@article{Krifka2007, author = {Krifka, Manfred}, title = {Basic notions of information structure}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, isbn = {978-3-939469-88-9}, issn = {1614-4708}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-19603}, pages = {13 -- 55}, year = {2007}, abstract = {This article takes stock of the basic notions of Information Structure (IS). It first provides a general characterization of IS — following Chafe (1976) — within a communicative model of Common Ground(CG), which distinguishes between CG content and CG management. IS is concerned with those features of language that concern the local CG. Second, this paper defines and discusses the notions of Focus (as indicating alternatives) and its various uses, Givenness (as indicating that a denotation is already present in the CG), and Topic (as specifying what a statement is about). It also proposes a new notion, Delimitation, which comprises contrastive topics and frame setters, and indicates that the current conversational move does not entirely satisfy the local communicative needs. It also points out that rhetorical structuring partly belongs to IS.}, language = {en} } @article{HartmannJacobZimmermann2008, author = {Hartmann, Katharina and Jacob, Peggy and Zimmermann, Malte}, title = {Focus asymmetries in Bura}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-19381}, year = {2008}, abstract = {(Chadic), which exhibits a number of asymmetries: Grammatical focus marking is obligatory only with focused subjects, where focus is marked by the particle {\´a}n following the subject. Focused subjects remain in situ and the complement of {\´a}n is a regular VP. With nonsubject foci, {\´a}n appears in a cleft-structure between the fronted focus constituent and a relative clause. We present a semantically unified analysis of focus marking in Bura that treats the particle as a focusmarking copula in T that takes a property-denoting expression (the background) and an individual-denoting expression (the focus) as arguments. The article also investigates the realization of predicate and polarity focus, which are almost never marked. The upshot of the discussion is that Bura shares many characteristic traits of focus marking with other Chadic languages, but it crucially differs in exhibiting a structural difference in the marking of focus on subjects and non-subject constituents.}, language = {en} } @article{Petrova2006, author = {Petrova, Svetlana}, title = {A discourse-based approach to verb placement in early West-Germanic}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-19540}, year = {2006}, abstract = {The paper presents a novel approach to explaining word order variation in the early Germanic languages. Initial observations about verb placement as a device marking types of rhetorical relations made on data from Old High German (cf. Hinterh{\"o}lzl \& Petrova 2005) are now reconsidered on a larger scale and compared with evidence from other early Germanic languages. The paper claims that the identification of information-structural domains in a sentence is best achieved by taking into account the interaction between the pragmatic features of discourse referents and properties of discourse organization.}, language = {en} } @article{Rooth2007, author = {Rooth, Mats}, title = {Notions of focus anaphoricity}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-19622}, year = {2007}, abstract = {This article reviews some of the theoretical notions and empirical phenomena which figure in current formal-semantic theories of focus. It also develops the connection between "alternative semantics" and "givenness" accounts of focus interpretation.}, language = {en} } @misc{AllefeldFrisch2004, author = {Allefeld, Carsten and Frisch, Stefan}, title = {Phase synchronization analysis of event-related potentials in language processing}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-20113}, year = {2004}, abstract = {Phase synchronization analysis, including our recently introduced multivariate approach, is applied to event-related EEG data from an experiment on language processing, following a classic psycholinguistic paradigm. For the two types of experimental manipulation distinct effects in overall synchronization are found; for one of them they can also be localized. The synchronization effects occur earlier than those found by the conventional analysis method, indicating that the new approach provides additional information on the underlying neuronal process.}, language = {en} } @article{DipperGoetzeSkopeteas2007, author = {Dipper, Stefanie and G{\"o}tze, Michael and Skopeteas, Stavros}, title = {Introduction [ISIS (2007) 07: Information structure in Cross-Linguistic Corpora]}, series = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS}, journal = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS}, number = {7}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {1614-4708}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-22225}, pages = {1 -- 27}, year = {2007}, abstract = {The annotation guidelines introduced in this chapter present an attempt to create a unique infrastructure for the encoding of data from very different languages. The ultimate target of these annotations is to allow for data retrieval for the study of information structure, and since information structure interacts with all levels of grammar, the present guidelines cover all levels of grammar too. After introducing the guidelines, the current chapter also presents an evaluation by means of measurements of the inter-annotator agreement.