A Corpus-based Transitivity Analysis of Experiential Meanings in Taufiq Rafat’s Poem Wedding in the Flood

Abstract

This present research aims to identify the sorts of transitivity processes in exploring the experiential meanings in the Pakistani English poem ‘Wedding in the Flood’ by Taufiq Rafat. Halliday’s model of transitivity (1985) has been applied as the theoretical framework as it divides the clause into three components: participant, process and circumstance. The corpus-based methodology has been used by employing the mixed-method approach involving a combination of both qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyze the text of the selected poem. Using the UAM corpus tool (UAM CT), the data has been annotated and analyzed including the frequencies and percentages of transitivity processes.  While the descriptive qualitative method of analysis involves the elaboration and interpretation of statistical results of the processes. Results have shown the projection of all the transitivity processes in the text (except the behavioural process) to explore the inner and outer experiences of the world. There are 43 material clauses (13.7%), 7 mental processes (2.2%), 1 verbal process (0.3%), 3 relational-attributive processes (1.0%) and 2 existential processes (0.6%) that occurred in the discourse of this poem. It is found that material processes are predominant in the poem to show the poet’s intention to represent the physical happenings, actions, events and outer-world experiences. Results are significant in a way that that the transitivity analysis of this poem is a path towards discourse analysis because meanings have been explored within the Pakistani context of traditional weddings, particularly experiential meanings.