EXERCISE 07.

Unmarked Theme

Explain why the themes in the following clauses are called Unmarked themes

1. The first location was a range at Fort Bragg, but the soil there failed to absorb the
liquid. (Source: “This is environmental racism” on “The Washington Post” published
by Darryl Fears and Brady Dennis on April 6th, 2021)
1. The women organized gatherings at Coley Springs Baptist Church, a large brick and
stained-glass building near the township of Afton. (Source: “This is environmental
racism” on “The Washington Post” published by Darryl Fears and Brady Dennis on
April 6th, 2021)
2. Light from a sunny spring day poured through the front window. (Source: “After a
lost year, a sports bar hopes a new season brings it back to life” on “The Washington
Post” published by Dave Sheinin on April 7th 2021)
3. All permits and extensions were being voided. (Source: “After a lost year, a sports
bar hopes a new season brings it back to life” on “The Washington Post” published by
Dave Sheinin on April 7th 2021)
4. They announce their own demises in somber Facebook posts, almost always with a
“heavy heart”. (Source: “After a lost year, a sports bar hopes a new season brings it
back to life” on “The Washington Post” published by Dave Sheinin on April 7th 2021)
5. The owners received more than $100,000 in federal Paycheck Protection Program
loans, the bulk of which went to covering payroll. (Source: “After a lost year, a sports
bar hopes a new season brings it back to life” on “The Washington Post” published by
Dave Sheinin on April 7th 2021)
6. These are some of the things Leonard has done to steer Pickles through the pandemic.
(Source: “After a lost year, a sports bar hopes a new season brings it back to life” on
“The Washington Post” published by Dave Sheinin on April 7th 2021)
7. The Pickles team understood early on the existential threat presented by the
pandemic. (Source: “After a lost year, a sports bar hopes a new season brings it back
to life” on “The Washington Post” published by Dave Sheinin on April 7th 2021)
8. The state of Maryland and Baltimore city began loosening dining restrictions.
(Source: “After a lost year, a sports bar hopes a new season brings it back to life” on
“The Washington Post” published by Dave Sheinin on April 7th 2021)
9. Leonard figures will come down off the high-tops in the downstairs dining area for
the home opener. (Source: “After a lost year, a sports bar hopes a new season brings it
back to life” on “The Washington Post” published by Dave Sheinin on April 7th 2021)

EXERCISE 08. Definitions and explanations of types of theme

Read the two following passages A & B and answer the questions:

A. Simple Themes are recognised as experiential/ topical theme or ideational Theme.

Simple Themes are divided into unmarked topical Theme and marked topical Theme.
B. The ideational stage of the Theme, known as topical Theme, can be recognized as the
first element in the clause that expresses some kind of 'representational' meaning. More
technically, it is a function from the transitivity structure of the clause . That is to say, it
might be a 'participant', as in:

a. George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin.

b.The house was gloomy and uninviting

Or it might be a 'circumstance', giving information about time, place, manner, cause, etc.:

c. In 1876, Shaw joined his mother and sister in London.

d. On the upper floor of such premises, a tall person cannot stand erect.

Occasionally, it might be the process, as in:

e. Says Mr Smith: 'It's too early to draw any conclusions yet'

( Source: Working with functional grammar)

Questions: Write Y if the statement below is Right or N if the statement is wrong :

1. Simple themes are TOPICAL themes. _______

2. Topical themes can be called Experiental themes or Ideational themes_________
3. Unmarked theme and marked theme are not the types of topical
theme_______________
4. Topical theme can be participant, circumstance or even process in the clause_____
5. The clause on the upper floor of such premises, a tall person cannot stand erect
contains a topical theme a tall person._____
6. The theme of the clause Says Mr Smith: 'It's too early to draw any conclusions yet' is
It’s.
7. The theme of the clause George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin is a
Circumstance______
8. The fact that theme is a process is a very common case__________
9. The clause In 1876, Shaw joined his mother and sister in London has a marked
theme_______
10. When a participant functions as a Subject it is marked theme_______

EXERCISE 9

Characterization of Theme

The system of THEME belongs to the textual metafunction of the language. It is

concerned with the organization of information within individual clauses and, through
this, with the organization of the larger text. Thus the following versions of ‘the
same’clause – sized piece of information embody alternative THEME choices:

Your reporter repeatedly interrupted her replies.

Her replies were repeatedly interrupted by your reporter.

Repeatedly, your reporter interruped her replies

Every clause is organized as message relating to an unfolding text. The system of

THEME organizes the clause to show what its local context is in relation to the
general context of the text it serves in; the system is concerned with the current
point of the departure in relation to what has come before, so that it is clear where
the clause is located in the text- how its contributions fit in. This local context or
point of departure is called Theme. The rest of the message of the clause is what
is presented against the background of the local context- it is where the clause
moves after the point of departutre. This is called Rheme. The clause as message
is thus organized into Theme + Rheme.

Read the statements and underline A or B that is suitable to the content.

1. In terms of clause structure, Theme-Rheme organization belongs to A. Textual
matafunction/ B. Ideational metafunction
2. Alternative choice of Theme depends on the way of organizing information by A.
Listener or Reader / B. Speaker or Writer.
3. The ‘local context’ in this passage means: A the point of departure of the clause/B the
whole organization of the clause
4. The ‘general context’ in this passage means A the rest of the message of the clause/B
the whole clause
5. The Theme of the clause Your reporter repeatedly interrupted her replies is A. Your
reporter repeatedly / B. Your reporter
6. The Rheme of the clause Repeatedly, your reporter interruped her replies is A.
interruped her replies/ B. your reporter interruped her replies.
7. An unfolding text in the statement Every clause is organized as message relating to an
unfolding text means A. the clause being organized itself/ B. a larger text in which the
clause is organized.
8. The characterization of Theme can be A. The alterative choice of Theme to organize
the clause / B. The Rheme structure
9. From the three examples above, another way of choosing the theme can be: A. Her
replies interrupted your reporter repeatedly/B. Her replies your reporter repeatedly
interrupted.
10. Theme + Rheme structure expresses A. the textual meaning/B.Other types of meaning.

EXERCISE 10

Identify the boundary distinction between Theme and Rheme in the following
passages by giving the signal ∕ between them: For example:

1. Growing up in the English-speaking area of Montreal, a predominantly French-

speaking city/, I remember that until the age of seventeen, I only spoke English.
2. The Trump administration early Wednesday morning executed Lisa M. Montgomery,
the only woman on federal death row whose death marked the first federal execution
of a woman in nearly 70 years.
3. In pleas to spare her life, Ms. Montgomery’s supporters argued that a history of
trauma and sexual abuse that marred her life contributed to the circumstances that led
to the crime.
4. Despite a series of court orders that briefly blocked her execution, she was
pronounced dead at 1:31 a.m. at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind., the
Bureau of Prisons said in a statement
5. According to a spokesperson for the defense team, Ms. Montgomery was transported,
fully shackled, from a federal medical center in Texas to Terre Haute on Monday
night
6. Martin Luther King, was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.
7. In 1964, Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
8. His assassination on April 5, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, was mourned throughout
the world.
9. Gathering at the Lincoln Memorial, the throng heard Dr. King make the following
statement of his hopes for America.
10. As I see it, everyone is a potential linguist.
11. By that, I mean that everyone can be fluent in another language.