}, language = {en} } @article{BlaszczakDipperFanselowetal.2007, author = {Blaszczak, Joanna and Dipper, Stefanie and Fanselow, Gisbert and Ishihara, Shinishiro and Petrova, Svetlana and Skopeteas, Stavros and Weskott, Thomas and Zimmermann, Malte}, title = {Syntax}, series = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS}, journal = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS}, number = {7}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {1614-4708}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-22253}, pages = {95 -- 133}, year = {2007}, abstract = {The guidelines for syntactic annotation contain the layers that are especially relevant for queries related to the interaction of information structure with syntax. The layers of this level are constituent structure, grammatical functions, and semantic roles.}, language = {en} } @article{BlaszczakDipperFanselowetal.2007, author = {Blaszczak, Joanna and Dipper, Stefanie and Fanselow, Gisbert and Ishihara, Shinishiro and Petrova, Svetlana and Skopeteas, Stavros and Weskott, Thomas and Zimmermann, Malte}, title = {Morphology}, series = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS}, journal = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS}, number = {7}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {1614-4708}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-22247}, pages = {55 -- 94}, year = {2007}, abstract = {The guidelines for morphological annotation contain the layers that are necessary for understanding the structure of the words in the object language: morphological segmentation, glossing, and annotation of part-of-speech.}, language = {en} } @article{FeryHellmuthKuegleretal.2007, author = {F{\´e}ry, Caroline and Hellmuth, Sam and K{\"u}gler, Frank and Mayer, J{\"o}rg}, title = {Phonology and intonation}, series = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS}, journal = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS}, number = {7}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {1614-4708}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-22217}, pages = {29 -- 53}, year = {2007}, abstract = {The encoding standards for phonology and intonation are designed to facilitate consistent annotation of the phonological and intonational aspects of information structure, in languages across a range of prosodic types. The guidelines are designed with the aim that a nonspecialist in phonology can both implement and interpret the resulting annotation.}, language = {en} } @article{JasinskajaMayerSchlangen2004, author = {Jasinskaja, Ekaterina and Mayer, J{\"o}rg and Schlangen, David}, title = {Discourse structure and information structure}, series = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS ; working papers of the SFB 632}, journal = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS ; working papers of the SFB 632}, number = {1}, issn = {1866-4725}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-8414}, pages = {151 -- 206}, year = {2004}, abstract = {In this paper we review the current state of research on the issue of discourse structure (DS)/information structure (IS) interface. This field has received a lot of attention from discourse semanticists and pragmatists, and has made substantial progress in recent years. In this paper we summarize the relevant studies. In addition, we look at the issue of DS/ISinteraction at a different level - that of phonetics. It is known that both information structure and discourse structure can be realized prosodically, but the issue of phonetic interaction between the prosodic devices they employ has hardly ever been discussed in this context. We think that a proper consideration of this aspect of DS/IS-interaction would enrich our understanding of the phenomenon, and hence we formulate some related research-programmatic positions.}, language = {en} } @article{Broekhuis2006, author = {Broekhuis, Hans}, title = {Derivations (MP) and evaluations (OT)}, series = {Linguistics in Potsdam}, journal = {Linguistics in Potsdam}, number = {25}, issn = {1616-7392}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-32347}, pages = {137 -- 193}, year = {2006}, abstract = {The main claim of this paper is that the minimalist framework and optimality theory adopt more or less the same architecture of grammar: both assume that a generator defines a set S of potentially well-formed expressions that can be generated on the basis of a given input, and that there is an evaluator that selects the expressions from S that are actually grammatical in a given language L. The paper therefore proposes a model of grammar in which the strengths of the two frameworks are combined: more specifically, it is argued that the computational system of human language CHL from MP creates a set S of potentially well-formed expressions, and that these are subsequently evaluated in an optimality theoretic fashion.