CLINICAL LINGUISTICS: A Focus on Interactions and an Interpersonal Perspective

This chapter explores how Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) enriches clinical linguistics by focusing on the interpersonal, contextual, and interactional dimensions of communication disorders. Drawing on case studies involving aphasia, right hemisphere damage, dementia, and clinical report writing, it illustrates how SFL offers tools to analyse both the linguistic and social aspects of communication breakdown. Emphasising real-world interactions over decontextualised tasks, this chapter demonstrates how SFL supports person-centred assessment and therapy. It also introduces the USeFuL Project, which aims to make SFL more accessible to clinicians, supporting collaborative, context-sensitive interventions for individuals with neurogenic communication disorders.