6
votes
What is the subfield of linguistics that studies how different languages use different grammatical and lexical tools to put expressions together?
The sub-fields that you are talking about are syntax, semantics and typology, however what is probably more relevant is the sub-school that focuses on what you're interested in. I would say that this ...
- 74.9k
6
votes
What is the difference between 'actor' and 'subject' in systemic functional grammar?
In Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), a clause is analysed for transitivity in different ways depending on the type of process the main verb represents. Let's consider the following clauses:
[I] ...
- 161
4
votes
Why hasn't functional grammar been more popular?
Two disclaimers: It's been a long time ago that I read Halliday, and (secondly) I don't know that anyone agrees with me here. But to my mind, it's not a real theory. He constructs a descriptive ...
- 12.3k
3
votes
What is the current status of (systemic) functional grammar/linguistics
This is a very broad question, particularly since you put systemic in Systemic Functional Linguistics/Grammar in parentheses.
If you think about the broader functionalist program, you can hardly ...
- 10.6k
2
votes
Accepted
Do all frameworks of syntax view the string following an inverted auxiliary verb in English as the complement of the auxiliary?
Most modern phrase structure grammars will assume that the string immediately after an inverted auxiliary is the complement of the auxiliary, as the question implies. This fact is largely due to the ...
- 5,479
1
vote
Why treat 'verbal group', not 'verb phrase', as a constituent of a clause in Systemic Functional Grammar?
Although I do not have much direct exposure to SFG, I believe the primary motivation for doing it that way in SFG is a desire to render periphrastic verb combinations structurally similar to their ...
- 5,479
1
vote
What is the difference between 'actor' and 'subject' in systemic functional grammar?
I thought a shorter answer might help some people:
The actor (or agent) performs the action (upon the patient).
The subject is what the predicate gets filed under.
With a verb in active voice, the ...
- 636
1
vote
Why is a nominalisation called "grammatical metaphor" in SFL
"Grammatical metaphor" is a functional way of explaining a certain kind of linguistic phenomena while "nominalisation" is an non-functional way of explaining a subset of them. I'll try to make it ...
1
vote
What are the differences between theoretical perspectives of the uses of the term "register"?
I answered this in the other place this question was put, here, by referring to the work on "variationist" models, which described a dialect as a collection of speech styles called "lects". I have ...
- 12.3k
1
vote
current state of affairs in (systemic) functional grammar/linguistics?
It is still a very active branch of linguistics with conferences and journals and many linguists around the world participating.
See, e.g., the 42nd International Systemic Functional Congress at RWTH ...
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