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Article published In: Language, Context and Text
Vol. 4:2 (2022) ► pp.197–226

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Theme as point of departure in English and Spanish casual conversation

A contrastive study

ORCiD logo with link | Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
Published online: 29 September 2022
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/langct.21009.aru
Abstract
This paper uses a trinocular approach – i.e. from below, from above and from roundabout – to describe Theme as point of departure (POD) in English and Spanish casual conversation (thus avoiding the more controversial ‘what-the-clause-is-about’ aspect of Theme). This research is part of a long-term contrastive study which includes the description of POD in academic writing and a crosslinguistic comparison of POD in academic writing and casual conversation. Among the main findings in this paper, the following stand out: (a) the identification of a conversational texture characterised by the interplay of textual and interpersonal strands of meaning; and (b) different POD arrangements of English and Spanish clauses in casual conversation, motivated by different ways of enacting communicative exchange.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Data and methodology
  • 3.The view from below: Realisations of POD in casual conversation
  • 4.The view from above: Functions of POD in casual conversation
  • 5.The view from roundabout
    • 5.1Threads of meaning in casual conversation
    • 5.2Thematic progression in casual conversation
  • 6.Conclusion and pointers to the future
  • Notes
  • References
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Moyano, Estela Ines
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O’Grady, Gerard
2024. Theme in spoken language: when a tone group is not a clause. Journal of World Languages 10:1 ► pp. 76 ff. DOI logo
Arús-Hita, Jorge
2022. A contrastive look at Theme as point of departure in English and Spanish academic writing. English Text Construction 15:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

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