Information Structure and Sentence Structure ENG 1520 Richard Xiao

Information Structure and
Sentence Structure
ENG 1520
Richard Xiao
Lancaster University
Outline
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10/04/2007
Information structure (IS):
Theoretical backgrounds
Information-flow principle and
principles of end-focus and weight
Manifestations of IS in sentence
structures
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What is information structure (IS)?
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10/04/2007
Broadly speaking, information
structure encodes which part of a
sentence is more informative in
relation to a particular context
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“Information packaging”
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Information structure can be said to
“package” linguistic information
with the aim of optimizing the
information transfer in discourse
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10/04/2007
It is primarily concerned with how a
message is sent rather than what the
message is about, just as the
packaging of toothpaste can affect its
sales but not much of its contents
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Form vs. meaning
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However, while information structure is
more about FORM (how information is
transferred) than MEANING (information
itself), it plays an essential role in several
aspects of meaning
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10/04/2007
Essential for
 the construction and coherence of a
discourse
 the choice of anaphoric elements
Also necessary for the interpretation of
sentences with focus-sensitive particles (e.g.
only, also, too), or adverbs of quantification
(e.g. always, sometimes)
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Different focuses of only
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Some examples showing different
focuses of only
The focus in each example is
marked in blue, which would receive
a pitch accent in speech
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John
John
John
John
only
only
only
only
introduced Bill to Sue.
introduced Bill to Sue.
introduced Bill to Sue.
introduced Bill to Sue.
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Linguistic means for IS
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There are a range of linguistic
means that can encode information
structure, e.g.
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Intonation and prosody in speech
Syntactic structures
Word order
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Place of IS in grammar
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Information structure is “a
component of GRAMMAR, more
specifically of SENTENCE
GRAMMAR”, i.e. it is “a determining
factor in the formal structuring of
sentences” (Lambrecht 1994:3)
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Information structure: A dichotomy
Givenness
(what is
known vs.
what is new)
Aboutness
(what an
utterance is
about vs.
how it is said)
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Given/Old
Presupposition
Background
New
Focus
Focus
Topic
Theme
Comment
Rheme
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Givenness and aboutness: relationship
Q: What did John drink?
GIVEN/OLD
BACKGROUND/PRESUPPOSITION
John
drank
TOPIC
THEME
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NEW
FOCUS
BEERS
COMMENT
RHEME
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Information structure of a sentence
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Typically consists of two parts
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one less informative part that relates
the sentence to the preceding
discourse (given, old, presupposed
information)
one more informative part that moves
the discourse forward
by adding new information
 or by modifying the old information given
or presupposed in preceding discourse
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10/04/2007
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Information-flow principle
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Related to the normal ordering of information in English
discourse, i.e. moving from given to new information
A question and two possible relies
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In the two replies, the given information is marked in
blue and new information is underlined
Which reply will you choose? Why?
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Q: When will we come back?
- A) We’ll come back next week.
- B) Next week we’ll come back.
A) is better than B)
The given-new order of information can contribute to the
cohesion of a text, because the given information at the
beginning links the sentence to the previous discourse while
the new information is usually taken up in the continuing
discourse
The given-new order also helps the addressee to
understand
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Principles of end-focus and end-weight
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End-focus principle
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End-weight principle
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10/04/2007
A clause normally has at least one point of
focus, which typically falls upon the end of the
clause
Since new information often needs to be
presented more fully than the given
information (e.g. by using a longer, more
complex, “heavier” structure), the end-weight
principle often works hand in hand with the
end-focus principle
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End-focus and end-weight principles
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A pair of examples
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10/04/2007
A) It may take them a little while, but it is
important that you contact them to make a
housing application and let them know of your
needs.
B) It may take them a little while, but that you
contact them to make a housing application
and let them know of your needs is important.
Which sentence is more difficult to process? Why?
 Sentence B) is more difficult
 It is structurally unbalanced, and readers have
to keep a lot in memory before they reach the
end of the sentence
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Initial position: a second point of focus
