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Systemic functional grammar

Michael Halliday at his 90th-birthday symposium, 17 February 2015

Systemic functional grammar (SFG) is a form of grammatical description originated by Michael Halliday.[1] It is part of a social semiotic approach to language called systemic functional linguistics. In these two terms, systemic refers to the view of language as "a network of systems, or interrelated sets of options for making meaning";[2] functional refers to Halliday's view that language is as it is because of what it has evolved to do (see Metafunction). Thus, what he refers to as the multidimensional architecture of language "reflects the multidimensional nature of human experience and interpersonal relations."[3]

  1. ^ "What is Systemic-Functional Linguistics?". Information on Systemic Functional Linguistics. International Systemic Functional Linguistics Association. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  2. ^ Halliday, M.A.K. 1994. Introduction to Functional Grammar, 2nd ed. London: Edward Arnold. p. 15.
  3. ^ Halliday, M.A.K. 2003. "On the 'Architecture' of Human Language". In On Language and Linguistics, Volume 3 in the Collected Works of M.A.K. Halliday. Edited by Jonathan Webster. p. 29.

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