System in Systemic Functional Linguistics - A System-based Theory of Language - Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen

System in Systemic Functional Linguistics - A System-based Theory of Language - Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen

Introduction: Conceptualizing Language Systemically

System in Systemic Functional Linguistics - A System-based Theory of Language - Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen

Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen [+-]
University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), Beijing
Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen is a Swedish-born linguist and a leading figure in the systemic functional linguistics (SFL) school, having authored or co-authored more than 160 books, refereed journal articles, and papers in refereed conference proceedings, with contributions to three television programs. He is currently Distinguished Professor in the Department of Linguistics at University of International Business and Economics, Beijing, Distinguished Professor of Linguistics, in the School of Foreign Languages, Hunan University, Guest Professor at Beijing Science and Technology University, and Honorary Professor at the Australian National University. Before this, he was Chair Professor, Department of English, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Professor in the Linguistics Department of Macquarie University. Professor Matthiessen has worked in areas as diverse as language typology, linguistics and computing, grammatical descriptions of various languages, grammar and discourse, healthcare communication studies, functional grammar for English-language teachers, text analysis and translation, multisemiotic studies, and the evolution of language. He has supervised over 40 research students.

Description

This book is about the notion of ‘system’ in Systemic Functional Linguistics, or SFL. SFL is a system-based theory of language in context, so ‘system’ is quite central to the theory. There are a number of distinct but related senses of the term “system”, which I identify, explain and differentiate in this introductory chapter. By way of introduction, I give examples of systems of choice in text in context, showing how speakers make choices and then revise them, thereby revealing aspects of the system behind their choices. This key sense of system as a choice or contrast among options in meaning (and wording, and sounding) will run through the whole book, but the related senses of “system” will also be part of the overall picture that I present.

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Citation

Matthiessen, Christian. Introduction: Conceptualizing Language Systemically. System in Systemic Functional Linguistics - A System-based Theory of Language. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 1-14 Dec 2023. ISBN 9781781799024. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=38381. Date accessed: 29 Mar 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.38381. Dec 2023

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