Representing Action: Transitivity and Verb Processes in Malaysian and Singaporean Oral Proceedings Over Batu Puteh Island Issue

Oral proceedings in courts can be perceived from a discourse analysis perspective. The discourse analysis of the oral proceedings’ narrative, for example, can reveal how legal teams perceive others through representational strategies. The 2007 legal proceedings surrounding Batu Puteh/Pedra Branca Island issue, for example, were important for the political landscape of both countries because they resolved the 29-year disputes beginning 21 December 1979 through 23 May 2008. This study, then, investigated the common transitivity and verb processes employed by Malaysia and Singapore during two rounds of the oral proceedings on 8 November 2007 and 13 November 2007. By using Halliday's six process types of verbs; “material,” “verbal,”, “existential,” “relational,” “mental,” and “behavioral,” this analysis also reveals the types of verbs employed by Malaysia and Singapore. This study lends a support to the claim that specific linguistic forms hold ideological significance in representing transitivity.