台灣高中生記敘文主題類型之研究 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學英國語文學系碩士在職專班碩士論文. 指導教授：尤雪瑛博士 Advisor: Dr. Hsueh-ying Yu. 政治大. 學. ‧ 國. 立台灣高中生記敘文主題類型之研究 A Study on Theme Types. ‧. in Taiwanese Senior High School Students’ Narratives. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 研究生：蔡慈娟撰 Name：Tsi-chuen Tsai 中華民國一百零一年六月 June, 2012.

(2) A Study on Theme Types in Taiwanese Senior High School Students’ Narratives. A Master Thesis Presented to Department of English, 政治. 大. 立 Chengchi University National ‧. ‧ 國. 學 er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. In Partial Fulfillment. n. v i n Ch U Degree of of the Requirements e n g cfor h i the Master of Arts. by Tsi-chuen Tsai June, 2012.

(3) Acknowledgements. I am very grateful to many people that have contributed in direct or indirect ways to this thesis.. First I would like to acknowledge the support of all the staff and faculty at. the Department of English for providing me with such remarkable education in the ETMA program.. My deepest gratitude goes to my advisor, Dr. Hsueh-ying Yu, whose. insight has helped promote my intuition to the level of academic discussion and whose motivation has inspired my interest in discourse study. I am grateful for her careful. 政治大 I owe most of my skills as a researcher to her. 立. guidance and consistent encouragement throughout the process of my thesis writing.. I would also like to express my indebtedness to Dr. Chien-ching Mo.. His. ‧ 國. 學. comprehensive introduction to the theory of theme-rheme structure in the summer. ‧. seminar on English reading strategies served as a model and inspiration for this thesis.. sit. y. Nat. Many thanks also go to my dear ETMA classmate Su-yu Lin, who generously shared. io. er. with me many valuable resources and to English teachers Chia-yin Chen and Hsiao-lan Li, who kindly helped score the large number of student compositions.. n. al. Ch. n U engchi. support has made the groundwork for this research possible.. iv. Together, their. In addition, I would like. to thank the committee members, Dr. Chieh-yue Yeh and Dr. Hsueh-o Lin for their constructive suggestions and positive feedbacks, which have helped make this thesis better.. My warmest thanks also extend to all my classmates in the ETMA program for. their genuine friendship and kind support in many of the class projects and presentations. I will forever cherish the wonderful memory we have shared together. Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to those whose influence may not be so evident but who nevertheless provided the emotional foundation crucial to the accomplishment of this thesis: my students, my parents, my husband and my son.. iii.

(4) TABLE OF CONTENTS. Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………...…………iii Chinese Abstract………………………………………..………………..….……..….....ix English Abstract……………………………………………………………………........xi Chapter One: Introduction……………………………………………………….…….1 Background and Motivation………………………………………………….……..1 Purpose of the Study..…………………………………………………………........4 Research Questions…………………………………………………………….…...5. 政治大. Significance of the Study……………………………………………………….…..5. 立. Chapter Two: Literature Review……………………………………………………....7. ‧ 國. 學. Theme and Rheme………………………………………………….………….…....7 The Combining Approach…………………………………….…………….....8. ‧. The Separating Approach……………………………………….……………10. Nat. sit. y. The Realization of Theme…………………………………………….…………...11. n. al. er. io. The Function of Theme………………………………………….…………...15. i n U. v. Theme Types…………………………………………………….…………...20. Ch. engchi. Unmarked Theme……………………..…………………….….…….…21 Marked Theme………………………...…………………….……….…22 Marked themes of special construction………….………...….…...23 Wh-cleft………………………………………………….…..…….23 Anticipatory it …………………………………..………….……...23 Existential there………………………………….…………...........24 Thematized complements and objects…………….………….……24 Thematized adjuncts……………………………….………….…...25. iv.

(5) Theme Types in Narrative………………………………………………..……......25 Theme Types in Taiwanese Students’ Writing……………………….………….…26 Chapter Three: Methodology…………………….…………………………………...31 Pilot Study…………………………………………………………………………31 The Writing Task……………………………………………………………..32 Analytical Framework……………………………………………………..…33 The Identification of Theme Types……………………………………..33 The Establishment of Theme…………………………………………....37. 政治大 Participants……………………………………………………………….…..40 立. Formal Study…………………………………………………………………..…..39. Administering the Writing Task……………………………………………...40. ‧ 國. 學. Training for Inter-Rater Reliability………………………………………..…40. ‧. Scoring Student Compositions………………………………….…………....42. sit. y. Nat. Chapter Four: Results and Discussion……………………………………...…….….43. io. er. Theme Types in the Students’ Narratives……….……………………..…..….…...43 Frequencies of Theme Types……………………………………….....….......43. al. n. v i n The Establishment of C Theme in the Students’ h e n g c h i UNarratives……………..…..…46. Categories of NP Theme…………………………………………......….……46 Development of NP Theme in the Data…………………………….…...……47 Categories of PP + NP Theme…………………………………….……...…..52 Development of PP + NP Theme in the Data….………………….……….....53 Categories of Adv + NP Theme………………………………….…….…......56 Development of Adv + NP Theme in the Data………….……….……….…..57 Categories of Conj + NP Theme……………………………….………..…...60 Development of Conj + NP Theme in the Data…………….….………....….61. v.

(6) Categories of Adv C + NP Theme…….……………………….…...….……..64 Development of Adv C + NP Theme in the Data………..…….…….……….65 Categories of Non-fi C + NP Theme…………………….…….………..…....67 Development of Non-fi C + NP Theme in the Data……….…..…..……..…..68 Summary…………………………………………………………………………..70 Chapter Five: Pedagogical Implications………………………………..…….….......73 Identification of Theme-Rheme Structure………………………………....……....73 Theme Use on the Discourse Level………………………………………....……..75. 政治大 Suggestions for the Establishment of Unmarked Theme….….…...…………80 立. Theme in Narrative.………………………..………………………......………......79. Suggestions for the Establishment of Marked Theme.…….….….…..……....81. ‧ 國. 學. Chapter Six: Conclusion……………………………….……..……….……………....83. ‧. Summary of the Major Findings………………….……….……….……………...83. sit. y. Nat. Comparisons with the Previous Studies……...……………………………………86. io. er. Significance of the Present Study…………………..…………….……….……….87 Limitations of the Present Study…………………….…….…….………….……..89. al. n. v i n Ch Suggestions for Future Research…………………….…….………….…….....…..89 engchi U. References…………………………….…………………….…………….….………....91. Appendices…………………………….…………………….…………….….………...97 Appendix A: The Writing Task.………………………….……………….…….....97 Appendix B: The Rubric for Rating….………….……….……………….…….....98. vi.

