32 Matthew P. Anstey
concept of FG 1 is essentially the combining of semantic, syntactic and
pragmatic functions with predicate arguments.
The semantic functions “are somewhat reminiscent of those distin-
guished in Fillmore’s (1968) Case Grammar” (Dik 1978a: 31). Fillmore
writes that “[t]he case notions comprise a set of universal, presumably in-
nate, concepts which identify certain types of judgements human beings
are capable of making about the events that are going on around them...”
(1968: 24). Dik (1978a: 39) is quite circumspect about semantic functions:
“... the above proposal must remain tentative. ... it may turn out that the
distinctions made above are not, after all, as relevant as I think them to be.
Much more research will be needed for a satisfactory solution of this ques-
tion to be found.” The problem of primitives (PR4) is inherent in any
grammar that has primitives, particularly semantic ones.
The two syntactic functions, Subject and Object, are considered ‘primi-
tive[s]’ of ‘grammatical relations’, in accord (partially) with Relational
Grammar (Dik 1978a: 114; Fillmore 1968; Johnson 1977).
Dik provides barely any references in his chapter on pragmatic func-
tions, seeing the prevailing research as containing “much difference of
opinion and much terminological confusion” (1978a: 129). Gebruers
(1983; cf. Piťha 1985) helpfully observes that Bühler was the intellectual
precursor both to Mathesius, founder of the Prague Linguistic Circle, and
to Reichling, Dik’s doctoral supervisor. This connection possibly explains
FG 1 ’s (pragmatic) similarity to Prague.^12
5.2. The Formal Notation
The notation of FG 1 has four components: the predicate frame, the term
structure, the predication structure, and the ‘Outline of Functional Gram-
mar’.
The structure of the predicate frame is not given abstractly, but it may
be clearly ascertained to be as follows (Dik 1978a: 29, 48; cf. Dik 1978c).^13
(5) [predicatetype (x 1 : <s.r.>)SF ... (xn: <s.r.>)SF]SoA where n ≤ 4
The notation of the term structure is (1978a: 16; influenced by Dahl
1971):
(6) (ω xi : φ 1 (xi) : φ 2 (xi): ... : φn (xi) )