Response Systems : The Syntax and Semantics of Fragment Answers and Response Particles
Espinal, M. Teresa (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Filologia Catalana)
Tubau Muntaña, Susagna (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Filologia Anglesa i de Germanística)

Date:	2019
Description:	27 pàg.
Abstract:	In this article the main research issues raised in the study of response systems in natural languages are critically reviewed by addressing the syntax and semantics of fragment answers and yes/no response particles. Fragment answers include replies that do not have a sentential form, while response particles consist solely of an affirmative or a negative adverb. While the main research question in the syntax of fragments and response particles has been whether these contain more syntactic structure than what is actually pronounced, the key issues in the study of their semantics are question-answer congruence, the anaphoric potential of response particles, and the meaning of fragments in relation to positive and negative questions. In connection to these issues, some interesting avenues for further research are suggested such as (i) providing an analysis of particles other than yes/no, (ii) deciding whether some non-lexically based or non-verbal responses are systematically used in combination with polar particles to express (dis)agreement, and (iii) choosing between echoic vs. non-echoic forms as answers to polar questions.
Grants:	Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad FFI2014-52015-P Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad FFI2017-82547-P Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2014-SGR-1013 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2017-SGR-634
Rights:	Tots els drets reservats.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió de l'autor
Subject:	Discourse ; Polar questions ; Prosody ; Answers ; Fragments ; Response particles ; Semantics ; Syntax
Published in:	Annual Review of Linguistics, Vol. 5 Núm. 1 (2019) , p. 261-287, ISSN 2333-9691

DOI: 10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011718-012613

Pre-print 45 p, 539.1 KB

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