(7) LIST OF TABLES. Table 3.1 The distribution of theme types in the pilot study…………………………...…….……36 Table 4.1 Occurrences and distribution of theme types. ……………………………..……….…..44 Table 4.2 Occurrences and distribution of NP theme. ………………………….…………….…...46 Table 4.3 Occurrences and distribution of PP + NP theme. …………………………………..…..53 Table 4.4. 政治大. Occurrences and distribution of Adv + NP theme. ………………………………….…,57. 立. Table 4.5. Occurrences and distribution of Conj + NP theme. …………………….…………..…..60. ‧ 國. 學. Table 4.6. Occurrences and distribution of Adv C + NP theme. ……………………………....…..64. ‧. Table 4.7. Occurrences and distribution of Non-fi C + NP theme. …………………………….….67. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. vii. i n U. v.

(8) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Theme containing new information…………………………………...…………………8 Figure 2.2 Unmarked instantiation of theme and information…………………………..……….…11 Figure 2.3 Example of a multiple theme……………………………………………………..….….13 Figure 2.4 Simple linear TP………………………………………………………….……….…….16 Figure 2.5 TP with a continuous (constant) theme…………………………………………………17 Figure 2.6 TP with derived themes………………………………………………………………....17. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Figure 2.7 Exposition of split rheme…………………………………………………………….…18 Figure 2.8 Examples of theme in a declarative sentence………………………………………..….21 Figure 3.1 Examples of theme from the pilot study………………………………………………..35. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. viii. i n U. v.

(9) 國立政治大學英國語文學系碩士在職專班碩士論文提要. 論文名稱: 台灣高中生記敘文主題類型之研究. 指導教授: 尤雪瑛博士. 研究生: 蔡慈娟. 政治大句子的主題具備了串連訊息、引導文句發展的重要功能，然而資料顯示許多外立. 論文提要內容:. ‧ 國. 學. 語學習者常因為使用不適當的主題而影響語句的連貫性以及文章的流暢度。本研究透過觀察台灣高中生記敘文的主題類型，分析其在高、中、低分群學生文章中的使. ‧. 用情形來了解主題的選用對文章連貫性以及整體作文品質的影響。. sit. y. Nat. 本研究分成初步試驗以及正式研究兩階段，在初步試驗階段我們建立了分析的. al. er. io. 架構。在正式研究階段，我們採集 111 位高三學生於課堂上完成的記敘文並交由兩. v. n. 位經過訓練的閱卷老師進行評分，最後結果產生高、中、低分三組學生作文，接著. Ch. engchi. i n U. 再從每一組的文章中各抽樣 10 份進行主題類型之分析研究。分析結果顯示，三組學生作文的主題類型及出現頻率大致雷同，整體而言，學生最喜好使用非標記的名詞主題，卻最少使用標記的分詞+名詞主題。然而進一步分析三組的主題發展情形，卻發現有顯著的組別差異，以高分群為例，其主題多具備銜接上文或有利推進文意的背景資料文字，相較之下，中等或低分群的作文比較容易出現和上下文不相關或中斷文意發展的新主題。根據本研究的發現，我們建議在英語作文課中介紹句子主題的概念，幫助學生熟悉其類型和功能，期使學生能在記敘文文章中正確使用主題來達到語句連貫，文意流暢的溝通目標。. ix.

(10) Abstract. Theme plays a significant role in guiding the information flow in text. Nonetheless, there is evidence indicating that many EFL learners often fail to make good choices of theme to secure sentential relationship or writing coherence. Through the observation on the occurrences and distribution of theme types in three levels of student compositions: the high, the middle and the low-rated narratives, the present study aims to investigate the establishment of theme in Taiwanese senior high. 政治大. school students’ narratives in order to gain understanding of theme’s effect on writing coherence and writing quality.. 立. The entire study consists of a pilot study and a formal one.. The pilot study helps. ‧ 國. 學. establish the criteria for the main study. In the main study, 111 student compositions. 10 samples from. io. er. each level were randomly selected for thematic analysis.. sit. y. Nat. rating system, the student compositions are divided into 3 levels.. ‧. were gathered and two raters were recruited and trained for the rating. Based on the. The result shows that the occurrences and distribution of theme types in the three. al. n. v i n C h unmarked NP theme In general, is the most favored by all engchi U. levels of writing are alike.. the students and marked theme Non-fi C + NP is the least desirable.. Nonetheless, in. terms of the establishment of theme, there are major differences between groups. In particular, the high-rated essays tend to establish a theme that is connected to the theme or the rheme in the preceding discourse or provides background information for the development of the event.. In contrast, the mid-or low-rated essays are more likely to. establish a theme that is unrelated or disruptive to the progression of the current discourse.. Based on the findings of the present study, it is suggested that the notion of. theme including its features and functions be incorporated into the teaching of English compositions to help Taiwanese senior high school students identify the characteristics x.

(11) of coherent writing and facilitate coherence in their English narratives.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. xi. i n U. v.

(12) CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION. Background and Motivation English writing is a highly valued skill for global communication.. It is not only a. requirement for professional development but also an important indicator of academic success.. The significance of English writing ability is highlighted by well-known. standardized tests such as TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and IELTS In 政治大 Taiwan, two nationwide college admission tests, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and 立. (International English Test System), both of which include a writing component.. the Academic Proficiency Test (APT) also require test takers to complete an English. ‧ 國. 學. composition.. These high-stake examinations underscore the value of English writing. ‧. ability and more and more schools now offer writing courses to assist the students in. sit. y. Nat. meeting the criteria necessary for academic survival.. io. er. With a general recognition of its importance, performance in English writing among senior high students in Taiwan has traditionally received much attention.. n. al. Ch. n U engchi. iv. Nevertheless,. despite numerous curriculum revisions and countless hours of school instruction, the outcomes have been far from satisfactory. According to the data released by College Entrance Examination Center (CEEC), every year tens of thousands of students fell short of the writing requirement.. In 2008, 10.78% of the examinees received a zero grade on. the writing section of SAT, while in 2009 the percentage amounted to 15.83%. a total of 15,523 students still failed the writing task.. In 2010,. Apparently, Taiwanese senior high. students’ incompetence in English writing is a serious concern. In an attempt to resolve the issue, possible factors contributing to our students’ poor writing ability have been discussed.. It is generally agreed that many ESL or EFL. students are not aware of the convention of English writing and that their writings are 1.

