topicalization

/ˌtɑpɪkələˈzeɪʃən/
noun
  1. In linguistics, the process of placing a word or phrase at the beginning of a sentence to emphasize it as the topic or focus of the sentence.
    • Topicalization is common in many languages to highlight important information.
    • The teacher explained topicalization by showing how 'Coffee, I love' emphasizes the drink.
    • In English, topicalization often moves an object to the front, as in 'That book, I have read.'