}, language = {en} } @article{Bowler2016, author = {Bowler, Margit}, title = {The status of degrees in Warlpiri}, series = {Proceedings of the Semantics of African, Asian and Austronesian Languages (TripleA) 2}, journal = {Proceedings of the Semantics of African, Asian and Austronesian Languages (TripleA) 2}, editor = {Grubic, Mira and Mucha, Anne}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-92295}, pages = {1 -- 17}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Recent work in semantics has shown that languages can vary in whether or not they include degrees (that is, elements of type < d >) in their semantic ontology. Several authors have argued that their languages of study lack degrees, including Bochnak (2013) for Washo (isolate, USA), Pearson (2009) for Fijian (Austronesian, Fiji), and Beck, et al. (2009) for Motu (Austronesian, Papua New Guinea). In this paper, I follow the tests proposed in Beck, et al. (2009) to assess the status of degrees in Warlpiri (Pama-Nyungan, Australia). I use Warlpiri data collected following the Beck, et al. survey to argue that Warlpiri gradable predicates do not combine with a degree argument. (Like many other Australian languages, adjectival concepts like big and small are expressed using nouns in Warlpiri (Dixon 1982, Bittner \& Hale 1995, among others). I refer to these lexical items as "gradable predicates" in this paper.) This paper represents a first pass at assessing the status of degrees in an Australian language, which have otherwise been unexamined from the point of view of degree semantics.}, language = {en} } @article{HsiehShen2016, author = {Hsieh, I-Ta Chris and Shen, Zheng}, title = {The 'Associative Reading' of DPs and the quantity vs. quality distinction}, series = {Proceedings of the Semantics of African, Asian and Austronesian Languages (TripleA) 2}, journal = {Proceedings of the Semantics of African, Asian and Austronesian Languages (TripleA) 2}, editor = {Grubic, Mira and Mucha, Anne}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-92304}, pages = {18 -- 35}, year = {2016}, abstract = {This paper investigates an unnoticed difference in Mandarin between the Q-adjectives and the gradable adjectives of quality and shows that this observation follows straightforwardly from a theory that differentiates gradable predication of quantity and that of quality (e.g., Rett 2008; Lin 2014; Solt 2015; a.o.).}, language = {en} } @article{Korat2016, author = {Korat, Omer}, title = {Singular quantified terms}, series = {Proceedings of the Semantics of African, Asian and Austronesian Languages (TripleA) 2}, journal = {Proceedings of the Semantics of African, Asian and Austronesian Languages (TripleA) 2}, editor = {Grubic, Mira and Mucha, Anne}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-92313}, pages = {36 -- 51}, year = {2016}, abstract = {In this paper, I discuss the behavior of singular partitives, focusing on Hebrew. I show that group noun-headed singular quantified terms behave essentially different from other singular quantified terms. Specifically, the domain of quantification in the former is a discrete set (the members of the group), while in the latter the domain of quantification is a set of mass entities. I propose a preliminary analysis of singular quantified terms in Hebrew, respecting the properties peculiar to this language as well as the observations about group vs. non-group singular quantified terms. This analysis is based on a novel class of quantifiers I name 'Measure Quantifiers', which instantiate relations between algebraic sums. Using shifts between algebraic sums, we can represent the different readings of singular and plural individual or group terms.}, language = {en} } @article{EndrissHinterwimmer2004, author = {Endriss, Cornelia and Hinterwimmer, Stefan}, title = {The influence of tense in adverbial quantification}, series = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS ; working papers of the SFB 632}, journal = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS ; working papers of the SFB 632}, number = {1}, issn = {1866-4725}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-8409}, pages = {121 -- 151}, year = {2004}, abstract = {We argue that there is a crucial difference between determiner and adverbial quantification. Following Herburger [2000] and von Fintel [1994], we assume that determiner quantifiers quantify over individuals and adverbial quantifiers over eventualities. While it is usually assumed that the semantics of sentences with determiner quantifiers and those with adverbial quantifiers basically come out the same, we will show by way of new data that quantification over events is more restricted than quantification over individuals. This is because eventualities in contrast to individuals have to be located in time which is done using contextual information according to a pragmatic resolution strategy. If the contextual information and the tense information given in the respective sentence contradict each other, the sentence is uninterpretable. We conclude that this is the reason why in these cases adverbial quantification, i.e. quantification over eventualities, is impossible whereas quantification over individuals is fine.