[sys-func] Topical Theme in Declarative Clauses

From: Dr ChRIS CLÉiRIGh <c.cleirigh@xxxxxxxxx>
To: sys-func@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, sysfling@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2021 08:21:22 +1100

Dear Colleagues,

The following might be helpful for anyone who is unsure about how to
analyse topical Themes in declarative clauses.

(1) Halliday (1985: 45):

We shall refer to the mapping of Theme on to Subject as the unmarked Theme
of a declarative clause. The Subject is the element that is chosen as Theme
unless there is good reason for choosing something else. … A Theme that is
something other than the Subject, in a declarative clause, we shall refer
to as a marked theme. The most usual form of marked Theme is an adverbial
group… or prepositional phrase … functioning as Adjunct in the clause.
Least likely to be thematic is a Complement …

Theme analysis:
[image: Haliiday.png] [image: 1.png]

(2) Martin (1992: 435):

…in English declaratives, unmarked topical Theme is conflated with
Subject, whereas marked topical Theme precedes it.

Martin & Rose (2007: 190-1):

The next step is to highlight Themes — which in writing is basically
everything up to and including the participant that functions as the
Subject of the clause. … So the most common choice for the Theme of a
clause is the Subject. Ideational meaning that comes before the Subject is
referred to as marked Theme …

Theme analysis:
[image: Martin.png] [image: 1.png]

In this analysis, the message may not have a body, but at least it has
three points of departure.

--

dr chris cléirigh
*An intelligent person is never afraid or ashamed to find errors in his
understanding of things.*
— Bryant H. McGill

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Follow-Ups:
- [sys-func] Re: Topical Theme in Declarative Clauses
  - From: Patrick Mannion
- [sys-func] Re: Topical Theme in Declarative Clauses
  - From: Sebastián Andrés Amado

[sys-func] Topical Theme in Declarative Clauses

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