Componence: Functions As Parts Of Forms

Fawcett (2010: 244):

In the next four sections we shall examine the three crucial relationships of componence, filling and exponence into which the 'consists of relationship between units must be broken down — and also the concept that models in the syntax itself the multifunctional nature of language, i.e., conflation.

Componence is the part-whole relationship between a unit and the elements of which it is composed. Thus the componence of the nominal group the man with a stick is dd h q; the componence of the prepositional group with a stick is ρ cv, and that of the nominal group a stick is qd h.

Blogger Comments:

[1] This is misleading, because it is untrue. The 'consists of' relationship between units — in SFL Theory: the rank scale of forms — can not be broken down into componence, filling and exponence, because each of these three is concerned with the form-function relations, not with the constituency of forms (units); see further below.

[2] To be clear, Fawcett's notion of componence confuses form (units) with function (element), and posits functions as parts of forms. The reason this is theoretically invalid is because form and function are different levels of symbolic abstraction.

[3] To be clear, as previously demonstrated, Fawcett's notions of filling and exponence are both the relation between function (element) and form (unit and item, respectively). That is, both involve the relation of different levels of symbolic abstraction, which in SFL Theory, is the relation of realisation.