1. Semantics of intonation
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Hubert Truckenbrodt
Abstract
This article concentrates on the meaning of intonation contours in English. It presents and combines results of Pierrehumbert and Hirschberg (1990) and Bartels (1999), among others, and adds new suggestions to issues that are unresolved there. In the resulting account, the H* tone (often found in a falling contour) requires a salient proposition that the speaker is adding to the common ground; the H- tone (often found in a rising contour) requires a salient proposition that the speaker is putting up for question. The speaker- and addressee parameters employed by the intonation are shared with the interpretation of pronouns. The discussion concentrates on intonation in declaratives and in a range of interrogatives. It includes the role of intonation in vocatives and in echo questions.
Abstract
This article concentrates on the meaning of intonation contours in English. It presents and combines results of Pierrehumbert and Hirschberg (1990) and Bartels (1999), among others, and adds new suggestions to issues that are unresolved there. In the resulting account, the H* tone (often found in a falling contour) requires a salient proposition that the speaker is adding to the common ground; the H- tone (often found in a rising contour) requires a salient proposition that the speaker is putting up for question. The speaker- and addressee parameters employed by the intonation are shared with the interpretation of pronouns. The discussion concentrates on intonation in declaratives and in a range of interrogatives. It includes the role of intonation in vocatives and in echo questions.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1. Semantics of intonation 1
- 2. Semantics of inflection 41
- 3. Semantics of derivational morphology 75
- 4. Semantics of compounds 103
- 5. Semantics in Distributed Morphology 143
- 6. Syntax and semantics: An overview 169
- 7. Operations on argument structure 233
- 8. Type shifting 277
- 9. Constructional meaning and compositionality 293
- 10. Scalar implicature as a grammatical phenomenon 325
- 11. Semantics/pragmatics boundary disputes 368
- 12. Context dependence 403
- 13. Deixis and demonstratives 463
- 14. Presupposition 494
- 15. Implicature 529
- 16. Game theory in semantics and pragmatics 563
- 17. Conventional implicature and expressive content 598
- Index 623
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1. Semantics of intonation 1
- 2. Semantics of inflection 41
- 3. Semantics of derivational morphology 75
- 4. Semantics of compounds 103
- 5. Semantics in Distributed Morphology 143
- 6. Syntax and semantics: An overview 169
- 7. Operations on argument structure 233
- 8. Type shifting 277
- 9. Constructional meaning and compositionality 293
- 10. Scalar implicature as a grammatical phenomenon 325
- 11. Semantics/pragmatics boundary disputes 368
- 12. Context dependence 403
- 13. Deixis and demonstratives 463
- 14. Presupposition 494
- 15. Implicature 529
- 16. Game theory in semantics and pragmatics 563
- 17. Conventional implicature and expressive content 598
- Index 623
