Systemic Functional Linguistics:

Systemic functional linguistics is the study of the relationship between language and
its functions in social settings. Also known as SFL, systemic functional grammar,
Hallidayan linguistics, and systemic linguistics.

Three strata make up the linguistic system in SFL: meaning (semantics), sound
(phonology), and wording or lexicogrammar (syntax, morphology,
and lexis).Systemic functional linguistics treats grammar as a meaning-making
resource and insists on the interrelation of form and meaning. This field of study was
developed in the 1960s by British linguist M.A.K. Halliday (b. 1925), who had been
influenced by the work of the Prague School and British linguist J.R. Firth (1890-
1960).

Principles of SFL:

Functional linguistics holds that:

 Language use is functional

 Its function is to make meanings
 These meanings are influenced by the social and cultural context in which they
are exchanged
 The process of using language is a semiotic process, a process of making
meaning by choosing.

Key elements of SFL:

In SFL, a text is analyzed in four ways. They are as follows: Context,

Semantics, Lexico-grammar, and Phonology shown in fig.1. To begin with the
context, context is classified as one of the central concerns, because it is integral to
the overall process of making meaning. In fact, when language occurs in a context, it
will relate to or is linked to a number of contexts shown in figure 2, (Matthiessen &
Halliday 1997).
Fig.1 different levels of SFL

Fig.2 the functional model of language

They are:

1- The Context of Culture [genres].

2- The Context of Situation [the technical term for this is Register].

Halliday models the context of situation, where the aspects of the context
relate intimately to the language used to create text, in terms of three important
strands (Matthiessen & Halliday, 1997) (see figure 3): They are: A- Field: gives us an
indication of the topic or what is being talked about.
Fig.3 the levels of the context situation.

The SFL model proposes that human language has evolved to make three
generalized kinds of meanings; they are: Experiential meanings (clause as
representation), Interpersonal meanings (clause as exchange), and Textual meanings
(clause as message)

1- The Experiential meanings; are with the way reality is represented and the
grammatical resources for construing our experience of the world around us, as to
what is going on, who is involved in the going-on, and when, where, and how the
goings-on are going on. One of its chief grammatical systems is classified as
Transitivity (Matthiessen & Halliday 1997).

Transitivity includes a number of aspects:

A- The processes [in the verbal group]

B- The participants (human/non-human) who are participating in these processes [in
the noun group].
C- The circumstances in which the processes occur and the when, where, and how
they take place [in the prepositional phrase and adverbial group]. For instance:
[Circumstance] in the open glade [participant] the wild rabbits [Process] danced
[circumstance] with their shadows (Matthiessen & Halliday 1997).
2- The interpersonal meanings are concerned with the interaction between speaker(s)
and addressee(s). It is used to establish the speaker’s role in the speech situation and
relationship with others. One of its main grammatical systems is Mood and Modality
(Matthiessen & Halliday 1997).
3- The textual meanings are concerned with the creation of text and the way we
organize our meanings into the text that makes sense. One of the main textual systems
is Theme and Rheme (Matthiessen & Halliday, 1997). For instance: [Rheme] the wild
rabbits danced with their shadows and [Theme] in the open glade.

SFL as an Applicable Tradition:

SFL can be characterized as an "applicable" linguistics theory, which means it

is designed to have the potential to be applied to solve problems that arise in
communities around the world (Matthiessen & Halliday 1997). Halliday (2008, p.189)
states that his aim is to make a coherent tradition of language which is 'applicable,' in
the sense that it can be beneficial to large numbers of people who are somehow
engaging with language in the course of their work. SFL is well-known for its
application in different fields such as healthcare, computational linguistics,
translation, multi modal studies, education, and scholars are always discovering new
areas of application (Matthiessen 2010). Additionally, it is renowned especially for
the work on genre, cohesion, discourse analysis, register, appraisal, and so on, which
have been taken up by scholars working in the humanities and social sciences.

