By Dana P Skopal, PhD
As a writer, do you think about your grammar or apply some grammar checks when proof-reading? Grammar provides a structure for all languages, and that structure exists so both a writer and reader can understand the message.
If you learnt traditional grammar, you would understand the categories of noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and conjunction etc, and the role they play in a sentence. Another method of understanding grammar is that of systemic functional linguistics, which looks at the functions of the words in each phrase and clause.
This functional grammar approach was substantially developed by Michael Halliday in Australia (Halliday, 1978, 1985, 1994). The focus was on breaking bigger discourse units into their constituent parts, such as the many words that can make up a nominal group. For example, in the second paragraph I wrote: another method of understanding grammar. Here the main or head noun is ‘method’, to which I added other descriptors. A nominal group generally describes the ‘who’ or ‘what’ is doing the action – something that a reader wants to know.
Many writers understand sentence structure, and a simple sentence is one clause. The clause is a central grammatical unit that we use to convey our message. Through applying functional grammar, we can break down this clause into its constituent parts, which enables linguists to see the role the words are playing in that text. Michael Halliday explained this grammar as systems and not as rules. His rationale was that every grammatical structure involved a choice that a writer or speaker could make. However, it was still important to be a system or clause structure that the reader or listener could follow.
This month we are saddened by the passing of Michael Halliday, but his research and legacy will forever remain. If we did not have this understanding of grammatical systems, we could not adequately divide our communication into its constituent and meaningful parts.
Halliday, M.A.K. (1978). Language as a Social Semiotic: the social interpretation of language and meaning. London: Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1985). Part A. In Halliday, M. A. K. & Hasan, R., Language, context and text: Aspects of language in a social-semiotic perspective. Geelong, Vic.: Deakin University Press.
Halliday, M.A.K. (1994). An Introduction to Functional Grammar (2nd ed.). London: Edward Arnold.
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