Embedded Topic in French

Subject and Topic 2026 Book chapter

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Authors: Larry M. Hyman, Karl E. Zimmer
DOI: 10.4324/9781003766667-7
Cited by: 1

Abstract

In Hawkinson and Hyman (1974) four general strategies were illustrated which are used in the encoding and decoding of topical information: 1) word order (topical information usually comes early in the sentence); 2) case (topical information is usually associated with the more animate cases); 3) person (first and second persons are more topical or “topicworthy” than third person human, which is more topicworthy than third person non-human); and 4) definiteness (topical information is more likely to be definite rather than indefinite). Of course, these are only general tendencies, and it should not be surprising to find counterexamples to one or more of the above.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Syntax Semantics Linguistic Variation Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism Language Development and Disorders

Publication details

Journal / source
Subject and Topic
Publisher
Routledge
Pages
189–211
Publication date
22 April 2026
Language
EN
Document type
Book chapter