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Theme - clause as message
Unitati de invatare
Characterization of Theme
Thematic Development Within a Text
Types of Themes
Problems in Identifying the Theme
Obiective
Timpul alocat temei: 4 ore
Bibliografie recomandata :
Bloor, Thomas, Bloor, Meriel. The Functional
Analysis of English. A Hallidayan Approach. Second edition.
Dik, Simon. Studies In Functional Grammar,
Eggins, Suzanne. An
Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics.
Fries, Peter. On the Status of Theme in English: arguments from discourse in Forum Linguisticum 6, pp. 1-38, 1981.
Halliday, M.A.K. An Introduction to Functional Grammar,
second edition,
Halliday, M.A.K. On Grammar, eds. Jonathan
Webster,
Ghadessy, Mohsen. Thematic Development in English
Texts,
Martin, J.R. English Text: System and Structure,
Lyons, John. Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics,
Matthienssen, Christian
& Bateman, John. Text Generation and
Systemic- Functional Linguistics, Pinter,
Matthienssen, Christian;
Painter, Claire & Martin, J.R. Working
With Functional Grammar,
Thompson, Geoff. Introducing
Functional Grammar,
R. Quirk and J. Svartvik, A Corpus of English Conversation, Eds. 1980.
The system of Theme is concerned with the organization of information within individual clauses and, through this, with the organization of a larger text. Thus the following versions of 'the same' clause- sized piece of information embody alternative THEME choices:
Your reporter repeatedly interrupted her replies.
Her replies were repeatedly interrupted by your reporter.
Repeatedly, your reporter interrupted her replies.
Every clause is organized as a message related to an unfolding text. The system of THEME organizes the clause to show what its local context is in relation to the general context of the text it serves in.The system is concerned with the current point of departure in relation to what has come before, so that it is clear where the clause is located in the text- how its contribution fits in. The local context or point of departure is called THEME. The rest of the message of the clause is what is presented against the background of the local context- it is where the clauses moves after the point of the departure. This is called RHEME. The clause as message is thus organized in THEME + RHEME. In English and many other languages this organization is 'realized' positionally: Theme is realized by initial position in the clause and the Rheme follows.
THEME: point of departure of clause as message; local context of clause as a piece of text. Initial position in the clause.
RHEME: non- Theme- where the presentation moves after the point of departure; what is presented in the local context set up by Theme. Position following initial position.
Theme is one of the two systems that organize the information presented in the clause, the other being that of INFORMATION. And although our concern is with Theme, it will be useful to distinguish it from that of information and, at various points, to make links between the two systems.
While the Theme uses position within the clause to organize information into an initial orientation followed by the Rheme, the system of Information uses intonation to highlight what is particularly newsworthy in the message. The New element in the clause is foregrounded by being 'stressed' as we speak (more technically, it contains a tonic syllable). For example
A: Which one is Lindy's boy?
B: He 's the tall one.
Rheme New
The choice of Theme for any individual clause will generally relate to the way information is being developed over the course of the whole text. In the following text, the overall discourse theme concerns reptiles and their subtypes; clause by clause the Themes are selected to indicate the progression from reptiles in general to 'some reptiles', 'many reptiles' and so on:
Reptiles were the first animals with backbones that could live on land all the time. Some reptiles we know today are snakes, lizards and turtles. Many of the early reptiles grew very large. Two large, early reptiles were . .
This progression of Themes over the course of a text is referred to as the text method of development.
We have described the Theme as providing the local context for the information in the rest of the clause. An important aspect to this is that the clause can be contextualized in terms of all three of its metafunctional perspectives: textually, interpersonally and ideationally. The theme of a clause can thus have textual, interpersonal and ideational stages. The ideational stage to the Theme is known as topical. The Theme component in a clause may unfold from one metafunctional perspective to the next.
The Theme of the clause always concludes with a 'topical' element, and indeed there may be only a topical theme, as in Reptiles were the first animals with backbones that could live on land all the time. The textual and interpersonal stages to the theme may or may not be present. The next section will illustrate each different type of Theme.