Register:

The SFL approach to register believes that language is shaped and organized
to form different types of texts depending on a speaker or writer's social purpose. And
teachers can apply SFL to both written and spoken English.

What is register according to Halliday?

Halliday's description of register as 'a variety of language, corresponding to a

variety of situation', with situation interpreted 'by means of a conceptual framework
using the terms “field”, “tenor” and “mode”' (Halliday, 1985/89: 29, 38) is revisited to
reflect on the theoretical work the term 'register' does within discourse paradigms.
Lexicogrammatical analysis:
Lexicogrammar, also called lexical grammar, is a term used in systemic functional
linguistics (SFL) to emphasize the interdependence of vocabulary (lexis)
and syntax (grammar). The term, introduced by renowned linguist M.A.K. Halliday,
is an amalgamation of the words "lexicon" and "grammar."
"According to systemic functional theory, lexicogrammar is diversified into a meta
functional spectrum, extended in delicacy from grammar to lexis, and ordered into a
series of ranked units," (Halliday 2013).

Text Analysis of poem Fire and Ice:

Transitivity and Functional Grammar
The line by line analysis of the selected text of the poem by following Halliday’s
Systemic Functional Linguistic is given below.

This very first line of the text is a simple statement which is a kind of
proposition. Modality is also present in this verse. Subject is uncertain as it is
comprised of an indefinite pronoun “some”. According to Transitivity, the process is
verbal.

The second line of the poem is also a statement in which he favors the destructive
quality of fire as he himself experiences fire in the form of emotion. So the process of
Transitivity is Mental here.

This line is a kind of conditional statements in which the condition is if the world will
end two times then hate can also destroy it as a cold passion like ice. There is
modality in
this line. The material and sensor processes are functioning here.

The last line is also simple statement that is linked with the previous line and
represents the idea that hatred and ice can also destroy the whole world. Grammar is
performing the function of verbal process.
Meta Functions of Language
 Field (Ideational function)
The poem is based on a propositional content about the end of world which can
be proved right or wrong in future.
 Tenor (Interpersonal Function)
The social role of Robert Frost is that of a poet here while the people have the
role of readers.
 Mode (Textual Function)
The selected text is compiled by the poet in written form.

Critical discourse analysis:

CDA has its origin in the twentieth century. CDA‟s foundation was established by
„Critical Linguistics‟ in 1970s.Fowler et al., (1979) state that the foundations of CDA
as a proper and developed field of linguistic research were laid by the “critical
linguistics” in Britain in 1970s. CL was based on Halliday’s Systemic Functional
Linguistics. Louis Althusser made a great contribution to the theory of ideology in
1971 by showing the links among social practices and social institutions as well.
Volosinov’s work in 1973 can be called the first linguistic theory of ideology.
According to Fowler et al., (1979) CL points out that, “There are strong connections
between linguistic structures and social structures” (p.185). Fowler et al (1979) state
that “Language is an integral part of social process” (p.189). It is with the rise of
Systemic Functional Linguistics that DA had started to focus on the ways by which
social and personal processes are encoded in the various texts. Fitch (2005) describes
that the previous Discourse Analysis mostly focuses on the internal structure of texts.

Halliday has a wonderful influence on DA as he gave field, tenor and mode as Meta
functions of language which consists of phonology, lexicon-grammar and semantics.
Halliday (1979) states that a particular text is a process as well as a product which is
created, embedded and interpreted in a social context.

Thematic Analysis (John Flower dew):

Definition:

Halliday and Matthiessen (2004) define theme as ‘the point of departure for the
message’. Theme in English is realized by initial position in the clause. McCarthy
(1991) provides the following fuller definition:

In English, what we decide to bring to the front of the clause (by whatever means) is a
signal of what is to be understood as the framework within which what we say can be
understood. The rest of the clause can be seen as transmitting ‘what we want to say
within this framework’. Items brought to front-place we shall call the theme of their
clauses.The remainder of the clause, what is not part of the theme, is referred to as the
rheme.

