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（青岛农业大学外国语学院 山东 青岛 266109）
Abstract： Based on Thematic Progression of Functional Grammar， this paper attempts to demonstrate the application of Thematic Progression in text analysis. By analyzing the Thematic structure of a text and the patterns of Thematic Progression， we can gain an insight into the writer’s underlying concerns and better understand the text.
Key words： Theme； Rheme； Thematic Progression； text analysis
【中图分类号】H0—0
1. Introduction
Halliday in his book Functional Grammar proposed that， from the viewpoint of textual function， a clause can be divided into tow parts —————Theme and Rheme. Many linguists joined in the study of Thematic structure， especially in a text or in a paragraph. The Theme and Rheme of each clause in a coherent text are related to each other in various ways. Danes refers to this relation as Thematic Progression. Many Chinese scholars such as Xu Shenghuan have also explored the different patterns of Thematic Progression. By showing the definition of Theme and Rheme and the patterns of Thematic Progression， this paper attempts to demonstrate the application of Thematic Progression in text analysis.
2. Theme and Rheme
According to Halliday， Theme is one element in a particular structural configuration which organizes the clause as a message. Within that configuration， the Theme is the starting—point for the message； it is the ground from which the clause takes off. The remainder of the message， the part in which the Theme develops， is called Rheme， as shown in （1） and （2）.
（1） You （T） ＼＼ probably haven’t seen that film. （R）
（2） Last night （T） ＼＼ I went to the cinema. （R）
3. Thematic Progression
A text or a syntactic complex whole consists mostly two or more clauses that are related to each other. And there is cohesion among the clauses. Therefore， there will be some connection among the Themes and Rhemes of the neighboring clauses. This is referred to as Thematic Progression. As the theme progresses forward， the whole text develops to form a coherent text with an integrated meaning.
Xu Shenghuan（1982） proposed four patterns of Thematic Progression：
i） Parallel progression （within a text， all of the clauses have the same Theme and different Rhemes）
T1——————————R1
T2 （=T1）———R2
Tn （=Tn—1）—Rn
ii） Linear Progression （the Rheme or part of the Rheme of the first clause becomes the Theme of the next）
T1—————R1
T2 （=R1）————R2
Tn （Rn—1）———Rn iii） Constant Progression （the Rhemes of all the clauses are the same but the Themes are different）
T1———————R1
T2———————R2 （=R1）
Tn———————Rn （=R1）
iv） Crossing Progression （The theme of the first clause is the Rheme of the next clause）
T1———————R1
T2———————R2 （=T1）
Tn——————Rn （=Tn—1）
4. Application of Thematic Progression in text analysis
By analyzing the Thematic structure of a text， we can gain an insight into its texture and understand how the writer makes clear to us the nature of his underlying concerns. When we deal with a text， we can locate the Theme and Rheme of each sentence. Then we can see what the writer mainly wants to say， from where the writer begins and where the writer picks up a new topic， etc. Thus we can better understand the whole text. To illustrate this， let’s see the following example.
In 1863， the Football Association approved a game that outlawed carrying and kept the ball at men’s feet. The game still had a long way to go， however， before it would be the football watched by millions around the world on television during the World Cup. Whole teams would rush back and forward on the field with the ball kept close at their feet； there were no passes or long kicks， and some of the rules used in those days were still nearer rugby than football. By the early 1870s， however， the fast， exciting， and open game of modern Association football was beginning to appear. The goal become standard， with a hard crossbar instead of a long piece of tape， and the goalkeeper was the only person permitted to use hands to play. In the process， football changed irrevocably from a gentleman’s weekend exercise to the greatest spectator sport in the history of the human race.
The Themes of the sentences are listed here.
