Systemic Functional Linguistics Evolving with Its Environment
Prof. Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen, Complutense University
Prof. Jonathan Webster, the City University of Hong Kong
Dr Vinh To, the University of Tasmania
Dr Eric Cheung, the Hongkong Polytechnic University
Abstract: Our theories about language and semiosis are shaped by our experience of language as realized in society and through our interaction. To paraphrase Darwin, SFL has been, and is being evolved, even as we speak. It is this expectation that our theory must evolve to meet the challenges of change that has kept SFL relevant while other theories have fallen by the wayside. The true test of a theory of language is its success in problem solving for society’s sake, not just for determining the grammaticality of a particular utterance. While SFL continues to develop beyond Halliday’s original formulation dating back more than half a century, Halliday’s foundational and appliable principles of language as a social semiotic have given SFL its lasting ability to deliver valuable insights into how we make meaning work for us.
Biographies:
Professor. Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen is Professor under the María Zambrano scheme, Complutense University; Distinguished Professor in the Department of Linguistics, UIBE; and Distinguished Professor in the School of Foreign Languages, Hunan University. He has degrees in linguistics from Lund University (BA), where he also studied English, Arabic and philosophy, and in linguistics from UCLA (MA, PhD), and has previously held positions at USC/ Information Sciences Institute, Sydney University, Macquarie University, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has held visiting appointments at the University of Hamburg and the Brain Science Division of the RIKEN Institute in Tokyo.
He is also Honorary Professor, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, the Australian National University, Canberra, and Guest Professor, University of Science and Technology, Beijing. Matthiessen has lectured and given courses around the world, including in China, Japan, S. Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Greece, Germany, Denmark and the UK, Lebanon, Canada, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, and he is involved in a number of international research networks. Matthiessen has authored and co-authored over 15 books and 170 book chapters and journal articles.
With researchers around the world, he is working on health communication, aspects of educational linguistics, language description, registerial cartography, multilingual studies, language arts, the language of space, and the development of Systemic Functional Linguistic theory. The most recent books are Matthiessen (2021), Systemic Functional Linguistics, Part I, edited by K. Teruya; Matthiessen, Wang, Ma & Mwinlaaru (2022), Systemic Functional Insights on Language and Linguistics. Matthiessen & Teruya (2023), Systemic Functional Linguistics: a complete guide (Routledge), Matthiessen (2023), System in Systemic Functional Linguistics: a system-based theory of language. Wang & Ma (2023), Theorizing and Applying Systemic Functional Linguistics Developments by Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen, provides an overview of some domains of his work.
Prof. Jonathan Webster is Honorary Professor at Macquarie University, and Professor at the City University of Hong Kong (retired). He was the Director of The Halliday Centre for Intelligent Applications of Language Studies (2005-2021), and Head of the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics, City University of Hong Kong (2005-2011). Professor Jonathan Webster is the Founding Editor for Linguistics and the Human Sciences published by Equinox, and Managing Editor for WORD. Professor Jonathan Webster is also the Editor of 36 books on topics in Systemic Functional Linguistics.
Dr Vinh To is a Senior Lecturer in English Education at the University of Tasmania, Australia, and the leading organiser of the International Online Systemic Functional Linguistics Interest Group Webinars and Conferences (SFLIG 2020, SFLIG 2021, and SFLIG 2023). She is the Co-Editor of “Systemic Functional Linguistics theory and application in global contexts by the University of Tasmania (2023), Co-Author of “Theoretical perspectives on cultural representations in Vietnamese children’s picturebooks (2023) by Cambridge Scholars and Co-Editor of “Applying SFL to meet the challenge of change” (in progress) by Equinox. She is also the Guest Editor for Linguistics and the Human Sciences.
Dr Eric Cheung is a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Languages and Communication, Hongkong Polytechnic University, College of Professional and Continuing Education. He is the Associate Editor for Linguistics and the Human Sciences, Co-Convenor for the 2nd International Online Systemic Functional Linguistics Interest Group Conference (SFLIG 2023), and Co-Editor of “Applying SFL to meet the challenge of change” (in progress) by Equinox.
Systemic Functional Linguistics Interest Group (SFLIG) 