Title
Focus Placement on Adjacent Words in Yes/No Questions
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
January 2015
Journal / Book Title
International Congress of Phonetic Sciences
Abstract
Semantic theory predicts four different focus configurations for a pair of adjacent words: early, late, broad and double focus. We report on a production study which confirms that speakers make a significant, though non-obligatory, distinction between the four categories. The distinction is observed in yes/no question and so cannot be associated with a specific intonational tune. The results also fail to support theories of focus projection and uniquely syntagmatic models of prominence.
MSU Digital Commons Citation
Howell, Jonathan, "Focus Placement on Adjacent Words in Yes/No Questions" (2015). Department of Linguistics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 4.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/linguistics-facpubs/4