T1 In 1863 T2 The game
T3 Whole teams T4 there
T5 and some of the rules T6 By the early 1870s
T7 The goal T8 and the goalkeeper
T9 In the process
After reading through the Themes listed above， we can easily see the writer’s train of thought. The writer writes the passage in a chronological order. He begins from the year of 1863 to the early 1870s. Then he described the football game in 1863 and by the early 1870s respectively. After the description of “the game”， he tuned to the “whole teams” which are the important part of the game. He stated how the whole teams play in the game. Then he uses the existing word “there” to further describe the ways of playing. Then the writer pointed out “some of the rules” which correlated to the previous description. T7 and T8 are the description of the rules of the football game by the early 1870s. T9 is a time word used to summarize the whole passage. Therefore， the writer gives us a clear idea of the development of the football game by comparing the different rules of the different periods. The passage as a whole is coherent and properly arranged. Here are the patterns of Thematic Progression of this passage：
T1——R1
T2 （=R1）——R2
T3 （=R1）——R3
T4—————R4 （=R3）
T5 （=R3）——R5
T6————R6
T7 （=R6）——R7
T8 （=R6）——R8
T9——R9 （=R6）
In this passage， the most used pattern is Linear progression （3 times） which occupies 43%. Parallel Progression is used two times and occupies 29%. There is one Constant Progression and one Crossing Progression， which occupy 14% respectively. So we can get the conclusion that the writer， for the most time， chose a certain part from the new information in the Rheme of the previous sentence as the Theme of the next sentence. And then for the text， the writer described the same topic.
5. Conclusion
Thematic Progression provides us with an efficient way to study the semantic relationship among the sentences in a text. And it is also a method to probe how the topic develops. Therefore the study of the Thematic progression is helpful to the discourse analysis or text analysis. By analyzing the Thematic structure of a text and the patterns of Thematic Progression， we can gain an insight into the writer’s underlying concerns. Thus we can better understand the text.
Reference
[1]Halliday M.A.K， An Introduction to Functional Grammar[M]. Foreign Language Teaching and Reseach Press， 2000
[2]徐盛桓. 主位和述位[J]. 外语教学与研究，1982（1）
[3]朱永生. 主位推进模式与语篇分析[J]. 外语教学与研究，1995（3）：6—11
作者简介
范杰（1979— ），女，山东德州人，硕士，讲师。研究方向：英语教学，跨文化交际。
Abstract： Based on Thematic Progression of Functional Grammar， this paper attempts to demonstrate the application of Thematic Progression in text analysis. By analyzing the Thematic structure of a text and the patterns of Thematic Progression， we can gain an insight into the writer’s underlying concerns and better understand the text.
Key words： Theme； Rheme； Thematic Progression； text analysis
【中图分类号】H0—0
1. Introduction
Halliday in his book Functional Grammar proposed that， from the viewpoint of textual function， a clause can be divided into tow parts —————Theme and Rheme. Many linguists joined in the study of Thematic structure， especially in a text or in a paragraph. The Theme and Rheme of each clause in a coherent text are related to each other in various ways. Danes refers to this relation as Thematic Progression. Many Chinese scholars such as Xu Shenghuan have also explored the different patterns of Thematic Progression. By showing the definition of Theme and Rheme and the patterns of Thematic Progression， this paper attempts to demonstrate the application of Thematic Progression in text analysis.
2. Theme and Rheme
According to Halliday， Theme is one element in a particular structural configuration which organizes the clause as a message. Within that configuration， the Theme is the starting—point for the message； it is the ground from which the clause takes off. The remainder of the message， the part in which the Theme develops， is called Rheme， as shown in （1） and （2）.
（1） You （T） ＼＼ probably haven’t seen that film. （R）
（2） Last night （T） ＼＼ I went to the cinema. （R）
3. Thematic Progression
A text or a syntactic complex whole consists mostly two or more clauses that are related to each other. And there is cohesion among the clauses. Therefore， there will be some connection among the Themes and Rhemes of the neighboring clauses. This is referred to as Thematic Progression. As the theme progresses forward， the whole text develops to form a coherent text with an integrated meaning.
