语料显示DP句常用于段落之首作为超主位,也不时用于语篇之首作为宏观主位。本文拟从认知功能的视角出发对此进行研究,旨在讨论DP句这方面的语篇功能。对于段落,各家皆有论述,已作简介。我们根据Dooley的看法,把段落看成最小完整的语篇单位,但同时博采众长,以揭示段落的结构与组篇。本文对六则段落语篇进行了分析,以说明概念组织中的知识管控和关注管控如何共同决定语篇的组织,而关注管控如何使语篇不同的内容突出,从而说明DP句可以行使超主位的功能。段首的双重谓语还能起组篇的作用。当DP₁是由隐喻性be动词体现,可以开启新的语篇空间;当DP₁由隐喻性become动词体现,则起承上启下的作用。对两则语篇篇首DP句进行宏观主位的分析时,为了能纵观语篇全貌,避免见树不见林的弊端,重点分析了语篇空间的概念功能成分以说明宏观主位预示和管控语篇内容的功能。

Data show the fact that the DP clause is often used to begin a clause or a text, thus performing the hyper Theme or macro Theme in the discourse. We aim to look into these functions from a cognitive-functional approach. A brief survey has been made of the approaches of various linguistic schools to the paragraph. While following Dooley, we see it as the minimal complete discourse unit, we adopt an eclectic approach so that we may bring to light the structure and texture of the clause. Six samples are studied to show how knowledge management and attention management in conceptual organization combine to bring out the intended meaning the narrator may have in mind, and how attention management brings out a difference in the foregrounding of the discourse, thus confirming the fact that the DP clause is capable of performing the function of hyper Theme. Such DP clause as appears in the initial position of a paragraph also contributes to the creation of texture by either ushering in a new space when the DP₁ is realized by a verb of the metaphorical be type,or relating what goes before in the previous paragraph with what comes after in the paragraph it begins when the DP₁is realized by a verb of the metaphorical become type. In the study of macro Theme, two texts are studied in terms of conceptual functions in the discourse space in order to see the general outline of the text and avoid the pitfall of not seeing the forest for the trees. The results of the analysis show that the DP clause performs the textual function as macro Theme adequately.