Textual Metafunction

Textual Metafunction

The textual metafunction of language is an interpretation of language in its function as a message (Halliday: 1994:37). In addition Matthiessen and Halliday (1997) stated that:

The textual metafunction is concerned with the creation of text — with the presentation of ideational and interpersonal meanings as information that can be shared by speaker and listener in text unfolding in context. One of the major textual systems is THEME, the resource for setting up a local context for a clause by selecting a local point of departure in the flow of information (or perhaps rather 'swell of information', since it is not a uniform flow)

At a clause level, the textual metafunction is concerned with how intra clausal elements are organized to make meanings. The textual metafunction of clause in its function as message is realised by the theme system of clause.

As mentioned in chapter I, in the textual metafunction, a clause is analyzed into Theme and Rheme system. The theme system of the clause is represented by the thematic structure of a clause.

The Thematic Structure consists of two constituents, namely, Theme and Rheme. The definition of Theme given by Halliday (1985: 37) is that Theme is given information serving as “the point of departure” of a message. The definition of theme is also reintroduced by Halliday (1994) the Theme is the element which serves as the point of departure of the message. In addition Gerot and Wignell (1994) state that Theme is what the clause is going to be about. Since typically departed from places with which are familiar, the theme typically contains familiar, or given information which has already been mentioned somewhere in the text or is familiar from the context. The identification of theme is based on order: theme is the element which comes first in the clause.

In Prague school terminology, Rheme is the part in which the Theme is developed (Halliday, 1994: 37). Therefore, the Rheme accompanies the Theme in a common clause structure, where in an English clause the Theme is always in the initial position and it is followed by the Rheme (Halliday, 1994: 37). For the Rheme identification, Eggins (2004: 300) adds a criterion; Rheme is everything that is not the Theme.

Take for example, The two lovers met in a wood near Marya’s house, the theme is the two lovers and the rest of the clause, met in a wood near Marya’s house, serves the function as rheme. Theme – rheme analysis allows us to identify which information is to be given high priority in a particular discourse.

In an analysis of a thematic structure of a text, it is possible to examine language in terms of three metafunctions; the textual, interpersonal and topical.