THEMATIC AND RHEMATIC PROGRESSION

IN WRITTEN ADVERTISEMENTS

SIMONA ŞIMON
“Politehnica” University of Timişoara

Abstract: The present paper focuses on the interweaving of themes and rhemes at
the discoursal level. Daneš (1974) termed this kind of concatenation thematic
progression and identified four basic classes; these will be supplemented with
several others. The kinds of thematic and rhematic progression encountered in 84
written advertisements, classified according to their interpersonal function, will be
then studied.
Keywords: interpersonal function, rhematic progression, thematic progression,
written advertisements.

1. Introduction

Thematic and rhematic progression contributes to the overall coherence

and cohesion of a discourse, so it is no wonder that linguists have become
interested in them. The paper is based on the concept of thematic progression as it
was understood by the Czech linguist, F. Daneš (1974), but his four basic classes of
thematic progression are supplemented with several others. A new unitary
terminology is therefore proposed. Taking into account this new, enlarged
classification, the kinds of thematic and rhematic progression, I analyse 84 written
advertisements, classified according to their interpersonal function.
F. Daneš (1974:113) brings insights into the issues of theme and rheme,
approaching them from the point of view of the role they play within a sentence:

“[…] the rheme […] represents the core of the utterance (the message proper)
[…] from the point of view of text organization, it is the theme that plays an
important constructional role. The rheme shows its significance as the conveyer of
the ‘new’, actual information, while the theme, being informatively significant,
will be employed as a relevant means of construction.”

He also proposes that theme and rheme should be studied not only at the
sentence, but also at the discoursal level and terms this global interweaving of
themes and rhemes thematic progression:

“Our basic assumption is that text connexity is represented inter alia, by

thematic progression (TP). By this term we mean the choice and ordering of
utterance themes, their mutual concatenation and hierarchy, as well as their
relationship to the hyperthemes of the superior text units (such as paragraph,
chapter, …) to the whole text, and to the situation. Thematic progression might
be viewed as the skeleton of the plot.” (Daneš 1974:114)
 Moreover, he identifies four patterns of thematic progression:
 simple linear progression (Daneš 1974:118), i.e. the whole rheme
(Rh) or only part of it becomes the theme (Th) of the subsequent clause
(Rh1→Th2; Rh2→Th3):

e.g. I (Th1) met your friend, Angie, at the wedding (Rh1). She (Th2) was
wearing a fabulous red dress (Rh2). It (Th3) was a Versace (Rh3)!

 constant progression (Daneš 1974:119), i.e. the theme of the first

clause is also the theme of the next clause (Th1→Th2 →Th3):

e.g. Your friend, Angie, (Th1) was at the wedding (Rh1). She (Th2) was wearing a
fabulous red dress (Rh2). She (Th3) didn’t seem very happy, though (Rh3)!

 derived hyperthematic progression (Daneš 1974:120), i.e. the

themes in the subsequent clauses are derived from a hypertheme ([Hypertheme]
→[Th1+Th2+Th3]):

e.g. The wedding was wonderful [hypertheme]! The restaurant (Th1) was
decorated in white and green (Rh1). Balloons (Th2) were hanging from the ceiling
(Rh2). Everybody (Th3) was having fun (Rh3).

 split progression (Daneš 1974:120), i.e. the rheme of the first

clause is split into several items; each of these items becomes the theme of the
subsequent clauses (Rh1→[Th2+Th3+Th4]):

e.g. I (Th1) met Mary, Pete and Paul at the wedding (Rh1). Mary (Th2) is still a
teacher at that secondary school (Rh2). Pete (Th3) is still a student (Rh3). Paul
(Th4) is now working as an engineer at Siemens (Th4).

