Optimizing Structure in Context: Scrambling and Information Structure

This book examines the scrambling phenomena in German and Korean from the perspective that different ordering possibilities are motivated and constrained by interactions among syntactic, semantic, and discourse principles. Using Optimality Theory, this book demonstrates how these principles from different modules of grammar interact and thus resolve conflicts among themselves to yield the most optimal output, that is, a sentence with a particular word order, in a given semantic and discoursal context. This way, it explains various meaning-related effects associated with scrambling such as definiteness effect and focus effect. Also, while developing constraints in the discourse domain, it proposes a new model of information structure based on basic discourse features. By expanding the core idea of constraint interaction in Optimality Theory to interactions 'between' modules of grammar as well as 'within', this book provides a model of interface theory.

Hye-Won Choi was an assistant professeor in the Department of Modern Languages and Linteratures at the State University of New York at Buffalo at the time of this publication

Acknowledgments

1 Introduction

1.1 Overview
1.2 Theoretical Assumptions

1.2.1 Optimality Theory (OT)
1.2.2 Lexical Funtional Grammar (LFG)

1.3 Organization

2 Phrase Structure and Configurationality

2.1 Phrase Structure in German

2.1.1 Verb Second and Clause Structure
2.1.2 S and VP

2.2 Canonical Order and Phrase Structure Constraints

2.2.1 Canonical Word Order
2.2.2 Phrase Structure Constraints CANON

2.3 Phrase Structure in Korean

2.3.1 Evidence for VP in Korean
2.3.2 Coordination and Clause Structure

2.4 Summary

3 Specificity, Focus, and Information Structure

3.1 Semantic and Discourse Effects of Scrambling

3.1.1 Specificity Effect
3.1.2 Anti-focality Effect
3.1.3 Contrastive Focality Effect

3.2 Information Structure and Scrambling

3.2.1 Information Packaging
3.2.2 Topic and Tail
3.2.3 Constrastive Focus and COmpletive Focus
3.2.4 Topic and Contrastive Focus

3.3 Information Features and Information Structuring Constraints

3.3.1 Feature-Based Information Structure
3.3.2 Information Structuring Constraints
3.3.3 Information and Prosody

3.4 Specificity and Information Structure

3.4.1 Specificity Effect Revisited
3.4.2 Specificity and Information Status

3.5 Summary

4 Optimization in German Scrambling

4.1 Optimality Theory and Scrambling

4.1.1 Input and Information Structure
4.1.2 Outputs and Candidate Sets
4.1.3 Constraints and Ranking

4.2 Deriving the Semantic/Discourse Effects in Scrambling

4.2.1 Neutral Context
4.2.2 Anti-Focality Effect
4.2.3 Contrastive Focality Effect
4.2.4 Specificity Effect

4.3 Summary

5 Optimization in Korean Scrambling

5.1 Information Structuring by Morphology

5.1.1 nun: Topic or Cantrastive Focus?
5.1.2 nun as a [+Prom] marker

5.2 Information Structuring by Order

5.2.1 Reading Distribution and Order
5.2.2 Scrambiling motivated by Oldness
5.2.3 Scambling motivated by Prominence
5.2.4 Ambiguity Resolution by Further Constraints

5.3 Optimality-Theoretic Interaction of Morphology and Order

5.3.1 Constraints and Ranking
5.3.2 Choosing between Topic and Contrastive Focus
5.3.3 Null Arguments

5.4 Summary

6 Conclusion

6.1 Summary
6.2 Concluding Remarks

Bibliography
Index

6/1/99

ISBN (Paperback): 1575861569 (9781575861562)
ISBN (Cloth): 1575861577 (9781575861579)
ISBN (Electronic): 1575869675 (9781575869674)

Optimizing Structure in Context

Contents