Functional grammar and functional discourse grammar are grammar models and theories motivated by functional theories of grammar. These theories explain how linguistic utterances are shaped, based on the goals and knowledge of natural language users. In doing so, it contrasts with Chomskyan transformational grammar. Functional discourse grammar has been developed as a successor to functional grammar, attempting to be more psychologically and pragmatically adequate than functional grammar. The top-level unit of analysis in functional discourse grammar is the discourse move, not the sentence or the clause. This is a principle that sets functional discourse grammar apart from many other linguistic theories, including its predecessor functional grammar.
History
Functional grammar is a model of grammar motivated by functions. The model was originally developed by Simon C. Dik at the University of Amsterdam in the 1970s, and has undergone several revisions since then. The latest standard version under the original name is laid out in the 1997 edition, published shortly after Dik's death. The latest version features the expansion of the model with a pragmatic/interpersonal module by Kees Hengeveld and Lachlan Mackenzie. This has led to a renaming of the theory to functional discourse grammar. This type of grammar is quite distinct from systemic functional grammar as developed by Michael Halliday and many other linguists since the 1970s. The notion of "function" in FG generalizes the standard distinction of grammatical functions such as subject and object. Constituents of a linguistic utterance are assigned three types or levels of functions:
Semantic function, describing the role of participants in states of affairs or actions expressed
Syntactic functions, defining different perspectives in the presentation of a linguistic expression
Pragmatic functions, defining the informational status of constituents, determined by the pragmatic context of the verbal interaction
Principles of functional discourse grammar
There are a number of principles that guide the analysis of natural language utterances according to functional discourse grammar. Functional discourse grammar explains the phonology, morphosyntax, pragmatics and semantics in one linguistic theory. According to functional discourse grammar, linguistic utterances are built top-down in this order by deciding upon:
According to functional discourse grammar, four components are involved in building up an utterance:
The conceptual component, which is where the communicative intention that drives the utterance construction arises
The grammatical component, where the utterance is formulated and encoded according to the communicative intention
The contextual component, which contains all elements that can be referred to in the history of the discourse or in the environment
The output component, which realizes the utterance as sound, writing, or signing
The grammatical component consists of four levels:
The interpersonal level, which accounts for the pragmatics
The representational level, which accounts for the semantics
The morphosyntactic level, which accounts for the syntax and morphology
The phonological level, which accounts for the phonology of the utterance
Example
This example analyzes the utterance "I can't find the red pan. It is not in its usual place." according to functional discourse grammar at the interpersonal level. At the interpersonal level, this utterance is one discourse move, which consists of two discourse acts, one corresponding to "I can't find the red pan." and another corresponding to "It is not in its usual place."
** An ascriptive subact corresponding to "find", which has the function Focus
** A referential subact corresponding to "the red pan", which contains two ascriptive subacts corresponding to "red" and "pan", and which has the function Topic
