Systemic functional grammar
(SFG) and discourse
by Riyadi Santosa
 4 competence tests: mood and theme,
transitivity, clause complex, verbal group and
nominal group, the whole analysis (all of them
are ‘take-home tests”
 Halliday, 1985, 1994
 Martin, et al 1997
 Thompson, 2004
 Hewings and Hewings , 2004
 ILC materials
Why SFG?
 To understand language as it is
 SFG sees society explains language, as
opposed to formal linguistics which seeks the
explanation from neurological context.
 The relation between social context and
language is not cause and effect but rather
‘realization/ representation / symbolization’.
 Thus, society is resources of meaning and
language is the meaning maker.
Stratum, rank and meta-function
Social Context
Language as
text
Meta-functional solidarity across
planes
Mode
Field
Ideational
Textual
Tenor
Interpersonal
Stratification: Levels of abstraction in
language
Discourse Semantics
Content plane
Lexicogrammar
Phonology/
Graphology
Expression plane
Strata cross-classified by metafunction
Ideational
Interpersonal
Textual
Meta-function, reality, and work done
Metafunction
Reality construal
Ideational (experiential & logical) reality
Interpersonal
Social reality
Textual
semiotic reality
‘Work done’
observer
intruder
relevance
Constituents
Constituency in formal linguistics
My
son
likes
candies very much
Constituency (continued)
Constituency in SFG
happening
process
likes
nuclear participant
candies
other participant
my son
circumstance
very much
Clause as exchange
 To construe social reality and realize
interpersonal meaning
 To explore clause resources for participating
in exchanges.
 Exchanges: to give and to demand
information and goods or services
 MOOD system is system of clauses as
interpersonal resources.
MOOD system
MOOD System
declarative
Subject ^ Finite
Major
Predicator
CLAUSE
Indicative
+ Subject
+ Finite
imperative
+ pred ^ (com/adj)
Minor
no predicator
polar
interrogative
Finite ^ Subject
Wh
Exchange
goods and services
information
giving
Here’s the small bear
This is the small bear
demanding
Find me the small bear
Is this the small bear?
proposal
proposition
Mood structure
 Mood structure is a structure where the meaning of
proposal or proposition of a clause can be found.
 Mood structure consists of 2 constituents: mood and
residue.
 Mood is built from the relation between subject and
finite, whereas residue is the rest.
 Subject is grammatical doer; finite consists of tense,
modality, and polarity; complement is potential
subject in passive; adjunct can’t be subject;
predicator is verbal group excluding finite;
continuative and conjunction connect the previous
clause; vocative is used to summon.
Example of mood structure
Mood structure in indicative declarative
We
sang
a song
S
F/P
C
Mood
Residue
Indicative:declarative; proposition
We
will
sing
this song
S
F
P
C
Mood
Residue
Indicative:declarative; proposal
for you
Adj.
Example of mood structure
(continued)
Mood structure in Wh interrogative
How long must
we
sing
Wh/Adj. F
S
P
ReMood
-sidue
Indicative: wh interrogative; proposition
What
will
we
Sing?
Wh/C
F
S
P
ReMood -sidue
Indicative: wh interrogative; proposition
this song?
C
Example of mood structure
(continued)
Mood structure in polar interrogative
Is
this
the bear?
F
S
C
Mood
Residue
Indicative: polar interrogative; proposition
Mood structure in imperative
Be
patient!
P
C
Residue
Imperative; proposal
Example of mood structure
(continued)
Mood structure in embedded clause and projection
They
belived that they had won the
match
S
F/P
C
Mood
Residue
Indicative:declarative; proposition
Mood structure in tag question
You
don’t
understand do
you?
S
F
P
F
S
Mood
Residue
Mood tag
Indicative:declarative; proposition
CLAUSE AS MESSAGE
 To explore clauses as semiotic resources to
express message.
 Principles:
- language including clause is linear
- so message is structured linearly
- linearity means it is like a line which has a
start and an end
 This principles implies that message is structured
from beginning to an end.
 There are two points of views in looking at clause
as message: reader’s and listener’s point of view
and speaker’s and writer’s point of view.
Message from reader’s and listener’s
point of view
 Message is
expected to be
structured from
‘known’ to
‘unknown’.
 Or message is
structured from
old information
and moves to
new
information.
For example:
My uncle visited me last week
Old
New
He stayed in my house for 2 days
Old
New
Patterns of old-new information in
different genres
Patterns of old-new information in report
Algae is a single-celled or simple multiple organism.
Old
New
It can conduct the process of photosynthesis.