Ideational (Topical) Theme
The ideational stage of the Theme, known as topical Theme, can be recognized as the first element in the clause that expresses some kind of 'representational' meaning. More technically, it is a function from the transitivity structure of the clause. It may be a participant as in:
George Bernard Shaw was born in
The house was gloomy.
or it may be a circumstance giving information about time, place, manner, cause etc. as in:
In 1876 Shaw joint her
mother and sister in
Occasionally, it may be the process as in:
Says Mr. Smith: 'It's too early to draw any conclusions yet.'
Marked and Unmarked Topical Theme
If the first topical element of a declarative clause is also the Subject of the clause then the Theme choice is a neutral or 'unmarked' one, which gives the Theme no special proeminence. By making use of the system of VOICE (the alternation between 'active' and 'passive') it is possible to vary the choice of unmarked Theme:
John bought a bunch of roses.
Unmarked Theme/ Subject Rheme
A bunch of roses was bought by John.
Unmarked Theme/ Subject Rheme
However, when the topical Theme of a declarative clause is not the Subject, it gains a greater textual prominence. Non- subject Themes are 'marked' Themes and are often important in structuring the larger discourse. Here are some examples of marked themes:
Someday, you 'll understand that
Marked Theme Subject
. . .Rheme . . . . . . . . . . . .
Marked Theme Subject
. . .Rheme . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interpersonal Theme
The interpersonal part of the Theme, if present, includes one or more of the following:
a.The Finite, typically realized by an auxiliary verb. Its presence in thematic position signals that a response is expected, as in:
Should they be doing that?
Are you coming?
Don't touch that!
b. A Wh- element, signalling that 'an' answer is required from the addressee.
Why can't you come over tonight?
How did school shape up?
c. A Vocative, identifying the addressee in the exchange:
Mr. Wolf, may we cross your garden?
d. An Adjunct, typically realized by an adverb. It provides the speaker's comment or attitude towards the message. For example:
Sadly, it doesn't look like the old places will be around much longer.
Perhaps, woman are better doctors.
One final type of interpersonal Theme consists of first and second person 'mental' clauses which expresse the speaker's opinion.
I should think there would probably be some of them that you'll never see.
I don't suppose you need Old English.
Do you think I should take . ?
You know bitter beer should be sharp.
Halliday regards these as " interpersonal metaphors", meaning that they can be regarded as comparable with Adjuncts like probably and treated as interpersonal Themes.
Textual Theme
Textual Themes almost always constitute the first part of the Theme, coming before any interpersonal Themes. They give thematic prominence to textual elements with a linking function.
a. Structural conjunctions, linking two clauses in a coordinating relation:
Jasmine, I love the smell of, but napalm I adore.
or marking one clause as dependent on another:
The interviewer asked whether there would be a change in direction.
The Minister said that there was no need to amend the legislation.
b. Relatives, relating a dependent clause to another clause:
We heard Prof. Smith's lecture, which was a great disappointment.
Relative elements serve both as textual and topical Theme since, as well as relating clause to a preceding one, they serve to specify a participant.
c. Conjunctives, providing a cohesive link back to previous discourse:
Furthermore, this alternative would be far too costly.
Note that conjunctives may or may not be thematic depending on whether they occur first in the clause. For example, later is thematic in Later they offered details about the agreement, but it is not thematic in He later offered a brief, televised apology.
d. Continuatives, indicating a relationship to previous discourse:
Well there was a lot of trouble when you got there, wasn't it?
All three metafunctions contribute to the Theme of a clause; the last, and the only obligatory, stage of a Theme as it unfolds from left to right in the clause, is the ideational part. If you analyse a clause for Theme from left to right, the most central question is how far the Theme extends to the right, i.e. where the boundary between Theme and Rheme can be drawn. The Theme extends from the beginning of the clause to include any textual and/ or interpersonal elements that may be presented and also the first experiential element, that is a circumstance, process or participant.
