Systemic functional linguistics

Abstract

The last three decades have witnessed a steady increase in the application of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) in translation theory and practice, which can be partly attributed to marked developments in SFL theory and the corresponding growth of its descriptive power and potential. This chapter highlights some significant translation-relevant developments in SFL and SFL-informed translation studies, thereby demonstrating some essential characteristics of the SFL paradigm, which account for its particular appeal to linguistically oriented translation researchers and teachers. It will be argued that the evolution of SFL theory over the past five decades has made it progressively more ‘applicable’ in general, and in translation studies in particular. Insofar as translation can be characterized as a kind of decision-making process involving language or linguistic choices, SFL stands out as the linguistic theory of choice for providing a principled account of translation choices, phenomena, and problems. Two essential features of SFL make it the linguistic theory of choice for any serious engagement with language in translation research and pedagogy: its robust and rich, if not extravagant, descriptive apparatus and its ability to relate translation choices to the wider socio-cultural context. If the hallmark of SFL theory is its inherent capability of being applied to practical problems involving language, then translation studies should be the field par excellence where this assertion can be tested.