\u2018The axial rethink\u2019 \u2013 making sense of language: an interview with Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen

Christian M I M Matthiessen,Bo Wang,Yuanyi Ma,Isaac N Mwinlaaru

doi:10.1186/s40554-018-0058-8

Abstract

Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen is a leading scholar in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). Together with William C. Mann and Sandra A. Thompson, he developed Rhetorical Structure Theory, a discourse analytical framework which he has continued to expand and extend using insights from the architecture of SFL. Some of his other contributions are in the area of functional language typology, theoretical modelling of the dimensions of language and comprehensive paradigmatic description of English lexicogrammatical systems. In this interview, he discusses his early experience in linguistics and his motivations for working with Systemic Functional Linguistics. The interview also sheds light on the interaction between SFL and other linguistic schools in the European and American linguistic traditions, and indicates the distinctive contributions of SFL to linguistic science. The discussion contributes to the history of linguistics and the debates on the meta-theory of language.

Highlights

One notable contribution of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to the language sciences is its emphasis on the importance of maintaining a balance between the paradigmatic and syntagmatic axes in linguistic analysis, what Matthiessen (2015a: 151) has described as the ‘axial rethink’ in the history of linguistics
In this interview with Christian Matthiessen, we focus on the ‘axial rethink’ from the point of view of his own life-journey through linguistics
Our objective here is to contribute to the history of linguistics, in general, and of Systemic Functional Linguistics, in particular, and to indicate some theoretical research gaps that need scholarly energy among linguists, or at least systemic linguists

Summary

Introduction

One notable contribution of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to the language sciences is its emphasis on the importance of maintaining a balance between the paradigmatic and syntagmatic axes in linguistic analysis, what Matthiessen (2015a: 151) has described as the ‘axial rethink’ in the history of linguistics. Christian Matthiessen is a leading scholar in Systemic Functional Linguistics, and has been a close research collaborator of Michael Halliday since the 1980’s.

Results

Conclusion