The Grammar of Textual Meaning in Korean: theme

Abstract

This chapter focuses on grammatical resources for composing information flow, focusing on theme. It begins with a basic introduction to textual clause structure – Theme and Rheme. It then describes the different types of Theme (Topical Theme, Interpersonal Theme and Textual Theme) and their grammatical realisation. The contribution of each type of Theme is illustrated in short texts illustrating their role in managing texture. The chapter concludes with a discussion of thematic progression and introduces guidelines for recognising types of Theme in discourse.