Dynamic Aspects of Language Processing
Focus and Presupposition
Published on 1. October 1983
Book
Hardback
X, 102 pages
978-3-540-12433-7 (ISBN)
Description
This book deals with the conditions and the consequences of the production of different syntactic sentence structures. During the sixties the syntactic structure of sentences was one of the most intensively studied topics in psycholinguistic research. The dominant interest did not, however, lie in the function of syntactic structures but in the ability to understand and to utter them. Later, in the seventies the interest shifted to the semantic structure of sentences. Many studies centred around the structural aspects of the repre sentation of knowledge. The leading question was: how can the meaning of an utterance be described? The widely accepted answer was: the central unit of meaning is the proposition. From this point of view, the aim of an utter ance is to transmit propositional meaning, and syntactic structure is of inter est only insofar as it influences the comprehension of propositional meaning. In this book both aspects, i. e. the syntactic and the semantic structure of sentences have been considered. The dynamic aspects of knowledge use and its relationship to the syntactic structure of sentences are thoroughly analysed and studied empirically. The main question is how semantic knowledge is communicated through syntactic structure. Syntactic structure has causes and consequences. In general we assume that the syntactic structure reflects dynamic aspects of the knowledge base of the speaker and determines dynamic states in the listener.
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Content
1. Introduction.- 1.1 The Aim of the Book.- 1.2 The Propositional Model of Understanding.- 1.3 Drawbacks of the Propositional Model of Understanding.- 1.4 The Organization of the Book.- 2. Typology of Knowledge.- 2.1 Entities and Predicates.- 2.2 Factual and General Knowledge.- 3. States of Knowledge.- 3.1 Given and New Knowledge.- 3.2 Activated, Deactivated and Focused Knowledge.- 3.3 Thematized Knowledge.- 4. Speech and the Visual Processing of Information.- 4.1 Three Kinds of Verbal Influence on Perception.- 4.2 Speech, Focus of Attention, and Perception.- 5. General Reflections on Communication.- 5.1 A Model of Communication.- 5.2 The Process of Understanding.- 6. Verbal Communication of Given and New Information.- 6.1 Verbal Communication of Conceptually Given and New Information.- 6.2 Verbal Communication of Relationally Given and New Information.- 6.3 Verbal Communication of Conceptually Given and New Information in the Context of Relationally Given and New Information.- 7. Verbal Communication of Focused Concepts.- 7.1 Verbal Communication of the Thematization Focus.- 7.1.1 Actional Structure and Subjectivization.- 7.1.2 The Size of Reference Objects and Subjectivization.- 7.1.3 Known Concepts and Subjectivization.- 7.1.4 Comparison of Active and Passive Sentences.- 7.2 Verbal Communication of Gap-Motivated Focus.- 8. Verbal Communication of RelationaUy Given and New Information in Standard Sentences.- 8.1 Passivkation and Relational Given-New Structure.- 8.2 Article Use and Relational Given-New Structure.- 9. Causes and Consequences of Focusing.- 9.1 Subjectivization and Focusing.- 9.1.1 Subjectivization and Focusing for the Speaker.- 9.1.2 Subjectivization and Focusing for the Hearer.- 9.2 Clefting and Focusing.- 9.2.1 Clefting and Focusing for the Speaker.- 9.2.2 Clefting and Focusing for the Hearer.- 10. Interaction Between Subjectivization and Clefting.- 10.1 Subjectivization and Clefting for the Speaker.- 10.2 Subjectivization and Clefting for the Hearer.- 10.3 Subjectivization and Clefting for Speaker and Hearer.- 11. Conclusion.- References.- Author Index.