A Systemic Functional Study Of Discontinuous Phenomena In English Syntax

Discontinuous phenomena are the special structures which are prevalent in English syntax.They have been discussed for years in the linguistic circles,mainly from the perspective of traditional grammar,generative grammar,psychology,typology and so on.So far,there exist some problems in the current studies.The research scopes are limited,being lack of integrity and systematization.The semantic functions of languages are ignored.Qualitative research method combined with quantitative research method is adopted.On the basis of Systemic Functional Linguistics,conducted by the Cardiff Grammar,this thesis tends to discuss the three aspects of discontinuous phenomena in English syntax.Firstly,types of the discontinuous phenomena in English syntax are classified.Secondly,the discontinuous structures are analyzed syntactically.Thirdly,the motivations of discontinuous phenomena are explored.The research findings are as follows:(i)there are five types of discontinuous phenomena in English syntax.They are discontinuities in the clause,discontinuities in the nominal group,discontinuities in the prepositional phrase,discontinuities in the quality group,and discontinuities in the quantity group.Each type can be divided into several subtypes.(ii)With tree diagrams in the Cardiff Grammar,it is clear to analyze the five types of discontinuous phenomena in English syntax and clarify the differences and connections between the inner structure and the outer structure in a unit.(iii)Motivations of the five types of discontinuities are as follows: the motivations of discontinuities in the clause are summarized as the influence of interpersonal function,being constrained by the “End Weight” principle,and the different registers.The motivations of discontinuities in the nominal group are summed up as being constrained by the “End Weight” principle and the conflict between the “Get the pivotal element in soon” principle and the “Complete the unit” principle.The motivations of discontinuities in the prepositional phrase can be concluded as the influence of the interpersonal function,the “End Weight” principle,and the “Get the pivotal element in soon” principle and different registers,the thematized completive of the prepositional phrase and the enhanced degree of grammaticalization between the Main Verb and the minor verb.The motivations of discontinuities in the quality group are summarized as: in the three principles,the ‘End Weight’ principle,the ‘Complete the unit’ principle and the “Get the pivotal element in soon” principle,one principle sometimes conflicts or cooperates with another.The motivations of discontinuities in the quantity group are constrained by the “Get the pivotal element in soon” principle and the “End Weight” principle.