Old
New
It is generally found in water
Old
New
but it can also be found elswhere such as in rocks and trees.
Old
New
Patterns of old-new information in
different genres (continued)
Patterns of old-new information in explanation
Medical bill in US have risen outrageously
Old
New
and steps need to be taken to reverse this trend.
Old
New
Or the American will not be able to afford medical care.
Old
New
The major factor of the case has been the dramatic increase of hospital services.
Old
New
But the rise in the cost of hospitalization can only be partly blamed on inflation
Old
New
since the hospital bill in the last two decdes have risen at a considerable rate.
Old
New
Message from speaker’s and writer’s
point of view
 The beginning is a
stepping stone to
develop a message
 Message is structured
from theme (topic) and
moves to rheme (tail).
 It is used as strategy to
develop the message
based on the theme or
topic they think it is
important
For example:
My uncle visited me last week
Theme Rheme
Last week my uncle visited me.
Theme
Rheme
Luckily, we got the right bus.
Theme
Rheme
Types of theme
 There are three types of themes in English:
topical, textual, and interpersonal.
 Topical theme is the theme that develop the
topic of discourse.
 Textual theme is used to connect the
previous clause.
 Interpersonal theme is used to interact and
transact socially.
Topical theme
 There are two types of
topical theme: unmarked and
marked.
 The unmarked topical theme
is the typical theme in
English clauses that are
usually started with subject.
 The marked topical theme is
non-typical theme that is
characterized by other than
subject such as:
complement, adjunct, or
predicator
For example:
My uncle visited me last week
Theme
Rheme
Unmarked
Last week my uncle visited me
Theme
Rheme
Marked
Textual theme
 To connect logically the
first and second clause
 Mostly in the forms of
conjunction such: and,
then, after, although
etc., and continuative
such as: Errr…,
Emm…, Well…
For example:
But he doesn’t understand
Theme Rheme
Text Top
Err… he
Theme
Text Top
did it
Rheme
Interpersonal theme
 To realize the
interpersonal meaning
of the theme.
 Interactional
interpersonal theme is
realized in vocative
 Transactional
interpersonal (giving
and demanding
information and goods
and services) theme is
realized in finite and wh.
For example:
John, will you be the chairman?
Theme
Rheme
Int Int top
Example of combination analysis of
mood and theme of English clauses
We
S
Mood
Theme: Top
Unmarked
How long
Wh/Adj.
ReTheme:
Int/Top
Marked
sang
F/P
Residue
Rheme
must
F
Mood
Rheme
we
S
a song
C
sing
P
-sidue
this song?
C
Example of combination analysis of
mood and theme of English clauses
What
Wh/C
ReTheme:
Int/Top
Marked
will
F
Mood
Rheme
we
S
-sidue
Sing?
P
Be
patient!
P
C
Residue
Top Marked Theme
Well
Darling
I
will
take
a rest
Con
ReTheme
Text
Voc
S
Mood
F
P
-sidue
C
Rheme
Int
Top
Unm
for a
while
Adj
Night watch with Catriona Thornton:
Officers hurt in wild brawl:
4 charged in ‘touch and go’ fight
Four policemen
received minor injuries
when they broke up a
brawl involving 10 men
in western Sydney early
yesterday.
The officers were
called to a service station
at Minto at 3 am after a
report that people were
causing a disturbance.
A police spokesman
said that when officers
from Cambletown
confronted the men, the
group allegedly turned on
them.
“It was a touch-and-go
situation for a while but
the police managed to get
things under control,” he
said.
“Although the offciers
were outnumbered
several arrets were
made.”
Four were charged
with a number of
offences, including
assaulting police and
resisting arrest.
At King Cross, police
arrested two men after a
car chase through the
suburb’s narrow strrets
early yesterday.
The chase began on
Bayswater Rd and
continued through streets
and laneways but ended
on Victoria Rd after the
offenders surrendered to
police.
The men were later
charged in connection
with a stolen motor
vehicle.
Police at Marrickville
were called to break up a
brawl on the corner of
Marrickville and
Illawarra roads.
About 40 people were
involved in the fight but
no one was injued.
At Balmain, police
arrested two people for
attemped break-and-enter
at a newsagency on
Victoria Rd. They were
taken to Balmain police
station and later charged.
In the inner west,
Leichhardt police were
called to break up a brawl
involving about 30
people.
In Sydney’s south, a
31-year-old woman
suffered minor head
injuries after she was
assaulted at the bexley
North shopping centre.
Clause as representation: transitivity
 Clause also represents experience (ideational
meaning: experiential)
 Basically experience consists of three constituents:
- process or the event / happening, realized in
verbal groups.
