Functional Grammar

Systemic Functional Grammar

Systemic functional grammar is a branch of systemic functional linguistics that describes the relation between grammar and meaning. It is closely related to the point that one can’t exist without the other. This approach gives systemic priority to paradigmatic relations, viewing language as a set of systems and prioritizing choice.

Language as a system

Language is described as a system, realized by instantiations, that is continuously expanded by the very instantiations that realize it. It is continuously reproduced and recreated with use.

Functional orientation

This approach is oriented towards semantics, viewing grammar as a resource to construct meaning. It focuses on what language achieves in context.

Contextual levels

The context includes:

• Content: semantics = meaning
• Content: lexicogrammar = wording
• Expression: phonology
• Expression: phonetics

The levels can be categorized into extra-linguistic (culture + situation) and linguistic (semantics + lexicogrammar + graphology/phonology).

Choices in language

The idea of choice suggests that there are potentially identifiable reasons why a writer expresses a message in a particular way rather than in other possible ways. Language creates three different kinds of meaning at the same time, with each component having its own systems of choices. The result of a series of choices from any system is a structure. The choices between each group interact with each other, but there is relatively little interaction across them.

Metafunctions and Registers

Registers are configurations of meanings associated with particular situational configurations. There are three metafunctions:

• 1. Ideational Field: what’s going on
  • (i) Experiential meaning
  • (ii) Logical meaning
• 2. Interpersonal Tenor: who is taking part
• 3. Textual Mode: what’s the role of language

Constituency and syntagmatic order

Constituency concerns the syntagmatic order in which larger units are made up out of smaller units. Some key points include:

• There is a scale of rank in the grammar of every language.
• Each unit consists of one or more units from the rank below.
• Units can be rank-shifted and can function inside the structure of another unit.
• It is possible for one unit to be enclosed inside another unit.
• Units of every rank may form complexes.
• Any meaningful unit can be split into smaller units of a different kind at the rank below.
• Units at each rank can only be made up of units from the rank below, and analysis is exhaustive, accounting for every element at each rank.

Ranking clause

A ranking clause is used to distinguish non-embedded from embedded clauses. A ranking close is considered a node pending clause attached.

Constituents

• Clause: Clause complexes consist of two or more clauses linked by coordination or subordination in a larger structural unit.
• Group + prepositional phrases: Group complexes.
• Word.
• Morpheme: The smallest meaningful unit.

Word boundaries are signaled with spaces in writing and intonation in speech. Dubious cases are those words with hyphens.

Individual words and types of groups

Individual words include noun, verb, adjective, adverb, auxiliary verb, modal verb, pronoun, and conjunction. Types of groups include:

• NG | Nominal groups:
  • Pre-modifier: Not always present; anything before the head in a nominal group, including determiners, adjectives, nouns.
  • Head.
  • Postmodifier: Not always present; anything following the head in the nominal group, including prepositional phrases, embedded clauses.
• VG | Verbal groups:
  • Finite verbal group: Shows tense.
  • Non-finite verbal group: Doesn’t show tense.
• AG | Adverbial groups.

Functional slots

• Subject may be filled by: NG / AG / embedded clause
• Predicator
• Object: Entity the subject does the predicator to
• Complement: NG / AG that refers to the same entity as the subject or describes it (with verbs like "be")
• Adjunct: AG / prepositional phrase giving some background info about the event/state expressed by the predicator

Prepositional phrase

Prepositional phrases have two major roles:

• Postmodifier/Qualifier in a NG
• Adjunct in a clause providing info about the Circumstance of the Process; it can be moved

Embedding

Embedding allows a unit to be expanded by inclusion of another unit from a higher or same rank. The main site is the NG, Postmodifier. Prepositional phrases + Nominal Groups are typically simple prepositions.

Nominal group complexes

Sometimes two or more groups combine as a single constituent to jointly fulfill a function (Subject/Complement).

Subjects and the ideational metafunction

There are different types of subjects:

• Grammatical (interpersonal)
• Logical: Actor (ideational)
• Psychological: Theme (textual)

The ideational metafunction relates to the field or what’s going on, involving transitivity and logico-semantic relations.

Transitivity and logical subject

The logical subject is the actor. Transitivity relates to taxis (interdependency) and logico-semantic relations.