these basic SPEECH ACTS is associated in the grammar with a
TYPE OF CLAUSE or MOOD:
DECLARATIVE > Statements
INTERROGATIVE > Questions
IMPERATIVE > Directives
EXCLAMATIVE > Exclamations
It is very important to distinguish the different categories of speech
acts from their grammatical realization by different types of clauses.
Example:
Interpersonal

Janice

will give

Chris

the bill

tomorrow

Subject

Finite + predicator

Indirect
Object

Direct
Object

Adjunct

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1.2. THE REPRESENTATIONAL MEANING

(Representational = Experiential meaning!!!)

Written and spoken speech acts take place in a social context.

They reflect the speakers conceptualization of whats going
on, which can be expressed through TRANSITIVITY
STRUCTURES that encode SITUATIONS or STATE OF AFFAIRS.

SITUATIONS or STATE OF AFFAIRS

The STATE OF AFFAIRS represent the speakers
conceptualization of any happening or state in real life
or in an imaginary world of the mind. The components of this
conceptualization are the SEMANTIC ROLES or FUNCTIONS.
English Grammar - Unit 1

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1.2. THE REPRESENTATIONAL MEANING

SEMANTIC ROLES and FUNCTIONS

The elements of the semantic structure are the following:

PROCESSES: Actions, events, states, types of behaviour.
PARTICIPANTS: Entities of all kinds, not only human, concrete and abstract,
that are involved in the process.
AGENT (The participant that carries out the action described.)
RECIPIENT (The one who receives the good or information encoded as
affected.)
AFFECTED (The good or information received by the recipient.)
ATTRIBUTES: Qualities and characteristics of the participants.
CIRCUMSTANCES: Any kind of contingent fact or subsidiary situation which is
associated with the process or the main situation (Locative, temporal,
conditional, concesive, causative, resultant).

Experiential

Janice

will give

Chris

the bill

tomorrow

Agent

Process

Recipient

Affected

Circumstance

English Grammar - Unit 1

UNIT 1 > MODULE 1

1.3. TEXTUAL MEANING

The textual meaning is the meaning derived from the consideration of the
clause as an organised message or text. The clause elements can be
reordered in certain ways to facilitate the creation of textual meaning.
The way elements in a clause are ordered
.creates / permits a coherent meaning (representational and
interpersonal).
coheres a message, not simply as a sentence in isolation, but in
relation to what precedes in the discourse.
derives from different textual motivations and strategies.
English Grammar - Unit 1

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1.3. TEXTUAL MEANING

THE THEMATIC STRUCTURE
The speaker organizes the informational content of the clause
so as to establish whatever point of departure is desired for
the message. The THEME coincides with the initial element or
elements of the clause. The rest of the clause is the RHEME.

Textual

Janice

will give

Theme

Rheme

Chris

English Grammar - Unit 1

the bill

tomorrow

UNIT 1 > MODULE 1

COMBINING THE THREE TYPES OF STRUCTURE

In these tables the three types of structure we have introduced are mapped
simultaneously.
Janice

will give

Chris

the bill

tomorrow

Experiential

Agent

Process

Recipient

Affected

Circumstance

Interpersonal

Subject

Finite + predicator

Indirect
Object

Direct
Object

Adjunct

Textual

Theme

Rheme

Chris

will be given

the bill

by Janice tomorrow
Agent

Experiential

Recipient Process

Affected

Interpersonal

Subject

Finite + predicator

Direct Object Adjunct

Textual

Theme

Rheme
English Grammar - Unit 1

Circumstance
Adjunct

UNIT 1 > MODULE 1: BASIC CONCEPTS

SUMMARY
In module 1 we have seen 3 different approaches to a
FUNCTIONAL INTERPRETATION OF GRAMMAR.
1.

THE INTERPERSONAL MEANING which is encoded by MOOD STRUCTURES.

(The communicative exchange between people - Chapter 5)

2.

THE REPRESENTATIONAL OR EXPERIENTIAL MEANING which is encoded by

THE TRANSITIVITY STRUCTURE.
(The linguistic representation of our experience of the world - Chapter 4)

3.

THE THEMATIC STRUCTURE which encodes THE TEXTUAL MEANING

(Derives from the consideration of the clause as an organised message or
text - Chapter 6)

English Grammar - Unit 1

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