New / Given Information
Is this information new or already in the conversation?
含义
Whether a piece of information is being introduced, repeated, contrasted, assumed, resumed, or made prominent.
如何识别
Ask whether the listener already has this information in the mental scene.
示例
new|known|already mentioned|same one
a man... the man|this idea|that problem
A woman entered the room. The woman smiled.
Visual guide
Conversation state: 1 NEW A woman entered. -> add woman #1 2 GIVEN The woman smiled. -> reuse woman #1 Listener already has it.
One referent, many statuses: NEW: a woman GIVEN: the woman RESUMED: she / Ø CONTRAST: that woman Languages mark this by: article, order, stress, particle, pronoun, omission
语言视角
在母语中
New/given information is managed by topic placement, context, pronouns, ellipsis, demonstratives, and word order rather than articles.
这件事，我已经告诉他了。
zhè jiàn shì, wǒ yǐjīng gàosu tā le = this matter, I already told him LE
在目标语言中
New and given information are tracked by articles, pronouns, repetition, stress, and topic structures.
Une femme est entrée. La femme a souri.
A woman entered. The woman smiled.
Learners often repeat nouns too much or choose articles that do not match discourse status.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.