Functional Syntax

Syntax is the study of sentence structure. ‘Functional Syntax’ is a cover term for a number of approaches sharing a belief that the form (i.e. syntax) and the function/meaning are linked together, rather than being autonomous entities. The differences among these approaches have to do with what kind of linkage exists between the forms and functions, what factors determine the forms, and how to explain similarities and differences among languages. Over the years, the Department of English at NTNU has been using functional syntactic theories such as Role and Reference Grammar to describe and analyze Formosan languages (in particular Amis and Saisiyat), especially concerning the following topics: word classes, voice system, causative verbs, noun phrase conjunction, pronominal system, and complex sentence.

Instructor(s):

• Dr. Wu, Jing-lan Joy

Related Course(s) Provided:

• ENC2003 Functional Grammar
• END2005 Seminar in Functional Grammar