Therefore, in (2), focus is marked via word order and a nuclear pitch accent. Clefting induces an obligatory intonation break. In (1), focus is marked syntactically with the subscripted ‘f’ which is realized phonologically by a nuclear pitch accent. In syntax this can be done assigning focus markers, as shown in (1), or by preposing as shown in (2): 1 The Y-Model of Syntax, Semantics and Phonologyįocus may be highlighted either prosodically or syntactically or both, depending on the language. Therefore, syntactic mechanisms including features and transformations include prosodic information regarding focus that is passed to the semantics and phonology. Standard formalist approaches to grammar argue that phonology and semantics cannot exchange information directly ( See Fig. The topic–comment model distinguishes between the topic (theme) and what is being said about that topic (the comment, rheme, or focus). In such approaches, contrastive focus is understood as the coding of information that is contrary to the presuppositions of the interlocutor. Focus has also been linked to other more general cognitive processes, including attention orientation. Lambrecht in particular distinguishes three main types of focus constructions: predicate-focus structure, argument-focus structure, and sentence-focus structure. Recent attempts to explain focus phenomena in terms of discourse function, including those by Knud Lambrecht and Talmy Givón, often connect focus with the packaging of new, old, and contrasting information. Lexicogrammatical structures that code prominence, or focus, of some information over other information has a particularly significant history dating back to the 19th century. Information structure has been described at length by a number of linguists as a grammatical phenomenon. Research on focus spans numerous subfields including phonetics, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics. Focus is a cross-linguistic phenomenon and a major topic in linguistics. By contrast, in the sentence "Mary only INSULTED Bill", the verb "insult" is focused and thus expresses that Mary performed no other actions towards Bill. In the English sentence "Mary only insulted BILL", focus is expressed prosodically by a pitch accent on "Bill" which identifies him as the only person Mary insulted. In linguistics, focus ( abbreviated FOC) is a grammatical category that conveys which part of the sentence contributes new, non-derivable, or contrastive information.
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