6 Contrast via information structure: On topic development with German aber in post-initial position
Abstract
In order to distinguish different relations of contrast, research on German aber ‘but’ also takes into account its syntactic position. In post-initial position, i.e. between prefield-constituent and finite verb (‘Forefield particle’ in Sabo 2003) which is generally associated with signaling a topic shift (cf. Breindl 2011), aber is said to express one of the contrastive relations defined via information structural properties (cf. e.g. Sabo 2003). As corpus data reveal, however, post-initial aber may also ‘formally isolate’ non-topical constituents such as comparative constructions (e.g. noch weniger ‘even less’) and even sentence adverbials such as tatsachlich ‘indeed/in reality’. Interestingly, such divergences from potential topicality also involve different contrastive relations commonly analyzed in terms of inferences instead of information structural properties. In this paper, we investigate how topic development, i.e. the topic potential of the prefield constituent, as well as the topic progression between the conjuncts, can be employed as a formal means to distinguish different kinds of contrast in corpus data: a Structural Contrast relying on specific patterns of topic development and a Non-Structural Contrast where topicality is not the primary level of contrast, but other formal means may be indicative.
Abstract
In order to distinguish different relations of contrast, research on German aber ‘but’ also takes into account its syntactic position. In post-initial position, i.e. between prefield-constituent and finite verb (‘Forefield particle’ in Sabo 2003) which is generally associated with signaling a topic shift (cf. Breindl 2011), aber is said to express one of the contrastive relations defined via information structural properties (cf. e.g. Sabo 2003). As corpus data reveal, however, post-initial aber may also ‘formally isolate’ non-topical constituents such as comparative constructions (e.g. noch weniger ‘even less’) and even sentence adverbials such as tatsachlich ‘indeed/in reality’. Interestingly, such divergences from potential topicality also involve different contrastive relations commonly analyzed in terms of inferences instead of information structural properties. In this paper, we investigate how topic development, i.e. the topic potential of the prefield constituent, as well as the topic progression between the conjuncts, can be employed as a formal means to distinguish different kinds of contrast in corpus data: a Structural Contrast relying on specific patterns of topic development and a Non-Structural Contrast where topicality is not the primary level of contrast, but other formal means may be indicative.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1 The complex nature of contrast 1
-
Part I: Contrast versus topic and focus
- 2 Experimental testing of focus fronting in British English 21
- 3 Contrast and left dislocations: Contrastive discourse relations beyond contrastive topics 41
- 4 Contrast and topics: An enquiry into Hindi particle -to 69
-
Part II: Different types of contrast
- 5 Mirativity, obviousness, and reversal as instances of contrast on different levels of meaning: Evidence from Spanish intonation 101
- 6 Contrast via information structure: On topic development with German aber in post-initial position 131
- 7 Definition of contrast in spoken and signed data: An overview 161
-
Part III: Analyzing contrast using the Question Under Discussion model
- 8 Contrast in a QUD-based informationstructure model 191
- 9 Contrast, concession, and QUD-trees 225
- Subject index 263
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1 The complex nature of contrast 1
-
Part I: Contrast versus topic and focus
- 2 Experimental testing of focus fronting in British English 21
- 3 Contrast and left dislocations: Contrastive discourse relations beyond contrastive topics 41
- 4 Contrast and topics: An enquiry into Hindi particle -to 69
-
Part II: Different types of contrast
- 5 Mirativity, obviousness, and reversal as instances of contrast on different levels of meaning: Evidence from Spanish intonation 101
- 6 Contrast via information structure: On topic development with German aber in post-initial position 131
- 7 Definition of contrast in spoken and signed data: An overview 161
-
Part III: Analyzing contrast using the Question Under Discussion model
- 8 Contrast in a QUD-based informationstructure model 191
- 9 Contrast, concession, and QUD-trees 225
- Subject index 263
