The Empty Focus Particle and the Scope Theory of Even

• 발행기관: 한국영미어문학회
• 저자명: Younghan Chung
• 간행물 정보: 『영미어문학』영미어문학 제111호, 197~221쪽, 전체 25쪽
• 주제분류: 어문학 > 영어와문학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2013.12.31

영문 초록

The English focus particle even can generate ambiguity because in some contexts its focus can denote either a high or a low end on a pragmatic scale. Since Karttunen and Peters (979) and Rooth (1985) proposed the scope theory and the lexical theory of even respectively to account for this ambiguity, many researchers have tried to prove the superiority of one over the other. The present paper offers novel evidence against the lexical theory. More importantly, to remedy some of the weaknesses of the scope theory, it posits the empty focus particle (EFP) based on relevant Korean data. The EFP introduces a constituent describing new information. This constituent is the focus of the EFP and usually serves as the topic of a given sentence. The adoption of the EFP can help solve some of the problems with the scope theory and clearly explain some puzzling cases of double focuses.

목차

1. Introduction

2. Scope Theory vs. Lexical Theory of Even

3. Arguments against the Lexical Theory

4. Empty Focus Particle and the Scope Theory

5. Concluding Remarks

References

키워드

focus particle even pragmatic scale. scope theory lexical theory empty focus particle double focuses