(13) 2. prone to become incoherent (John, 1986; Lee, 2002).. However, despite a common. knowledge of the students’ problems, there is relatively little reference on coherent writing for pedagogical use.. Without a proper tool, most teachers find themselves fall. back on the traditional approach, which places much emphasis on correcting errors on the sentence level.. Consequently, most students still lack sufficient understanding of. coherent writing in English. Allison, Varghese, and Wu (1999) point out that many writing problems result from the writers’ incompetence in expressing their ideas logically.. Reid (1996) also notes that. 政治大 sentential relationship or paragraph unity. Many of them confuse their readers by 立. inexperienced writers often fail to make good use of sentence structure to secure. constantly changing their focus.. ‧ 國. 學. altogether.. In some cases, the point of their writing is lost. The “awkwardness” of these paragraphs can be observed in the following. ‧. example produced by one of the researcher’s students (each sentence is given a number. y. Nat. and theme is highlighted with italics):. sit. n. al. er. io. (1) 1I joined my friend’s wedding party. 2Many people came. 3The dinner was great. 4We talked about our life, 5but one of us drank too much. 6He was drunk. 7 Then he wanted to take a taxi, 8but he couldn’t find one. 9It is very noisy. 10 The police came and took him to the police station.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Viewed separately, each sentence seems acceptable. Nevertheless, when taken as a whole, this passage is less satisfactory despite proper grammatical usage and sufficient cohesive links.. Wikborg (1990) attributes this type of incoherence to the result of. “unjustified change of /drift of topic” (p.135).. That is, the arbitrary selection of. unrelated and unrecoverable themes or sentence initial elements for sentences (1), (2), (3), (4), (9) and (10) has impaired the intersentential relationship and disrupted the flow of the discourse.. Although it is possible to deduce the author’s intention, most readers would. still find themselves pondering amid the text where a proposition is from and where it is leading to.. Similar issues concerning coherence in writing have undergone extensive.

(14) 3. discussion in the literature, among which the notion of theme-rheme structure proposed by Halliday (1994) has provided a useful framework for the study of text.. Studies. inspired by theme-rheme theory have concluded that information in the sentence initial position (theme) performs important functions because it represents a pivotal point where a piece of discourse not only links up to the previous text but guides the development of the subsequent segment (Fries, 1983; Lowe, 1987; Downing, 1991; Thompson, 1996). However, there is evidence indicating that many non-native writers do not recognize the significance of sentence initial elements in English language and they have problems. 政治大 1982; Scarcella, 1984; Mauranen, 1996; Hawes & Thomas, 1997). 立. manipulating English syntactic structures for realizing theme (Hu, Brown, & Brown, In fact, studies by. aware of the discourse function of sentence initial elements.. 學. ‧ 國. Chang (1995) and Yu (2001) confirmed that many Taiwanese college students are not Their finding is further. ‧. supported by Chao (2002), who examined thematic progression in Taiwanese senior high. sit. y. Nat. school students’ argumentative essays and concluded that less competent writers do not. io. er. employ the theme-rheme structure as effectively as their higher proficiency counterparts. Consequently, although the student writings may display accuracy on the sentence level,. al. n. v i n they still fail to secure the globalCstructure of a coherent h e n g c h i Utext.. Overall, current studies on. Taiwanese students’ compositions generally agree that incoherence in the students’ writings may have resulted from improper placement of information within the sentences. Nonetheless, despite the discovery, there has been little discussion on the configuration or syntactic contribution of thematic structure in the students’ texts.. In view of the crucial. role that theme plays in orientating the information in the text, further investigation is required to facilitate our understanding of its features and functions in Taiwanese senior high school students’ narratives..

(15) 4. Purpose of the Study It is generally agreed among writing instructors that inexperienced writers’ texts are often characterized by misplaced information or disorientated organization.. As. discussed in the previous section, many researchers believe that sentential grammar cannot resolve coherence problems that students encounter in their compositions and that the study of theme-rheme theory developed by Halliday (1994) may enhance our understanding of the textual phenomenon in the students’ writing.. It is acknowledged. that a text with a well managed thematic structure will be easier for a reader to. 政治大. comprehend as the following example demonstrates (Yu, 2006). (2) 1One evening, a man named Kris attended a wedding party. 2It was held in a luxury hotel, where there were a lot of guests. 3Everyone talked lively and happily during the meal, including Kris. 4Being the best friend of the couple, Kris drank a lot in ecstasy because he felt really happy for them. 5Later, Kris excused himself and left the party. 6He stood on the road, waiting for a taxi. 7But, unfortunately, he drank too much to stay conscious. 8Upon seeing a car coming to him, Kris waved his arms immediately, saying "Hey, Taxi!" loudly. 9Then the car stopped. 10However, Kris wasn’t aware that was a police car, not a taxi!. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. sit. y. Nat. In this particular text, the theme not only exhibits a dynamic variety, but it is related. io. al. er. to the previous sentences and its context. The above example shows that theme not only. n. plays a significant role in guiding the information in the sentence but the selection of. i n C theme is associated with writing coherence writing quality. h e and ngchi U. v. In fact, the thematic. system is believed to provide a structural framework for text construction and language learners are advised to learn about thematic analysis to improve the organization of their writing (Brown & Yule, 1983; McCarthy, 1991; Hawes & Thomas, 1997).. While. previous research has made substantial progress in exploring the nature of theme, more data is needed to give us insights into our students’ performance or difficulties in producing coherent texts.. As part of an attempt to fulfill this enquiry, the present study. aims to investigate theme types in Taiwanese senior high school students’ narratives and observe their distribution among high-rate, middle-rated, and low-rated essays.. It is.

(16) 5. hoped that by researching into the features of theme and its functions in the students’ narratives, characteristics of coherent writing will be identified and useful pedagogical implications can be derived.. Research Questions The researcher attempts to investigate the following questions regarding theme types in Taiwanese senior high school students’ narratives: 1. What are the theme types most frequently found in the high-rated, middle-rated. 政治大 How do theme types contribute to the quality of writing in the high-rated, 立. and low- rated narratives composed by Taiwanese senior high school students? 2.. middle-rated and low- rated narratives composed by Taiwanese senior high. sit. y. Nat. Significance of the Study. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. school students?. io. er. Researchers and writing experts have generally agreed that many problems in students’ writing require attention both at the level of words or sentences and at the level. al. n. v i n of discourse (Bamberg, 1984). C It is also acknowledged h e n g c h i U that the creation of a coherent. text relies not only on correct use of grammar but also on a mastery of discourse structure (Mauranen, 1991).. Given that thematic organization is recognized as “the most. significant factor in the development of the text,” the present study aims at providing insights into theme’s contribution to coherence in writing (Halliday, 1994, p.67). Through thematic study, we hope to raise awareness of textual function on the discourse level and highlight the significance of the choice of information in the sentence initial position.. In addition, by using the student texts, we hope to foster the understanding of. Taiwanese students’ strengths and weaknesses in producing coherent texts and provide valuable information for pedagogical use.. Consequently, not only composition problems.

