Systemic functional-grammar-sfg-and-discourse

Systemic Functional Grammar
(SFG)

Why SFG?
 To understand language as it is
 SFG sees society explains language, as
opposed to formal linguistics which seeks the
explanation from neurological context.
 The relation between social context and
language is not cause and effect but rather
‘realization/ representation / symbolization’.
 Thus, society is resources of meaning and
language is the meaning maker.

Stratum, rank and meta-function
Social Context
Language as
text

Meta-functional solidarity across
planes
Mode
Field
Ideational
Textual
Tenor Interper-
sonal

Stratification: Levels of abstraction in
language
Discourse Semantics
Content plane
Lexicogrammar
Phonology/
Graphology Expression plane

Strata cross-classified by meta-
function
Ideational
Interpersonal Textual

Meta-function, reality, and work done
Metafunction Reality construal ‘Workdone’
Ideational (experiential & logical) reality observer
Interpersonal Social reality intruder
Textual semiotic reality relevance

Constituents
Constituency in formal linguistics
My son likes candies very much

Constituency (continued)
Constituency in SFG
happening
process nuclear participant other participant circumstance
likes candies my son very much

Clause as exchange
 To construe social reality and realize
interpersonal meaning
 To explore clause resources for participating
in exchanges.
 Exchanges: to give and to demand
information and goods or services
 MOOD system is system of clauses as
interpersonal resources.

MOOD system
MOOD System
declarative
Subject ^ Finite
Indicative polar
+ Subject
Major + Finite interrogative
Predicator Finite ^ Subject
CLAUSE imperative Wh
+ pred ^ (com/adj)
Minor
no predicator

Exchange
goods and services information
giving Here’s the small bear This is the small bear
demanding Find me the small bear Is this the small bear?
proposal proposition

Mood structure
 Mood structure is a structure where the meaning of
proposal or proposition of a clause can be found.
 Mood structure consists of 2 constituents: mood and
residue.
 Mood is built from the relation between subject and
finite, whereas residue is the rest.
 Subject is grammatical doer; finite consists of tense,
modality, and polarity; complement is potential
subject in passive; adjunct can’t be subject;
predicator is verbal group excluding finite;
continuative and conjunction connect the previous
clause; vocative is used to summon.

Example of mood structure
Mood structure in indicative declarative
We sang a song
S F / P C
Mood Residue
Indicative:declarative; proposition
We will sing this song for you
S F P C Adj.
Mood Residue
Indicative:declarative; proposal

(continued)
Mood structure in Wh interrogative
How long must we sing this song?
Wh/Adj. F S P C
Re- Mood -sidue
Indicative: wh interrogative; proposition
What will we Sing?
Wh/C F S P
Re- Mood -sidue
Indicative: wh interrogative; proposition

(continued)
Mood structure in polar interrogative
Is this the bear?
F S C
Mood Residue
Indicative: polar interrogative; proposition
Mood structure in imperative
Be patient!
P C
Residue
Imperative; proposal

(continued)
Mood structure in embedded clause and projection
They belived that they had won the
match
S F / P C
Mood Residue
Mood structure in tag question
You don’t understand do you?
S F P F S
Mood Residue Mood tag

CLAUSE AS MESSAGE
 To explore clauses as semiotic resources to
express message.
 Principles:
- language including clause is linear
- so message is structured linearly
- linearity means it is like a line which has a
start and an end
 This principles implies that message is structured
from beginning to an end.
 There are two points of views in looking at clause
as message: reader’s and listener’s point of view
and speaker’s and writer’s point of view.

Message from reader’s and listener’s
point of view
 Message is
expected to be
structured from
‘known’ to
‘unknown’.
 Or message is
structured from
old information
and moves to
new
information.
For example:
My uncle visited me last week
Old New
He stayed in my house for 2 days
Old New

Patterns of old-new information in
different genres
Patterns of old-new information in report
Algae is a single-celled or simple multiple organism.
Old New
It can conduct the process of photosynthesis.
Old New
It is generally found in water
Old New
but it can also be found elswhere such as in rocks and trees.
Old New

Patterns of old-new information in
different genres (continued)
Patterns of old-new information in explanation
Medical bill in US have risen outrageously
Old New
and steps need to be taken to reverse this trend.
Old New
Or the American will not be able to afford medical care.
Old New
The major factor of the case has been the dramatic increase of hospital services.
Old New
But the rise in the cost of hospitalization can only be partly blamed on inflation
Old New
since the hospital bill in the last two decdes have risen at a considerable rate.
Old New

