Systemic Functional Linguistics Research Articles

Pragmatic Study of Person Dexis in the Speeches of Chinese and American Leaders

Language not only conveys information, but also reveals information about the speaker’s identity, social status and behavioral motives. This paper focuses on how person dexis in the speeches of Chinese and U.S. leaders convey interpersonal connotations and realize pragmatic purposes. The selected texts are analyzed from the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistics according to the first, second and third person dexis. The paper is based on a corpus of 11 speeches delivered by President Xi and former U.S. President Donald Trump, in which the frequency of person dexis and the characteristics of the use are recorded. The study is conducive to have a clearer understanding of the interpersonal meanings and pragmatic purposes of different person dexis and the underlying conceptual and cultural factors influencing the usage.

Pragmatic Choice of Diction and Deictic Elements in Select Covid-19 Media Discourse in Nigeria

Recent scholarly works on Covid-19 media discourse and medical discourse have only focused on the use of neologisms within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and language use that investigates communication and exchange of shared background knowledge as important factors between doctors and their patients. This paper investigates the pragmatic choice of words and the various contexts in which deictic elements have been employed by members of Nigeria's Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 to convey meaning with the public. As a pragmatic study, attention is given to the mood aspect, using Halliday's Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to elicit the potential motivations behind the pragmatic choice of words of the speakers. This paper analyses a total of 92 utterances from four speeches of the Nigeria's Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 members delivered at one of their live telecast press briefings on Tuesday, 27th April 2020, were taped and transcribed for analysis. The utterances were analysed with antconc software, which provided a frequency tally of the specific deictic elements used in the speeches. The findings of this study on the one hand, indicate that speakers at the press briefing used person deixis such as I, We, and Us in both inclusive and exclusive contexts to demonstrate pity for the public and to pragmatically connect with the public as if both the speech producers and the public are engaged in a serious battle against Covid-19. On the other hand, our grammatical analysis revealed the use of military diction, leading the researcher to conclude that the members of the Nigerian Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 assume State authority for themselves.

Ecological Discourse Analysis of the English Translations of Song of Peach Blossom Land from the Perspective of Transitivity

In light of the degradation of the ecological environment, linguists have integrated ecology with linguistics, giving rise to the emergence of ecolinguistics. Ecological Discourse Analysis (EDA), as a form of discourse analysis, serves as an analytical approach within the field of ecolinguistics. Considering that Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) can be applied in analyzing ecological discourses and acknowledging the existing differences between Chinese and English languages, this paper conducts an EDA on both Chinese and English translations of “Song of Peach Blossom Land” from a transitivity perspective, aiming to present disparities in translation skills and accuracy. The results reveal that material processes account for over 50% of processes in all three texts and are consistently observed throughout them. Natural ecology is portrayed through depictions of the peach blossom land’s scenery; social ecology is presented by describing the social background and friendly relationship between the fisherman and villagers; spiritual ecology is embodied by his decision to leave his hometown but ultimately return to this land again. Furthermore, disparities in translation skills and accuracy exist within the Chinese-English translation.

Grammatical Metaphor in the C-E Translation of Jing Ye Si

In translation, translators are often confronted with the choice between congruent form and metaphorical form, which is closely correlated with grammatical metaphor theory in systemic functional linguistics. This paper attempts to apply grammatical metaphor theory to Jing Ye Si and its seven translations to assess poetry translation quality and provide guidance for translators from the perspective of systemic functional linguistics. It strives to elucidate the grammatical metaphor in the C-E translation of Jing Ye Si and the way to evaluate its seven translations via grammatical metaphor. In this context, six steps brought forward by Huang Guowen (2004) are taken in the functional discourse analysis of Jing Ye Si and its seven translations. After elaborating the characteristics of the seven translations, the study evaluates their overall translation quality. According to functional equivalence to the source text, the translations of Xu Yuanchong and Amy Lowell outperform other translations. In translation practice, translators are advised to choose between the congruent form and metaphorical form based on the context, original author, target readers, aesthetic value, translation purpose, and so on. Essentially, it is necessary to manipulate the transitivity system, mood system, modality system, and Theme system to realize the equivalence of the translations to the source text in terms of ideational, interpersonal, and textual metafunctions.

