On Information Structure, Meaning and Form

Generalizations across languages

Editors

Kerstin Schwabe | ZAS, Berlin

Susanne Winkler | University of Tuebingen

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027233646 | EUR 140.00 | USD 210.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027292643 | EUR 140.00 | USD 210.00

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.

[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 100] 2007. vii, 570 pp.

Publishing status: Available

https://doi.org/10.1075/la.100

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments | p. ix

On Information Structure, Meaning and Form: Generalizations Across Languages

Kerstin Schwabe and Susanne Winkler | pp. 1–29

Part I Information structure and grammar: Generalizations across languages

Phases and the typology of focus constructions

Hans Bernhard Drubig | pp. 33–66

1.1 Topics and topicalization across languages

The prosody of topicalization

Caroline Féry | pp. 69–86

Types of topics in German and Italian

Mara Frascarelli and Roland Hinterhölzl | pp. 87–116

The Korean particle nun, the English fall-rise accent, and thetic/categorical judgements

Jorunn Hetland | pp. 117–127

Topicalization in Malagasy, Tagalog and Tsou

Paul Law | pp. 129–154

On the discourse configurationality of West Germanic

László Molnárfi | pp. 155–181

Topic, focus and default vs. contrastive accent: typological differences with respect to discourse prominence

Werner Abraham | pp. 183–203

1.2 Focus and focus movement across languages

Identifying inferences in focus

Dan Wedgwood | pp. 207–227

Focus structure and the interpretation of multiple questions

Balázs Surányi | pp. 229–253

Focus structure, movement to spec-Foc and syntactic processing

Carsten Breul | pp. 255–274

Focus and marked positions for VP adverbs

Edward Göbbel | pp. 275–300

Ellipsis and inversion: A feature-based focus account

Remus Gergel, Kirsten Gengel and Susanne Winkler | pp. 301–322

Subject/object-asymmetry in Northern Sotho

Sabine Zerbian | pp. 323–345

Wide focus interpretation with fronted focus exponents in Czech

Denisa Lenertová and Uwe Junghanns | pp. 347–363

In place — out of place? Focus strategies in Hausa

Katharina Hartmann and Malte Zimmermann | pp. 365–403

Part II Information structure and pragmatics: Clause structure and context

Instructions for interpretation as separate performatives

Paul Portner | pp. 407–425

Interrogative complement clauses

Kerstin Schwabe | pp. 427–446

The syntax and pragmatics of embedded yes/no questions

Regine Eckardt | pp. 447–466

Toward a uniform analysis of short answers and gapping

Ingo Reich | pp. 467–484

Alternative Semantics for definite NPs

Klaus von Heusinger | pp. 485–508

The information structure of bare plurals in English and Italian

Ariel Cohen | pp. 509–521

Name index | pp. 559–562

Subject index | pp. 563–566

“ On Information Structure, Meaning and Form is an attractive collection of papers which addresses the interfaces of information structure from both the formal perspective (prosody, morphosyntax) and the interpretive perspective (semantics, pragmatics). The book not only shows that information structure is essential in all disciplines of linguistics, but also demonstrates how information structure may be linked to the various areas of linguistic research and how this link can be formalised. In doing so, it fits in the recently increased interest in information structure and contributes to the ongoing discussions in the study of information structure itself and the way it interfaces with semantics, pragmatics, phonology and morphosyntax.”

Jenneke van der Wal, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Gramis Project, Tervuren, in Linguistische Berichte 222: 253-256

Cited by

Cited by 11 other publications

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Breul, Carsten

2008. On identifiability and definiteness in English and German. Languages in Contrast 8:2 ► pp. 287 ff.

Catasso, Nicholas

2024. A Cartographic Approach to Verb Movement and Two Types of FinP V2 in German. Languages 9:1 ► pp. 21 ff.

Cognola, Federica & Jan Casalicchio

2023. Microvariation in the Distribution of Resumptive Pronouns in the Left Dislocation Construction in Two Tyrolean Dialects of Northern Italy. Languages 8:2 ► pp. 91 ff.

De Cia, Simone & Mariangela Cerullo

2024. Towards a Typology of Zero Aboutness: Expletive A in Fornese and Chiru in Cilentano. Languages 9:2 ► pp. 60 ff.

Matić, Dejan

2022. Alternatives to information structure. In When Data Challenges Theory [Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 273], ► pp. 92 ff.

van der Wal, Jenneke

2015. Information structure, (inter)subjectivity and objectification. Journal of Linguistics 51:2 ► pp. 425 ff.

Wowro, Iwona

2021. Aequivocatio mater errorum? Ambiquitäten und Äquivokationen im Bereich des scherzhaften „Definierens“. Prace Językoznawcze 23:4 ► pp. 23 ff.

Ylinärä, Elina, Giorgio Carella & Mara Frascarelli

2023. Confronting Focus Strategies in Finnish and in Italian: An Experimental Study on Object Focusing. Languages 8:1 ► pp. 32 ff.

Zimmermann, Malte & Constantine Kouankem

2024. Focus Fronting in a Language with In Situ Marking: The Case of Mǝ̀dʉ́mbà. Languages 9:4 ► pp. 117 ff.

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 16 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

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