Topic and focus : two structural positions associated with logical functionsin the left periphery of the Hungarian sentence

The paper explicates the notions of topic, contrastive topic, and focus as used in the analysis of Hungarian. Based on distributional criteria, topic and focus are claimed to represent distinct structural positions in the left periphery of the Hungarian sentence, associated with logical rather than discourse functions. The topic is interpreted as the logical subject of predication. The focus is analyzed as a derived main predicate, specifying the referential content of the set denoted by the backgrounded post-focus section of the sentence. The exhaustivity associated with the focus and the existential presupposition associated with the background are shown to be properties following from their specificational predication relation.

Metadaten
Author:	Katalin E. Kiss
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hebis:30-1112642
URL:	http://www.sfb632.uni-potsdam.de/publications/isis06_4kiss.pdf
ISBN:	978-3-939469-88-9
Parent Title (German):	The notions of information structure / Caroline Féry (ed.) ; Working Papers of the SFB 632, Interdisciplinary studies on information structure (ISIS) ; Vol. 6
Publisher:	Univ.-Verl.
Place of publication:	Potsdam
Document Type:	Part of a Book
Language:	English
Date of Publication (online):	2008/11/10
Year of first Publication:	2007
Publishing Institution:	Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:	2008/11/10
Tag:	contrastive topic; exhaustive identification; focus; topic
Page Number:	14
First Page:	69
Last Page:	82
Source:	http://www.sfb632.uni-potsdam.de/publications/isis06_4kiss.pdf ; (in:) C. Féry / G. Fanselow / M. Krifka : Working Papers of the SFB632, Interdisciplinary Studies on Information Structure (ISIS), 6, 2007, S. 69-82
HeBIS-PPN:	20806639X
Dewey Decimal Classification:	4 Sprache / 40 Sprache / 400 Sprache
Sammlungen:	Linguistik
Licence (German):	Deutsches Urheberrecht

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