Message from speaker’s and writer’s
point of view
 The beginning is a
stepping stone to
develop a message
 Message is structured
from theme (topic) and
moves to rheme (tail).
 It is used as strategy to
develop the message
based on the theme or
topic they think it is
important
For example:
Theme Rheme
Last week my uncle visited me.
Theme Rheme
Luckily, we got the right bus.
Theme Rheme

Types of theme
 There are three types of themes in English:
topical, textual, and interpersonal.
 Topical theme is the theme that develop the
topic of discourse.
 Textual theme is used to connect the
previous clause.
 Interpersonal theme is used to interact and
transact socially.

Topical theme
 There are two types of
topical theme: unmarked and
marked.
 The unmarked topical theme
is the typical theme in
English clauses that are
usually started with subject.
 The marked topical theme is
non-typical theme that is
characterized by other than
subject such as:
complement, adjunct, or
predicator
For example:
Theme Rheme
Unmarked
Last week my uncle visited me
Theme Rheme
Marked

Textual theme
 To connect logically the
first and second clause
 Mostly in the forms of
conjunction such: and,
then, after, although
etc., and continuative
such as: Errr…,
Emm…, Well…
For example:
But he doesn’t understand
Theme Rheme
Text Top
Err… he did it
Theme Rheme
Text Top

Interpersonal theme
 To realize the
interpersonal meaning
of the theme.
 Interactional
interpersonal theme is
realized in vocative
 Transactional
interpersonal (giving
and demanding
information and goods
and services) theme is
realized in finite and wh.
For example:
John, will you be the chairman?
Theme Rheme
Int Int top

Example of combination analysis of
mood and theme of English clauses
We sang a song
S F / P C
Mood Residue
Theme: Top
Unmarked
Rheme
How long must we sing this song?
Wh/Adj. F S P C
Re- Mood -sidue
Theme:
Int/Top
Marked
Rheme

Example of combination analysis of
mood and theme of English clauses
What will we Sing?
Wh/C F S P
Re- Mood -sidue
Theme:
Int/Top
Marked
Rheme
Be patient!
P C
Residue
Top Marked Theme
Well Darling I will take a rest for a
while
Con Voc S F P C Adj
Re- Mood -sidue
Theme
Text Int Top
Unm
Rheme

Night watch with Catriona Thornton:
Officers hurt in wild brawl:
4 charged in ‘touch and go’ fight
Four policemen
received minor injuries
when they broke up a
brawl involving 10 men
in western Sydney early
yesterday.
The officers were
called to a service station
at Minto at 3 am after a
report that people were
causing a disturbance.
A police spokesman
said that when officers
from Cambletown
confronted the men, the
group allegedly turned on
them.
“It was a touch-and-go
situation for a while but
the police managed to get
things under control,” he
said.
“Although the offciers
were outnumbered
several arrets were
made.”
Four were charged
with a number of
offences, including
assaulting police and
resisting arrest.
At King Cross, police
arrested two men after a
car chase through the
suburb’s narrow strrets
early yesterday.
The chase began on
Bayswater Rd and
continued through streets
and laneways but ended
on Victoria Rd after the
offenders surrendered to
police.
The men were later
charged in connection
with a stolen motor
vehicle.
Police at Marrickville
were called to break up a
brawl on the corner of
Marrickville and
Illawarra roads.
About 40 people were
involved in the fight but
no one was injued.
At Balmain, police
arrested two people for
attemped break-and-enter
at a newsagency on
Victoria Rd. They were
taken to Balmain police
station and later charged.
In the inner west,
Leichhardt police were
called to break up a brawl
involving about 30
people.
In Sydney’s south, a
31-year-old woman
suffered minor head
injuries after she was
assaulted at the bexley
North shopping centre.

Clause as representation: transitivity
 Clause also represents experience (ideational
meaning: experiential)
 Basically experience consists of three constituents:
- process or the event / happening, realized in
verbal groups.
- participants, realized in nominal groups, and
- circumstance, realized in nominal groups or
prepositional phrase.
 In English, there are 6 types of processes: material,
mental, verbal, behavioral, relational, and existential
processes.

