Systemic Functional Linguistics

Systemic Functional linguistics is an approach to the study of language that sees language as performing some particular functions; this approach is laid out by Halliday (1971) at first in a book entitled Linguistic Structure and Literary Style with a system of resources for meaning making in context. This approach is adopted in works such as Leech and Short (1981), and more recent studies. Later on in 1985, it is developed to systemic functional linguistics. In this approach, the focus is on the structure and function of language and the context in which it occurs. In other words, it is concerned with levels higher than the grammatical level, i.e. pragmatics, since context is considered (Canning, 2014: 46). Systemic functional linguistics is interested in how meanings above the level of a clause are built together coherently and cohesively into discourse (Nørgaard, 2010: 26).  In An Introduction to Functional Grammar (1994), Halliday (1985, 1994, 2004) and Halliday and Matthiessen (1994; 2004; 2014) have developed the key concepts of functionalist stylistics; Halliday has discussed the notion that language has three primary functions which combine to make meaning. These three interrelated functions are known as metafunctions of language; they are:

1. Textual metafunction– (clause as message) to provide the formal or linguistic properties of language,

2. Interpersonal metafunction– (clause as exchange) to mediate in the construction of social relationships,

3. Ideational metafunction– (clause as representation) to express ideas and experience.

        The textual metafunction is elucidated through the concept of cohesion which refers to the ways of how a text is unified to create texture (Lin, 2016: 60). This texture is created through the set of linguistic means. Put differently, it is the feature of a text of being interpretable as a whole (to make sense) rather than unconnected sentences (Halliday and Hasan, 1976: 2).The interpersonal metafunction has to do with speaker’s/writer’s judgments when an interactional exchange takes place, this exchange could be an exchange of information or goods and services (Halliday, 2014: 134). Speakers and listeners assume speech roles in any interaction. Halliday expounds that the most fundamental speech roles are giving where the speaker is giving something (information or something else, usually expressed in a declarative function) to the listener who becomes a receiver, and the other role is demanding (usually expressed in an imperative function) where the speaker who becomes a receiver is demanding something from the listener who becomes a giver or source (ibid: 135).  The ideational metafunction focuses on personal experiences. Everything in this world is based on a story and this story is based on actions, events, or states, and each of these is expressed through language and particularly through verbs. For any English sentence to be correct, it has to have a verb that makes sense to human beings. For example, the old chair kicked John, for any human being, this sentence would not make sense according to our experience unless this action happens in science fiction stories or fairy tales; however, it would be completely correct if it were John kicked the old chair. Therefore, this action of chairs kicking people according to our experience cannot happen in the real world .The ideational metafunction draws on verbs to interpret the text, relying on participant’s roles as well, who or what does the action and who or what is affected by this action. Through the model of transitivity, Halliday (2014) explores the various kinds of verbs in English and what function they serve in the experiential processes of doing, sensing, being, happening and becoming, because verbs express the process type used to represent the world . for example:

John kicked the old chair and broke it.

The old chair was kicked and broken.

In the first sentence, the actor is present and put in Given position implying that the actor is someone we are familiar with, and giving the impression that the producer of such a sentence wants the actor to be known and the action is put in New position to show John’s attitude of anger, frustration, or boredom. However, in the second sentence, the producer of the sentence hides the actor and the same verbs are put into focus position to emphasize the actions. These metafunctions treat language as performing some kind of function.