Comparative Translational Semiotic Analysis of ‘The River of Fire’ through Systemic Functional Linguistic Approach

Abstract

This study aimed to: find out semiotic devices in literary texts in the light of Halliday’s transitivity process; and classify De Saussure’s two-part model of sign and thereby know that what logical connections lie between transitivity processes and semiotic devices. Data comprised of the text of a novel ‘The River of Fire’ by Qurratulain Hyder and analyzed through qualitative and quantitative methods. UAM software was used for the analysis of SFL transitivity processes and De Saussure’s model of sign was employed to analyze the language as a system of the sign. This process was applied to both versions (i.e. English and Urdu) of the same novel to compare the results. In this way, comparative technique was also utilized. As a result, all process types were observed in English and Urdu texts. Material and relational were the most characteristic processes in English and Urdu texts respectively. Through the analyses of English and Urdu texts of the novel, the processes of transitivity were observed involving the semiotic model of the sign. In addition, the signifier and signified were observed through the processes of systemic functional linguistics which meant that there existed a logical connection between semiotic devices and transitivity process.