ideational. [theoretical: metafunction] [French: id顴ionnelle] One of the metafunctions: language as ideation. It comprises two modes of 'ideating', the logical and experiential subtypes. It corresponds roughly to non-systemic terms such as Darstellung, representational, [semantic] content, and semantics. While ideational is often equated with semantics outside systemic linguistics, it is treated as a metafunction in systemic linguistics and applies to grammar as well as to semantics. => LexCart Section 1.3.

IDENTIFICATION. [descriptive: semantics x textual x systemic x rank] [French: identification] Semantic textual system of options in reference, presenting or presuming a (discourse) referent: see Marting (1992: Chapter 3). IDENTIFICATION is realized lexicogrammatically by REFERENCE. => IFG Section 9.2.

INFORMATION. [descriptive: lexicogrammar x textual x systemic x rank of information unit] Textual system of options in assigning elements statuses in newsworthiness as given or new information. => IFG Chapter 8. => LexCart Section 6.5.

information unit. [descriptive: lexicogrammar x textual x rank] The grammatical unit of spoken English realized by the tone group. It is the point of origin of one textual system, INFORMATION (Given-New organization), and one interpersonal system, KEY. In the unmarked case, an information unit is coextensive with a clause. => IFG Chapter 8. => LexCart Section 6.5.

instantiation. [theoretical] [French: actualisation]The cline between the overall systemic potential of language and the text (instance of the potential). Intermediate between these two on the cline of instantiation are registers (registerial varieties of the overall potential). At higher-level system of context, the overall systemic potential is associated with context of culture, registers with situation types and texts with situations. Instantiation also refers to the process of moving between potential and instance - the process of actualizing the system in text. => LexCart Section 1.6.1.

interpersonal. [theoretical: metafunction] [French: interpersonnelle] One of the metafunctions: language as interaction. The resources for establishing and maintaining the relationship between speaker and listener. It combines B?s conative and expressive functions, which are simply different orientations (towards addressee and speaker) within the interpersonal metafunction in the linguistic system (cf. the notion of inter-act in entry on speech act). => LexCart Section 1.3, 2.3.5.

hypotaxis. [descriptive: lexicogrammar x logical] One of the two types of logical interdependency, the other one being parataxis (Halliday, 1965, 1985: Ch. 7; Hudson, 1968). Hypotaxis is interdependency where the interdependents are of unequal status -- dependency. Roughly comparable to co-subordination in Role and Reference Grammar (Foley & Van Valin, 1984). The traditional term subordination does usually not differentiate hypotaxis and embedding (rankshifted clauses). The term hypotaxis is also used outside systemic linguistics, but not necessarily in the same sense. => LexCart Section 2.3.4, 3.2.

KEY. [descriptive: lexicogrammar x interpersonal x structural x information unit rank] Interpersonal system, with the information unit as point of origin. It includes those speech functional distinctions not expressed by MOOD systems in the clause and realized by TONE selections at the level of phonology (falling vs. rising pitch and many elaborations of this basic distinctions). => IFG Section 8.9 (284-5). => LexCart Section 5.1.3.

lexicogrammar. [theoretical: stratum] [French: lexicogrammaire]The combination of grammar and lexis (vocabulary); the resources for expressing meaning as wordings. Outside of systemic linguistics, grammar and lexis are almost always treated as distinct modules and lexis is modelled as the lexicon (though the lexicon also includes lexical semantics and phonological information). => LexCart Section 1.2, 2.4.4.

logical. [theoretical: metafunction] [French: logique] A subtype, together with experiential, of the ideational metafunction. (The term is also used widely outside systemic linguistics, but in the sense of pertaining to logic rather than in the metafunctional sense.) This is the metafunction providing the resources for creating clause complexes and other complexes, for representing serial time by means of serial tense, and so on. => LexCart Section 1.3, 2.3.4.

metafunctions. [theoretical: metafunction] [French: m鴡fonction] The highly generalized functions language has evolved to serve and which are evidenced in its organization. Halliday (1967/8) identifies three metafunctions, the ideational, the interpersonal, and the textual. The ideational metafunction can be further differentiated into the experiential and the logical subtypes. Metafunctions are distinguished from macrofunctions and microfunctions. Macrofunctions can be identified in a child's transition between his/her protolanguage and adult language (cf. Halliday, 1975); microfunctions are the first functions/uses of a child's protolanguage.