(17) 6. at the discourse level may be addressed but guidelines for coherent writing may be established.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(18) CHARPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW. The following literature review is divided into three parts. The first part introduces the notion of theme-rheme structure and illustrates the interpretations of theme. second part describes the components and functions of theme.. The. The third part discusses. previous studies on theme types in narrative with a focus on the analysis of texts composed by Taiwanese students.. 立. 政治大 Theme and Rheme. Researchers working on discourse and the textual dimension of language generally. ‧ 國. 學. accredit Czech linguist, Vilém Mathesius, for the introduction of theme-rheme notion into. Through his research on Czech language and English, Mathesius (1939). sit. y. Nat. Fries, 1995).. ‧. the study of the communicative functions of language (Firbas, 1964; Vande Kopple, 1986;. io. er. concludes the rules which govern the distribution of theme and rheme in the sentence: theme is “the starting point of the utterance which is known or at least obvious in the. al. n. v i n given situation and from which C the speaker proceeds,”U h e n g c h i and rheme is “that which the. speaker states about or in regard to the theme of the utterance” (p.171). Together, theme and rheme form the minimal communicative unit of the language and the study of theme-rheme structure is recognized as crucial and central to the understanding of the development of discourse. Nevertheless, when it comes to the identification of theme in the sentence, the dual nature of Mathesius’s definition of theme as “that which is known” and “from which the speaker proceeds” has inspired two distinctive interpretations of its functional role in the sentence.. The former is what Fries (1981) terms “the combining approach,” which. defines theme in terms of the information value of the elements in the sentence and the 7.

(19) 8. latter is called “the separating approach,” which identifies theme in terms of its position in the sentence.. Both will be discussed in the following sections.. The Combining Approach Scholars who take the combining approach (Firbas, 1964; Kuno, 1972; Daneš, 1974, Contreras, 1976) identify theme as the sentence element which depicts known or given information from the context.. The major criteria of identification stipulate that theme be. derived from information in the text, the context of situation, or the knowledge of the. 政治大 information account of theme is often criticized as too broad to be practical. 立. encoder or decoder (Rashidi, 1992).. Despite the usefulness of the concept, the While it is. true that theme may often coincide with given information, many scholars point out that. ‧ 國. 學. there are plenty of exceptions in languages such as English where theme may designate In the following example,. ‧. new information (Fries, 1983; Rashidi, 1992).. sit. y. Nat. Gómez-González (2001, p.65) demonstrates that it is not only possible for theme to. io. n. al. In a country there. governed a king who…. theme. Rheme. new. New. Ch. engchi. er. contain new information but in some instances the whole sentence may be new.. i n U. v. Figure 2.1 Theme containing new information. In this example, the noun country in theme position is modified by an indefinite article, so it seems to indicate new information.. Meanwhile, since existential there does. not convey referential meaning, it cannot be said to provide given information, either. Instances like these thus challenge the combing notion of theme and raise the issue of whether giveness is concurrent and obligatory feature of theme.. In an effort to provide a.

(20) 9. more precise working definition, Firbas (1964) proposes the concept of communicative dynamism (CD) to characterize sentence elements in terms of the interplay of three different factors: (a) the factor of linear modification; (b) the semantic factor; and (c) the contextual factor.. Linear modification is referred to as a universal principle of human. communication in which language elements appear in order of importance from the lowest to the highest while the semantic and the contextual factors are interfering factors which work against the linear modification (Firbas, 1964).. Precisely, CD is a relational. term used to refer to the degree that a sentence element pushes the communication forward.. 政治大 That is, theme does not facilitate or advance the. Under this notion, theme is regarded as the element which carries the lowest. degree of CD (Kurzon, 1988).. 立. Moreover, when there is only unknown information in the sentence,. 學. ‧ 國. communication.. the unknown element with the least CD is the theme (Firbas, 1964).. ‧. The theory of CD infuses explanatory power to the controversy left by Mathesius. sit. y. Nat. (1939), which is often criticized for failing to provide a holistic account of theme in all. io. such as the example shown in figure 2.1.. al. er. sentence types, particularly with those that are treated as “themeless” or “unanalysable” Nevertheless, since the analysis of CD is a. n. v i n graded one, many linguists still C find this definition of U h e n g c h i theme too complex to be useful (Fries, 1983).. Consequently, the congruency between theme and given information. cannot be established. In general, the description of the sentence in terms of known/unknown dichotomy has inspired interests and provided directions toward research in language function. However, from the above discussion, it appears that the information account is not a satisfactory description of theme.. In search for a better definition, other scholars have. dissociated theme from given information and provided each with different characteristics..

(21) 10. The Separating Approach Followers of “the separating approach” (Halliday, 1967; Quirk, Greenbaum, & Leach, 1972; Fries, 1981; Martin, 1992) take theme as the sentence initial element regardless of its information status. The foremost advocate of this position is Prague School linguist František Trávníček, who delineates the concept of theme to “the sentence element that links up directly with the object of thought, proceeds from it and opens the sentence thereby” (as cited in Firbas, 1964, p.274). His identification of theme as the initial element is taken seriously by many modern linguists, most prominently by Michael. 治政 The Theme is the element which serves as the point of大 departure of the message; it is that with which the clause立 is concerned. The remainder of the message, the part in. Halliday (1994), who argues extensively for the position of theme in the sentence.. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. which the Theme is developed, is called [ … ] the Rheme. As a message structure, therefore, a clause consists of a Theme accompanied by a Rheme; and the structure is expressed by the order – whatever is chosen as the Theme is put first (p.37). This formal definition states clearly that theme is a structural configuration, which. sit. y. Nat. together with rheme, organizes the clause as a message. To clarify the theoretical issues. n. al. er. io. raised by Mathesius, Halliday (1994) dissociates theme-rheme structure from given-new. v. dichotomy and treats “the point of departure of the message” and “that which is known or. Ch. engchi. i n U. at least obvious in the given situation” as two closely related but different divisions of language functions.. The relationship between the two systems is described as partly. congruent in terms of their textual functions: Theme is a system of the clause; and it is realized by the sequence in which the elements of the clause are ordered－Theme comes first. Information is not a system of the clause: it has its own domain, the information unit, which typically corresponds to a clause but not necessarily so; and it has its own realization in the form of tonic prominence－which typically comes at the end of the information unit, but again not necessarily so (p.308). Since the organization of information tends to follow a left to right or given before new manner, it is observed that in an unmarked case theme often coincides with given as.

