Systemic Functional Perspectives of Japanese: Descriptions and Applications

This book is the first dedicated collection of systemic functional descriptions of Japanese. It represents the most recent, international work describing the system and structure of Japanese and how applications of the descriptions have been used in the fields of computer science and education.

The book is divided into two sections: descriptions and applications. The descriptions section is organised into the three metafunctions: textual, interpersonal and ideational. The applications section explores education and computing. The contributions on education present work on the application of systemic functional theory to teaching Japanese as a second or foreign language. The contributions on computing present the application of systemic functional theory to the development of a Japanese language based computer operating system.

Systemic Functional Perspectives of Japanese is suitable for undergraduates, postgraduates, researchers of descriptive linguistics and applied linguistics and also for Japanese language teachers. It includes a foreword by Professor Noboru Yamaguchi, Tohoku University, one of the first linguists to explore systemic functional perspectives of Japanese.

Elizabeth A. Thomson is the Director of Studies, Defence Force School of Languages, and Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia. She coordinates The Genre Project, an ongoing research initiative aimed at mapping the genres of Japanese, particularly those found in the workplace and in Education. She teaches linguistics, Japanese language and English for Academic Purposes. In 2003 she was awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning (Arts) and in 2001 her co-authored CD-ROM, Academic Writing was the winner of the Tertiary Technology Showcase Category in The Australian Awards for Excellence in Educational Publishing. William S. Armour is Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He researches on a variety of topics, including cross-cultural adaptation, how learning an additional language impacts on identity, and manga and anime.