the representation of internal and external information structure in Persian complex sentences

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Alzahra university

Abstract

The information structure and how to represent it in a variety of constructions is one of the topics that has attracted much attention in the functional approaches to language review. In this essay, we will look at how to distribute information from the perspective of common ground management in complex sentences. In the role and reference grammar, subordination constructions are divided into two types; daughter subordination and ad subordination. Hence, it is possible to construct external information, including information structure in an entirely subordinate clause, and constructing internal information including the embedded clause. In this research, based on the above parameters [daughter subordinate constructions vs ad subordinate and external information structure vs internal information structure] we considered the distribution of information in complex sentences of Persian language and obtained the results which are summarized as follows: restrictive relative clauses normally cannot host the focus of the sentence and Similarly, and they are not a good domain for contrastive topics, Because if there are any such categories of information then it cannot successfully fulfil its primary function, to help identify the referent of the head noun. The adverbial clauses that are kind of ad subordinate clauses cannot have internal information structure or, in other words, they cannot be questioned by any of their inner constituents. The only way to question these elements is through echo or in situ questions, which is highly dependent on texture. The complement clauses in the Persian language have a full internal information structure and the complement clauses with manner and factive verbs, in the Persian language, especially in the language of speech, can have internal information structure; if there is a contrastive presupposition, the complement clauses will have internal information structure.

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Language and Linguistics

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 15 January 2020

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