Aspects of the information structure of spoken discourse

This thesis is a data-based investigation of the way speakers structure what they want to say in terms of 'given' and 'new' information. It is presented as a contribution to the study of the pragmatics of natural language in which the structure of discourse utterances is viewed as deriving, not from primarily syntactic or semantic criteria, but from the functional requirements of efficient communication in context. The recorded -Conversational speech of Edinburgh Scottish English speakers is analysed to determine whether intonational criteria, as suggested by Halliday (1967), can be taken as the formal features which define the organisation of information in spoken discourse. it is proposed that intonational cues are only a partial, and unreliable, guide to information structuring. A detailed examination is then presented of a corpus of spoken data elicited in a situation in which several parameters relating to the nature of information transfer were controlled. As a result, a comprehensive description of the linguistic realisation of information structure elements is provided. This leads to a reconsideration of conversational data and the ways in which elements in the information structure of messages interact and are influenced by larger structuring processes in the organisation of conversational contributions. Conclusions from the investigation are presented along with suggestions for continuing the research