Univariate And Multivariate Structures As Relationships Among Functions

Halliday (1994: 221):

Why The Group Is Recognised As A Distinct Rank

Halliday (1994: 215):

Univariate vs Multivariate Structure

Halliday (1994: 193-4):

Univariate And Multivariate Structure

Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 452):

Multivariate Structure Types By Metafunction

Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 451):

… the relationships among the elements in a multivariate structure can be characterised as segmental from an experiential point of view but as prosodic from an interpersonal point of view and as cumulative from a textual one. A prototypical example of a segmental structure is the transitivity structure of a clause, a prototypical example of a prosodic structure is the tone contour that typically extends over a clause, and a prototypical example of a culminative structure is thematic prominence at the beginning of the clause (followed by rhematic non-prominence).

Multivariate Structure

Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 451):

A multivariate structure is a configuration of different functional relationships, like Theme + Rheme, Mood + Residue + Moodtag, or Actor + Process + Recipient + Goal.  Note that, although it is the functions that are labelled, the structure actually consists of the relationships among them.

Multivariate Sentence Structure?

Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 437-8):

There are syntagms that may look as if they need to be interpreted in terms of a multivariate sentence structure, involving textual or modal Adjuncts or Vocative elements as Theme:

||| However << after the results of many studies were published, >> there was a shift towards the theory being quite unacceptable. |||
||| Interestingly, <<< as I left my small town || and explored the world via the military >>> I realised || I really like to learn, || and I was good at it. |||
||| Larry, Larry, Larry, << when you’re in the public eye >> you don’t do anything. |||

However, these can all be analysed as hypotactic clause combinations, where the dependent clause is included within the main clause after the textual and/or interpersonal Theme and before the topical Theme: main clause << dependent clause >> – more specifically, main clause [textual + interpersonal Theme] << dependent clause >> main clause [topical Theme ^ Rheme]. The motivation behind such sequences with included dependent clauses is thus textual: the main clause is powerfully contextualised first by its own textual and/or interpersonal Theme, and then, within the domain of the clause complex, by the dependent clause that qualifies it, and finally by its own topical Theme.

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Nevertheless, it will be seen later that there is one type of clause complex that is interpreted as a multivariate (Theme^Rheme) structure — though not acknowledged as such.  Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 552):

Why The Clause Complex Is Not Interpreted As A Ranked Unit

Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 437):

But does the clause complex need to be interpreted as a ranked unit (a ‘sentence’) analogous to the group? We believe the answer is no; the essential nature of a clause complex is brought out by treating it as a univariately structured complex rather than as a multivariately structured unit. In a clause complex, the tendency is much more for any clause to have the potential for functioning with any value in a multi-clausal complex. In other words, the relations among the clauses in a clause complex are generally more like that of a string of nouns such as railway ticket office staff, which could be explained as a (univariate) word complex, than that of these two old railway engines, which could not. We shall assume, therefore, that the notion of ‘clause complex’ enables us to account in full for the grammatical combination of clauses.

Why The Group Is A Distinct Rank In The Grammar (Rather Than Just A Word Complex)

Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 437):

Although groups are word complexes, they cannot be fully accounted for as complexes. Groups have developed their own multivariate constituent structures with functional configurations such as the Deictic + Numerative + Epithet + Classifier + Thing of the nominal group in English. Here the elements are

• (i) distinct in function,
• (ii) realised by distinct classes, and
• (iii) more or less fixed in sequence.

A configuration of such a kind has to be represented as a multivariate structure. Treating the group simply as a ‘word complex’ does not account for all these various aspects of its meaning. It is for this reason that we recognise the group as a distinct rank in the grammar.

Multivariate Structure [Definition]

Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 390):

By contrast, the type of structure exemplified by Deictic + Numerative + Epithet + Classifier + Thing we call a multivariate structure: a configuration of elements each having a distinct function with respect to the whole.