1. Theme as point of departure in English and Spanish casual conversation: A contrastive study.
- Author
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Arús-Hita, Jorge
- Subjects
ENGLISH language ,SPANISH language ,ACADEMIC discourse ,CONVERSATION ,DISCOURSE markers - 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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