J. Lachlan Mackenzie

Functional Discourse Grammar

Functional Discourse Grammar (FDG) combines typological neutrality with formal rigor and takes pragmatic and psychological adequacy very seriously. FDG is the grammatical component of a wider theory of verbal interaction, and is concerned with the formulation and encoding of discourse acts. Four formally parallel levels are posited, interpersonal and representational levels for formulation, and morphosyntactic and phonological levels for encoding. FDG offers a coherent theoretical framework for typological work; specifically, the distinction between the different components of FDG forces the typologist to study the pragmatic and semantic typology of languages systematically, and not merely their syntactic and morphological typology.

Ablative-locative transfers and their relevance for the theory of case-grammar

It has been suggested by various proponents of case-grammar that locational and directional expressions are not distinct in underlying structure and that the interpretation of such expressions and, where relevant, the selection of the preposition that is to occur in such expressions are determined by properties of the verb on which each expression is dependent. Fillmore (1968: 25) writes: There is a certain amount of evidence… that locational and directional expressions do not contrast but are superficial differences determined either by the constituent structure or by the character of the associated verb.

Prepositional predicates and focus constructions in a functional grammar of english

Recent work in Functional Grammar has suggested that both predicative adpositional phrases and the focused constituent in a ‘pseudo-cleft’ construction can profitably be analysed as derived predicates, the be being introduced by copula support. We show that Functional Grammar predicts certain lexical gaps hitherto unexplained and that existing proposals also permit an account of what appear to be unexpectedly prepositionless relative clauses. We further argue that an extension of the framework allows a representation of the distinction between identifying and property-assigning focus constructions. We conclude by expressing reservations concerning the universality of copula support: these reservations do not, however, affect the essence of our analysis.

SENTIMENT AND CONFIDENCE IN FINANCIAL ENGLISH: A CORPUS STUDY

In the financial world, the words sentiment and confidence are frequently employed to invoke the feelings of an individual investor or of investors in general about the future movement of a share or of the stock market in general. The article focuses on the use of the two words in financial journalism by examining all instances of sentiment and confidence in the on-line Hong Kong Financial Services Corpus and explores the hypothesis that they will differ from each other in line with how they are deployed in ordinary usage. Drawing inspiration from functionally-oriented semantics and Appraisal Theory, the core of the article reveals how the two words are employed in clauses and noun phrases in the corpus. Our findings reveal that sentiment and confidence are to a very large extent used in financial parlance as though they were synonymous. The use of these terms reflects the writers’ awareness of the role of emotions as a vital constituent factor in decision-making.

A checklist for revising and correcting

This chapter is about error, and is designed to be multi-purpose. First, it can be used as a checklist of the major features of the production of formal English text that we have paid attention to in the other parts of this book. Second, it can function as a revision checklist for you when you are editing your text. And third, in the light of its development from a large-scale error analysis, serve as a norm for teachers who wish to develop a comprehensive coding system for marking.

Referring to other texts

This chapter is about a number of different topics which all relate to placing your own text in a wider context. In the process of planning and writing a text you will more often than not find that you make use of all kinds of information which you gather from other sources. What is more, in argued texts you will often find yourself taking a precise stand with regard to what other people have to say. In other words, your own text will not exist in isolation, and cannot be truly appreciated unless you make the wider context clear to your reader.

The order of information in the clause

In the preceding chapters we have emphasized that when organizing your text you need to order information according to the function it fulfils The text, the paragraph and the sentence each demonstrate a tripartite structure, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. It is the job of the initial unit both to look back and to lay the foundation for what is to come. It is the job of the final unit to state the essence of what you wish to communicate at that level, and often also to provide a point of reference for what is to come next.

Usage notes for connectives

Because written language is planned, writers have a great opportunity, through the use of cohesive devices, to make the meaning relations between individual messages explicit, thus giving the reader considerable help in coming to a coherent interpretation of the text. As was explained in Chapter 9, one of the major means of achieving textual cohesion is through the use of connectives. As a writer you will need to have a wide range of them at your disposal and under tight control.

The title and the introduction

As we saw in the first three chapters, writing is not the lonely business that it might seem. Even if carried out in the isolation of your study, it remains a form of communication between people. But one major difference is that one of these people, the writer, has the power to determine what the subject matter of the communication will be. The reader does not have that power: his power lies in his inalienable right to decide whether or not he wants to pay any attention to the information offered by the writer.

Matters of usage

A number of matters that traditionally fall under style are dealt with in some detail in other parts of this book. Examples are the discussions of punctuation with and, long sentences, parallel structures, and the use of first person forms. Particularly with the first two we have already seen that general guidelines such as ‘keep sentences short’ can become very dangerous if inexperienced writers interpret them as prescriptions. In fact, when things are seen from a more functional point of view, what transpires is that what the writer is advised not to do is often perfectly acceptable. And more than that, the offending structure may even prove a valuable device for creating a certain stylistic effect.