Shinichiro Ishihara

Major Phrase, Focus Intonation, Multiple Spell-Out (MaP, FI, MSO)

Abstract The article discusses interactions between syntactic derivation, semantic scopal relations, and prosodic phrasing in Japanese. I claim that the Major Phrase (MaP) is a result of the mapping of Multiple Spell-Out (MSO) domains onto prosody. I also claim that a Focus Intonation (FI), a prosodic domain triggered by focus, is created independently of MaP phrasing, contrary to previously proposed analyses, in which a FI is created by modifying MaP phrasing. The interactions between prosodic phrasing and semantic scope can be better explained by distinguishing between MaP and FI. I claim that quantifiers and their scopes are sensitive to MaP boundaries, while focus-related scope-taking elements such as wh-phrase and negative polarity items are sensitive to FI domains. This generalization is explained under the MSO analysis of MaP/FI formation proposed in this article.

The phonology of second occurrence focus

This paper investigates the question of whether and how Second Occurrence Focus (SOF) is realized phonetically in German. The apparent lack of phonetic marking on SOF has raised much discussion on the semantic theory of focus (Partee 1999, Rooth 1992). Some researchers have reported the existence of phonetic marking of SOF in the postnuclear area (Rooth 1996, Beaver et al. 2007). In our experimental study with German sentences, we examined sentences both with prenuclear SOF and with postnuclear SOF, comparing them with their first occurrence focus (FOF) and non-focus counterparts. The results show that the phonetic prominence of focus (higher pitch/longer duration) is realized differently according to the type of focus as well as according to the position of the target expression. We account for these differences by considering several phonetic effects, those that are information-structure-related and those that are phonologically motivated. (Less)

The Intonation of Wh- and Yes/No-Questions in Tokyo Japanese

The paper reports experimental results on the intonation of wh- and yes/no-questions in Tokyo Japanese, and discusses several implications for the semantic and phonological theories of focus. The intonation of declarative sentences, wh-questions, and yes/no-questions are systematically compared. The results show that the wh-question exhibits an \(\text {F}_0\)-prominence on the wh-phrase, while the yes/no-question exhibits an \(\text {F}_0\)-prominence on the verb. It is claimed that these prominences are both focus-oriented. This proposal fits the standard semantic theory of questions (Hamblin 1973) nicely. Phonological theories of focus prosody in Tokyo Japanese are compared in the light of the results. The interaction of the notions of focus and discourse-newness/givenness is also discussed.