Grammatical Metaphor in SFL: A Rhetorical Resource for Academic Writing

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on grammatical metaphor as a rhetorical  systemic resource for achieving lexical economy and information density in academic writing. It explores the various forms of transferences which are made possible by the grammar: from logical to experiential, from  sequences to figures, elements, things and so on. These transferences involve “downgrading” of linguistic units from higher semantic domains to lower ones. The paper explored particularly the grammatical strategy of nominalization as the single most powerful resource for effecting ideational metaphor. Using five randomly selected research abstracts written by undergraduates of the Department of English Language and Literature, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, the paper observed the total lack of knowledge of this systemic resource by the students. By selecting four sequences of figures from each abstract, comprising various number of clause nexuses, the paper demonstrates how the judicious use of nominalization and ideational metaphor can help the writer of abstracts achieve word economy and at the same time information density. Since these attributes mark a well-written abstract, this grammatical strategy was recommended for students and budding academics. The paper concludes that creating awareness of the salutary effects of this systemic resource will put the students and academics on the path of academic excellence.

Key words: grammatical metaphor, nominalization, abstracts, information density, ideational metaphor, academic writing.