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Direct and indirect aboutness topics

We propose a definition of aboutness topicality that not only encompasses individual denoting DPs, but also indefinites. We concentrate on the interpretative effects of marking indefinites as topics: they either receive widest scope in their clause, or they are interpreted in the restrictor of an overt or covert Q-adverb. We show that in the first case they are direct aboutness topics insofar as they are the subject of a predication expressed by the comment, while in the second case they are indirect aboutness topics: they define the subject of a higher-order predication – namely the set of situations that the respective Q-adverb quantifies over.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:Potsdam/oai:kobv.de-opus-ubp:1964
Date January 2007
CreatorsEndriss, Cornelia, Hinterwimmer, Stefan
PublisherUniversität Potsdam, Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät. Institut für Linguistik / Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft
Source SetsPotsdam University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeInBook
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightshttp://opus.kobv.de/ubp/doku/urheberrecht.php

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