Interpersonal grammar in Scottish Gaelic

In this chapter I use a text-based approach to grammatical description in order to explore the interpersonal grammar of Scottish Gaelic. I analyse extracts from two Scottish Gaelic novels from the perspectives of the semantic systems of NEGOTIATION and ENGAGEMENT and correlate distinctions in these systems with function structures at the lexicogrammatical stratum. By these means I build up a partial systems network for MOOD in Gaelic profile, with choices and distinctive features represented in the most economical way and labelled according to their distinctive usages in discourse. On the basis of this analysis, I will suggest that Scottish Gaelic does not have a [declarative] versus [interrogative] opposition in MOOD, redounding with the system of NEGOTIATION at the semantic stratum, but rather an [assertive] versus [non-assertive] opposition, redounding with the system of ENGAGEMENT at the semantic stratum