These patterns of thematic progressions represent ideal situations, as Daneš

himself points out, but, in real discourse, they may occur in a slightly modified or
even incomplete form:

“TP’s are often complicated by various insertions (supplements, explanatory

notes) or asides. They may occur in an incomplete or somewhat modified form.”
(Daneš 1974:121)

2. A new taxonomy of thematic and rhematic progression

Daneš’ four types of thematic progression are a good starting point for the
identification of further possible patterns of concatenation between themes and
rhemes. I shall propose here a more detailed classification of possible thematic
progressions and a new unitary terminology.
 Daneš’ first class, simple linear progression, refers only to the fact that a
rheme may become the theme of the next clause, but says nothing about the fact
that the theme, in its turn, may become the rheme of the next clause. From this
perspective, a more accurate term for the description of Daneš’ would be simple
linear rhematic progression (SLRhP) (Rh1→Th2), while simple linear thematic
progression (SLThP) would describe the second situation in which the theme turns
into the rheme (Th1→Rh2):

e.g. Martha (Th1) was wearing a blue hat at the wedding (Rh1). I (Th2) only saw
her in the distance (Rh2).

Daneš’ second class, constant progression, refers only to thematic

progression (ThP), and does not consider rhematic progression (RhP), viz. the
rheme of the first clause may also be the rheme of the second clause. Therefore, the
second class identified by Daneš would be better described as constant thematic
progression (CThP) (Th1→Th2), and while for the latter situation I propose
constant rhematic progression (CRhP) (Rh1→Rh2):

e.g. Martha (Th1) was wearing a blue hat at the wedding (Rh2). Surprisingly, Julia
(Th2) was wearing the same blue hat at the wedding (Rh2).

The last class of thematic progression in Daneš (1974) actually refers only
to the fact that a rheme may be split into several information units that may each be
developed into themes of the following clauses, so I suggest that the term simple
split rhematic progression (SSRhP) (Rh1 → [Th2 + Th3]) may describe it more
accurately. There are, however, also ‘compound’ themes, whose elements become
the rhemes of the next clauses. (The term compound has been placed between
inverted commas as it does not necessarily refer to a compound grammatical
subject or object, but to compound semantic units which are subsequently
developed). This last type of thematic progression may be termed simple split
thematic progression (SSThP) (Th1 → [Rh2 + Rh3]).

e.g. Fluoride and mint (Th1) are two elements contained by this toothpaste (Rh1).
Teeth (Th2) are protected against dental decays by fluoride (Rh2). Fresh breath
(Th3) is given by mint (Rh3).

Furthermore, the ‘compound’ rheme of a clause may be split into the

rhemes of the next clauses, and the ‘compound’ theme of a clause may become the
themes of the subsequent clauses. In these cases, I propose the introduction of the
terms constant split rhematic progression (CSRhP) (Rh1 → [Rh2 + Rh3]) and
constant split thematic progression (CSThP) (Th1 → [Th2 + Th3]). The class of
constant split rhematic progression was also identified by Dejica and Superceanu
(2004:49), but it was termed differently.
 e.g. This toothpaste (Th1) contains fluoride and mint (Rh1). Teeth (Th2) need
fluoride as a protection against dental decay (Rh2). But fresh breath (Th3) smellsof
mint (Rh3).

Here is an example of constant split thematic progression:

e.g Fluoride and mint (Th1) are two elements contained by this toothpaste (Rh1).
Fluoride (Th2) protects the teeth against dental decays (Rh2). Mint (Th3) gives us
a fresh breath (Rh3).

Two other cases of split progression may occur, namely, what I have
termed compound split rhematic progression (CoSRhP) (Rh1 → [Th2 + Rh3]; Rh1
→ [Rh2 + Th3]) and compound split thematic progression (CoSThP) (Th1 → [Th2
+ Rh3]; Th1 → [Rh2 + Th3]). In the first case, the ‘compound’ rheme of a clause
becomes the theme of one of the two following clauses and the rheme of the other
subsequent clause.

e.g. The toothpaste (Th1) contains fluoride and mint (Rh1). Teeth (Th2) need
fluoride as a protection against dental decay (Rh2). But mint (Th3) gives us a
fresh breath (Rh3).

In the second case, the ‘compound’ theme of a clause is split into the theme
and rheme of the following two clauses:

e.g. Fluoride and mint (Th1) are two elements contained by this toothpaste (Rh1).
Teeth (Th2) need fluoride as a protection against dental decay (Rh2). But mint
(Th3) gives us a fresh breath (Rh3).

