Verum focus is verum, not focus: Cross-linguistic evidence
The accent pattern known as verum focus is commonly understood as an ordinary alternative focus on the truth of a proposition. This standard view, which we call the focus accent thesis (FAT), can be contrasted with the lexical operator thesis (LOT), according to which the accent pattern that looks l...
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ftubkoeln:oai:USBKOELN.ub.uni-koeln.de:33067 2023-05-15T18:39:29+02:00 Verum focus is verum, not focus: Cross-linguistic evidence Gutzmann, Daniel Hartmann, Katharina Matthewson, Lisa 2020 https://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/33067/ eng eng UBIQUITY PRESS LTD Gutzmann, Daniel, Hartmann, Katharina and Matthewson, Lisa (2020). Verum focus is verum, not focus: Cross-linguistic evidence. Glossa, 5 (1). LONDON: UBIQUITY PRESS LTD. ISSN 2397-1835 ddc:no doc-type:article publishedVersion 2020 ftubkoeln 2022-11-09T07:23:50Z The accent pattern known as verum focus is commonly understood as an ordinary alternative focus on the truth of a proposition. This standard view, which we call the focus accent thesis (FAT), can be contrasted with the lexical operator thesis (LOT), according to which the accent pattern that looks like focus in languages like German or English is actually not an instance of focus marking, but realizes a lexical verum predicate, whose function is to relate the current proposition to a question under discussion. Although it is hard to distinguish between the FAT and the LOT on the basis of German or English, a broader cross-linguistic perspective seems to favor the LOT. Drawing from fieldwork on Tsimshianic (Gitksan) and Chadic (Bura, South Marghi), we first show that in none of these languages is verum realized in the same way that ordinary alternative focus is marked. This sheds initial doubt on the unity of verum and focus. Secondly, the FAT predicts that a language cannot have co-occuring verum and focus, if it does not allow multiple foci, and that a language should allow them to co-occur if it allows for multiple foci. Again, while it is hard to find counterexamples in German or English, some of the data from our cross-linguistic investigation favor the LOT. Article in Journal/Newspaper Tsimshian* Cologne University: KUPS |
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English |
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ddc:no Gutzmann, Daniel Hartmann, Katharina Matthewson, Lisa Verum focus is verum, not focus: Cross-linguistic evidence |
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ddc:no |
description |
The accent pattern known as verum focus is commonly understood as an ordinary alternative focus on the truth of a proposition. This standard view, which we call the focus accent thesis (FAT), can be contrasted with the lexical operator thesis (LOT), according to which the accent pattern that looks like focus in languages like German or English is actually not an instance of focus marking, but realizes a lexical verum predicate, whose function is to relate the current proposition to a question under discussion. Although it is hard to distinguish between the FAT and the LOT on the basis of German or English, a broader cross-linguistic perspective seems to favor the LOT. Drawing from fieldwork on Tsimshianic (Gitksan) and Chadic (Bura, South Marghi), we first show that in none of these languages is verum realized in the same way that ordinary alternative focus is marked. This sheds initial doubt on the unity of verum and focus. Secondly, the FAT predicts that a language cannot have co-occuring verum and focus, if it does not allow multiple foci, and that a language should allow them to co-occur if it allows for multiple foci. Again, while it is hard to find counterexamples in German or English, some of the data from our cross-linguistic investigation favor the LOT. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gutzmann, Daniel Hartmann, Katharina Matthewson, Lisa |
author_facet |
Gutzmann, Daniel Hartmann, Katharina Matthewson, Lisa |
author_sort |
Gutzmann, Daniel |
title |
Verum focus is verum, not focus: Cross-linguistic evidence |
title_short |
Verum focus is verum, not focus: Cross-linguistic evidence |
title_full |
Verum focus is verum, not focus: Cross-linguistic evidence |
title_fullStr |
Verum focus is verum, not focus: Cross-linguistic evidence |
title_full_unstemmed |
Verum focus is verum, not focus: Cross-linguistic evidence |
title_sort |
verum focus is verum, not focus: cross-linguistic evidence |
publisher |
UBIQUITY PRESS LTD |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/33067/ |
genre |
Tsimshian* |
genre_facet |
Tsimshian* |
op_relation |
Gutzmann, Daniel, Hartmann, Katharina and Matthewson, Lisa (2020). Verum focus is verum, not focus: Cross-linguistic evidence. Glossa, 5 (1). LONDON: UBIQUITY PRESS LTD. ISSN 2397-1835 |
_version_ |
1766228408787795968 |