I wonder where you might locate ‘concepts’ in our stratal hierarchy. I believe MAKH followed Firth’s distributed view of meaning, where "The central proposal of the theory is to split up meaning or function into a series of component functions. Each function will be defined as the use of some language form or element in relation to some context. Meaning, that is to say, is to be regarded as a complex of contextual relations, and phonetics, grammar, lexicography, and semantics each handles its own components of the complex in its appropriate context.” 1957 p5-6
Blogger Comments:
[1] To be clear, 'concepts', as ideational meanings, are located on Halliday's semantic stratum.
[2] This is misleading. In Halliday's model of language as meaning potential, meaning is construed as the highest level of symbolic abstraction: the stratum of semantics. This is distinguished from wording, a lower level of symbolic abstraction: the stratum of lexicogrammar, and from sounding, a still lower level of symbolic abstraction: the stratum of phonology.
Rose uses the wording 'distributed view of meaning' in defence of Martin (e.g. 1992), where all strata are misunderstood as strata of linguistic meaning — even context and phonology. The misunderstanding is encapsulated in Martin's 'all strata make meaning', which, though a statement about semogenesis (making meaning), is misinterpreted as a statement about stratification (levels of symbolic abstraction): all strata are strata of meaning.
[3] To be clear, although this 1957 quote from Firth is largely consistent with Halliday's later stratification of language into semantics, lexicogrammar and phonology, Firth's use of 'context' is not the same as Halliday's later construal of context as the culture as a semiotic system. This can be seen in Halliday (1961) where Halliday's earliest use of 'context' is closer to Firth's use of the term:
[2] This is misleading. In Halliday's model of language as meaning potential, meaning is construed as the highest level of symbolic abstraction: the stratum of semantics. This is distinguished from wording, a lower level of symbolic abstraction: the stratum of lexicogrammar, and from sounding, a still lower level of symbolic abstraction: the stratum of phonology.
Rose uses the wording 'distributed view of meaning' in defence of Martin (e.g. 1992), where all strata are misunderstood as strata of linguistic meaning — even context and phonology. The misunderstanding is encapsulated in Martin's 'all strata make meaning', which, though a statement about semogenesis (making meaning), is misinterpreted as a statement about stratification (levels of symbolic abstraction): all strata are strata of meaning.
[3] To be clear, although this 1957 quote from Firth is largely consistent with Halliday's later stratification of language into semantics, lexicogrammar and phonology, Firth's use of 'context' is not the same as Halliday's later construal of context as the culture as a semiotic system. This can be seen in Halliday (1961) where Halliday's earliest use of 'context' is closer to Firth's use of the term:
