J.R. Martin is Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Sydney, Australia, where he is also Deputy Director of the LCT Centre for Knowledge-Building.Y.J. Doran is Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and Research Fellow at the LCT Centre for Knowledge-Building at the University of Sydney, Australia.Giacomo Figueredo is a Researcher and Senior Adjunct Professor of Linguistics at the Federal University of Ouro Preto, Brazil.

• Table of contents Describing languages, understanding language: Systemic Functional theory and description Y.J. Doran and J.R. Martin Part I: Understanding grammar Axial argumentation below the clause: The verbal group in Khorchin MongolianDongbing Zhang Axial argumentation and cryptogrammar in interpersonal grammar: A case study of Classical Tibetan moodPin Wang Experiential cryptotypes: reasoning about process typeBeatriz Quiroz Axial argumentation and cryptogrammar in textual grammar: theme in Brazilian PortugueseGiacomo Figueredo Arguments for seeing Theme-Rheme and Topic-Comment as separate functional structuresRandy J. LaPolla Part II: Contextualising grammar Functional language typology: A discourse semantic perspective J.R. Martin and Beatriz Quiroz Construing relations between scientific activities through Mandarin ChineseJing Hao The Baboon and the Bee: Exploring register patterns across languagesDavid Rose Language shift: Bilingual exchange structure in classroom interactions Harni Kartika Ningsih Academic formalisms: Toward a semiotic typology Y.J. Doran