Misunderstanding The Relation Between Groups And Words

Fawcett (2010: 201-2):

Following the principles set out in Sections 10.2.1 and 10.2.2, the present grammar takes a rather different approach to the groups found in English syntax from that of IFG. In IFG, Halliday in fact recognises only two major classes of group, to each of which he devotes quite substantial sections of his chapter on groups. Thus there are 18 pages on the nominal group (pp. 180-96) and 30 pages on the verbal group (pp. 180-210). However, the elements of his 'verbal group' are treated here as elements of the clause — the full reasons being set out in Fawcett (2000) and (forthcoming b). Halliday also gives a page and a half to each of the 'adverbial group' (pp. 210-1) and the 'prepositional phrase' (pp. 212-3). In addition, in order to model the structures that occasionally occur inside prepositions and conjunctions, he introduces two new groups: the 'preposition' and 'conjunction groups' (pp. 210-212). He is right that we need to have a unit to cover such phenomena, but here I offer a simpler solution to the problem (in Section 10.2.8 of Chapter 10). In contrast, Fawcett (in press) gives substantial chapters to each of the four main classes of group recognised here, i.e., the nominal, prepositional, quality and quantity groups. Thus only one of the four classes of group recognised here receives detailed treatment in IFG. (For further comments on Halliday's 'classes of group' see Sections 10.2.4 to 10.2.8.)

Blogger Comments:

[1] This is misleading, in a trivial way. Halliday (1994: 180):

[2] To be clear, Fawcett (forthcoming b) and Fawcett (in press) are still unpublished, 21 years after the first edition of this publication.

[3] This is a serious misunderstanding of SFL Theory. Preposition and conjunction groups do not model structures that "occur inside prepositions and conjunctions". Instead, prepositions and conjunctions are constituents of preposition groups and conjunction groups, respectively. Any structure "within" prepositions and conjunctions is realised by their constituents: morphemes.

[4] To be clear, this is because three of Fawcett's four classes of group derive from misunderstandings of SFL Theory, as will be demonstrated when they are examined.