BOOK REVIEW: A Systemic Functional Grammar of English: A Simple Introduction

Abstract

David Banks' A Systemic Functional Grammar of English: A Simple Introduction has been written for learners of English as a foreign language and those interested in learning about English linguistics. The book comprises nine chapters and aims to serve as an easy-to-read introduction for Halliday's (2004) Systemic Functional Linguistics. This work is a fundamental introduction to this linguistic theory and is targeted at PhD students, researchers and linguists interested in a functional systemic perspective to studying language. As the book includes practical activities and exercises with an answer key, it has the potential to be used as a textbook in educational contexts with small groups of learners. The book also includes a glossary which also includes some terms not used in this book but which can be helpful especially for students and researchers who are not familiar with Systemic Functional Grammar. It, furthermore, has an index which alphabetically lists the terms and topics mentioned in the book.