Definition
Given information is information that is assumed by the speaker to be known to, assumed by, or inferable by the addressee at the time of the speaker's utterance, because it is:
- common knowledge
- part of the extralinguistic context
- previously established in the discourse
Discussion
Given information often is:
- placed early in a sentence
- spoken with a low amount of stress
Kinds
More specific concepts within given information.
Sources 5
- Crystal 1985, 136
- Crystal 1980, 161–162
- Levinson 1983, 88
- Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik 1985, 1360–1362
- Prince 1981, 230