This paper reviews notions related to focus and presupposition and addresses the hypothesis that focus triggers an existential presupposition. Presupposition projection behavior in certain examples appears to favor a presuppositional analysis of focus. It is argued that these examples are open to a different analysis using givenness theory. Overall, the analysis favors a weak semantics for focus not including an existential presupposition.

How does cultural and linguistic background influence communication style? This topic is examined through the [I + verb] belief construct before the expression of an opinion. Since opinions carry inherent notions of speaker belief, these constructions may at first appear superfluous. However, [I + verb] forms may actually fulfill various pragmatic functions depending on prosodic variation. Unfortunately, there is little congruent data on universality vs. cross-linguistic variability of pragmatic-prosodic mappings (prosodic variation as a cue to pragmatic interpretation) of [I + verb] belief constructs before an opinion. Thus, a Proof of Concept perception test was first implemented, followed by a production task investigating the effect of sociolinguistic background on a speaker's frequency of usage for various [I + verb] forms in expressing opinions, and how this relates to perceived speaker confidence. Usage of various forms and functions of this construct was analyzed and compared between native Mandarin (CHI) and English (US) speakers, as well as EFL Mandarin speakers. The Proof of Concept task supported hypotheses overall, suggesting a possible universal pragmatic-prosodic mapping for [I + verb]. In addition, while as predicted sociolinguistic background did not have a significant effect on universality of pragmatic-prosodic mapping in terms of confidence rating, it did have an observable effect on semantic interpretation of 'speaker confidence', thus indicating that sociolinguistic background may play a role in influencing these interpretations. Results from the production task supported predictions that frequency of functional [I + verb] usage corresponded to culturally specific attitudes of each culture. Based on confidence rating calculations for each [I + verb] variation from pragmatic-prosodic mapping of the perception task, it was determined that Native US individuals were most confident in expressing self-opinions but least confident in expressing opinions of others whilst Native CHI individuals were most confident in expressing opinions of others and least confident in expressing self-opinion, with the EFL group in the US more closely mirroring the Native US group and the EFL group in China more closely mirroring the Native CHI group. Additionally, going against theories of previous research, Time immersed in a new L2 environment and L2 proficiency did not significantly influence performance. Through investigating pragmatic-prosodic mappings of [I + verb] forms vs. functions, this study aimed to demonstrate the bi-directional link between language, thought and culture. By understanding and familiarizing oneself with the root of pragmatic differences, there is hope to better understand the cause of cross-cultural miscommunications between native and foreign speakers in conversation and to minimize any such discrepancies in pragmatic knowledge and sociocultural norms.

The most recent trend in the studies of LF intervention effects makes crucial reference to focusing effects on the interveners, and this paper critically examines the representative analyses of the focus-based approach. While each analysis has its own merits and shortcomings, I argue that a pragmatic analysis that does not make appeal to syntactic configurations is better equipped to deal with many of the complex and delicate facts surrounding intervention effects.

Die Alternativensemantik nach (Rooth, 1985, 1992) geht davon aus, dass sprachlicher Fokus eine Menge von Alternativen evoziert und Fokuspartikeln auf diese Menge Bezug nehmen. Die vorliegende Dissertation untersucht den Ein uss von Fokuspartikeln und prosodischem Fokus auf die mentale Repräsentation von Alternativenmengen. Im Speziellen wurden die sprachlichen und kognitiven Mechanismen, die am Aufbau einer Alternativenmenge beteiligt sind, mittels psycholinguistischer Experimente getestet. Experiment 1a und 1b untersuchen späte Repräsentation der gesamten Alternativenmenge. Die Experimente zeigen, dass Fokuspartikeln zu einer reicheren Enkodierung der Alternativenmenge führen, was sich in einem verbesserten Gedächtnisabruf äußert. Experiment 2 und 3 untersuchen die Prozesse, die am Aufbau von Alternativenmengen beteiligt sind. In Experiment 2 (Probe Recognition) führten Fokuspartikeln zu Interferenzeffekten beim Erkennen von erwähnten Alternativen sowie bei der Ablehnung nicht-erwähnter Alternativen. Eine weitere Analyse und Experiment 4 untersuchen die Mitglieder der Alternativenmenge. Die Daten deuten darauf hin, dass die Alternativenmenge aus sämtlichen möglichen Ersetzungen des fokussierten Elements inklusive unrelatierter Elemente besteht. Im Vergleich von intonatorischem Fokus und Fokuspartikeln (Experiment 5 und 6) zeigte sich, dass Fokus den Abruf von kontextuellen Alternativen erleichtert während Fokuspartikeln zu zusätzlichen Kompetitionseffekten führen. Im Allgemeinen liefert deutet die vorliegende Dissertation darauf hin, dass intonatorischer Fokus eine Alternativenmenge im Kopf des Hrers evoziert und dabei hilft relevante Alternativen zu identifizieren. Fokuspartikeln haben eine zusätzliche Funktion und führen whrend der Sprachverarbeitung zu einem strkeren Wettberwerb zwischen Mitgliedern der Alternativenmenge. / According to Rooth'' alternative semantics (Rooth, 1985, 1992), focus evokes a set of alternatives and that focus particles make reference to this set. The present thesis examines the impact of focus particles and intonational focus on the mental representation of alternatives. In particular, it explores the linguistic and cognitive mechanisms that underlie the establishment of alternative sets in a series of psycholinguistic experiments. Two delayed recall experiments (Exp. 1a and 1b) revealed that participants were better at recalling mentioned alternatives to a focused element when the discourse contained the particles only or even. Experiments 2 and 3 found interference effects of focus particles in the recognition of mentioned alternatives and the rejection of unmentioned alternatives. An additional analysis and Experiment 4 indicate that the set of alternatives consists of various possible replacements of the focused element. Experiment 5 showed that contrastive accents facilitated the retrieval of alternatives while focus particles caused interference effects relative to the condition with an L+H* accent. Overall, this thesis indicates that intonational focus activates alternatives in the listeners mind and helps identifying relevant alternatives. Focus particles, on the other hand, cause stronger competition between the focused element and its alternatives.