AJ2207 Functional Linguistics

Faculty of Education
Spring 2021
Extent and Intensity
0/3/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Martin Adam, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Martin Adam, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Contact Person: Jana Popelková
Supplier department: Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Timetable of Seminar Groups
AJ2207/01: Mon 12:00–14:50 učebna 12, M. Adam
AJ2207/03: Thu 14:00–16:50 učebna 11, M. Adam
AJ2207/04: Wed 11:00–13:50 učebna 11, M. Adam
Prerequisites
AJ2102 Practical Language 1B
Syntax A, Syntax B
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The aim of the course is introduce students to the functional approach to the study of language drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Czech and foreign linguistic traditions. Grammar is approached as a tool used in authentic interaction to achieve specific communicative goals (drawing on the knowledge acquired by students in the Syntax A and B courses). The focus is on the functional differences between spoken and written discourse, formal and informal, and polite and familiar interaction in different registers and dialects of English discourse. The students will discuss and practice the use of grammatical structures at sentence level with regard to their function as statements, questions, directives and exclamatives, and the representation of meaning in connected discourse (utterance level) focusing on linking signals and constructions, word order and emphasis, and theme-rheme articulation. Throughout the semester students are encouraged to link theory in the classroom to practice at schools via practical tasks.
Learning outcomes
The students will be able to:
- achieve specific communicative intentions in interaction with regard to context and addressee,
- understand linguistic terminology and use it when discussing the functions of language and grammatical structures,
- understand the similarities and differences between the functions of grammatical categories in English and Czech,
- apply the functional approach to the analysis of language material and in authentic interaction,
- reflect the functional differences between spoken and written, formal and informal and polite and familiar discourse in authentic communication,
- apply the functional approach for didactic purposes, e.g. for the development of teaching materials.
Syllabus
  • 1. Varieties of English.
  • 2. Components of the Act of Communication. Functions of language.
  • 3. Choices in the semantic representation of utterances.
  • 4. Grammatical cohesion.
  • 5. Functional sentence perspective: theme-rheme articulation according to Firbas.
  • 6. Information structure: theme-rheme articulation according to Quirk and Greenbaum, Halliday.
  • 7. Formal and informal language.
  • 8. Polite and familiar language.
  • 9. Personal and impersonal language.
  • 10. Spoken and written language.
Literature
    required literature
  • DONTCHEVA-NAVRATILOVA, Olga. Grammatical Structures in English: Meaning in Context. 2. dotisk 3. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2016, 168 pp. ISBN 978-80-210-5762-3. info
  • LEECH, Geoffrey N. and Jan SVARTVIK. A communicative grammar of English. Edited by Randolph Quirk. London: Longman, 1975, xiv, 324. ISBN 0582552389. info
    recommended literature
  • TÁRNYIKOVÁ, Jarmila. From text to texture : an introduction to processing strategies. 4., upr. vyd. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci, 2009, 159 s. ISBN 9788024424293. info
  • VACHEK, Josef. A functional syntax of modern English. Vydání 1. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 1994, 50 stran. ISBN 8021008636. info
  • COOK, Guy. Discourse. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989, xi, 167. ISBN 0194371409. info
  • MATHESIUS, Vilém. A functional analysis of present day English on a general linguistic basis. Edited by Josef Vachek, Translated by Libuše Dušková. 1. vyd. Prague: Academia, 1975, 228 s. URL info
Teaching methods
Home assignments + home reading. Teaching methods: classroom discussions, lectures, students' presentations, home assignments, home projects, observations.
Assessment methods
- a methodologically-oriented in-class presentation - fulfilling all home assignments - passing a credit test (passmark: 70%)
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Teacher's information
http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=1255
Credit requirements: - active participation at seminars (not more than 2 unexcused absences will be tolerated)

- fulfilling all written tasks and assigned presentations

- passing a written test

The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2021, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2021/AJ2207