Information Structure and Sentence Structure - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 45
About This Presentation
Title:

Information Structure and Sentence Structure

Description:

Information-flow principle and principles of end-focus and weight ... One of the guys I work with, he said he bought over $100 in Powerball tickets. ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:1106
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 46
Provided by: richar66
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Information Structure and Sentence Structure


1
Information Structure and Sentence Structure
  • ENG 1520
  • Richard Xiao
  • Lancaster University

2
Outline
  • Information structure (IS) Theoretical
    backgrounds
  • Information-flow principle and principles of
    end-focus and weight
  • Manifestations of IS in sentence structures

3
What is information structure (IS)?
  • Broadly speaking, information structure encodes
    which part of a sentence is more informative in
    relation to a particular context

4
Information packaging
  • Information structure can be said to package
    linguistic information with the aim of optimizing
    the information transfer in discourse
  • It is primarily concerned with how a message is
    sent rather than what the message is about, just
    as the packaging of toothpaste can affect its
    sales but not much of its contents

5
Form vs. meaning
  • However, while information structure is more
    about FORM (how information is transferred) than
    MEANING (information itself), it plays an
    essential role in several aspects of meaning
  • Essential for
  • the construction and coherence of a discourse
  • the choice of anaphoric elements
  • Also necessary for the interpretation of
    sentences with focus-sensitive particles (e.g.
    only, also, too), or adverbs of quantification
    (e.g. always, sometimes)

6
Different focuses of only
  • Some examples showing different focuses of only
  • The focus in each example is marked in blue,
    which would receive a pitch accent in speech
  • John only introduced Bill to Sue.
  • John only introduced Bill to Sue.
  • John only introduced Bill to Sue.
  • John only introduced Bill to Sue.

7
Linguistic means for IS
  • There are a range of linguistic means that can
    encode information structure, e.g.
  • Intonation and prosody in speech
  • Syntactic structures
  • Word order

8
Place of IS in grammar
  • Information structure is a component of GRAMMAR,
    more specifically of SENTENCE GRAMMAR, i.e. it
    is a determining factor in the formal
    structuring of sentences (Lambrecht 19943)

9
Information structure A dichotomy
10
Givenness and aboutness relationship
  • Q What did John drink?

11
Information structure of a sentence
  • Typically consists of two parts
  • one less informative part that relates the
    sentence to the preceding discourse (given, old,
    presupposed information)
  • one more informative part that moves the
    discourse forward
  • by adding new information
  • or by modifying the old information given or
    presupposed in preceding discourse

12
Information-flow principle
  • Related to the normal ordering of information in
    English discourse, i.e. moving from given to new
    information
  • A question and two possible relies
  • Q When will we come back?
  • - A) Well come back next week.
  • - B) Next week well come back.
  • In the two replies, the given information is
    marked in blue and new information is underlined
  • Which reply will you choose? Why?
  • A) is better than B)
  • The given-new order of information can contribute
    to the cohesion of a text, because the given
    information at the beginning links the sentence
    to the previous discourse while the new
    information is usually taken up in the continuing
    discourse
  • The given-new order also helps the addressee to
    understand

13
Principles of end-focus and end-weight
  • End-focus principle
  • A clause normally has at least one point of
    focus, which typically falls upon the end of the
    clause
  • End-weight principle
  • Since new information often needs to be presented
    more fully than the given information (e.g. by
    using a longer, more complex, heavier
    structure), the end-weight principle often works
    hand in hand with the end-focus principle

14
End-focus and end-weight principles
  • A pair of examples
  • A) It may take them a little while, but it is
    important that you contact them to make a housing
    application and let them know of your needs.
  • B) It may take them a little while, but that you
    contact them to make a housing application and
    let them know of your needs is important.
  • Which sentence is more difficult to process? Why?
  • Sentence B) is more difficult
  • It is structurally unbalanced, and readers have
    to keep a lot in memory before they reach the end
    of the sentence

15
Initial position a second point of focus
  • The end-weight principle states that the end of a
    clause is the most important point of focus
  • In addition to final position, the beginning of a
    clause is another point of focus
  • Brilliant that was!
  • (That was absolutely brilliant!)
  • To this list it would be very desirable to add
    the status of women and the distribution of
    income, housing and consumer durables.
  • The primary focus falls upon the underlined part
    in final position
  • To this list" in initial position becomes a
    second focus, which also provides a cohesive link

