Mother image in english and vietnamese songs a literary analysis using transitivity system in systemic functional linguistics perspective

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

TẠ THỊ THU HẰNG

MOTHER IMAGE IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
SONGS – A LITERARY ANALYSIS USING TRANSITIVITY
SYSTEM IN SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS
PERSPECTIVE
(Hình tượng người mẹ trong các bài hát tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt – một phân
tích văn học theo hệ thống chuyển tác trong ngôn ngữ chức năng hệ thống)

M.A. COMBINED PROGRAMME THESIS

Major: English Linguistics
Code: 60220201

Hanoi - 2016


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

TẠ THỊ THU HẰNG
MOTHER IMAGE IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
SONGS – A LITERARY ANALYSIS USING TRANSITIVITY
SYSTEM IN SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS
PERSPECTIVE
(Hình tượng người mẹ trong các bài hát tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt – một phân

tích văn học theo hệ thống chuyển tác trong ngôn ngữ chức năng hệ thống)

M.A. COMBINED PROGRAMME THESIS

Major: English Linguistics
Code: 60220201
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lâm Quang Đông

Hanoi – 2016


DECLARATION

I declare that this MA thesis, entitled Mother image in English and
Vietnamese songs – A literary analysis using transitivity system in Systemic
Functional Linguistics perspective, is entirely the result of my own work. The
thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any
other degree or diploma in any university or tertiary institution, and to the best
of my knowledge, neither does it contain material previously published or
written by another person, except where due acknowledgement is made in the
text.

Hanoi, 2016

Tạ Thị Thu Hằng

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ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my
supervisor, Assoc.Prof.Dr Lâm Quang Đông for transferring me his
specialized knowledge, his inspiring me the love in linguistics as well as his
valuable suggestions, advice and correction throughout my study.

I also take this opportunity to thank all my lecturers in the Faculty of
Post-Graduate Studies at University of Languages and International Studies,
Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their interesting lectures, which have
surely contributed to the foundation of my thesis.

Finally, I would like to show my deep gratitude to my family for their
support, encouragement and understanding, without which my theis would
not have been accomplished.

Hanoi, January, 2016

Ta Thi Thu Hang

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ABSTRACT
Song lyrics and rhymes serve as an important part of English teaching
curricula in a variety of countries. Of all topics, songs about mother have
drawn attraction of listeners and learners as they not only entertain people but
also educate them in terms of linguistic knowledge and moral values. Until
now, there has not been much research on mother image under the light of
linguistics. These provide me with the motivation to carry out the research
“Mother image in English and Vietnamese songs – A literary analysis using
transitivity system in Systemic Functional Linguistics perspective”. The study

is conducted to figure out the similarities and differences in the way mother
image is represented in English and Vietnamese in view of systemic linguistic
perspective. In other words, the study aims to give readers a brief description
and analysis of mother image in English and Vietnamese songs. Within the
framework of an M.A. thesis, the research cannot cover all aspects of mother
image in English and Vietnamese; we therefore limit it to a manageable
scope: analyzing mother image in songs in terms of transitivity system. Two
principal methods employed in the study are descriptive and comparative
analysis. Through descriptive method, six types of transitivity process in each
language were identified. In fulfilling the focuses of the study, comparative
method is applied to the identification of prominent features of mother image
in English and Vietnamese songs. The paper also provides conclusions on the
images to which mother is compared, and these images are closely associated
with cultural and historical factors. Insights gained through this study lend
themselves to suggestions for designing exercises based on songs for teaching
English as well as linguistic theory.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ............................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS ................................................................................. ii
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................... iii
LIST OF TABLES AND PICTURES ............................................................. vi
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1
1. Rationale .................................................................................................. 1
2. Aims and research questions ................................................................... 3
2.1. Aims .................................................................................................. 3
2.2. Research questions ............................................................................... 3

3. Scope and significance of the study ........................................................ 4
3.1. Scope ................................................................................................. 4
3.2. Significance ....................................................................................... 4
4. Methodology and procedures .................................................................. 5
4.1. Methodology...................................................................................... 5
4.2. Procedures: data collection and analysis ........................................... 5
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................... 7
1.1. SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS ................................... 7
1.2. APPLICATION OF TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM IN LITERARY
ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... 10
1.3. DEFINITION OF “IMAGE”........................................................... 20
CHAPTER II: DATA ANALYSIS - TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN
ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS ..................................................... 21
2.1. TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN ENGLISH SONGS .................. 21
2.2. TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN VIETNAMESE SONGS .......... 25