- participants, realized in nominal groups, and
- circumstance, realized in nominal groups or
prepositional phrase.
 In English, there are 6 types of processes: material,
mental, verbal, behavioral, relational, and existential
processes.
Material process
 A process of doing, physical action.
 There are two types of material process:
happening and doing. Happening material
process is characterized by the absence of
goal, while doing material process is
characterized with the presence of goal.
 Participants in material process involves:
actor (the doer), goal (affected participant),
beneficiary (client and recipient), and range.
Material process (continued)
‘doing’
(transitive)
John
actor
is cooking
process
‘happening’
(intransitive)
pizza
goal
John
actor
is cooking
process
 doing: actor – process – goal
- creative (making goal): create, make, build, develop, etc.
- dispositive (affecting goal): send, throw, strew, pour, disolve, etc.
 happening: actor – process
- move, fall, rise, come, go, soften, harden, melt, etc.
Material process (continued)
1. Material process in passive
The pizza
is being cooked
goal
process
by John
actor
Agentless passive
The pizza
is being cooked
goal
process
2. Material process with dispositive –recipient
- give, hand, throw, deliver, send, etc.
John
actor
sent
process
Mac
recipient
a table
goal
John
actor
sent
process
a table
goal
to Mac
recipient
Material process (continued)
3. Material process with dispositive – client
- buy, make, get, do, cook, bake, etc.
John
actor
baked
process
Mac
client
pizza
goal
John
actor
baked
process
pizza
goal
for Mac
client
4. Material process with range:
- range can be an extension of process and a scope of process
- range is not an entity.
John
actor
play
sang
process
guitar
a song
range (extension of
process
John
actor
climbed
process
the hill
range (scope of
process
Mental Process
 A process of sensing: perception, cognition, and





affection.
Perception: perceive, see, notice, obserbe, feel,
smell, taste, hear, etc.
Cognition: assume, believe, conclude, consider,
discover, doubt, etc.
Affection: enjoy, relish, regret, like, fear, dread.
Favor, love, prefer, etc.
Participants: senser and phenomenon
Three types of phenomena: micro (thing), macro
(thing with embedded process), meta (an idea)
Mental process (continued)
John
senser
likes
saw
wondered
process
pizza (micro)
him selecting a shirt (macro)
why he was chosen (meta)
phenomenon
To test:
1. at the moment of speaking: simple
- No one sees him.
- * No one is seeing him
2. bi-directional:
- I fear that man
/
that man frightens me
- I like it
/
It pleases me
- I don’t understand it /
It puzzles me
- grieve / sadden, belive / convince, forget / escape, recall / remind
3. Mental process does not work with a question: ‘What di he do?’
-* What did he do? He liked the man.
Verbal process
 A process of saying
 Participants: sayer, verbiage, receiver
John
sayer
asked
told
said
process
him
them
a question
a story
he’s sick
receiver verbiage
Behavioral process
 Process of behaving
 2 types: verbal behavior and mental behavior
 Verbal behavior: talk, chat, converse, speak,
call, discuss, abuse, flatter, etc. The
participants: behaver, receiver, verbiage.
 Mental behavior: look at, watch, listen to,
experience, survey, smile, laugh, cry,
memorize, concentrate, mediate, etc. The
participants include behaver, and
phenomenon.
For example:
John
Talked
They
chatted
behaver process
He
to her
each other
receiver
looked at the carving
studied the opera
behaver process phenomenon
about the test
about the game
verbiage
To test behavioral from mental
1. Unmarked present
2. Directionality
3. Phenomenality
4. Proverb
Behavioral
present in present
‘He is mediating’
1 way
‘She laughed’
No metaphenomena
*He mediated he would
eat it
Works with proverb do
“What is he doing?”
“He is mediating”
Mental
present
‘He thinks so’
2 ways
‘She likes it / It pleases
her’
OK
‘He belives he can do it’
Does not work with
proverb do.
*”What is he doing?”
“He is seeing.”
Relational process
 Two types: attributive and identifying
 Attributive relational process:
- a process of giving attribute to a thing
- participants: carrier and attribute
- types of attributives:
- appearance: be, seem, appear, sound,
look, taste, smell, feel, etc.
- phase: become, remain, turn, grow, run,
come, keep, stay, etc.