Material process
 A process of doing, physical action.
 There are two types of material process:
happening and doing. Happening material
process is characterized by the absence of
goal, while doing material process is
characterized with the presence of goal.
 Participants in material process involves:
actor (the doer), goal (affected participant),
beneficiary (client and recipient), and range.

Material process (continued)
‘doing’ ‘happening’
(transitive) (intransitive)
John is cooking pizza John is cooking
actor process goal actor process
• doing: actor – process – goal
- creative (making goal): create, make, build, develop, etc.
- dispositive (affecting goal): send, throw, strew, pour, disolve, etc.
• happening: actor – process
- move, fall, rise, come, go, soften, harden, melt, etc.

1. Material process in passive
The pizza is being cooked by John
goal process actor
Agentless passive
The pizza is being cooked
goal process
2. Material process with dispositive –recipient
- give, hand, throw, deliver, send, etc.
John sent Mac a table
actor process recipient goal
John sent a table to Mac
actor process goal recipient

3. Material process with dispositive – client
- buy, make, get, do, cook, bake, etc.
John baked Mac pizza
actor process client goal
John baked pizza for Mac
actor process goal client
4. Material process with range:
- range can be an extension of process and a scope of process
- range is not an entity.
John play guitar
sang a song
actor process range (extension of
process
John climbed the hill
actor process range (scope of
process

Mental Process
 A process of sensing: perception, cognition, and
affection.
 Perception: perceive, see, notice, obserbe, feel,
smell, taste, hear, etc.
 Cognition: assume, believe, conclude, consider,
discover, doubt, etc.
 Affection: enjoy, relish, regret, like, fear, dread.
Favor, love, prefer, etc.
 Participants: senser and phenomenon
 Three types of phenomena: micro (thing), macro
(thing with embedded process), meta (an idea)

Mental process (continued)
John likes
saw
wondered
pizza (micro)
him selecting a shirt (macro)
why he was chosen (meta)
senser process phenomenon
To test:
1. at the moment of speaking: simple
- No one sees him.
- * No one is seeing him
2. bi-directional:
- I fear that man / that man frightens me
- I like it / It pleases me
- I don’t understand it / It puzzles me
- grieve / sadden, belive / convince, forget / escape, recall / remind
3. Mental process does not work with a question: ‘What di he do?’
-* What did he do? He liked the man.

Verbal process
 A process of saying
 Participants: sayer, verbiage, receiver
John asked
told
said
him
them
a question
a story
he’s sick
sayer process receiver verbiage

Behavioral process
 Process of behaving
 2 types: verbal behavior and mental behavior
 Verbal behavior: talk, chat, converse, speak,
call, discuss, abuse, flatter, etc. The
participants: behaver, receiver, verbiage.
 Mental behavior: look at, watch, listen to,
experience, survey, smile, laugh, cry,
memorize, concentrate, mediate, etc. The
participants include behaver, and
phenomenon.

For example:
John
They
Talked
chatted
to her
each other
about the test
about the game
behaver process receiver verbiage
He looked at
studied
the carving
the opera
behaver process phenomenon

To test behavioral from mental
Behavioral Mental
1. Unmarked present present in present
‘He is mediating’
present
‘He thinks so’
2. Directionality 1 way
‘She laughed’
2 ways
‘She likes it / It pleases
her’
3. Phenomenality No metaphenomena
*He mediated he would
eat it
OK
‘He belives he can do it’
4. Proverb Works with proverb do
“What is he doing?”
“He is mediating”
Does not work with
proverb do.
*”What is he doing?”
“He is seeing.”

Relational process
 Two types: attributive and identifying
 Attributive relational process:
- a process of giving attribute to a thing
- participants: carrier and attribute
- types of attributives:
- appearance: be, seem, appear, sound,
look, taste, smell, feel, etc.
- phase: become, remain, turn, grow, run,
come, keep, stay, etc.
- measure: weight, cost, measure, number

For example:
He
She
They
It
is
becomes
grew
costs
at home
an engineer
wild
Rp 5.000,-
carrier process attribute
With ‘have’
He Has a piano
carrier process attribute

For example (continued)
To test:
Ben is a farmer
* A farmer is Ben
Attributive with conflated procees and attribute:
- matter, suffice, differ, dominate, smell, pong
It
It
They
matters
suffices
dominate
carrier process/attribute

