A Systemic-Functional Grammar Approach to the Clause-Pivot Model of Chinese Grammar

In the study of Chinese grammar, much importance is attached to the identification of the basic unit, thus there have appeared the word-based grammar, the sentence-based grammar, the phrase-based grammar, and the clause-pivot grammar. Of these, the clause-pivot grammar ushered in a new phase. Both generative and functionalist scholars have reviewed this model from their own backgrounds and discussed how concepts and principles from their theories may complement and be integrated into this model. While admitting the contributions and significance of this model, they also pointed out its problems. These include:1) how to define a clause, what are its basic features, and how to identify a clause; 2) what is the scope of clause, how it is related to independent and dependent clauses and to clause complexes; and 3) what is the structure of the clause and how it is related to that of the group/phrase. This article tries to answer these questions from the perspective of Systemic-Functional Grammar (SFG). It is found that the clause-pivot model and SFG share a number of important common features, though the former is a language-specific grammatical model, the latter is a general linguistic theory. The latter may help enhance the former in its systematicness, consistency and practicability.