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
用母语深入讲解
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
在所学语言中
英语通过冠词、代词、重音、词序和上下文来追踪新信息和已知信息，帮助听者知道正在说谁或什么。
A man entered. The man sat down.
A man 第一次引入一个男人；The man 表示刚提到的那个男人，已经是已知信息。
学习者可能过度重复名词，或在听者还不知道对象是谁时就使用代词或 the，造成指代不清。
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.