Focus and topic

Although both focusing and topicalization provide an instruction regarding the interpretation of the clause in its context, the two types differ regarding the context involved. Focusing signals a relation between the clause and the context of the addressee’s attention state, whereas topicalization signals a relation between the clause and the linguistic context that accompanies it. As such, topicalization functions in a manner similar to discourse connectives that signal a pragmatic relation between two sentences or text segments.— Word Order in the Biblical Hebrew Finite Clause, page 90

<idle musing>
I don't know about you, but I find topic and focus to be a very confusing mess. I waded through Lambrecht, hoping for clarification and came out even more confused! I've been reading various linguistics introductions and dissertations. They all stumble around when they discuss "aboutness." Do a quick Internet search on linguistics and "aboutness" and tell me in a coherent paragraph what in the world it means!

That being said, I think I am beginning to see, even if dimly and through a fog, what in the world they are talking about. Maybe someday I'll be able to explain it so that someone else can understand it. But not yet...
</idle musing>