Cognitive Constraints on Assertion Scope
-
Knud Lambrecht✝
Abstract
Cross-linguistic studies have shown that various adverbial subordinating conjunctions can also function to introduce independent assertions. In the domain of causal conjunctions, there is a striking cross-linguistic trend for subordinating ‘because’ to supersede the corresponding coordinating conjunction. This study presents a corpus-based analysis of the use of French parce que in spoken discourse. It looks at the full array of uses of parce que and analyzes them within the information-structure framework of Lambrecht 1994. It shows that parce que clauses are always focal, whereas the main clause can be either focal or topical. If it is topical, the two clauses can be prosodically integrated into a single unit. If it is focal, the two clauses must be separated by some kind of break, allowing the hearer to reinterpret the matrix proposition as a presupposed topic before the causal proposition is processed. This obligatory break can be formally realized by overt lexical material or by a pause, following an utterance-final falling intonation contour on p.
Abstract
Cross-linguistic studies have shown that various adverbial subordinating conjunctions can also function to introduce independent assertions. In the domain of causal conjunctions, there is a striking cross-linguistic trend for subordinating ‘because’ to supersede the corresponding coordinating conjunction. This study presents a corpus-based analysis of the use of French parce que in spoken discourse. It looks at the full array of uses of parce que and analyzes them within the information-structure framework of Lambrecht 1994. It shows that parce que clauses are always focal, whereas the main clause can be either focal or topical. If it is topical, the two clauses can be prosodically integrated into a single unit. If it is focal, the two clauses must be separated by some kind of break, allowing the hearer to reinterpret the matrix proposition as a presupposed topic before the causal proposition is processed. This obligatory break can be formally realized by overt lexical material or by a pause, following an utterance-final falling intonation contour on p.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction ix
- A Polarity-Sensitive Disjunction 1
- Taking a Closer Look at Romance VN Compounds 13
- Beyond Descriptivism 27
- Do Subjects Have a Place in Spanish? 51
- On the Conceptual Role of Number 67
- The Diachronic Development of a French Indefinite Pronoun 83
- A Syntactic Analysis of Italian Deverbal-Nouns 97
- V-N Compounds In Italian 113
- A Reinterpretation of Quirky Subjects and Related Phenomena in Spanish 127
- Cognitive Constraints on Assertion Scope 143
- Avant que - or Avant de -Clauses 155
- Null Directional Prepositions in Romanian and Spanish 169
- A Unified Account for the Additive and the Scalar Uses of Italian Neppure 187
- Default Morphology in Second Language Spanish 201
- Early Object Omission in Child French and English 213
- Agreement Paradigms Across Moods and Tenses 229
- Italian Volerci 247
- Restructuring of Reverse Psychological Predicate 263
- Subject Index 279
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction ix
- A Polarity-Sensitive Disjunction 1
- Taking a Closer Look at Romance VN Compounds 13
- Beyond Descriptivism 27
- Do Subjects Have a Place in Spanish? 51
- On the Conceptual Role of Number 67
- The Diachronic Development of a French Indefinite Pronoun 83
- A Syntactic Analysis of Italian Deverbal-Nouns 97
- V-N Compounds In Italian 113
- A Reinterpretation of Quirky Subjects and Related Phenomena in Spanish 127
- Cognitive Constraints on Assertion Scope 143
- Avant que - or Avant de -Clauses 155
- Null Directional Prepositions in Romanian and Spanish 169
- A Unified Account for the Additive and the Scalar Uses of Italian Neppure 187
- Default Morphology in Second Language Spanish 201
- Early Object Omission in Child French and English 213
- Agreement Paradigms Across Moods and Tenses 229
- Italian Volerci 247
- Restructuring of Reverse Psychological Predicate 263
- Subject Index 279
