Advances in Role and Reference Grammar

A SYNOPSIS OF ROLE AND REFERENCE GRAMMAR 23

Halliday (1967, 1984), Horn (1986), Jackendoff (1972), Kuno (1972a,b,
1975) and Prince (1981a,b), among others. The approach taken here will
build upon Kempson's (1975) reformulations of Grice's conversational
maxims and Lambrecht's (1986, 1987, 1988, in preparation) theory of infor­
mation structure.

2.2 Topic and focus

In his theory of information structure, Lambrecht identifies TOPIC and FOCUS

as the two primary information statuses that referring expressions may have

in an utterance. These terms will be used as labels for discourse-pragmatic

functions only and not for the structural positions in which they may be

manifested. He defines "topic" as that entity which the sentence or proposi­

tion is about." (1986:84 [emphasis in original])^13 Two very important points

are first, not every utterance has a topic, and second, the topic element

need not be the first element in a sentence. These set Lambrecht's theory

off from others, e.g. the Prague School, in which topic is identified with a

particular position in a sentence. There is a direct and fundamental

relationship between the element functioning as topic and the pragmatic

presupposition associated with a sentence. Lambrecht characterizes it as

follows:

What must be presupposed in the case of a topic is not the topic itself, nor

its referent, but the status of the topic referent as a possible center of

interest or matter of concern in the conversation...[T]he topic referent is

active or accessible in the discourse... [T]he topic is contained in the prag­

matic presupposition or is an element of the pragmatic presupposition.

(1986:102)

Lambrecht (1988) gives the following definitions of pragmatic presupposi­

tion and assertion:

Pragmatic presupposition', the proposition or set of propositions which the

speaker assumes the hearer considers true (believes, knows) and is aware

of at the time of utterance and which is relevant in the context of utter­

ance.

Assertion', the proposition which is added to or superimposed on the prag­

matic presupposition by an utterance.(1988:1)

The focus of an utterance is the part that is asserted in a declarative utter­

ance or questioned in an interrogative utterance.