The Semantics and Pragmatics of Preposing

Gregory L. Ward

Introduction; 2. Previous Studies; 2.1 Introduction 2.2. Topic-Based Studies of NP Preposing 2.2.1. Halliday 2.2.2. Gundel 2.2.3. Langacker 2.2.4. Rodman 2.2.5. Creider 2.2.6. Bland 2.2.7. Reinhart 2.2.8. Davison 2.3. Non-Topic-Based Studies of NP Preposing 2.3.1. Chafe 2.3.2. Clark and Clark 2.3.3. Prince 2.4. Studies of VP Preposing 2.5. Summary; 3. A Theory of Preposing; 3.1. Introduction 3.2. Definition 3.2.1. Scales 3.2.2. Backward Looking Centers 3.2.3. Open Proposition and Focus 3.3. The Functions of Preposing 3.4. Identifying the Open Proposition and Focus 3.4.1. Stress and Focus 3.4.2. Identifying Possible Foci 3.5. Summary; 4. Applying the Theory; 4.1. Introduction 3.2. The Data 4.3. The Analysis 4.3.1. Preposing and Informality 4.3.2. Preposing and Indefiniteness 4.3.3. Preposing and Specificity 4.3.4. Preposing and Root Transformations 4.4. A Taxonomy of Preposing 4.5. Focus Preposing 4.5.1. General Focus Preposing 4.5.2. Echoing 4.5.3. Yiddish-Movement 4.6 Summary; 5. General Topicalization; 5.1. Introduction 5.2. Categorical Restrictions on TOP? 5.2.1. Types of Scalar Relations 5.2.2 Scalar Values 5.2.3. Salience of the Scale 5.3. [+Identity] TOP 5.3.1. Adverbial Preposing 5.3.2. NPs and [+Identity] TOP 5.3.3. Bridging via NPs 5.4. Syntactically Distinguishable Types of TOP 5.4.1. Indirect Question Preposing 5.4.2. ‘If’ Preposing; 6. Proposition Affirmation; 6.1. Introduction 6.2. General Proposition Affirmation 6.3. Proposition Affirmation with Modals 6.4. Exclamative Proposition Affirmation 6.5. ‘That’ –Tense Preposing 6.6. A Comparison of PA-Performing Constructions ‘It Is’ Preposing 6.8. Syntactic Arguments Based on PA; 7. Ironic Preposing; 7.1. Introduction 7.2. Accommodating Ironic Preposing in the Theory 7.2.1. Backward Looking Center 7.2.2. Open Proposition 7.3. Previous Pragmatic Accounts of Irony; 8. Conclusion; Index