AJB_FSP1 Functional Sentence Perspective 1

Faculty of Education
Spring 2009
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Martin Adam, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Renata Povolná, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Contact Person: Jana Popelková
Prerequisites
Completion of FUKS course.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The seminar offers a systematic survey of the theory of functional sentence perspective (FSP). Students are gradually introduced teh principles of the functional approach towards linguistic analysis of writtent text on the basis of FSP as founded and developed by its 'father', Professor Jan Firbas. The theoretical input is demonstrated on the material of authentic examples, presented in charts of FSP analysis. Key terms: theme, rheme, communicative dynamism, distributional field, dynamic-semantic functions, retrievability, etc. Special attention is paid to the theory of the dynamic-semantic tracks, viewed from the comparative point of view. Having completed the course, the students should be able to analyze a text from the point of view of FSP and approach it form the functional angle.
Syllabus
  • 1. FSP and Jan Firbas.
  • 2. Place of FSP within the framework of information processing.
  • 3. Communicative dynamism.
  • 4. Basic factors: context.
  • 5. Basic factors: linear modification.
  • 6. Basic factors: semantics.
  • 7. Basic factors: intonation.
  • 8. FSP analyis. Charts.
  • 9. Dynamic-semantic tracks.
  • 10. Semantic homogeneity.
Literature
  • SVOBODA, A. Syllable as a microfield in functional sentence perspective, In Prague Linguistic Circle Papers 2, Prague, 1996. s. 194-195.
  • SVOBODA, A. Functional perspective of the noun phrase. In Brno Studies in English 17, Brno: Masaryk University, 1984. s. 61-86.
  • FIRBAS, J. On the thematic and the rhematic layers of a text. In Organization in Discourse: Proceedings from the Turku Conference, Anglicana Turkuensia 14, Warwik, Tauskanen and Hiltunen (eds.). 1995, s. 59-72.
  • ADAM, M. Some special aspects within the Th- and the Rh-layers. In Brno Studies in English 28, Brno: Masaryk University, 2002, s. 11-18, 173 s., ISBN 80-210-2968-4.
  • FIRBAS, J. Functional Sentence Perspective in Written and Spoken Communication. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. 239 s., ISBN 0-521-37308-5.
Assessment methods
Block format (twice a 6-period block, twice a semester). The course is completed by a written credit test (+ all home assignments must be done). Teaching methods: classroom discussions, lectures, students' presentations, home assignments, home projects.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: in blocks.
Note related to how often the course is taught: 2 dopolední bloky, v pondělí 2.3. a v pátek 15.5.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 1 hodina.
Teacher's information
http://moodlinka.ped.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=891
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2010, Spring 2013.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2009, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2009/AJB_FSP1