Matthiessen (1995: 630):
As already noted above, prepositional phrases can be interpreted as mini-clauses (IFG, p. 180; 212-3). Experientially, they offer the system MINOR TRANSITIVITY — a system of relational process types; interpersonally, they offer MINOR MOOD, where the distinction is simply between wh- and non-wh-; and textually they offer MINOR THEME which is the choice between having an externally thematic participant or not. These systems are set out in Figure 7-3. (The symbol ↑ indicates that the Complement of the prepositional phrase is conflated with a function external to the domain of the prepositional phrase, viz. the Theme of the clause in which the prepositional phrase serves: See Section 7.1.2.3 below.)
This system network thus defines a three-dimensional paradigm; examples are given in Table 7-5.
Blogger Comments:
[1] To be clear, Halliday proposes no thematic structure for the prepositional phrase. Here Matthiessen misconstrues what is thematic at clause rank — the Range/Complement of prepositional phrase — as thematic at phrase rank. A structure is the relation between functions, so a thematic structure for a prepositional phrase would be a relation between the minor Process/Predicator and the minor Range/Complement.
[2] To be clear, neither the two examples of 'externally thematic projection' are likely instances of English:
- who is it going to rain according to?
- Henry it's going to rain according to
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