Open AccessThe interaction between relevant-set based operators and a topic–predicate dimension
Author(s) -
Anna Szeteli,
Gábor Alberti
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
lingbaw
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2450-5188
DOI - 10.31743/lingbaw.5672
Subject(s) - predicate (mathematical logic) , quantifier (linguistics) , dimension (graph theory) , linguistics , computer science , noun , natural language processing , set (abstract data type) , operator (biology) , artificial intelligence , mathematics , pure mathematics , biochemistry , chemistry , repressor , transcription factor , gene , programming language , philosophy
Hungarian relevant-set based operators, such as universally quantified noun-phrases and the also-quantifier, signal a logico-pragmatic relation between their explicit meaning and a broader implicit set of relevant participants which property can be mentioned as “double referentiality” of the operator. Furthermore, they indicate the new or correcting information in a topic–predicate dimension which belongs to the broader world of the discourse. Our research aims to identify the differences by investigating the suprasegmental features of each-quantifiers and also-quantifiers on the Hungarian left-periphery indicating the two functions in the topic–predicate dimension. Short sentences in which quantifiers functioning either as the main (new/correcting) information or as a topic (anchor of relevant information) were read by 41 non-linguist native Hungarian subjects. The pitch, intensity and duration properties were analyzed by Praat. On the basis of paired t‑tests of the data, it can be stated that a two-dimension model of information structure is required to capture the phenomenon.