Topic-Related Variation in Discourse: A Sociolinguistic Analysis

摘要 虽然大多数学者都认为“话题”可以定义为 “消息是关于什么的”，主题仍然是最少的一个 理解语言学中的概念。 的总目标 本研究旨在整合不同类型和层次的主题： 实体、命题、文本、演讲者和交互式主题。 的 方法将是分析语言使用的变化是如何 与主题有关。 重点将放在分句顺序的变化上 （在主句和从句之间），以及 参考术语，以及这些语言变体如何位于 话语和互动。 因为主题实现依赖于 社会性和表达性的交流过程， 作为参考，还将分析主题如何- 在从句顺序和指称方面的相关变化是 与说话者的社会身份（社会阶级和性别）有关。 该研究与以往的主题分析不同， 方法：1）研究目的是整合五种不同类型， （2）研究包括对 实体的信息状态以及主题状态， 命题; 3）语料在语篇方面呈现多样化 模式; 4）主题编码的话语本身是 分析; 5）研究探讨了社会差异， 主题编码。 该项目涉及主题、信息和 地位、语言变异、句法和语篇以及社会 语言使用上的差异。 这也对 变异理论和分析，以及我们对话语的理解 连贯性 最后，它将提供 社会语言学，并帮助调整 形式语言学和功能语言学的关注点。

ABSTRACT Although most scholars agree that "topic" may be defined as "what a message is about", topic is still one of the least understood concepts in linguistics. The general objective of this study is to integrate different types and levels of topic: entity, proposition, text, speaker, and interactive topics. The method will be to analyze how variation in language use is related to topic. The focus will be on variation in clause order (between main and subordinate clauses), and variation in referring terms, and how such linguistic variants are situated in discourse and interaction. Because topic realization depends on communicative processes that are social and expressive, as well as referential, there will also be an analysis of how topic- related variation in clause order, and in referring terms, is related to speakers' social identity (social class and gender). The study differs from past analyses of topic in several ways: 1) the study aims to integrate five different types and levels of topic; 2) the study includes an analysis of the information status, as well as the topic status, of entities and propositions; 3) the data are diversified in terms of discourse mode; 4) the discourse in which topics are encoded is itself analyzed; 5) the study examines social differences in the encoding of topic. The project is relevant to the study of topic, information status, linguistic variation, syntax and discourse, and social differences in language use. It also has implications for variation theory and analysis, and our understanding of discourse coherence. Finally, it will provide connections between interactional and correlational sociolinguistics, and help align the concerns of formal and functional linguistics.