EXPERIENTIAL METAFUNCTION

(TRANSTIVITY ANALYSIS)

Arranged by Group 1:
Agnes Rosalyn Siahaan (2191121013)
Ajeng Dilla Maisaroh (2193321032)
Anisa Anggreini (2193321031)
Hermina Sitinjak (2191121014)
Mitha Nurhapsari (2191121026)
 The experiential metafunction is concerned with meaning, that is, with
the way language interprets experience.
Experiential metafunction offers us resource to encode our
experience of the world to convey a picture of reality.

The clause gives information about:

What is happening

Who is taking part

Surrounding circumtances

(Eg: Where, when, how, etc)

 Building up a Clause
Participant
Participant

+
Process
Process

+
Circumstance
Circumstance

Edward and Bella are standing under the umbrella

 Functional constituents
of the clause
Realized by nominal
Participants groups

Processes Realized by verbal

groups

Realized by adverbial
group, prepositional
Circumstance phrase or nominal
group
 Participants
Participants are person or things which are involved
in a process. The participants are divided into one
that does the activity (Participant I) and one that
the process is done or addressed to (Participant II).
For example : In the clause my son bought a new car,
my son is Participant I and a new car is Participant
II
 Process

Transitivity is the name for that part of the grammar in and by which speakers to
realize ideational meanings in the clause; speakers encode their experiential reality by
their choice in wording and by their choice of process type. The process is the core of
the transitivity system, the choice of participant roles and circumstances.
Circumstances

Circumstances are always optional in all processes. It

can be the circumstance of manner, time, place, or
others. For example: My son bought a car yesterday.
“Yesterday” is the circumstance.
 Characteristic of Process

No. Process of Semantic Syntactic

Type Features Features

1. Material Outside human The unmarked form: V+ING

being, physical (run, do, work, write)

2. Mental Inside human being, The unmarked form: not in

psychological, one V+ING form. Projecting

participant must be clause bi-directional

human, reversible (remember, like, love, see,

feel, want, wish, …

3. Relational Outside and inside N+Be+N

human being N+Be+Adj

N+Be+Adv
 Characteristic of Process

4. Behavioural Physiological Unmarked with one

participant only (sleep,

smile, die, bow, cough)

5 Verbal Indicating information Projecting (that) clause…

and verbal activities Say, tell, ask, order,

instruct

6. Existential Indicating existence There +Be + N

There + V
 Material Process
Material process emphasizes that “some entity ‘does’ something-
which may be done ‘to’ some other entity” (Halliday, 1994, p. 110).
Meaning to say, there is an action done by one to another. This process is
categorized as outer experience where the actions or events and people
who does it become the important thing. There are three main participants
in this process which are Actor or Agent, Process, and Goal. Actor is one
who does the action. Process is the action. Goal is the one who receives
action done by the actor.
 Example Of Material Process

1. Rani kicked the ball

Actor Process Goal

2. Tania runs slowly

Actor Process Circumstance of

Manner
 Mental Process
The mental process is a process of sensing. In this process, there is always one
participant who is human since the ability of human is sensing with
consciousness (Halliday, 1994). The main participants of mental process are
Senser, Process, and Phenomenon or Metaphenomenon. Senser is the one who
consciously feels, thinks, or sees. Phenomenon is which is sensed, felt, thought,
or seen. Metaphenomenon is an indirect or reported clause usually in the form
of that clause which is sensed by the senser (Halliday, 1994). The
Metaphenomenon is called “fact” to make it simpler. It is the fact beyond
ourselves. It is deeper than Phenomenon.
 Example of Mental Process

1. Freed understands the material

Senser Process (cognitive) Phenomenon

2. Tania likes Rihanna’s new song

Senser Process (affection) Phenomenon

3. It impresses me how beautiful she is

Phenomenon Process (affection) Senser Fact

 Relational Process

According to Halliday, there are three types of relational process; attributive,

identifying, and possessive (1994). Attributive is the process when we label
a quality which is called “Attribute”, to the entity which is called “Carrier”.
The clause in attributive cannot be reversed. Therefore, there is no passive
form of attributive clause. Identifying is the process when one entity which
is called “Identifier”, is used to identify another which is called “Identified”.
Identifying clause is reversible. Possessive is the process where the two
entities have the relation of ownership. One possesses another. The one who
owns is called “Possessor”, while the one who is possessed is called
“Possessed”.
 Example of Relational
Process

1. Sarah rolled the ball

Carrier Process Goal

2. The one in back row must be you

Identified Process (identifying) Identifier

3. Peter has a piano

Possesor Process (Possesive) Possesed

 Behavioral Process
Behavioral process is the process in which physiological and psychological
behaviors like breathing, coughing, smiling, dreaming, and staring happened.
(Halliday, 1994). The one who is behaving called “Behaver”. The examples
are presented in the table below

1. Tan laughs loudly

Behaver Process Circumstance of
Manner

2. Don’t breathe Deeply

Process Process Circumstance of
Manner
 Verbal Process
Verbal process is the process of saying. The participants are Sayer, Receiver, Verbiage,
and Target (Halliday, 1994). Sayer is the one who does an act of speaking. Receiver is
the one whom the saying is addressed. Verbiage is the content what is said or the name
of saying. Target is the entity that is targeted by the process of saying.

1. Rey said some illogical statements

Sayer Process Verbiage
2. Sim asked why I am lazy
Sayer Process Phenomenon
3. He always blames her for her fault
Sayer Process Target Circumstance of
Contogency
 Existential Process
Existential process is a process which represents that something exists
or happens (Halliday, 1994). The type of this clause is having a copular
verb. Another verb that can indicate this type of clause are exist,
remain, arise, happen, and take place. This process frequently contains
a circumstance of time or place. The examples are presented below.

1. There is a big concert

Process Existent
2. There was a woman in front of the bank

Process Existent Circumstance of Place

 Exercise

Determine the type of the process in the following

sentences!

1. She lives in the fast lane

2. My dad said he would be home soon
3. Andy Studied Functional Grammar in the class
4. Plant cells have a cell wall
5. There are strangers gathered in my house
6. Elsa saw John got shot
THANK
YOU :)