Volume 6, Issue 1-2 - Special Issue: New directions of systemic functional linguistics; Guest Editors: Yanmei Gao and Jonathan J. Webster

ABSTRACT This paper revisits the traditional concept of lexical metaphor from the perspective of SFL work on grammatical metaphor, exploring its interpretation as inter-stratal tension, and commenting on its rhetorical significance from both ideational and interpersonal points of view. Its goal has been to show how two key parameters of SFL theory, stratification and metafunction, can be deployed to provide an integrated comprehensive perspective on metaphor of all kinds. This involves drawing on SFL work on ideational and interpersonal meaning across strata, by way of clarifying what is meant by inter-stratal tension and outlining some foundations for research towards further formalisation of descriptions of the layers of meaning involved in metaphorical processes.

ABSTRACT This paper provides a “broader” understanding of what is previously known from a grammatical perspective as “circumstantial meaning” or circumstantiation. This “broader” perspective takes into account more abstract meanings beyond grammar, considering both field (at the register stratum) and discourse semantics, in addition to lexicogrammar. The paper shows how the lexicogrammar alone is not able to adequately account for the meaning potential of “circumstantial meaning”, and how by examining this region of meaning from three strata, a fuller account of circumstantial meaning is made possible. A richer account of circumstantial meaning is necessary because, while circumstances may be considered structurally peripheral, earlier explorations of circumstantial meaning show that this area of meaning often makes important contributions to the register of any given text and to the building of disciplinary knowledge. This exploration is demonstrated through two texts: a student’s high scoring piece of creative writing from the subject of English in the final year of schooling and a synopsis of a history book on the Chinese fishing industry in colonial Australia. These texts reveal the significantly different ways in which circumstantial meanings are used in different subject areas – i.e., to contribute to setting up an “ambience” in literary texts and to developing knowledge in history.

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on Marked Theme in spoken Chinese. Previous studies have explored the functions of Marked Themes within clauses, but not many researchers have observed this phenomenon from a discourse semantics perspective. Combining the framework of discourse semantics with the use of corpus study, this paper first explores the occurrence of such structures in conversations and then examines their discourse functions. Data from the corpus show that, in line with findings from corpus studies of written texts, the occurrence of Marked Themes is quite low. The inspection of their discourse functions leads to the following preliminary findings: (1) in sequences of activities, Marked Themes often function as lexical cohesive devices to build up taxonomical relations across utterances; (2) from the view point of identification, Marked Themes function as anaphoric devices to help keep track of the Participants in question; (3) from the viewpoint of periodicity, while most Marked Themes convey given information, especially contrastive information, a considerable amount of Marked Themes function as HyperTheme to start new phases of discourse.

ABSTRACT Learning in secondary content areas involves at least some interaction with complex disciplinary texts. The engagement requires discipline-specific reading/writing skills that go beyond those students have mastered in the elementary grades. This advanced literacy ability, or disciplinary literacy, is best fostered through a pedagogy that is informed by sound linguistics theory, responsive to student needs, and embedded in meaningful disciplinary experiences. Such a pedagogy, with its focus on how language is used in disciplinary meaning making, has the potential to promote knowledge building and advanced literacy development at the same time.

ABSTRACT Systemic functional linguistics (SFL) has long enjoyed a close and fruitful dialogue with Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). A growing number of scholars enact both theories together in empirical research to explore how knowledge and language relate together to shape practice. This work both generates greater explanatory power in research and encourages conceptual advances in each of the two theories. In this paper we introduce new concepts from a recently renovated dimension of LCT called Autonomy that may spark a new phase of dialogue between the frameworks. We begin by summarising the existing ongoing phases of dialogue between LCT and SFL. We then introduce the concepts of “autonomy codes”, which explore changing relations among different kinds of practices by tracing “autonomy pathways”. The potential of these concepts for empirical research is illustrated through detailed analyses of classroom practice in which schoolteachers attempt to use everyday knowledge as ways of helping students learn History. These analyses suggest that “one-way trips” from one form of knowledge practice into another constrain knowledge-building while “autonomy tours” that engage with, repurpose and connect other knowledge practices support knowledge-building. Finally, we consider how these concepts might raise questions for SFL research and theory and thereby initiate a new phase in its dialogue with LCT.

ABSTRACT This article highlights the pivotal role of genre in text production and identity construction by an analysis of three high-stakes genres of public communication by presidents of the top universities in China, Peking University (PKU) and Tsinghua University (THU). A brief review of the Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) research on identity indicates that the current approach did not take into account the role of text structure as an important means of identity construction, which can be attributed to flaws in the SFL theorization of genre. In view of this, the Genre as a Nexus of meaning making (GaN) model is proposed, followed by a reinforced analytical framework of text analysis encompassing Halliday (and Matthiessen)’s functional grammar and Martin (and Rose)’s discourse semantics, which is subsequently deployed to study the texts of concern from an SFL vantage point. The results indicate that not only are different aspects of the university represented in the different genres, but the generic structure of the texts is indispensable in the university’s identity construction. Moreover, the comparison of the genres with those in other culture and of the results with previous research underscores culture’s powerful impact on genre and the universities at the forefront of globalization.