présentation 5-1

Discourse and Grammar

• Presented by:

  • Yassine Aouam

  • Rajae Elhalouani

  • Aymane Kelkhi

  • Hajar Qallali

Content Overview

• Ellipsis and Substitution

• Conjunctions

• Theme and Rheme

• Tense and Aspect

Ellipsis and Substitution

Definition of Ellipsis

• Ellipsis refers to the omission of words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence or text that are understood from the context.

Types of Ellipsis

1. Nominal Ellipsis:

   • Omission of a noun or noun phrase.

2. Verbal Ellipsis:

   • Omission of a verb or part of a verb phrase.

3. Clausal Ellipsis:

   • Omission of a clause or parts of a clause.

Examples of Ellipsis

• "What man dost thou dig it for?"

• "You are the last man," said O’Brien. "You are the guardian of the human spirit."

• "For no man, sir."

• "Perhaps."

Definition of Substitution

• Substitution refers to the replacement of an element that is understood from the context by another (usually a shorter form) to avoid repetition.

Types of Substitution

1. Nominal Substitution:

   • Replacement of a noun or noun phrase.

2. Verbal Substitution:

   • Replacement of a verb or verb phrase.

3. Clausal Substitution:

   • Replacement of a clause by another element.

Examples of Substitution

• "I like cakes, especially chocolate cakes."

  • Substituted: "I like cakes, especially chocolate ones."

• Conversation Example:

  • A: Is the train late?

  • B: It seems so.

The Role of Ellipsis and Substitution in Discourse

• Develops listening and reading comprehension

• Enhances text cohesion

• Helps better understanding of native speakers and authentic texts

• Facilitates more natural and effective speaking and writing

Conjunctions in Discourse Analysis

Definition of Conjunction

• Conjunctions are linguistic elements linking two or more words, phrases, clauses, or sentences within a larger unit to establish a specific semantic relation between them.

• In literature, conjunctions are known as "connectives" and "linkers." (Maura, 2017)

Functions of Conjunctions

• Connect units that share semantic similarity (e.g., and, likewise)

• Express contrasting results or opinions (e.g., but, however)

• Introduce results, reasons, or purposes (e.g., so, therefore)

• Express the time sequence of events (e.g., finally, then)

Theme and Rheme

Definition of Theme

• The Theme is the given information serving as “the point of message departure.”

  • Typically identified as the first element or elements of a clause or sentence.

  • Examples:

  • "Gemma is playing with marbles later that day." (Theme: Gemma)

  • "Later that day, Gemma played with marbles." (Theme: Later that day)

Definition of Rheme

• The Rheme is the remainder of the message in the clause, where the theme is developed.

  • Relation: Theme is “what I am talking about” vs. Rheme is “what I am saying about it.”

Marked vs. Unmarked Themes

• Unmarked Theme: The subject serves as the theme.

• Marked Theme: The theme is different from the subject and requires attention.

  • Examples:

  • "The donkey ate the carrot." (Unmarked)

  • "The donkey which is in the field ate the carrot." (Marked)

Types of Themes

1. Topical Themes:

   • Essential themes embedded in all clauses; can be participants, circumstances, or processes.

2. Interpersonal Themes:

   • Indicate speakers' stance or emotion, often in forms of modal adjuncts or vocatives.

3. Textual Themes:

   • Relate clauses to context using conjunctions, signaling new moves or changes in action.

Tense and Aspect

Definition of Tense

• Tense is a grammatical category that locates an action or event in time, distinguishing categories like past, present, and future.

  • Typically marked morphologically on the verb.

Aspect

• Aspect encodes the temporal flow or structure of an event, expressing completion, duration, or repetition, as perceived by the speaker.

Types of Aspect

1. Simple: Describes actions or states as facts.

2. Progressive: Focuses on actions happening at a specific moment.

3. Perfect: Describes completed actions relevant to another time.

4. Perfect Progressive: Describes ongoing actions that are complete or still continuing.

Tense and Time Differences

References

• Michael McCarthy (1991). Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers.

• Englishan (n.d.). Conjunctions worksheet and exercises. Retrieved from Englishan.com.

• Bybee, J., Perkins, R., & Pagliuca, W. (1994). The Evolution of Grammar: Tense, Aspect, and Modality in the Languages of the World.

• Halliday, M.A.K. and Hasan, R. (2004).