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6 - Prosodic Reflexes of Information Structure

from Part 1 - Prosody and Phonology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2024

By
Radek Šimík
Edited by
Danko Šipka  and
Wayles Browne
Danko Šipka
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
Wayles Browne
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
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Summary

The author first defines the following notions of information structure: focus (vs. background), given (vs. new), and topic (vs. comment). He then goes on to show how these notions are reflected in the prosodic systems of Slavic languages. Focus in all Slavic languages is reflected in prosodic prominence governed by a stress-focus correspondence defined by the author. In general, ‘given’ is realized outside the sentence stress. Focus does not have an obligatory prosodic reflex in Slavic languages.

Keywords

information structureprosodyfocustopicgivenpitch accentprosodic prominence
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Slavic Linguistics , pp. 104 - 126
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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