Abstract
In this paper we will present a dialogical approach to the description of the use and interpretation of intonational means to focus on certain parts of an utterance.1 That focusing of parts of utterances should be studied in connection with the communicative function of language is by no means a new observation. This view has e.g. been advocated for a long time by the Prague School (cf. Mathesius 1929, Firbas 1958, Beneš 1967). More recently, Hajičová (1984) and Sgall (1986) described an approach to the introduction of topic-focus articulation into a formal description of syntax and the meaning of the sentence. Gabbay and Moravcsik (1978) in their seminal paper on the focus of the negation operator write:
“...what constituent negation enables us to do is to indicate which part of a sentence needs to be revised in order for that sentence to convey correct information. Constituent negation is an efficient way of doing this within a natural language; i.e. one that is primarily spoken, not written and is used to convey information, criticism, etc. between language users”
(Gabbay/Moravcsik op.c. p: 255)
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© 1992 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
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Machate, J., Hoepelman, J. (1992). The Semantics of Focus as a Dialogue Function. In: Jacobs, J. (eds) Informationsstruktur und Grammatik. Linguistische Berichte Sonderhefte, vol 4. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-12176-3_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-12176-3_4
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