Introduction to

functional
grammar
Systemic Functional
Approach
Systemic Approach
Systemic Linguistics
Functional Semantic
Introduction to
functional
grammar
1.Language system – Texts
2. Key Researchers
 What do they mean?
Why can we make meaning from
them?
 When I got
home last
night, I could
not believe
what …………..
had done.
What choices are possible?
What’s the implication of the
What is implied about what a language
system has to encapsulate?
Culture What is the broad and specific
context?
How does that impact on the text?
Genre
What is the specific purpose of the
text?
Topic How is it organised to achieve this?
What is being discussed / written
Relationships about?
Who is taking part? What is the
nature of their relationship? What
Mode are their statuses and roles?
Is it spoken, written or multimodal?
 What’s the
A: Yes Please context of the
text?
B: Can I have those two?
What
A: Yes. One’s forty five. One’s
accompanies
twenty five.
the language?
B: And have you got
What kind of a
…………………..
text is it?
A: Yes. How many would you (genre)
like? What are the
stages of the
B: I’ll take two
text?
A: Right. That’s four dollars
What is it
twenty altogether.
about? (field)
B: Here you are.
Who is
A: Thankyou. involved?
Data reveals that the greatest What’s the
consumer spending traditionally context of the
text?
occurs during the pre Christmas What
period. A consequence of this accompanies
spending is debt. The publicity the language?
and expectation of a gift laden What kind of
Christmas has lead some a text is it?
families to incur debts beyond (genre)
What are the
their means of immediate
stages of the
repayment, leading to the text?
additional and spiralling cost of What is it
interest fees. A substantial about? (field)
Who is
education program is required involved?
 3 main kinds of meaning
simultaneously:
1.Experiential: information (field)
2.Interpersonal: relationships
(tenor)
3.Textual: relation to mode
(mode)
 Field

Field continuum

 everyday ………..specialised ………highly

fields fields technical fields
 Tenor

Tenor continuum

 equal status….………great difference in status

 familiar …….…………..………...….very distant

 great deal of …………………………………little

emotional expression emotional expression

 Mode

Mode continuum

 most spoken-like………....… most written-like

A representation of the model of
language
CULTURE

SITUATION

tenor

field mode
LANGUAGE

REGISTER

GENRE
 SEMIOTIC SYSTEM
(SYMBOLIC MEANING MAKING SYSTEM)

meaning (discourse / semantics)

words and structures (lexico –

grammar)
 Differences between traditional and functional grammar

traditional functional
Sentence  Text

Word level  Word level but usually with

large chunks
Written  Spoken,
written,
language multimodal
 Correctnessnot  Correctness related to
consider context context

 Discrete  Grammar within study of

grammar genre - how contributes to
exercises meaning
 KEY RESEARCHERS
Development of systemic linguistics:
Sydney systemists: Michael Halliday (from 1970s);
Hasan; Martin; Matthiesson
Links with other systemists: Gregory; Sinclair and
Coulthard
Language Education: Christie; Macken and Rothery
Visual art: O’Toole; Kress and van Leeuwen;
Unsworth
Psychotherapy: Eggins; MacKinnon
Artificial Intelligence: Bateman
Speech Pathology: Armstrong
References:

Eggins (1994) An Introduction to Systemic Functional