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Book: Approaches to Systemic Functional Grammar

Chapter: 3. On the Abstractness of Levels of Description in Systemic Functional Linguistics

DOI: 10.1558/equinox.34274

Blurb:

Michael O’Donnell’s chapter explores the relative placement of linguistic descriptions in two models of Systemic Functional Grammar, namely that proposed by Michael Halliday and colleagues and that proposed by Robin Fawcett and colleagues, the Cardiff Grammar. It compares the general orientation of the respective models, notably the ‘social’ for Halliday and the ‘cognitive’ for Fawcett and describes the levels (e.g. semantic, lexicogrammatical) adopted in each and discusses the criteria posited to motivate the organisation of each level. In particular. it compares the criteria that each model adopts for the recognition of process types in the central system of transitivity.

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