Topic And Focus

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Topic-Focus Articulation, Tripartite Structures, and Semantic Content

Eva Hajicová,Barbara B.H. Partee,P. Sgall
Topic Focus Articulation Tripartite Structures and Semantic Content Book PDF

Author : Eva Hajicová,Barbara B.H. Partee,P. Sgall
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 146 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2013-03-09
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789401590129

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Topic-Focus Articulation, Tripartite Structures, and Semantic Content by Eva Hajicová,Barbara B.H. Partee,P. Sgall Pdf

1. 1 OBJECTIVES The main objective of this joint work is to bring together some ideas that have played central roles in two disparate theoretical traditions in order to con tribute to a better understanding of the relationship between focus and the syn tactic and semantic structure of sentences. Within the Prague School tradition and the branch of its contemporary development represented by Hajicova and Sgall (HS in the sequel), topic-focus articulation has long been a central object of study, and it has long been a tenet of Prague school linguistics that topic-focus structure has systematic relevance to meaning. Within the formal semantics tradition represented by Partee (BHP in the sequel), focus has much more recently become an area of concerted investigation, but a number of the semantic phenomena to which focus is relevant have been extensively investi gated and given explicit compositional semantic-analyses. The emergence of 'tripartite structures' (see Chapter 2) in formal semantics and the partial simi larities that can be readily observed between some aspects of tripartite structures and some aspects of Praguian topic-focus articulation have led us to expect that a closer investigation of the similarities and differences in these different theoretical constructs would be a rewarding undertaking with mutual benefits for the further development of our respective theories and potential benefit for the study of semantic effects of focus in other theories as well.

Topic and Focus

Chungmin Lee,Matthew Gordon
Topic and Focus Book PDF

Author : Chungmin Lee,Matthew Gordon
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 295 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2006-12-18
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781402047961

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Topic and Focus by Chungmin Lee,Matthew Gordon Pdf

During the 2001 Linguistic Summer Institute at University of California, Santa Barbara, a group of linguists gathered at a workshop to discuss the expression and role of topicalization and focus from a variety of perspectives: phonetic, phonological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic. The workshop was designed to lay the groundwork for collaborative efforts between linguists devoted to the study of meaning and linguists engaged in the quantitative study of intonation. This volume contains papers emerging from the Santa Barbara Workshop on Topic and Focus. A wide variety of methodologies and research interests related to topic and focus are represented in the papers. Some works present results of phonetic studies, either acoustic or perceptual, on the expression of topic and/or focus; others examine semantic or pragmatic features of topic and/or focus, while others are concerned with the interface between intonation and meaning. Data from several different languages are represented in the papers, including several languages with relatively little documentation particularly in the venue of topic and focus, e. g. Basque, Chickasaw, Indonesian, Polish, Taiwanese. The broad sample of languages coupled with the wide variety of research topics addressed by the papers promise to enrich our typological understanding of topic and focus phenomena and provide an impetus for further research. The following paragraphs offer brief summaries of the papers contained in this volume: Gorka Elordieta’s paper describes prosodic conditions governing focus in a dialect of Basque with pitch accents.

The Meaning of Topic and Focus

Daniel Büring
The Meaning of Topic and Focus Book PDF

Author : Daniel Büring
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 217 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2012-08-21
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781134702077

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The Meaning of Topic and Focus by Daniel Büring Pdf

This study provides an illuminating and ground-breaking account of the complex interaction of intonational phenomena, semantics and pragmatics. Based on examples from German and English, and centred on an analysis of the fall-rise intonation contour, a semantic interpretation for two different pitch accents - Focus and Topic - is developed. The cross-sentence, as well as the sentence internal semantic effects of these accents, follow from the given treatment. The account is based on Montogovian possible world semantics and Chomskian generative syntax.

The Syntax of Topic, Focus, and Contrast

Ad Neeleman,Reiko Vermeulen
The Syntax of Topic Focus and Contrast Book PDF

Author : Ad Neeleman,Reiko Vermeulen
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
Page : 316 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781614511458

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The Syntax of Topic, Focus, and Contrast by Ad Neeleman,Reiko Vermeulen Pdf

This book addresses how core notions of information structure (topic, focus and contrast) are expressed in syntax. The authors propose that the syntactic effects of information structure come about as a result of mapping rules that are flexible enough to allow topics and foci to be expressed in a variety of positions, but strict enough to capture certain cross-linguistic generalisations about their distribution. In particular, the papers argue that only contrastive topics and contrastive foci undergo movement and that this is because such movement has the function of marking the scope of contrast. Several predications are derived from this proposal: such as that a focus cannot move across a topic – whether the latter is in situ or not. Syntactic and semantic evidence in support of this proposal is presented from a wide range of languages (including Dutch, English, Japanese, Korean and Russian) and theoretical consequences explored. The first chapter not only outlines its theoretical aims, but also provides an introduction to information structure. As a consequence, the book is accessible to advanced students as well as professional linguists.

