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Left peripheral focus: mismatches between syntax and information structure
Full text linkIn Czech, German, and many other languages, part of the semantic focus of the utterance can be moved to the left periphery of the clause. The main generalization is that only the leftmost accented part of the semantic focus can be moved. We propose that movement to the left periphery is generally triggered by an unspecific edge feature of C (Chomsky 2008) and its restrictions can be attributed to requirements of cyclic linearization, modifying the theory of cyclic linearization developed by Fox and Pesetsky (2005). The crucial assumption is that structural accent is a direct consequence of being linearized at merge, thus it is indirectly relevant for (locality restrictions on) movement. The absence of structural accent correlates with givenness. Given elements may later receive (topic or contrastive) accents, which accounts for fronting in multiple focus/contrastive topic constructions. Without any additional assumptions, the model can account for movement of pragmatically unmarked elements to the left periphery ('formal fronting', Frey 2005). Crucially, the analysis makes no reference at all to concepts of information structure in the syntax, in line with the claim of Chomsky (2008) that UG specifies no direct link between syntax and information structure
Cyclic phonology–syntax-interaction : movement to first position in German
No full textThis paper investigates the nature of the attraction of XPs to clauseinitial position in German (and other languages). It argues that there are two different types of preposing. First, an XP can move when it is attracted by an EPP-like feature of Comp. Comp can, however, also attract elements that bear the formal marker of some semantic or pragmatic (information theoretic) function. This second type of movement is driven by the attraction of a formal property of the moved element. It has often been misanalysed as “operator” movement in the past
The discourse function of inverse voice: An experimental study in Teribe (Chibchan)
Full text linkQuesada JD, Skopeteas S. The discourse function of inverse voice: An experimental study in Teribe (Chibchan). Journal of Pragmatics. 2010;42(9):2579-2600.It has been argued that the use of inverse voice in languages with pragmatic inversion depends on the discourse status of the referents: this voice occurs when the patient outranks the agent in topicality. In our article, we present empirical evidence from Teribe, a Chibchan language of Panama and Costa Rica and we examine the interaction between inverse voice and information structure. We report the results of three production experiments which show that there is a strong correlation but not a categorical association between inverse voice and particular information structural properties. On this empirical basis, we claim that the occurrence of inverse voice in discourse may be accounted for in terms of discourse-oriented preferences concerning the linear order and does not require the assumption that discrete pragmatic properties such as topic or focus are inherent part of the construction at issue
The restricted access of information structure to syntax : a minority report
No full textThis paper sketches the view that syntax does not directly interact with information structure. Therefore, syntactic data are of little help when one wants to narrow down the interpretation of terms such as “focus”, “topic”, etc
Constituent Order in Multiple Questions: Normal Order and (Apparent) Anti-Superiority Effects
No full textConstituent Order in Multiple Questions: Normal Order and (Apparent) Anti-Superiority Effects
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