Discourse analysis and grammar

THEME AND RHEME

• M.A.K. Halliday (1985: 39)

Theme functions as the ‘starting point for the message’ the element which the clause is going to be about and rheme is the rest of the message, which provides the additional information added to the starting point.

• Gerot and Wignell (1994:103)

Theme as the element(s) which come(s) first in the clause, and the rest of the clause is called rheme.

• Thornbury (2005:38)

What the sentence is about (its topic) and what the writer/speaker wants to tell you about the topic (the comment).

Theme/ topic	Rheme/comment
Our dog, Rufus	limped into the room.
His bac paw	was red with infection
but he	forget all about it.
When he	was distracted by the snarling cat
he	began to chase her
but his paw	prevented him.
It	was throbbing painfully.
He	whimpered
and (he)	turned to Sammy for comfort and attention.

THEME TYPES

IDEATIONAL

TEXTUAL

INTERPERSONAL

Unmarked THEME

=

subject

Marked THEME

#

subject

IDEATIONAL THEME

• The Ideational or Topical Theme is usually but not always the first nominal group in the clause. Topical themes may also be nominal group complexes, adverbial groups, and prepositional phrases or embedded clauses.
• Topical themes serves as participant, circumstance, process.

EXAMPLE

• Unmarked topical theme:
• John went up the hill. (Nominal group as theme)
• John and Jim went up the hill. (Nominal group complex as theme)
• (What John and Jim did) was go up the hill. (Embedded clause)
• Marked topical theme:
• Someday, you will understand that. (Adverbial as theme)
• At hotel, Marry and John will stay. (Prepositional phrase as theme)
• Jasmine, I love the smell of. (Complement as theme)

TEXTUAL THEME

• The textual themes serve primarily to relate one clause (complex) with a preceding one and are typically realized by conjunction and continuatives.
• Example:
• Continuatives as theme (well, right, Ok, now, anyway, of course, etc). E.g.: Well, anyway, we arrived on time.
• Connective as theme (moreover, furthermore, on the other hand, etc). E.g.: Moreover, Mr. Johnson, the problem itself is simply too complex to solve now.

INTERPERSONAL THEME

• Interpersonal theme functioning to code the speaker’s or writer’s personal judgement on meaning. They may be Modal Adjuncts, Vocatives, Finite or WH-elements.
• Example:
• Perhaps, we can wait until next week. (Modal Adjunct as Theme).
• Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today. (Vocative as Theme).
• What tremendously easy questions you ask! (WH-elements as Theme).

SUBSTITUTION AND ELLIPSIS

• Are used when “ a speaker/writer wishes to avoid the repetition of a lexical item and draw on one of the grammatical resources of the language or replace the item.”

SUBSTITUTION

• Is the replacement of a word or phrase with a “filler” word (such as one, so, or do) to avoid repetition.
• Nominal: one / ones. 1.This car is mine, but that one is yours. 2. Let’s go and see the birds. Ones are on the tree.
• Verbal: do /so 1. Did Marry take that letter? She might have done. 2. She can drive the car, but I cannot.
• Clausal:(when the entire clause or large part of it is elidd or substitute) so / not 1. Do you need a lift? If so, wait for me; if not, I’ll see you there.

ELLIPSIS

• Ellipsis (zero substitution) is the omission of elements normally required by the grammar which the speaker/writer assumes are obvious from the context and therefore need to be raised.
• Ellipsis is distinguished by the structure having some missing elements.
• Types are:

Nominal

Verbal

Clausal

Nominal ellipsis means the omission of a noun hed in a nominal group.

• Nominal ellipsis means the omission of a noun hed in a nominal group.
• E.g.: Nelly liked the green tiles: I preferred the blue.
• Verbal ellipsis define as a verbal group whose structure does not fully express its systematic features.
• E.g.: What have you been doing? Swimming.
• Clausal ellipsis represents the omission of a part of the clause of elements or all of it.
• E.g.: If you could be back here at five thirty, I’d like you to be back here at five thirty.
• If you could, I’d like you to be back here at five thirty.

TENSE AND ASPECT

• Tense related to time when activity or state occur.
• Aspect in a language comments upon some characteristic of the activity or state.

TENSE

• TENSE
• Past Present Future
• ASPECT

PROGRESSIVE

PERFECT

• THANK YOU