John Benjamins Publishing Company
Chapter 2. Information-structural properties of is that clauses
Abstract
This article is concerned with what are known as inferential constructions, i.e. clauses where the expressions it’s (just) that or it’s not that have gained the function of discourse markers. Similar expressions also exist in Romance. The corresponding construction in Spanish is introduced by es que and the content of the following clause is always focal, in the sense that it contains information that relates to a variable inferable from the context (exhaustive information focus). The particular information-structural properties presented by both the es que-construction and its negative and interrogative counterparts can only be explained by an analysis of their underlying development. In this respect, these constructions constitute a good illustration of the interplay of discourse and grammaticalization, especially the interface between syntax and pragmatics, where information-structural properties are located.
Abstract
This article is concerned with what are known as inferential constructions, i.e. clauses where the expressions it’s (just) that or it’s not that have gained the function of discourse markers. Similar expressions also exist in Romance. The corresponding construction in Spanish is introduced by es que and the content of the following clause is always focal, in the sense that it contains information that relates to a variable inferable from the context (exhaustive information focus). The particular information-structural properties presented by both the es que-construction and its negative and interrogative counterparts can only be explained by an analysis of their underlying development. In this respect, these constructions constitute a good illustration of the interplay of discourse and grammaticalization, especially the interface between syntax and pragmatics, where information-structural properties are located.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. The contribution of information structural strategies to the rise of discourse particles
- Chapter 1. Discourse particle position and information structure 27
- Chapter 2. Information-structural properties of is that clauses 47
- Chapter 3. Kazakh particle ğoj as an existential operator 71
- Chapter 4. From focus marking to illocutionary modification 111
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Part II. Information structure as a factor in the interpretation of polysemic and polyfunctional particles
- Chapter 5. Final or medial 135
- Chapter 6. Types and functions of wa -marked DPs and their structural distribution in a Japanese sentence 161
- Chapter 7. Is the information-structural contribution of modal particles in the syntax, in discourse structure, or in both? 177
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Part III. The contribution of discourse particles to the information-structural characterization of illocutionary acts
- Chapter 8. Discourse particles in thetic judgments, in dependent sentences, and in non-finite phrases 195
- Chapter 9. Information structure, null case particle and sentence final discourse particle 223
- Chapter 10. The discourse marker hani in Turkish 251
- Chapter 11. Modal particles in Basque 277
- Language index 301
- Subject Index 303
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. The contribution of information structural strategies to the rise of discourse particles
- Chapter 1. Discourse particle position and information structure 27
- Chapter 2. Information-structural properties of is that clauses 47
- Chapter 3. Kazakh particle ğoj as an existential operator 71
- Chapter 4. From focus marking to illocutionary modification 111
-
Part II. Information structure as a factor in the interpretation of polysemic and polyfunctional particles
- Chapter 5. Final or medial 135
- Chapter 6. Types and functions of wa -marked DPs and their structural distribution in a Japanese sentence 161
- Chapter 7. Is the information-structural contribution of modal particles in the syntax, in discourse structure, or in both? 177
-
Part III. The contribution of discourse particles to the information-structural characterization of illocutionary acts
- Chapter 8. Discourse particles in thetic judgments, in dependent sentences, and in non-finite phrases 195
- Chapter 9. Information structure, null case particle and sentence final discourse particle 223
- Chapter 10. The discourse marker hani in Turkish 251
- Chapter 11. Modal particles in Basque 277
- Language index 301
- Subject Index 303
