Part of
When Data Challenges Theory: Unexpected and paradoxical evidence in information structureEdited by Davide Garassino and Daniel Jacob
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 273] 2022
► pp. 39–56
Edited by Davide Garassino and Daniel Jacob
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 273] 2022
► pp. 39–56
Distinguishing psychological Given/New from linguistic Topic/Focus makes things clearer
The paper suggests that there is no contradiction in cleft sentences focalizing information which was already introduced by the preceding context, because being already active in discourse (i.e., Given) is not the same as being linguistically encoded as a Topic, and Given information can be focalized in discourse. Clefts should be explained precisely as constructions devoted mainly to focalizing already active information. A side-effect of the analysis is to assess that the role of syntax in expressing Information Structure is a secondary one, because syntactic triggers of Information Structure only work when accompanied by prosodic triggers, whereas prosodic means can work alone.
Keywords: information structure, cleft sentences, topic and focus, given and new, syntax and prosody
Article outline
- 1.Two concepts of topic, and some useful definitions
- 2.Non-prototypical clefts?
- 3.Is syntax the real thing?
- 4.Information structure is independent on semantic content
-
Acknowledgments -
Notes -
References
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Cited by
Cited by 4 other publications
Garassino, Davide & Daniel Jacob
2022. Introduction. When data challenges theory. In When Data Challenges Theory [Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 273], ► pp. 2 ff. 
Lahousse, Karen
2022. Is focus a root phenomenon?. In When Data Challenges Theory [Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 273], ► pp. 148 ff.
Masia, Viviana
2022. Remarks on information structure marking asymmetries. In When Data Challenges Theory [Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 273], ► pp. 58 ff.
Rosemeyer, Malte, Daniel Jacob & Lars Konieczny
2022. How alternatives are created. In When Data Challenges Theory [Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 273], ► pp. 116 ff.
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