A01_RICH4603_04_SE_A01.QXD

the case of written word recognition). In sentence comprehensionor the

interpretation of an utterance, the lower level information is words, while

the higher level information includes knowledge of grammar, semantics,

and pragmatics. As applied to the full understanding of a novel, lower

level information consists of words and sentences, while higher level

information includes the reader’s previously existing knowledge of the

world, including cultural and moral values, scripts, schemas, and literary

genres.

see also comprehension, interactive processing

topic^1 n
what is talked about or written about. In different speech communities (see
speech community) there are different rules about what topics may or
may not be discussed. For example, in some communities, illness, death, a
person’s income, and a person’s age may be considered unsuitable topics
for conversation.

topic^2 n
in describing the information structure of sentences, a term for that
part of a sentence which names the person, thing, or idea about which
something is said (the comment). The concept of Topic and Comment is not
identical with subject andpredicate. Subject-Predicate refers to the
grammatical structure of a sentence rather than to its information structure
(see subject-prominent language). The difference is illustrated in the
following example:

topic

In some sentences in English, however, Topic-Comment and Subject-

Predicate are identical. For example:

Hilary is a dancer.

Subject Predicate

Topic Comment

topic^3 n
in composition, the general idea or theme which the whole passage is about,
often expressed in a phrase or sentence.
see topic sentence.