Discourse Segmentation in Romance Languages -- Editorial page -- Title page -- LCC data -- Table of contents -- Models of discourse segmentation in Romance languages -- 1. Toward discourse segmentation -- 1.1 In the beginning, there was the sentence -- 1.2 Spoken language studies: from Romanticism to discourse segmentation -- 1.3 The issue of the "new syntax" -- 1.4 Prosody joins the party -- 1.5 Summary -- 2. Outline of the models in this volume -- 2.1 Basel Model (BM) -- 2.2 Geneva Model (GM) and Fribourg Group Model (FM) -- 2.2.1 Geneva Model -- 2.2.2 Fribourg Group Model (FM) -- 2.3 Val.Es.Co Model -- 2.4 Co-enunciation Model (CEM) -- 2.5 Prominence Demarcation Model (PDM) -- 2.6 Basic Discourse Units Model (BDU) -- 3. Conclusions -- References -- The Basel Model for paragraph segmentation -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The basic conception behind the Basel Model -- 2.1 The semantico-pragmatic organisation of the paragraph -- 2.2 The meaning and nature of linguistic indications -- 3. Communication Unit (CU) and Utterance (U) -- 3.1 The role of language -- 3.2 The marking of Utterance boundaries -- 4. Information Unit (IU) -- 4.1 The information structures of the Utterance -- 4.2 The hierarchico-informational structure in general: the nature, textual relevance and linguistic properties thereof -- 4.3 The Nucleus and the Focus -- 4.4 The Frame and the Appendix (in dialogue with Edoardo Lombardi Vallauri) -- 5. Conclusion. The information structure of the Utterance as interface between the linguistico-grammatical management and the textual management of discourse -- References -- The contribution of the Basel model to the description of polyfunctional discourse markers -- 1. Introduction -- 1.1 Accounting for discourse markers through Models of discourse units.

1.2 Accounting for the polyfunctionality of discourse markers: From their syntactic and semantic properties to their discourse functions through information structure -- 2. Syntactic and semantic properties of It. anche, Fr. aussi, Sp. también -- 2.1 Focus adverbs -- 2.1.1 Syntactic properties -- 2.2.2 Semantic properties -- 2.2 Connectives -- 2.2.1 Additive connectives -- 2.2.2 Consecutive connective -- 3. Information status and textual properties of It. anche, Fr. aussi, Sp. también -- 3.1 Anche/Aussi/También in the Nuclear Unit of the Utterance -- 3.1.1 Anche/Aussi/También with additional linguistic material -- 3.1.2 Anche/Aussi/También with no additional linguistic material -- 3.2 Anche/Aussi/También in the Frame Information Unit -- 3.2.1 Anche/Aussi/También with additional linguistic material -- 3.2.2 Anche/Aussi/También with no additional linguistic material -- 3.3 Anche/Aussi/También in the Appendix Information Unit -- 3.3.1 Anche/Aussi/También with additional linguistic material -- 3.3.2 Anche/Aussi/También with no additional linguistic material -- 4. Concluding remarks -- 4.1 The assets of the Basel Model of paragraph segmentation -- 4.2 Cross-linguistic remarks -- Corpora -- References -- Parenthetical verbs as a challenge for discourse units -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Presentation of two approaches to discourse units -- 2.1 The Grammaire de la période -- 2.1.1 Two levels of analysis -- 2.1.2 The macro-syntactic level -- 2.2 The modular model of discourse organization -- 2.2.1 General principles -- 2.2.2 Examples of analysis -- 2.2.3 The discourse act -- 3. The IDRs seen by both models -- 3.1 The analysis of IDRs according to the GP Model -- 3.1.1 Previous analyses -- 3.1.2 An analysis according to the GP model -- 3.1.3 Examples attesting the macro-syntactic status of IDRs -- 3.2 The analysis of IDRs according to the Modular Approach.

