SYSTEMIC ANALYSES OF THE STRUCTURES OF CLAUSES AND GROUPS (original) (raw)

Abstract Most studies based on sociolinguistic investigations often require analytical interpretation of some discourse texts in relation to the semantic structures they manifest. Most of the time, such tasks find better expressions in functional linguistics than other models of grammar. While it undeniable that adequate knowledge in this model of grammar is indispensable to most sociolinguistic analysis of texts, it is saddening to note that in ESL contexts, choices are freely made between generative grammar and functional linguistics. As a result, students in some schools concentrate on generative grammar with little or no attention to important details in functional linguistics. The implication is that such students become handicapped whenever they are faced with tasks based on analytic study of discourse texts. This paper therefore examines the structures of Group and Clause under functionalists’ linguistics as a tool for scholarly analysis of texts in academic writing. The concepts of unit and structure were employed as basic tools for explication of the clauses and group structures. Their constituents were examined with copious illustrations of the various ways in which they can be used in texts analyses. Key words: functional linguistics, structures, units, clauses, groups