Theme-Rheme Structure and Thematic Progression Patterns in Japanese Academic Texts

In this paper, I will attempt to analyze Theme-Rheme structure and Thematic progression in Japanese academic texts from dynamic perspective. I will demonstrate that we can properly treat clauses that have multiple ideational Themes in each clause, which are often found in Japanese academic texts, by taking the dynamic perspective advocated by Ravelli (1995). Firstly, a functional definition of Theme and its realization in Japanese are briefly reviewed and discussed. Secondly, the possibility of having multiple ideational Themes in a clause is considered from dynamic perspective. Finally, patterns of thematic progression in Japanese academic texts are analyzed to verify the idea of multiple ideational Themes by showing their functional differences in texts. We can conclude that unmarked Theme and marked Theme have different functions in Thematic progression