3.2.1 The notion of confirmation conveyed by the IDRs -- 3.2.2 Discourse structure of the construction [RC, IDR] -- 4. Synthesis -- References -- Absolute initial position -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Positions and the Val.Es.Co model of discourse units -- 2.1 Discourse units -- 2.2 Discourse dimensions -- 2.3 Discourse positions -- 3. From a difference in distribution to an unexpected paradigm -- 3.1 Bueno and por cierto in initial position -- 3.2 Two initial positions, or when structure meets interaction -- 3.3 Absolute initial position. Definition and paradigm -- 3.3.1 Validating a hearer -- 3.3.2 Validating a communicative event -- 3.4 Parametrical changes in AIPs -- 4. AIPs and the study of DMs -- 5. Conclusions -- References -- On the delimitation of discursive units in colloquial Spanish -- 1. General introduction -- 2. Delimitation of units: Overviews -- 3. Val.Es.Co. model of discourse units -- 3.1 The role of prosody -- 3.2 The role of pragmatics -- 3.3 Pragmaprosodic combination -- 4. Implementation of the Val.Es.Co system of discourse units -- 4.1 First case study: The discourse marker bueno -- 4.1.1 Corpus and methodology -- 4.1.2 Results -- 4.1.3 Synthesis -- 4.2 Second case study: Suspended acts -- 4.2.1 Corpus and methodology driven -- 4.2.2 Analysis -- 4.2.3 Summary -- 5. Conclusions -- References -- Intonation and gesture in the segmentation of speech units -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Coenunciation / Colocution / Formulation theory -- 2.1 Pitch variations and Coenunciation -- 2.2 Intensity variations and Colocution -- 2.3 Silent pause / Duration variations and Formulating / Managing Meaning -- 3. Our speech units: Oral paragraph / preamble / rheme -- 3.1 Oral paragraph -- 3.2 Preamble -- 3.3 Rheme -- 4. Gaze and hand gestures properties and values -- 4.1 Gaze movement within intonative units -- 4.2 Gesture within intonative units.

5. General structuring principles of speech units in French -- 5.1 Decondensation -- 5.2 Recategorisation -- 5.3 Anticipation -- 6. DM vraiment: Three intonative categories with their gesture properties -- 6.1 Type I - Vraiment intonatively integrated with the value of rheme modalisation -- 6.2 Type II - Vraiment intonatively salient with the value of focalisation -- 6.3 Type III - Vraiment lengthened with the value of formulation and suppletion cue -- 7. Recapitulative table of vraiment intonation and gesture properties -- 8. Conclusion -- Annex -- References -- The topologic hypothesis of prominence as a cue to information structure in Italian -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The analysis of data from spoken Italian -- 3. A functional interpretation -- 3.1 Comparing perception and measurement -- 3.2 Demarcation rather than culmination -- 3.3 A continuum rather than discrete alternatives -- 4. Conclusions -- References -- Initiating a discourse unit in spoken French -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Basic discourse units in spoken language -- 2.1 Syntactic segmentation -- 2.2 Prosodic segmentation -- 2.3 Mapping prosody and syntax into BDUs -- 3. Initial elements and left periphery of BDUs -- 4. Data analysis -- 4.1 BDU distribution -- 4.2 LPEs as discourse strategic expressions -- 4.2.1 Syntactic and prosodic configurations of LPEs -- 4.2.2 Discourse functions of LPEs -- 5. Conclusions -- References -- Appendix 1: Overview of codes used -- Appendix 2 : Corpus extracts -- Index.

This chapter presents an empirical study of the left periphery of Basic Discourse Units, viz. the linguistic segments that speakers and hearers use to interpret the discourse they are engaged in. A Basic Discourse Unit is bound by the mapping of a syntactic (dependency) structure and a major intonation unit, giving rise to different types of discourse units (congruent, syntax-bound, intonation-bound, regulatory). Focusing on the discourse units' Left Peripheral Elements, which are again defined in syntactic and prosodic terms, we show that they fulfil different discourse structuring roles.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.