主位研究述评

Theme studies: An overview

自上世纪30年代布拉格学派提出主位概念以来,主位的纷争一直不断。本文以Halliday主位概念的变化与发展为基础,探讨了学界就主位所展开的争论,其中主要涉及Fries,Martin,Huddleston,Thompson和黄国文等人的主位观。文章全面回顾了主位研究的历史,指出研究者争论的焦点集中于:(1)主位的界定和识别;(2)主位的类型和扩展;(3)主位的功能和应用。主位在争论中发展和完善,并从小句层面上升至语篇层面,同时人际主位在语篇组织中的作用也引起了关注。

The notion of Theme has been an issue of much debate since it was first advanced by the Prague School in the 1930s. Based on Halliday’s conception of Theme, this paper sets out to evaluate different views proposed by scholars such as Fries, Martin, Huddleston, Thompson and Huang. It begins with an overview of the historical development of Theme, demonstrating that disagreements over Theme largely revolve around its definition, identification and type. This is followed by a discussion of the Thematic Progression, Method of Development and Periodicity, aiming for a better understanding of the function of Theme in discourse. Finally, the paper shows that Theme studies are beginning to extend from the clause level to the discourse level, with a special focus on the role of the interpersonal Theme in discourse organization.