Centre for Applied Linguistics

MA Programmes

Lexis and Grammar

Grammar and Text Organisation 1

Thematic structure and thematic
progression

Dr Sue Wharton

The textual metafunction, also known as the

mode of the text
The use of language to organise itself to relate part of a
text to other parts and to other language events.
Some questions to ask when analysing a text from the
perspective of mode:
Is there a pattern which describes the organisation of the
whole text?
Does the text look like others of a similar type?
What information is presented as given (often in first
position in a sentence)?
How does the writer guide readers perception of text
organisation?

Try those questions out on the software text:

1 Starting a New Project
1.1 Open CorpusTool
Once UAM CorpusTool is installed on your machine, you can begin working with it. The
first thing to do is to create a new project:
Windows:
When installing CorpusTool, you had the option to place an icon on the desktop.
Click on this icon to launch CorpusTool.
Alternatively, there should be a UAM CorpusTool icon in the Programs menu in the
Start menu on Windows Toolbar. Select this to launch CorpusTool.
1.2 Click on the Start New Project button.
After clicking this button, a Create Project Wizard will appear, which will lead you
through the steps needed to create your project:
1. Providing a name for a new project
2. Specify the folder where your new projects folder is to be stored. For instance,
choose the Desktop folder on your machine.

A clause and sentence level approach to text

organisation: thematic structure and progression
Clauses can be divided into theme and rheme.
Theme: the point of departure of the message, the first meaningful
constituent of the clause. Rheme: all the rest.
Usually associated with given and new the theme will be given information,
and new information will be in the rheme.
Types of theme
Topical
Textual
Interpersonal
Every clause has a topical theme. This may be preceded by a textual theme,
an interpersonal theme, or both.
We usually do theme analysis at sentence level rather than at clause level.

Topical theme
Topical theme is usually the subject of the clause:

This notice requires..

Ive sent.
There are advantages.
Because this is the most usual type of topical theme, it is called unmarked
topical theme.

There are other types of topical theme, less

usual and so called marked topical theme:
Circumstantial Adjunct
In an ordinary domestic electricity supply the voltage is usually 230 or
240 volts.
Complement
She loved her adoptive parents most deeply... Me she did not love.
Predicator
(Please) See reverse of this notice for further information.

Embedded clause as subject

That money changed hands is beyond any doubt.

A whole clause can function as a circumstantial adjunct at the

beginning of a sentence, it which case it is a marked topical
theme:

Whichever method you choose, please make

sure your Tax Return, and any documents I ask
for, reach me by
If you do owe tax, and its less than 2000, I will
if possible collect this through your PAYE code,
if you have one.

Textual theme
This is often a Textual Adjunct realised by an item such as: thus,
therefore, moreover, hence, finally, in conclusion, for example,
for instance, however, nevertheless,.
Textual Theme at clause level also includes conjunctions like and,
but, although, since, unless, because, until, while, when,
whenever.

Interpersonal theme
INTERPERSONAL THEME may be realised by:
a direct address term such as someone's name or name
substitute: Hey, Madam, your purse!

an Adjunct that expresses a personal comment on the

proposition: Frankly, my dear, I just dont give a damn

an Adjunct that expresses the degree of certainty about the

proposition or its frequency: Maybe we can go.

a Finite preceding the Subject in an interrogative: Do you

want a tea?

Examples of different types of theme

Textual

Interpersonal

Topical

Rheme

Now,

children,

But

probably

it

wont rain today.

Because

unfortunately

she

hasnt arrived
yet,

m going to tell
you a story.

Working at sentence level, find the different types of

theme in this text:
In the middle of World War II the authorities had a problem - what to
do with those children who had been evacuated but who were too
disturbed or delinquent for the average family to handle.
So when a group of earnest young conscientious objectors offered to
take them off to rural Essex and "cure" their antisocial tendencies with
a mixture of fresh air, unconditional love and radical democracy,
nobody asked too many questions.
Q Camp was a utopian experiment which tried to get troubled boys to
operate a self-governing community in the middle of the countryside.
Its approach was radical and a far cry from the strict authority imposed
at the reform schools and borstals where the boys would otherwise
have gone. But while it was an extreme experiment, Q Camp
anticipated many of today's ideas about treating children with
behavioural problems.

