IntroductionExtraposition 1 is a thematic variation which, according to the principles of endweight and end-focus, places a heavy item, usually a clause, to the right of the predicate and replaces it with it, e.g. It is likely that he has left (Quirk et al. 1985(Quirk et al. : 1355(Quirk et al. -1377. The function of the matrix predicate, which is now in initial position in the sentence and thereby given thematic status, is to express the speaker's opinion of the content of the extraposed item. In It is likely that he has left, then, it is the speaker's assessment of the truth value of the that-clause that he has left that is expressed in the matrix predicate is likely. Extraposition is thus one of a variety of means that speakers have at their disposal to express their opinion of what they are saying. 2 Furthermore, by encoding this opinion in an objective projecting clause with the impersonal pronoun it rather than, for instance, in a subjective projecting clause, such as I think, extraposition makes it possible for the speaker to disguise the source of the opinion and thereby make it appear to be objective (Halliday 1994: 355).Classifications of the types of opinions expressed by the matrix predicates of extraposed clauses have revealed some semantic differences between the types of matrix predicates that occur with different clause types. Mair (1990: 24), in his investigation of spoken and written material in the Survey of English Usage, finds that the matrix predicates of extraposed infinitival subject clauses represent the semantic categories of potentiality (e.g. It is possible), ease or difficulty (e.g. It is a daunting task), frequency (e.g. It is customary), value judgement (e.g. It is absurd), necessity or desirability (e.g. It is vital), the financial or other 'costs' of an action (e.g. It takes + NP), and the emotional or cognitive reaction to an action or state (e.g. It pleases me), but notes that truth and probability (e.g. It is true/obvious) are usually represented by the matrix predicates of finite, not infinitival clauses. Collins (1994: 19), in his investigation of extraposed clause constructions in a corpus of contemporary Australian English, finds that the matrix predicates of both extraposed finite and nonfinite clauses represent the semantic categories of judgement, both emotional and rational (e.g. It is a pity/true/clear), deontic conditions (e.g. It is better/desirable) and potentiality (e.g. It is possible/impossible, etc.), but notes that ease and difficulty (e.g. It is

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This study compares the metadiscourse (i.e. the meanings which relate to the writers and readers of a text) in two samples of English and Swedish non-fiction texts and their translations in the English Swedish Parallel Corpus. Using an integrative approach to metadiscourse (Ädel & Mauranen 2012:2), it finds that there is a considerably higher frequency of metadiscourse in the Swedish original texts and a somewhat larger proportion of interpersonal metadiscourse, which represents the writer's attitude towards the propositional content and the readers themselves. In particular, there is a more frequent usage of boosters. In both of the translation samples, there is an increase in transition markers, which raises the level of explicitness in the text. In the translations into English, a tendency was also found for translators to reduce emphasis by omitting boosters and, in some cases, inserting hedges. This, coupled with the higher frequency of boosters in the Swedish original texts suggests that there may be differences in writing conventions in English and Swedish non-fiction texts, for instance, when it comes to increasing the emphatic force of propositions.

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This study compares the semantic relations represented by the wh-clauses of basic and reversed wh-clefts in the Freiburg corpus of written British English (FLOB). In both types of wh-clefts, there is a skewing of certain types of processes (mental, verbal, and relational) and circumstances (location, matter, and extent circumstances). This is related to the fact that the semantic function of the wh-clauses of wh-clefts is to represent a variable in a value-variable relation. There are also some di¤erences in the distribution of these relations in basic and reversed wh-clefts. These di¤erences can be explained by the di¤erent communicative functions of basic and reversed wh-clefts. Basic wh-clefts, where the wh-clauses are thematic, are often used to present newsworthy information from, for example, an evaluative perspective. Reversed wh-clefts, on the other hand, where the whclauses are rhematic, are often used to negotiate the validity of information already conveyed in the text or to highlight, for example, modal meanings.