(22) 11. illustrated in figure 2.2. The capital of Malaysia / is Kuala Lumpur. Theme system. Theme. Rheme. Information system. Given. New. Figure 2.2 Unmarked instantiation of theme and information (Bloor & Bloor, 1995, p.73). However, as discussed in the previous section, although there is a tendency for given. 政治大 that the thematic system and the information system are interchangeable notions. 立. information to come first in the sentence and hence coincide with theme, it does not mean Their. interrelationship is elucidated by Halliday (1994), who believes the choice of theme. ‧ 國. 學. represents the writer’s angle to give prominence at the sentence onset while the choice of. ‧. information focus1 (which culminates in new information) expresses reader-oriented. y. Nat. prominence to enable the integration of new information into the reader’s database:. sit. er. io. Other things being equal, a speaker will choose the Theme from within what is given, and locate the focus, the climax of the New, somewhere within the Rheme (p.299).. al. n. v i n In conclusion, the separating theme as a distinctive structure which C approach U h e n gregards i h c is related to but independent of the information system. The Realization of Theme Asserting that theme needs “an anchorage in the realm of experience” and must possess some “representational function,” Halliday (1994) believes that theme should “extend from the beginning of the clause up to (and including) the first ideational element that has a function in transitivity” (p.61, p.53). In definition, transitivity refers to three 1. The information system is represented by tone groups. The focus refers to the culmination of the new information in the tone group and it usually occurs near the end of the tone group. It is observed that when the boundaries of a tone group coincide with those of a clause, the focus often resides in the rheme (Lock, 1996)..

(23) 12. linguistic representations of the phenomenon of the world: the participants, the processes, and the circumstances (Halliday, 1994).. The participants represent human beings or. things while the processes describe actions or the going-on of events and the circumstances depict the situations.. Typically, the three features are realized by such. grammatical structures as nominal groups, verbal groups or prepositional phrases, which are demonstrated in the following examples. (3) Mary had a little lamb. (4) Hurry up.. 政治大. (5) On Saturday night I lost my watch.. 立. (Halliday, 1994, p.44). the ideational theme may still be considered part of theme.. 學. ‧ 國. In addition to ideational theme, Halliday (1994) contends that elements preceding To ideational theme, he adds. ‧. textual theme and interpersonal theme. The function of textual theme is said to help The examples include continuatives such as yes, no, well, On the other hand,. io. er. oh and conjunctive adjuncts like however, therefore, next etc.. sit. y. Nat. relate the clause to its context.. interpersonal theme is said to refer to the writer’s comment on or attitude towards the rest. al. n. v i n of the message, which may include C personal names or modal h e n g c h i U adjuncts such as probably, surprising, luckily etc.. Halliday (1994) argues that since these themes do not contain. ideational elements, they are not obligatory thematic; therefore, their thematic significance is only noted when placed initially.. The configuration of textual theme,. interpersonal theme and ideational theme is termed by Halliday as “multiple theme” as opposed to “simple theme” where only the ideational theme is present. The following figure exhibits an example of multiple theme..

(24) 13. Well then. Surely. the best idea. is to join the group.. textual theme. interpersonal theme. ideational theme. Rheme. Figure 2.3 Example of a multiple theme (Halliday, 1994, p.55). Halliday’s approach to theme analysis is widely adopted by many scholars working with the functional perspective of language; nevertheless, some linguists have taken a different approach in the demarcation of theme (Downing, 1991; Thomas & Hawes, 1994; Berry, 1995; Ravelli, 1995; Mauranen, 1996).. In Halliday’s approach, the subject of a. declarative sentence may serve as the point of departure and realize the unmarked status. 政治大 transitivity occupies the sentence initial position, it will comprise a marked theme such as 立 on Saturday night in example 5.. In addition, since marked theme contains ideational. ‧ 國. However, when an element which also has a function in. 學. of theme as Mary in example 3.. elements, the theme is said to be exhausted by it; consequently, the subject is rendered Such delimitation raises potential problems for some. ‧. part of rheme as I in example 5.. sit. y. Nat. scholars who maintain that subject should always be included in the theme (Downing,. io. al. The primary. er. 1991; Thomas & Hawes, 1994; Berry, 1995; Ravelli, 1995; Martin, 2003).. n. argument is that elements preceding the grammatical subject do not always fulfill. Ch. Halliday’s (1994) definition of theme as:. engchi. i n U. v. ... that which is the concern of the message, what the speaker had in his mind to start with, when embarking on the production of his clause (p.31). Thomas and Hawes (1994) provide examples to prove that initial elements do not necessarily represent “what the clause is about.” (6) Now, after a ten-year programme, the Scottish plant breeding station thinks it has developed its own high enzyme barley... (Thomas & Hawes, 1994, p.51) In the above example, the starting point is the first ideational element after a ten-year program.. However, it appears that the meaning of “which is the concern of the message”. or “what the speaker had in his mind” is better served by the grammatical subject the.

(25) 14. Scottish plant breeding station.. Similar observation is made by Downing (1991), who. defends the status of subject by claiming that since fronted circumstantial adjuncts do not usually disturb the mood2 structure, they do not exert as much influence as the subject in the way the message is going.. It is therefore suggested that the subject element be. included in the thematic analysis (preceded or not by marked theme) because “this would allow us to capture ideational theme in a more systemic way” (Downing, 1991, p.125). Mathesius (1975) points out that in English where fixed word order is strictly observed, the tendency is for theme to be expressed through the grammatical subject. 政治大 extend up to the main verb of the sentence. Their position is demonstrated in the 立 predicated by the verb.. Foz (2000) and Berry (1995) also assert that theme should. following example.. ‧ 國. 學. (7) The losses principally arose at our Communications and space. (Foz, 2000, p.176). ‧. In Halliday’s analysis, the theme in example 7 ends with the first ideational element The. sit. y. Nat. losses and the rest of the sentence including adverb principally is treated as rheme.. n. al. er. io. However, Foz (2000) argues that elements ensuing the subject like principally in example. v. 7 is still important because they may “…not only constrain subsequent selections within. Ch. engchi. i n U. the sentence and developing discourse, but… may also be a powerful device for presenting the speaker’s viewpoint” (p.176). To capture the full potential of theme, it is suggested that theme analysis be extended up to the main verb (but not including the main verb) of the sentence to give a clearer picture of how a text fits together (Berry, 1995; Foz, 2000).. This perspective of theme is adopted by the present study and its principle of. identification will form “the point of departure” of our investigation into the thematic structure in the students’ narratives.. 2. According to Halliday (1994), mood system relates to the interpersonal metafunction of the language which describes the clause as an exchange. The mood element which enables the clause to be negotiable is composed of subject and finite..

