Postfocal Downstep in German

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Kügler ◽  
Caroline Féry
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
German Journal ◽  
Pitch Accent ◽  
Prosodic Phrasing ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Pitch Accents ◽  
Role Of Information

This article is a follow-up study of Féry and Kügler (2008. Pitch accent scaling on given, new and focused constituents in German. Journal of Phonetics, 36, 680–703). It reports on an experiment of the F0 height of potential pitch accents in the postfocal region of German sentences and addresses in this way an aspect of the influence of information structure on the intonation of sentences that was left open in the previous article. The results of the experiment showed that, when several constituents are located in this position, they are often in a downstep relation, but are rarely upstepped. In 37% of the cases, the pitch accents are only realized dynamically and there is no down- or upstepping. We interpret these results as evidence that postfocal constituents are phrased independently. The data examined speak against a model of postfocal intonation in which postfocal phrasing is eliminated and all accents are reduced to zero. Instead, the pitch accents are often present, although reduced. Moreover, the facts support the existence of prosodic phrasing of the postfocal constituents; the postfocal position implies an extremely compressed register, but no dephrasing or systematic complete deaccentuation of all pitch accents. We propose adopting a model of German intonation in which prosodic phrasing is determined by syntactic structure and cannot be changed by information structure. The role of information structure in prosody is limited to changes in the register relationship of the different parts of the sentence. Prefocally, there is no or only little register compression because of givenness. Postfocally, register compression is the rule. A model of intonation must take this asymmetry into account.

scholarly journals The Role of Prosodic Breaks and Pitch Accents in Grouping Words during On-line Sentence Processing

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 2447-2467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Bögels ◽  
Herbert Schriefers ◽  
Wietske Vonk ◽  
Dorothee J. Chwilla
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Pitch Accent ◽  
Semantic Interpretation ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
On Line ◽  
Group Words ◽  
Pitch Accents

The present study addresses the question whether accentuation and prosodic phrasing can have a similar function, namely, to group words in a sentence together. Participants listened to locally ambiguous sentences containing object- and subject-control verbs while ERPs were measured. In Experiment 1, these sentences contained a prosodic break, which can create a certain syntactic grouping of words, or no prosodic break. At the disambiguation, an N400 effect occurred when the disambiguation was in conflict with the syntactic grouping created by the break. We found a similar N400 effect without the break, indicating that the break did not strengthen an already existing preference. This pattern held for both object- and subject-control items. In Experiment 2, the same sentences contained a break and a pitch accent on the noun following the break. We argue that the pitch accent indicates a broad focus covering two words [see Gussenhoven, C. On the limits of focus projection in English. In P. Bosch & R. van der Sandt (Eds.), Focus: Linguistic, cognitive, and computational perspectives. Cambridge: University Press, 1999], thus grouping these words together. For object-control items, this was semantically possible, which led to a “good-enough” interpretation of the sentence. Therefore, both sentences were interpreted equally well and the N400 effect found in Experiment 1 was absent. In contrast, for subject-control items, a corresponding grouping of the words was impossible, both semantically and syntactically, leading to processing difficulty in the form of an N400 effect and a late positivity. In conclusion, accentuation can group words together on the level of information structure, leading to either a semantically “good-enough” interpretation or a processing problem when such a semantic interpretation is not possible.

Arabic Intonation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dina El Zarka
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Prosodic Phrasing ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
The West ◽  
Arabic Dialects ◽  
Pitch Accents ◽  
Tertium Comparationis ◽  
The Way

This overview of intonation in Arabic compares the intonational systems of selected Arabic dialects from Morocco in the West to Kuwait in the East. The formal comparison will mainly be carried out within the framework of autosegmental-metrical (AM) theory, taking the phonetic micro-prosody of the identified pitch accents as a tertium comparationis. Furthermore, the intonation systems will be compared with respect to prosodic phrasing. The second part of the overview is devoted to the functions of intonation in Arabic. In this section, the comparison will be based on a wider range of descriptions, including work carried out within other theoretical frameworks. The section will identify the role of metrical and tonal structures and the way they interact with syntax, information structure, and sentence mode in different varieties of Arabic. The concluding section will provide a preliminary typological picture of Arabic prosody with respect to the macro-rhythmic properties of Arabic.

