On subject and theme: a discourse functional perspective

by Fries, Peter Howard Hasan, Ruqaiya

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Title Statements

Full title :On subject and theme : a discourse functional perspective / edited by Ruqaiya Hasan, Peter H. Fries.

Summary

The papers in this volume focus on subject and theme. Theme began its life as a semantic notion in the work of Vilem Mathesius, while subject has traditionally been seen as just a syntactic entity. More recently, two related perspectives on these concepts have attracted linguists' attention: the formal criteria for their recognition and the relations between the two concepts. Using the systemic functional model as their point of departure, the papers in this volume consider the two notions in a wider context by relating them to the interpersonal and textural metafunctions of language. By contrast with the current linguistic approaches, the primary focus here is neither simply on formal recognition criteria nor on the relation of these elements to each other; instead, the notions of subject and theme are examined from the point of view of their function in the economy of discourse, with studies of their significance in English and French, as well as in a range of non-Indo-European languages. Definitions of the concepts are offered on the basis of their discourse functions, which are also important in selecting the formal recognition criteria and in understanding their mutually supportive role vis a vis each other.

Edition Statements

Publication Date:©1995.

Publication Statements

Publisher(s):J. Benjamins
Place of Publication:Amsterdam
Language:eng
Publication Date:©1995.

The Physical Object

Description:xlv, 414 pages ; : 23 cm.

Edition Identifiers

ISBN:1556195729, 9781556195723, 155619868X, 9781556198687, 9027236216, 9789027236210, 9027236577, 9789027236579
oclc:ocm32396556
LC Classification:P298
Dewey Decimal:415

Approaching the French clause as a move in dialogue / Alice Caffarel -- Mood and the ecosocial dynamics of semiotic exchange / Paul J. Thibault -- The English "tag question" / Bill McGregor -- "Nothing" makes sense in Weri / Maurice Boxwell -- Subjectlessness and honorifics in Japanese / Motoko Hori -- A dynamic perspective implications for metafunctional interaction and an understanding of theme / L.J. Ravelli -- Subject and theme in Chinese / Fang Yan, Edward McDonald, Cheng Musheng -- A systemic-functional approach to the thematic structure of the Old English clause / Michael Cummings -- Themes, methods of development, and texts / Peter H. Fries -- Defining and relating text segments / Carmel Cloran.

Subjects

Analyse du discours Aufsatzsammlung Discourse analysis Diskursanalyse Grammaire comparée et générale -- Congr… Grammar, Comparative and general -- Top… Kongreß -- 1992 -- Macquarie (Neusüdwal… Onderwerp (taalkunde) Pragmatics Subjekt Sujet et prédicat Systemic grammar Thema (taalkunde) Thema-Rhema-Gliederung