Mention and unmention
 Passivization
is a process whose outcome is
delaying the agent of an event to end
position in the sentence or even possibly
stripping an event of its agent altogether and
fronting the direct object to subject position
Active
Passive
Subject
Verb
Object
The rebels
killed
the mercenaries
Subject
Verb
By-agent
The mercenary
was killed
(by the rebels)
 Unmarked



Lack of knowledge of agent
Mental processes (‘feeling, thinking, seeing’
processes)
Scientific discourse
 Marked


uses
uses (agent is known)
Agent is deleted
Agent is kept but demoted



Lack of knowledge of agent: Al-Jazeera said that
three of the same family were killed and mutilated;
Mental processes: Mental processes are particularly
frequent in the passive (e.g. We were thrilled by the
sound of your voice / I wasn’t impressed by what he
said);
Scientific discourse: “X-rays were discovered by
accident while Roentgen was experimenting with
electricity. Soon after, he built the first x-ray
machine. Immediately, hospital operations were
made much safer. For the first time, doctors could
see inside people’s bodies before they cut them
open! In 1901, Roentgen was awarded the very first
Nobel Prize in Physics. His invention is still used every
day by doctors and dentists, and is called ‘the
window to the human body’.” (New Headway Plus, p.
87).
 Deleted
agent: Furthermore, 70 percent
had been exposed to false confessions,
which were said to be given by
comrades, and 82 percent were offered
bribes to agree to falsify their own
confession or incriminate a friend.
 Agent kept but demoted: Beatings (100
percent) and cold water (78 percent)
were commonly experienced by
Palestinian detainees during
interrogation.
Active
Passive
Theme
Rheme
The rebels
killed the mercenaries
Theme
Rheme
The mercenaries
were killed (by the rebels)
 Agent-defocusing
by deletion: This has the
effect of mystification of agency for the
action performed, thus hiding moral
responsibility
 Agent-defocusing by demotion: This has the
effect of highlighting agency by placing the
by-agent in end position in the sentence,
thus making it receive end-weight (by virtue
of being placed in theme position as new
information for the reader), with moral
responsibility being emphasized rather than
hidden
Urgent warning: The Israeli government may be contemplating crimes against
humanity
 (1) We, members and friends of Israeli academe, are horrified by US buildup of
aggression towards Iraq and by the Israeli political leadership's enthusiastic support
for it.
 (2) We are deeply worried by indications that the "fog of war" could be exploited by
the Israeli government to commit further crimes against the Palestinian people, up
to full-fledged ethnic cleansing.
 (3) The Israeli ruling coalition includes parties that promote "transfer" of the
Palestinian population as a solution to what they call "the demographic problem".
(4) Politicians are regularly quoted in the media as suggesting forcible expulsion,
most recently MKs Michael Kleiner and Benny Elon, as reported on Yediot Ahronot
website on September 19, 2002. (5) In a recent interview in Ha'aretz, Chief of Staff
Moshe Ya'alon described the Palestinians as a "cancerous manifestation" and equated
the military actions in the Occupied Territories with "chemotherapy", suggesting that
more radical "treatment" may be necessary. (6) Prime Minister Sharon has backed
this "assessment of reality". (7) Escalating racist demagoguery concerning the
Palestinian citizens of Israel may indicate the scope of the crimes that are possibly
being contemplated.
 (8) We call upon the International Community to pay close attention to events that
unfold within Israel and in the Occupied Territories, to make it absolutely clear that
crimes against humanity will not be tolerated, and to take concrete measures to
prevent such crimes from taking place. (Letter from Israel, September 29th 2002,
signed by academics)