Cognitive linguistics-inspired language instruction

Second language acquisition (SLA) or second/foreign language teaching has been influenced to various degrees by key linguistic theories, including structural linguistics (Bloomfield, 1933; Saussure, 1959), generative linguistics (Chomsky, 1957, 1965), systemic functional linguistics (Halliday, 1973), and, more recently, contemporary Cognitive Linguistics (CL; Goldberg, 1995; Lakoff, 1987, 1993; Langacker, 1987, 1991; Talmy, 1988, 2000), a theory composed of several related linguistic approaches often viewed as a response or complement to generative linguistics. While structural linguistics, generative linguistics, and systemic functional linguistics have each provided a theoretical impetus for one or more of the prominent language teaching methods or approaches over the past century (such as the Audiolingual method, the Natural method, and the Communicative Language Teaching method), CL, as a newcomer, has begun to exert a growing influence since the early 1990s. Given that the purpose of this research timeline article is to present a historical overview of the key thoughts and studies on CL-inspired approaches to instructed second language acquisition (ISLA),1 a brief discussion of CL's main differences from the other linguistic theories and its key theoretical tenets is in order.

Using interpersonal meaning making resources to build relationships and improve engagement in online teacher professional learning

AbstractAs professional learning and development (PLD) for teachers moves online, it is increasingly important to consider what constitutes effective provision. While models of effective PLD abound, online PLD faces challenges to participant engagement. In particular, the critical need to build and maintain relationships in professional learning is complicated by the geographic and temporal distribution of online participants as well as the nuances of the technology in use. We argue that online PLD occurs in collaborative text-spaces within learning management systems, social media spaces and their attendant learning objects such as forums. As such, persistent challenges to engagement in online PLD may be met by considering the language-based interpersonal affordances of these text-spaces. We employ a small-scale corpus study and appraisal analysis to demonstrate the value of Systemic Functional Linguistics in addressing the challenges of online learning, particularly how the meaning making resources of the interpersonal metafunction can be used to improve participant engagement.

Realization of Appraisal and Ideology in Ferdy Sambo Case in Editorial Text of "Kasus Sambo Isih Dawa" and "Ganjaran Murwat Tumrap Kejujuran" in Panjebar Semangat Magazine

This research aims to identify appraisal devices in two editorial texts in the Javanese magazine Panjebar Semangat on the news texts of Ferdy Sambo case entitled Kasus Sambo Isih Dawa and Ganjaran Murwat Tumrap Kejujuran and describe the ideology of the author of the editorial text. Data were analyzed using the Appraisal System in Functional Systemic Linguistics, including Attitude, Graduation, and Engagement. The results of the appraisal analysis on the first text are 69 attitudes data from 68 clauses. A total of 69 attitudes data were found, consisting of 33 positive attitudes and 36 negative attitudes. Monogloss data with 44 data dominate these attitudes compared to heterogloss data with 25 data. In terms of Graduation, journalists used the intensifier type only eight times. For the second text, 55 attitudes data from 48 clauses. The total of 55 data was dominated by positive evaluations of 43 data, while there were only 12 negative evaluations. It can be interpreted that this editorial text has a very positive nuance. The text is dominated by monogloss data, namely 47 data, compared to heterogloss data, which is only 8 data. The outcomes of the analysis conducted on the editorial texts within the Panjebar Semangat Javanese magazine indicate a predominant reliance on judgment as the principal method of Appraisal, succeeded by appreciation and affect. The analysis explicitly emphasizes the assessment of individual character traits, with Richard, Sambo, and Putri identified as the primary subjects of evaluation. This finding underscores the potential of news as a mechanism for the exercise of social control, with the deployment of judgment serving to consolidate specific societal values and beliefs. This editorial text makes journalists themselves the dominant source of evaluators. In terms of Graduation, journalists also tend to increase their Attitude appraisal using intensifiers. The dominance of monogloss in the editorial text is linguistic evidence that the journalist deliberately composed the editorial text using the point of view of himself.

An Analysis of Student’s Recount Text: An SFL Approach

This paper reports on the results of a study aiming to investigate the student’s ability to write recount text of a university student in Bandung. The study was conducted using the theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), especially functional grammar, in terms of the Transitivity, Mood and Modality system. The study used a case study on text analysis. A text, which is a recount text written by a higher achiever university student, was analysed using the Transitivity, Mood and Modality system. In terms of the Transitivity system, the result indicates the writer’s adequate syntactic compression and rich lexico-grammatical patterns. Moreover, in terms of the Mood and Modality system, the text shows the writer’s ability to infuse, temper, negotiate, and constrain the experiential meanings in the Mood that is in focus. Hence, the writer is categorized as a mature and critical writer, and the text is appropriate to be used as a model text. Research on text analysis using SFL of different genres of text and how the teaching of writing should be conducted to help improve students’ writing ability is recommended.

