A Study On The Topic Structure In The Analects

Topic structure of The Analects is researched comprehensively and systematically in this project and there are eight chapters.Chapter1 summarizes the past results of research on Topic, then introduces the following aspects:reasons for choosing this subject matter; theoretic backgrounds of the research; thinking clues and contents of the research; the purpose and significance of the research; the materials and methods for the research and the creating points of this project.Chapter2 discusses the basis of research on Topics in The Analects, which is the theory of Prototypic Topic. This kind of theory identifies Topic in terms of hierarchical features, getting out of the deadlock of distinguishing forcibly between Topic and Subject. Under that theoretic background, this project delimits concept of Topic and classifies Topics in The Analects into unmarked and marked, while making clear the Topic identification principle and eliciting related problems in Topic research.Chapter3 focuses on the forming of Topic in The Analects. Topic in The Analects has two general types which are unmarked and marked. The total number of unmarked topic and marked topic is 998, and 376 of which are unmarked topic. The unmarked topics have two sources:antecedent and anaphor. The other 622 marked topics also have two sources: the marking of topic mark (topic mark includes enclitic, proclitic, preposition, verb and adjective) and syntactic structure mark (syntactic structure includes movement structure, Chinese topic structure, structure of temporal and location word when in the beginning of a sentence, frame topic structure, class and member frame structure, subject and predicate inversion structure, passive structure, comparative structure and co-ordinate structure). Topic in The Analects mostly distributes more in mono-topic structure than in poly-topic structure, downgraded topic structure and embedded structure. Topic mainly refers to class structure (pronoun, noun and nominal structure) and it has singular structure type, but has strong tendency to be topic. Declarative class structure (verb and its structure, adjective and its structure, subject and predicate structure, hypothetical clause, compound sentence, sentential cluster) has a variety of types but with little quantity, and has weak tendency to be Topic.Chapter4 investigates the features of Topic in The Analects. Topic in The Analects has distinct characteristic in syntax, semantic and information. Syntactic features are (1) with preposing property, that is, some non-preposing topics are either pragmatic phenomenon or results forced by syntax; (2) sharing, that is to say, different from the modern Chinese sharing way of "from nominal group to pronoun and to zero", the sharing way of Topic in The Analects are primarily "from nominal group to zero"; (3) with mark. The marks of topic in The Analects can be classified into three types:enclitic mark, proclitic mark and conjunctive mark; (4) elliptability. Some topic could be elided according to the context or when the same topic already presents itself in the beginning or end of the sentence. These kinds of topics manifest "the most predictability". Topic in The Analects can be classified semantically from two perspectives. Firstly, it can be classified as definite topic, generic topic and referized topic from the perspective of reference. Definite topic are primarily proper noun, while generic topic are principally common noun. Referized topic belongs to definite topic because it can be back-referred by demonstrative pronoun and added with demonstrative pronoun and head. Secondly, Topic in The Analects can be classified into argument topic and non-argument topic from the perspective of argument. Argument topic includes agent topic, patient topic, causer topic, theme topic, dative topic. Non-arugment topic includes (1) topic which is genitive of a certain argument of predicate; (2) topic which is peripheral component; (3) no semantic selective relation between topic and predicate. Type 1 is closely related to predicate, and type 2 less, and type 3 least. The information feature of topic in The Analects is that topic is given. The given information includes two types which are respectively common information known by the speaker and the listener and related information mentioned by the text.Chapter5 discusses the topic chain in The Analects. We present two propositions:1. The Zero Anaphora(ZA) at subject position is ambiguous, and they can be classified into ZA1 and ZA2. ZA1 connects the clauses and forms the topic chain; ZA2 equals to third person pronouns.2. The clause cluster connected by anaphora pronouns not at subject position should be considered to be a topic chain. On the basis of these two propositions above and referring to the achievements already, we defined the topic chain in The Analects as below:A topic chain is a basic functional unit to construct texts on the basis of homogeneity, and it is a clause cluster which is connected by at least two clauses. The clause cluster is connected by ZA at the subject position, and by ZA or PA at other positions. ZA, PA, and NA have the co-referential relation. There may be some sub chains