Thematic and Information Structures
Thematic and Information Structures
In this paper, I pretend to show how the information is presented in two different languages, English and Spanish. I have used three texts in order to get more features for comparison.
.How Life Begins
Se ha determinado en varios animales el tiempo que necesita el espermatozoide para alcanzar el óvulo y fecundarlo. EN el ser humano se calcula en unaa dos o tres horas. Más o menos una de cada diez, la mujer deposita dos óvulos, productores potenciales de mellizos no idénticos si ambos son fecuandados. Hay constancia de dos casos extraordinarios en que tales mellizos no eran del mismo padre, lo cual se comprobó fácilmente porque los padres eran de origen étnico diferente. En otras ocasiones un óvulo fecuandado, como resultado de alguna circunstancia desconocida dentro de la célula, da origen a dos embriones en lugar de uno, caso en que se desarrollarán dos gemelos idénticos.
The time required for the sperm to reach the egg and bring about fertilization has been determined in various animals. In the human it is estimated at some two or three hours. About one time in ten, a woman will deposit two egs, potential producers of nonindetical twins if both are ferlilized. There are records os two extraordinary cases were such twins did not have the same father-readily checked since the fathers were of different racial origin. At other times one fertilized egg, as the result of some unknown condition within the cell, will develop two embryos instead of one-in which case there will be identical twins.
The first thing that has to be commented upon is the different implications of the beginning sentence in both versions.
The structure found in Spanish (PS) is the inversal one in English (SP). That involves that the theme is distinct in each case. We can say that the Spanish sentence corresponds with the translation of an English pattern of extraposition. When we find cases of extraposition a clausal subject or object is moved to end position and its place is occupied by a pronoun. Obviously, the subject is not obligatory in Spanish, instead we find the marker ...
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The first thing that has to be commented upon is the different implications of the beginning sentence in both versions.
The structure found in Spanish (PS) is the inversal one in English (SP). That involves that the theme is distinct in each case. We can say that the Spanish sentence corresponds with the translation of an English pattern of extraposition. When we find cases of extraposition a clausal subject or object is moved to end position and its place is occupied by a pronoun. Obviously, the subject is not obligatory in Spanish, instead we find the marker of the "pasiva refleja", "se", which is more frequent than the usual English passive.
According to the principle of end weight the Spanish sentence seems to be more advisable. Therefore, the focus is also distinguished. In the second version, the focus is placed in various animals and it builds a pattern in which the rheme has become the theme and the information is more related.
In both texts, the adverbials "in human" and the time adverbials "at other times" and "about one time in ten" are fronted, that's to say, they have been moved to initial position becoming the theme. That gives higher communicative value to the fronted element, in this case the important topic is the time so it's logical that they receive the focus. Consequently, we find a major parallelism of themes in the English version.
Another case of "pasiva refleja" can be seen in the second sentence, "it is estimated/ se calcula." In English the object comes to be the visible subject of the passive while in Spanish it has not why appear. In this way, Spanish is more economical because although less cohesive, it eliminates the given and inferable information.
In both texts, the existential clauses allow the speakers to produce utterances where all information is relatively new. They are employed to maintain end-focus, end-weight and keep the progression from given to new information.
2.The Prick of a Needle
Los expertos en acupuntura pueden advertir un ataque al corazón meses antes de que la más refinada técnica occidental logre apreciar algún síntoma.
Con un juego de agujas se ataja el agudo dolor de la jaqueca, se remedia la artritis, finalizan las torturas del ulceroso del estómago y se llevan a cabo operaciones de cirugía mayor.
Experts can use acupuncture to diagnose killer Herat disease-months before the most delicate Western instruments would notice anything wrong at all.
They can end the blinding pain of migraine headaches, cure arthritis, stop the agony of a stomach ulcer a d carry out major operations. All with no more equipment than a set of needles, and the rules laid down in the world's oldest medical textbook.
In the second paragraph the question that is highlighted is who or what is the remedy. In the Spanish version the focus is placed upon " con un juego de agujas" , the adverbial of instrument is fronted. In the English version the adverbial appears in the second sentence and the theme is unmarked being realized by they ( the experts).
3.Send it by Bottle
A pesar de su fragilidad, una botella bien cerrada es uno de los objetos más marineros del mundo. Flota con seguridad en medio de tempestades capaces de hundir trasatlánticos, y el vidrio de que esta hecha, resulta prácticamente eterno. En 1954 se rescataron 18 botellas de un barco hundido 250 años antes, cerca de la costa británica. El licor que contenian era irreconocible, pero las botellas estaban como nuevas.
Es imposible predecir la dirección de una botella. De dos botellas que se lanzaron simultáneamente junto a la costa de Brazil, una derivo hacia el este y al cabo de 130 días fue hallada en una playa africana, la otra se dirigió hacia el noroeste y a los 190 días llegó a Nicaragua.
Fragile as it is, a web-sealed bottle is one of the world's most seaworthy objects. It will bob safely through hurricanes that can sink great ships. And for most practical purposes glass lasts forever. In 1954, 18 bottles were salvaged from a ship sink 250 years before off the English coast. The liquor in them was unrecognisable, but the bottles were good as new.
It is impossible to predict the direction a bottle will take. Of two bottles dropped together off the Brazilian coast, one drifted east for 130 days and was found on a beach in Africa; the other floated northwest for 190 days, reaching Nicaragua.
In the first sentence the Spanish text seems to be more noticeable, a Cs is more effective appearing in initial position than an adverbial, the second case can be considered more marked. The 3rd sentence also remarks more 18 bottles because the passive helps to place the focus on the object while the Spanish passive has avoided to put the subject in the first place.
From these texts, we can compare extraposition in both languages. As it has been explained before, extraposition implies that the element removed to end position is replaced by a pronoun. In Spanish we don't find this replacement.
