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    16 views22 pages

    Impersonality in The Reseach Article As Revealed by Analysis of The Transitivity Structure

    Uploaded by

    Tamara Fernandez

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    © ENcuisn ror Sprciric Purposes PERGAMON ngs for Specie Purposes 20201) 27-249 wr chev comoctep Impersonality in the research article as revealed by analysis of the transitivity structure Tliana A. Martinez * Deparment of Lange, Unveitad Nacional de Ro Chart, Argentina Awteact, This paper epors on the way in which impersonal constructions, encoded ie the transit fay structure, are sed in experimental esearch ariles (RA), thu allowing rere to sete ell distaee themselves from te information they present. The study foeuseson clusters of features ofthe transitivity structure that characterise the genr, thir relation io the specie oa of the typical sedons ofthe research atic, an the presence or ditaneof the ator, ‘The principles of Systomic Funetional Linguistics were used to analyse the corpus of 2 experimental esearch articles in the Bel of physical, bioloiel and scil scence The di ‘bution of material, mental, verbal, relational and existential processes inthe diferent so: sions of the RA showed a raatonship between the characteristic procs Wypes ad the anction ofthe sections. The analysis revealed tension between the need to present ndings ‘Stvely andthe ond tu pemotde senders of Uni ality ide sppropise sie. © 2001 ‘The American Universi. Published by Elsevier Science Li Al rights reserve 1. Introduction The experimental research article (RA) is the most widely researched scientific genre as it constitutes the insttutionaised mechanism for the presentation of new knowledge in society (Bazerman, 1988; Swales, 1990). The selection of linguistic {orms is conditioned and determined by not only what the researcher wants to 53 Dut also how it should be suid according to the style ofthe discipline. The language of the RA has been characterised as having an apparent absence of rhetorc. Bazerman (1988, p. 14) deseribes this characteristic in the following way: Conponding autor H, Prine 445, S80 Rio Cua, Argentina, Te + S439-4676291; ++ s435hTe08s ‘Boal arr imarinen@ham anced ar (LA. Marie) 85.4996052900 © 201 The Amen Ue, Pb! by Eli Ss TA he II: $0889-4906(00)00013-2 Es 1A. Mert Engl for Specie Purposes 20 (2001) 22-267 One peculiar aspect of the accomplishment of scientific discourse is that it appears to hide itslt(...[F}o write science is commonly thought not to write at all, jst simply to record natural facts. {...] The popular belie of the past century that scientific language is simply a transparent transmitter of natural facts i, of eourse, wrong In addition, Swales (1990), evaluating Shapin’s description of Boyle's waiting strate ses, observes that Boyle's contribution was the development of a form af rhetoric, specific to the research article, through which readers are made to believe that there is no thetore, that facts are speaking for themselves in an impersonal manner. Genre theory suggests that texts oeeur in social contexts and are employed by specific communities to achieve culturally recognised goals. These "goal-oriented, culturally determined texts” (Martin, 1984, in Epgin, 1994) constitute genes, realising their purposes in differentiated stages. The RA, being an established and reguarised genre (Bazerman, 1988, pp. 23 and 62), has developed separate sectiors for these stages, which are typically labelled 3s Introduction, Method, Results and Discussion, ‘with some variation. Each of these sections has its own specific goals: the Introduction presents the research topic, reviews the literature, announees the method ex-ployed and usually advances the main findings; the Method deseribes the steps followed in the experimental phase, allowing the reader to evaluate the appropriateness of the method and the validity of results, and to eventually replicate the experiment; the Results present a synthesis of the data collected; and the Discussion evaluates and interprets the data in relation to the research problem presented (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 1996; Day, 1979), Recent research on this gente has focused on persuasive language, parieuarly the writer’ intervention and presence in the construction of the scientific report Bazerman's focus is on the conscious and unconscious rhetorical decisions condi- tioned by social Getons chat have saped the genre. Other researchers (ex. Bloor & Bloor, 1993; Hunston, 1994; Myers, 1989; Salager-Meyer, 1994) have centred their aitention on the interpersonal component of the language, manifested in explicit authorial interventions through fist person, modality and hedges, mostly realised in the mood structure of the clause (Halliday, 1994) and often employed as fae-saving vices. Others have studied the interpersonal role played by reporting verbs and their contribution to the writers’ positioning in relation to their own oF others research (e-., Myers, 1989; Thompson & Yiyun, 1991). However, les attention has been devoted to the grammaticalisation of the neutrality, impersonality and ‘objectivity that give the research artile its character, The goals of the genre may also be achieved through impersonal constructions, sublly encoded not only in the passive voice of the transitivity structure, but also in other constructions. Al these structures offer writers the possibilty of strategically distancing themselves from the text, Tae analysis ofthe transitivity structure may reveal the tension between the writers need to distance themselves from the text to present findings objectively, and the need to approximate toi, in the appropriate style in order to persuade readers of ther validity. ‘The use of transitivity has been extensively studied in areas like stylisies and cri- tical Hinguisties (ef. Simpson, 1993; Fairclough, 1989; Kennedy, 1991; Stubbs, 1996) 1A Marines Engh fr Spc Purposes 3 (2001) 27-267 x ‘Transitvity has also been analysed in scientiie discourse. Halliday and Martin (1993) have focused on the role ofthe lexicogrammar in the construction sf knowledge and have observed the emergence of what they call a “technical grammar” that provides the structures necessary for the construction of scientific experience. How ‘ever, tothe best of my knowledge, the analysis of transitivity has not been applied to the study ofthe research article to observe the configurations of grammatical patteras that may occur in the different sections of the RA and how these grammatical pat- tems are related to impersonality. "The purpose ofthis paper is to analyse the transitivity structure of the specific sections to provide an answer to the following questions: ‘® Which clusters of features of the transitivity structure characterise the genro? {© How are these structures related to the sections ofthe RA and their specific goals? ‘¢ How is the presence or distance of the author manifested in the transitivity structure? 