On my reading of Hallidayam metafunctions, all three metafunctions are
involved in any _linguistic_ text; furthermore, they are the realization
of the categories (respectively) of field, tenor and mode in the semiotic
construal of the situation. If field:ideational meaning is elided in
music, (? i.e. music is not "about" the activity ongoing in the
situation), what _is_ it "about"? Or, if that is an inappropriate
question, what would be a better way of expressing my puzzlement?
Gordon Wells, gwells who-is-at oise.on.ca
OISE, Toronto.
On Thu, 19 Oct 1995, James Robert Martin wrote:
>
> Re Gordon Wells 3rd point on the different ways in which meaning is made
> in music and verbiage - one way of thinking about this in terms of
> Hallidayan metafunctions (ideational, interpersonal and textual) is that
> music typically elides ideational meaning, thus foregrounding
> interpersonal and textual meaning - which is to say that generally it is
> not concerned with construing a 'reality' that appears to us as natural.
>
> Jim Martin
> Department of Linguistics, University of Sydney
>
>