[4] Misrepresenting SFL On Structural Subtypes

Doran (2021):

Blogger Comments:

This is misleading, because it is not true. 

On the one hand, sixty years ago, SFL Theory did not exist. Halliday (1961) outlined Halliday's first theory, Scale & Category Grammar, and did not include any discussion of types of structure, though Halliday (1965) did introduce the distinction between multivariate and univariate structures, focusing on the latter. The first statement on structure types varying according to metafunction was Modes of meaning and modes of expression: types of grammatical structure and their determination by different semantic functions (Halliday 1979). An earlier paper on structure, Language structure and language function (Halliday 1970) did not propose such a structure typology.

On the other hand, a range of subtypes has not been proposed for any of the structure types. That is, a range of subtypes has not been proposed for culminative (textual), prosodic (interpersonal), segmental (experiential) or iterative (logical) structures. The relations in iterative structures have always been limited to either hypotactic or paratactic, and both relations may obtain within the same structure.

[3] Halliday (1979) On Structure Types

Doran (2021):

Blogger Comments:

The following summary, from the same early paper, will also be useful for later discussions. Halliday (2002 [1979]: 217):

In English, experiential options tend to generate constituent-like structures, actually constellations of elements such as can be fairly easily represented in constituency terms. Interpersonal options generate prosodic structures, extending over long stretches (for example intonation contours), which are much less constituent-like. Textual options generate culminative structures, elements occurring at the boundaries of significant units, and give a kind of periodicity to the text, which is part of what we recognise as “texture”. Logical options generate recursive structures, paratactic and hypotactic, which differ from all the other three in that they generate complexes — clause complex, group complex, word complex – and not simple units.

[2] Types Of Structure In SFL Theory

Doran (2021):

Blogger Comments:

[1] To be clear, the SFL model, since 1994, is given in Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 85, 452):

[2] What Doran has in mind are Martin's models, which will be demonstrated here to involve theoretical misunderstandings and inconsistencies. These include the following from Martin (1992: 13, 22):

and Martin (1996):

[1] The Grammar Of Algebraic Mathematics

Doran (2021):

Blogger Comments:

To be clear, what Doran refers to as the 'radically iterative grammar' of algebra is simply the fact that solving an algebraic equation involves the paratactic elaboration of that equation. This is not problematical from the perspective of SFL Theory.

Experientially, an algebraic equation is a decoding identifying clause. Solving the equation involves elaborating it until each unknown Token is identified by a Value.

See also Yaegan Doran Failing To Recognise The Interpersonal Function In Mathematics.