In the present theory, then, a term such as "noun" or "adjective" is used merely as a useful label for the set of items that expound some element of structure (strictly speaking, the element minus any possible affix), perhaps additionally of a semantically defined set. For example, a noun is an item which expounds the head of a nominal group, but only in those cases when the language's 'cultural classification' of 'things' is used to help specify the referent. The head of a nominal group may also be expounded by the 'pro-form' one or ones, or by a pronoun such as she, or by a 'proper name'.
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[1] To be clear, this confuses the (functional) element with the (formal) item that expounds (realises) it, since an affix is a constituent of a word (item).
[2] To be clear, in SFL Theory, the (logical) Head of a nominal group may conflate with a range of experiential functions (Halliday & Matthiessen 2014: 392-4), and so the class of word that realises the Head depends on the conflation. For example, if Head conflates with Thing, then the typical realisation is a noun; if it conflates with Classifier, then the typical realisation is a noun or adjective; if it conflates with Epithet, then the typical realisation is an adjective; if it conflates with Numerative, then the typical realisation is a numeral; and if it conflates with a Deictic, then the typical realisation is a determiner. Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 427):
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