23.2195, Books: Corrective Focus in Mandarin Chinese: Greif

Mon May 7 18:32:03 UTC 2012

LINGUIST List: Vol-23-2195. Mon May 07 2012. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 23.2195, Books: Corrective Focus in Mandarin Chinese: Greif

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Date: Mon, 07 May 2012 14:31:54
From: Ulrich Lueders [lincom.europa at t-online.de]
Subject: Corrective Focus in Mandarin Chinese: Greif

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Title: Corrective Focus in Mandarin Chinese 
Subtitle: A Question of Belief? 
Series Title: LINCOM Studies in Chinese Linguistics 09  

Publication Year: 2012 
Publisher: Lincom GmbH
	   http://www.lincom-shop.eu

Author: Markus Greif

Paperback: ISBN:  9783862885114 Pages: 182 Price: Europe EURO 65.80

Abstract:

The present study investigates the impact of constrastive focus (CF) on the 
prosody in Mandarin Chinese (MC), known as a tone language. CF in 
corrections - hence, corrective focus - was often defined mainly in terms of 
semantic alternatives replacing a corrected item (e.g., Rooth 1992, Krifka 
2007). In these frameworks, speaker-hearer assumptions, or mutual beliefs 
have been considered more or less (ir-)relevant (e.g., Chafe 1976). There is, 
however, an approach according to which the violation of speaker-hearer 
beliefs is the main factor for regarding an expression as contrastive, i.e., the 
Contrastive Focus Hypothesis (CFH; Zimmermann 2007). 

As a consequence, linguistic marking of CF would be restricted to those 
cases in which the propositional content of particular information is 
considered by the speaker to be highly unexpected for the addressee, 
assuming that a language reserves grammatical devices for marking 
contrastiveness at all. Apart from that, it has been proposed a 
counterpresuppositional focus type - correcting presupposed information (on 
the polarity of a proposition) - as distinct from corrective focus 
(Gussenhoven 2007). Several studies found that MC marks (wh-)focus in 
terms of specific adjustments of the lexical tones, both on- and post-focally 
(e.g., Jin 1996, Xu 1999). These results have been implemented in the TA 
model (Xu & Wang 2001) and developed further in the PENTA model by Xu 
(2005) and Xu et al. (forthcoming). However, few is known about corrective 
focus in comparison to wh-focus in this language - and there has been no 
empirical study on the impact of the violation of mutual beliefs on the 
realization of CF. 

Both aspects are at the center of interest in the present study. Two types of 
corrective foci (COR) have been investigated systematically by means of a 
semi-spontaneous elicitation method. In the first type of COR foregrounded, 
or asserted material is to be corrected by the participants (A-COR), while the 
second type of COR applies to presupposed background information (P-
COR). A third type of focus, i.e., narrow wh-focus, or neutral information 
focus (NIF) serves as the baseline condition to be compared with A-COR and 
P-COR. It can be shown that only P-COR has been consistently 
distinguished from NIF by the speakers, and that A-COR and P-COR differ 
considerably in their prosodic realizations. Thus, the results show that, first, 
MC allows for marking relatively subtle distinctions by means of prosody. 

Second, accounts such as the CFH are supported by the present data. These 
results are basically supported by the syntax speakers used: i.e., the so-
called 'initial bare shi4-clefts' (Paul & Whitman 2008). Based on these results 
one may suggest a contrast-related communicative function that is (quasi-
)independent from the semantic process of replacing propositional content to 
be implemented in the PENTA model. 

Linguistic Field(s): Chinese Linguistics
                     General Linguistics
                     Syntax

Subject Language(s): Chinese, Mandarin (cmn)

Written In: English  (eng)

See this book announcement on our website: 
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/books/get-book.cfm?BookID=60291

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