}, language = {en} } @article{GoetzeWeskottEndrissetal.2007, author = {G{\"o}tze, Michael and Weskott, Thomas and Endriss, Cornelia and Fiedler, Ines and Hinterwimmer, Stefan and Petrova, Svetlana and Schwarz, Anne and Skopeteas, Stavros and Stoel, Ruben}, title = {Information structure}, series = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS}, journal = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS}, number = {7}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {1614-4708}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-22277}, pages = {147 -- 187}, year = {2007}, abstract = {The guidelines for Information Structure include instructions for the annotation of Information Status (or 'givenness'), Topic, and Focus, building upon a basic syntactic annotation of nominal phrases and sentences. A procedure for the annotation of these features is proposed.}, language = {en} } @article{EndrissHinterwimmerSkopeteas2007, author = {Endriss, Cornelia and Hinterwimmer, Stefan and Skopeteas, Stavros}, title = {Semantics}, series = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS}, journal = {Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS}, number = {7}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {1614-4708}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-22265}, pages = {135 -- 145}, year = {2007}, abstract = {The guidelines for semantics comprise a number of layers related to quantificational structures as well as some crucial semantic properties of NPs with respect to information structure: definiteness, countability, and animacy.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Patterson2013, author = {Patterson, Clare}, title = {The role of structural and discourse-level cues during pronoun resolution}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-71280}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Pronoun resolution normally takes place without conscious effort or awareness, yet the processes behind it are far from straightforward. A large number of cues and constraints have previously been recognised as playing a role in the identification and integration of potential antecedents, yet there is considerable debate over how these operate within the resolution process. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how the parser handles multiple antecedents in order to understand more about how certain information sources play a role during pronoun resolution. I consider how both structural information and information provided by the prior discourse is used during online processing. This is investigated through several eye tracking during reading experiments that are complemented by a number of offline questionnaire experiments. I begin by considering how condition B of the Binding Theory (Chomsky 1981; 1986) has been captured in pronoun processing models; some researchers have claimed that processing is faithful to syntactic constraints from the beginning of the search (e.g. Nicol and Swinney 1989), while others have claimed that potential antecedents which are ruled out on structural grounds nonetheless affect processing, because the parser must also pay attention to a potential antecedent's features (e.g. Badecker and Straub 2002). My experimental findings demonstrate that the parser is sensitive to the subtle changes in syntactic configuration which either allow or disallow pronoun reference to a local antecedent, and indicate that the parser is normally faithful to condition B at all stages of processing. Secondly, I test the Primitives of Binding hypothesis proposed by Koornneef (2008) based on work by Reuland (2001), which is a modular approach to pronoun resolution in which variable binding (a semantic relationship between pronoun and antecedent) takes place before coreference. I demonstrate that a variable-binding (VB) antecedent is not systematically considered earlier than a coreference (CR) antecedent online. I then go on to explore whether these findings could be attributed to the linear order of the antecedents, and uncover a robust recency preference both online and offline. I consider what role the factor of recency plays in pronoun resolution and how it can be reconciled with the first-mention advantage (Gernsbacher and Hargreaves 1988; Arnold 2001; Arnold et al., 2007). Finally, I investigate how aspects of the prior discourse affect pronoun resolution. Prior discourse status clearly had an effect on pronoun resolution, but an antecedent's appearance in the previous context was not always facilitative; I propose that this is due to the number of topic switches that a reader must make, leading to a lack of discourse coherence which has a detrimental effect on pronoun resolution. The sensitivity of the parser to structural cues does not entail that cue types can be easily separated into distinct sequential stages, and I therefore propose that the parser is structurally sensitive but not modular. Aspects of pronoun resolution can be captured within a parallel constraints model of pronoun resolution, however, such a model should be sensitive to the activation of potential antecedents based on discourse factors, and structural cues should be strongly weighted.}, language = {en} }