Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
18 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Pragmatics
|
Branch of Linguistics that studies information structure
|
|
|
Given Information
|
information currently in the forefront of the addressee's mind
|
|
|
New Information
|
information just being introduced into the discource
|
|
|
Expressing New Information
|
Generally receives more stress
More elaborate; full noun phrase vs. pronoun |
|
|
Expressing Given Information
|
Pronouns
Unstressed noun phrases Sometimes left out all together |
|
|
Topic
|
Center of attention in a sentence
Only construction that marks is "as for" Doesn't have to be part of the sentence, it can be part of the discourse |
|
|
Content
|
Element of the sentence that says something about the topic
|
|
|
Contrastive
|
Noun phrase that occurs in opposition to another noun phrase in discourse.
Also marked in sentences that express the narrowing down of a choice from several candidates to one. |
|
|
Definite
|
Noun phrase in which speakers assume the addressee can identify its referent.
Pronoun "The" |
|
|
Indefinite
|
Noun phrase in which the addressee cannot identify its referent.
"A", "An", or by the absence of any article Plural = "Some" |
|
|
Referential
|
Refers to a particular entity
Out of context Non-referential sentences are ambiguous-rairly out of context in daily discourse |
|
|
Fronting
|
Brings "topic" to the front of the sentence.
Marks givenness. Lou I cannot tolerate. vs. I cannot tolerate Lou |
|
|
Left-Dislocation
|
Syntactically similar to fronting
Uses pronoun: Holly, I can't stand her Used primarily to re-introduce given information that hasn't been mentioned for awhile Contrastive |
|
|
It-Cleft
|
"It was Nick that Stan saw at the party"
|
|
|
Wh-Cleft
|
"Who Stan saw at the party was Nick"
"What I said was..." |
|
|
Word Order
|
Some languages use word order to mark givenness (English does not)
|
|
|
Agent Passive
|
Passive structure in which an agent is expressed. "Data could easily be stored by [bureaucrats]."
Used if a noun phrase other than the agent is the given information |
|
|
Agentless Passive
|
Passive structure in which an agent isn't expressed. "Data could easily be stored." [bureaucrats]= implied.
Often equivalent to active sentences with "They" |
