Optimization in Focus Identification

Abstract

This paper investigates which factors are involved in the identification of the focused expression with which a focus particle associates. If a hearer wishes to interpret a sentence containing a focus particle, one of the things she must do is identify the focused expression. In this paper it is argued that the identification of this focused expression is subject to interacting and violable constraints. These constraints are not only syntactic in nature but also prosodic and semantic. Crucially, the focused expression is not identified via a strictly compositional mechanism but rather through a mechanism of optimization. This accounts for the observation that syntactic constraints can be overruled by prosodic ones. The proposed optimality theoretic account of focus identification also yields an explanation for the well-known observation that the focussensitive determiner only appears not to be conservative.

Optimising elliptical utterances in dialogue

“…Optimality Theory is also used by Hendriks (2004) for focus identification. However, the notion of focus that Hendriks investigates is not the one that I investigate here.…”

Optimality-theoretic pragmatics

“… Interpretation of stress and focus. Several articles deal with a bidirectional perspective for stress on anaphoric pronouns and the interpretation of focus (Beaver, 2004;de Hoop, 2004;Hendriks, 2004;Aloni, Butler, & Hindsill, 2007)  Marking and Interpretation of negation. Henriëtte de Swart ( 2004) provides a bi-directional OT approach to the syntax and pragmatics of negation and negative indefinites (see also, de Swart, in press).…”