The last two classes of thematic progression that I propose refer to the fact
that sometimes both the theme and the rheme may become either the rheme
(compound rhematic progression (CoRhP) - [Th1 + Rh1]→ Rh2) or the theme
(compound thematic progression (CoThP) - [Th1 + Rh1]→ Th2) of the following
clause. In other words, in the first case, Rh2 combines Th1 and Rh1.

e.g. The research (Th1) was undertaken by Mary and John (Rh1). The committee
(Th2) praised their research (Rh2).

In the second case, that of compound thematic progression, Th2 combines

Th1 and Rh1:

e.g. I (Th1) worked together with Joe and Pete (Rh1). We (Th2) were a good team
(Rh2).

Daneš’ class called the derived hyperthematic progression (DHP)

([Hypertheme]→[Th1+Th2+Th3]) cannot generate any other types of thematic or
rhematic progression and remains as such.
3. Thematic and rhematic progression in written advertisements

In a previous paper (Şimon 2008:53-54), I took into account the

interpersonal function of written advertisements and classified them into
informative, appellative, commissive and contact advertisements.
Informative advertisements give information about the product/ service
advertised. They may be descriptive (type 1.1) (those which name the products/
services, provide a list of their characteristics, etc.), argumentative (type 1.2) (those
which make a claim or an appeal supported by the provided information)
(Gieszinger 2001:213) and narrative advertisements (type 1.3) (those which resort
to an endorser to support the advertiser and the claim (Tellis 1998:185)).
Appellative advertisements try to get the addressee to act in a certain way.
These may be questioning advertisements (type 2.1) (they usually contain a
question in the headline and the central topic of the question is the addressee) or
directive advertisements (type 2.2) (containing a direction, especially in titles and
slogans). They may refer to the consumption of the advertised product/ service or
might prepare the consumption of the advertised product/ service (by offering
further information, catalogues/ guides, coupons to be filled in and posted, by
taking a closer look at/ trying the advertised product, mentioning the website
address, etc.) (Gieszinger 2001:228, Kotler 1994:602).
Commissive advertisements commit the addressers to carrying out a
specific action. They refer to the offers (type 3.1) (e.g. characteristics and
advantages of the product/ service, preparation of consumption, etc.) and promises
(type 3.2) (e.g. reference to the procedure, the high quality of the advertised goods,
consumer’s satisfaction, specific features of product/ service, etc.) made in an
advertisement which have to be kept, otherwise legal actions may be taken
(Gieszinger 2001:235, White1988:171).
Finally, contact advertisements express the addresser’s wish to come into
contact with the recipients and to set up or establish a social relationship with them.
These advertisements may address the recipients directly (type 4.1) (e.g. contacts
made in the headline/ quasi-headline, which refer only to a particular segment of
population: women, men, children, house-owners, etc.) (Gieszinger 2001:244) or
may illustrate the social relationship between the communication partners (e.g.
reference to the recipients’ desires/ wishes/ needs, which can be known only by
close friends (type 4.2); the use of jokes or informal speech, just as between two
old friends (type 4.3)) (Gieszinger 2001:249).
The corpus on which the present analysis is carried out consists of eighty-
four written advertisements, nine for each sub-class with the exception of the sub-
classes belonging to contact advertisements, which are represented by seven
advertisements each. The only reason why the last class contains seven and not
nine advertisements in each of its sub-classes is that, in the sources I have used that
was all I could find, which might suggest that they are less frequently used than the
other types of advertisements.
As for the still open issue concerning what counts as theme, I shall adopt
Halliday’s point of view (1994:54) that everything that precedes the topical theme
of the clause is part of the theme (Th), and the rest of the clause becomes the rheme
(Rh). The topical theme refers to the participant expressed by the grammatical
subject, the circumstance of place, manner and time or the verbal process, which is
placed in the first position of an exclamatory clause. The hypotactically and
paratactically related clauses are considered clause complexes, the first clause
being the theme and the second one the rheme (Downing & Locke1992:235). If the
clause is elliptical, as it is often the case in written advertisements, the information
will be recovered, placed between round brackets and taken into account, because,
in the case of written advertisements, the semantic information is easily
identifiable, even if it is not explicitly expressed. The last issue that needs
clarification is that of hypertheme. In this respect, I shall consider that clauses
making up the title and sometimes also the sub-title constitute a hypertheme, as
they establish the semantic framework within which the information presented in
the written advertisement will develop (Martin 1992:437).
I shall now illustrate the way in which my analysis has been conducted.
The advertisement I have chosen for exemplification is a commissive
advertisement making a firm offer and having an appellative function in the end,
which prepares consumption:

