Question/answer congruence and the semantics of wh-phrases

  • This paper is about the semantics of wh-phrases. It is argued that wh-phrases should not be analyzed as indefinites as, for example, Karttunen (1977) and many others have done, but as functional expressions with an indefinite core -their function being to restrict possible focus/background structures in direct or congruent answers. This will be argued for on the basis of observations made with respect to the distribution of term answers in well-formed question/answer sequences. This claim having been established, it will be integrated in a categorial variant of Schwarzschild's (1999) information-theoretic approach to F-marking and accent placement, and – second – its consequences with respect to the focus/background structure of wh-questions will be outlined.

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Metadaten
Author:Ingo Reich
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-308063
URL:http://www.zas.gwz-berlin.de/fileadmin/material/ZASPiL_Volltexte/zp23/zaspil23-reich.pdf
ISSN:1435-9588
ISSN:0947-7055
Parent Title (English):Information structure and the referential status of linguistic expression : workshop as part of the 23th annual meetings of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sprachwissenschaft in Leipzig, Leipzig, February 28 - March 2, 2001 / Ed. by Klaus von Heusinger ; Kerstin Schwabe, Zentrum für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, Sprachtypologie und Universalienforschung, Berlin, 2001; ZAS papers in linguistics Vol. 23
Publisher:Zentrum für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, Sprachtypologie und Universalienforschung
Place of publication:Berlin
Document Type:Part of a Book
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2013/11/14
Year of first Publication:2001
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2013/11/14
GND Keyword:Semantik; Informationsstruktur; Satzakzent
Volume:23
Page Number:15
First Page:181
Last Page:195
HeBIS-PPN:381233650
Dewey Decimal Classification:4 Sprache / 41 Linguistik / 410 Linguistik
Sammlungen:Linguistik
Linguistik-Klassifikation:Linguistik-Klassifikation: Semantik / Semantics
Linguistik-Klassifikation: Grammatikforschung / Grammar research
Zeitschriften / Jahresberichte:ZAS papers in linguistics : ZASPiL / ZASPiL 23 = Information Structure and the referential status of linguistic expressions : Workshop as part of the 23 annual meeting of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sprachwissenschaft in Leipzig; Leipzig, February 28 - March 2, 2002
:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-306646
Licence (German):License LogoDeutsches Urheberrecht

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