About SFL
SFL is a model of language that integrates language with its social context. The term “systemic” means that grammar is viewed as consisting of system networks that contain the patterns of choices through which people make meaning (Halliday and Matthiessen, 2004). One example of a system is polarity (He is sick. He is not sick). The term “functional” means that the practical uses of language in context are the focal point of the model, not rule-based or formal grammar.
SFL traces its beginnings to the work of Malinowski (1923), in particular for his contributions to the study of meaning from both ethnographic and linguistic perspectives and his ideas about context of culture and context of situation; Firth (1951, 1957) for his theory of system-structure; Hjelmslev (1948); and the Prague School of Linguists (Mathesius and others). The beginnings of this systemic theory involve neither a phonemic nor a syntagmatic focus but a paradigmatic one, not a narrow view of the sounds, characters and grammar of a language but rather a view of how they are interrelated and create meaning. The theory was more fully developed in England by M.A.K. Halliday in the 1950s, originally with regard to Chinese and subsequently with English. He and later Hasan, Martin, and Matthiessen further expanded the theory that is today known as SFL.
SFL contends that every language comprises three major functions, known as metafunctions: (a) the ideational (with its two components--experiential and logical), which is the construal and logical sequencing of experience, (b) the interpersonal, which is about relationships among people, and (c) the textual, which involves the cohesion and coherence of discourse. The primary text that explicates SFL is Halliday's Introduction to Functional Grammar (4th ed.) by Halliday and Matthiessen (2013). In SFL, the focus is on the paradigmatic axis, which means that language is seen as “sets of choices of meaning” (Christie and Unsworth, 2000, p. 2), so the choice of lexicon and grammar is seen as significant and purposeful, not as random or coincidental. Choices include various systems, such as TENSE (present, past, future), POLARITY (positive or negative), VOICE (active and passive), and MOOD (imperative, indicative, modals, and so on).
To learn more about SFL, see any of the following books:
Bloor, T., & Bloor, M. (2004). The Functional Analysis of English: A Hallidayan Approach, 2nd ed. London: Arnold.
Butt, D., Fahey, R., Feez, S., Spinks, S., & Yallop, C. (2003). Using Functional Grammar: An Explorer’s Guide, 2nd ed. Sydney: NCELTR/Macquarie University.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiesen, C. (2013). Halliday's Introduction to Functional Grammar, 4th ed. New York: Routledge.
SFL traces its beginnings to the work of Malinowski (1923), in particular for his contributions to the study of meaning from both ethnographic and linguistic perspectives and his ideas about context of culture and context of situation; Firth (1951, 1957) for his theory of system-structure; Hjelmslev (1948); and the Prague School of Linguists (Mathesius and others). The beginnings of this systemic theory involve neither a phonemic nor a syntagmatic focus but a paradigmatic one, not a narrow view of the sounds, characters and grammar of a language but rather a view of how they are interrelated and create meaning. The theory was more fully developed in England by M.A.K. Halliday in the 1950s, originally with regard to Chinese and subsequently with English. He and later Hasan, Martin, and Matthiessen further expanded the theory that is today known as SFL.
SFL contends that every language comprises three major functions, known as metafunctions: (a) the ideational (with its two components--experiential and logical), which is the construal and logical sequencing of experience, (b) the interpersonal, which is about relationships among people, and (c) the textual, which involves the cohesion and coherence of discourse. The primary text that explicates SFL is Halliday's Introduction to Functional Grammar (4th ed.) by Halliday and Matthiessen (2013). In SFL, the focus is on the paradigmatic axis, which means that language is seen as “sets of choices of meaning” (Christie and Unsworth, 2000, p. 2), so the choice of lexicon and grammar is seen as significant and purposeful, not as random or coincidental. Choices include various systems, such as TENSE (present, past, future), POLARITY (positive or negative), VOICE (active and passive), and MOOD (imperative, indicative, modals, and so on).
To learn more about SFL, see any of the following books:
Bloor, T., & Bloor, M. (2004). The Functional Analysis of English: A Hallidayan Approach, 2nd ed. London: Arnold.
Butt, D., Fahey, R., Feez, S., Spinks, S., & Yallop, C. (2003). Using Functional Grammar: An Explorer’s Guide, 2nd ed. Sydney: NCELTR/Macquarie University.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiesen, C. (2013). Halliday's Introduction to Functional Grammar, 4th ed. New York: Routledge.
