Nuvistor

In linguistics, one calls thematisation the linguistic process consisting in putting in position set of themes an element or a group of elements which compose the sentence. According to the structuralist definition, the topic is to be opposed to the Rhème in the direction where the rhème represents a matter " nouveau" whereas the topic represents the general framework of the rhème.

The thematisation is expressed in various ways according to the languages. Thus, in French, the topic generally precedes the rhème. In Japanese, the thematized element is marked by an affix (は, wa ).

Example

  • In French: Today, it rains.
    • Topic: today
    • Rhème: it rains

  • In Japanese: 今日は雨が降っています. ( kyō-wa heart-ga futte-imasu )

    • the particle は ( wa ) indicates the topic (今日, kyō , today), whereas the particle が ( ga ) indicates the subject (雨, heart , rain). 降っています ( futte-imasu ) means to fall at the present.

  • Out of Basque, the position set of themes is right in front of the verb, which influences the manner of answering a question: semea handi da (" wire it large est") answers the " question; how is the son? ") whereas semea da handi (" wire is to it grand") answers the " question; which of the two children is large? ").

Certain obviousnesses make it possible to support this distinction:

  • the syntactic behavior of the elements of a topic is not the same one as that of a rhème.
  • the markers of topic or rhème are sometimes distinct in the same language (see the Japanese subject).

In the majority of the Indo-European Langues of Europe, the thematisation generally takes the form of a Prolepse (put in front of an element) and is accompanied by a syntactic Dislocation, which emphasizes it sometimes with the spoken language.

Principal processes of thematisation in French

Simple dislocation

“Moi , I live in the countryside” of the subject, “le nose of Cléopâtre : it had been shorter, all the face of the earth would have changed” subject (Blaise Pascal), “Henriette , I the know well” object, “la mer , I go there each year” of the adverbial phrase of place, “l' État , it is me” subject, etc
La dislocation simply consists to at the head move the element with thématiser of sentence (here souligné) and to separate it from the matter by a punctuation (in green); it is accompanied by a redundancy of information since the isolated element (if it is a personal pronoun, it must be with the disjoined form: me , you , him …) is generally taken again by an anaphoric pronoun (here in fatty ) with the function wanted in the matter so that the sentence is correct. The written punctuation can be, with the oral examination, indicated by ankle, like euh… or Ben : “ta chemise euh… I forgot the to pass by again”.
In certain cases, frequent in oral language, the thematisation relates to an implicit element of the sentence, like the speaker, and can not have any functional relationship with the matter: “moi , my grandmother is very sympathetic nerve”. In this sentence, the topic me does not have a grammatical function in the sentence; it semantically takes again to the idea of first anybody implied by possessive the my and makes it possible to highlight the implication of the speaker in his matter. The sentence is however agrammaticale.
Lastly, dislocation can be done without resumption of the thematized element: “le caviar , I like! ” (instead of “le caviar , I like that ”).

Dislocation with use of prepositions, various phrases

“As for toi, I await you the turning”, “with regard to le mur, I the built myself”, “on the level of the comportement, it must make progress”.
Certaines of these phrases thus becomes sometimes tics (like on the level of ) because of their user friendliness (, thématiser behavior in the last example requires, if one wants to avoid the employment of “on the level of”, of the more or less happy distorsions: “its behavior, it must it improve”, “*son behavior, it must make progress on this subject”). Indeed, it is possible of thématiser an element which is not included grammatically in the matter; this type of turning is especially oral.

Passivation

“Marie is liked of all”.
Although appearing less marked, passivation is well a process of thematisation; it indeed makes it possible to transform into topic the patient object of an active sentence; however, in a Language SVO (prone, object, verb) like French, L patient object is generally at the end of the statement. While becoming prone patient , it ensures the statute of topic.

Japanese Thématisation

In other languages, the thematisation can be purely grammatical; it is the case in Japanese, where there exists a particle, は wa , that one uses after the expression desired at the head of sentence to indicate that it is about the topic. The Japanese grammar does not confuse prone grammatical (function which is not obligatory in Japanese syntax) and topic, since there exists a different functional particle for both (は wa for the topic, が ga for the subject of the rhème, that one connected here artificially by the sign = ). As follows:
  • トトロ = は/学生である. Totoro =wa/gakusei of aru '' = “As for Totoro, it is student” (among all the possible students in the context, one speaks precisely about Totoro);
  • トトロ = が/学生です. Totoro ga/gakusei desu = “It is Totoro which is the student one” (in opposition to the other people present).
In these two cases, the subject and the topic are identical. It is not always the case: indeed, one would not have to translate, during a dialog in a restaurant, トトロ = は/鰻だ Totoro wa/unagi da '', word for word, “As Totoro”/“it is an eel”, by “Totoro is an eel” but by “It is for Totoro, the eel”: Totoro is indeed not the grammatical subject (which is absent besides from statement, which one translated by “eel” being makes of it the predicate “it is an eel”). With the difference of French, the Japanese thematisation is not basically a emphatic turning. It does not imply not more a one resumption of the element thematized in the matter. Its most outstanding feature is that one treats it like a function, as well as the object or the subject.

This easy coexistence of the topic and the subject in addition makes it possible to focus speech in the precise and simple way. Thus,

  • Eléphant misleads,
incite the listener to consider the elephant as a whole, the final action, it, being directed that towards its horn, whereas:
  • Horn of an elephant or subject,
attire attention on the horn of the elephant uniquement.

The coexistence of the topic and the subject is sometimes imposed by grammar in certain sentences when it on there already a subject. For example the tastes are indicated by the adjective 好き ( suki , liked/appreciated) whose subject is the thing which is appreciated. To say that one likes the strawberry, one will say,

苺が好きです (ichigo ga suki desu) which one can translate word for word: “the strawberry is appreciated”.
If one wants to express the tastes of a third person or to specify that one speaks about oneself, since the subject, one is already the strawberry will use the topic.
私は苺が好きです (Watashi wa ichigo ga suki desu) word for word “as for me, the strawberry is appreciated” i.e. “I like the strawberry”
or for a friend:
友達は苺が好きです (Tomodachi wa ichigo ga suki desu) “as for my friend, the strawberry is appreciated” i.e. “My friend likes the strawberry”

Chinese Thématisation

preparation

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