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The end-weight principle states that the end of a
clause is the most important point of focus
In addition to final position, the beginning of a
clause is another point of focus
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Brilliant that was!
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To this list it would be very desirable to add the
status of women and the distribution of income,
housing and consumer durables.
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10/04/2007
(=That was absolutely brilliant!)
The primary focus falls upon the underlined
part in final position
“To this list" in initial position becomes a second
focus, which also provides a cohesive link
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Information-flow principle vs. endfocus/weight principles
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Normally agree with each other
When the two are in conflict, the
information-flow principle can overrule
the end-weight principle
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10/04/2007
e.g. That similar relationships occur with these
two species under field conditions in
Saskatchewan was suggested by Pickford
(1960, 1966a).
 The that-clause is placed in initial position
to serve the information-flow principle by
giving old information, even though this is
a heavy structure
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Manifestations of IS
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10/04/2007
Passive
Existential there
Adverbial clause
Clefting
Extraposition
Dislocation
Fronting
Inversion
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1) Passives
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One important discourse function of passives is to
accommodate information structure by
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Most commonly, the subject contains given
information while the agent presents new
information, which means that in most passive
sentences, the subject has a higher level of
givenness than the agent phrase
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Presenting information from given to new
Maintaining the end-focus and end-weight
Keeping the topic continuous in discourse
About 90% of the agent phrases bring in new
information (Biber et al 1999)
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>>Passives
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A two-sentence mini discourse
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Which option will you choose? Why?
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Almost all entrants to teaching in maintained and
special schools in England and Wales complete a
recognised course of initial teacher training.
A) Such courses are offered by university
departments of education as well as by many
polytechnics and colleges.
B) University departments of education as well
as many polytechnics and colleges offer such
courses.
Option A) is better
In accord with information-flow principle
In accord with end-focus/weight principles
Anaphoric use of such in initial position links the
sentence more closely to the preceding discourse
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>>Passives
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In addition to maintaining information flow,
passives can also help to keep the topic
continuous so that the discourse is coherent
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A) The town is a major centre for the timber
industry and <the town> is surrounded by large
industrial and shipping complexes in the river
Dvina, <the town> stretching away to the White
Sea about thirty kilometers to the north.
 Topic of 3 clauses is continuous (the town)
B) The town is a major centre for the timber
industry and large industrial and shipping
complexes in the river Dvina surrounded it, <the
town> stretching away to the White Sea about
thirty kilometers to the north.
 Topic is discontinuous (the town – large industrial
and shipping complexes – the town)
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2) Existential there
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There BE/EXIST + notional subject
Conveying more information than the
mere existence of something, e.g. by
indicating when or where it exists
As the obligatory elements of an
existential sentence conveys little
information, it usually has an adverbial or
a post-modifier for the notional subject
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There were four witnesses to the ceremony at
the city’s Hotel Crillon.
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>>Existential there
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The notional subject of an existential
clause is usually an indefinite noun phrase
introducing a new topic which is taken up
in the continuing discourse
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10/04/2007
There are some apparent contradictions.
For instance, the republics are encouraged to
seek membership of the United Nations,
although the union is to remain responsible for
foreign relations.
 New topic “some apparent contradictions” is
introduced by existential there
 One example of such contradictions (the
republics vs. the union) is given in the
continuing discourse
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>>Existential there
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Existential constructions can help to avoid
unbalanced sentence structure
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Which option do you prefer? Why?
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A) There are many people who believe
sincerely that you can train children for life
without resorting to punishment.
B) Many people who believe sincerely that you
can train children for life without resorting to
punishment exist.
A) is better than B)
Sentence balance, end-focus
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3) Adverbial clauses
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The placement of adverbial clauses can help to
maintain information flow
If an adverbial clause contains given information,
it is usually placed in initial position to help with
cohesion – in this case, the main clause presents
new information

