Wednesday 10 May 2017

Given + New Vs Theme + Rheme

Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 120):
But although they are related, Given + New and Theme + Rheme are not the same thing.  The Theme is what I, the speaker, choose to take as my point of departure. The Given is what you, the listener, already know about or have accessible to you. Theme + Rheme is speaker–oriented, whereas Given + New is listener–oriented.