Information Structure and Sentence Form

Knud Lambrecht
Information Structure and Sentence Form Book PDF

Author : Knud Lambrecht
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 1996-11-13
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781316582411

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Information Structure and Sentence Form by Knud Lambrecht Pdf

Why do speakers of all languages use different grammatical structures under different communicative circumstances to express the same idea? Professor Lambrecht explores the relationship between the structure of the sentence and the linguistic and extra-linguistic context in which it is used. His analysis is based on the observation that the structure of a sentence reflects a speaker's assumption about the hearer's state of knowledge and consciousness at the time of the utterance. This relationship between speaker assumptions and formal sentence structure is governed by rules and conventions of grammar, in a component called 'information structure'. Four independent but interrelated categories are analysed: presupposition and assertion, identifiability and activation, topic, and focus.

The Morphology and Syntax of Topic and Focus

Liliana Sánchez
The Morphology and Syntax of Topic and Focus Book PDF

Author : Liliana Sánchez
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 261 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027255525

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The Morphology and Syntax of Topic and Focus by Liliana Sánchez Pdf

This book presents an innovative analysis that relates informational structure, syntax and morphology in Quechua. It provides a minimalist account of the relationship between focus, topic, evidentiality and other left-peripheral features and sentence-internal constituents marked with suffixes that have been previously considered of a pragmatic nature. Intervention effects show that these relationships are also of a syntactic nature. The analysis is extended to morphological markers that appear on polarity sensitive items and wh-words. The book also provides a brief overview of the main characteristics of Quechua syntax as well as additional bibliographical information.

Configuring Topic and Focus in Russian

Tracy Holloway King
Configuring Topic and Focus in Russian Book PDF

Author : Tracy Holloway King
Publisher : Center for the Study of Language and Information Publications
Page : 287 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 1995-05-26
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 1881526623

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Configuring Topic and Focus in Russian by Tracy Holloway King Pdf

This work examines word order. More accurately, it is the ordering of constituents that is discussed since prepositional phrases and most noun phrases form syntactic constituents and the encoding of topic and focus in Russian. As has long been observed, word order in Russian encodes specific discourse information: with neutral intonation, topics precede discourse-neutral constituents which precede foci. King extends this idea to show that word order encodes different types of topic and focus in a principled manner.

Topic and Focus Markers in Spanish, Portuguese and French

Anja Hennemann
Topic and Focus Markers in Spanish Portuguese and French Book PDF

Author : Anja Hennemann
Publisher : Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften
Page : 310 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2020-06-12
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 3631818890

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Topic and Focus Markers in Spanish, Portuguese and French by Anja Hennemann Pdf

This book is concerned with the diachronic development of selected topic and focus markers in Spanish, Portuguese and French. On the one hand, it focuses on the development of these structures from their relational meaning to their topic-/ focus-marking meaning, and on the other hand, it is concerned with their current form und use. Thus, Romance topic and focus markers - such as sp. en cuanto a, pt. a propósito de, fr. au niveau de or sentence-initial sp. Lo que as well as clefts and pseudo-clefts - are investigated from a quantitative and qualitative perspective. The author argues that topic markers have procedural meaning and that their function is bound to their syntactic position. An important contribution of this study is the fact that real linguistic evidence (in the form of data from various corpora) is analyzed instead of operating with constructed examples.

The Syntax-Phonology Interface in Focus and Topic Constructions in Italian

M. Frascarelli
The Syntax Phonology Interface in Focus and Topic Constructions in Italian Book PDF

Author : M. Frascarelli
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2000-04-30
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 0792362403

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The Syntax-Phonology Interface in Focus and Topic Constructions in Italian by M. Frascarelli Pdf

"Though centered on Italian, cross-linguistic analysis is extensively provided: data from languages as diverse as English, Hungarian, Modern Greek, Hausa, Chichewa, Serbo-Croatian and Somali are used to show that despite surface variations, the interface interpretation of Focus and Topic lies in the interaction between base-generated extraposition and feature-checking." "This book targets scholars and researchers in linguistics who are interested in syntactic and/or phonological analysis of discourse-related categories within the Minimalist approach."--BOOK JACKET.

The Dynamics of Focus Structure

Nomi Erteschik-Shir
The Dynamics of Focus Structure Book PDF

Author : Nomi Erteschik-Shir
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 298 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 1997
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780521592178

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The Dynamics of Focus Structure by Nomi Erteschik-Shir Pdf

Develops a new theory of focus structure, exploring the role of focusing in natural language sentence.

