Functional Grammar

J. Andres Ramirez
Functional Grammar
People who study and use a language are
mainly interested in how the can do things
with language- how they can make meanings,
get attention to their problems and interests,
influence their friends and colleagues. . .They
are only interested in the grammatical
structure of the language as a means to
getting things done. A grammar which puts
together the patterns of the language and the
things you can do with them is called a
functional grammar.
From the Collins Cobuild English Grammar (1990).
 Focus on Functional Grammar

Ideology
Who is involved?

The Channel
Subject Matter Genre Purpose

Register field tenor mode Context

Lexical Conversational Reference &
Discourse- relations structure conjunction
experiential interpersonal textual
TEXT
Semantics
Lexico- Transitivity Mood Theme
Grammar (from Eggins 1994, p.113)
The Grammar of Interpersonal
Meaning: Mood
How is language structured to
enable interaction?

Who is doing the talking tenor

in a situation?
Conversational
What do speakers do when
structure
they get the speaker’s role?
interpersonal
who gives? who demands?
is it reciprocal? Mood
What meanings have been changed?

I live in family groups called pods

I should live in family groups called pods
Who lives in family groups called pods?
Do I live in family groups called pods?
I live in family groups called pods!

I put the pieces together on piece A

I must put the pieces together on piece A
Who put the pieces together on piece A?
Did I put the pieces together on piece A?
What did I put together on piece A?
Put the pieces together!
 The grammar of Experiential meaning:
Transitivity
How is language structured to
represent? (the world, experiences perceptions).

Who did what to whom field

Under what circumstances?
Lexical relations
What participants, processes
And circumstances are experiential
illustrated?
Transitivity

Also called ‘process type’

What meanings have been changed?
I live in family groups called pods
I have no natural predators and also I can live about 50 – 80 years
old.
I have well develop acute senses.

I put the pieces together on piece A

I add them
I look on my land
The grammar of textual Meaning:
Theme
What role is language playing in an interaction?

What is the means of mode

communication?
Reference &
What kind of text is being conjunction
made?
textual

Theme
What meanings have been changed?
I live in family groups called pods
It is me who lives in family groups called pods
That who lives in family groups called pods is me
Family groups called pods are where I live
Pods are the family groups where I live

I put the pieces together on piece A

On piece A I put the pieces together
Piece A is where I put the pieces together etc…
Each kind of meaning is expressed by means
of certain functions. Analyzing just the
subject of a clause, for example, is not
enough to capture variations in interpersonal
meaning.

Implications come out of this. . .

 The teaching of grammar in the traditional
way should be rethought. Grammar is often
taught through sentence-based examples
rather than through whole texts (Celce-Murcia
and Olshtain 2000).
 A focus on grammar in a genre-based
classroom aims at linking the teaching of
language to learning purpose by focusing on
language within the context of the genres
students need to perform.
 A Genre Based Grammar
Clause Complex
Text Level Level
Clauses (subj, verb,
Visual layout Object).
-headings Verbs
-diagrams -finites/modals
-participles, auxiliar
Generic Structure
Nouns
Thematic Structure Word Level Noun groups
Paragraphing -pronouns
Cohesion Graphological: -determiners
-modifiers
Reference -spelling Prepositions
Conjunctions -punctuation Modality
Morphemes: Theme
-singular/Pl
-tense
-prefixes
-suffixes
-participants

Adapted from Knapp and Watkins 1994

An Example: Corpus Linguistics
Grammars
It is important to provide learners with
sufficient input of sentences with different
“word orders”. The learner must be familiar
with fronting as a powerful resource to
highlight adverbials or objects. The learner
must also be able to choose the themes of
their sentences, as the organisation of
information in the sentence depends on that.

Trujillo, Theme and Rheme

 Expressing Opinions tentatively:
Concordances for May
1 y cutlery. "I'm only sayin' as I may be able to help you. To go to Mordo
2here before it gets dark. They may be asses, but they are my cousins,
3 in Nurnen after this quest he may be missing the woods of the Shire.
4 agreed. And such a course may be more perilous than it sounds.
5 agency. His emissaries may be on their way to the Shire at thi
6 time to safety, wherever that may be, and may your life be long and
7 w-man' was it? Well, that's as may be, but Tom Bombadil must be going
8 rooked as a three-dollar bill it may be, but it has a hold o' your soul,
9 what happened. However that may be, the Hobbits woke suddenly and u
10 not scored yet, but your luck may change." And feeling magnanimous
11 e to find a new chain. But if I may counsel you in the use of your own
12 ose who know where to look may discover the signs." With that, th
13 , and no axe nor chainsaw may fell them for the spells laid on t
14 ambletop, where perhaps we may figure out what the hell we're doin
15 l it. The rest of the Company may follow him as long as chance allows
16 on the morrow." "Be that as it may," Frodo sharply hissed, "please, pl
http://www.cl.aoyama.ac.jp/~dias/EsllinksConcord.html