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Chapter 14. Annotation guidelines for Questions under Discussion and information structure

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Abstract

We present a detailed manual for a pragmatic, i.e. meaning-based, method for the information-structural analysis of naturally attested data, which is built on the idea that for any assertion contained in a text (or transcript of spoken discourse) there is an implicit Question under Discussion (QUD) that determines which parts of the assertion are focused or backgrounded (and which ones are not at issue, i.e. not part of the assertion at all). We formulate a number of constraints, which allow the analyst/annotator to derive QUDs from the previous or upcoming discourse context, and demonstrate the method using corpus examples (of French, German, and English). Since we avoid making reference to language-specific morphosyntactic or prosodic properties, we claim that our method is also cross-linguistically applicable beyond our example languages.

Abstract

We present a detailed manual for a pragmatic, i.e. meaning-based, method for the information-structural analysis of naturally attested data, which is built on the idea that for any assertion contained in a text (or transcript of spoken discourse) there is an implicit Question under Discussion (QUD) that determines which parts of the assertion are focused or backgrounded (and which ones are not at issue, i.e. not part of the assertion at all). We formulate a number of constraints, which allow the analyst/annotator to derive QUDs from the previous or upcoming discourse context, and demonstrate the method using corpus examples (of French, German, and English). Since we avoid making reference to language-specific morphosyntactic or prosodic properties, we claim that our method is also cross-linguistically applicable beyond our example languages.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Investigating information structure in lesser-known and endangered languages 1
  4. Part I. Prosody and information structure
  5. Chapter 2. Prosodic separation of postverbal material in Georgian 17
  6. Chapter 3. Prosodic and morphological focus marking in Ixcatec (Otomanguean) 51
  7. Chapter 4. On being first 85
  8. Chapter 5. Factors behind variation in marking information structure 119
  9. Chapter 6. Macrosyntactic corpus annotation 157
  10. Part II. Syntax and information structure
  11. Chapter 7. Focus marking and differential argument marking 195
  12. Chapter 8. A topic-marking cleft? 217
  13. Chapter 9. Subjects and focus in clefts 245
  14. Chapter 10. The influence of the state distinction on word order and information structure in Kabyle and Siwi (Berber) 265
  15. Chapter 11. Information structure in the Neo-Aramaic dialect of Telkepe 297
  16. Chapter 12. Information structure in a spoken corpus of Cameroon Pidgin English 329
  17. Part III. Views from better described languages
  18. Chapter 13. The illocutionary basis of information structure 359
  19. Chapter 14. Annotation guidelines for Questions under Discussion and information structure 403
  20. Language index 445
  21. Notion index 447
Information Structure in Lesser-described Languages
This chapter is in the book Information Structure in Lesser-described Languages
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.199.14rie

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Investigating information structure in lesser-known and endangered languages 1
  4. Part I. Prosody and information structure
  5. Chapter 2. Prosodic separation of postverbal material in Georgian 17
  6. Chapter 3. Prosodic and morphological focus marking in Ixcatec (Otomanguean) 51
  7. Chapter 4. On being first 85
  8. Chapter 5. Factors behind variation in marking information structure 119
  9. Chapter 6. Macrosyntactic corpus annotation 157
  10. Part II. Syntax and information structure
  11. Chapter 7. Focus marking and differential argument marking 195
  12. Chapter 8. A topic-marking cleft? 217
  13. Chapter 9. Subjects and focus in clefts 245
  14. Chapter 10. The influence of the state distinction on word order and information structure in Kabyle and Siwi (Berber) 265
  15. Chapter 11. Information structure in the Neo-Aramaic dialect of Telkepe 297
  16. Chapter 12. Information structure in a spoken corpus of Cameroon Pidgin English 329
  17. Part III. Views from better described languages
  18. Chapter 13. The illocutionary basis of information structure 359
  19. Chapter 14. Annotation guidelines for Questions under Discussion and information structure 403
  20. Language index 445
  21. Notion index 447
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