Doran, Martin & Herrington (2024: 215):
All this is to say, the way language redounds with society is rich and multifaceted. As a theory that aims to build a model of social semiosis, as SFL does (Halliday 1978), theoretical and descriptive space is needed for modelling language and society’s nuanced interconnections. In this paper we have tried to open some of this space. But as the survey above has shown, there is much to be done. Halliday (1985: x) described his vast Introduction to Functional Grammar as but a “thumbnail sketch” of English grammar; given the size of this paper and the scope of its ambition, we are scarcely even offering a thumbnail cell sketch here. We do hope that others can join us, and help SFL develop its potential – as the appliable linguistics we need to help make our world a better place.
Reviewer Comments:
[1] To be clear, in order to improve a theory, it is first necessary to understand the theory. As Halliday once remarked after a conference paper given by Martin: "Make sure you understand the theory."
As this review has demonstrated, the authors do not understand SFL Theory sufficiently well to "open some of its theoretical and descriptive space". In the first half of the paper, the authors misunderstand context as the language that realises it, and in the second half of the paper, they again misunderstand context as the language that realises it, and additionally misunderstand this misunderstanding of context as principles for the instantiation of language, despite instantiation not being an interstratal relation.
[2] On the plus side, if you join the authors in their misunderstandings of SFL Theory, you will at least be helping them to make our world a better place. See also
No comments:
Post a Comment