1st Lecture

Intro to Functional Grammar: Introduction

Basic philosophy: Language is a resource for making meaning

The theory is a tool for understanding how language works, and for analysing
language in use.
Key concepts:
Language as a semiotic system (= a system of meaning)
what is semiotic? The study of signs and symbols, what they mean and how they are used.
(semiotic system = sistem penanda). Usually divided into three branches:
• Semantics: Relation between signs and the things to which they refer.
• Syntactics: Relations among signs in formal structures
• Pragmatics: Relation between signs and their effects on those (people) who use them
e.g. No Smoking sign, how to put spoon&fork on plate, etc.

Lexis and grammar are inseparable ('lexicogrammar')

What is lexis? All the words of a language.

Example of lexicogrammar:
Expression Meaning
John eats poached eggs Statement about John’s habitual behaviour
John is eating poached eggs Statement about John’s current behaviour
John ate poached eggs Statement about John’s past action

NOTE:
 The table shows we can take the four words; John, eat, poached, and eggs, and by
arranging them in different grammatical structure we get a range of different
meanings.
 One part of what these sentences mean is the words that are used (that we’re talking
about eggs and NOT books, John and NOT the dog, eating and NOT running).
 But a second part of their meanings is the arrangement of these words in
STRUCTURES.

A framework for studying texts / language in use

A text (of any length) is the instantiation of a meaning potential
Linguistic choice
A paradigm: the list of options from which a speaker makes a choice

what is paradigm? A model of something, or a very clear and typical example of something.
(model / pola / contoh)
E.g. paradigm for mood choice:
declarative He was writing a paper.
interrogative Was he writing a paper?
imperative Write a paper!
What is mood? Grammatical mood is one of a set of distinctive verb forms that
are used to signal modality.[1] It is distinct from grammatical tense or
grammatical aspect. Currently identified moods include conditional, imperative,
indicative, injunctive, optative, potential, subjunctive, and more.

The three metafunctions

• ideational ("language construes (menafsirkan/menguraikan) human
experience")
• interpersonal ("language enacts
(membuat/menjadikan/memainkan/memerankan) human relationships")
• textual ("language creates discourse")
what is discourse? 1. Communication in speech or writing.
2. a speech or piece of writing about a particular, usually serious
Subject.
3. (N) Pidato/tulisan/percakapan/ceramah/wacana ilmiah.
(V) bercakap-cakap.

The clause is the basic unit of analysis

• ideational: what there is to argue about; a process and its associated
participants
• interpersonal: something you can interact with; a unit which may provoke a
response with the hearer/reader
• textual: word order, punctuation etc show the limits of a clause
Example:
At the lake shore there was another rowboat drawn up.
The two Indians stood waiting.
Nick and his father got in the stern of the boat
and the Indians shoved it off
and one of them got in to row.
Uncle George sat in the stern of the camp rowboat.
The young Indian shoved the camp boat off
and got in to row Uncle George.
The two boats started off in the dark.
Nick heard the oar-locks of the other boat quite a way ahead of them in
the mist.
The Indians rowed with quick, choppy strokes.
Nick lay back with his father's arm around him.
 It was cold on the water.
The notion of constituency (the group of voters/jumlah/para pemilih)
The notion of rank
The rank scale:
Text – consists of one ore more sentences
Sentence – consists of one or more clauses
Clause – consists of groups (and phrases)
Group – consists of words (and/or groups/phrases/clauses)
Phrase – consists of words (and/or groups/phrases/clauses)
Word – consists of one or more morphemes
Morpheme – consists of one or more phonemes
Example:
Text: At the lake shore there was another rowboat drawn up.
The two Indians stood waiting. Nick and his father got in the
stern of the boat and the Indians shoved it off and one of them
got in to row.
Sentence: Nick and his father got in the stern of the boat and
the Indians shoved it off and one of them got in to row.
Clause: the Indians shoved it off
Group: the Indians
Word: Indians
Morphemes: Indian + s
Some differences between systemic-functional grammar and
traditional grammar ('grunnfag model')

Traditional Systemic-functional
mainly concerned with 'lexicogrammar' – no
syntax (+ some distinction between lexis
morphology) and grammar. Both are
Definitions of
meaning-creating.
grammar
what is syntax? The
grammatical arrangement
of words in a sentence.
Verb / Predicator Finite + Predicator
Differences in direct object / indirect Complement
terminology- object / predicative adjunct (circumstantial /
peristilahan/istilah adverbial (adjunct / modal / conjunctive
(some examples) disjunct / conjunct) adjunct)
noun / verb phrase nominal / verbal group

the whole communicative

(text >) sentence > clause
event: experiential,
Areas covered > phrase > word >
interpersonal and textual
morpheme
functions. Lexicogrammar.
View of the clause / syntactic functions, clause processes and participants
sentence patterns
mood type + modality
 thematic structure

Language is multifunctional – it does several things at the same time