Xu Shenghuan（1982） proposed four patterns of Thematic Progression：
i） Parallel progression （within a text， all of the clauses have the same Theme and different Rhemes）
T1——————————R1
T2 （=T1）———R2
Tn （=Tn—1）—Rn
ii） Linear Progression （the Rheme or part of the Rheme of the first clause becomes the Theme of the next）
T1—————R1
T2 （=R1）————R2
Tn （Rn—1）———Rn iii） Constant Progression （the Rhemes of all the clauses are the same but the Themes are different）
T1———————R1
T2———————R2 （=R1）
Tn———————Rn （=R1）
iv） Crossing Progression （The theme of the first clause is the Rheme of the next clause）
T1———————R1
T2———————R2 （=T1）
Tn——————Rn （=Tn—1）
4. Application of Thematic Progression in text analysis
By analyzing the Thematic structure of a text， we can gain an insight into its texture and understand how the writer makes clear to us the nature of his underlying concerns. When we deal with a text， we can locate the Theme and Rheme of each sentence. Then we can see what the writer mainly wants to say， from where the writer begins and where the writer picks up a new topic， etc. Thus we can better understand the whole text. To illustrate this， let’s see the following example.
In 1863， the Football Association approved a game that outlawed carrying and kept the ball at men’s feet. The game still had a long way to go， however， before it would be the football watched by millions around the world on television during the World Cup. Whole teams would rush back and forward on the field with the ball kept close at their feet； there were no passes or long kicks， and some of the rules used in those days were still nearer rugby than football. By the early 1870s， however， the fast， exciting， and open game of modern Association football was beginning to appear. The goal become standard， with a hard crossbar instead of a long piece of tape， and the goalkeeper was the only person permitted to use hands to play. In the process， football changed irrevocably from a gentleman’s weekend exercise to the greatest spectator sport in the history of the human race.
The Themes of the sentences are listed here.
T1 In 1863 T2 The game
T3 Whole teams T4 there
T5 and some of the rules T6 By the early 1870s
T7 The goal T8 and the goalkeeper
T9 In the process
After reading through the Themes listed above， we can easily see the writer’s train of thought. The writer writes the passage in a chronological order. He begins from the year of 1863 to the early 1870s. Then he described the football game in 1863 and by the early 1870s respectively. After the description of “the game”， he tuned to the “whole teams” which are the important part of the game. He stated how the whole teams play in the game. Then he uses the existing word “there” to further describe the ways of playing. Then the writer pointed out “some of the rules” which correlated to the previous description. T7 and T8 are the description of the rules of the football game by the early 1870s. T9 is a time word used to summarize the whole passage. Therefore， the writer gives us a clear idea of the development of the football game by comparing the different rules of the different periods. The passage as a whole is coherent and properly arranged. Here are the patterns of Thematic Progression of this passage：
T1——R1
T2 （=R1）——R2
T3 （=R1）——R3
T4—————R4 （=R3）
T5 （=R3）——R5
T6————R6
T7 （=R6）——R7
T8 （=R6）——R8
T9——R9 （=R6）
In this passage， the most used pattern is Linear progression （3 times） which occupies 43%. Parallel Progression is used two times and occupies 29%. There is one Constant Progression and one Crossing Progression， which occupy 14% respectively. So we can get the conclusion that the writer， for the most time， chose a certain part from the new information in the Rheme of the previous sentence as the Theme of the next sentence. And then for the text， the writer described the same topic.
5. Conclusion
Thematic Progression provides us with an efficient way to study the semantic relationship among the sentences in a text. And it is also a method to probe how the topic develops. Therefore the study of the Thematic progression is helpful to the discourse analysis or text analysis. By analyzing the Thematic structure of a text and the patterns of Thematic Progression， we can gain an insight into the writer’s underlying concerns. Thus we can better understand the text.
Reference
[1]Halliday M.A.K， An Introduction to Functional Grammar[M]. Foreign Language Teaching and Reseach Press， 2000
[2]徐盛桓. 主位和述位[J]. 外语教学与研究，1982（1）
[3]朱永生. 主位推进模式与语篇分析[J]. 外语教学与研究，1995（3）：6—11
作者简介
范杰（1979— ），女，山东德州人，硕士，讲师。研究方向：英语教学，跨文化交际。