Information-structural Constraints on PP Topicalization from NPs
-
Kordula De Kuthy
Abstract
In this paper, we discuss PP extraction from complex NPs such as [Aus Tübingen]i haben [mehrere Studenten ti] am Forschungswettbewerb teilgenommen. (‘From Tübingen have several students in the research contest participated’). Extractions from complex NPs are difficult to capture since they are subject to various restrictions related to the syntactic status of the extracted PP, the semantic relation between the verb and the complex NP, and the type of verb involved. In this paper, we will concentrate on one particular kind of extraction, the PP topicalization from NPs. This PP topicalization has been shown to be dependent on an appropriate context. In order to account for the discourse properties of the construction, we present an account based on the Questions under Discussion (QUD) approach to information structure. Modeling QUDs is starting to emerge as a fruitful way to define an explicit hinge between the properties of the sentence and the nature of the discourse in which the sentence can function. The proposed QUD analysis is based on attested data from corpora, which is supplemented by experimental evidence.
Abstract
In this paper, we discuss PP extraction from complex NPs such as [Aus Tübingen]i haben [mehrere Studenten ti] am Forschungswettbewerb teilgenommen. (‘From Tübingen have several students in the research contest participated’). Extractions from complex NPs are difficult to capture since they are subject to various restrictions related to the syntactic status of the extracted PP, the semantic relation between the verb and the complex NP, and the type of verb involved. In this paper, we will concentrate on one particular kind of extraction, the PP topicalization from NPs. This PP topicalization has been shown to be dependent on an appropriate context. In order to account for the discourse properties of the construction, we present an account based on the Questions under Discussion (QUD) approach to information structure. Modeling QUDs is starting to emerge as a fruitful way to define an explicit hinge between the properties of the sentence and the nature of the discourse in which the sentence can function. The proposed QUD analysis is based on attested data from corpora, which is supplemented by experimental evidence.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents IX
- Exploring the Architecture of Topic at the Interface of Grammar and Discourse 1
-
Part I: Semantic and Discourse-pragmatic Correlates of Topicality
- Topics and Givenness 47
- The Role of Topics in Licensing Anaphoric Relations in VP-ellipsis 67
- Topic Marking and Illocutionary Force 95
- Topics, Conversational Dynamics and the Root/Non-root Distinction: Adverbial Clauses at the Discourse-syntax Interface 139
-
Part II: Variation in the Grammatical Encoding of Topicality: Clause-internal, Clause-external and Null Topics
- Why Topicalize VP? 173
- Information-structural Constraints on PP Topicalization from NPs 203
- Stage Topics and their Architecture 223
- Topicality in Icelandic: Null Arguments and Narrative Inversion 249
- Apropos the Topic 273
- Discourse Topic vs. Sentence Topic Exploiting the Right Periphery of German Verb-second Sentences 293
-
PART III: Topics from the Diachronic Perspective
- Topichood and the Margins of the German Clause from a Historical Perspective 337
- Stylistic Fronting at the Interface of Syntax and Discourse 373
- Index 425
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents IX
- Exploring the Architecture of Topic at the Interface of Grammar and Discourse 1
-
Part I: Semantic and Discourse-pragmatic Correlates of Topicality
- Topics and Givenness 47
- The Role of Topics in Licensing Anaphoric Relations in VP-ellipsis 67
- Topic Marking and Illocutionary Force 95
- Topics, Conversational Dynamics and the Root/Non-root Distinction: Adverbial Clauses at the Discourse-syntax Interface 139
-
Part II: Variation in the Grammatical Encoding of Topicality: Clause-internal, Clause-external and Null Topics
- Why Topicalize VP? 173
- Information-structural Constraints on PP Topicalization from NPs 203
- Stage Topics and their Architecture 223
- Topicality in Icelandic: Null Arguments and Narrative Inversion 249
- Apropos the Topic 273
- Discourse Topic vs. Sentence Topic Exploiting the Right Periphery of German Verb-second Sentences 293
-
PART III: Topics from the Diachronic Perspective
- Topichood and the Margins of the German Clause from a Historical Perspective 337
- Stylistic Fronting at the Interface of Syntax and Discourse 373
- Index 425