The thematic principle of textual organization can also be seen operating with respect to units larger than the individual clause. One such case is where two or more clauses are linked together within a 'clause complex' (the sentence of written English). Where a dependent (modifying, subordonate) clause precedes the main clause it can be interpreted as having thematic status for the clause complex as a whole, as in Although the play was well- acted, the characters ultimately failed to engage our sympathies. In a similar way, the initial clause complex of a paragraph may be seen as functioning as a kind of 'paragraph Theme' while the introductory paragraph itself has a thematic status regarding the text as a whole.
There are several problems that can appear while identifying the Theme, problems which are going to be presented below:
a. How do we identify the unit of analysis? Theme is a system of clause, so the first step in undertaking a Theme analysis is to identify the clause boundaries in the text. To divide your text into clauses you need to look for verbs or groups of verbs. These are the elements expressing processes of doing, saying, perceiving, thinking, feeling, being or having. Here are some examples of clauses with the verbs in bold:
I'll be waiting for you.
You will tell him, won't you?
I want to be alone.
It's alive.
We'll always like him.
Some utterances such as greetings (Hello, Good bye), exclamations (Good Lord, Oh, My God) or minimal conversational moves (Oh!) do not have any verb. These minor clauses have no Theme- Rheme structure and can be simply left aside.
One kind of clause which may lack a Theme is the non-finite clause without Subject. For example:
He went to the cupboard
to fetch his grandmother the glasses. (non-finite clause)
His hobby was
collecting stamps. (non-finite clause)
Such non-finite clauses have been deprived from their Theme for interpersonal reasons, so that the whole clauses can be counted as topical Theme. In other words the Process which begins the clause does nt serve as topical Theme:
He went to the cupboard to fetch his grandmother her glasses.
Theme Rheme Rheme
His hobby was collecting stamps.
Theme Rheme Rheme
b. Which is the boundary between Theme and Rheme? Theoretically, Theme is a pulse of information at the beginning of the clause, but practically speaking we need to make a decision about where Theme begins and stops. The principle to remember is that everything up to and including the first ' topical' (experiential) element will count as the Theme. In elliptical clauses where the two clauses are linked by coordination, the Subject of the second clause may be ellipsed or 'understood'.
He looked furiously at her and ( ) began to shout.
Textual or Interpersonal?
a. Yes and No
Yes and No may be interpersonal or textual in function. POLARITY is an interpersonal system, and when yes or no initiates a response to a yes/ no interrogative, it functions as an interpersonal theme:
A: Did you get a newspaper today?
B: No, I didn't. No is interpersonal Theme.
However, yes or no may also serve a continuative function, signalling a new move (by the same or by a different speaker) simply by maintaining the current polarity. In these cases they will be phonologically weak and are textual Themes, linking the new move to what went before:
A: Bad news about John's job.
B: Yes, it is. Yes is textual Theme
A: We won't go to the beach today.
B: No, it's too windy. No is textual Theme.
Oh, okay and now are other textual continuatives, which similarly mark a response move in dialogue or a fresh initiation in monologue.
b. Adjuncts
It is easy to confuse initial Adjuncts which have a textual, linking function and those which have an interpersonal, modal function. Some of the Adjuncts most frequently confused are listed below:
In fact Evidently
Anyway Broadly speaking
At least Obviously
In conclusion Provisionally
Interpersonal or Topic?
a. Time expressions
Expressions of frequency ('usuality' Adjuncts) such as sometimes or often are interpersonal rather than experiential in nature.
(Usuality) (Temporal Location/ Extent)
At times . In the mornings .
Often . . On Saturdays . .
Usually . Three times a day . .
Occasionally . That particular year .
The Theme predication test is a useful way to discriminate topical Theme. In the following examples, the second version has the element in doubt as a predicate. Only a topical element can successfully function as a predicated Theme:
On Saturdays we used to go jogging
It was on Saturdays we used to go jogging. On Saturdays is topical theme.
Usually Jeremy is too drunk.
