Patterns and symmetries for discourse particles
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Discourse particles provide important signals in conversation, by helping speakers and hearers coordinate on the course of an interaction. Therefore, a precise understanding of discourse particles will provide new insights into the pragmatics of conversation. In this thesis, I will present a framework based on questions under discussion that allows us to capture the key information-theoretic structures in conversation that seem to affect the use of discourse particles: the presence or absence of presuppositions, the issues guiding a conversation, and how interlocutors move between these issues. I present two case studies of German discourse particles that highlight central aspects of the QUD framework: überhaupt and doch. These raise a challenge found in particle systems in many languages: lexicalized focus. Many languages possess particles that can occur with or without focus, and the meanings associated with the unfocused and focused variants are often very different. Since intonation can have discourse-managing functions similar to that of discourse particles, the effect of having or lacking focus marking directly on a particle is different from the effect of focus on regular content words. I will identify patterns that allow us to systematically distinguish the meanings of focused and unfocused particles in a focused/unfocused pair. This serves as a stepping stone towards understanding the interplay of grammar, intonation, and interaction.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2015 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Rojas-Esponda, Tania |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Linguistics. |
| Primary advisor | Potts, Christopher, 1977- |
| Thesis advisor | Potts, Christopher, 1977- |
| Thesis advisor | Condoravdi, Cleo A, 1962- |
| Thesis advisor | Lassiter, Daniel |
| Advisor | Condoravdi, Cleo A, 1962- |
| Advisor | Lassiter, Daniel |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Tania Rojas-Esponda. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Linguistics. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2015. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2015 by Tania Rojas-Esponda
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