The relation between syntactic and prosodic parenthesis
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Nicole Dehé
Abstract
It is a common assumption in previous research on parentheticals that syntactic and prosodic parentheses coincide such that strings that are parentheticals in the syntax are marked by certain defining prosodic characteristics in speech. Based on the analysis of a set of spontaneous British English speech data this paper shows that a one-to-one relation of this kind does not exist. Rather, there are a number of options for the prosodic realisation of syntactic parenthesis, including prototypical patterns along with various ways of prosodic integration. It follows from the results that the prediction made by prosodic theory that parentheticals form separate intonation domains is too strong in the light of actual spoken language data.
Abstract
It is a common assumption in previous research on parentheticals that syntactic and prosodic parentheses coincide such that strings that are parentheticals in the syntax are marked by certain defining prosodic characteristics in speech. Based on the analysis of a set of spontaneous British English speech data this paper shows that a one-to-one relation of this kind does not exist. Rather, there are a number of options for the prosodic realisation of syntactic parenthesis, including prototypical patterns along with various ways of prosodic integration. It follows from the results that the prediction made by prosodic theory that parentheticals form separate intonation domains is too strong in the light of actual spoken language data.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- List of contributors ix
- Parentheticals 1
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SYNTAX AND ITS INTERFACES
- Spoken parenthetical clauses in English 25
- Integrated parentheticals and assertional complements 53
- The complement of reduced parentheticals 89
- Long extraction or parenthetical insertion? Evidence from judgement studies 121
- And -parenthetical clauses 145
- On the syntax and semantics of appositive relative clauses 173
- Invisible constituents? Parentheticals as b-merged adverbial phrases 203
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SEMANTICS/PRAGMATICS AND THEIR INTERFACES
- Reduced parenthetical clauses in Romance languages: A pragmatic typology 237
-
PROSODY AND ITS INTERFACES
- The relation between syntactic and prosodic parenthesis 261
- Quieter, faster, lower, and set off by pauses? Reflections on prosodic aspects of parenthetical constructions in modern German 285
- Name Index 309
- Subject Index 311
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- List of contributors ix
- Parentheticals 1
-
SYNTAX AND ITS INTERFACES
- Spoken parenthetical clauses in English 25
- Integrated parentheticals and assertional complements 53
- The complement of reduced parentheticals 89
- Long extraction or parenthetical insertion? Evidence from judgement studies 121
- And -parenthetical clauses 145
- On the syntax and semantics of appositive relative clauses 173
- Invisible constituents? Parentheticals as b-merged adverbial phrases 203
-
SEMANTICS/PRAGMATICS AND THEIR INTERFACES
- Reduced parenthetical clauses in Romance languages: A pragmatic typology 237
-
PROSODY AND ITS INTERFACES
- The relation between syntactic and prosodic parenthesis 261
- Quieter, faster, lower, and set off by pauses? Reflections on prosodic aspects of parenthetical constructions in modern German 285
- Name Index 309
- Subject Index 311
