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English LD is a complex noncanonical linguistic structure that has been examined a lot. Scholars have given their specific definitions of the construction. The introduction of its definitions, classification, syntactic features and syntax-discourse interface features can give us a clear picture of the structure. 

2.1.1 Definitions of Left Dislocation

Left dislocation (LD) is a kind of marked and noncanonical construction (Cheng 2004). Ziv (1994: 630) proposed that “LD is characterized by an initial non-vocative NP (NP1) followed by an expression containing an NP (NP2) which is coreferential with it”. Yang (2014) defines LD as the structure that first has a non-vocative noun phrase followed by another noun phrase, and the two noun phrases are often but not completely cross-referenced. Usually, there is an overt pause between the left-dislocated element (REF) and the open proposition (PROP), which in written language is represented by a comma. For example: 

(1) Her parents (REF), they seem pretty uncaring (PROP) (Huddleston & Pullum 2003: 1408). 

In the above example, “her parents” is the left-dislocated element, which is called NP1 or REF in most cases. In the nucleus of the clause, the resumptive pronoun “they” that fills the gap of the dislocated phrase is often called NP2. Just as the example shows, a typical LD construction consists of two parts, a phrase, and a remaining clause. The separated phrase is always the referent that refers to the NP2 in the clause. This referent can be abbreviated to REF. The remaining clause is often thought of as a proposition that can be shortened to PROP. 

2.2 Previous Studies on Left Dislocation Construction

In this section, previous studies on left dislocation will be presented in two parts. The first is a review of studies on English LD from the perspective of discourse functions (Geluykens 1992; Gregory & Michaelis 2001; Yang 2014), and the other is a review of studies on LD based on the syntax-discourse interface (Donaldson 2011; Slabakova 2015; Wang 2012).

2.2.1 Studies of Left Dislocation from the Perspective of Discourse Functions

The particularity of LD’s syntax suggests to linguists that it must play a unique role in the discourse. Wen (2005) also claimed that the functions of English LD can be analyzed from the perspective of pragmatics-discourse. It can be speculated that the basic functions of English LD are closely associated with its particular linguistic form, which makes the structure have a variety of discourse functions (Yang 2010). Linguists have noted this feature of LD and have analyzed LD in discourses to generalize its various discourse functions.

Aijmer (1989) investigated English LD from the functional perspective. He argued that the left-dislocated phrases in English LD were “Themes”, while the clauses to their right were “Tails”. “Theme” was related to the negotiation of information between the interlocutors, and “Tail” was concerned with the interpersonal function of speech. The study pointed out that the left-dislocated phrase in LD was used to activate the topic of the discourse and can serve the purpose of simplification and clarification. And the matrix clause in English LD has the functions of reinforcing and foregrounding. Although Aijmer’s study illuminated that Englis本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。