e.g. “You (Th1) can be debt free (Rh1).

There (Th2) is help waiting for you (Rh2).
Consolidated Credit Counselling Services , Inc. (Th 3/ Th4/ Th5/ Th6) can:
 Reduce (Th3) or eliminate interest charges (Rh3).
 Consolidate credit card bills into one lower monthly payment (Rh4).
 Pay off your debt in half the time (Rh5).
 Save you thousands of dollars (Rh6).
Call 1-800-SAVE-ME-2 (1-800-728-3632) for a FREE no-obligation consultation
with a certified counsellor (Th7) and eliminate your debt worries now (Rh7)!
Consolidated Credit Counselling Services, Inc. (Th8): www.debtfree.org (Rh8).”
(“Cosmopolitan”, June 2002)

The title and sub-title of the present advertisement make a firm offer by
directly addressing the recipient and emphasising the benefits s/he gains by
resorting to the advertised service, whose features are also introduced. The title
([Th1 + Rh1]) and sub-title ([Th2 + Rh2]) form a hypertheme ([Th1 + Rh1] + [Th2
+ Rh2]) from which theme three (Th3) and seven (Th7) are derived. The third
clause is made up of two paratactically related sentences; the first one is theme
three (Consolidated Credit Counselling Services, Inc. can reduce) and the second
one is rheme three (or eliminate interest charges). Part of theme three
(Consolidated Credit Counselling Services, Inc.) becomes the theme of the
following three clauses (Th4, Th5, Th6). Although this theme (Consolidated Credit
Counselling Services, Inc.) is not repeated each time, it is easily recoverable from
the linguistic context. The corresponding rhemes (Rh4, Rh5, Rh6) are considered
independent rhemes and not information units which are part of rheme three for
one reason, viz. the fullstop the advertisers use at their end. The modal verb can is
ellipted in rhemes four, five and six, but it is easily recoverable from the
surrounding text. Part of theme seven (counsellor) is reintroduced in theme eight
(counselling). Part of rheme eight (Rh8) is also ellipted and replaced by a colon.
The recovered information is placed between round brackets: “Consolidated Credit
Counselling Services, Inc. (Th8): (can be visited on) www.debtfree.org (Rh8).”
To put it differently, the global thematic structure consists of a derived
hyperthematic progression, i.e. [Th1 + Rh1] + [Th2 + Rh2] = [Hypertheme],
[Hypertheme] → Th3, Th4 ([Th1 + Rh1] and [Th2 + Rh2] form a hypertheme from
which Th3 and Th7 are derived) and two constant thematic progressions, i.e.
Th3→Th4→Th5→ Th6, Th7→ Th8 (part of Th3 becomes Th4, Th5, Th6, part of
Th7 becomes Th8):

[Th1 + Rh1] + [Th2 + Rh2] = [Hypertheme]

↓
______________________
↓ ↓
Th3 + Rh3 Th7 + Rh7
↓ ↓
Th4 + Rh4 Th8 + Rh8
↓
Th5 + Rh5
↓
Th6 + Rh6

I shall now present the results of my analysis of 84 written advertisements

with respect to the types of thematic and rhematic progressions encountered in each
advertisement class and, from this perspective, draw some conclusions about the
most typical discoursal characteristics of themes and rhemes. The table below
points to the most often used types of thematic progression:

Ad type Informative Appellative Commissive Contact

ThP Type Type Type Type Type Type Type Type Ty Ty
and 1.1 1.2 1.3 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 4.1 pe pe
RhP 4.2 4.3

