Topicaliazation in the model of sentence formation

Abstract

This paper explains Chinese topicalization phenomena from the perspective of the process of sentence formation. We propose a presupposed flow chart model to show the process by which the speaker arranges information materials into a sentence and explain many kinds of topic phenomena on it. We consider that topic itself is a complex component which exists in many layers in the sentence formation process, so we can get several different points of view on it. The so called "topicalization" is the process in which topic emerges from the information layer to the functional layer, the syntactic forms layer and the phonology layer one by one. This model not only explains the phenomena of topic but also can provides a theoretical basis for natural language processing. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.