Identifying relational process
 A process of giving a value to athing
 Participants: token and value
 Types:
- Be: is, am, are, was, were, been
- Equality: equal, add up to, make, come out
as/at, amount to, translate, render,
paraphrase, reformulate, transliterate
- Signification: signify, expound, code, encode,
express, realize, spell, write, transcribe, read, mean,
denote, connote, define, call, name

(continued)
- Representation: symbolize, represent,
stand for, refer to, imply, index, express,
reflect, personify
- Indication: indicate, suggest, betoken,
connote, smack of, evoke, reveal
- Role: play/act as, function, portray,
typify, personify
For example:

(continued)
Ben
This
is
reflects
the farmer
the crisis
token process value
To test:
1. reversable
2. Token takes subject in active
3. Token is more concrete than value
The farmer
The crisis
is
is reflected
Ben
by this
value process token

Existential process
 A process of projecting that something exists
 Participant: existent
 For example:
There is a book onthe table
process existent circumstance
Ebola existed in Ethiopia
existent process circumstance

Circumstance
 There are 8 types of circumstances: angle, extent,
location, manner, cause, accompaniment, matter,
and role.
 Angle: - verbal source
- who says?
- for example:
According toXian cookingiseasy
Cir:angle

Circumstances (continued)
2. Extent:- nominal group with quantifier + unit of measure (yards, laps, rounds,
years …) + preposition
- How far/ long/many rounds/times…
Xian cooked the rice for 15 minutes
Cir: extent
3. Location: - prepositional phrase, adveribial group
- place and time
- where and when
- place: space –place or direction (source, passage, destination)
Xian cooked the rice in the microwave
Cir: location: place
Xian cooked the rice in the morning
Cir: location: time

4. Manner: - means, quality, comparison
a. means: how, what with?
Xian cooked the rice with microwave
Cir: manner: means
b. Quality: adverbial group (in…way/manner)
How?
Xian cooked the rice quickly/ in the following way
Cir: manner: quality
c. comparison: like, unlike (+adverbials: like, likewise, similarly differently )
What … like?
Xian cooked the rice Like Nan
Cir: manner: comparison

Cause: reason, purpose, condition, concession, behalf
a. Reason: through, because of, as a result of, due to, thanks to
Why, how
Xian cooked the pizza thanks to the microwave
Cir: cause: reason
b. purpose: for, in the hope of, for the purpose of
what for?
Xian prepared the table for his lecture
Cir: cause: purpose
c. condition: in the case of, in case
What if?
In the case of token we apply subject in the active
Cir: cause: condition

d. concession: inspite of, despite
Inspite of his cold Xian prepared his lecture
Cir: cause: concession
e. behalf: for, for the sake of, on behalf of
who for?
Xian spoke on behalf of his students
Cir: cause: behalf
6. Accompaniment: with, without, beside, instead of
Xian cooked pizza instead of rice
Cir: accompaniment

7.Matter:about,concerning,withreferenceto,etc.
Xiansawhissupervisors inrelationtohisstudy
Cir:matter
8.Role:as,bywayof,intherole/shape/guise/form/of
Xiancame asavampire
Cir:role

Extra causer
Extra
Causer participant
parti-
process

Extra causer: example
1. Initiator: make, let, get (X) do
The surgeont made the trrop march
Intiator pro- actor -cess
2. Inducer: persuade, convinve, assure, satsfy
Nan convinced Xian the pizza was cooked
inducer process senser phenomenon
3. Attributor: make, keep, leave, drive
The ranger drove the students crazy
attributor process carrier attribute
4. Assigner: elect, name, vote, call, make
They elected him Premier
assigner process token value

ENGLISH CLAUSE COMPLEX
paratactic (1,2,3…): and, but, so (that), or
, (,), (;), direct speech
eg: His mother is a doctor and his mother
is a lawyer
inter- Take it or leave it
dependence He is clever, but a bit selfish
Simplex
(1 process)
hypotactic (α,β,γ,δ…): after, before, as,
major when, if, etc., indirect speech
(process) e.g: After having locked the door, she
Complex rushed hurrily.
clause (more than They went to the party although
1 processes) were tired
minor locution (“): verbal projection
(no process) eg: They said: “ We’re tired”
They said that they were tired
projection
logico-
semantics idea (‘): mental projection
eg: They believed that they
were right
expansion elaboration (=)
eg: He is clever, he can do it.
She’s good, which’s how
she won.
extension (+): add, alter,
oppose
e.g: She’s clever, but a bit
selfish.
He spoke well, except that
he ignored the press
enhancement (x):time, reason,
purpose, condition, concession
eg: He finished, and then he
shooked her hand.
After he had finished, he
Shooked her hand.

