John Benjamins Publishing Company
Theme zones in contrast: An analysis of their linguistic realization in the communicative act of a non-acceptance
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Anita Fetzer
Abstract
This contribution examines the form and function of theme zones in a sociopragmatic framework supplemented by functional grammar comparing British English and German political discourse. In the British data, multiple themes are the unmarked variant. They signify the pragmatic force of incongruity but at the same time indicate that a negotiation of meaning is possible. In the German data, the variant [topical theme] is preferred but there are also multiple themes. Analogously to their functional meaning in British English, they signal an upcoming incongruity, but no intention to negotiate its status. Multiple themes also differ in their linguistic realization. While both sets use indexicals and general nouns for topical themes, the German data display more variation for textual and interpersonal themes.
Abstract
This contribution examines the form and function of theme zones in a sociopragmatic framework supplemented by functional grammar comparing British English and German political discourse. In the British data, multiple themes are the unmarked variant. They signify the pragmatic force of incongruity but at the same time indicate that a negotiation of meaning is possible. In the German data, the variant [topical theme] is preferred but there are also multiple themes. Analogously to their functional meaning in British English, they signal an upcoming incongruity, but no intention to negotiate its status. Multiple themes also differ in their linguistic realization. While both sets use indexicals and general nouns for topical themes, the German data display more variation for textual and interpersonal themes.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Introduction xv
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Part I. Information structure
- Theme zones in contrast: An analysis of their linguistic realization in the communicative act of a non-acceptance 3
- Last things first: An FDG approach to clause-final focus constituents in Spanish and English 33
- Contrastive perspectives on cleft sentences 69
- The position of adverbials and the pragmatic organization of the sentence: A comparison of French and Dutch 89
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Part II. Lexis in contrast
- Swedish verbs of perception from a typological and contrastive perspective 123
- 'Abroad' and semantically related terms in some European languages and in Akan (Ghana) 173
- The expression of emotion in Italian and English fairy tales 193
- The feminine stereotype in gay characterization: A look at English and Spanish 221
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Part III. Contrastive perspectives on SLA
- Communicative tasks across languages: Movie narratives in English, in English as a foreign language and in German 247
- Linguistic theory and bilingual systems: Simultaneous and sequential English/Spanish bilingualism 275
- Awareness of orthographic form and morphophonemic learning in EFL 299
- Contrastive intonation and error analysis: Tonality and tonicity in the interlanguage of a group of Spanish learners of English 327
- Author index 355
- Index of languages 359
- Index of terms 361
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Introduction xv
-
Part I. Information structure
- Theme zones in contrast: An analysis of their linguistic realization in the communicative act of a non-acceptance 3
- Last things first: An FDG approach to clause-final focus constituents in Spanish and English 33
- Contrastive perspectives on cleft sentences 69
- The position of adverbials and the pragmatic organization of the sentence: A comparison of French and Dutch 89
-
Part II. Lexis in contrast
- Swedish verbs of perception from a typological and contrastive perspective 123
- 'Abroad' and semantically related terms in some European languages and in Akan (Ghana) 173
- The expression of emotion in Italian and English fairy tales 193
- The feminine stereotype in gay characterization: A look at English and Spanish 221
-
Part III. Contrastive perspectives on SLA
- Communicative tasks across languages: Movie narratives in English, in English as a foreign language and in German 247
- Linguistic theory and bilingual systems: Simultaneous and sequential English/Spanish bilingualism 275
- Awareness of orthographic form and morphophonemic learning in EFL 299
- Contrastive intonation and error analysis: Tonality and tonicity in the interlanguage of a group of Spanish learners of English 327
- Author index 355
- Index of languages 359
- Index of terms 361