And if that crisis goes on for years, it’s hard for
them to recollect what they were like before.
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In order to answer this question it is necessary to
begin to read the charts as a way of
structuring meaning…
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10/04/2007
“that crisis” in the conditional clause provides a
cohesive link
New information is in end focus
“this question” in the adverbial of purpose provides
a cohesive link
New information is in end focus
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>>Adverbial clauses

Conversely, when the main clause
gives old information, the adverbial
clause may appear in final position
to present new information
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10/04/2007
We had them at the hospital <Given>,
although I didn’t use them that often
<New>.
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4) Clefting
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A cleft sentence breaks information
in a sentence into two parts in order
to provide an extra focus to one
piece of information
Two types of clefting
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it-cleft
wh-cleft
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>>It-clefts
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Nearly all syntactic roles other than the predicate
can be brought into focus in it-cleft sentences to
achieve cohesion and contrast
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The new freedoms go furthest in NHS Trusts and it
is there <primary focus> that we are seeing some
of the greatest progress <end focus>.
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Sir, I always thought it was bodies that required
the seats, not souls <contrast>.
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10/04/2007
"there" provides a backward link to NHS Trusts,
and also gives the sentence a primary focus in
addition to the end focus
[Canonical word order] …and we are seeing some
of the greatest progress there. (less powerful)
The focused element “bodies” forms a contrast with
“souls”
[Canonical word order] …bodies, not souls,
required the seats. (less powerful)
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>>Wh-clefts
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In wh-clefts, the focused elements can be
a noun phrase, a nominal clause, or an
infinitive clause
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What she needed was a solid core of self (noun
phrase as focused element)
What he urges is that they should have a
better knowledge of the past (nominal clause
as focused element)
What you must do is tell Irina to keep him in
the clinic till I can come. (infinitive phrase as
focused element)
In sentences like these, the part marked
up in blue is the primary focus, while the
underlined wh-clause forms a second
focus
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>>Two special wh-clefts
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Inverted wh-clefts and demonstrative whclefts
In both cases, the focused elements
usually provide reference to the preceding
discourse
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Peace and quiet is what we want.
 “peace and quite” was discussed in earlier text
This is what will determine the outcome of the
election.
 Focused demonstrative pronoun this points
backwards to the early text
 New information in the wh-clause forms the
end focus
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5) Extraposition
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Extraposition means moving subject or object
clauses outside their normal positions
When this happens, the dummy it is used in
subject position of the main clause, anticipating
the extraposed clause as the logical subject
Extraposition can help with sentence balance to
serve the end-focus principle
Four types of extraposition
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Extraposed
Extraposed
Extraposed
Extraposed
that-clause
wh-clause
infinitive clause
gerund clause
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>>Extraposed that-clause
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The dummy it functions as the subject while the
that-clause is moved to the clause final position
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It is obvious that some Conservative Members are living
in a dream world. (“it BE adj. that”)
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It seems unlikely that this provisional arrangement will
last. (“it SEEM/APPEAR adj. that”)
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10/04/2007
Canonical: That this provisional arrangement will last
seems unlikely.
It appears that he is afraid of me. (“it SEEM or APPEAR
that”)
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Canonical: That some Conservative Members are living in
a dream world is obvious.
Canonical: That he is afraid of me appears (to be the
case).
Canonical versions sound less natural, because
they go against the principle of end-weight
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>>Extraposed wh-clause
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The dummy it functions as the subject
while the wh-clause is moved to the
clause final position
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It is not clear how reliable the measurements
of heat flux from sonic devices are in cloud.
 Canonical: How reliable the measurements of
heat flux from sonic devices are in cloud is not
clear.
For the same reason as for extraposed
that-clauses, the canonical version
sounds less natural
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>>Extraposed infinitive clause
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The dummy it functions as the subject
while the infinitive clause is moved to
the clause final position
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It is essential to read the entire book and then
go back to this area.
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James found it difficult to accept her explanation.
(object)
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Canonical: ?James found to accept her explanation
difficult.
These canonical versions clearly sound
less natural than their extraposed
counterparts
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Canonical: To read the entire book and then go back
to this area is essential.
When the infinitive clause functions as an object,
the canonical version is even less acceptable
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>>Extraposed gerund clause

The dummy it functions as the subject
while the gerund clause is moved to the
clause final position
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It’s very difficult getting supplies into
Sarajevo.
 Canonical: Getting supplies into Sarajevo is
very difficult.
They found it fun skiing. (object)
 Canonical: They found skiing fun.
While a lengthy gerund clause can still
destroy the balance in canonical word
order, a short gerund clause in canonical
form sounds as good as the extraposed
version
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6) Dislocation
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10/04/2007
A construction with a pronoun in the
main clause and a definite noun
phrase before or after the main
clause, which is used to mark the
topic or for clarification
Typically found in conversation or
fictional dialogue
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>>Two types of dislocation