16
Information-flow principle vs. end-focus/weight
principles
  • Normally agree with each other
  • When the two are in conflict, the
    information-flow principle can overrule the
    end-weight principle
  • e.g. That similar relationships occur with these
    two species under field conditions in
    Saskatchewan was suggested by Pickford (1960,
    1966a).
  • The that-clause is placed in initial position to
    serve the information-flow principle by giving
    old information, even though this is a heavy
    structure

17
Manifestations of IS
  • Passive
  • Existential there
  • Adverbial clause
  • Clefting
  • Extraposition
  • Dislocation
  • Fronting
  • Inversion

18
1) Passives
  • One important discourse function of passives is
    to accommodate information structure by
  • Presenting information from given to new
  • Maintaining the end-focus and end-weight
  • Keeping the topic continuous in discourse
  • Most commonly, the subject contains given
    information while the agent presents new
    information, which means that in most passive
    sentences, the subject has a higher level of
    givenness than the agent phrase
  • About 90 of the agent phrases bring in new
    information (Biber et al 1999)

19
Passives
  • A two-sentence mini discourse
  • Almost all entrants to teaching in maintained and
    special schools in England and Wales complete a
    recognised course of initial teacher training.
  • A) Such courses are offered by university
    departments of education as well as by many
    polytechnics and colleges.
  • B) University departments of education as well as
    many polytechnics and colleges offer such
    courses.
  • Which option will you choose? Why?
  • Option A) is better
  • In accord with information-flow principle
  • In accord with end-focus/weight principles
  • Anaphoric use of such in initial position links
    the sentence more closely to the preceding
    discourse

20
Passives
  • In addition to maintaining information flow,
    passives can also help to keep the topic
    continuous so that the discourse is coherent
  • A) The town is a major centre for the timber
    industry and is surrounded by large
    industrial and shipping complexes in the river
    Dvina, stretching away to the White
    Sea about thirty kilometers to the north.
  • Topic of 3 clauses is continuous (the town)
  • B) The town is a major centre for the timber
    industry and large industrial and shipping
    complexes in the river Dvina surrounded it,
    town stretching away to the White Sea about
    thirty kilometers to the north.
  • Topic is discontinuous (the town large
    industrial and shipping complexes the town)

21
2) Existential there
  • There BE/EXIST notional subject
  • Conveying more information than the mere
    existence of something, e.g. by indicating when
    or where it exists
  • As the obligatory elements of an existential
    sentence conveys little information, it usually
    has an adverbial or a post-modifier for the
    notional subject
  • There were four witnesses to the ceremony at the
    citys Hotel Crillon.

22
Existential there
  • The notional subject of an existential clause is
    usually an indefinite noun phrase introducing a
    new topic which is taken up in the continuing
    discourse
  • There are some apparent contradictions. For
    instance, the republics are encouraged to seek
    membership of the United Nations, although the
    union is to remain responsible for foreign
    relations.
  • New topic some apparent contradictions is
    introduced by existential there
  • One example of such contradictions (the republics
    vs. the union) is given in the continuing
    discourse

23
Existential there
  • Existential constructions can help to avoid
    unbalanced sentence structure
  • A) There are many people who believe sincerely
    that you can train children for life without
    resorting to punishment.
  • B) Many people who believe sincerely that you can
    train children for life without resorting to
    punishment exist.
  • Which option do you prefer? Why?
  • A) is better than B)
  • Sentence balance, end-focus

24
3) Adverbial clauses
  • The placement of adverbial clauses can help to
    maintain information flow
  • If an adverbial clause contains given
    information, it is usually placed in initial
    position to help with cohesion in this case,
    the main clause presents new information
  • And if that crisis goes on for years, its hard
    for them to recollect what they were like before.
  • that crisis in the conditional clause provides
    a cohesive link
  • New information is in end focus
  • In order to answer this question it is necessary
    to begin to read the charts as a way of
    structuring meaning
  • this question in the adverbial of purpose
    provides a cohesive link
  • New information is in end focus

25
Adverbial clauses
  • Conversely, when the main clause gives old
    information, the adverbial clause may appear in
    final position to present new information
  • We had them at the hospital , although I
    didnt use them that often .

