The field of discourse analysis is an excellent source on grammar and
rhetorical structure. It may be hard to read because it is written for
linguists, but it's very worth one's while to dig into it.
Here are a few things to look for:
Cumming, Susanna, and Tsuyoshi Ono. 1997. Discourse and grammar. In van
Dijk, Teun A., _Discourse as structure and process_. Sage publications,
Thousand Oaks, CA. This is a short reading with many recommended
readings, including:
Ono, Toshiyushi and Sandra Thompson. 1996. 'What can conversation tell
us about syntax?' ub O. Davis, ed., _Descriptive and theoretical modes
in the new linguistics_. Amsterdam: Benjamins
Ochs, Elinor, E. Schegloff and S. Thompson. 1996 _Grammar and
interaction_. Cambridge U Press.
See also work by Knud Lambrecht, for example:1994. _Information
structure and sentence form. Topic, focus, and the mental
representations of discourse referents. Cambridge U. Press.
Most of these deal with spoken language, but many of the principles
carry over to written texts. Work by Talmy Givon is also useful, esp.
certain chapters of his 'Syntax: a functional/typological introduction'
(Benjamins, I think).
Discourse analysis is a large field that I am only now scratching the
surface of. But I believe discourse (that is, sentences connected into
texts) is where the true insights about grammar lie. In other words, I
don't think we can really understand grammar unless we study what it is
used for, i.e. to organize information in texts. The traditional focus
on the sentence is insufficient.
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Johanna Rubba Assistant Professor, Linguistics
English Department, California Polytechnic State University
One Grand Avenue • San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Tel. (805)-756-2184 • Fax: (805)-756-6374 • Dept. Phone. 756-259
• E-mail: [log in to unmask] • Home page: http://www.calpoly.edu/~jrubba
**
"Understanding is a lot like sex; it's got a practical purpose,
but that's not why people do it normally" - Frank Oppenheimer
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