Confusing Tracking With Identifying And Misrepresenting English Grammar

Martin (1992: 96-7):

At issue here are differences having to do with the way in which participants are tracked. … The basic contrast between English and Tagalog as far as participant identification is concerned is illustrated in the first clause: Hinalikan ng babae ang bata 'The woman kissed the child'.  In English the rôles of the woman and child are marked by word order (Subject ^ Finite/Predicator ^ Complement) at clause rank and by active voice in the verbal group.  In Tagalog on the other hand word order in the clause does not realise experiential meaning.

Blogger Comments:

[1] This foreshadows one of the major confusions in this chapter: the tracking of participants with the identifying of participants.  In SFL terms, the former takes an experiential perspective, and is concerned with tracking the various transitivity rôles of a given instantial participant (by discourse analysts).  The latter takes a textual perspective, and is concerned with the cohesive function of reference: the marking of elements as identifiable (by speakers); see Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 623).

[2] To be clear, Subject ^ Finite/Predicator ^ Complement is a structural sequencing of interpersonal functional elements at clause rank. Each of these elements is realised by a class of group, each of whose functional elements is realised by a class of word.

[3] To be clear, the relevant VOICE system here is at clause rank, and its features are [operative] vs [receptive].

[4] Martin's claim here is that, in English, "word order" — see [2] — realises experiential meaning.  This is manifestly untrue, as can be demonstrated by considering any operative clauses with the same interpersonal structure that do not configure the same realisations of experiential meaning, such as:

she	did	like	strawberries
Subject	Finite	Predicator	Complement
Senser	Process: mental		Phenomenon

strawberries	did	please	her
Subject	Finite	Predicator	Complement
Phenomenon	Process: mental		Senser

the police	will	cross	the picket line
Subject	Finite	Predicator	Complement
Actor	Process: material		Scope

the police	will	explode	the bomb
Subject	Finite	Predicator	Complement
Initiator	Process: material		Actor