* It is usually that Jeremy is too drunk. Usually is not topical theme.
b. Question words
Interrogative Wh- items such as Where, Why, When, How are both interpersonal and topical. This is because they play a role both in the interpersonal structure of the clause- as the Wh- function- and in the transivity structure of the clause, as participant or circumstance. This is true for both of direct and indirect (reported) wh- interrogative clauses. For example:
Who 'd even know who you were?
interpersonal interpersonal
topical topical
Theme Rheme Theme Rheme
Textual or Topical?
a. Relative pronouns
Note that relative items (such as who[m], which, whose) play a role in the transitivity structure of a clause as well as performing a lnking function, thus they are both topical and textual Themes.
She spoke to Dr. Jones, who did his best to help her.
textual
topical
Theme Rheme
b. Reference items
A reference item, such as this, is sometimes wrongly viewed as a textual Theme in an example like the following:
For many years, girls have fared worse than boys in mathematics and science subjects. This has resulted in a number of special programs . .
However, although this is certainly textual in its function as a cohesive item, it counts as a topical Theme because it is a participant in the clause structure.
c. Temporal expressions
It is easy to confuse a textual linker combining two clauses or sentences in a temporal relation with a temporal circumstance specifying a time setting for its clause. Textual Themes are underlined in the following examples:
As he sat in the
barn he watched
Now look at circumstances functioning as tpical Themes:
In 1925, the playwright was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. Betwwen the ages of fifty- seven and sixty- seven, Shaw wrote such dramas as Heartbreak House, Back to Methuselah, St. Joan. During his lifetime, he was besieged by offers to film his plays .
Further temporal examples are given below:
Finally . . By the end of the race . .
Later . At
Conclusions
The system of THEME is a textual resource at clause rank for presenting the clause as a message (piece of text) in the unfolding text. It organizes the clause into two parts by specifying a point of departure for the addressee in his/ her interpretation of the clause.
The point of departure of the clause as message, what is called THEME, is realized by initial position in the clause, and it is followed by the non- Theme, The Rheme. The Rheme provides the information to be processed within the local environment specified by the Theme.
There are three possible components to the Theme of a clause: textual, interpersonal and topical (i.e. ideational). As a general principle, finite clause in English will select an ideational function (typically participant or circumstance) as topical Theme. The first element in the clause realizes the topical Theme while preceding textual or interpersonal elements constitute textual and interpersonal Themes. For example:
Well, naturally, most people don't discuss these things in public.
Textual Interpersonal Topical
. . . . . . . . . . Theme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Rheme . . . . . . . .
Evaluation test
I. Identify topical Themes in the following sentences:
1. He is out.
2. You are just in time for a little walk.
3. One must not complain.
4. That's a very good idea.
5. This room does not need air.
6. Nobody sits out in this time of the year.
7. His argument just crumbled.
8. He was fat and bunchy.
9. The clock was still saying five minutes to eleven.
10. A peaceful smile came over her face.
II. Identify interpersonal Themes in the following sentences:
1. Maybe you call them sparrows.
2. Of course he does.
3. Perhaps you will not notice it.
4. Frank, this is fantastic.
5. For God's sake, you had me worried.
6. Honest to God I stood you up.
7. Are you sure?
8. Was he a famous poet?
9. What shall we do?
10. How old are you?
III. Recognize long Themes in the following text and consider how they have been used to organize the description:
The land was cold and white and savage. Across it there ran thread of frozen waterway, with dark spruce forest looming on either side. Along this waterway toiled a string of wolfish dogs, hauling a sled of birch-bark. On the sled, along with the camp-outfit, was lashed a long and narrow oblong box. In front of the dogs, on white snowshoes, toiled a man. Behind the sled came a second man. On the sled in the box lay a third man, whose life was at an end - a man whom the Wild had beaten down and conquered. The bodies of the live men were covered with soft fur and leather. Their faces were blurred and shapeless under a coating of crystals from their frozen breath. All around them was a silence which seemed to press upon them as water does upon a diver.
(J. London: White Fang, Abridged edition N. Farr, Pendulum Press, 1977)
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