Thematic Structure (Psycholinguistics) Debora F Sinaga

NAME : Debora Friskila Sinaga
STUDENT’S ID : 2173121018
CLASS : DIK 17 D
LECTURER : Prof. Berlin Sibarani M.Pd
LECTURE : Psycholinguistics
THEMATIC STRUCTURE AND MENTAL PROCESS
The Identity of the Book:
Book’s title : The Giver

Author : Lois Lowry
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Company
ISBN : 0-553-57133-8
Year : 1993
Questions:
1. Find the sentences for each a) Given and New Information, b) Subject and Predicate, c)
Frame and Insert.
2. Explain those sentences from the perspective of (a), (b) and (c)
3. Find an article of Psycholinguistics researching (investigating) (a), (b), or (c), then explain
the mental process
Answers:
1. a) Given and New Information

1. The Committee of Elders was sitting together in a group
2. It was a man Jonas had never noticed before, a bearded man with pale eyes.
3. It was ten years ago, when Jonas was just a toddler
4. Jonas had been trained since earliest childhood
5. He was the Elder who had seemed separate from the others at the Ceremony
b) Subject and Predicate

1. Jonas has been selected to be our next Receiver of Memory
2. The audience was clearly ill at ease
3. Jonas has not been assigned
4. Jonas was identified as a possible Receiver many years ago.
5. He has shown all of the qualities that a Receiver must have
c) Frame and Insert

1. In a firm, commanding voice she announced
2. the Chief Elder told the audience
3. He felt fear flutter within him
4. A silence fell over the room
5. A click indicated that the door had been unlatched
2. Explanation of the perspective of a,b, and c.

a) Given and New Information
1. The Committee of Elders was sitting together in a group
 Given Information : someone was sitting together in a group
 New Information : that someone is The Committee of Elders
2. It was a man Jonas had never noticed before, a bearded man with pale eyes.
 Given Information : someone that has beard with pale eyes
 New Information : that someone Jonas had never noticed before
3. It was ten years ago, when Jonas was just a toddler

 Given Information : when Jonas was just a toddler
 New information : It was ten years ago
4. Jonas had been trained since earliest childhood
 Given Information : someone who had been trained since earliest childhood
 New Information : that someone is Jonas
5. He was the Elder who had seemed separate from the others at the Ceremony
 Given Information : someone who had seemed separate from the others at the
Ceremony
 New Information : that someone is the Elder
b) Subject and Predicate
1. Jonas has been selected to be our next Receiver of Memory

 Subject : The speakers wants to talk about the Jonas
Predicate : something happens to him.
Or
 Subject: : I have a fact that I want you to remember about Jonas:
Predicate : he has been selected
2. The audience was clearly ill at ease

 Subject : The speakers wants to talk about the audience
Predicate : something happens to them
Or
 Subject : I have a fact that I want you to remember about the audience:
Predicate : they was clearly ill at ease
3. Jonas has not been assigned

 Subject : The speakers wants to talk about Jonas
Predicate : something he did
Or
 Subject : I have a fact that I want you to remember about Jonas:
Predicate : he has not been assigned
4. Jonas was identified as a possible Receiver many years ago.

 Subject : The speakers wants to talk about Jonas
Predicate : something happens to him
Or
 Subject : I have a fact that I want you to remember about Jonas:
Predicate : He was identified as a possible Receiver many years ago
5. He has shown all of the qualities that a Receiver must have

 Subject : The speakers wants to talk about Him
Predicate : something he did
Or
 Subject : I have a fact that I want you to remember about him:
Predicate : he has shown all of the qualities that a Receiver must have
c) Frame and Insert
1. In a firm commanding voice she announced

 Frame : In a firm
Point of departure : Being on the firm
 Insert : commanding voice she announced
2. the Chief Elder told the audience

 Frame : The Chief Elder
Point of departure : The Chief Elder himself
 Insert : told the audience
3. A little weight off this old body

 Frame : A little weight
Point of departure : Weight of the old man
 Insert : off this old body
4. A silence fell over the room

 Frame : A silence
Point of departure : A quite situation
 Insert : fell over the room
5. A click indicated that the door had been unlatched

