Systemic Functional Linguistics

Systemic functional linguistics (SFL) is a linguistic framework based largely on the work of Michael Halliday and is focused on the function of linguistic components in everyday discourse and contexts. It varies from formal linguistic frameworks that focus on form and structure rather than meaning or function. In so doing, it provides an alternative to the psycholinguistic framework traditionally used in research into and treatment of communication disorders. It provides a basis for looking at functional communication skills in individuals whose communication has been compromised as it directly addresses a speaker’s function in everyday discourse rather than focusing on performance in predominantly decontextualized word- and sentence-level language tasks. SFL has been applied to a variety of developmental and acquired language disorders including aphasia, cognitive communication ...