Rym Ezzina
University of Sfax, Tunisia
Abstract
Systemic Functional Grammar is a model developed by
Michael Halliday in which language is seen from a functional perspective.
Language is “a network of systems or interrelated sets of options for making
meaning” (Halliday 1994, p. 15). Transitivity is an important notion of Systemic
Functional Grammar which is widely used as a tool for Discourse Analysis.
“Transitivity is a system of the clause, affecting not only the verb serving as
Process but also participants and circumstances.” (Halliday& Mathiessen,
2004, p. 181)
This paper investigates the relationship between
linguistic structures and meanings in a literary text. By applying Halliday’s
transitivity framework, the paper attempts to reveal how the use of some
linguistic cues can unveil the characteristics and techniques employed by
Pynchon as a post modernist writer. In particular, the paper focused on the
analysis of the verbs according to the different process types in the
experiential metafunction. The processes are material processes, mental
processes, relational processes, verbal processes, behavioral processes, and
existential processes. In addition, the paper seeks to uncover power relations
by analyzing participants’ roles involved in each process.
Keywords: Systemic Functional Grammar, Transitivity,
Process Types, Post modernism, Crying Lot of 49.
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