26
4) Clefting
  • A cleft sentence breaks information in a sentence
    into two parts in order to provide an extra focus
    to one piece of information
  • Two types of clefting
  • it-cleft
  • wh-cleft

27
It-clefts
  • Nearly all syntactic roles other than the
    predicate can be brought into focus in it-cleft
    sentences to achieve cohesion and contrast
  • The new freedoms go furthest in NHS Trusts and it
    is there that we are seeing some
    of the greatest progress .
  • "there" provides a backward link to NHS Trusts,
    and also gives the sentence a primary focus in
    addition to the end focus
  • Canonical word order and we are seeing some of
    the greatest progress there. (less powerful)
  • Sir, I always thought it was bodies that required
    the seats, not souls .
  • The focused element bodies forms a contrast
    with souls
  • Canonical word order bodies, not souls,
    required the seats. (less powerful)

28
Wh-clefts
  • In wh-clefts, the focused elements can be a noun
    phrase, a nominal clause, or an infinitive clause
  • What she needed was a solid core of self (noun
    phrase as focused element)
  • What he urges is that they should have a better
    knowledge of the past (nominal clause as focused
    element)
  • What you must do is tell Irina to keep him in the
    clinic till I can come. (infinitive phrase as
    focused element)
  • In sentences like these, the part marked up in
    blue is the primary focus, while the underlined
    wh-clause forms a second focus

29
Two special wh-clefts
  • Inverted wh-clefts and demonstrative wh-clefts
  • In both cases, the focused elements usually
    provide reference to the preceding discourse
  • Peace and quiet is what we want.
  • peace and quite was discussed in earlier text
  • This is what will determine the outcome of the
    election.
  • Focused demonstrative pronoun this points
    backwards to the early text
  • New information in the wh-clause forms the end
    focus

30
5) Extraposition
  • Extraposition means moving subject or object
    clauses outside their normal positions
  • When this happens, the dummy it is used in
    subject position of the main clause, anticipating
    the extraposed clause as the logical subject
  • Extraposition can help with sentence balance to
    serve the end-focus principle
  • Four types of extraposition
  • Extraposed that-clause
  • Extraposed wh-clause
  • Extraposed infinitive clause
  • Extraposed gerund clause

31
Extraposed that-clause
  • The dummy it functions as the subject while the
    that-clause is moved to the clause final position
  • It is obvious that some Conservative Members are
    living in a dream world. (it BE adj. that)
  • Canonical That some Conservative Members are
    living in a dream world is obvious.
  • It seems unlikely that this provisional
    arrangement will last. (it SEEM/APPEAR adj.
    that)
  • Canonical That this provisional arrangement will
    last seems unlikely.
  • It appears that he is afraid of me. (it SEEM or
    APPEAR that)
  • Canonical That he is afraid of me appears (to be
    the case).
  • Canonical versions sound less natural, because
    they go against the principle of end-weight

32
Extraposed wh-clause
  • The dummy it functions as the subject while the
    wh-clause is moved to the clause final position
  • It is not clear how reliable the measurements of
    heat flux from sonic devices are in cloud.
  • Canonical How reliable the measurements of heat
    flux from sonic devices are in cloud is not
    clear.
  • For the same reason as for extraposed
    that-clauses, the canonical version sounds less
    natural

33
Extraposed infinitive clause
  • The dummy it functions as the subject while the
    infinitive clause is moved to the clause final
    position
  • It is essential to read the entire book and then
    go back to this area.
  • Canonical To read the entire book and then go
    back to this area is essential.
  • James found it difficult to accept her
    explanation. (object)
  • Canonical ?James found to accept her explanation
    difficult.
  • These canonical versions clearly sound less
    natural than their extraposed counterparts
  • When the infinitive clause functions as an
    object, the canonical version is even less
    acceptable

34
Extraposed gerund clause
  • The dummy it functions as the subject while the
    gerund clause is moved to the clause final
    position
  • Its very difficult getting supplies into
    Sarajevo.
  • Canonical Getting supplies into Sarajevo is very
    difficult.
  • They found it fun skiing. (object)
  • Canonical They found skiing fun.
  • While a lengthy gerund clause can still destroy
    the balance in canonical word order, a short
    gerund clause in canonical form sounds as good as
    the extraposed version

35
6) Dislocation
  • A construction with a pronoun in the main clause
    and a definite noun phrase before or after the
    main clause, which is used to mark the topic or
    for clarification
  • Typically found in conversation or fictional
    dialogue

