Prominence, Accent and Information Structure

Abstract

The paper discusses the tenets of the complex interaction between syntax, prosody and information structure in German. A prominence-based approach to the interface is proposed in an account that crucially extends the object of syntax from the sentence level to the discourse level. The latter move allows to reconcile formal approaches and functional approaches to grammar and solves an old problem posed by the parallel impact of information structural categories on the phonological and semantic interpretation of the clause in generative grammar.