The role of information structure in the instantiation of objects: Evidence from Amazonian Spanish

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-245
Author(s):  
Rosa Vallejos ◽  
Evelyn Fernández-Lizárraga ◽  
Haley Patterson
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Linguistic Variables ◽  
Social Variables ◽  
Null Objects ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Role Of Information ◽  
Activation Status

AbstractThis study analyzes the instantiation of objects in Peruvian Amazonian Spanish (PAS) discourse in two communities with distinct linguistic contexts. We examine the impact of two social variables (gender and place) and nine linguistic variables (transitivity, animacy, definiteness, anaphora function, anaphora expression, cataphora function, cataphora expression, activation, topic persistence) on the speech of eight participants. Our findings indicate that null instantiation in PAS is pervasive, occurring with a range of verb lexemes. While neither gender nor place are significant predictors of null objects, various linguistic variables contribute to the instantiation of objects. The five significant variables as determined by a mixed model regression analysis include the following: animacy, definiteness, anaphora expression, cataphora expression, and activation status. Several findings are consistent with previous research (e. g. human and definite referents disfavor null objects), while other results differ (e. g. PAS propositions disfavor null objects). Activation status and anaphora expression are the most significant predictors of null objects in PAS. In particular, highly accessible referents in discourse and anaphoric null objects favored null objects in subsequent clauses. Thus, the results in the present study demonstrate the pivotal role of information structure in object instantiation, furthering the discussion on syntax-discourse interplay phenomena.

Information Systems for the Management of the Organizations

2018 ◽  
pp. 96-116
Author(s):  
José Rascão
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Role Of Information

This chapter investigates the key concepts of information systems, as well as the role of information in the information management activities, in terms of supporting decision making by different organizations' managers in the literature of information sciences and business sciences. The information has become, in the global economy, a source of value for organizations, assuming a key role in contributing to the development of the performance of the same. The relationship of information management with business management helps the process of decision making.

Construcciones españolas con sey la interpretación de propiedad

Revue Romane ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-256
Author(s):  
P. Pablo Devís Márquez
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Functional Understanding ◽  
Role Of Information

Abstract This work focuses on a variety of Spanish se constructions which are often assigned a property interpretation and which are usually referred to as passive middle (Esta camisa se lava muy bien) and impersonal middle structures (A los políticos se les soborna fácilmente). On the basis of a nonlogical conception of the sentence and a genuinely functional understanding of sentential syntactic functions, our goals are: (1) to demonstrate that it is not convenient to characterize the so-called passive middle constructions as passive nor the so-called impersonal middle constructions as impersonal; (2) to establish the role of information structure and modality in the property interpretation of these structures; (3) to determine the function of se in this type of constructions, specifically,whether or not this function is related with the property interpretation and whether it manages to distinguish these structures from other se constructions, and (4) to define the requirements that verbs occurring in this type of structures must fulfill.

scholarly journals Role of serial cardiac 18F-FDG PET-MRI in Anderson–Fabry disease: a pilot study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmela Nappi ◽  
Andrea Ponsiglione ◽  
Antonio Pisani ◽  
Eleonora Riccio ◽  
Teodolinda Di Risi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fabry Disease ◽  
Fdg Pet ◽  
Cardiac Involvement ◽  
Cardiac Injury ◽  
Gadolinium Enhancement ◽  
Enzyme Replacement ◽  
Imaging Results ◽  
Relationship Of

Abstract Aim We investigated the value of serial cardiac 18F-FDG PET-MRI in Anderson–Fabry disease (AFD) and the potential relationship of imaging results with FASTEX score. Methods and results Thirteen AFD patients underwent cardiac 18F-FDG PET-MRI at baseline and follow-up. Coefficient of variation (COV) of FDG uptake and FASTEX score were assessed. At baseline, 9 patients were enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) naïve and 4 patients were under treatment. Two patients presented a FASTEX score of 0 indicating stable disease and did not show any imaging abnormality at baseline and follow-up PET-MRI. Eleven patients had a FASTEX score > 20% indicating disease worsening. Four of these patients without late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and with normal COV at baseline and follow-up had a FASTEX score of 35%. Three patients without LGE and with abnormal COV at baseline and follow-up had a FASTEX score ranging from 30 to 70%. Three patients with LGE and abnormal COV at baseline and follow-up had a FASTEX score between 35 and 75%. Finally, one patient with LGE and normal COV had a FASTEX score of 100%. Of the 12 patients on ERT at follow-up, FASTEX score was significantly higher in those 4 showing irreversible cardiac injury at baseline compared to 8 with negative LGE (66 ± 24 vs. 32 ± 21, p = 0.03). Conclusion 18F-FDG PET-MRI may be effective to monitor cardiac involvement in AFD.

Information Structure

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaakko Leino
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Role Of Information

This chapter examines the role of information structure in constructionist approaches. It evaluates the central notions of information structure and how these factors can be incorporated into a Construction Grammar view of mental grammar. The chapter explains that information structure is an important element of sentence grammar because it influences by which construction a particular meaning is expressed and why speakers therefore choose one construction over alternative ones in specific situations

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