Focal Ellipsis and Echo Questions

• 발행기관: 현대문법학회
• 저자명: 김광섭(Kwang-sup Kim)
• 간행물 정보: 『현대문법연구』제46호, 103~122쪽, 전체 20쪽
• 주제분류: 어문학 > 영어와문학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2006.12.01

영문 초록

Focal ellipsis (FE) is quite peculiar in that the focal part is missing. In this paper I propose that the silence of the focal part arises from the fact that the content of the focus may be empty, even though the focused phrase usually consists of a focus and its content. More specifically, the missing part of FE is made up of an empty focus and a rising tone, which are interpreted as a variable and a question about the variable, respectively. This approach enables us to explain why the FE construction displays a seemingly contradictory property--the property that it is not an interrogative sentence but it is a question. I have pointed out that the FE construction is not alone with regard to the property; this property is shared by the echo question. I have argued that the FE construction and the echo question have an indicative C, but they are interpreted as a question, since they contain a variable and a rising tone which requires the addressee to specify the content of the variable. The difference between the two constructions lies in whether the variable is realized as an empty focus or a wh-word, and the contrast gives rise to a difference in interpretation.

목차

1. Introduction

2. Deletion Approach

3. The Incomplete Sentence Approach

4. The Empty Focus Approach

5. Concluding Remarks

키워드

Focal Ellipsis Echo Question Focus Empty Focus Rising Tone Principle of Recoverability