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CHAPTER III: DISCUSSION - A COMPARISON BETWEEN MOTHER
IMAGES IN ENGLISH SONGS AND IN VIETNAMESE SONGS ............ 28
3.1. SIMILARITIES ................................................................................. 28
3.2. DIFFERENCES............................................................................... 52
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 68
1. RECAPITULATION ............................................................................. 68
2. SUGGESTIONS FOR DESIGNING EXERCISES .............................. 70
3. LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES .. 72
REFERENCE .................................................................................................. 74
APPENDIX A .................................................................................................... I
APPENDIX B .................................................................................................. V

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LIST OF TABLES AND PICTURES
Page
Table 1: Three lines of a meaning in a clause

10

Table 2: Process types, their meanings and characteristic

12

participants
Table 3: Material process type

13

Table 4: Mental process type

14

Table 5: The principal types of relational process

15

Table 6: Behavioural process type

15

Table 7: Verbal process type

16

Table 8: Existential process type

17

Table 9: Participants functions

18

Table 10: Range functions

18

Table 11: Circumstantial elements

19

Table 12: Transitivity patterns in English songs

21

Table 13: Transitivity patterns in Vietnamese songs

25

Table 14: Comparison examples between English and

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Vietnamese songs
Picture 1: Difference in feeling expression between

64

Westerners and Easterners
Picture 2: Difference in thought expression between

65

Westerners and Easterners
Picture 3: Cultural thought patterns in inter-cultural education

vi

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INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
“Music gives you happiness and sadness
But it also, also heals your soul”
(From the song “Let the music heal your soul”)
Music is a very colorful thread woven into the entire fabric of our life.
Singing songs with melodic rhythm is a subtle way for people to share their
happiness and sadness.
Moreover, music lyrics and rhymes serve as an important part of English

teaching curricula in a variety of countries. As an obvious example, in
Taiwan, songs and rhymes are expected to fulfill different purposes in
elementary education, especially in English teaching (Teng, 2013). In a lot of
well-known English textbooks such as Headway, New English File and
Solutions which are in use in Vietnam, songs are used as a part of exercises.
Another example is in the famous English teaching program ESL Podcast,
music is often played at the beginning and the end of each audio. For instance,
to teach the vowel /i:/, instead of saying ““Today we are going to discuss
about the way to pronounce /i:/”, a piece of music introduced:
We are three
Shall have some tea
She will come

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And so will he
If by chance
We see a bee
We’ll say buzz off
Don’t bother me (two – three – four – five – six – seven – eight)
(Chorus)
Fiddle de fiddle de
Fiddle dee dee
Fiddle de fiddle de
Fiddle dee dee
(Bee Movie script, 2007)
According to Gardner (1983: 20), a Harvard psychologist, “music intelligence
is equal in importance to logical mathematical intelligence, linguistic
intelligence, spatial intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, interpersonal

intelligence and intrapersonal intelligence”. In linguistic area in Vietnam, the
effectiveness of music in enhancing listening skill is also studied at Phuong
Dong University by Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, 2006 or by Nguyen Thi
Quyet 2005 supplied learners with language knowledge of structures and
meanings in English and Vietnamese nursery rhymes.

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Of all topics, songs about mother have drawn attraction of listeners and
learners as they not only entertain people but also educate them in terms of
language knowledge and moral values. Until now, there has not been much
research on mother image under the light of linguistics. All reasons mentioned
above motivate me to carry out the research “Mother image in English and
Vietnamese songs – A literary analysis using transitivity system in Systemic
Functional Linguistics perspective”. What should be carried out in the thesis
will be an inquiry of both of the structure and meaning of mother image in
order to find out the similarities and differences between them. We are
hopeful that the study will make a humble contribution to providing an insight
into the similarities and differences of English and Vietnamese mother image
in the issues investigated.
2. Aims and research questions
2.1.