- measure: weight, cost, measure, number
For example:
He
She
They
It
carrier
With ‘have’
He
carrier
is
becomes
grew
costs
process
at home
an engineer
wild
Rp 5.000,attribute
Has
process
a piano
attribute
For example (continued)
To test:
Ben is a farmer
* A farmer is Ben
Attributive with conflated procees and attribute:
- matter, suffice, differ, dominate, smell, pong
It
It
They
carrier
matters
suffices
dominate
process/attribute
Identifying relational process
 A process of giving a value to athing
 Participants: token and value
 Types:
- Be: is, am, are, was, were, been
- Equality: equal, add up to, make, come out
as/at, amount to, translate, render,
paraphrase, reformulate, transliterate
- Signification: signify, expound, code, encode,
express, realize, spell, write, transcribe, read, mean,
denote, connote, define, call, name
Identifying relational process
(continued)
- Representation: symbolize, represent,
stand for, refer to, imply, index, express,
reflect, personify
- Indication: indicate, suggest, betoken,
connote, smack of, evoke, reveal
- Role: play/act as, function, portray,
typify, personify
For example:
Identifying relational process
(continued)
Ben
This
token
is
reflects
process
the farmer
the crisis
value
To test:
1. reversable
2. Token takes subject in active
3. Token is more concrete than value
The farmer
The crisis
value
is
is reflected
process
Ben
by this
token
Existential process
 A process of projecting that something exists
 Participant: existent
 For example:
There
is
process
a book
existent
Ebola
existent
existed
process
in Ethiopia
circumstance
on the table
circumstance
Circumstance
 There are 8 types of circumstances: angle, extent,
location, manner, cause, accompaniment, matter,
and role.
 Angle: - verbal source
- who says?
- for example:
According to Xian cooking is easy
Cir: angle
Circumstances (continued)
2. Extent:- nominal group with quantifier + unit of measure (yards, laps, rounds,
years …) + preposition
- How far/ long/many rounds/times…
Xian cooked the rice
for 15 minutes
Cir: extent
3. Location: - prepositional phrase, adveribial group
- place and time
- where and when
- place: space –place or direction (source, passage, destination)
Xian cooked the rice
in the microwave
Cir: location: place
Xian cooked the rice
in the morning
Cir: location: time
Circumstances (continued)
4. Manner: - means, quality, comparison
a. means: how, what with?
Xian cooked the rice
with microwave
Cir: manner: means
b. Quality: adverbial group (in…way/manner)
How?
Xian cooked the rice quickly/ in the following way
Cir: manner: quality
c. comparison: like, unlike (+adverbials: like, likewise, similarly differently )
What … like?
Xian cooked the rice Like Nan
Cir: manner: comparison
Circumstances (continued)
Cause: reason, purpose, condition, concession, behalf
a. Reason: through, because of, as a result of, due to, thanks to
Why, how
Xian cooked the pizza thanks to the microwave
Cir: cause: reason
b. purpose: for, in the hope of, for the purpose of
what for?
Xian prepared the table for his lecture
Cir: cause: purpose
c. condition: in the case of, in case
What if?
In the case of token
we apply subject in the active
Cir: cause: condition
Circumstances (continued)
d. concession: inspite of, despite
Inspite of his cold
Xian prepared his lecture
Cir: cause: concession
e. behalf: for, for the sake of, on behalf of
who for?
Xian spoke
on behalf of his students
Cir: cause: behalf
6. Accompaniment: with, without, beside, instead of
Xian cooked pizza instead of rice
Cir: accompaniment
Circumstances (continued)
7. Matter: about, concerning, with reference to, etc.
Xian saw his supervisors in relation to his study
Cir: matter
8. Role: as, by way of, in the role/shape/guise/form/ of
Xian came
as a vampire
Cir: role
Extra causer
Extra
Causer
participant
partiprocess
Extra causer: example
1. Initiator: make, let, get (X) do
The surgeont made
the trrop
Intiator
proactor
march
-cess
2. Inducer: persuade, convinve, assure, satsfy
Nan
convinced
Xian
the pizza was cooked
inducer
process
senser
phenomenon
3. Attributor: make, keep, leave, drive
The ranger
drove
the students
attributor
process
carrier
crazy
attribute
4. Assigner: elect, name, vote, call, make
They
elected
him
assigner
process
token
Premier
value
ENGLISH CLAUSE COMPLEX
interdependence
paratactic (1,2,3…): and, but, so (that), or
, (,), (;), direct speech
eg: His mother is a doctor and his mother
is a lawyer
Take it or leave it
He is clever, but a bit selfish
Simplex
(1 process)
hypotactic (α,β,γ,δ…): after, before, as,
when, if, etc., indirect speech
e.g: After having locked the door, she
rushed hurrily.
