Become a Critical Analyst Through Transitivity

Are you still wondering how you can handle hard situations in life?

Relax, let's embrace the answers under the umbrella of 

"Transitivity in Systemic Functional Linguistics. (SFL)"

Language is more than a means of communication; it is a tool for constructing and interpreting the world. Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), pioneered by Michael Halliday, offers a framework for understanding how language functions to represent experiences, enact relationships, and organize discourse. Among its core concepts is the notion of transitivity, which provides a powerful lens for analyzing how meaning is encoded not only in texts but also in real-life situations.

Transitivity in SFL is not limited to grammar, it is a gateway to critical analysis, enabling readers and analysts to deconstruct texts and uncover the ideologies and power dynamics embedded within them. Understanding it as part of the ideational meta function of language, can enable one to flexibly examine how experiences are represented through processes, participants, and circumstances. In this essence, in any situation, one is able to analyze, who does what, to whom and under what conditions. 

The question is, how can transitivity transform one into a critical analyst?  Let's go. 

Emi Emilia (2014) in "Introducing Functional Grammar' explains that the transitivity system includes six primary process types, each contributing to the way texts construct reality and enhance on the critical thinking of the reader. Taking an example of the problem of climate change that affects everybody in the whole world in different ways as seen below.

First and foremost, if you need to analyze people's actions and agencies, the Material Processes are the answer: These processes represent physical actions or events which helps reveal responsibility, power relations, and biases. (e.g., "factories emit greenhouse gases in industrialized regions"). In this situation, the 'factories' is identified as the actor',  'emit' as the material process,'greenhouse gases' as the goal and'in industrialized regions' as circumstance of place. As a Critical analyst, you need to identify who is the assigned agency and who is affected in any given problem in order to find a solution to it. 

 The answer to exploring people's thoughts and Perceptions lies in Mental processes. These involve cognition, emotion, or perception (e.g., "leaders realize the need for urgent action"). here 'leaders' are identified as sensors, 'realize' as the mental process and 'the need for urgent action' as the phenomenon. These processes allow analysts to understand whose perspectives, feelings, and thoughts are prioritized. By examining why do individuals behave in a certain way? How do they feel about the issue?

To keep the ball rolling, if you need to define and Categorize people's ideas, the answer lies under Relational processes. These deal with states of being, attribution, or identification (e.g., "climate change is a global crisis"). These processes are instrumental in constructing identities, asserting relationships, perpetuate stereotypes, reinforce authority, or challenge social norms. for instance, here 'climate change' is identified as the carrier, 'is' as the process and 'a global Crisis' as the attribute. As a Critical analyst, you have to understand how these relationships or attributions shape societal perceptions.

The most challenging part of any analyst is in speaking, however with Verbal Processes you have the answer to Evaluating Communication and Authority. These processes represent acts of saying or communicating (e.g., "the president announced about the floods to the people"). By analyzing verbal processes, one can examine who is given the power to speak and whose words are represented or omitted. in this case, 'The president' is identified as the sayer, 'announced about the floods' is the verbiage, and 'to the people' as the receiver. This helps you to uncover hierarchies and take control of narratives in texts such as news reports or political speeches.