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There are several areas of research among the Systemic Meaning Modelling Group (SMMG). All of them are based on systemic functional theory and are concerned with modelling various aspects of meaning in a computational environment. They are:

development of general systemic functional theoretcial models of resources and processes,

development of models of semantic and lexicogrammatical resources,

lexicogrammars of Chinese, English, French, Germa and Japanese,

meaning base and domain models for multilingual and multimodal processes,

computational tools for developing models and for analysing text,

multilingual and multmodal presentation generation, web-based interactive course, and

web facilities and resorueces. A more detailed descrition of these activities is given as follows.

General systemic functional theoretical models

Research within SMMG is concerned with long-term development of theoretical models based on systemic functional principles. These models guide descriptive work, e.g., descriptive modes of the lexicogrammatical resources of a range of languages, and serve as the basis for computational modelling and implementation.The nature of the resources of systemic functional theory, e.g., the stratal organization of the systemic metalanguage.

• The location of language as a socio-semiotic system among other kindds of system (physical, biological and social).
• The space created by the intersection of the dimension of stratification and instantiation.
• The nature of meaning-creating processes, in particular models of logogenesis.
• The expansion of the potential of systemic-functional representational resources, e.g., in the service of multilinguality and multimodality.

Models of semantic and lexicogrammatical resources

In addition to theoretcial research, SMMG is developing large-scale descriptions of a vareity of languages, including Chinese, English, German, French and Japanese. These descriptions are concerned with semantic and/or lexicogrammatical resources. They are intended to serve a vareity of uses, including both educational and computational ones.

• Meaning base -- semantic resources: The meaning base of English is being explored systematically; particular attention has been given to the ideational resources or ideation base. On the one hand, the general ideational potential of Enlsih has been mapped out and contrasted with other languages. On the other hand, domain models associated with particular registers have been or are being developed, including domain models of communicable diseases in health reports and of tourism in guide books.
• Wording base -- lexicogrammatical resources: The wording bases of the languages mentioned above are being mapped out as meaning-making resources. The main catographic tool is the system network. This research is text-roientated and increasingly based on corpora of texts. One long-term goal is to develop a new kind of reference grammar using a computational framework that will allow the accounts of grammar to be read in a hypertext like fashion and will have links to ample text examples.

Compuational tools for developing models and for analysing text

To support systemic functional research, we have been developing tools for building and maintaining accounts of the linguistic system and for analysing text. Under the general system "SysAm", there are five interrelated subsystems:

• SysFan: a tool for lexicogrammatical text analysis
• SysRef: a tool for managing and developing accounts of lexicogrammatical and semantic systems. It intendded as a step towards a new generation of computational systemic functional reference grammars designed to support a range of different uses.
• SysConc: a tool for extracting linguistic patterns from a large corpus of texts. It allows the user to search for specific items and collocational patterns, and for a group of items of any semantic type set by the user.
• SysGraph: a tool for graphing systemic networks.
• SysGloss: a glossary of systemic functional linguistic terms.

Multilingual and multimodal presentation generation

Multilingual generation means getting the computer to function as a writer (or as a speaker), producing texts in multple languages from a common meaning source. Systemic generation systems such as Multex and KPML currently cater for the generation of text in English, German, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese and French.

Multimodal generation means getting the computer to function as a presenter using non-linguistic semiotic systems such as maps, graphs, tables, and images, animations as well as written or spoken text. Multex currently incorporates facilities for generating presentations consisting of written text expanded by animated maps.

Multilingual and multimodal generation is a way of studying processes of meaning by means of synthesis (rather than analysis), giving us increased theoretical insight into these processes.

Our currrent research efforts concerntrate on, but are not limited to, the processing of information in the domains of tourism and communicable diseases and the dynamic presentation of this informationas HTML documents.

Web-based interactive course

A pilot project (Virtual Ling 900) is developing a module for learning about THEME in English on the web by exploring this topic or doing exercises interactively. This proejct is intended as the first step in a series of modules for exploring and learning functional grammar and other systemic functional areas.

 

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