Entry #6: Systemic Functional Linguistics

Systemic Functional Linguistics

The acronym SFL stands for Systemic Functional Linguistics which is a theory of language developed by Michael Halliday. This approach to language considers language as a social semiotic system (paradigmatic vs syntagmatic). It seeks to understand how people communicate by a variety of means in particular social settings.

SFL is based upon the analysis of the text and it approaches register in terms of 3 variables known as semiotic functions. These are:

• Field: It is the area of external reality with which the content of the text deals.
• Tenor: It deals with the relationship between those who are taking part in the linguistic act.
• Mode: It is the channel through which the communication takes place.

SFL model is made up of 3 semantic components known as metafunctions.

• The Ideational Metafunction: It is that part of meaning which relates to the way external reality is represented in the text. It might be thought as the content of the message.
• The Interpersonal Metafunction: It concerns the relationship that exists between the speaker and his/her audience and between the speaker and his message.
• The Textual Metafunction: It is that part of the meaning which makes a text into a text, as opposed to a single string of words or clauses. It involves thematic structure, information structure, and cohesion.

There is a close connection between the 3 semiotic functions and the 3 semantic metafunctions.

3 Semiotic Functions ➝ Fiel / Tenor / Mode.

3 Semantic Metafunctions ➝ Ideational / Interpersonal / Textual.

Field ➝ Ideational

Tenor ➝ Interpersonal

Mode ➝ Textual

It is a total theory of language of which certain aspects lend themselves to the analysis of a text.

Source of information:

Banks, D. (2002). Systemic Functional Linguistics as a model for text analysis. Retrieved from: La revue du Geras. Available at: https://journals.openedition.org/asp/1584#citedby

Study Notes

Semantics: It is the study of the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences. In semantic analysis, there is always an attempt to focus on what words conventionally mean, rather than on what an individual might want them to mean on a particular occasion. It is concerned with objective or general meaning.

Pragmatics: It is the study of what speakers mean -the study of "invisible meaning"-. We must use the meaning of the words, the context in which they occur, and some pre-existing knowledge of what would be a likely message as we work towards a reasonable interpretation of what the producer of the message intended it to convey. We emphasized the influence of context. There are different kinds of contexts. One is described as linguistic context, also known as co-text. It is a set of other words used in the same phrase or sentence. Then, we have the physical context and it is how we interpret the words on the basis of the physical context that surrounds it.

Discourse Analysis: It is made sense of what we read, recognized well-constructed texts, and understand more than what speakers say. The word "discourse" is usually defined as "language beyond the sentence" and so the discourse is typically related to the study of language in texts and conversations.  However, when we read texts that contain ungrammatical forms we try to make sense of it. We attempt to arrive at a reasonable interpretation of what the writer intended to convey. To do that, we rely on our background knowledge, we know that a text must have a certain structure that depends on cohesion and coherence.

Yule, G. (2010) The Study of Language. Cambridge (Ed.)

 

A Genre-Based Model of Language de Gabriela Moreno

Educational uses of SFL in a EFL context

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http://linoit.com/users/Lucianamelisa/canvases/Systemic%20Functional%20Linguistics