When we look at connected discourse, we see better the role played by rheme, in its
interaction with theme. As already stated, the rheme follows the theme. Everything in
the clause which is not theme is the rheme. In connected texts, theme–rheme patterns
are found between:

• rheme and theme, where the rheme of clause (a) becomes the theme of clause (b);
Claues 1 Clause 2
Theme (a) Rheme (a) Theme (b) Rheme (b)
He picked up the gun The gun was loaded

Following McCarthy (1991: 55), this can be represented graphically by the following
diagram:

Theme1 rheme1

Theme2 rheme2

• theme and theme, where the theme of clause (a) becomes the theme of clause (b).

Claues 1 Clause 2
Theme (a) Rheme (a) Theme (b) Rheme (b)
I am a teacher I live in London

Following McCarthy (1991: 55) again, this can be represented graphically, as follows:

theme1 rheme1

theme2 rheme2

When we say that a theme or rheme ‘becomes’ another theme or rheme, this is not to
imply that there must be an exact repetition; the reiteration may be a pronoun, a
synonym (a word with a similar meaning, for example, book is a synonym of
volume), hyponym (a word denoting a member of a class, for example, banana is a
hyponym of fruit).

Theme in passive clauses :

For example, look at the following text extract, which consists of three clauses, with
the three themes: rabbits, they and rabbits. The use of the passive in the second
clause,they were introduced, allows this continuity to be created.
Rabbits originate from the western Mediterranean. They were introduced to
Britain by the Normans in 12th century to provide meat and fur. Rabbitts are
now widespread throughout Britain and Ireland.

If this second clause had been written in active voice, The Normans introduced rabbits
to Britain, this continuity would not have been possible. So far we have only
considered declarative clauses (statements).

Interrogative themes:

Interrogative is the basic grammatical pattern for asking questions. A question

presumes that there is something that the speaker wants to know. As Halliday and
Matthiessen (2004: 75) state, there- fore, the natural theme of a question is what the
questioner wants to know and the use of interrogatives involves selecting an element
that indicates the sort of answer that the questioner requires and placing it at the
beginning of the clause. There are two types of interrogative questions: yes/no, or
open, questions (polar interrogatives) and closed questions (wh- interrogatives). In
both cases, the theme includes the word that indicates what the speaker wants to
know, as in are you, did you, do you, can you, have you.

• Are you American?

• Do you love me?

• Shall we dance?

• Didn’t he do well?

• Could you move over?

Imperative themes:

Imperative clauses are used when you want someone to do something. So it is natural
that the starting point, the theme, should be the action in question:

• Open the door.

• Give me the money.

• Stay back.

• Mind the gap./

Thematic Analysis of a Text:

The following biographical text uses the theme and theme pattern as a consistent
organizing principle, that is, the same theme tends to be reiterated across clauses.

First we give the text and then the thematic analysis in tabular form in following table

Unable to work

Alex Webster The lance Sergeant served in the Scots Guards for 10 years between
1990 and 2000. He was sent to Iraq for the first Gulf War and completed three tours
of Northern Ireland, where he was hospitalized for 18 months by a crash. In 2002,
however, he joined the Territorial Army and was deployed to Afghanistan where his
vehicle was hit by a rocket grenade. He has ongoing surgery on his back, flashbacks,
anxiety and temper problems. He has now set up a project to help similarly affected
servicemen and women. (Independent on Sunday, 1 August 2010: 29)

Thematic development of a biographical text:

Marked Texual theme Experiencial theme Rheme

theme
The lance Sergeant served in the Scots Guards
for 10 years between 1990
and 2000.
He was sent to Iraq for the
first Gulf War
and (elliptical he) completed three tours of
Northern Ireland
 where he was hospitalized for 18
months by a crash.
In 2002 however he joined the Territorial
Army
and (elliptical he) was deployed to
Afghanistan
where his vehicle was hit by a rocket
grenade.
He has ongoing surgery on
his back, flashbacks,
anxiety and temper
problems.
He has now set up a project to
help similarly affected
servicemen and women.

Reference:

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