Work

Prosody and the interpretation of tag questions

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: We provide an account of the alignment of linguistic form and discourse function with respect to English tag questions, adopting as a formal framework Segmented Discourse Representation Theory. SDRT models the discourse function of utterances via their rhetorical connection to the antecedent discourse. We pay particular attention to the prosodic features of tag questions and their contribution to interpretation. This approach to tag questions is appropriate, we argue, as the interpretation of a tag comes down to its rhetorical connection to the host sentence.

Source: Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung

DOI: 10.18148/sub/2007.v11i0.657

Authors: Reese, Brian, Asher, Nicholas

Institutions: The University of Texas at Austin, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Language: English

Topic: Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

Subfield: Language and Linguistics

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W3023840237

FWCI: 4.728

Cites: 16

Cited by: 49

Related to: 10