http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11956/96203 Issue 1 2026-04-12T22:56:35Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11956/97139 Linearity in functional sentence perspective: the strength of the weak factor Smolka, Vladislav When the theory of Functional Sentence Perspective (FSP) is applied to English, the linear arrangement of clause constituents is considered the weakest of the four factors indicating the distribution of communicative dynamism over a sentence, following the contextual factor, the semantic factor and, in spoken language, the prosodic prominence. The relative weakness of linearity as an FSP factor results from the limited positional mobility of clause constituents in English, where the position of an element in the sentence primarily indicates its syntactic function. However, the linear distribution of clause constituents may sometimes override the other factors and become the principal indicator of FSP. In such cases, the importance of linearity is signalled by the choice of an arrangement that is normally dispreferred because it conflicts with the usual wordorder principles. These deviations from the usual word order include, for example, movement of a constituent from its usual position and instances of flouting the principle of end-weight. This paper explores the range of structures where linearity overrides the other FSP factors and the conditions under which it can assert itself as the leading indicator of FSP. 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11956/97037 Tough-constructions and the issue of thematicity: a study of the word easy in 17th and 18th century English Popelíková, Jiřina This article presents an analysis of tough-constructions (TCs) which attempts to describe the formal syntactic properties of these constructions in light of their functional sentence perspective (FSP). It has been suggested by Quirk et al. (1985), Mair (1989) and Biber et al. (1999) that the usage of TCs appears to be motivated, inter alia, by the information structure of the sentence’s content, i.e. the ordering of individual clause elements in such a way that the linear arrangement complies with, or at least closely imitates, the natural progression of an utterance from what is circumstantially given to what is immediately new. TCs, therefore, are expected to be favoured in situations when the noun phrase in the position of their subject is functionally thematic, containing a piece of information that has already been mentioned in the previous discourse. The present study is based on the data obtained from the Old Bailey Proceedings and Ordinary’s Accounts published between the years 1675 and 1775. 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11956/96935 Textual roles of two forms of rhematic subjects: initial rhematic subjects vs. subjects rhematized by it-clefts Dušková, Libuše The paper discusses two realization forms of rhematic subjects, initial rhematic subjects construed with a presentation verb and an optional scene-setting adverbial, and rhematic subjects in the underlying form of cleft-constructions. The two forms are examined from the viewpoint of their potential synonymy, the points in focus being their FSP features with respect to their assignment to the dynamic semantic scale and their textual roles. The aim of the paper is to find out to what extent the two constructions of rhematic subjects are differentiated or exchangeable. 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11956/96523 Creating a system of annotation for FSP Chamonikolasová, Jana; Adam, Martin; Headlandová Kalischová, Irena; Drápela, Martin; Stehlíková, Lenka The article presents the recent initiative of the authors of the article to prepare the ground for setting up a corpus of texts annotated from the viewpoint of Functional Sentence Perspective (FSP). The authors are followers of Jan Firbas’s approach to information structure, who have carried out a parallel analysis of a text of fiction in search of concepts within the FSP theory that need elaboration. The article outlines the discrepancies between different interpretations of selected phenomena within the text and suggests a refinement of some FSP concepts. It presents a simple FSP tagging system, which allows the annotation of FSP functions and degrees of communicative dynamism carried by communicative units. 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z