Comparative and contrastive studies of information structure / edited by Carsten Breul, Edward Göbbel.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Breul, Carsten.

Göbbel, Edward.

Series:

Linguistik aktuell ; Bd. 165.

Linguistik aktuell = Linguistics today, 0166-0829 ; v. 165

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Grammar, Comparative and general--Syntax.

Grammar, Comparative and general.

Contrastive linguistics.

Focus (Linguistics).

Grammar, Comparative and general--Topic and comment.

Physical Description:

xii, 306 p. : ill.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Philadelphia : John Benjamins Pub. Co., c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The paper presents some ideas on the delineation of a more specific contrastive approach to information structure analysis within the larger and more loosely circumscribed comparative area. It will be argued that this delineation can be effected by emphasising the methodological role of the notion tertium comparationis. Ontological and methodological aspects of contrastive information structure analysis will be discussed, and benefits of taking a specifically contrastive approach to information structure will be pointed out. Finally, some lines of argumentation and observations from the preceding chapters of the present volume that can be construed as instances of contrastive information structure analysis will be briefly recapitulated.

Contents:

Introduction / Carsten Breul, Edward Göbbel & Alexander Thiel

Contrastive topics and distributed foci as instances of sub-informativity : a comparison of English and German / Volker Gast

Givenness and discourse anaphors / Luis López

Constraints on subject-focus mapping in French and English : a contrastive analysis / Knud Lambrecht

Wh-questions in French and English : mapping syntax to information structure / Paul Boucher

A comparative perspective on intensive reflexives : English and Hebrew / Dana Cohen

Focus types and argument asymmetries : a cross-linguistic study in language production / Stavros Skopeteas and Gisbert Fanselow

Topicality in L1-acquisition : a contrastive analysis of null subject expressions in child French and German / Nicole Hauser-Grüdl

Formal and functional constraints on constituent order and their universality / Peter Öhl

On the foundations of the contrastive study of information structure / Carsten Breul.

Notes:

"The present book contains a selection of articles based on papers presented at the conference on 'Contrastive Information Structure Analysis' organised by Carsten Breul at the University of Wuppertal in March 2008"--Pref.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612775031

9781282775039

1282775030

9789027287847

9027287848

OCLC:

705533466