The Meaning of Topic and Focus: The 59th Street Bridge Accent

By Daniel Büring

Book Overview

This study provides an illuminating and ground-breaking account of the complex interaction of intonational phenomena, semantics and pragmatics. Based on examples from German and English, and centred on an analysis of the fall-rise intonation contour, a semantic interpretation for two different pitch accents - Focus and Topic - is developed. The cross-sentence, as well as the sentence internal semantic effects of these accents, follow from the given treatment. The account is based on Montogovian possible world semantics and Chomskian generative syntax.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 113898065X
• ISBN13: 9781138980655
• Release Date: April 2016
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"