The Architecture of Focus

This text evolved from two workshops held at the U. of Lund in 2002 and 2003, and investigates the architecture of focus in grammar from different perspectives. Twenty papers by 24 contributors are organized into sections covering theoretical foundations of focus and information structure within grammar; the representation of focus, topic and contrast at the syntax-pragmatics interface; the phonological representation of focus, topic and contrast and it relation to meaning; and focus-related constructions in a variety of languages. The articles investigate relevant and highly current theoretical issues and empirical data from different languages. They put to test the theories developed in recent years within the framework of generative grammar and evaluate whether they can be seen as an essential corner stone of an integrated theory of focus and the related information-structural notions. Annotation 穢2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)