prof Cecilia Montorsi

UNIT 1UNIT 1

SOME BASIC SOME BASIC CONCEPTSCONCEPTS

BASED ON LOCK, Graham. Functional English Grammar. USA. CUP. 1996. Pp 1-11

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FORMAL GRAMMARFORMAL GRAMMARLANGUAGE = set of rules which specify all the possible grammatical structures.

Grammatical =/= Ungrammatical sentences

MAIN CONCERN = the forms of the grammatical structure and their relationship to one another rather than with their meanings or uses in different contexts MATERIAL USED= sentences made up to illustrate different grammatical rules

FUNCTIONAL FUNCTIONAL GRAMMARGRAMMAR

LANGUAGE = System of communication. The study of how language is organized to make and exchange meanings appropriate vs. inappropriate forms for a communicative purpose in a particular context.MAIN CONCERN = the functions of structures and their constituents and with their meanings in context. MATERIAL USED= Authentic texts.

FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR AND

LANGUAGE TEACHING

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Most learners study a language to acquire the ability to communicate with other speakers or writers of the language.

Why do most learners study a language?

How can grammar contribute to language learning?

Grammar needs not only to lay out the forms and structures of the language, but also to show what they are for and how they are used.

SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMARSYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR

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SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR

As said before, its primary aim is to understand how the grammar of a language serves as a resource for making and exchanging meanings.

It is, therefore, likely to have useful things to say to language learners and teachers.

the theoretical and analytical framework adopted in this course, as well as much of the terminology, is drawn from the work of M.A.K. Halliday, who has had great influence on mother tongue and second language education.

LEXIS(words of the

language)

GRAMMARGRAMMARSYNTAXSYNTAX(arrangement ofwords)MORPHOLOGYMORPHOLOGY (internal structure of words)

PHONOLOGY(sound system)

SEMANTICS (systems of meaning)

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LEVELS OF ANALYSISLEVELS OF ANALYSIS

LANGUAGELANGUAGE

Lexico-grammar

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THE ORGANIZATION OF GRAMMARTHE ORGANIZATION OF GRAMMAR

RANKRANK

CLASSCLASS

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RANKRANKDifferent levels of organization within Grammar Hierarchy

She’s great fun but her husband is rather dull. sentence

She’s great fun her husband is rather dull.

clauses

Shegreat fun her husbandis rather dull.

groups

great fun heris dull.

words

prof Cecilia Montorsi

prof Cecilia Montorsi

The relationship between the units is as follows:

each unit consists of one or more units of the rank

below it.

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NOUNSADJECTIVESADVERBS

VERBS

CLASSCLASSIt applies to words as well as to groups:

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MEANINGEXPERIENTIALEXPERIENTIAL

(IDEATIONAL)Language represents our experience of the world and of the inner world of our feelings and thoughts. It has to do with how we talk about actions, feelings situations, states, etc.

INTERPERSONALINTERPERSONALThe way we act upon one another through language, how we interact with other people –giving and requesting information, etc- and how we express our judgment and attitudes

TEXTUALTEXTUALThe way in which language is organized in relation to its context. It is important in the creation of coherence in spoken and written text.

May be