Aims

The study aims to:
- Describe and analyze mother image in songs from systemic functional
linguistics perspective.
- Identify similarities and differences in linguistic means to depict mother

image in English and Vietnamese songs.
- Offer some suggestions for teaching and learning English through songs.
2.2. Research questions
In order to achieve these aims and objectives of the study, the following
questions will be addressed:

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1. How are mothers depicted in English and Vietnamese songs from the
perspective of systemic functional linguistics?
2. What are the linguistic means to express such meanings?
3. Scope and significance of the study
3.1. Scope
Within the framework of an M.A. thesis, the research cannot cover all aspects
of mother image in English and Vietnamese songs; therefore, we limit it to
manageable scope: analyzing mother image in terms of transitivity system,
and at the same time mentioning some figures of meanings or stylistic devices
in depicting mother image.
3.2. Significance
By investigating representational meaning of mother image in English and
Vietnamese, this study, to some extent, could provide an aspect of linguistic
features of mother image in English and Vietnamese under the light of
systemic functional linguistics (SFL). In addition, it could be a valuable
source for foreign language learners to enhance knowledge of language and
music. To some extent, the results of the study can reveal the cultural
similarities and differences between English-speaking countries of the inner
circle (in the book English as an international language: perspectives and
pedagogical issues, 2009, inner circle refers to countries in which English is
primary language) and Vietnam.

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4. Methodology and procedures
4.1.

Methodology

The study is conducted as an attempt to understand more about mother image
from SFL perspective. At the same time, the thesis illustrates similarities and
differences of mother image in English and Vietnamese song. Therefore, the
descriptive and comparative analysis is used as principal method in the study.
The descriptive method aims at describing mother through transitivity system,
and then synthesizes the result to find out the similarities and differences in
the depiction of mother images in the two languages.
In fulfilling the focuses of the study, the comparative method is applied to
present prominent features of mother images in English and Vietnamese.
4.2.

Procedures: data collection and analysis

The study deals with mother image in English and Vietnamese, so we have
collected one hundred songs (50 songs for each type, 50 written in English
and 50 in Vietnamese). Then, we identify clauses and select one thousand
clauses (500 clauses for songs in each language). Based on theory of
transitivity system set by Halliday, we analyze clauses into six types of
process: material, mental, relational, behavioral, verbal and existential
process. In the paper, processes, participants and circumstances are analyzed
to illustrate activities and emotions of the mother in each song. It applies three

steps developed by Burton (1982) which are isolating the processes,
determining which participants (who or what) is doing each process,
determining what sort

of processes they are, and which participants is

engaged in which type of process, and verifying who or what is affected or
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seems to be affected by each of these processes. All processes identified are
categorized and illustrated as percentages.
From these results, similarities and differences of mother images in English
and Vietnamese songs are presented.

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CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1.

SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS

1.1.1. Development of Systemic Functional Linguistics
Systemic Functional Linguistics or Grammar, a grammar model developed by
Michael Halliday in the 1960s, refers to a new approach to the study of
grammar.

Systemic linguistics deals with the way spoken and written

language operating in different social situations. In particular, it is very useful
in illustrating three points: the operation of text beyond the level of the
sentence, the difference in structuring the text and the variable changes of the
language to meet the purpose of the users. It takes on descriptive approach
and focuses on groups of words that function to make meanings. In his book,
An Introduction to Functional Grammar, Halliday (1994) points out that
functional grammar is so-called because its conceptual framework is a
functional one rather than a formal one. Such functions are identified in three
distinct senses, in its interpretation of texts, of the system, and of the elements
of linguistic structures. In the relation to the first aspect, functional grammar
is involved in how the language is used. In other words, each text unfolds in a
different usage of context. Regarding the second point, the fundamental
components of meaning in language are functional components. Based on the
analysis of Halliday, all languages possess two main types of meanings, the
“ideational” (to understand the environment), and the “interpersonal” (to act
on the others in it). The third meaning is formed by the combination of these
two above, the “textual”. Three components are called metafunctions in the
terminology of FG theory. In the third sense, each element in a language is

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explained by reference to its function in the total linguistic system.
Accordingly, “a functional grammar is one that construes all the units of a
language– its clauses, phrases and so on. Specifically, each part is
interpreted as functional with respect to the whole” (Halliday, 1994).
Following the pioneering model initiated by Halliday, some of other linguists
developed and gave informal explanation of functional grammar. Thompson
(1996) describes the three metafunctions of functional grammar as follows.
Firstly, we use language to talk about our experience of the world, including

the world in our minds, to describe events, states and the entities involved in
them. Secondly, we also use the language to interact with other people, to
establish and maintain relation with them, to influence their behavior, to
express our own viewpoint on things in the world, and to elicit or change
theirs. Finally, in using language, we organize our messages in ways which
indicate how they fit in with the other messages around them and with the
wider context in which we are talking or writing.
Similarly, Martin, Matthiessen and Painter (1997) define functional grammar
as a way of looking at grammar in terms of how grammar is used. In the field
of linguistics, formal grammar, which is an alternative to functional grammar,
is concerned with the way our genes constrain the shape of our grammar, and
thus constrain what a person can and cannot say.
Therefore, functional grammar, based on cultural and social contexts, is
considered as an effective tool for the description and evaluation of how
language can be adopted to write and speak more appropriately and
powerfully. Thanks to functional grammar, to some extent, our ability of