학문 목적 한국어 학습자를 위한 인용절 교육 내용 연구

Objectives The purpose of this paper is to propose new educational content for quotations for Korean language learners, reflecting the logic-semantic types of Systemic Functional Linguistics(SFL). Methods Quotation clauses are elucidated as projective clauses within the logic-semantic relationship of SFL. Projection is categorized based on three criteria: projection level (thought, locution), projection mode (parataxis, hypotaxis), and speech function (proposition, proposal). Reflecting these perspectives of projection in the educational content of quotations can improve existing problems observed among Korean language learners for academic purposes. Results First, this paper distinguishes between locution quotation, thought quotation, and fact quotation based on the linguistic content being quoted, and indicates the need to address various sources of quotations such as speaker, listener, the third person and media. Second, it is emphasized that educational content should explicitly cover not only indirect quotation expressions but also direct quotation. Regarding the form of presenting indirect quotation expressions, considering ‘고’ as a particle is effective. This is because regarding ‘고’ as a particle helps to clearly reveal the content of the quotation, explicitly indicate the speech function of propositions or proposals, and above all, because it well represents the nature of quotations, making it accessible for Korean language learners. Third, it is suggested that educational content should be designed to include various quotation verbs to allow learners to express the attitudes and opinions of quoted speakers. To this end, this paper provides a list of quotation verbs for each learning level. Fourth, it is proposed that quotation nouns should be included as grammar items in quotation expression learning to enable learners to skillfully use quotation expressions by also mastering the structure of adjective clause. Conclusions The SFL-based educational content on quotations proposed in this paper can contain sufficient content of quotation expressions required by academic learners after university admission, and it is expected to be effectively applied in cultivating their usage proficiency.

A Study on Interpersonal Meaning of Engagement Resources in the First Speeches of British Prime Ministers (54th - 57th)

Appraisal Theory expands on the concept of the interpersonal meaning found in Systemic Functional Linguistics. As one of the three distinct types of the Appraisal System, the Engagement System (ES) is frequently employed to deconstruct the speakers’ position in their speeches to better understand how they manipulate interpersonal interactions with their audience. The UAM Corpus Tool 6.0 was applied in this study to undertake an in-depth quantitative and qualitative analysis of four different British Prime Ministerial First Speeches (BPMFS) from the 54th to 57th Prime Ministers. It was found that three Engagement Resources (ERs) were mainly employed in the selected BPMFSs: Assertion Resources help British Prime Ministers take responsibility for directly introducing their evaluation into the text; Entertainment Resources contribute to opening the dialogic space to bridge differences; and through Disclamation Resources (including Denial and Countering Resources), Prime Ministers can oppose suspicion to build rapport with their recipients and establish common goals for a more prosperous future.

Learning the Meaning of Song Lyrics through the Elements of Ideational Metafunction: A Case on Systemic Functional Linguistics

The focus of the analysis is to identify and describe the various types of processes within the Experiential Function in the song's lyrics. Data source for this study is the song's lyrics, obtained from reliable sources such as the artist's official YouTube channel, Google, and various music applications. The lyrics are transcribed and used for identifying and categorizing the experiential processes found in the song. The data analysis method used in this research is qualitative analysis. It involves analyzing each clause in the lyrics and classifying them based on the Experiential Function's categories. The Experiential Function analysis helps to understand how the songwriter expresses their experiences, emotions, and perceptions through language in the song. This analysis of the Experiential Function in the song "A Year Ago" provides a comprehensive understanding of the songwriter's expressions of experiences and emotions, contributing to a deeper appreciation and interpretation of the song's lyrics. Keywords: Ideational Metafunction, Lyrics Songs, Systemic Functional Linguistics

Analysis of Translator Behavior from the Perspective of Intervention System Negation of Resource Change - Taking the Interpretation of the Foreign Ministers Press Conference at the First Session of the Fourteenth National Peoples Congress as an Example

Criticism of translator behavior expands the social perspective of translator behavior research. Based on the theory of evaluation of negation of resources in intervention system in systemic functional linguistics, this paper uses the Truth-Pragmatism continuous evaluation mode of translator behavior to study the translator behavior behind the change in evaluation significance of the interpretation of the Foreign Ministers press conference at the first session of the Fourteenth National Peoples Congress. The study found that translators possess the attribute of pragmatism and there exists a pragmatic social subject choice. The study aims to provide reference and guidance for the development of diplomatic interpretation.

