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• explain the concepts of information structure
and thematic structure • differentiate between “Give/New” and “Theme/Rheme” concepts
• identify instances
of multiple themes in texts • analyze texts for instances of information structure and thematic structure
3.0 MAIN CONTENT 3.1 Information Structure Information structure is all about how speakers arrange the information in their message. It is natural for the shared message to come before the one not known to the hearer. The shared message is usually found at the beginning of the
clause and it is called the Given information. The other information is the focus of the speaker’s message and it is referred to as the
New information. The Given and the New information makeup the information structure of the clause.
3.2 The Given The Given information is the information that is known to both the speaker and the hearer. It is normally taken for granted that the listeners) or readers) know the information. So the speaker takes off from that point to supply the new information. For example
8.1. My younger son travelled to the USA yesterday In
the sentence above, it is assumed that the hearer knows who the younger son is, so the speaker does not have to mention the name or use any descriptive term beyond the one he used. The emboldened expression is the Given. The referent therefore is obvious to both the speaker and the hearer.
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