More information flow… English Language, Unit 4

Some astonishing questions about the nature of the universe have been raised by scientists exploring the nature of black holes in space. ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ So much matter compressed into so little volume changes the fabric of it in profoundly puzzling ways. a)The collapse of a dead star into a point perhaps no larger than a marble creates a black hole. b)A black hole is created by the collapse of a dead star into a point perhaps no larger than a marble.

…remember this slide…? GIVEN information comes before NEW Since the NEW information is the more important, this basic organisation means that we want important information at the end of the sentence. The beginning of a sentence is reserved for old and unsurprising material (GIVEN information) – information that has lower communicative value.

TOPIC and COMMENT The TOPIC is the part of the sentence that indicates what is being written about. The TOPIC of a sentence is what the sentence is about. A large dog is digging in the garden.

TOPIC and COMMENT The TOPIC is the part of the sentence that indicates what is being written about. The TOPIC of a sentence is what the sentence is about. A large dog is digging in the garden.

The COMMENT of a sentence is what we say about the topic. A large dog is digging in the garden.

The COMMENT of a sentence is what we say about the topic. A large dog is digging in the garden. If the topic is what we are writing about, the comment is what we are writing about it. The topic comes before the comment. This contributes to the coherence of a passage.

The subject and object of a passage refer to the grammatical relationships within the passage The topic and comment refer to the information aspects of a passage. More often than not, subject and topic coincide as do comment and predicate, but this is not always the case.

Front-focus vs End-focus The ends of sentences are important for communication – they contain what is of special significance. However, beginnings of sentences can be positions of special focus. By bringing important information forward, it is given greater prominence – it gains the audience’s attention.

Extraposition If a subject of a sentence is an entire clause it can be too much information to have so early. “That Hagrid thought a biting book would come in useful struck Harry as ominous”

Extraposition If a subject of a sentence is an entire clause it can be too much information to have so early. “That Hagrid thought a biting book would come in useful struck Harry as ominous” “It struck Harry as ominous that Hagrid thought a biting book would come in useful”

“What you say doesn’t matter” “It doesn’t matter what you say”

Cleft constructions Clefting has the effect of dividing an original sentence into two clauses as a way to shift the focus of interest. “Most unluckily, Uncle Vernon had answered the call.” “Most unluckily, it had been Uncle Vernon who answered the call.”

Two clauses are formed, the first introduced by an empty subject (it) and a form of to be, followed by the focus of interest. “Most unluckily, Uncle Vernon had answered the call.” “Most unluckily, it had been Uncle Vernon who answered the call.”

Fronting Fronting moves constituents that are normally positioned late in the clause up to the front. The most usual type of fronting involves the movement of adverbial phrases. “He unscrewed the ink bottle slowly and carefully”

Fronting Fronting moves constituents that are normally positioned late in the clause up to the front. The most usual type of fronting involves the movement of adverbial phrases. “He unscrewed the ink bottle slowly and carefully” “Slowly and carefully he unscrewed the ink bottle”