Abstract:

In Systemic-Functional Linguistics, Theme has been described as the starting point of the message, or what the speaker wants to talk about. But Theme is more than just the first experiential element in the clause. Thematic choice also plays a significant role beyond the clause. Cohesive patterning in thematic choice across the text serves to define spans of text by setting boundaries, providing texture, and signaling relations between functionally significant spans of text.

Thematic analyses of speeches given by Nobel Peace prize winner, Malala Yousafzai; American novelist David Foster Wallace; and US President Barack Obama provide the data for illustrating the role of thematic choice in developing the cohesiveness and coherence of a text.