The Functional Sentence Perspective Method (FSP)

The syntactic structure of a sentence is in part determined by the communicative function of its constituents, that is the FSP. The FSP method studies an objective distribution of information among the elements of the sentence, the actual division of a sentence (актуальное членение предложения) into the theme and the rheme. The Greek terms “the theme” and “the rheme”, which replaced the earlier terms “the logical subject” and “the logical predicate”, allow scholars to avoid wrong associations. The FSP method also describes the interrelations between the grammatical structure of a sentence and its functional organization, its communicative dynamism. This method also distinguishes the system of means to thematize and rhematize sentence elements and varieties of word order.

The first element of a sentence, which is usually the subject, carries thematic, i.e. known, familiar information, the final elements (predicates, objects, adverbial modifiers, carry rhematic, i.e. new or important information. In other words, the thematic elements tend to the beginning of the sentence, while the rhematic elements strive to the end.

We distinguish several communicative varieties of word order: 1. thematic wordorder, which can be rendered by the model theme – transition – rheme (John has written a letter, where John is the theme and a letter is the rheme); 2. rhematic non-emotive word order , rendered by the model rheme – transition - theme (A woman entered the room). The indefinite article is a signal of new information); 3. rhematic emotive word order, also rendered by the model rheme –transition – theme (Strange his wife was to him). Normally the predicate and predicatives do not precede the subject, but if they do, they become rhematic.

We can rhematize the subject 1. by putting it in the final position by inversion (Followed a complete silence.);2. by turning an active construction into a passive one ( A letter was written by John); 3. by ttransforming a simple sentence into a complex one with a complement clause( It’s John who has written a letter).

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