Left-dislocation (preface): marking the
topic
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Right-dislocation (noun phrase tag): for
clarification, sometimes also for the endfocus effect of the noun phrase
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One of the guys I work with, he said he
bought over $100 in Powerball tickets.
 He -> “one of the guys I work with” [topic]
 Underlined part: focus
Has it got double doors, that shop?
 Noun phrase tag clarifies what the pronoun it
refers to; it also brings the noun phrase “that
shop” into focus
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7) Fronting
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10/04/2007
Placing in initial position a clause
element which normally follows the
verb
Used for achieving focus and
cohesion as it takes advantage of
both final and initial points of focus
The fronted element usually refers
to given information, or forms a
contrast
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>>Examples of fronting
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What they can do, we can do.
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Such at least was his observation.
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Fronted non-finite construction achieves sentence balance
by presenting the structurally heavy new information in
final position
[Brave though he is in facing adult audiences], the
result is a bit of a cringe.
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Fronted predicative relates the sentence to preceding text
through a comparison; it also activates two points of
focus
Enclosed is a photograph of my late father Bert
Wakefield on site just after the war.
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
Fronted element “such” provides a cohesive link and an
end-focus
Far more serious were the severe head injuries.
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Fronted object provides two points of focus and a contrast
Underlined part moved before the subordinator though is
clearly intensified; in addition, the end-focus falls upon
new information
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8) Inversion
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10/04/2007
Refers to a reversal of the normal
word order so that the verb
precedes the subject
Helping with cohesion, information
flow, intensification and placement
of focus
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>>Examples of inversion

Next to it <Old> stood the engine which ran it,
and the engineer <New>.
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On no occasion did the number of protesters
reach more than a few hundred.
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10/04/2007
Full (subject-verb) inversion
Underlined part in initial position provides old
information
Referential it in initial position increases cohesion
Long subject appears at the end of the sentence
Better than canonical with long subject: “The engine
which ran it, and the engineer stood next to it.”
Partial (subject-operator) inversion
Force of the negative element is intensified by its
initial focus
More powerful than canonical: “The number of
protesters did not reach more than a few hundred
on any occasion.”
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Summary
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10/04/2007
The information structure of a sentence
has two parts – one for given information
and one for new information, and old
information is normally presented before
new information
The end and beginning of a clause are
usually points of focus, but the
structurally complex and informationally
“heavier” part is normally placed in final
position
Information structure is manifested in a
great variety of sentence structures in
English
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IS analysis exercise:
Identify given and new information

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
10/04/2007
The micrometer
A micrometer is an instrument which is used
for measuring small distances precisely.
It can measure with a precision of 0.01 mm.
A micrometer consists of a steel frame in the
shape of a semi-circle.
Attached to one end of this semi-circular frame
is a small anvil.
The other end of the frame extends outwards.
A piece of metal in the shape of a cylinder fits
on this extension.
The cylindrical part is called the barrel or
sleeve.
Inside the barrel is a screw-thread.
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IS analysis exercise:
Sample analysis
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Further readings
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10/04/2007
Alonso, I. (2003) Improving text flow in ESL learner
Compositions. The Internet TESL Journal 9/2. URL:
http://iteslj.org/Articles/Alonso-ImprovingFlow.html
Biber, D., Conrad, S. and Leech, G. (2002) Longman Student
Grammar of Spoken and Written English. London: Longman.
Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S. and Finegan, E.
(1999) Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English.
London: Longman.
Birner, B. and Ward, G. (1998) Information Status and
Noncanonical Word Order in English. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Jennifer A., Losongc, A., Wasow, T. and Ginstrom, R. (2000)
Heaviness vs. Newness: The Effects of Structural Complexity and
Discourse Status on Constituent Ordering. Language 76/1: 28-55.
Lambrecht, K. (1994) Information Structure and Sentence Form.
London: CUP
Nwogu, K. (1995) Structuring scientific discourse. English
Teaching Forum. 33/4: 22-27. URL:
http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol33/no4/p22.htm
Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G. and Svartvik, J. (1985) A
Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London:
Longman.
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Thank you!
If you have any question, please feel free to ask or
email me z.xiao@lancaster.ac.uk
This PPT is available for download at
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/postgrad/xiaoz/APR10.zip
Exercises to follow…
10/04/2007
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