36
Two types of dislocation
  • Left-dislocation (preface) marking the topic
  • One of the guys I work with, he said he bought
    over 100 in Powerball tickets.
  • He - one of the guys I work with topic
  • Underlined part focus
  • Right-dislocation (noun phrase tag) for
    clarification, sometimes also for the end-focus
    effect of the noun phrase
  • Has it got double doors, that shop?
  • Noun phrase tag clarifies what the pronoun it
    refers to it also brings the noun phrase that
    shop into focus

37
7) Fronting
  • Placing in initial position a clause element
    which normally follows the verb
  • Used for achieving focus and cohesion as it takes
    advantage of both final and initial points of
    focus
  • The fronted element usually refers to given
    information, or forms a contrast

38
Examples of fronting
  • What they can do, we can do.
  • Fronted object provides two points of focus and a
    contrast
  • Such at least was his observation.
  • Fronted element such provides a cohesive link
    and an end-focus
  • Far more serious were the severe head injuries.
  • Fronted predicative relates the sentence to
    preceding text through a comparison it also
    activates two points of focus
  • Enclosed is a photograph of my late father Bert
    Wakefield on site just after the war.
  • Fronted non-finite construction achieves sentence
    balance by presenting the structurally heavy new
    information in final position
  • Brave though he is in facing adult audiences,
    the result is a bit of a cringe.
  • Underlined part moved before the subordinator
    though is clearly intensified in addition, the
    end-focus falls upon new information

39
8) Inversion
  • Refers to a reversal of the normal word order so
    that the verb precedes the subject
  • Helping with cohesion, information flow,
    intensification and placement of focus

40
Examples of inversion
  • Next to it stood the engine which ran it,
    and the engineer .
  • Full (subject-verb) inversion
  • Underlined part in initial position provides old
    information
  • Referential it in initial position increases
    cohesion
  • Long subject appears at the end of the sentence
  • Better than canonical with long subject The
    engine which ran it, and the engineer stood next
    to it.
  • On no occasion did the number of protesters reach
    more than a few hundred.
  • Partial (subject-operator) inversion
  • Force of the negative element is intensified by
    its initial focus
  • More powerful than canonical The number of
    protesters did not reach more than a few hundred
    on any occasion.

41
Summary
  • The information structure of a sentence has two
    parts one for given information and one for new
    information, and old information is normally
    presented before new information
  • The end and beginning of a clause are usually
    points of focus, but the structurally complex and
    informationally heavier part is normally
    placed in final position
  • Information structure is manifested in a great
    variety of sentence structures in English

42
IS analysis exerciseIdentify given and new
information
  • The micrometer
  • A micrometer is an instrument which is used for
    measuring small distances precisely.
  • It can measure with a precision of 0.01 mm.
  • A micrometer consists of a steel frame in the
    shape of a semi-circle.
  • Attached to one end of this semi-circular frame
    is a small anvil.
  • The other end of the frame extends outwards.
  • A piece of metal in the shape of a cylinder fits
    on this extension.
  • The cylindrical part is called the barrel or
    sleeve.
  • Inside the barrel is a screw-thread.

43
IS analysis exerciseSample analysis
44
Further readings
  • Alonso, I. (2003) Improving text flow in ESL
    learner Compositions. The Internet TESL Journal
    9/2. URL http//iteslj.org/Articles/Alonso-Impro
    vingFlow.html
  • Biber, D., Conrad, S. and Leech, G. (2002)
    Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written
    English. London Longman.
  • Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S.
    and Finegan, E. (1999) Longman Grammar of Spoken
    and Written English. London Longman.
  • Birner, B. and Ward, G. (1998) Information Status
    and Noncanonical Word Order in English.
    Amsterdam Benjamins.
  • Jennifer A., Losongc, A., Wasow, T. and Ginstrom,
    R. (2000) Heaviness vs. Newness The Effects of
    Structural Complexity and Discourse Status on
    Constituent Ordering. Language 76/1 28-55.
  • Lambrecht, K. (1994) Information Structure and
    Sentence Form. London CUP
  • Nwogu, K. (1995) Structuring scientific
    discourse. English Teaching Forum. 33/4 22-27.
    URL http//exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol33/n
    o4/p22.htm
  • Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G. and Svartvik,
    J. (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the English
    Language. London Longman.

45
  • Thank you!
  • If you have any question, please feel free to ask
    or email me z.xiao_at_lancaster.ac.uk
  • This PPT is available for download at
    http//www.lancs.ac.uk/postgrad/xiaoz/APR10.zip
  • Exercises to follow
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com