An Analysis on Information Focus its Represents of Syntax

邢璐

【Abstract】Language is a vector of information. Information focus is a process of conveying the important information which the speaker want to express to listeners. In different parts of the sentence， every constituent of the sentence has different functions. This discrepancy leads to different distribution of every part. In the perspective of position distribution， information focus has been divided into marked focus and unmarked focus. When we use language to convey information， speakers need to choose the proper language order according to the information. Sometimes， we even adjust syntax to represent the information focus.

【Key words】information focus； language structure； sentence； syntax

Ⅰ. Introduction

In the perspective of information transmission， language is a vector of information. When using language to make information transfer， the speakers need to form a information structure by using their information unit and then express in language. The information unit can be a tone group， a phrase， a clause or a sentence. The known information and the new information form up the information unit. The known information that the speakers regarded as recoverable information to the listeners. It is the information we mention in some context or something we are talking. The new information that the speakers regarded as unrecoverable information to the listeners. It is the information we dont mention or some unexpected information. Every sentence， whether long or short， has two parts—a point of departure and a goal of discourse. As for a point of departure， it refers to the common objects that both speakers and listeners know. It is the start of a sentence demonstrating its description known as main subject， the known information. The demonstrating subject includes new information. The information distribution of a sentence is the sentence information structure. Every English sentence has included different segments which possess the main information of the whole sentence. Any sentence that used to convey a sentence information has its own information structure. Language structure of different language order represents different information structure.

Ⅱ. The feature of Information Focus

In the process of communication， the speaker usually uses some linguistic means to transmit the information focus， such as speech means， word order means， lexical means and syntactic means and so on. When using language to make information transfer， the speakers need to form a information structure by using their information unit and then express in language.

The sentence order means that we extrude information focus through the adjustment of word order， including the preposition and retro position. The preposition of sentence can be used to express the effect of stress， highlight the information focus. Retro position is a way to move the sentence to the end in order to highlight the information focus. Lexical approach is mainly used to complete the function of some special words to achieve the focus of information. The syntactic approach is to use some sentence patterns to change the ingredients that are usually not the focus of information. We can use English to split sentences， passive sentences to achieve this purpose. In the passive sentence， the performer of the action is usually in the subject position， not the information center.

Ⅲ. Information Focus and its Represents

3.1 The definition of information focus

According to the research undertaken by the school thought of functional grammar， almost every sentence has a information focus. Firth， the founder of London functional grammar school， thinks language should be considered as a social process. Information focus has arouse more and more attentions in the linguistic circles. People research it from different perspectives and angles. In the perspective of semantics， the information focus refers to the important information that speakers think it could arouse attention or the key points. In the perspective of phonetic， the information focus refers to the unit of information prominence which combines one or more tone and tone nucleus. In the perspective of syntax， the information focus is represented by the elements that loaded much information.

How the speakers define information focus is decided by the speakers subjective attitude and the strength of the word expressions. In general， conveying the element of new information is easily to become the information focus. Hu Zhuanglin points out：“in order to extrude the new information， the speaker may rise their voices， especially saying some certain words， to arouse the attention.” However， this doesnt mean only new information could become an information focus， the known information could be the information focus either. In some certain context， speakers make a contrast in order to emphasize the know information.

3.2 The marked and unmarked information focus

In the distribution of sentence sequence， the position of information focus is not fixed or unchanged， it is flexible. Halliday has divided information focus into marked information focus and unmarked information focus according to the position that occur in the information unit. When using language to arrange information， speakers should put information focus to the end of an information focus because the transferring of the new information should based on the known information. The scholar thinks that the editing of a sentence follow the principle which comes from the unknown to the known. It is also known as the suffix focus principle. The information is much newer when nearing the end. In normal situations， the information structure of a sentence is the known information plus the new information. The information focus is the new information that occur in end of the information unit.

3.3 Ways of realizing Information Focus in Syntax

Quirk put forward two factors that can influence sentence order， one is end focus， the other is end weight， meaning that people likely to put the important information to the end.

In oral English， the speakers can emphasize the information focus by adjusting the word accent. Any part of the sentence could become a primary information focus by loading the main word accent. In writing English， speakers need to use some syntax ways to represent like adding focus mark word or adjust the sentence order to show the information focus.

Word order is also an important method to express information. The different word order can meet the different needs of expressing different information focus. To highlight the information focus， the speaker always needs to adjust the liner position of every component. In other words， the position of every component is effected by how important the information carried by each component is.

Ⅳ. Conclusion

Language is the carrier of information from the point of view of information transfer. In terms of the importance， there are differences among the contents carried by different components in a sentence. It is the difference that effects the position of different components in the linear distribution. Information focus carries the information which the speaker thought more important or need to attract the listeners attention. The information focus usually is new or known information used for contract. According to position distribution， information focus can be divided into unmarked information focus and marked information focus. Usually， the unmarked information focus is at the end of the information unit while the marked information focus is at the other positions of the sentence. The research of the focus of sentence information has provided a new information structure. However， this kind of information structure play an important role in maintain the discourse coherence. So， it is important to get to know the concept of information focus. It could help people have a better understanding of the important information of a sentence.

References：

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[3]Halliday.M.A.K.An Introduction to Functional Grammar[M].北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2000.

[4]Randolph Quirk.A Comprehensive Grammar of English Language，1985.

[5]李执桃.论英语语句的信息焦点[J].湖南：湘潭大学社会科学学报，2002.