Analysing English Grammar

Analysing English Grammar A practical step-by-step introduction to the analysis of English grammar, this book leaves the reader confident to tackle the challenges analysing grammar may pose. The first textbook to take an integrated approach to function and structure in grammatical analysis, it allows students to build experience, skill and confidence in working with grammar. The innovative, hybrid approach combines an introduction to systemic functional theory with a solid grounding in grammatical structure. The book approaches grammar in an incremental way, enabling students to develop grammatical skill in stages. It is of particular value to those starting to work with functional grammar but it is also relevant for experienced readers who are interested in developing a more systematic approach to grammatical analysis. lise fontaine is a lecturer in the Centre for Language and Communication Research at Cardiff University. Analysing English Grammar A systemic functional introduction LISE FONTAINE Cardiff University cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Mexico City Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521151931 # Lise Fontaine 2013 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2013 Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by the MPG Books Group A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data Fontaine, Lise, author. Analysing English grammar : a systemic-functional introduction / Lise Fontaine, Cardiff University. pages cm ISBN 978-0-521-19066-4 – ISBN 978-0-521-15193-1 (Paperback) 1. English language–Grammar. I. Title. PE1112.F616 2012 425–dc23 2012015818 ISBN 978-0-521-19066-4 Hardback ISBN 978-0-521-15193-1 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Contents Preface page ix 1 Introduction to functional grammatical analysis 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Analysing grammar within a functional framework 3 1.3 An overview of systemic functional linguistics 4 1.4 The goal of grammatical analysis 12 1.5 Exercises 13 1.6 Further reading 14 2 The units of language analysis 16 2.1 Introduction 16 2.2 The clause: elements and units 19 2.3 Word and group classes 26 2.4 An initial view of the clause: representing functions and structures 37 2.5 Summary 42 2.6 Exercises 42 2.7 Further reading 43 3 The grammar of things: the nominal group 44 3.1 Introduction to referring expressions 44 3.2 The nominal group 46 3.3 Tests for recognizing nominal group boundaries 63 3.4 Worked example of the nominal group analysis 67 3.5 Exercises 70 3.6 Further reading 70 4 Representing experience 71 4.1 Introduction 71 4.2 Analysing experiential meaning 71 4.3 Tests for analysing processes, participants and circumstances 81 4.4 Functional–structural view of the experiential strand of meaning 93 4.5 Summary 107 4.6 Exercises 107 4.7 Further reading 108 5 Orienting language 109 5.1 Introduction 109 5.2 Goals and limitations of the chapter 110 5.3 The role of subject and its place in the clause 110 5.4 The Finite element 115 v Contents 5.5 Modality 120 5.6 Polarity 121 5.7 An interpersonal view of the clause 122 5.8 Mood 134 5.9 Summary 137 5.10 Exercises 137 5.11 Further reading 138 6 Organizing language 139 6.1 Introduction 139 6.2 A textual view of the clause 139 6.3 Theme and Mood 142 6.4 Types of Theme 147 6.5 Thematic constructions 153 6.6 Analysing Theme 155 6.7 Texture 166 6.8 Summary 171 6.9 Exercises 172 6.10 Further reading 172 7 From text to clause 174 7.1 Introduction 174 7.2 Textual Themes and clause boundaries 175 7.3 Combining clauses 175 7.4 Identifying clause boundaries 180 7.5 Summary 188 7.6 Exercises 188 7.7 Further reading 189 8 Guidelines for grammatical analysis 190 8.1 A focus on written texts 190 8.2 Summary of grammatical tests 191 8.3 The three-strand analysis 192 8.4 Summary 216 8.5 Exercises 217 8.6 Further reading 218 9 There and back again: interpreting the analysis 219 9.1 Introduction 219 9.2 Patterns of meaning in text 221 9.3 Final remarks 237 9.4 Exercises 238 9.5 Further reading 239 10 Answers to exercises 240 10.1 Chapter 1 240 10.2 Chapter 2 241 10.3 Chapter 3 242 vi Contents 10.4 Chapter 4 243 10.5 Chapter 5 250 10.6 Chapter 6 251 10.7 Chapter 7 254 10.8 Chapter 8 255 10.9 Chapter 9 267 Notes 278 References 279 Index 282 vii Preface In many ways this book is the sum of my life so far as a lecturer in functional grammar at Cardiff University. It has come from working closely with my students and trying to help them map the expressions of language functions onto grammatical structures and vice versa. Many students are apprehensive about the study of grammar but there is merit in working through it. One student described it once as climbing a mountain; very challen- ging but very satisfying when you finally get it. This is the real motivation behind this book. I wanted to offer something that would unlock some of the mysteries. I hope that this book will let people see grammar as a thing of interest and something that we shouldn’t be afraid of. I also hope that it will raise curiosity and lead readers to pursue an even more detailed understanding. I am grateful to many people who have helped me write this book. My students have contributed indirectly. I would like to thank Cardiff students, past and present, who have taken Describing Language or Functions of Grammar with me. They have been incredibly supportive and encouraging. Although it seems like a lifetime ago, I was also a linguistics student once, at York University in Toronto, Canada. I am grateful to have had such inspiring and dedicated professors and I’d like to thank Ian Smith, Ruth King, Susan Ehrlich and Sheilah Embleton especially. I owe thanks to Michael Halliday, the founder of systemic functional linguistics, for such inspirational writings and for the depth of thinking that shows through his work. I would also like to thank Robin Fawcett in particular for welcoming me to Cardiff and being so generous with his time and his work. I am grateful to all my colleagues in the Centre for Language and Communication Research at Cardiff University for their support and encouragement. I have also been greatly influenced by Geoff Thompson as well as Meriel Bloor and Tom Bloor, who have written very successful introductory textbooks to systemic functional linguistics. Both of these books were life-saving to me when I was new to this theory and I still refer to them regularly. I hope that this book will merit sitting on a shelf alongside theirs. Work of this nature requires more than intellectual inspiration and moral support. I have been very lucky to have a supportive family who allowed me the time to write and complete this book. I am especially indebted to my mother, Gael Fontaine, for her many hours of proofreading. I would also like to thank Clyde Ancarno for her constant support and comments on draft versions. Two former students deserve special thanks for comment- ing on drafts: Michael Willett and David Schönthal. Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments, which have led to a greatly improved final version of this book. ix Chapter 1: Introduction to functional grammatical analysis 1.1 INTRODUCTION People are interested in language and in understanding how we think language works for lots of different reasons. Becoming more knowledgeable about language often means having to learn something about grammatical analysis whether it is to teach children language skills, to work with those who have some kind of language difficulty or impair- ment, to teach a foreign language, or to master a command of a given language for a particular agenda such as speech writing or media communication. Understanding how language works means understanding how grammar works. Grammar may seem like a very mysterious thing to many people. To use language, and even to use it well, we don’t really need to have an explicit understanding of it. However, if we want to work with language we need a way to talk about it and we need a way to identify the bits and pieces that it involves so that we can work with it more masterfully and more professionally. There are many analogies for the kind of relationship we need to have with language when it becomes an object of study, but essentially we find the same distinction as with other walks of life where the lay person and professional differ in how they work with and talk about their area. I can walk and run but I’m not a professional athlete by any stretch of the imagination.

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