Procedure of analysis
 Cut the clause complex into simplexes.
 If the clause contains only two clauses, then identify
the interdependence: paratactic or hypotactic and
provide the symbol. After that, identify the logico-
semantic or the meaning of the relation: projection or
expansion.
 If the clause contains more than two clauses, then
find the main logico-semantics: projection or
expansion. Then analyze the interdependence and
the logico-semantic relation. After that, analyze the
rest of the clauses by doing the same analysis.

Example of analysis
1. They said: “We’re tired.”
1 1a. They said:
“2 1b. “ We’re tired”
2. he spoke well except that he ignored the press.
α 2a. He spoke well,
+β 2b. except that he ignored the press
3. She’s good, which’s how she won
α 3a. She’s good, which’s how
=β 3b. she won
4. Marian said: “It could be dangerous if it id not managed wisely.”
1 4a. Marian said:
α “2 4b. “it could be dangerous
xβ 4c. if it isn’t managed wisely.”

Possibility of English nominal group
Pre-modifier Post-modifier
D ^ Num ^ E ^ C ^ T [ Q ]
Article: ord. num adj. N N Adj. clause
a, the car. Num pres. part adj. Pr present part phr
poss. adj. past. part gerund inf. phr past part. phr
ger. Hr inf. phr
N. Cl. adj. phr
prep. phr
car / ord number

For example:
Notes:
^ : comes before
: is realized by
T (Thing): thing, idea, or nominalized process or quality
N (Noun) common and proper noun: table, crisis, Jack
Pr (Pronoun): he, she, him, her, etc.
Inf. phr (Infinitive phrase): to swim on the beach, to say
Ger. Phr (genrund phrase): swimming on the beach, writing novel.
N. Cl. (Noun clause): that he’s sick, what they wanted to say, how to do
C (classifier): pre-modifier that classifies thing in terms of types: function or origin
N: stone house, rubber boat, Javenese architecture
Adj: black hair, modern achitecture, blue eyes
Ger: swimming pool, dining table, sailing boat

For example
E (Ephitet): pre-modifier that describes things in terms of its size, shape, color, and condition
(physical, psychological)
Adj: long hair, red boat, beautiful lady
Present participle: running water, crying baby
Past participle: one-eyed man, stolen car, broken heart
Num (numeric): pre-modifier that tells the number or the order of thing
Ordinal: the first fliht, the fourth building
Cardinal: two books, many countries
The 3 beautiful sailing boats
D Num E C T

For example
Q (Qualifier): post-modifier that adds information about the thing.
Adjective clause: a man who is wearing a black jacket
the car that will be sold
Present participle phrase: a man wearing a black jacket
the crowds passing by
Past participle phrase: the car stolen in the park
the model modified for the reasearch
Infinitive phrase: the car to sell
the problems to solve
Adjective phrase: a topic interesting to discuss
the boats available in the harbour
Prepositional phrase: a man with glasses
a woamn in red
a mansion below the hill
Ordinal/Cardinal number: King Henry IV, Elizabeth II
Filght 4, room 7

English verbal group
Perfective V (to beat)
Non- finite Imperfective V-ing (beating)
Neutral V-en (beaten)
Modal can, may, must, shall, will etc. (can beat)
Finite
Past V-ed (took)
Temporal
Present V,V-s (takes)
Future will^V (will take)
Verbal group
Past have ^ V-en (to have taken)
Secondary tense Present be ^ V-ing (to be taking)
Future be going to ^ V (tobe going to take)
Active
Passive be^V-en (beaten)

For example
Notes:
α : tense, modal (-): past; ( o ): present (+): future
β, γ, δ : secondary tense, non- finite, or event
1. She is clever. 2. They will go hoe 3. She is singing 4. We have passed the exam
αº βevent αmod βevent αº βº γevent αº β- γ event
2. They considered stepping down 2. They were thought to be the best
α- βevent βimp γevent α- βpassive γevent βperf γ event

Systemic functional-grammar-sfg-and-discourse

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