Chapter 10: Systemic-Functional Grammar 1. IntroductionIn this chapter, we will give a brief introduction to the work of M.A.K. Halliday and Systemic-Functional grammar. Systemic-Functional Grammar is also named as Systemic-Functional Linguistics.Michael Alexander Kirkwood Halliday has sought to create an approach to linguistics that treats language as foundational for the building of human experience. His insights and publications form an approach called systemic-functional linguistics. Halliday's work stresses that language is closely associated with meaning. Systemic-functional linguistics (SFL), as its name suggests, considers function and semantics as the basis of human language and communicative activity. Unlike structural approaches that privilege syntax, SFL-oriented linguists begin an analysis with social context and then look at how language acts upon, and is constrained and influenced by, this social context. A key concept in Halliday's approach is the "context of situation" which obtains "through a systematic relationship between the social environment on the one hand, and the functional organization of language on the other" (Halliday, 1985:11).According to Halliday’s systemic-functional linguistics, language, a kind of tool used for human communication, has many functions. In its system, language has three matafunctions, which are ideational metafunction, interpersonal metafunction and textual metafunction. Each of the three metafunctions is about a different aspect of the world, and is concerned with a different mode of meaning of clauses.2. Ideational MetafunctionThe ideational metafunction refers to the fact that language is used to express people’s experiences in the real world including the experiences in their internal world or the experiences in their mind. Namely, ideational metafunction is about the natural world in the broadest sense, including our own consciousness, and is concerned with clauses as representations. Ideational metafunction has three sub-systems, which are transitivity, voice and polarity. Here, we just talk about the first system, transitivity.Transitivity is a semantic system to show the ideational metafunction of language.It divides people’s experiences in the natural world and in their internal world into six processes. In each process, both the participant and the circumstantial element are presented. The six processes are material process, mental process, relational process, behavioural process, verbal process and existential process.Material process refers to the process of doing something. The process consists of process verbs, often verbs of action, Actor, and Goal.Tom broke the glass.3. Interpersonal metafunctionIn addition to the use of language to talk about their experiences about the real world and their internal world, people also use language to communicate with other people or they just use language to build the relations between them. The function of language in this aspect is called interpersonal metafunction. The interpersonal metafunction is about the social world, especially the relationship between speaker and hearer, and is concerned with clauses as exchanges. Language can often indicates the speaker’s status, social position, attitude, motivation, and it can show the relationship between speaker and listener.Mood consisting of Subject and Finite is essential factor when we analyze the interpersonal metafunction.4. Textual metafunctionApart from the metafunctions talked above, we still use language to organize the information or linguistic elements into a complete text or discourse. This is the textual metafunction of language. Therefore, the textual metafunction is about the verbal world, especially the flow of information in a text, and is concerned with clauses as messages.There are three sub-systems in the textual metafunction, which are Theme-Rheme system, Given information and New information system and cohesion system. Theme-Rheme system is also called thematic structure, and Given information and New information system is also called information structure. Here, we will mainly talk about the Theme-Rheme system.Theme is the starting point of the clause message realized in English by first position in a clause must contain a participant, process or circumstance includes any element preceding the first participant, process or circumstance. When Theme is decided, the other elements in a clause are rheme.5. Application of systemic-functional linguisticsSystemic-Functional linguistics can be used in many fields, such as translation, language teaching and language learning, etc. However, as Halliday points out, he builds systemic-functional grammar to provide a theory for discourse analysis. There are many theories and methods are being used in discourse analysis, and the method by using systemic-functional grammar is called functional discourse analysis.MetafunctionsHalliday developed a theory of the fundamental functions of language, in which he analysed lexicogrammar into three broad metafunctions: ideational, interpersonal and textual. Each of the three metafunctions is about a different aspect of the world, and is concerned with a different mode of meaning of clauses. The ideational metafunction is about the natural world in the broadest sense, including our own consciousness, and is concerned with clauses as representations. The interpersonal metafunction is about the social world, especially the relationship between speaker and hearer, and is concerned with clauses as exchanges. The textual metafunction is about the verbal world, especially the flow of information in a text, and is concerned with clauses as messages. Malinowski's influence (see Figure 1.1) seems clear here: the ideational metafunction relates to the context of culture, the interpersonal metafunction relates to the context of situation, and the textual metafunction relates to the verbal context.In each metafunction an analysis of a clause gives a different kind of structure composed from a different set of elements. In the ideational metafunction, a clause is analysed into Process, Participants and Circumstances, with different participant types for different process types (as in Case Grammar). In the interpersonal metafunction, a clause is analysed into Mood and Residue, with the mood element further analysed into Subject and Finite. In the textual metafunction, a clause is analysed into Theme and Rheme (as in the Prague School).Figure 1.7: Metafunctional layeringFigure 1.7, taken from [Matthiessen & Bateman 1991], shows an analysis of the sentence ``In this job, Anne, we're working with silver'' into three