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A pragmatic reconstruction of M.A.K. Halliday’s systemic functional grammar

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posted on 2022-03-29, 03:18 authored by Peter K. Wylie
M.A.K. Halliday’s metafunctional functionalism, which forms the basis for the semantics of his grammar, is based upon a revision of Bühler’s triadic functions of language. However, the more philosophical, classical American branch of the pragmatic tradition developed a likewise triadic understanding of experience, which also differs from Bühler’s. Whitehead’s pragmatic metaphysics provides the most comprehensive example of such a non-reductive philosophical system, crowned by an aesthetically-based general theory of value. These different functional trajectories suggest the possibility of reconstructing Halliday’s central functional notions, including his three metafunctions and subject notions (Theme, Subject and Actor), thereby radicalizing existing critiques advanced by McGregor, Martin, Bateman and others. On this view, the organic unity of language is based upon its expressive compositionality, grounded in the compositionality of value rather than independent metafunctions. An emphasis on action, motivated by the expression and realization of value, means that the underlying conceptions of language also differ. Although Halliday’s grammar is amongst the more comprehensive, functional linguistic theories, his functionalism is based upon the system network formalism. On this pragmatic view, the contents conveyed by a grammar are not abstract, general categories as Halliday holds, but rather valuations intrinsic to the organization of language itself. These function to organize the now grammatically central activity of reference, understood not representationally, as language transcendent, but immanently. The content of the grammar, now understood as composed of indexicals or shifters, generalized beyond words to all forms of grammatical expression, is, then, essentially reflexive, relative and variable. Indeed, not just Halliday’s textual metafunction, but the whole of the grammar provides language users with the means to jointly coordinate their linguistic activities by varying the valuations that form the organizational basis for their discourse.

History

Table of Contents

1. Introduction -- 2. Halliday’s metafunctional functionalism -- 3. A pragmatic conception of symbolism -- 4. A pragmatic reconstruction of the metafunctions -- 5. A comparison of the subject notions -- 6. Halliday’s account of grammatical metaphor -- 7. A pragmatic account of grammatical variation -- 8. Conclusion -- Bibliography.

Notes

Theoretical thesis. Bibliography: pages 319-347

Awarding Institution

Macquarie University

Degree Type

Thesis PhD

Degree

PhD, Macquarie University, Faculty of Human Sciences, Department of Linguistics

Department, Centre or School

Department of Linguistics

Year of Award

2019

Principal Supervisor

David Butt

Additional Supervisor 1

Nick Riemer

Rights

Copyright Peter K. Wylie 2019. Copyright disclaimer: http://mq.edu.au/library/copyright

Language

English

Extent

1 online resource (xii, 347 pages) diagrams, tables

Former Identifiers

mq:71145 http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/1271319

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