¡ Does the syntax give instructions about topic, focus, tails, to the A-‐P and C-‐I interfaces? 1. Yes, and these instructions are legible to the
performance systems, so that each aspect of the information is ‘performed’ by A-P and C-I (prosody, scope, binding, etc.). ▪ All and only those elements that bear a [+topic] or a [+focus] feature will be performed with distinct morphological\ phonological\prosodic and interpretive correlates
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2. Yes, the narrow syntax gives information structure –related and necessarily legible to the performance systems. Moreover, the existence of these instructions necessitates mechanisms of syntactic licensing of information structure features in the narrow syntax. ▪ The licensing of a [+topic]\[+focus] necessitates a syntactic mechanism of Agree and\or Internal Merge (i.e. displacement) to a Top/Foc head in the derivation, (e.g., all of current syntactic research.)
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3. Sometimes – only some instructions are validated in the narrow syntax and have distinct performance system correlates. Elsewhere, the performance systems are the locus of licensing information structure properties. ▪ Only some [+topic]\[+focus] features are syntactically licensed and have distinct morphological\ phonological\ prosodic and interpretive correlates from those licensed in the internal systems
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LEX [[CASE], [AGR] [TNS] [TOP]
[FOC]…]
NS licensing
SPELLOUT
PF-‐realization of N
S features
LEX [….[FOC]1, [ [FOC]2…]
NS licensing
[FOC]1
SPELLOUT PF-‐realization of [FO
C]1 assignm
ent of [FO
C]2
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¡ Two strategies ¡ A cleft construction Mary-‐(y)e aaNә ñaan kaND-‐atә mary-‐ACC COPULA I saw-‐ NOMIN. ‘It is Mary that I saw.
¡ A preverbal focus position ñaan Mary-‐(y)e kaNDu I Mary-‐ACC saw. ‘I saw Mary.
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¡ Malayalam cleft foci receive an exhaustive identification focus interpretation at the interface, whereas preverbal foci only receive an informational focus interpretation (Kiss 1998). § An identificational focus represents a subset of the set of
contextually or situationally given elements for which the predicate phrase can potentially hold; it is identified as the exhaustive subset of this set for which the predicate phrase actually holds.
§ If a sentence part conveys new, nonpresupposed information marked by one or more pitch accents – without expressing exhaustive idenfication …-‐-‐ it is not an identificational focus but a mere information fous information focus is not associated with movement. An information focus is present in every sentence, but not every sentence contains an identificational focus.
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¡ To explore the BIG picture through the BIG issues in Malayalam focus § To determine the prosodic properties of Malayalam cleft and preverbal focus constructions
§ To explain why Malayalam speakers prefer to cleft rather than preverbal focus question words even in simplex clauses.
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¡ Data § Question and answer pairs § Context given-‐ sentences elicited
¡ Recording and analysis § PRAAT
¡ Prosodic correlate § Pitch
¡ 2 subjects for recording (multiple iterations) ¡ 3 subjects for perception test
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§ John [bill mary-‐e kandu enne] parrannu § John bill mary-‐acc saw C said § John said that Bill saw Mary.
¡ Raising § [bill mary-‐e kandu enne]i-‐anu John ti parrann-‐ate § bill mary-‐acc saw C cleft John said-‐D § John said it is that Bill saw Mary.
¡ Scrambling § [mary-‐e bill * kandu enne]i-‐anu John ti parrann-‐ate § mary-‐acc bill saw C cleft John said-‐D § John said it is that Bill saw Mary.
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bill mary-‐e kandu enne john parranu -‐anu
bill mary-‐e kandu enn-‐anu john parranu
¡ Left edge § invariably has LH pitch pattern § has pragmatic salience § has a presupposition interpretation § However § it can also encode new information focus
¡ Right edge § has falling L tone in declaratives § marks illocutionary force
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¡ Information Focus § is not restricted to preverbal position § can be in any position § marked phonologically
¡ Cleft Focus § syntactic raising to focus position § marked syntactically § pitch compression in PF
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