FUNCTIONAL

GRAMMAR
NATURE OF
FUNCTION
AL
GRAMMAR
• Systemic functional grammar (SFG) is a form of
grammatical description originated by Michael Halliday.
• In his classic book An Introduction to Functional
Grammar, Halliday (1994) points out that functional
grammar is so-called because its conceptual framework is
a functional one rather than a formal one.
• Functional grammar, based on systemic linguistics,
emphasizes the way spoken and written language operate
in different social situations.
• Functional Grammar is used to describe language
text in actual use.
• Its focus is on the text and contexts.
• This type of grammar sets a language as a resource
for making meaning.
• Functional Grammar discusses aspects of the
circumstances under which people enter into verbal or
written communication.
Focuses on text as a whole (text-types)
analyzing:

• Field
• Tenor
• Mode
 Three categories of register

• Informal (everyday)
• Neutral
(Specialized
• Academic (Formal)
 EXAMPLE OF TRADITIONAL VS. FUNCTIONAL
APPROACHES
• ‘I was taught grammar by my primary school teachers’.
• Traditional approach: What are the different components within
the sentence (e.g. noun, verb) and explain the rule for forming the
passive.
• Functional approach: What is the communicated effect when the
message begins with ‘I’ rather than ‘my primary school teachers’?
Also, which features of the social context led the speaker to choose
passive rather than active voice?
EXAMPLE OF TRADITIONAL VS. FUNCTIONAL
METALANGUAGE
FUNCTION
OF
FUNCTION
AL
GRAMMAR
Functional Grammar is functional in three different ways:

• Of texts - to look at the oral or written composition of

a phrase, sentence or basically any text.
• Of the system - looking at an oral or written text is
composed.
• Of the elements of linguistic structures - looking at
how the formation of the text and what is the
implication or meaning of the text or analyzing it.
PURPOSES
OF
FUNCTION
AL
GRAMMAR
 PURPOSES OF FUNCTIONAL
GRAMMAR

A functional grammar's main

purpose is to explain language in
terms of what people use it for in
their daily lives.
 METAFUNCTIONS
I. Ideational Metafunction
• It refers to the way we organize, understand
and express our perceptions of the world and
of our own consciousness.
• It implies language as 'reflection'.
 METAFUNCTIONS
II. Interpersonal Metafunction
• It refers to the way we use language to
communicate ourselves with other people.
• It implies 'language as action'.
• It is about the social world, especially the
relationship between speaker and hearer.
 METAFUNCTIONS
III. Textual Metafunction
• It refers to the way we use language to organize the
text itself.
• It implies 'language as construction of text'.
• Language is used to relate what is said or written
to the real world.
Purposes of Functional Grammar as for its
users

• Author of a written text

• Speaker of a certain
Speech
• Audiences (Readers of a
certain text and Listeners
of a speech)
 Functional Grammar and Its Implications for
English Teaching and Learning
• It is concerned with understanding the ways in
which language is used for different purposes
and in different situations, serving a
communicative purpose of language learning.
• It is necessary for EFL students to know how
language works in texts.
 Functional Grammar and Its Implications for
English Teaching and Learning
• Beikoff (1996): “Functional grammar is not
just a new type of jargon but another way of
understanding sentences. It does not break a
sentence up into discrete parts but links words
that shape a purpose.”
 U P 7
GR O
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A U T AY
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THANK U M
B UER A
A R A
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YOU! N S
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