SLRhP 6 ads 3 ads 4 6 ads 3 ads 5 ads 1 ad 3 ds 3 2

ads ads ads
SLThP 0 ads 3 ads 4 0 ads 3 ads 3 ads 0 ads 1ad 1ad 1ad
ads
CRhP 2 ads 4 ads 5 6 ads 1 ad 3 5 ads 4 2 2
ads ads ads ads ads
CThP 6 ads 7 ads 8ads 6 ads 6 ads 4 ads 4 ads 2 3 2
ads ads ads
CoRhP 1 ad 0 ads 4 0 ads 0 ads 0 ads 0 ads 0 0 0
ads ads ads ads
 CoThP 0 ads 0 ads 0 0 ads 0 ads 0 ads 0 ads 0 0 0
ads ads ads ads
SSRhP 1 ad 1 ad 0 0 ads 0 ads 0 ads 0 ads 0 0 0
ads ads ads ads
SSThP 0 ads 0 ads 0 0 ads 0 ads 0 ads 0 ads 0 0 0
ads ads ads ads
CSRhP 1 ad 0 ads 0 0 ads 1 ad 0 ads 0 ads 0 0 0
ads ads ads ads
CSThP 0 ads 0 ads 2 0 ads 0 ads 0 ads 0 ads 0 0 0
ads ads ads ads
CoSRhP 1 ad 0 ads 0 0 ads 3 ads 1 ad 1 ad 0 0 0
ads ads ads ads
CoSThP 0 ads 1 ad 0 0 ads 0 0 ads 0 ads 0 0 0
ads ads ads ads ads
DHP 9 ads 9 ads 7 9 ads 9 ads 9 ads 9 ads 7 7 7
ads ads ads ads

The table above shows that all informative-descriptive and informative-

argumentative advertisements contain a derived hyperthematic progression. Seven
out of nine informative-narrative advertisements display a derived hyperthematic
progression, which means that two advertisements do not have a title, but only the
endorser’s testimonial followed by the addresser’s description of the product/
service/ issue. Simple linear rhematic progression is favoured in informative-
descriptive advertisements, while constant rhematic progression is moderately
preferred in informative-narrative and informative-argumentative advertisements.
All the informative advertisements tend to prefer constant thematic progressions.
The thematic progression that has been most frequently encountered in
appellative advertisements is the derived hyperthematic progression (all
advertisements) and the constant thematic progression. Questioning-appellative
advertisements also resort to simple linear rhematic progression and constant
rhematic progression. All the other types of themes, rhemes and thematic
progression are scarcely, if ever, met in appellative advertisements.
All commissive advertisements contain a hyperthematic progression and
moderately resort to constant thematic and rhematic progression. The commissive
advertisements making an offer also use simple linear rhematic progression.
Finally, the most frequently used thematic progression in contact
advertisements is the hyperthematic progression, as one can easily notice in the
table above.