Textual theme, interpersonal theme, topical theme (marked)

In the middle of World War II the authorities had a problem
- what to do with those children who had been evacuated but who
were too disturbed or delinquent for the average family to handle.
So when a group of earnest young conscientious objectors
offered to take them off to rural Essex and "cure" their
antisocial tendencies with a mixture of fresh air,
unconditional love and radical democracy, nobody asked too
many questions.
Q Camp was a utopian experiment which tried to get troubled
boys to operate a self-governing community in the middle of the
countryside.
Its approach was radical and a far cry from the strict authority
imposed at the reform schools and borstals where the boys would
otherwise have gone. But while it was an extreme experiment, Q Camp
anticipated many of today's ideas about treating children with
behavioural problems.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6166226.stm

Organisation beyond the clause or sentence:

patterns of thematic progression
Sometimes we can see links between the
themes of different sentences in a text. There
are 3 main patterns:
Constant theme pattern
Linear theme pattern
Split rheme pattern

Thematic progression 1: the constant theme

pattern
The saw-scaled viper is found in dry sandy areas
where there is little vegetation. Its length is
about two feet and it is sandy in colour with
darker spots. It is aggressive and very
poisonous. It may be found in the full blaze of
the sun or beneath hot stones and in crannies
heated by the sun.
(Bloor & Bloor 1995: 90)

Thematic progression 2: the linear theme

pattern
The stomach produces gastric juice, which
contains dilute hydrochloric acid. The acid kills
of most the bacteria in the food. [] The
partly digested food passes next into the
duodenum, the first part of the small
intestine. This is a coiled tube about eight
metres long, which is as wide as a mans
thumb.

Thematic progression 3: the split

rheme pattern
60 rhombic triacontahedra (RT) are connected
face-to-face in two different clusters. In one of
them the RTs are located at the vertices of a
truncated icosahedron (buckyball) and each RT
is connected to three others. In the other
version the RTs are located at the vertices of a
small rhombicosidodecahedron and each RT is
connected to four others.

Find any patterns of thematic progression (topical themes only) in this text:
The graph shows a weak positive linear correlation between life expectancy at birth
and total health expenditure per capita, as some of the points lie relatively far from
the linear regression line.
In fact, the linear correlation is so weak that other characteristics of the graph should
be noted for fairer indication. We can see that the data points are divided into two
clusters, one of which have relatively higher health expenditure and longer life
expectancy, and the other was lower in both categories. This may be resulted from the
difference in the level of economic development in countries in those two different
clusters. Those countries in lower cluster were generally less economically developed
such as Hungary and Turkey, whereas most of the countries in the higher cluster were
more developed countries like Japan and United Kingdom.
By simple linear regression, the data set gives the linear regression <FORMULA>.
However, the US data point falls far away from the line and is clearly an outlier.
Hence it should be excluded to get a more accurate estimation, and the data set after
excluding the outlier gives the linear regression line <FORMULA>

Constant theme Linear theme Split rheme

The graph shows a weak positive linear correlation between life expectancy at birth and
total health expenditure per capita, as some of the points lie relatively far from the linear
regression line.
In fact, the linear correlation is so weak that other characteristics of the graph should be
noted for fairer indication. We can see that the data points are divided into two clusters,
one of which have relatively higher health expenditure and longer life expectancy, and the
other was lower in both categories. This may be resulted from the difference in the level of
economic development in countries in those two different clusters. Those countries in
lower cluster were generally less economically developed such as Hungary and Turkey,
whereas most of the countries in the higher cluster were more developed countries like
Japan and United Kingdom.
By simple linear regression, the data set gives the linear regression <FORMULA>. However,
the US data point falls far away from the line and is clearly an outlier.
Hence it should be excluded to get a more accurate estimation, and the data set after
excluding the outlier gives the linear regression line <FORMULA>.