Trinocular perspective

A trinocular perspective is an analytical tool in Systemic functional linguistics.^[1] Michael Halliday introduced the term using a cartographic hierarchy of stratification whereby three viewpoints were identified:^[2]

• "from above" (from a higher stratum)
• "from roundabout" (from its own stratum, its own primary location)
• "from below"(from a lower stratum)

Halliday's colleague, C. M. I. M. Matthiessen has suggested that the approach could be used with other global semiotic dimensions, specifying:^[2]

• the cline of instantiation
• the spectrum of metafunction
• the hierarchy of rank
• the hierarchy of axis

• Trinocular vision