Invitation to Systemic Functional Linguistics Through the Cardiff Grammar: An Extension and Simplification of Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar (Equinox Textbooks & Surveys in Linguistics) - Softcover

Robin P. Fawcett

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845533968 ISBN 13: 9781845533960

Publisher: Equinox Publishing Ltd,SW11, 2008

Synopsis

This short book is two books in one. First, it is a genuinely introductory introduction to the main concepts of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) for the 21st century. Drawing on recent research, it focusses on the structure of the clause in English, bringing out clearly (i) the multifunctional nature of language, and (ii) the way in which structures are the result of choices between meanings . It is an extension of Halliday s SFG in several ways, including the introduction of new elements that are of growing importance in the language, and a simplification of it in that it shows how the many strands of meaning in a clause can be expressed in a single structure. But this is also a book for experienced linguists (who may include the teachers of the first group) who are interested in a scholarly work which (i) compares the two main current versions of Systemic Functional Grammar with respect to the structure of the English clause, and (ii) gives reasons for every decision to prefer one analysis to another. This book within a book is achieved through a generous use of extended footnotes . The Cardiff Grammar version of SFG is based as firmly in the core principles of SFG principles as the Sydney Grammar (the version in Halliday s Introduction to Functional Grammar). Halliday, however, describes the development in the Sydney Grammar since the 1970s as expansions into new areas beyond what he has aptly termed the lexicogrammar . In contrast, the Cardiff Grammar s description of English lexicogrammar (and other languages) has made significant advances since the 1970s, under the influence of eight major factors. Versions of this book are being published concurrently in Chinese (by Peking University Press) and Spanish (University of Plata del Mar Press).

About this title

About the Author

Robin P. Fawcett is Emeritus Professor in Linguistics and the former Director of the Computational Linguistics Unit, Cardiff University. His most recent book is A Theory of Syntax for Systemic Functional Linguistics (Benjamins 2000). Books due for publication in 2008 include Alternative Architectures for Systemic Linguistics and his Functional Syntax Handbook (both Equinox). The year 2008 will also see Chinese and Spanish editions of the present book (Peking University Press and University of Mar del Plata Press).

Edition details

• Publisher: Equinox Publishing Ltd,SW11
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1845533968
• ISBN 13: 9781845533960
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192