2, Theoretical background ‘This study is set within the context of genre analysis (Bazerman, 1988; Dudey-Evans, 1994; Swales, 1990). The framework for the analysis of transitivity i mainly provided by Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) (Eggins, 1994; Halliday, 1994; Halliday & Martin, 193). SFL suggests that each stage ofa genre exhibits clusters of predictable lexicogrammatcalpatters. The experimental research article, being an established genre, can be expected to display in is diferent stages different lexico-srammatial configurations contebuting tothe construction of “the uncommonsense interpretation of realty which distinguishes science ay a ciscipline® Halliday & Martin, 1995, p23) ‘These alternative repescatations of reality, when they are expressed in the gram sar of the clause, involve particular selections made from the transitivity system. ‘This system serves to organise experience, ic. the experiential function of language, and is expressed in the processes, the participants involved, and the circumstances (Cgsins, 194; Halliday, 1998). ‘The analysis carried out inthis paper focuses on the system of transitivity a realised inthe experimental research artis. The transitivity system focuses on the way in which clauses are organised to expres experiential meanings. Halliday (1994) observes that “the transitivity system construes the world of experience into a manageable set of process types" (p. 106). The world of experience is represented in process, which are typically realised in the verbal group (p. 109). Halliday ideties thre forms of representation of experienc: the “outer” experience, represented as actions oF events the “inner” experience, represented reactions and refection on the outer experienc; and “generalization”, represented as a relationship of one form of experience 10 another. These forms of representation sre primarily realised in material (eaeulte, ‘conduct, measure, store, use), mental (Believe, expect, find, observe, understand) and relational (appear be, indicate, result, twn) processes, respectively, and secondarily in behavioural (gaze, look at, smile, vocal), verbal (argue, deserbe explain, propos, = EA. Morte: | Engl for Spec Purposes 20 (2001) 27-247 report) and existential (appear, be, exist, occto) processes. Within the transitivity system, each process belonging to a specific type exhibits a consistent grammatical behaviour in terms of participants, relations and related structures Material processes, or processes of doing, usually describe concrete, tangible actions. In these processes 2 participant, the Actor, performs some action, on some participant, the Goal. These participants can be animate, inanimate o¢ abstract entities asin the example below: Actor Pr: Material Goal Cireumstance 1 ‘measwed snowshoe hare reproduction on four 36-ha study grids ‘and juvenile survival (Donoghue, 1994) ‘Material processes can be intransitive, with only one participant, an¢ transitive, with at least two participants. The Actor is an obligatory participant in material processes. Thus, even when the aetor is not explicitly stated, asin agentless passive constructions, it is assumed to be there ‘Mental processes represent feelings, thoughts and perceptions and necessarily involve two participants. One participant, the Senser, is endowed with consciousness and thus fels, thinks or perceives. The other, the Phenomenon, may be realised as a thing or a a fet, as in the example below: Senser Pr: Mental Phenomenon Desfulian and Bartlett (4) found ‘that C botulium types A and B spores Jailed to germinate and grow after a ‘gamma radiation dose of ? KG. (Thayer, Boyd & Huhtasen, 1995) Behavioural processes occur are between material and mental processes. They represent actions that have to be experienced by a conscious being. This type of process does not seem to be prominent in the language of science. Verbal processes represent verbal actions. They charactristially involve three participants: the Sayer, the Receiver and the Verbiage. The Sayer, the participant responsible for the verbal process, is typically but not necessarily corscious; the Receiver is the participant to whom the saying is directed, and the Vertiage is rea lised by nouns expressing verbal behaviour, lke question, story, report, by a direct projection, or by an indirect projection, as inthe following example: Sayer Pr: Verbal _Verbiage Hughes and Pasterson (11) reported that yeast, Moraxella and Aciantobacter pp dominated the mieraflora of chicken ‘skin fllowing a radiation dose of 2.5 kGy. (Thayer etal, 1995) 1A. Marines) Engh for Specie Prous 20 (2001) 27-247 a Hoth verbal and mental processes are functionally prominent in the language of science. The verbs that express these processes report or evaluate one's own research as well as others’ (¢g., Shaw, 1992). When these processes are passvised, some participants can be omitted, becoming an implicit part ofthe transitivity structure Relational processes serve to establish a relation between two separate entities. ‘These have to obligatory participants related in two general ways: attribution and identification. The participants, Carrier and Attribute and Type ane Token, are tions (Halliday & Martin, 1993), In relational processes there are no human part cipants and thete are no actions performed. The actions, if they exist, are

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