Using systemic functional linguistics as method in identifying semogenic strategies in intercultural communication: A study of the collocation of “time” and “different” by Swedish managers with international management experiences

Abstract

Theoretical foundations to intercultural communication (ICC) are integrative and interdisciplinary but few have studied ICC from a systemic linguistics perspective. Viewing communication as a dialogic process, this study takes a systemic functional linguistics (SFL) view of language as a social semiotic where semogenesis (meaning making) is both construed and construed by context of situation which in turn is construed by culture. Using interview data collected from Swedish managers who have extensive international management experiences, this study aims to illustrate how SFL can be used as an adaptive theory and framework of discourse analysis in uncovering semogenic strategies in ICC processes.

Let’s Play News!: An SFL Approach to Aesthetic Interactivity of Gamified News

“…SFL makes itself different from much of the linguistic landscape of the 20th century that focused on the syntagmatic, horizontal dimension of discourse by considering the paradigmatic dimension as well (Cordeiro, 2018). Syntagms constitute a horizontal relationship, where meaning is derived temporally from “chains” of signifiers, as in speech, music, or dance.…”

“…Martin & Ringham, 2000, p. 98). Interestingly, SFL gives priority to the paradigmatic, vertical choice relations (Bache, 2010; Cordeiro, 2018; Knox, 2009). One of the things that distinguish [SFL] is that it gives priority to paradigmatic relations; it interprets language not as a set of structures but as a network of systems, or interrelated sets of options for making meaning.…”

“…Foregrounding the paradigmatic dimension, “SFL provides a metalanguage that views the system of language […] as a complex network of systems that are open, with the creation of meaning possibilities limited only by its users and context of use ” (Cordeiro, 2018, p. 211, author’s emphasis). Accordingly, it is through choice that meaning is expressed and enacted paradigmatically.…”

‘So many “virologists” in this thread!’

“…Given its sensitivity to social context, the Appraisal framework has been applied to a variety of fields at the intersection of pragmatics and: L2 acquisition (Ryshina-Pankova 2019), computer-mediated-communication (e.g., Zappavigna 2018), intercultural communication (Cordeiro 2018), narrative analysis (e.g., Page 2003), and, most recently, corpus studies of terrorist discourse (Etaywe and Zappavigna 2021). However, research combining (im)politeness theory and Appraisal is still limited.…”

Comparing Oral and Written Cooking Recipes Using Systemic Functional Grammar

“…As Halliday, the father of SFL, has argued, there are "21 possible applications of SFL" (cited in Eggins, 2004, p. 2). Cordeiro (2018) also argues, "SFL is applied in a variety of contexts of study including media articles, political discourse in multimodality, physician patient communication, political discourse, pedagogy, creative writing and gender studies, and as methodology in organizational discourse studies" (p. 2).…”