(26) 15. The Function of Theme Theme is a unique structure, which Halliday (1978) recognizes as realizing the textual function of a language in contrast to the ideational or the interpersonal component. Halliday (1970) comments on the textual component by calling it instrumental to the other two: …it is only because we can select the desired form of the message that we can also use language effectively, both to represent an experience and to interact with those around us (p.326). The textual meaning of theme can be captured in an exercise called “theme scrambling”. 政治大 (8) A waiter brought them cocktails. 立. (Hasan & Fries, 1995):. 學. (10) It was cocktails that a waiter brought them. (11) What the waiter brought them was cocktails.. (Downing & Locke, 2002, p.221). er. io. sit. y. Nat. (12) There was a waiter who brought them cocktails.. ‧. ‧ 國. (9) Cocktails they were brought by a waiter.. Consisting of equal ideational and interpersonal elements, all the sentences can be said to. al. n. v i n C h nevertheless,Uin terms of communicative express the same propositional meaning; engchi. purpose, they are not interchangeable. The textual meaning of each sentence can only be extracted when we take into consideration what the writer assumes to be about the state of knowledge of his or her reader (Brown & Yule, 1983). Example (8) appears to be a reply involving no apparent supposition; whereas (9) seems to imply a contrast with something else (cocktails instead of food). Example (10) presupposes the knowledge that the waiter brought them something and identifies it as the cocktails; while example (11) seems to restrict what the waiter brought them among other things.. Response (12). looks more appropriate to a question “Was there anyone else?” The above demonstration suggests strongly that the individual significance of each sentence is only.

(27) 16. appropriate in their corresponding local context (Downing & Locke, 2002). Observation like this prompts Daneš (1974) to investigate the principles underlying thematic choice and patterning in text. Believing that the functions of theme may extend beyond the starting point of a sentence, Daneš (1974) develops the notion of Thematic Progression (TP), which outlines the relation between the theme-rheme selections and the ideational choices in a text. Theme, in this respect functions as the cohesive device, which in cohering with elements in the preceding text or the context contributes to the coherence of a text (Kurzon, 1988).. According to Daneš (1974), there are four main. 政治大 derived themes; and (d) Exposition of split rheme. A detailed description of the four 立. types of TP: (a) Simple linear TP; (b) TP with a continuous (constant) theme; (c) TP with. types of TP is provided in the following.. In simple linear TP, the content of the rheme of. ‧ 國. 學. the first sentence becomes the theme of the subsequent sentence. Below is a. ‧. demonstration of simple linear TP.. sit. n. al. er. io T1. y. Nat. (13) 1The first of the antibiotics was discovered by Sir Alexander Flemming in 1928. 2 He was busy at the time investigating a certain species of germ… (Daneš, 1974, p.ll8) R1. T2(=R1). Ch. engchi. i n U. v. R2. T3(=R2). R3. Figure 2.4 Simple linear TP. In this example, the rheme Sir Alexander Flemming in the first sentence becomes the theme of the next sentence. In the second type of TP, TP with a continuous (constant) theme, the same theme occurs in consecutive sentences. Below is an illustration of this type..

(28) 17. (14) 1Michelangelo was another outstanding man of the Renaissance. 2 He was one of the last great Renaissance artists, for Italy was falling into decline by the time of his death in 1564. 3He concentrated initially on sculpture. (Lock, 1996, p.221) T1. R1. T2=T1. R2. T3=T1. R3. Figure 2.5 TP with a continuous (constant) theme. The above example shows a series of sentences share the same theme Michelangelo.. 政治大. In TP with derived themes, the themes of subsequent sentences are said to arise from. 立. a general notion called the hypertheme.. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. (15) 1New Jersey is flat along the coast and southern portion; the northwestern region is mountainous. 2The coastal climate is mild, but there is considerable cold in the mountain areas during the winter months. 3Summers are fairly hot. 4 The leading industrial production includes chemicals, processed food, coal, petroleum, metals and electrical equipment. 5The most important cities are Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Trenton, Camden. (Daneš, 1974, p.120). n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. [T] or hypertheme. engchi T3. T1. i n U. v. R3. R1 T2. R2. Figure 2.6 TP with derived themes. In this example, the themes the coastal climate in the second sentence and the leading industrial production in the fourth as well as the most important cities in the fifth sentence are all derived from a hypertheme—New Jersey. In Exposition of split rheme, the rheme in a preceding sentence contains several concepts.. These concepts then become the themes of subsequent sentences..

(29) 18. (16) 1But first, it’s worth stressing how the country is dominated by the president, Nicolai Ceausescu. 2His picture appears everywhere on important occasions; 3 his wife is a member of the top political body... (Gómez-González, 2001, p.84) T1. R1. T2<R1. R2. T3<R1. R3. Figure 2.7 Exposition of split rheme.. 政治大 picture in the second sentence and his wife in the third. 立. In this example, the rheme the president in the first sentence develops into the theme his. Many scholars have recognized TP as a useful approach for identifying the topic area. ‧ 國. 學. of several sentences or a segment of text (Lautamatti, 1987; Ventola & Mauranen, 1991).. ‧. For example, Lautamatti (1987) applies the concept of TP to the study of topical. sit. y. Nat. development in text and concludes that discourse topic is fulfilled through the “succession. io. (p.87).. al. er. of hierarchically ordered sub-topics,” which in turn contributes to the coherence in text. n. v i n C h as an important Elsewhere, thematization is recognized means of “providing engchi U. audience orientation” (McCarthy, 1991, p.56).. Downing and Locke (2002) suggest that. initial elements may represent the angle “from which the speaker projects his/her message” (p.223).. Fries (1981, 1983) provides further illustrations to show that theme. may act as signal for the reader to guide the expectation for the direction in which the message is developing.. Through his survey of theme in a number of short texts, Fries. (1981) confirms that theme is relevant to the description and the organization of text: The information that is contained within the themes of the various sentences of a passage correlates with the method of development of the passage (and the nature of the text) (p.1)..

(30) 19. That is, thematic choices not only correlate with the meaning of a text but also reveal the structure of the text. Various findings from research on method of development (MOD) have provided positive textual evidence of theme’s function on the discourse level.. For instance,. Martin and Joan (1986) report differences in the experiential content of theme between hortatory and analytical passages.. Meanwhile, Francis (1989) examines thematization in. three different genres containing news reports, editorials as well as letters of complaint and discovers that their grammatical constructions of theme vary, thus providing further In 政治大 another study, Thompson (1987) investigates the behavior of pre-posed adverbial clauses 立 evidence that theme may be part of the text strategies employed by the writers.. and proposes that initial adverbial clauses may serve as “guideposts” for the information. ‧ 國. 學. flow in text (p.447).. Givon (1993) further testifies the orientation effect of initial. ‧. adverbial clauses and concludes that they may perform “coherence-bridging” function by. y. sit. io. er. clause.. Nat. linking anaphorically with the preceding clauses and cataphoriacally with the main. To sum up, the status of theme is well-established in the literature.. n. al. Ch. n U engchi. iv. It is the sentence. initial element which forms a structural relationship with rheme, the remainder of the sentence.. Together theme and rheme exert influence on the distribution of information. in the sentence and are considered important elements in the construction of coherent texts. The potential functions of theme can be summarized in the following. a. Establish theme-theme connection by linking up to the theme in the preceding text. b. Establish rheme-theme connection by linking up to the rheme in the preceding text. c. Introduce a new participant in the rheme. d. Provide background information for the interpretation of the following text. e. Signal a transition in the textual unit. f. Introduce a new participant or a break..

