Discourse relations and the German prefield
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Augustin Speyer
Abstract
The prefield in German declarative main clauses (i.e. the area left of the tensed verb) usually contains exactly one phrase. As I showed in earlier work, the phrase-selection is guided by information-structural factors, scene-setting elements being preferred over contrastive elements, which in turn are preferred over aboutness topics. This paper investigates the role of discourse relations on the ranking of possible prefield phrases. It turns out that discourse relations have a direct impact on the ranking (e.g. with Explanation, topics are preferred over contrastive elements) and that phrasal discourse relation markers enter the ranking, being the most preferred prefield fillers. In Early New High German texts, this tendency is even stronger.
Abstract
The prefield in German declarative main clauses (i.e. the area left of the tensed verb) usually contains exactly one phrase. As I showed in earlier work, the phrase-selection is guided by information-structural factors, scene-setting elements being preferred over contrastive elements, which in turn are preferred over aboutness topics. This paper investigates the role of discourse relations on the ranking of possible prefield phrases. It turns out that discourse relations have a direct impact on the ranking (e.g. with Explanation, topics are preferred over contrastive elements) and that phrasal discourse relation markers enter the ranking, being the most preferred prefield fillers. In Early New High German texts, this tendency is even stronger.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Interface phenomena and language change 1
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Part I. Interface phenomena at the intrasentential level
- Information structure and Jespersen’s cycle 35
- The object position in Old Norwegian 61
- Bare quantifiers and Verb Second 95
- On the role of information structure in the licensing of null subjects in Old High German 123
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Part II. Interface phenomena at the intersentential level
- Gehen as a new auxiliary in German 165
- Discourse-driven asymmetries between embedded interrogatives and relative clauses in West Germanic 189
- Discourse relations and the German prefield 215
- Informational aspects of the extraposition of relative clauses 235
- Index 253
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Interface phenomena and language change 1
-
Part I. Interface phenomena at the intrasentential level
- Information structure and Jespersen’s cycle 35
- The object position in Old Norwegian 61
- Bare quantifiers and Verb Second 95
- On the role of information structure in the licensing of null subjects in Old High German 123
-
Part II. Interface phenomena at the intersentential level
- Gehen as a new auxiliary in German 165
- Discourse-driven asymmetries between embedded interrogatives and relative clauses in West Germanic 189
- Discourse relations and the German prefield 215
- Informational aspects of the extraposition of relative clauses 235
- Index 253
