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Help with topic prominent structure

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#1

Hi ChinesePod team, my question is this:

So I read that Mandarin is topic-prominent whereas English is topic-comment. I really have no idea what that means, can someone help explain that?

#2

Hi Alanna,

Topic-prominent languages are languages that have their syntax revolving around the topic, whereas subject-prominent languages focus on the subject. Topic-comment is considered more as a structure that languages follow to emphasize the topic of a sentence. Chinese is a typical example of a topic-prominent language.

For example:

  • subject-prominent
    我已经去过这家店了。
    I’ve already been to this store.

  • topic-prominent
    这家店，我已经去过了。
    This store, I’ve already been.
    (This store is the topic we are emphasizing)

Betty

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