@article{SkopeteasVerhoeven2009, author = {Skopeteas, Stavros and Verhoeven, Elisabeth}, title = {The interaction between topicalization and structural constraints : evidence from Yucatec Maya}, issn = {0167-6318}, doi = {10.1515/tlir.2009.009}, year = {2009}, abstract = {This article deals with the syntactic and pragmatic properties of left dislocated constituents in Yucatec Maya. It has been argued that these constituents are topics, which implies that a particular structural configuration, namely left dislocation displays a 1:1 correspondence to a particular discourse function. We present evidence that the discourse properties of left dislocation are not uniform: only a subset of the left dislocated constituents qualify as topics in the strict sense, while other instances of left dislocation are better explained if we assume a structural constraint that bans the postverbal occurrence of subject constituents in a particular syntactic configuration. Our empirical findings show that though the occurrence of word order possibilities in discourse is not random, it is not necessarily determined by a unique licensing condition.}, language = {en} } @article{KueglerSkopeteasVerhoeven2007, author = {K{\"u}gler, Frank and Skopeteas, Stavros and Verhoeven, Elisabeth}, title = {Encoding Information structure in Yucatec Maya: on the Interplay of Prosody and Syntax}, year = {2007}, language = {en} } @article{KueglerSkopeteasVerhoeven2007, author = {K{\"u}gler, Frank and Skopeteas, Stavros and Verhoeven, Elisabeth}, title = {Encoding information structure in Yucatec Maya}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-19469}, year = {2007}, abstract = {The aim of this paper is to outline the means for encoding information structure in Yucatec Maya. Yucatec Maya is a tone language, displaying a three-fold opposition in the tonal realization of syllables. From the morpho-syntactic point of view, the grammar of Yucatec Maya contains morphological (topic affixes, morphological marking of out-of-focus predicates) and syntactic (designated positions) means to uniquely specify syntactic constructions for their information structure. After a descriptive overview of these phenomena, we present experimental evidence which reveals the impact of the nonavailability of prosodic alternatives on the choice of syntactic constructions in language production.}, language = {en} } @article{SkopeteasVerhoevenFanselow2022, author = {Skopeteas, Stavros and Verhoeven, Elisabeth and Fanselow, Gisbert}, title = {Discontinuous noun phrases in Yucatec Maya}, series = {Journal of linguistics : JL / publ. for the Linguistics Association of Great Britain}, volume = {58}, journal = {Journal of linguistics : JL / publ. for the Linguistics Association of Great Britain}, number = {3}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, address = {New York}, issn = {0022-2267}, doi = {10.1017/S0022226720000419}, pages = {609 -- 648}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Languages differ in whether or not they allow discontinuous noun phrases. If they do, they further vary in the ways the nominal projections interact with the available syntactic operations. Yucatec Maya has two left-peripheral configurations that differ syntactically: a preverbal position for foci or wh-elements that is filled in by movement, and the possibility to adjoin topics at the highest clausal layer. These two structural options are reflected in different ways of the formation of discontinuous patterns. Subextraction from nominal projections to the focus position yielding discontinuous NPs is possible, but subject to several restrictions. It observes conditions on extraction domains, and does not apply to the left branch of nominal structures. The topic position also appears to license discontinuity, typically involving a non-referential nominal expression as the topic and quantifiers/adjectives that form an elliptical nominal projection within the clause proper. Such constructions can involve several morphological and syntactic mismatches between their parts that are excluded for continuous noun phrases, and they are not sensitive to syntactic island restrictions. Thus, in a strict sense, discontinuities involving the topic position are only apparent, because the construction involves two independent nominal projections that are semantically linked.}, language = {en} } @article{VerhoevenKuegler2015, author = {Verhoeven, Elisabeth and K{\"u}gler, Frank}, title = {Accentual preferences and predictability: An acceptability study on split intransitivity in German}, series = {Lingua : international review of general linguistics}, volume = {165}, journal = {Lingua : international review of general linguistics}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0024-3841}, doi = {10.1016/j.lingua.2014.09.013}, pages = {298 -- 315}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The difference in the default prosodic realization of simple sentences with unergative vs. unaccusative/passive verbs (assigning early nuclear accent with unaccusative/passive verbs but late nuclear accent with unergative verbs) is often related to the syntactic distinction of their nominative arguments as starting off in different hierarchical positions. Alternative accounts try to trace this prosodic variation back to asymmetries in the semantic or pragmatic contribution of the verb to an utterance. The present article investigates the interaction of the assignment of default nuclear accent with the predictability of the verb. In an experimental study testing the acceptability of nuclear accent assignment, we confirmed that the predictability of the verb influences accentual preferences (such that highly predictable verbs are preferably not accented). However, the experiment also reveals that the unaccusativity distinction cannot be accounted for by means of pragmatic phenomena of this type: the two verb classes are associated with distinct accentual patterns in the baseline condition, that is, without the predictability manipulation. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} }