Ideational Grammatical Metaphor in Electrical Engineering Abstracts

Ideational grammatical metaphor is an important aspect of systemic functional linguistics as well as widely present in academic abstract. According to the classification of 13 types of ideational grammatical metaphors by Halliday, this paper probes into their characteristics in English abstracts of 30 electrical papers, and compares the differences of ideational grammatical metaphors used by Chinese scholars and native English scholars. In this study, it can be found that domestic electrical engineering scholars have the following problems in writing abstracts: overuse of nominalization, underuse of the verbalization of conjunction, insufficient use of some types and low lexical variation.

Functional Discourse Analysis of Queen Elizabeth II’s Speech in 2020

Based on Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics, this thesis analyzes Elizabeth II’s 2020 Christmas speech and studies how the Queen uses language skills to obtain the support of the audience. Through the method of functional discourse analysis, this paper explores the performance of the three metafunctions of language in discourse. A comprehensive and in-depth analysis of Christmas speeches shows the operability and applicability of systemic functional linguistics theory in explaining political discourse, which is of practical significance. In addition, representative and contemporary political discourses are selected, and the analysis results are more practical.

Grammar, cohesion and the co-ordination of the ‘self’ in a current psychotherapeutic technique

Abstract This paper aims to show how concepts and analytical methods of systemic functional linguistics can work congruently with other human practices to improve outcomes for those undergoing the suffering around loss of meaning and the absence of purposeful, self-directed experience. Based on a two-decade collaboration between linguists and psychotherapists in Sydney, Australia, and using the tools of text linguistics as developed by Michael A. K. Halliday and Ruqaiya Hasan in systemic functional theory, the paper presents an indicative selection of intense exchanges between traumatized persons and therapists (centrally the experience of ‘Ruth’). The level by level linguistic descriptions of these exchanges offer opportunities for understanding how progress in the clinical interaction might be achieved. The descriptions can also be evaluated against the theoretical claims of psychotherapy in psychiatry – in particular, the emphasis of the Conversational Model of Psychotherapy developed in England and Australia by Robert Hobson and Russell Meares, whose characterization of disorders involves an emphasis on ‘co-ordination’ and ‘cohesion’ within frontal lobe activity of traumatized patients. In this way the paper also explores conceptual parallels and intellectual antecedents shared between the Conversational Model and Systemic Functional Linguistics, contributing to the broader intellectual history of the human sciences.

Introducing/Testing New SFL-Inspired Communication/Content/Function-Focused Measures for Assessing L2 Narrative Task Performance

Abstract In response to calls for an assessment tool that provides a separate performance dimension from the linguistic quality-oriented measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) and guided by systemic functional linguistic (SFL) theories, this study introduces a set of fine-grained objective measures of communication/content/function (CCF)-related performance in second language (L2) narratives and empirically tests the validity of these measures using vigorous research procedures and statistical tests. The test results show that these CCF measures assessed their intended SFL functional dimensions, in contrast to the key CAF measures that evaluated mainly linguistic dimensions of narrative performance. More specifically, these CCF measures offered an objective evaluation of the communication/content quality of narrative task performance as evaluated by the subjective functional adequacy scales, while the key CAF measures provided an objective assessment of the linguistic quality of task performance as measured by the largely subjective International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scales. The study also discusses the implications of the results for making the assessment of L2 task performance more accurate and comprehensive.

English writing instructors' use of theories, genres, and activities: A survey of teachers’ beliefs and practices

In second language (L2) writing, the concept of genre has been an important construct. To date, multiple theories (sometimes referred to as schools or approaches) have driven a considerable amount of genre-based research and pedagogy, including: English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), and the New Rhetoric/Rhetorical Genre Studies (RGS) approach. Despite their growing prevalence, studies are needed that investigate the extent to which writing instructors adopt these theories in practice. This study addresses this issue by exploring 1) the genre-based theories that inform writing instructors’ pedagogies; 2) the different genres instructors teach in their classrooms; and 3) the types of pedagogical activities practitioners employ. To understand these phenomena, survey data (N = 141) and semi-structured interviews (n = 7) were collected from L2 English writing instructors. Findings show that ESP was the most well-known and adopted approach, followed by SFL and RGS. For written genres, most instructors reported teaching traditional, monomodal genres (e.g., argumentative essays), while digital multimodal genres were rare. This study discusses the implications of these findings, including developing teacher training, expanding pedagogies to include multimodal genres, and forging links between genres used in the classroom and those students will encounter in their lives.