different structures in the three metafunctions. Thiskind of diagram is called a ``metafunctional layering'' diagram in SFG, but the metafunctions do not have any kind of relative ``depth'', rather they are different dimensions.The metafunctional theory is part of the ``functional'' side of SFG, but it is also important in the ``systemic'' side of SFG. Each metafunction has a principal system in the networks for clauses, verbal groups and nominal groups. For example the TRANSITIVITY system is the principal system for the ideational metafunction in the clause network. These principal systems are shown in Figure 1.8, taken from [Matthiessen & Bateman 1991].Figure 1.8: Principal systemsAn important theoretical point is that in general, in the system networks, the systems within each metafunction are closely interconnected, but are largely independent of systems in the other metafunctions. System interconnections across metafunctions are rare. This is illustrated inFigure 1.9, taken from [Matthiessen & Halliday to appear].Figure 1.9: Independence of metafunctionsIn this network fragment, there are normal dependency relationships within the MOOD region of theinterpersonal metafunction, between the MOOD-TYPE and INDICATIVE-TYPE systems andbetween the INDICATIVE-TYPE and INTERROGA TIVE-TYPE systems, and there is also a furtherinterconnection: the TAGGING system can be entered either from the imperative feature of theMOOD-TYPE system or from the declarative feature of the INDICATIVE-TYPE system. But thereare no interconnections at all between the MOOD region of the interpersonal metafunction and theTRANSITIVITY region of the ideational metafunction.The textual metafunction"The textual metafunction creates discourse""Of the various structures which, when mapped on to each other, make up a clause, we will consider first the one which gives the clause its character as a message. This is known as thematic structure. We may assume that in all languages the clause has the character of a message: it has some form of organization giving it the status of a communicative event. But there are different ways in which this may be achieved. In English, as in many other languages, the clause is organized as a message by having a special status assigned to one part of it. One element in the clause is enunciated as the theme; this then combines with the remainder so that the two parts together constitute a message." (Halliday, p 37)creates discourseclause as messagethe linguistic expression of the other two metafunctions (ideational, interpersonal)theme vs. rhemeSubject – grammatical functionActor – doer of the actionTheme –‘what the sentence is about’The chef is preparing dinner in the kitchen.Dinner is being prepared in the kitchen.In the kitchen the chef is preparing dinner.In the kitchen dinner is being prepared by the chef.Definitions of Themethe starting point of the clause messagerealized in English by first position in a clausemust contain a participant, process or circumstanceincludes any element preceding the first participant, process or circumstanceTheme. Textual clause function: the point of departure of the clause as message. It sets up the local context for each clause. This local context often relates to the method of development of the text: the Theme is selected in such a way that it indicates how the clause relates to this method and contributes to the identification of the current step in the development. The term theme has an entirely different meaning in formal grammars (as does the term thematic roles), which has nothing to do with the long tradition of work on theme in Prague School linguistics and other functional traditions. => IFG Chapter 3. => LexCart Section 6.2. (From Christian Matthiessen: Glossary of systemic-functional terms. .au/)Topic. The subject matter of a clause; what it is about – often as one member of the pair topic + comment. Topic corresponds roughly to the experiential part of Theme, Topical theme, in Halliday's analysis of English, but it typically excludes textual and interpersonal Themes. (Sometimes thenotion of given or known is also included in topic, but never in Halliday's Theme.) Cf. IFG p. 39. (From Christian Matthiessen: Glossary of systemic-functional terms. .au/)Theme in declarative sentencesUnmarked (Theme = Subject):The two Indians stood waiting.Nick and his father went into the stern of the boat.The Indian who was rowing them was working very hard.But I will have some photographs taken.Oh, you’re a great man.No, I think it’s pretty easy.There was no need of that.Of course it’s an accident.Marked (Theme ¹Subject):Across the bay they found the other boat.In February 1979 he was awarded the George Cross posthumously.And when you get down there you find he hasn’t actually got any.Inside him was rising an urge to do something, take some action.That I don’t know.What she had felt he never knew.Most troubling of all to some social scientists is the message men get that being a good father means learning how to mother.Theme in interrogative sentencesPolarity (yes/no) questions: unmarked Theme = finite + SubjectAre you interested in syntax?Would you like a cup of tea?Oh, so is that your plan?But don't any of the artist-folk fancy children?By the way, were you serious about moving to Milton Keynes?Wh-questions: unmarked Theme = Wh-wordWhat are you doing here?Where are we going?Then, in the name of goodness, why does she bother?If it's true that contented cows give more milk, why shouldn't happy ball players produce more base hits?Theme in imperative sentencesWake me up before the coffee break.Don’t disturb me while I’m taking a nap.Let’s have a look at this recipe.What elements go into the Theme?The first experiential element in the clause (participant/process/circumstance)Any element preceding the first experiential element in the clause (modal/connective adjuncts, conjunctions, finite, vocative,Thematic equativeWhat he meant by this was that he was no longer an apprentice.What they did was go into the stern of the boat.The reason he asked you where you were going is because he hoped you would be visiting other areas.Theme in clause complexesAs soon as she had pressed the doorbell – it let out a musical jingle – Philippa sensed that the house was empty.Resisting the temptation to peer through the letter-box, she decided to try next door.At least they would know whether Ducton still lived at 41 or where he had gone.Week 7 (14+16. March): "More on thematic analysis": Multiple Theme; Predicated Theme; Theme and given/new; Theme in texts (article by P. Fries)Theme–Rheme analysis of some sentences (Underlined: downranked themes):。