The Notions of System and Choice PDF

The Notions of Sytem and Choice presented by : Fatma Rebhi Nour Bouzidi Outline ( to be fixed later) overview on SFL and its key concepts defining system and choice the role of choice in linking language and cognition language use constraints on choice role of c...

The Notions of Sytem and Choice presented by : Fatma Rebhi Nour Bouzidi Outline ( to be fixed later) overview on SFL and its key concepts defining system and choice the role of choice in linking language and cognition language use constraints on choice role of choice in linking language and social context how to study choice in text conclusion Overview : Systemic Functional Linguistics language social function context Systemic Functional Linguistics “The basic tenet of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) is that language is a system of choices” (Lise Fontaine,2013) system and choice According to halliday a system is : “a set of options, a set of possibilities A, B or C” (1978,p41) “a representation of paradigmatic relations” (1976d:92). structures represent syntagmatic relations systems represent paradigmatic relations  systems the gay man ate a chicken a gay chicken ate the paradigmaticthat hungry devoured pasta dish man handsome structures syntagmatic  example of a system active ‘He stole the money’ voice passive ‘The money was stolen’  choice What is the concept of choice? halliday : “ choice [is]a term in a system “ choice what is not chosen BUT what is chosen could have been (contrast) Think of a system as a box  choice 1 choice 3choice 5 choice 6 choice 7 choice 4 choice 2 s ys te m  lexicogrammatical: sentence semantic : word choice structure ( passive, active..) ‘the dog chased the cat vs the ‘happy’ vs ‘over the moon’ cat chased’ the dog vs ‘ the dog was chased by the cat’ Types of choices phonological: stress, graphological : punctuation, intonation... capitalization, Font...  Theoretical development of the concept of choice Matthiessen et al (2010:69) : choice is the process of making selections while traversing through a system Moore and Tuckwell: motivated selection: the choices made in language cannot be random and they work towards a specific end goal. choice end goal : what we express motive  Freddi: choice from a probabilistic Point of view choice paradigmatic syntagmatic probabilities assigned in a frequencies of occurence: system: how frequent is a certain how likely certain words occur word,expression used. together, how likely to use specific structures in certain situations  Bache: How the choice should be : 1) communicatively motivated 2) satisfy higher-level communicative strategies relates to the nature/ function of language as a social semiotic. The role of choice in linking language and cognition  key concepts: in SFL literature: Intra-organism orientation Inter- organism orientation focuses on what goes in the mind focuses on what goes on between of the individual ( cognitive) one organism and the other ( social) complimentary In Neurolinguistics: systemic networks ( intra- relational networks ( inter- organism oriented) organism oriented) explain how potential choices are help analyze potential choices in processed in the brain social communication  [Speaker] (ideas and intentions) systemic networks: (social context) [Cognitive Processes: Monitoring, Selection, Inhibitio INFLUENCE makes choice production of language in a social context (the words u relational networks : (individual processing in the brain)  Choice here connects between cognition ( meaning) and language ( realization)  choice is influenced by social networks and relational Are our linguistic choices conscious or unconscious?  Asp Matthiessen et al Halliday and Lamb a speaker is an agent “not only “the sense of choice as selection capable of, but continuously does not imply consciousness or making, conscious choices in intention “ (Fontaine, 2013: 4) discourse”. (Fontaine, 2013: 11) Although many linguistic choices are unconscious, they can become more conscious through education and hightened awareness.  Example of unconscious choice consider these two examples: talking with a friend VS talking with your colleague at work situation: congratulating them. 1) Congratulations! i am really happy for you. 2) omg girl you ate and left no crumbs! good for you! change in the degree of formality ( use of informal language, change in intonation...)  example of conscious choice: manipulation in Newspapers BLACK MAN KILLED BY COP MAN FOUND DEAD what difference do you notice between the two choices? what do they entail? references Halliday, M.A.K. (1978). Language as social semiotic. p41 https://www.scribd.com/document/618862766/ Halliday,-M-A- K—Language-As-Social-Semiotic-1978 Lise Fontaine, (2013), Choice in contemporary systemic functional theory https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236135697 Lise Fontaine, 2003, Analysing English Grammar: A Systemic Functional Introduction http://www.cambridge.org/9780521190664