Thematic Development in English and Translated Academic Texts

Jalilifar, Alireza

doi:10.22425/jul.2009.10.1.81

J. Univers. Lang. 2009; 10(1):81-111

pISSN: 1598-6381

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22425/jul.2009.10.1.81

Article

Thematic Development in English and Translated Academic Texts

Alireza Jalilifar ¹

Author Information & Copyright ▼

¹Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz

Copyright ⓒ 2016, Sejong University Language Research Institue. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published Online: Jan 01, 2017

Abstract

Thematic organization and thematic progression play crucial roles in the message function of language. An important question is how translators deal with these thematic choices as textual devices when a text is translated into another language. Few studies have unfortunately brought their significance into focus. The present study, therefore, investigates thematic development and progression in English academic texts and their translations in Persian. The corpus is selected from the first three pages of the first chapters of nine English applied linguistics books and their translation versions. These books are currently taught in the Iranian universities at undergraduate and graduate levels. Applying Halliday’s (1994) thematic organization and McCabe’s (1999) thematic progression, the study reveals significant differences in the original texts and their translations regarding thematic schemes. The study concludes that both authors and translators must be conscious of these tools in order to use them effectively and create more cohesive texts.

Keywords: theme; rheme; thematic organization; thematic progression; translation

REFERENCES

Akmajian, A. et al. 1995. Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

Bahrami, A. 2003. Zabanshenasi: Daramadi bar zaban va ertebat. Tehran: Rahnama.

Bahrami, A. 2005. Rooykardha va raveshha dar aamoozeshe zaban. Tehran: Rahnama.

Bloor, T. & M. Bloor. 1995. The Functional Analysis of English: A Hallidayan Approach. London: Arnold.

Brown, H. 2000. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. London: Longman.

Brown, G. & G. Yule. 1983. Discourse Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Chastain, K. 1988. Developing Second-Language Skills: Theory and Practice. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Fahim, M. 2002. Osoole yadgiri va aamoozeshe zaban. Tehran: Rahnama.

Fahim, M. & M. Haqqani. 2005. Osool va fonoone aamoozeshe zaban. Tehran: Rahnama.

10.

Falk, J. 1978. Linguistics and Language: A Survey of Basic Concepts and Implications. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

11.

Freeman, D. 2000. Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

12.

Fries, P. 1995. Themes, Methods of Development, and Texts. In R. Hasan & P. Fries (eds.), On Subject and Theme: A Discourse Functional Perspective 317-359. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

13.

Ghadessy, M. 1995. Thematic Development and Its Relationship to Registers and Genres. In M. Ghadessy (ed.), Thematic Development in English Texts 129-146. London: Pinter.

14.

Ghadessy, M. 1999. Thematic Organization in Academic Article Abstracts. Estudios Ingleses de la Universidad Complutense 7, 141-161.

15.

Gomez, M. 1994. The Relevance of Theme in the Textual Organization of BBC News reports. World Journal 19(3), 293- 305.

16.

Green, C. et al. 2000. The Incidence and Effects on the Coherence of Marked Theme in Interlanguage Texts: A Corpus Based Study. Journal of English for Specific Purposes 19, 99-113.

17.

Halliday, M. 1985. An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold.

18.

Halliday, M. 1994. An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold.

19.

Halliday, M. & R. Hassan. 1985. Language, Context, and Text: Aspect of Language in a Social Semiotic Perspective. Australia: Deakin University Press.

20.

Matthiessen, C. & M. Halliday. 1997. Systemic Functional Grammar: A First Step into the Theory. Retrieved 18 April 2007. Available at URL <http://minerva.ling.mq.edu.au >.

21.

Martinez, I. 2003. Aspects of Theme in the Method and Discussion Sections of Biology Journal Articles in English. Journal of English for Academic Purpose 2, 103-123.

22.

Matthiessen, C. 2004. Descriptive Motifs and Generalizations. In A. Caffarel et al. (eds.), Language Functional Perspective 537-673. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

23.

McCabe, A. 1999. Theme and Thematic Patterns in Spanish and English History Texts. Retrieved 9 July 2007. Available at URL <http://www. wagsoft.com/systemics/archive/McCabe.phd>.

24.

Munday, J. 2001. Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications. London: Routledge.

25.

Noormohammadi, M. 1999. Gostareshe maharat haye aamoozeshe zabane dovvom. Tehran: Rahnama.

26.

Noormohammadi, M. 2003. Barrasiye zaban. Tehran: Rahnama.

27.

North, S. 2005. Disciplinary Variation in the Use of Theme in Undergraduate Essays. Journal of Applied Linguistics 26(3), 431-452.

28.

Ping, A. 2003. Theme as Constructing Force. Journal of Language and Linguistics 2(2), 1-14.

29.

Ravelli, J. 2004. Signaling the Organization of Written Texts: Hyper-Themes in Management and History Essays. In J. Ravelli & R. Ellis (eds.), Analyzing Academic Writing: Contextualized Frameworks 104-130. London: Continuum.

30.

Richards, J. & T. Rodgers. 2001. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

31.

Ventola, E. 1995. Thematic Development and Translation. In M. Ghadessy (ed.), Thematic Development in English Text 85-104. London: Pinter.

32.

Wang, L. 2007. Theme and Rheme in the Thematic Organization of Text: Implication for Teaching Academic Writing. Asian EFL Journal 9(1), 1-11.

33.

Whittaker, R. 1995. Theme, Process and the Relation of Meaning in Academic Articles. In M. Ghadessy (ed.), Thematic Development in English Text 105-128. London: Pinter.

34.

Williams, I. 2005. Thematic Items Referring to Research and Researchers in the Discussion Section of Spanish Biomedical Articles and English-Spanish Translation. International Journal of Translation 51(2), 124-160.

35.

Yule, G. 1996. The Study of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

36.

Zhou, Y. 2006. The Interpersonal Metafunction and Theme in English and Chinese Advertisement Texts. US-China Foreign Language 4(5), 46-50.