Thematic Structure and Para-Syntax: Arabic as a Case Study

Cover
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction
2 Signs, syntax, para-syntax, theme and rheme
	2.1 Introduction
	2.2 Signs
	2.3 Grammar (morphology and syntax) as sign-level analysis
	2.4 Syntax and para-syntax
		2.4.1 Para-syntax: accented and unaccented units
		2.4.2 Theme and rheme, given and new, Peri/Thema and Nuc/Rhema
		2.4.3 Para-syntax: word order
3 Issues in defining ‘theme’
	3.1 Introduction
	3.2 Theme as starting point of the utterance
4 Recursion
	4.1 Introduction
	4.2 Recursion
		4.2.1 Formal recursion: intonation
		4.2.2 Phrase-structural para-syntactic recursion
5 Summary of arguments so far
6 Traditional Arabic grammar analysis of Arabic clause structure
	6.1 Introduction
	6.2 Traditional Arabic grammar analysis of Arabic clause structure
7 Peri/Thema–Nuc/Rhema analysis of Standard Arabic
	7.1 Introduction
	7.2 Application of Peri/Thema–Nuc/Rhema analysis to Standard Arabic
	7.3 Comparison with Baker’s (2011) analysis of Standard Arabic
	7.4 Nuc/Rhema-markers and Peri/Thema-markers in Standard Arabic
		7.4.1 Marked and unmarked themes in Standard Arabic
			7.4.1.1 Functions of marked Peri/Themas in Modern Standard Arabic
				7.4.1.1.1 Comparison of contrast or parallelism, stress, scene-setting and organisation of material, linkage and long Peri/Thema with categories put forward by other writers
				7.4.1.1.2 Given and new in relation to contrast or parallelism, stress, scene-setting and organisation of material, linkage and long Peri/Thema
		7.4.2 Historical changes in Standard Arabic
	7.5 A comparison with Arabic dialects and other languages
8 Phrase-structural para-syntax in Arabic: Beyond theme and rheme
	8.1 Introduction
	8.2 Initiality as non-thematic discourse marker in Arabic
	8.3 Initiality as non-thematic discourse marker: Standard Arabic compared to other languages
9 Phrase-structural para-syntactic notions vs. (real) semantic notions
	9.1 Introduction
	9.2 The necessity of separating phrase-structural para-syntactic from (real) semantic notions
10 Distinguishing syntax from para-syntax
	10.1 Introduction
	10.2 The necessity of distinguishing syntax from para-syntax in Standard Arabic
11 Conclusions
Technical appendix: Endnotes
References
Index