(31) 20. Theme Types Gómez-González (2001) points out that in researching theme in a language which complies with rigid word order, there are two fundamental considerations: one is the syntactic functions and the other is the reordering options within and between clauses. In accordance with the criteria established in the previous discussion, the present study takes theme as any sentence initial element up to the main verb (but not including the main verb) of the sentence (Berry, 1995; Foz, 2000).. Under this framework, subject in a. declarative clause is assigned the unmarked status because it represents the regular and. 政治大 is placed initially, it constitutes a “marked” theme. Since marked theme is unexpected, 立. natural occurrence of theme.. When another constituent other than the unmarked theme. it represents the writer’s choice to bring it into prominence (Halliday, 1994).. 學. ‧ 國. The. following table exhibits some common theme types found in the declarative sentence.. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(32) 21. Syntactic structure. Example. Unmarked. proper noun as head. Mary had a little lamb.. Theme. common noun as head. A wise old owl lived in an oak.. pronoun as head. She went to the baker’s.. Marked. wh-cleft. What I want is a proper cup of coffee.. Theme. anticipatory it. It is said that he is wealthy.. existential there. There were three jovial Welshmen.. fronted object. A bag-pudding the king did make.. adverb. 立. prepositional phrase. along. 政Merrily,治we roll大. On Saturday night I lost my watch. When he comes, he will be surprised.. non-finite clause. To strengthen his knees, he often exercised.. ‧ 國. 學. adverbial clause. sit. y. Nat. p.44).. ‧. Figure 2.8 Examples of theme in a declarative sentence (adapted from Halliday, 1994,. n. al. er. io. Detailed discussion of unmarked and marked themes is presented in the following sections. Unmarked Theme. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. The function of unmarked theme is believed to be that of establishing “what the clause message is about” in the local context and of facilitating “topic continuity” in an extended discourse (Downing, 1991). As Givón (1983) observes, “…it is the participant most likely to be coded as the primary topic —or grammatical subject—of the vast majority of sequentially-oriented clauses/sentences comprising the thematic paragraph” (p.8).. In the following example, we demonstrate how the participant is carried over. from sentence to sentence through theme-theme connection..

(33) 22. (17) 1I’d gone to London to do some shopping. 2I wanted to get some Christmas presents, 3and I needed to find some books for my course at college… (Gómez-González, 2001, p.83) Example 17 shows the development of the participant through theme-theme connection as the same theme I is repeated and carried over from sentence 1 through sentence 2 and 3. The development of the participant or topic may also be achieved through rheme-theme connection in adjacent sentences. (18) 1As you will no doubt have been told, we have our own photographic club and darkroom. 2The club is called ‘Monomanor’ and there is an annual fee of £5. 3 The money goes towards replacing any equipment worn out by use, or purchasing new equipment. (McCarthy, 1991, p.55). 政治大 In this example, the participant立 theme is carried through rheme-theme connection as the. ‧ 國. 學. rheme photographic club in sentence 1 gives rise to the theme the club in sentence 2; in turns the rheme an annual fee of £5 in sentence 2 becomes the theme the money in. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Marked Theme. ‧. sentence 3.. v. As demonstrated in the previous discussion, marked themes refer to themes that. Ch. engchi. i n U. involve constituents other than the subject in the sentence initial position.. These themes. are said to represent unexpected and prominent point of departure that the writer chooses to bring into the reader’s attention (Halliday, 1994).. Depending on their construction. and how common they are, marked themes may also exhibit different degrees of markedness and perform various functions.. Themes in this category include marked. themes of special construction, thematized complements and objects, and thematized adjuncts..

(34) 23. Marked themes of special construction. Marked themes of special construction include themes that do not seem to convey “what the message is about” or whose referential meaning is not as clearly defined as the noun phrase in the subject position.. Nevertheless, their function is argued by Halliday. (1967) as representing “further ways of selecting or highlighting a theme or of relating it to the rest of the clause” (p.223).. Wh-cleft.. 政治大 the form of “x equals y” in which the theme is typically realized through the wh-form of 立 Wh-cleft refers to any message organized into a two part of identifying structure in. construction such as “What I want is a proper cup of coffee” or “Why he didn’t come was. ‧ 國. 學. a mystery.”. Wh-cleft is said to highlight the cognitive prominence of theme by leaving a. ‧. gap which waits to be filled in (Thompson, 1996). Its function is believed to “set the. y. Nat. stage for further elaboration” in the subsequent text (Vasconcellos, 1992, p.151).. sit. al. er. io. (19) What happened was that Benjamin Lee Whorf picked up Boas’example and used it. (Thompson, 1996, p.126). n. v i n C h creates suspension In this piece of discourse, the wh-cleft in the flow of the discourse. engchi U The much anticipated answer or new topic is then introduced in the rheme.. Anticipatory it. The theme in anticipatory it configuration is described as a “place-holder” for the subject (Thompson, 1996). In contrast to wh-clefts, this construction does not leave a gap to be answered but gives prominence to elements following anticipatory it by means of exclusion.. That is, the theme is used to guide the reader to a particular element or. emphasis being considered at the current point of the text..

(35) 24. (20) 1I was mistaken in thinking that Jan paid for dinner. 3 Jan just left the tip.. 2. It was Robin who paid. (Thornbury, 2005, p.50). The context of the discourse gives Robin in sentence 2 extra emphasis in the exclusion of other elements.. Meanwhile, the employment of anticipatory it theme suggests. contradiction or correction to the earlier statement.. Existential there. Similar to anticipatory it, the existential there structure is believed to set up ground. 政治大 further distinction between the two structures is established in which the function of 立. for the presentation of a new participant in the rheme of the clause. Nevertheless,. existential there is compared to that of indefinite article and anticipatory it to definite. ‧ 國. 學. article (Gómez-González, 2001). That is, there is used to describe the existence of an. ‧. existent while it is employed to assert or highlight the information focus. (21) There is something special about this situation.. Nat. sit. y. (Thompson, 1996, p.139). n. al. er. io. In this example, there in the initial position is used to introduce the new participant. v. something special in the rheme, which may be picked up and become the theme of subsequent sentences.. Ch. engchi. i n U. Thematized complements and objects. Downing (1991) comments that theme composed of thematized complements and objects are less common; therefore, they usually signify higher degree of markedness and call for special attention to the elements in the theme.. A special case is also made with. fronted complement involving the inversion of subject and verb.. It is believed that the. motivation is to leave in the rheme position the focus or new information of the message..