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reading documents is substantially improved in terms of cognition and
criticism.
1.1.2. Difference between traditional grammar and systemic functional
grammar
As a new model of grammar, functional grammar differs from traditional
grammar in many ways. While traditional grammar focuses on written
language and deals with rules of correct usage, functional grammar deals with
both spoken and written language and concentrates on the functions of
language. More specifically, functional grammar provides us with tools for
describing how language is used in various contexts in real life, and for

understanding why a text is the way it is (Martin, Matthiesen & Painter,
1997). On the contrary, traditional grammar is prescriptive one which shows
the speakers what they can and cannot say and generates a wide variety of
rules for correcting what are often referred to as grammatical errors. It is easy
to realize that functional linguistics respects speakers‟ rights to make up their
own minds about how they choose to talk, and it makes speakers explicitly
aware of the choices they have available. In addition, functional grammar is
concerned with how language in a text works together as part of a larger
system in order to construct meaning, while traditional grammar is concerned
with identifying the functions of words and word groups within sentences,
without demonstrating how language is presented in a range of cultural and
social contexts. Then, in the process of analysis, sentence works as a basic
unit in traditional grammar, yet, clause plays the main role in functional
grammar. It can be concluded that systemic functional linguistics is closer to
our language in daily life, and thus can help us see and understand human

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language more deeply and comprehensively. In the view of systemic
functional linguistics, language is a resource for making meanings and hence
grammar is a resource for creating meaning by means of wording. It is
designed to display the overall system of grammar rather than only fragments.
That is the reason why it has come to be known as a Systemic Functional
Linguistics or Grammar.
1.2.

APPLICATION OF TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM IN LITERARY
ANALYSIS

As mentioned above, Halliday points that there are three lines of meaning in a
clause: the textual meaning, the interpersonal meaning and the ideational
meaning, or to put it differently, the clause has three metafunctions: textual,
interpersonal and ideational metafunctions which can be illustrated as the
following table:

Metafunctions

My mother

gave

a book

to me

Interpersonal

Subject

Predicate

Complements

Adjunct

Experiential

Actor

Process

Goal

Recipient

Textual

Textual

Theme

Rheme

Table 1: Three lines of meaning in a clause
Among them, the ideational meaning (the clause as representation) serves for
the expression of “content” in language, that is, our experience of the real
world, including the experience of inner world. When we use language, we

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often use it to speak of something or someone doing something. That is why
the ideational meaning can be referred to as experiential meaning coming
from the clause as representation. The interpersonal meaning helps to
establish and maintain social relations; the individual is identified and
reinforced in this aspect by enabling him or her to interact with others by
expression of their own individuality. The textual meaning creates links
between features of the text with elements in the context of situation, it refers
to the manner in which a text is organized. In other words, the textual

meaning comes from the clause as message. Halliday also claims that the
three types of meanings presented in language are not accidental but are
necessarily in place because we need them to perform functions in social life.
In constructing experiential meaning, there is one major system of
grammatical choice involved: the system of transitivity or process type. The
transitivity system is chosen as framework in our research because of all the
grammatical aspects analyzed, it produces the fruitful data on the text.
Moreover, in recent years, there has been an increasing trend in adopting
transitivity system in analyzing literary works such as “Using Transitivity as
a framework in a Stylistic Analysis of Virginia Woolf’s Old Mrs.Grey”
(Bonifacio, 2011), “Transitivity analysis: representation of love in wilde’s the
nightingale and the rose” (Asad, Roshan, Sobia & Rabia, 2014) and
“Transitivity Analysis of A rose for Emily” (Zijiao, 2013).
It can be seen that transitivity analysis has been widely used to understand the
language of speakers and writers. It examines the structure of sentences which
are represented by processes, the participants involved in these processes and
the circumstances in which processes and participants are involved. Using

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transitivity analysis, researchers have tried to reveal that language structures
can produce certain meanings and ideology, which are not always explicit for
readers. In other words, the task of functional analysis, particularly transitivity
analysis, is to discover the relation between meanings and wordings that
accounts for the organization of linguistic features in a text.
According to this theory, in transitivity, different processes are distinguished,
classified and known as material, mental, relational, behavioral, verbal and
existential. We can see the process at the table below:
Process type

Category meaning

Participants

Material:

