Knowledge Construction in the Genre of Chemistry Textbooks Part 1: A Systemic Functional Perspective

This book is an indispensable cross-disciplinary resource for analysing and interpreting clause complexing relations in the genre of the science textbook. It offers a comprehensive view of the analysis, application and development of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) outlined by Halliday and Matthiessen (2004) to uncover how the systems of Taxis and Logico-Semantic Relations intersect to construct knowledge in the genre of chemistry textbooks. The book also explores the manner in which the distinction between Parataxis and Hypotaxis emerges as a dominant grammatical strategy for guiding knowledge construction in the same genre. The book also demonstrates the distribution, range and functions of the congruent forms of language which have received little attention in SFL studies on scientific texts. It is hoped that the findings will make textbook knowledge more accessible to learners and reduce their sense of alienation. The book (in two parts, Part 1 and 2)is well-suited for practitioners and researchers in the field of academic and scientific writing, ESL/EFL teaching and learning and LSP and professional communication.