4. Conclusion

While the first part of my study gives an outline of Daneš’ view on the
concept of thematic progression, the second part identifies all the possible types of
thematic and rhematic progressions and F. Daneš’ (1974) classification of thematic
progressions is supplemented with nine more possible classes. The new taxonomy
of thematic and rhematic progressions comprises thirteen classes: simple linear
rhematic progression, simple linear thematic progression, constant thematic
progression, constant rhematic progression, simple split rhematic progression,
simple split thematic progression, constant split rhematic progression, constant
split thematic progression, compound split rhematic progression, compound split
thematic progression, compound rhematic progression, compound thematic
progression, derived hyperthematic progression.
Taking into account various views on what counts as theme, hypertheme or
rheme, the method of analysis has been described. The 84 written advertisements
making up the corpus have been classified from the perspective of the interpersonal
function into informative advertisements (informative-descriptive, informative-
argumentative, informative-narrative), appellative advertisements (interrogative-
appellative, interrogative-directive), commissive advertisements (making a firm
offer or promise) and contact advertisements (directly identifying the target group,
referring to the recipient’s desires/ wishes/ needs, using jokes/ informal speech).
These advertisements have been analysed in terms of their use of thematic and
rhematic progressions and the following conclusions have been drawn.
The global thematic structure of most advertisements consists of a derived
hyperthematic progression, which presupposes the existence of a hyper-theme from
which other themes are derived and most often enter some other thematic
progression. Constant thematic progression is mainly used in informative and
appellative advertisements. Constant rhematic progression is preferred in
questioning-appellative advertisements, in informative-narrative advertisements, in
commissive advertisements making a promise and sometimes also in commissive
advertisements making an offer, in informative-argumentative advertisements and
in contact advertisements directly identifying the target group. Simple linear
rhematic progression is usually employed in informative-descriptive
advertisements, in questioning appellative advertisements, in commissive
advertisements making an offer. Simple linear thematic progression is moderately
used in informative-argumentative and informative-narrative advertisements, in
directive-appellative advertisements and in commissive advertisements making an
offer.
Leaving apart the fact that sometimes a certain type of thematic
progression is associated with a particular advertisement class, one can draw the
conclusion that advertisers resort to a few types of thematic progression to
persuade the prospective customers: derived hyperthematic progression, constant
thematic progression, constant rhematic progression, simple linear rhematic
progression and simple linear thematic progression. All the other types of thematic
progression are rarely, if ever, encountered in written advertisements.

References
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Timişoara, Romania: Transactions on Modern Languages, Vol. 3 (3), No. 1-2. R.
Superceanu (ed.). Timişoara: Politehnica Publishing House.
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Gieszinger, S. 2001. The History of Advertising Language: The Advertisements in The
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Kotler, P. 1994. Marketing Management. Analysis. Planning, Implementation, and Control.
Eaglewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Martin, J.R. 1992. English Text: System and Structure. Philadelphia: John Benjamins
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(eds.). Timişoara: Politehnica Publishing House.
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 NOTES ON THE AUTHORS

Cristina Chevereşan holds a PhD from the University of Timişoara (Romania). She is an
Assistant Professor and teaches American Literature, Culture and Civilization at this
university. She is the assistant director of the American Studies MA Program and a member
of several scientific societies and professional associations. She has published two books,
as well as numerous articles and reviews in specialized journals, collective volumes, and
the cultural press. She has translated and edited several other volumes. She has recently
spent a semester at Harvard University, doing research on ethnic American literature(s) on
a Fulbright Grant.

Claire Crabtree is Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program at
University of Detroit Mercy in Michigan, USA. A poet and a specialist in Modernism, she
has written articles on Faulkner and Virginia Woolf, as well on contemporary writers like
Toni Morrison, Louise Erdrich, and Alice McDermott. She was a Fulbright Senior Lecturer
in Timişoara, Romania, in 1994-5.

Dana Crăciun is an Assistant Professor at the University of Timişoara, Romania. She

teaches modernist and postmodernist literature, and her research interests include
autobiographical writing, literary theory, and contemporary literature. She has also
translated several volumes of contemporary fiction.

Gábor Csernyi is a Ph.D. student at the University of Debrecen, Hungary, with a special
interest in computational linguistics and with a general theoretical interest in generative
grammar, mainly Lexical-Functional Grammar.

Magda Danciu is a Professor of English at the University of Oradea, Romania. She teaches
contemporary British Literature, contemporary Scottish Fiction, and has MA courses in
multiculturalism, gender and its media representation, as well as in Post- as in post-
industrialism/structuralism/modernism/ colonialism/ feminism/communism. She has
authored or co-authored a number of books, such as The Contemporary Scottish Fiction:
Postmodern Tendencies (2001); Caledonian Culturescapes (2003); Incursiune în
imaginarul scoţian (2007); Aspects of Contemporary British Literature: Conflating Texts
from the Post-War to the Globalization (2010).

Tatjana Đurović is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics, University of

Belgrade, Serbia. Her main research interests include cognitive linguistics, ESP and
discourse analysis. She has published a number of papers in Serbian and international
linguistics journals and participated in many international conferences. She is the co-author
of a monograph on Serbian public discourse, and author and co-author of several ESP
economics textbooks.