They went to the party although
were tired
major
(process)
clause
Complex
(more than
1 processes)
minor
(no process)
locution (“): verbal projection
eg: They said: “ We’re tired”
They said that they were tired
projection
logicosemantics
idea (‘): mental projection
eg: They believed that they
were right
expansion
elaboration (=)
eg: He is clever, he can do it.
She’s good, which’s how
she won.
extension (+): add, alter,
oppose
e.g: She’s clever, but a bit
selfish.
He spoke well, except that
he ignored the press
enhancement (x):time, reason,
purpose, condition, concession
eg: He finished, and then he
shooked her hand.
After he had finished, he
Shooked her hand.
Procedure of analysis
 Cut the clause complex into simplexes.
 If the clause contains only two clauses, then identify
the interdependence: paratactic or hypotactic and
provide the symbol. After that, identify the logicosemantic or the meaning of the relation: projection or
expansion.
 If the clause contains more than two clauses, then
find the main logico-semantics: projection or
expansion. Then analyze the interdependence and
the logico-semantic relation. After that, analyze the
rest of the clauses by doing the same analysis.
Example of analysis
1. They said: “We’re tired.”
1 1a. They said:
“2 1b. “ We’re tired”
2. he spoke well except that he ignored the press.
α 2a. He spoke well,
+β 2b. except that he ignored the press
3. She’s good, which’s how she won
α 3a. She’s good, which’s how
=β 3b. she won
4. Marian said: “It could be dangerous if it id not managed wisely.”
1 4a. Marian said:
α “2 4b. “it could be dangerous
xβ
4c. if it isn’t managed wisely.”
Possibility of English nominal group
Pre-modifier
D
Article:
a, the
poss. adj.
^
Num ^
ord. num
car. Num
Post-modifier
E
adj.
pres. part
past. part
^
C
N
adj.
gerund
^
T
N
Pr
inf. phr
ger. Hr
N. Cl.
[ Q ]
Adj. clause
present part phr
past part. phr
inf. phr
adj. phr
prep. phr
car / ord number
For example:
Notes:
^ : comes before
: is realized by
T (Thing): thing, idea, or nominalized process or quality
N (Noun) common and proper noun: table, crisis, Jack
Pr (Pronoun): he, she, him, her, etc.
Inf. phr (Infinitive phrase): to swim on the beach, to say
Ger. Phr (genrund phrase): swimming on the beach, writing novel.
N. Cl. (Noun clause): that he’s sick, what they wanted to say, how to do
C (classifier): pre-modifier that classifies thing in terms of types: function or origin
N: stone house, rubber boat, Javenese architecture
Adj: black hair, modern achitecture, blue eyes
Ger: swimming pool, dining table, sailing boat
For example
E (Ephitet): pre-modifier that describes things in terms of its size, shape, color, and condition
(physical, psychological)
Adj: long hair, red boat, beautiful lady
Present participle: running water, crying baby
Past participle: one-eyed man, stolen car, broken heart
Num (numeric): pre-modifier that tells the number or the order of thing
Ordinal: the first fliht, the fourth building
Cardinal: two books, many countries
The 3
D
Num
beautiful
E
sailing boats
C
T
For example
Q (Qualifier): post-modifier that adds information about the thing.
Adjective clause: a man who is wearing a black jacket
the car that will be sold
Present participle phrase: a man wearing a black jacket
the crowds passing by
Past participle phrase: the car stolen in the park
the model modified for the reasearch
Infinitive phrase: the car to sell
the problems to solve
Adjective phrase: a topic interesting to discuss
the boats available in the harbour
Prepositional phrase: a man with glasses
a woamn in red
a mansion below the hill
Ordinal/Cardinal number: King Henry IV, Elizabeth II
Filght 4, room 7
English verbal group
Non- finite
Perfective
V (to beat)
Imperfective
V-ing (beating)
Neutral
V-en (beaten)
Modal
can, may, must, shall, will etc. (can beat)
Finite
Past
V-ed (took)
Present
V,V-s (takes)
Future
will^V (will take)
Temporal
Verbal group
Past
Secondary tense
Present
be ^ V-ing (to be taking)
Future
be going to ^ V (tobe going to take)
Active
Passive
have ^ V-en (to have taken)
be^V-en (beaten)
For example
Notes:
α
: tense, modal
(-): past;
( o ): present (+): future
β, γ, δ : secondary tense, non- finite, or event
1. She is clever.
αº βevent
2. They will go hoe
αmod
2. They considered stepping down
α- βevent βimp γevent
βevent
3. She is singing
αº βº γevent
4. We have passed the exam
αº
β- γ event
2. They were thought to be the best
α- βpassive γevent βperf γ event