being led by other topics embedded within a topic chain.All kinds of connecting ways will have influences on the construction of topic chains, and the order according to their influences is as follows:ZA(subject position/jianyu position)> PA/ZA(object position)> PA/ZA(attribute position)The topic chains in The Analects are basic functional units of the construction of the texts and have very important textual functions. The topic chains mainly appeared in the main body of the texts conveying the core information and with the function of stating its original topic and introducing the new topic; some topic chains appeared in the background parts of the texts with the function of supplementing the peripheral information for the texts'main body.The topic chain group refers to the combination of several topic chains which are connected by third person pronouns at subject position or ZA2 and used to state the same topic. The topic chain group is a higher functional unit of text than topic chain. It has stronger function of statement and can provide more information than that of topic chain.Chapter6 analyses the four basic forms for the topic progression of The Analects, including:topic's continuity, topic's extension, topic's shift and topic's return. The development of the texts in The Analects mainly relied on these four forms and their comprehensive uses, i.e. topic's comprehensive progression. The texts constructed by these forms take up over half part of the independent texts in The Analects, which proves that topic progression plays a key role in the development of texts of The Analects However, other devices are also needed to be used in order to make the texts develop more fully and form larger texts. Using independent clauses with no topic structures is the main device. The independent clauses have the function of starting, developing and ending. They are combined with the forms of topic progression, which can enhance the relationship within the text and form the whole structure of the text. The larger the text is, the more the independent clauses are relied on.Chapter7 explores topicalization in The Analects. Topicalization involves in components displacement, has nothing to do with the topic unmarked and only a portion of marked topic are derived from topicalization. The implementation means can be expressed as:S'→X+S [... Y...]. topicalization in The Analects has two ways of realization:1.Placement of ingredient in sentence-initial position plus topic marker; 2.Composition shift. The former is more topical than the latter is. Topics of topicalization in The Analects are distributed in three structures:mono-topic structure, multi-topic structure and degraded topic structure. The motivation of topicalization are to highlight the topic.As follows:1.cohesion and coherence in discourse;2. highlighting information center of the discourse;3. providing spatial and temporal framework of the incident;4. following principle of linear modificaton and principle of one-new-concept constraint.Chapter8 gives some conclusions:summarizing the basic conclusions of this project;indicating creating points of this project;pointing out the insufficient respects and looking forward to the future research.The main creating points of this project are as follows:1.discussing systematically topic of The Analects from the perspective of discourse firstly.2.Pointing out the choice relationship of topic and sentence type:topic can appear in the declarative, exclamatory, and interrogative sentences in which interrogatives are not in sentence-initial position; topic cannot appear in the interrogative sentences in which interrogatives are in sentence-initial position and the imperative.3.Claiming that the Zero Anaphora(ZA) at subject position is ambiguous.They can be classified into ZA1 and ZA2. ZA1 connects the clauses and forms the topic chain; ZA2 equals to third person pronouns.4.Claiming that the clause cluster connected by anaphora pronouns not at subject position should be considered to be a topic chain.5.Defining topic chain in The Analects, putting forward concept of "topic chain group".Theoretical and practical value of the paper is:1.Putting modern topic theory and The Analects corpus together,doing closed-research, outlining the basic outlook of topic structure in The Analects,supplying reference and research information for further research on topic structure of the ancient Chinese.2.Supplying evidence for examining similarities and differences between topic structure of ancient Chinese and that of modern Chinese. This peper shows, the topic theory from modern Chinese basically is applied to The Analects, but lacks of generalizing ability in some ways.It reflects the specificity of The Analects as the pre-Qin Chinese.3.Supplying evidence of Ancient Chinese corpora for view of topic priority in Chinese. The view of topic priority is based on the whole Chinese, but the corpus is only limited to modern Chinese, which inevitably lack of foundation. This paper proves that corpora of The Analects support the view of topic priority in Chinese by comparing frequency of topic with that of subject in The Analects,which gives a more support for typological view of topic priority in Chinese.