Creativity and systemic functional linguistics: An update on the latest theories and analytical frameworks

Abstract

In recent years, the study of creativity has slowly made its way from applied linguistics to systemic functional linguistics (SFL). As theories and analytical frameworks emerge, definitions and descriptions of creativity has expanded and is bridging the gap in our understanding. Creativity is defined as the interplay between forming and reforming of patterns (Carter, 2004) in text of any medium. When instantiated at the context of situation, it “has undergone changes brought about by [] phylogenesis, ontogenesis and logogenesis to reach a logogenetic stage where meanings can be created, reinforced or altered by a language user's choices to reach a target audience” (Law, forthcoming, p. 3). This presentation aims to provide an update on the latest systemic functional linguistic-based theories and analytical frameworks for creativity research. It covers aspects such as quantitative methods for the extraction of creative instances from corpora (Law, 2019a, 2020c); qualitative theories and frameworks for the analysis of linguistic and multimodal creativity with respect to register, field, tenor values, information status, and the cline of creativity complexity; their applications in analysing creativity in popular/internet culture; as well as implications for education and pedagogy in digital literacy (Law, 2018, 2019b, 2020a, 2020b, 2020d). Examples of data used in this presentation include authentic speeches, company logos, social media posts, YouTube videos, TV dramas and films. Future directions for SFL-based creativity research will also be discussed.