 Frame : A click
Point of departure : A sign that the door unlatched
 Insert : indicated that the door had been unlatched
3. Article of Psycholinguistics researching (investigating) (a), (b), or (c), and then

explain the mental process
 Identity of Journal
Journal’s title : Thematic Structure in Barack Obama’s Press Conference:
A Systemic Functional Grammar Study
The research : Theme and Rheme
Publisher : Australian International Academic Centre
Author : Heri Kuswoyo
ISBN : 2203-4714
Year : 2016
Volume, No : 7, No. 2
 The Result
For sure, it’s so hard to find three of the topics that asked to find, but finally I found
this article, titled ”Thematic Structure in Barack Obama’s Press Conference: A Systemic
Functional Grammar Study.” This article is investigated “theme and rheme” in Barack
Obama’s press confrence. The author said this article method and technique using an
analytic descriptive.
The reason why the author chooses the presidential press conference as the data
source is because even there are many other researchers who have examined under a variety
of labeling including, speech, campaign, debate, etc. The framework of the presidential
press conferences involves an aspect which is important to be analyzed since it is one of the
most important vehicles by which presidents communicate to the media and public. In the
background of the study, the researcher has explained that he will only focus on the textual
meaning which organizes the text itself.
So, it can be point out that textual meaning is expressed by thematic structure (the
identity of theme, what we are talking about, and rheme, what we are saying about it).
Halliday (1994:37) stated that Prague school of linguists use the term ‘Theme’ as the label
for this function. The theme is the element which serves as the point of departure of the
message; it is that which the clause is concerned. The reminder of the message, the part in
which the theme is developed, is called in Prague school terminology the rheme, for
example: The duke (theme) has given my aunt that teapot (rheme). According to the
example above, the theme can be identified as that element which comes in first position in
the clause.
There are are five kinds of theme-rheme or thematic progression found in Barack
Obama’s press conference. But I just put two of them become the examples.
Firstly, Constant Theme Pattern. The theme of one clause is shared as the theme of the
clauses following it. This type also presents the reader with the given information acts as the
themes throughout the clauses while rheme presents new information. This pattern can be
drown as follows:
Theme 1 Rheme 1
(the example) Noam Chomsky, author of Aspects of the Theory of syntax, revolutionized
linguistics.
Secondly, Linear Theme Pattern. In this type the idea introduced in the rheme of each
clauses or the rheme becomes the theme of the next utterance. In another words, the rheme
of one clause is taken up as the theme of the subsequent clause.
Theme 1 Rheme 1
Theme 2 Rheme 2
(the example) The museum is located in the centre of town near the square. This square is a
common destination of tourist buses.
Barack Obama only uses one kind of element of interpersonal theme, that is modal adjunct
(I though, ironically and even). And the function is to express the speaker’s judgment
regarding the content of the message.
Now, the question is What mental process is happening in the speaker’s mind to ……
while producing language. (Assess what a listener know and to fit his language to the
listener (Given and New), Suit himself, telling what he wants to discuss (subject-Predicate),
Orient the listener to a particular area (Frame and Insert)). Well, I think the mental process
that happened is Cognitive processes, it is higher mental processes, such as perception,
memory, language, problem solving, and abstract thinking. Where those three activities
needs speaker’s perception and abstract thinking where they can fit his language to the
listeners, suit himself (to tell what he wants to discuss to the listeners), and speaker’s orient
his listeners to a particular area of knowledge to give them a point of departure for the
sentence.

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NAME : Debora Friskila Sinaga

LECTURER : Prof. Berlin Sibarani M.Pd

THEMATIC STRUCTURE AND MENTAL PROCESS

The Identity of the Book:

Book’s title : The Giver

1. a) Given and New Information

b) Subject and Predicate

c) Frame and Insert

2. Explanation of the perspective of a,b, and c.

3. It was ten years ago, when Jonas was just a toddler

b) Subject and Predicate

1. Jonas has been selected to be our next Receiver of Memory

2. The audience was clearly ill at ease

3. Jonas has not been assigned

4. Jonas was identified as a possible Receiver many years ago.

5. He has shown all of the qualities that a Receiver must have

c) Frame and Insert

1. In a firm commanding voice she announced

2. the Chief Elder told the audience

3. A little weight off this old body

4. A silence fell over the room

5. A click indicated that the door had been unlatched

3. Article of Psycholinguistics researching (investigating) (a), (b), or (c), and then

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