A CLAUSE COMPLEX ANALYSIS OF PROBLEM STATEMENT SECTIONS IN MPHIL THESES ACROSS THREE DISCIPLINES IN A GHANAIAN UNIVERSITY

Academic writing is considered persuasive (Hyland 2008) and as post-graduate-students negotiate their entry into the research community, they are expected to build a formidable argument to create a research space for themselves in their research problem statements. As such, how they build logical connections of ideas in their problem statements is key, varying from one discipline to the other. This study explores the Problem Statement sections of MPhil theses, using Halliday and Matthiessen’s (2004/2014) notion of clause complexing in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). Specifically, the study focused on the tactic and the logico-semantic relations of the Problem Statements sections of three disciplines: Mathematics, Nursing, and English Language in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The findings reveal that regarding the basic clause complex structure of the three disciplines, English Language uses a lot of clause complexes compared to the other disciplines. Also, all three disciplines use considerable hypotactic relations and hypotactic projection of locution instead of idea since in the problem statements, writers report what others have said and not their own thoughts. In terms of relations of expansion, there are variations in the three disciplines, with English language favoring elaboration whilst Mathematics favor extension and enhancement. The use of expansion relations for Nursing is closer to that of English language. It is suggested that clause complexing is not only determined by genre and mode but also conventions of academic discipline. The findings have implication for theory and disciplinarity in academic writing.

A systematic narrative synthesis review of the effectiveness of genre theory and systemic functional linguistics for improving reading and writing outcomes within K-10 education

AbstractThis paper reports a systematic narrative synthesis review conducted on the educational effectiveness of genre theory/systemic functional linguistics pedagogies for improving reading and writing outcomes in K-10 education within mainstream classrooms in Australia, the UK, the USA, New Zealand, and Canada. This framework has significant influence on reading and writing curriculum, teacher training, and literacy practices. However, its evidence base has never been systematically reviewed. An exhaustive database search sourced 7846 potentially relevant studies, which were screened according to guidelines for evaluating evidence through systematic narrative synthesis reviews and standardly applied criteria for educational evidence (e.g., The Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation, What Works Clearinghouse). Very few peer-reviewed intervention studies with control groups and quantitatively measured outcomes were found. A surprising result. Those studies showing positive effects had flaws in research design and quality that preclude their use as educational evidence. This systematic review indicates that there is insufficient rigorous evidence of the benefits, or lack thereof, of genre theory/systemic functional linguistics–based approaches to teaching reading and writing within K-10 education, at least in terms of measurable outcomes for students. More high-quality research needs to be undertaken as the current research record is not sufficient to prove or disprove the value of this approach.

The emotional geography of faculty members engaging in virtual teacher professional development (VTPD): evidence from Indonesia

PurposeDrawing from emotional geography framework promoted by Hargreaves (2000), our research sought to depict the emotional geography of two faculty members who engaged in a virtual teacher professional development (VTPD) sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to focus on capturing participants’ emotional closeness or distance while they were engaging in VTPD.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed narrative inquiry by exploring three-dimensional narrative inquiry space: temporality, personal-social interaction and place (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000). Following this step, the participants were interviewed online through Zoom meetings and WhatsApp to capture critical incidents of their emotional experience. All collected data were transcribed, and some data from Bahasa Indonesia were translated into English. Member checking was also done several times to ensure the accuracy of the data as well as to avoid misinterpretation. The data were analysed inductively to generate coding categories using systemic functional linguistics (SFL) language appraisal (Martin and White, 2007) and emotional geography parameter (Hargreaves, 2001b).FindingsThe findings of the study revealed that both participants experienced greater positive feeling than negative ones. The participants experienced positive feelings such as seriousness, happiness, successfulness and satisfaction. They also experienced negative feelings such as insecurity, unhappiness, dissatisfaction and impatience. Such positive and negative feelings create closeness and distance among participants, mentor and workshop organiser. This study indicates that maintaining positive feelings is a passport to succeed in VTPD.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has two limitations. First, its findings cannot be overgeneralised since the analysis was restricted to data gathered from a small number of participants. Second, the scope of investigation was limited in virtual situations.Practical implicationsThe present study empirically showed that faculty members need to engage in constructing or maintaining positive emotional bond with the mentor and other participants and create conducive situations to understand their own and others’ emotions (Mayer, 2011). Practically, a mentor in VTPD may ask faculty members to voice and share their emotional experience as an evaluation tool to make VTPD programmes more successful. Future participants can benefit from these findings by engaging in emotional understanding and building a conducive situation during VTPD to develop their academic competence, agency and identity.Originality/valueWhile previous research into VTPD in the context of higher education mainly focused on designs, attention to pedagogy of online teacher learning environments, trends toward innovation in teacher collaboration and communities of practice in online settings, the present study specifically looked into how participants emotionally engaged in VTPD, which is inevitably linked to physical, moral, sociocultural, professional and political geographies.