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Halliday and Systemic-Functional GrammarM. A. K. Halliday (1925–), based on Firth‘s theories in the London School, has developed his Systemic-Functional Grammar (SFG).1. Biography of Halliday:1947From 1947 to 1949From 1949 to 195019551955 onwards197519882. Brief introduction of SFG:Systemic-Functional Grammar has two inseparable components: systemic grammar and functional grammar.1) Systemic grammar:It aims to explain the internal relations in language as a system network.Language is a system network.This system network is thought as meaning potential.This system network consists of subsystems.Language users make choices from these subsystems.2) Functional grammar:It aims to reveal that language is a means of social interaction.People use language to interact with each other.Meanwhile they make choices from the subsystems of language according to different functions they serve.Therefore, the function or use of language determines language system.3) Systemic-Functional Grammar is based on two facts:(1) Language users are actually making choices in a system of systems and trying to realize different semantic functions in social interaction(2) Language is inseparable from social activities of man.¤Language is a potential: it is what the speaker can do. (Halliday 1978/2001: 27) …hence the description of language as a ‗meaning potential‘. (Halliday 1978/2001:28)¤The notion of ‗situation‘ refers to those features which are relevant to the speech that is taking place.(Halliday 1978/2001: 29)3. Systemic GrammarIn Systemic Grammar, language is conceived as a ―system of systems‖. Systemic Grammar tries to establish a network of systems of language. Language is regarded as a multilevel code system, as is shown below:This is what Halliday called the three strata of language.¤Language is being regarded as the encoding of a ‗behaviour potential‘; that is, as a means of expressing what the human organism ‗can do‘, in interaction with other human organisms, by turning it into what he ‗can mean‘. What he can mean (the semantic system) is, in turn, encoded into what he ‗can say‘ (the lexicogrammatical system, or grammar and vocabulary); to use our own folk-linguistic terminology, meanings are expressed in wordings. Wordings are, finally, recorded into sounds (it would be nice if we could say ‗soundings‘) or spellings (the phonological and orthographic systems). (Halliday 1978/2001: 21)A system is a list of choices or options. Systems and subsystemsTransitivity, mood and thematic systems are respectively components of the ideational, interpersonal and textual functions.Mood (see textbook P. ____)As is shown above, we divide a general area of meaning into smaller and smaller sub-areas. We make finer and finer distinctions in meaning. That is to say, we arrange systems and sub-systems on a scale according to the fineness of meaning. This scale is called SCALE OF DELICACY.4. Functional GrammarHalliday‘s Systemic Grammar contains a functional component (Halliday, 1985/1994/2004). He interprets language development from a functional point of view and formulates a functional theory of language.Because of the complexity of adult language, Halliday reduced the seven functions to a set of highly coded and abstract functions, which are meta-functions: the ideational, the interpersonal, and the textual functions.1) The ideational function refers to the fact that we use language to talk about our experience of the world, including the worlds in our own minds, to describe events and states and the entities involved in them.2) The interpersonal function means that we also use language to interact with other people, to establish and maintain relations with them, to influence their behavior, to express our own viewpoint on things in the world, and to elicit or change theirs.3) The textual function means that in using language, we organize our messages in ways which indicate how they fit in with the other messages around them and with the widerTransitivity is simply the grammar of the clause in its ideational aspect. We have six processes in transitivity system: Material processes, Mental processes, Relational processes, V erbal processes, Behavioral processes, Existential processes.1) Material processes are those in which something is done.3)Relational processes can be classified into two types: Attributive and Identifying. These two relations can be further classified into Intensive, Circumstantial, and Possessive.There is a new office building at the end of the road.Does life exist on Mars?uses of language to express social and personal relations. Interpersonal function is realised by mood and modality. Mood shows what role the speaker selects in the speech situation and what role he assigns to the addressee. If the speaker selects the imperative mood, he assumes the role of one giving commands and puts the addressee in the role of one expected to obey orders.1) Mood is made up of two parts: the ―Subject‖ and the ―Finite‖ element. The subject can be a noun, a noun phrase, or a clause. Finite elements are tense morphemes, auxiliary verbs and modal verbs that express tense or modality . Residue refers to the rest of theComplement Subject Finite element Predicator AdverbialResidue Mood Residue2) Modality specifies if the speaker is expressing his judgment of proposition, possibility According to Halliday, of the various speech roles, two are the most basic: giving and taking. In interpersonal communications, the commodities exchanged can also fall intotwo kinds: goods-&-services and information. Thus, speech roles and commodities exchanged make up four principal speech roles:offer, command, statement, and question.Commodity exchangedRole in exchange Proposal/goods-&-services Proposition/informationgivingofferWould you like this teapot?statementHe’s giving her the teapot demandingcommandGive me that teapot!questionWhat is he giving her?of order, command, statement and question. They, in turn, are matched by a set of desired responses: accepting an offer, carrying out a command, acknowledging a statement and―Speech Functions and Responses‖:Initiation expected response discretionary alternative Give goods-&-servicedemand goods-&-servicesgive informationdemands informationOffercommandstatementquestionacceptanceundertakingacknowledgementanswerrejectionrefusalcontradictiondisclaimer7. The Textual FunctionThe textual function refers to the fact that language has mechanisms to make any stretchof spoken or written discourse into coherence. It provides the remaining strands of meaning potential to be woven into the fabric of linguistic structure. It is realized by cohesive devices such as reference, ellipsis, substitution, conjunction.1) Reference:exophoric reference:Who is he?(he is not mentioned in the text.)endophoric reference:J ane is a friend of mine. She works in Hong Kong. (she=Jane)Mary dances better than June does 中，用does 代替dances〕endophoric reference includes: anaphoric reference and cataphoric referenceanaphoric reference:J ane is a friend of mine. She works in Hong Kong.(Jane←She回指)cataphoric reference:Here is the news: Linda and Williams are getting married next week.(Here the news下指)2) Ellipsis: A: How given/known are you, boy? B: Seven, sir.3) Substitution: A: Has John passed the exam? B: I think so.4) Conjunction:and, but, because; nevertheless, therefore, however; because of, by the way, as I was saying; …(Communicative Sentence Pattern)。