Maurizio Gotti is Professor of English, and Director of the Research Centre on Specialized
Languages (CERLIS) at the University of Bergamo, Italy. His main research areas are the
features and origins of specialized discourse, English syntax and English lexicography. He
is a member of the Editorial Board of national and international journals, and edits the
Linguistic Insights series for Peter Lang.
Sabina Halupka-Rešetar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the
University of Novi Sad, Serbia. Her main areas of interest are syntax, the syntax-discourse
interface, pragmatics and contrastive linguistics. Her major publications include Rečenični
fokus u engleskom i srpskom jeziku [Sentential focus in English and Serbian, 2011] and
“Animal names in addressing people in Serbian” (Journal of Pragmatics 35, co-authored
with B. Radić).

Artur Jaupaj holds a PhD from Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. He teaches at the
European University of Tirana, Albania. His research interests and contributions cover
American Culture and Literature, particularly the cultural and literary movements of the 20-
th century, as well as the American West and postcolonial studies. In addition, he is quite
keen on comparative literatures in the Balkans and beyond.

Debra Journet is Professor of English at the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY,

USA. In 2011, she was a Fulbright Senior Specialist at the University of the West in
Timişoara. Her scholarship focuses on the role of narrative in evolutionary biology,
composition research, and new media genres. Recent work appears in Narrative, Written
Communication, Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Computers and
Composition, and Social Epistemology. She is the co-editor of Narrative Acts: Rhetoric,
Race and Identity, Knowledge (Hampton Press, 2011), and The New Work of Composing
(Utah State University Press and Computers and Composition Digital Press, forthcoming).

Annamaria Kilyeni is a teaching assistant in the Department of Communication and Foreign

Languages, “Politehnica” University, Timişoara, Romania, where she teaches
Communication Mediation Practice, Translation Practice and EFL. She holds an M.A.
degree in Terminology and Translation Studies from the University of the West, Timişoara,
Romania, where she is currently finishing her PhD studies in Linguistics. Her research
focuses on the analysis of advertising discourse and terminology.

Mojca Krevel is an Assistant Professor in the English Department of the Faculty of Arts,
Ljubljana, Slovenia, and has been its chair since 2010. She holds a PhD, with a thesis on
the Avant-Pop and postmodern Avant-Gardes. Her research interests are contemporary
critical theory, new media, digital literatures and cyberculture, recent Anglo-American
prose.

Alberto Lázaro is Professor of English Literature at the University of Alcalá, Spain. He

has done extensive research on contemporary British and Irish fiction, devoting particular
attention to critical reception and censorship. He is the author of H. G. Wells en España
(2004) and El modernismo en la novela inglesa (2005), and has recently co-edited
Censorship across Borders (2011). He is also the author of several essays in various
volumes of the “The Reception of British Authors in Europe” series.

Diana-Gabriela Lupu is a PhD student at the University of Iaşi, Romania, working on

Henry James’s International Novel. Between February and August 2011, she was a
research fellow at the University of London. Her research interests focus on American
literature, cultural studies, identities and expatriation.

Marcela Malá is a senior lecturer at the Technical University of Liberec, Czech Republic.
She has published papers on English linguistics and TEFL in various national and
international journals. Her book Sentence Complexity in Academic Written English was
published by LAP Lambert Academic Publishing in 2011. She has organized and chaired
several international conferences.

Elisabetta Marino is a tenured Assistant Professor of English literature at the University of

Rome “Tor Vergata.”, Italy. She has written three monographs, published a translation into
Italian with an introduction, and edited five collections of essays. She has published
extensively on the English Romantic writers (especially on Mary Shelley), on Italian
American literature, and on Asian American and Asian British literature.

Sándor Martsa is an Associate Professor at the Institute of English Studies, University of

Pécs, Hungary. He teaches pedagogical grammar, morphology, lexicology, discourse
analysis and metaphor theory. His research interest includes word-formation, lexical
semantics, cognitive semantics and linguistic anthropology.

Aleksandar B. Nedeljković teaches English literature, including two courses in science

fiction, to students at the Faculty of Philology and Arts, in Kragujevac, Serbia. Both his
M.A. paper and his doctoral dissertation were on science fiction; he is specializing in that
genre. He has translated about 70 books from, and several into, English.

