Functional sentence perspective.

Tradition leads us to believe that the ultimate unite of the language is a sentence. Inside the sentence grammatical theory distinguishes between the main and secondary parts of the sentence. In written speech sentences are marked off by full stops. In oral speech by intonation.

Now division in to sentences makes the reading and understanding difficult. As we ca follow the train of thoughts.

But! How is speech produced? Are sentences pronounce separately? Does each sentence make sense? No.

Speech comes not in separate sentence but in large chunks which are internally organized.

In writing this chunks are usually paragraphs.

In speech grammatical division of sentence in to subject and predicates does not go inside with logical or semantic division.

 

In speech we come across starting point of the statement and the new information. This correlation between what is known and what is new is called communicative or actual division of the sentence or Functional sentence perspective.

 

According to Bloch’s definition FSP is the arrangement of the sentence element from the point of view of the communicative dynamism. Depending on how this or that element (pushes the communication forward).

 

 

Example: Peter:- where is your father (R), Mary? Mary: - Father(T) has gone for a walk.

 

One part of communication is called lexical or semantic subject (known part)

Which is knew is called lexical semantical. They may go inside with traditional and they may not.

The term excepted in this theory is theme – logical or psychological subject. It comes from Greek. The Greek root th means to set to establish. The term Rheme is derived from Greek rear (to say, to feel) it means what is established.

The first scholars whre Czech’s scholar: Merseduus …

Russian scholars: Распопов, Грушевицкая

 

What is known (Theme) What is new (Rheme)

 

Lexical subject Центр коммуникации, ядро

Psychological subject Rheme

Logical subject Lexical predicate

Psychological subject

Logical predicate

Logical subject

 

The German Scholar Paul Alro investigated this phenomena.

Karl färt heute nach Berlin. Карл едет сегодня в Берлин.

 

Theme (Known) Rheme (new)

- the definite article - word order

- loose parenthesis introducted be “as for” - the indefinite article

“as to” - emphasizing particles

- position of the beginning of the sentence - the emphatic construction “It is…”

- word oder in position divisin - intonation

- Emphatic stress

 

Helen(T) should be first(R) to receive her diploma

The man(T) walk up and down the platform

As For the others(T) great numbers of them moved passed slowly