On Information Structure, Meaning and Form

Kerstin Schwabe,Susanne Winkler
On Information Structure Meaning and Form Book PDF

Author : Kerstin Schwabe,Susanne Winkler
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 584 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9027233640

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On Information Structure, Meaning and Form by Kerstin Schwabe,Susanne Winkler Pdf

This collection of articles offers a new and compelling perspective on the interface connecting syntax, phonology, semantics and pragmatics. At the core of this volume is the hypothesis that information structure represents the common interface of these grammatical components. Information structure is investigated here from different theoretical viewpoints yielding typologically relevant information and structural generalizations. In the volume's introductory chapter, the editors identify two central approaches to information structure: the formal and the interpretive view. The remainder of the book is organized accordingly. The first part examines information structure and grammar, concentrating on generalizations across languages. The second part investigates information structure and pragmatics, concentrating on clause structure and context. Through concrete analyses of topic, focus, and related phenomena across different languages, the contributors add new and convincing evidence to the research on information structure.

The Grammar of Focus

Georges Rebuschi,Laurice Tuller
The Grammar of Focus Book PDF

Author : Georges Rebuschi,Laurice Tuller
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 382 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9027227454

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The Grammar of Focus by Georges Rebuschi,Laurice Tuller Pdf

The grammar of focus has been studied in generative grammar from its inception. It has been the subject of intense, detailed cross-linguistic investigation for over 20 years, particularly within the Principles and Parameters framework. It is appropriate at this point, therefore, to take stock. Appraisal at this particular point is all the more legitimate because it comes at a time of general evaluation of the results of the profound activity that has characterized the Principles and Parameters framework. This general assessment has produced a radical new direction within that framework. The volume starts off with an introductory chapter that aims to provide an outline for the assessment, to be followed by an overview of the evolution of the study of focus in generative grammar, and a recapitulation of the principal issues associated with focus. These issues are taken up in the remaining chapters of the book, where various grammatical means of marking focus (as well as grammaticalization of focus marking) are analyzed in a wide variety of languages.

Current Studies in Italian Syntax

Guglielmo Cinque,Giampaolo Salvi
Current Studies in Italian Syntax Book PDF

Author : Guglielmo Cinque,Giampaolo Salvi
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 338 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2021-10-01
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780585473949

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Current Studies in Italian Syntax by Guglielmo Cinque,Giampaolo Salvi Pdf

Includes sixteen contributions which are representative of the research carried out in Italy on Italian and, more generally, Romance syntax. The essays in this work are collected to pay homage to Professor Lorenzo Renzi, a scholar who has since the 1960s promoted and shaped the study of Italian syntax in Italy.

The Architecture of Focus

Valéria Molnár,Susanne Winkler
The Architecture of Focus Book PDF

Author : Valéria Molnár,Susanne Winkler
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
Page : 629 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2011-12-22
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9783110922011

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The Architecture of Focus by Valéria Molnár,Susanne Winkler Pdf

This collection investigates the architecture of focus in linguistic theory from different theoretical perspectives. Research on focus and information structure in the last four decades has shown that the phenomenon of focus is highly complex, the theoretical approaches manifold, and the data highly sensitive. The main emphasis has been placed on the integration of the notion of focus in generative grammar. In recent years, however, the approaches to focus and information structure underwent a radical change in perspective. The theoretical concept of focus, its related terms and phenomena became the object of research. Along with it, the research questions shifted: instead of locating focus in the architecture of grammar, linguists investigate the architecture of focus itself. The central underlying idea of this collection is to document this change in perspective with the aim of isolating essential keystones and research areas in both the theoretical and empirical domain. The book is structured accordingly. Following the introduction, there are four main sections: The general section discusses the theoretical foundations of focus within grammar. The second section hosts papers which investigate the representation of focus and topic at the syntax-pragmatics interface. The third section discusses the phonological representation of focus and its relation to meaning. The papers of the final section investigate different types of focus constructions in a variety languages. The collection of papers on the architecture of focus, its interpretation and representation mirror the establishment of the focus research field.

The Oxford Handbook of Information Structure

Caroline Féry,Shinichiro Ishihara
The Oxford Handbook of Information Structure Book PDF

Author : Caroline Féry,Shinichiro Ishihara
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 993 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2016
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780199642670

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The Oxford Handbook of Information Structure by Caroline Féry,Shinichiro Ishihara Pdf

"Researchers survey the main theories of information structure in syntax, phonology, and semantics as well as perspectives from psycholinguistics and other relevant fields"--Del editor.