What is a theme?

Definition
	A theme is the initial constituent of a sentence, viewed in relation to a more highly communicative theme or focus elsewhere in the sentence.

Examples (English)
	The man is coming. Under no circumstances will he come.

Sources
	Hartmann and Stork 1972 237
	Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik 1985 1361–1363
	Crystal 1985 308

Context for this page:

Concept module: theme
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): T
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

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