A session on Functional Linguistics given as part of a summer school

1. Functional Linguistics
VUB-BNU Summer School
“European Languages, culture and educational
systems”
Dr. Kamakshi Rajagopal

2. Structure of the session
Some theory (45min)
Video (15min)
Break (5min)
Group exercise
Plenary presentation and discussion

3. Functionalism
• Meaning is the primary driver of form in language
• Language, as an instrument, has features which
can be used to perform certain functions
In Europe, two schools of thought:
• Prague School  Jakobson
• Copenhagen School  Halliday

4. Roman Jakobson (1896-1982)
Six functions of language
• Referential function
• Expressive function
• Conative function
• Poetic function
• Phatic function
• Metalingual function

5. Sender Message Receiver
Encodes
meaning in
a form
Decodes
form to
meaning
Common
meaning-
to-form-to-
meaning
system

6. Sender
Channel
Context
Message Receiver
Code
Other words
No common words
Message did not reach correctly
Reference of the meaning in
the outside world is
different – Different FACTS
Intended receiver is not listening
Sender has a particular
opinion about the message

7. Sender
Channel
Context
Message Receiver
Code
Establish common meaning-
to-form-to-meaning
Check the channel
Check the facts
Address the personExpress the opinion

8. Sender
Channel
Context
Message Receiver
Code
Reference
Expressive ConativePoetic / Aesthetic
Phatic
Metalingual

9. Michael Halliday (1925)

10. 3 main metafunctions of language
• Ideational metafunction
– Language helps us “construct human experience”:
how the individual perceives the world
• Interpersonal metafunction
– Language allows us express the interactions and
complex relations with the other person in society
• Textual metafunction
– Language allows us to bring structure to our
interactions and organize the language system itself,
making communication easier

11. Interpersonal metafunction
• The society we live in is complex
• Through language, we can bring more clarity
in this social complexity
• On micro-level (e.g. one-to-one dialogues)
• On societal level (e.g. belonging to particular
groups)

12. Textual metafunction
• Through the multitude of meaning that we want
to express through language, it becomes complex
• Language itself gives tools to bring structure to
the things we express, making communication
clearer
• e.g. in written language:
– firstly, secondly, thirdly
– on the one hand,… on the other hand
– And; But ; Moreover; ….

13. Ideational metafunction
• As human beings, we observe, experience and (try to)
understand the world
• We can use language to express
– things that happen in the world
– the connections and relationships between things
– the things we see, hear, feel, experience!
• Grammatical system of TRANSITIVITY with 6 process
types to articulate perceptions and experiences

14. Ideational metafunction
Relational
process
Verbal
process
Mental
process
Behavioural
process
Material
process
Existential
process

17. Meaning?

18. What it is
> No relation to the
speaker
> SEMANTICS
What it means
to me, the Speaker
> Intention of the
speaker
> PRAGMATICS
TREE
PLANTS
BIRDS
FOREST
HOME
HOLIDAY
SUMMER

19. Speech Act Theory
A Speech Act is an utterance which “does more than what
its pure meaning”
• Locutionary act: the utterance itself
“It is cold here.”
• Illocutionary act: the intended result of the speaker
Request to close the door
• Perlocutionary act: the effect of the illocutionary act
(outside language)
The door is closed

20. Types of illocutionary acts
• Assertives
– e.g. Singing national anthem
• Directives
– e.g. Request, Command
• Commissives
– e.g. Promise
• Expressives
– e.g. Congratulations, Thanks
• Declarations
– e.g. Pronounce, Declare

21. Exercises: Language in Cartoon
• Communication Act?
• Speech Acts?
• What does it say about the characters?
– How do they feel?
– What do they want?

22. Discussion
• Material processes deal with Activity
• Behavioural processes often concern functions of the
body
• Existential processes describe things that “exist”
• Relational processes talk about the quality or
characteristics of entities
There is discussion possible about which category is
intended!
• Not every utterance is a speech act!!!

23. Difference between Systemic
Functional Grammar and Speech Acts
Talking about a
tree, to figure
out how it got
there and why it
is the way it is
Talking about a
tree, to figure
out how to
work with it

24. References
• Roman Jakobson
Jakobson, J. (1962-1987). The Selected Writings of Roman Jakobson, The
Hague and Berlin: Mouton.
• M.A.K. Halliday
Halliday, M.A.K. (1994). An introduction to functional grammar.
London: E. Arnold.
• Pragmatics
Austin, J. L. (1962) How to Do Things With Words. Oxford University
Press.