Tomislav M. Pavlović holds a BA and an MA in English from the University of Belgrade,

Serbia. He taught English at the Technical School in Kruševac, then worked as a lecturer in
Business English at the High Technical School of Industrial Management in Kruševac.
Since 2003 he has been working in the English Department of the University of
Kragujevac. His chief interests focus on contemporary British literature, modern Irish
poetry, poetry of English modernism and modern British novel.

Vladan Pavlović is a teaching assistant in the English Department, Faculty of Philosophy,

University of Niš, Serbia. His interest areas include syntax, cognitive linguistics, translation
and general linguistics.

Daniela Rogobete is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, American and

German Studies at the University of Craiova, Romania. She holds a PhD in Postcolonial
Studies. Her domains of interest are Contemporary Indian Literature written in English,
intertextuality, visual culture and literary translations. Her most important publications
include articles and studies published in national and international journals.

Nadežda Silaški is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics, University of

Belgrade, Serbia. Her fields of interest include discourse analysis, genre analysis, cognitive
linguistics and ESP. She has published a number of papers in Serbian and international
journals and participated in various international conferences. She is the co-author of a
monograph on Serbian public discourse and three ESP economics textbooks.

Simona Şimon is a teaching assistant at the “Politehnica” University of Timişoara,

Romania. She holds a doctoral degree from the University of Timişoara. Her research
interests are in the field of applied linguistics, genre studies and advertising.

Ileana Şora Dimitriu is Professor of English and intercultural studies at UKZN-Durban,

South Africa. She has published widely on postcolonial English literature from a
comparative perspective, as well as on issues of cultural translation. Her publications
include critical studies published in volumes by Continuum, Rodopi, Peter Lang, Lit
Verlag, Maastricht University Press, Cambridge Scholars, Ecos, among others.

Michael Taylor holds a Bachelor's Degree from Brigham Young University, USA, in
English and German Studies. He is currently studying American Studies at the University
of Heidelberg, Germany on a DAAD scholarship and will be graduating in April 2012. His
MA thesis is entitled "The American Indian as a Souvenir: Antiquarianism, Exoticism, and
Sentimentalism in Cooper's The Pioneers."

Ágoston Tóth is an Assistant Professor in the Institute of English and American Studies of
the University of Debrecen, Hungary. His academic interests include all aspects of
computational linguistics, corpus linguistics, lexicography, lexicon design, and he is also
genuinely interested in connectionist approaches to existing challenges in linguistic
research.

Biljana Vlašković is a graduate of the Faculty of Philology and Arts (Kragujevac, Serbia),
where she has been employed since 2007 as a teaching assistant. She teaches courses on
William Shakespeare, English Medieval and Renaissance Literature, and Canadian
Literature and Culture. She is currently a PhD student. Her research interests are focused on
the relations between drama/theatre, literature/literary criticism, philosophy, and history.

Bojana Vujin teaches English and American Literature at the Faculty of Philosophy, Novi
Sad, Serbia. She wrote her Master’s thesis on Nabokov’s dramas and is currently writing
her doctoral thesis on British rock poetry. She has published one collection of short stories
and numerous literary translations.

Anna Walczuk is an Associate Professor of English Literature and Vice-Director of the

Institute of English Philology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland. Her main area of
research is the English literature (novel and poetry) of the 20th century. She is interested in
the dialogue of literature with philosophy. She has published a book on irony in Muriel
Spark’s fiction (Irony as a mode of perception and principle of ordering reality in the
novels of Muriel Spark. Kraków: Universitas, 2005).

Cristina-Mihaela Zamfir is a teaching assistant in the Department of Modern Languages

at the “Ovidius” University of Constanţa, Romania. She holds a doctoral degree from the
University of Timişoara. Her research interests include language studies, psycholinguistics,
ESP, NLP and communication. She is an NLP practitioner, certified by ITANLP Timişoara
in March 2008. She has published numerous articles in the fields of ESP and English
lexicology and semantics in national and international journals.