This book describes the discourse of biology from a systemic functional linguistic perspective. It offers a detailed description of resources based on text analysis. The description reveals co-textual patterns of language features, their expressions through grammatical resources, as well as their functions in the disciplinary context. The book also applies the description to analyse student texts in undergraduate biology, revealing characteristics of language and knowledge development. Although the discussion in this book focuses on the discourse of biology, both the language description and the descriptive principle can be used to inform the examination of knowledge in academic discourse in general, making this key reading for students and researchers in systemic functional linguistics, discourse analysis, English for academic purposes, applied linguistics, and science education.

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This volume challenges and extends previous approaches from systemic functional linguistics to understand the language of science and knowledge building from a linguistic perspective.

List of Figures ix

List of Tables xi

Acknowledgements xiii

SECTION I

Motivation and Background 1

1 A Linguistic Perspective on Knowledge-Building 3

2 A Multistratal Perspective on Knowledge-Building 23

SECTION II

Describing Ideational Discourse Semantics 53

3 Entity 55

4 Dimensionality 80

5 Figure 91

6 Grammatical Metaphor 114

7 Sequence, Activity and Field 145

SECTION III

Knowledge-Building in Undergraduate Biology 163

8 A Static Perspective: Construing Taxonomy 165

9 A Dynamic Perspective: Construing Activities 194

Contents

viii Contents

SECTION IV

Conclusion 225

10 Describing Language, Describing Knowledge 227

Bibliography 241

Appendix A Data Texts and Their Subject Areas 253

Appendix B Sample Texts and Genre Analysis 255

Appendix C List of Symbols and Abbreviations 265

Appendix D Annotations 267

Index 268

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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780815374992
Publisert
2020-02-03
Utgiver
Taylor & Francis Inc
Vekt
520 gr
Høyde
229 mm
Bredde
152 mm
Aldersnivå
U, 05
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
272

Forfatter

Biografisk notat

Dr Jing Hao is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, following her previous postdoctoral position at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and her doctorate in linguistics at the University of Sydney. Her research explores knowledgebuilding through English and Mandarin Chinese and their interaction with other semiotic modes.