Eight Problems With Martin's Nine Notes To His Analysis Of Text [3:89]

Martin (1992: 151):

Information presumed through text reference and extended reference is not shown in the diagram, but is taken up in the following notes; information indirectly presumed by another time, last time and lighter (in [3:89:xxii]) is similarly treated. …

1.  Both of the potential participants (the sacks and the sugar) in this Pre-Numerative structure are presumed in [3:89].
2.  that presumes the projection that the sacks were much lighter than they were before as a fact (text reference).
3.  that again presumes the same projection as a fact (text reference).
4.  Another time is another setting in time marker, presuming the previous episode via bridging.
5.  Last time — again, setting in time, bridging from the previous episode.
6.  lighter — than they were in xviii; involving bridging as the relevant information about the sacks' weight was implicit there.
7.  it presumes he went in the stream as an act (extended reference).
8.  that presumes the projection that the sacks got ver heavy as a fact (text reference).
9.  that presumes an indefinite amount of information here as a fact — minimally clauses xxxii through xxv, but probably the whole story, especially if xxxii and xxxviii are taken as Coda as far as narrative structure is concerned (see Chapter 7 below).

Blogger Comments:

[1] This might be taken to suggest that this diagrammatic technique is an inadequate means of representing reference chains.

[2] To be clear, these "potential participants" are the Head (sacks) and Thing (sugar) of the nominal group realising the actual participant (Goal) some sacks of sugar.

[3] To be clear, only sacks serves in the (extended) Numerative structure; sugar serves as Thing.

[4] To be clear, Martin's distinction between participant reference and text reference clearly demonstrates that participant reference means Frege's reference: the ideational denotation of meanings outside the text.

[5] To be clear, the reference here is comparative, and made by the reference item another.  Martin's rebranding of comparative reference is 'relevance phoricity', which is overlooked here.

[6] As previously explained, Martin's "bridging" is a confusion of grammatical reference and lexical cohesion.

[7] To be clear, the nominal group last time, which serves as a circumstance, not participant, contains no reference items.

[8] To be clear, here lighter is an instance of lexical cohesion, repeating an item in [xiv] that makes structural cataphoric comparative reference: lighter than they were before.