Reserch On Subject, Topic And Other Related Grammatical Problems In Modern Chinese From A Point Of View Of Systemic-Functional Grammar

Based on the domestic theory of the Three Dimensions, this thesis deals with some grammatical problems on Subject, Topic and other related objects in Modern Chinese by employing the foreign theory of Halliday's Systemic-Functional Grammar for reference, and also puts forward some new viewpoints in the following aspects: the methods of sentence analysis, the institution of syntactic constituents, the methods of determining Subject of Chinese, the methods of determining Topic of Chinese, the correlation between Subject and Topic of Chinese, and the institution of the system of semantic roles, etc.On the methods of analysing sentences, this thesis employs the Ranked Constituent Analysis of Halliday's theory to avoid the disadvantages of the Immediate Constituent Analysis which has still been widely applied today.On the institution of syntactic constituents, this thesis examines the difference between syntactic constituents and phrasal constituents, then adopts such terms of syntactic constituents as Subject, Predicator, Complement, Adjunct and Isolate.On determining Subject of Chinese, this thesis differentiates between primary structure and derivative structure, and then, from the point of Constitutional Grammar, explains that the syntactic function ,with which the constituents appears in a primary structure, can project to derivative structure by metaphor. By this way,the thesis correlates primary structure and derivative structure. This thesis also points out that not only the form but meaning should be taken into account; and that the predicator in a sentence (the verb or adjective as Predicate) should be considered as a basis. In the light of theses points, the thesis proposes an optional sequence of semantic roles to determine the Subject in a mutiple NPs sentence whereby every mutiple NPs sentence may be analysed as having only one Subject.On determining Topic of Chinese, this thesis differentiates between Topic and Given, between textual Topic, interpersonal Topic and transitivity Topic.This thesis specifies the relation between Subject, Topic and Agent in some typical controversial sentences.This thesis also contends that the system of semantic roles may be divided up into two parts: the superordinate system and subordinate system. Based on this division, the thesis constructs a superordinate semantic system for identifying Subject and a subordinate semantic system for analyzing semantic structure on semantic dimension.