Invitation to Systemic Functional Linguistics Through the Cardiff Grammar: An Extension and Simplification of Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar(Equinox Textbooks and Surveys in Linguistics)

This short book is two books in one. First, it is a genuinely introductory introduction to the main concepts of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) for the 21st century. Drawing on recent research, it focusses on the structure of the clause in English, bringing out clearly the 'multifunctional' nature of language, and the way in which structures are the result of 'choices between meanings'. It is an 'extension' of Halliday's SFG in several ways, including the introduction of new elements that are of growing importance in the language, and a 'simplification' of it in that it shows how the many 'strands of meaning' in a clause can be expressed in a single structure. But this is also a book for experienced linguists (who may include the teachers of the first group) who are interested in a scholarly work which compares the two main current versions of Systemic Functional Grammar with respect to the structure of the English clause, and gives reasons for every decision to prefer one analysis to another. This 'book within a book' is achieved through a generous use of extended 'footnotes'. The Cardiff Grammar version of SFG is based as firmly in the core principles of SFG principles as the Sydney Grammar (the version in Halliday's Introduction to Functional Grammar). Halliday, however, describes the development in the Sydney Grammar since the 1970s as expansions into new areas beyond what he has aptly termed the 'lexicogrammar'. In contrast, the Cardiff Grammar's description of English lexicogrammar (and other languages) has made significant advances since the 1970s, under the influence of eight major factors. Versions of this book are being published concurrently in Chinese (by Peking University Press) and Spanish (University of Plata del Mar Press).

Table of Contents:
Preface to the Third EditionPreface to the Second Edition 1 Who this book is for, where it comes from, and how to read it 2 The place of syntax in an overall model of language 3 Introducing the syntax of TRANSITIVITY and MOOD: a simple example 4 Developing reliable analysis skills: towards an adequate set of Guidelines 5 A minimal theory of syntax: keeping things simple 6 The special case of 'being' as a Main Verb - and related concepts 7 A systemic functional grammar for the structures introduced so far 8 Three types of Auxiliary Verb, one type of Theme and one type of Newness 9 POLARITY, CONTRASTIVE NEWNESS and Preliminary Guidelines with the Improved Mood Test 10 An overview of the syntax of TRANSITIVITY: Participants as Subjects and Complements 11 An overview of the syntax of MOOD 12 The syntax of Circumstances and other types of Adjunct 13 The syntax of TRANSITIVITY: five additional concepts 14 Three new elements : Infinitive, Auxiliary Extension and Vocative 15 Full Guidelines for clause analysis 16 A final analysis task 17 What comes next? Appendix 1: A summary of English syntax for the text analyst Appendix 2: An overall comparison of the Cardiff and Sydney Grammars

About the Author :
Robin P. Fawcett is Emeritus Professor in Linguistics and the former Director of the Computational Linguistics Unit, Cardiff University. His most recent book is A Theory of Syntax for Systemic Functional Linguistics (Benjamins 2000). Books due for publication in 2008 include Alternative Architectures for Systemic Linguistics and his Functional Syntax Handbook (both Equinox).

Review :
Robin Fawcett is a first rate linguist and one of the major figures in both systemic functional grammar and in the computer implementation of grammars. [...] Publications from the Cardiff Grammar, [...] for which Fawcett is largely responsible, are fascinating and rewarding: a fruitful fusion of theorizing and pragmatism - a pointer to important developments in the linguistics of the next millennium.'Michael Gregory, Emeritus Professor, York University, Toronto