Berry Margaret. An Introduction to Systemic Linguistics 1. Structures and Systems

Batsford, 1975. — 224 p.It was “the first comprehensive theoretical treatment” (Huddleston 1977: 190) of systemic-functional linguistics theory “for students in English departments of universities and colleges of education” setting out “each of the most fundamental concepts of systemic linguistics, giving an explanation of each concept and discussing passages of English in relation to the concept” (Berry 1975: ix). “I make no claim to originality”, Margaret (Berry 1975: ix) noted: “The ideas expressed are almost all those of other people, notably Professor J.R. Firth, Professor M.A.K. Halliday and Professor J. McH. Sinclair”. After making the ever-valid point that “A linguist’s views on what language is and how language works influence the way in which he describes particular languages” (Berry 1975: 3), she stressed the importance and benefits of theoretical diversity. “Newcomers to linguistics sometimes consider it a weakness of the subject that there are different schools of linguistics … Controversy is always a healthy sign. Language is so complex that no one approach can cover all its aspects” (Berry 1975: 12).