* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
LINGUIST List logo Eastern Michigan University Wayne State University *
* People & Organizations * Jobs * Calls & Conferences * Publications * Language Resources * Text & Computer Tools * Teaching & Learning * Mailing Lists * Search *
* *
 
E-mail this message to a friend
Title: The Semantics and Pragmatics of Preposing
Author: Gregory Ward
Email: click here to access email
Homepage: http://www.ling.nwu.edu
Degree Awarded: University of Pennsylvania , Department of Linguistics
Degree Date: 1985
Linguistic Subfield(s): Pragmatics
Semantics
Subject Language(s): English
Director(s): Ellen Prince
Abstract:

This research examines the class of English preposing constructions (e.g., `That part we haven't finished yet') and provides a unified theory of their discourse function. An analysis of naturally occurring data reveals that these constructions perform two simultaneous functions in discourse. First, the referent of the preposed constituent marks the backward looking center (BLC) of an utterance (cf. Grosz, Joshi, and Weinstein 1983). A BLC is a discourse entity which is related to the set of previously evoked discourse entities, i.e. the set of forward looking centers ({FLC}), via a salient scalar relationship (cf. Hirschberg 1985). Second, preposing constructions are 'presuppositional' in that they mark an open proposition (OP) as salient in the discourse (cf. Prince 1981). A taxonomy of preposing is presented, based on the type of scalar relation that holds between the BLC and the {FLC}; the discourse status of the OP; and the semantic type of information which instantiates the variable of the OP.
Add a dissertation
Update dissertation
Page Updated: 28-Nov-2009

Please report any bad links or misclassified data

LINGUIST Homepage | Read LINGUIST | Contact us

NSF Logo

While the LINGUIST List makes every effort to ensure the linguistic relevance of sites listed
on its pages, it cannot vouch for their contents.