A Systemic Functional Framework for Chinese Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/rtcfl.30419Keywords:
Chinese, Modality, Mood, Systemic functional analysis, Theme, Type of processAbstract
This paper attempts to develop a framework for the functional analysis of Chinese within the theoretical background of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG). It focuses its discussion on the controversial issues emerged from previous Chinese studies, aiming to provide new insights into these uncertainties. Given that the terminology in SFG is originally created for the analysis of English, the key terms in the framework are defined by examining their functions in the linguistic environment of Chinese to prevent any distortion of the characteristics in the language. The framework consists of the systematic descriptions of Chinese clauses in experiential, interpersonal, and textual dimensions. The descriptions end up by proposing the realization statements for Transitivity, Theme and Mood systems in Chinese. The framework also includes the descriptions of grammatical categories above and below clause in Chinese. In particular, the grammatical structures of clause complex and various types of group/phrase are examined for this purpose.
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