(36) 25. (22) A socialist I am and a socialist I shall always be. (23) Strange indeed was the sound that came from within. (Lock, 1996, p.224) In example 22, the repeated fronted complement a socialist gives strong emphasis for the items in the theme.. Meanwhile in example 23, the thematized complement Strange. indeed triggers an inversion, which not only gives prominence to the theme but leaves the focus of information in the rheme.. 政治大 Elements in this category include adverbs, conjunctives, prepositional phrases, and 立 Thematized adjuncts.. Since the functions of modal adverbs and conjunctives have been. 學. ‧ 國. adverbial clauses.. covered in the previous discussion on multiple theme, the focus now will be on These are elements which help set the stage or. ‧. thematized circumstantial adjuncts.. Furthermore, a succession of thematized adjuncts in an. io. er. discourse (Vasconcellos, 1992).. sit. y. Nat. provide background information of time, place, manner, or cause for the development of. extended stretch of discourse is related to what Fries (1983) calls the method of. al. n. v i n development and is believed to C contribute to the organization h e n g c h i U of text.. (24) 1For two hundred years the Roman soldier-farmers had struggled for freedom and a share in the government of their state; 2for a hundred years they had enjoyed their privilages. (Downing, 1991, p.132). In this example for two hundred years in the first sentence and for a hundred years in the second sentence establish a time frame for the elaboration of the event and the method of development of this text unit is chronological.. Theme Types in Narrative Narrative is considered to be a process of creating meaning or accounts for.

(37) 26. experiences.. In the course, temporal actions and events are transformed through the. language to form a unified story (Casanave, 2005).. Such a definition of narrative not. only distinguishes it from other types of writing but suggests that its content and its structure of theme may differ from other genres.. McCarthy (1991) points out that. narrative is more likely to involve some thematization of key participants and temporal or orientational sequences (time or place markers).. His perspective is shared by. Matthiessen (1995), who indicates that since narrative is comprised of episodic knowledge which is characterized by sequences of temporally related events, it can be. 政治大 He also proposes that the study of narrative should be approached 立. expected that temporal themes will “provide the global principle of development” for the text (p.40).. differently from ideationally oriented discourse such as expository or instructional text.. ‧ 國. 學. Grounded in such a theoretical assumption, Fries (1995) puts forward that “different. ‧. patterns of thematic progression correlate with different genres” (p.319).. From his. sit. y. Nat. analysis, Fries (1981) concludes that narrative tends to repeat the same type of theme. io. er. since it tends to describe a sequence of events involving a single or multiple characters. In a study evaluating cohesion and coherence in 192 English speakers’ narratives, Bae. n. al. i n (2001) discovers a dominant use ofC pronouns and proper nouns. hengchi U. v. Although the focus of. Bae’s research is not on theme types but coherence in general, the finding nevertheless provides important background reference for our investigation of theme in Taiwanese students’ narratives.. In essence, it can be expected that student narratives will respond. to genre constraint and exhibit genre specific features of thematic makeup.. Theme Types in Taiwanese Students’ Writing Comparative research on native and non-native writers texts have generally concluded that non-native writers have problems manipulating English syntactic structures for realizing theme (Mauranen, 1996). It is agreed that non-native writers are.

(38) 27. less competent than native writers to establish a theme clearly and that their theme use often gives the impression of arbitrariness (Scarcella, 1984).. Similar observation is. made by several studies on Taiwanese students’ compositions in which the students are found to have difficulty managing the information flow in their discourse (Chang, 1995; Yu, 2001; Chao, 2002). For instance, Chang (1995) analyzes thematic progression (TP) in the narratives produced by college students and finds that incoherent writing often results from the misplacement of information in the sentences.. Although his analysis does not identify. 政治大 attention to Taiwanese students’ difficulty in constructing a coherent text. 立. any particular TP as an indicator of writing quality, the result nonetheless draws the In particular,. he notices that less proficient students are prone to include irrelevant ideas in their texts.. ‧ 國. 學. Since the extraneous sentences often involve the change of perspective or topic, these. Although Chang’s study does not enumerate theme types in. sit. y. Nat. the more proficient writers.. ‧. texts are characterized with more instances of coherence breaks than those produced by. io. by revising the topic in the offensive sentences.. al. er. the students’ narratives, he comments that coherence in the trouble texts may be improved. n. v i n Further study on TaiwaneseCstudents’ compositions h e n g c h i U seems to raise a similar issue. concerning the students’ theme use.. In Chao’s (2002) investigation of TP in senior high. school students’ argumentative essays, she discovers that low achievers are less adept in manipulating theme-rheme structure to maintain coherence in their texts.. To be specific,. they often fail to adopt more identifiable or discourse-relevant topics as themes whereas their higher proficient counterparts are more able to maintain a consistent point of view through skillful employment of cohesive devices in the theme such as explicit synonyms, repetitions or references.. In terms of thematic progression, her finding shows a. predominant use of TP with a continuous theme and simple linear TP by all the students. Similar to Chang’s study, Chao’s research suggests strongly that the overall impression of.

(39) 28. writing coherence is rendered more by the information assigned in the theme than by the adoption of any particular TP.. Nonetheless, despite the useful insights provided by these. studies, the focus is largely limited to establishing cohesive ties in the theme whereas grammatical contributions of the initial elements are rarely treated.. For instance,. although Chang (1995) concludes that topic continuity is better served by developing the main idea in the main clause while leaving the background information in the subordinate clause, he does not distinguish the possible implications to be drawn by placing the subordinate clause in the theme or the rheme part. The phenomenon is, however, picked. 政治大 placement of adverbial clauses in college students’ narratives. 立. up and closely examined by Yu (2001), who sets out to clarify the factors inspiring the Through careful analysis,. 學. ‧ 國. she concludes that Taiwanese students primarily treat the adverbial clause as a background provider; however, they are less aware of its potential function of being a Many of these students fail to recognize the function of. ‧. global structural marker.. sit. y. Nat. adverbial clauses for upholding topic continuity with the preceding or the subsequent text.. io. er. Instead, a majority of the preposed adverbial clauses are used to address local concern on the sentence level only, such as maintaining dependent relationship with the main clause.. al. n. v i n CTaiwanese Overall, the current research on texts suggests that many of our U h e n gstudents’ i h c. students are not aware of English thematic structure and that their indistinguishable placement of information in the theme may threaten the coherence of their texts.. While. Chang (1995) and Yu (2001) have provided substantial data for a better understanding of the use of theme in Taiwanese students’ narratives, their studies primarily concern the performance of college students. In the literature, there is relatively less discussion of thematic structure and its function in senior high school students’ texts.. Within the. limited attention reserved for senior high school students, Chao’s (2002) study addresses thematic issues involving argumentative text; nonetheless, the implications may not transfer entirely to narrative because as mentioned in the previous discussion thematic.

(40) 29. structure may respond to different constraints imposed by different genres.. To fill this. gap, the present study is undertaken to investigate thematic makeup and its contribution in Taiwanese senior high school students’ narratives.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(41) 30. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.