Topic and Focus

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1、TopicandFocusJEANETTEK.GUNDELANDTHORSTEINFRETHEIMIntroductionInhisGrammarofSpokenChinese,thelinguistYuenRenChaonotesadistinctionbetweenthegrammaticalpredicateofasentenceandwhathecallsthelogicalpredicate.Chaopointsoutthatthetwodonotalwayscoincide,illustratingthispointwit

2、hthefollowingexchangebetweenaguide(A)andatourist(B).(1)A:Wearenowpassingtheoldestwineryintheregion.B:Why?ThesourceofthejokehereisthattheEnglishsentenceutteredbytheguidehastwopossibleinterpretations.Ononeinterpretation,themainpredicateassertedbythesentence(Chao’slogicalp

3、redicate)coincideswiththegrammaticalpredicate-arenowpassingtheoldestwineryintheregion.Ontheotherinterpretation,thelogicalpredicateonlyincludesthedirectobject.Thetourist(B)seemstobequestioningthefirstinterpretation(whyarewepassingtheoldestwineryintheregion),butitisthesec

4、ondinterpretationthattheguideactuallyintendedtoconvey(whatwearenowpassingistheoldestwineryintheregion).Chaonotes(1968:78)thatthejokewouldbelostinChinesebecause“Ingeneral,ifinasentenceoftheformS-V-OtheobjectOisthelogicalpredicate,itisoftenrecastintheformS-VdeshO‘whatSV’s

5、isO’,thusputtingOinthecenterofthepredicate.”Inthiscase,theguide’sintendedmessagewouldbeexpressedinChinesebyasentencewhichmoreliterallytranslatesasTheonewearepassingnowistheoldestwineryintheregion..Withinthewesterngrammaticaltradition,theideathatthereisadistinctionbetwee

6、nthegrammaticalsubjectandpredicateofasentenceandthesubject-predicatestructureofthemeaningthatmaybeconveyedbythissentencecanbetracedbackatleasttothesecondhalfofthe19thcentury,whentheGermanlinguistsvonderGabelentz(1868)andPaul(1880)usedthetermspsychologicalsubjectandpredi

7、cateforwhatChaocallslogicalsubjectandpredicate(ortopicandcomment)respectively.WorkoftheCzechlinguistVilémMathesiusinthe1920s(e.g.Mathesius1928)initiatedarichandhighlyinfluentialtraditionofresearchinthisareawithinthePragueSchoolthatcontinuestothepresentdayseeDaneÑ1974,Fi

8、rbas1966,Sgall,HajiÉovaandBeneÑova1973,Sgall,HajiÉovaandPanevova1986interalia).Alsoinfluentialhasbeenthesemina