Focus Particles in German
Syntax, prosody, and information structure
This study explores the grammar of focus particles in German. It gives a thorough description and analysis of focus particle constructions and links their syntactic, semantic, and information structural properties to their prosodic characteristics. The study also shows that focus particles present a particularly well-suited subject for the investigation of the modularity of grammar in general. The first part of the book deals with the syntax, semantics, and pragmatics of focus particle constructions and results in a modular account of the relation between their word order, information structure, and meaning. The second part presents a corpus study and several speech production and perception experiments investigating the prosodic realization of the constructions. The integration of these two lines of research results in a comprehensive theory of focus particles and of the interaction of grammar and information structure in German.
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 151] 2010. xiii, 335 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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Acknowledgments
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xi
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Abbreviations and notational conventions
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xiii
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1. Introduction
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1–4
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2. Theoretical background
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5–31
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3. The semantics of focus particles
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33–57
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4. Focus particles, syntax, and information structure
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59–148
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5. The scope of focus particles
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149–171
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6. The prosody of sentences with stressed additive focus particles
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173–246
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7. Focus particles and contrast
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247–287
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8. Conclusion
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289–291
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Appendix
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293–306
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Bibliography
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307–323
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Name index
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325–327
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Subject index
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329–335
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“This is an impressive work of scholarship.”
Bob Ladd, University of Edinburgh
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Subjects & Metadata
BIC Subject: CFK – Grammar, syntax
BISAC Subject: LAN009000 – LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General