Ideational grammar is often treated as semantics outside of systemic linguistics, while textual and interpersonal grammar are dealt with partly under the heading of pragmatics. In systemic theory, all three metafunctions are found both at the level of semantics and the level of grammar: it is not possible to export transitivity from grammar into semantics, because this area of semantics is already occupied by the semantics of transitivity. => LexCart Section 1. 3, 2.1.2.



Manner. [descriptive: lexicogrammar x experiential x structural x clause rank] Circumstantial role in the transitivity structure of the clause (corresponding to the interpersonal Wh element how?), of the enhancing subtype. There are four types of Manner: quality, degree, comparison and means. For example:

Bush hopes not only to impress Gorbachev [Manner: means:] with his understanding of Soviet problems but also to argue [Manner: quality:] cogently about solutions.

Matter. [descriptive: lexicogrammar x experiential x structural x clause rank] Circumstantial role in the transitivity structure of the clause, of the projecting subtype. For example:

Bush hopes not only to impress Gorbachev with his understanding of Soviet problems but also to argue cogently [Matter:] about solutions.

Circumstances of Matter typically occur in mental or verbal clauses (and also in certain relational clauses where the Attribute refers to a mental quality).

Means. [descriptive: lexicogrammar x experiential x structural x clause rank] Circumstantial role in the transitivity structure of the clause, subtype of => Manner.

Tie them [Manner: means:] with string.

metarule. In Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar, a rule for pairing two (structural) rules, i.e. a meta-statement for relating them. In this respect, it resembles the system of systemic theory.

minimal bracketing. [theoretical] Minimal bracketing is differentiated from the maximal bracketing of IC-analysis (IFG Section 2.2, p. 22-). The rank-based constituency of systemic-functional grammar (and phonology) differs from the immediate constituency of formal grammar (and phonology). The former is associated with minimal functional bracketing, while the latter works with maximal bracketing in terms of grammatical classes. Some contrasting examples are given below (the formal analyses are adapted from Radford, 1981).



MODALITY. [descriptive: lexicogrammar x interpersonal x systemic x clause/ group rank] [French: modalit靠Interpersonal system of options in assigning an assessment in probability, usuality, readiness or obligation of a high/ medium/ low value on the scale between 'yes' and 'no'. => IFG Section 4.5, 10.4. => LexCart Section 5.5.

mode. [theoretical] [French: mode] One of the components of context. It represents the role played by language in the speech interaction, including the medium (spoken, written, written to be spoken, etc.) as well as the rhetorical mode (expository, instructive, persuasive, etc.). Mode is a second-order category in the sense that it is brought into existence by the existence of language itself. (The term mode is also used in other ways in linguistics, for example as the name of the distinction between realis and irrealis.) => LexCart Section 1.6.1.

modes of meaning. [theoretical] Refers to the different kinds of meaning associated with the different metafunctions (Halliday, 1979; Matthiessen, 1988, 1990). => LexCart Section 1.3.

modes of organization. [theoretical] Refers to different kinds of syntagmatic or paradigmatic organization (Halliday, 1979; Matthiessen, 1988), in particular, constituency, interdependency, pulse (period), and prosody. => LexCart Section 1.2.2.

Mood. [descriptive: lexicogrammar x interpersonal x structural x clause rank] Interpersonal clause function, in the interpretation of the English clause as interaction. It typically includes Subject and Finite, but may also include modal adjuncts (more specifically, mood Adjuncts). IFG Chapter 4, Section 4.2 in particular. => LexCart Section 5.1.1.1.

MOOD. [descriptive: lexicogrammar x interpersonal x systemic x clause rank] [French: modes/types de phrase] Interpersonal clause system; the grammaticalization of speech function in the clause (accompanied by KEY in the information unit, IFG Section 8.8, 284-5). MOOD is thus the primary grammatical resources for enacting dialogic roles and relationships; it is the grammar of interaction. Also used outside of systemic linguistics. (Note that mood is traditionally also used for morphological categories such as the subjunctive.) => IFG Chapter 4. => LexCart Section 5.1.1.1.

multivariate. [theoretical] A type of structure: the functions of a multivariate structure stand in different kinds of relation to one another. For example, the functions of the transitivity structure of the clause all have different values -- Actor, Process, Goal, Location, and so on. Contrasts with univariate. => IFG p. 172. => LexCart p. 639.