“doing”

Actor, Goal

Action

“doing”

Event

“happening”

Behavioral

“behaving”

“Behaver”

Mental:

“sensing”

Senser, phenomenon

Perception

“seeing”

Affection

“feeling”

Cognition

“thinking”

Verbal

“saying”

Sayer, Target

Relational

“being”

Token, value

Attribution

“attributing”

Carrier, attribute

Identification

“identifying”

Identified, identifier

Existential

“existing”

Existent

Table 2: Process types, their meanings and characteristic participants
(Halliday, 2004)

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The next part will be illustration in great details of each process adopted from
the book “An introduction to Functional Grammar” (Halliday, 2004) and
“Ngữ pháp kinh nghiệm của cú tiếng Việt: Mơ tả theo quan điểm chức năng
hệ thống” (Hồng Văn Vân, 2005)
1.2.1. Material processes: the process of doing
Material processes are processes of “doing”. They express the
notion that some entity “does” something – which may b done to
some other entity. In the material processes, there are two
participants role, namely: actor and goal, for example:

The lion

Caught

the tourist

Actor

Process: material

Goal

Từng đôi

Chim

bay đi

Circumstance

Actor

Process: material

Table 3: Material process type (Halliday, 2004 & Hoàng Văn
Vân, 2005)
1.2.2. Mental processes: process of sensing
 Perception (seeing, hearing, etc.)
 Affection (linking, fearing, etc.)
 Cognition (thinking, knowing, understanding, etc.)

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In the mental processes, there are two participants, namely senser (the
conscious being that is feeling, thinking, or seeing) and phenomenon (which
is “sensed” – felt, thought or seen). Let‟s see the example below:
I

believe

You

Senser

Process: Cognition

Phenomenon

Người già

muốn

sự thoải mái

Senser

Process:mental

Phenomenon

Table 4: Mental process type (Halliday, 2004 & Hoàng Văn Vân, 2005)
1.2.3. Relational processes: the processes of being
There are three types of relational process in the clause, namely,
 Intensive “x” is “a”
 Circumstantial “x” is at “a”
 Possessive “x has a”
Each of these comes into modes:
 Attributive (“a” is an attribute of “x”)
 Identifying (“a” is the identity of “x”)

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type

mode

(i) Attributive
Sarah is wise

(1) intensive

(ii) Identifying
Tome is the leader;
the leader is Tom

The fair is on a Tuesday Tomorrow is the 10th

(2) circumstantial

The 10th is tomorrow
Peter has a piano

(3) possessive

The piano is Peter‟s
Peter‟s is the piano

Table 5: The principal types of relational process (Halliday, 2004)
1.2.4. Behavioral process
Naturally, there seems not to have a clear cut in the distinction of
different processes and on the borderline between material and mental
processes in the behavioral process, the one which represents outer
manifestation of inner workings, the acting out of the process of
consciousness and physiological states.
The child

wept

copious tears

Behaver

Process: behavioral

Ranger

Thằng ấy

bị

con Hoa nó

Process:

Behaver

lườm

Behavioral
Table 6: Behavioral process type (Halliday, 2004 & Hoàng Văn Vân,
2005)

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1.2.5. Verbal process
Between the process of mental and relational is the verbal process.
There are processes of saying. The participants of the process are sayer
(participant who speak), receiver (the one to whom the verbalization is
addressed), verbiage (a name of the verbalization itself). There is however
one other type of verbal process, in which sayer is in sense acting verbally on
another direct participant, with verbs such as: insult, praise, slander, abuse,
and flatter.
Pussy-cat

said

naught but
“Mew”

Process: verbal

Sayer

Anh
Sayer

hỏi
Process:

em
Receiver

"bao giờ

Reported

trở lại"

Circumstance:

Process:

time

Material

Verbal

Quoted

Table 7: Verbal process type (Halliday, 2004 & Hoàng Văn Vân,
2005)

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1.2.6. Existential process
Between the relation process and the material process is existential process,
by which a certain phenomenon is recognized/ seen to “be”- to exist, or to
happen. For example:
On the branch

There

Circumstance

was

a nest

Process:

Existent

existential

Trên giời

có

đám mây xanh

Circumstance: location

Process: existential

Existent

Table 8: Existential process type (Halliday, 2004 & Hoàng Văn Vân,
2005)
1.2.7. Other participant functions
There are two other participant in the clause, namely: Beneficiary and
Range. Beneficiary is the one to whom or for whom the processes said to take
place; it appears in material and verbal process.

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