Abstract
The paper addresses the question of how and to what extent syntax, prosody, communicative and logical functions are related. It is assumed that prosody plays a more general role in indicating scope relations than surface configuration.
The basic assumptions of a metrical syntax of Hungarian are outlined according to which only those sentences are grammatical which are assigned a proper prosodic structure. The prosodic rules are based on rules of stress reduction between adjacent prosodic components. It is shown that stress reduction does not automatically follow rhythmic rules, it is rather constrained by a hierarchy of categories available for reduction.
The relation of important communicative functions of a sentence to its prosody, such as topicalization and focusing, including multiple foci is discussed demonstrating that the prosody of a sentence is both determined by its logical and communicative functions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chomsky, N.-Halle, M. 1968. The sound pattern of English. Harper and Row, New York.
è. Kiss, K. 1978. A magyar mondatok egy szintaktikai modellje [A syntactic model for Hungarian sentences]. In: Nyelvtudományi Közlemènyek 80: 261-86.
è. Kiss, K. 1987. Configurationality in Hungarian. Akadèmiai Kiadó, Budapest.
è. Kiss, K. 1994. Sentence structure and word order. In: Kiefer, F.-è. Kiss, K. (eds): The syntactic structure of Hungarian. Syntax and semantics. 27: 1-90. Academic Press, San Diego/New York.
è. Kiss, K. 1998a. Identificational focus vs. information focus. In: Language 74: 245-73.
è. Kiss, K. 1998b. Multiple topic, one focus? In: Acta Linguistica Hungarica 45: 3-29.
Halle, M.-Vergnaud, J-R. 1987. An essay on stress. The MIT Press, Cambridge MA.
Hayes, B. 1995. Metrical stress theory. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Hunyadi, L. 1981a. A nyelvi polaritás kifejezèse a magyarban [The expression of linguistic polarity in Hungarian]. PhD dissertation, ms, Debrecen.
Hunyadi, L. 1981b. Remarks on the syntax and semantics of topic and focus in Hungarian. In: Acta Linguistica Hungarica 31: 107-36.
Hunyadi, L. 1996. Hungarian syntactic structure and metrical prosody. In: Language Sciences 18: 139-52.
Kornai, A.-Kálmán, L. 1988. Hungarian sentence intonation. In: Hulst, H.v.d.-Smith, N. (eds): Autosegmental studies on pitch accent, 183-95. Foris, Dordrecht.
Liberman, M.-Prince, A. 1977. On stress and linguistics rhythm. In: Linguistic Inquiry 8: 249-336.
Selkirk, E.O. 1980. The role of prosodie categories in English word stress. In: Linguistic Inquiry 11: 563-605.
Selkirk, E.O. 1984. Phonology and syntax: The relation between sound and structure. The MIT Press, Cambridge MA.
Szabolesi, A. 1995. Strategies for scope taking. HAS Linguistics Institute, Budapest.
Varga, L. 1996. Hungarian intonation contours. In: The Even Yearbook 2. ELTE SEAS Working Papers in Linguistics, 111-44. ELTE, Budapest.
Vogel, I.-Kenesei, I. 1987. The interface between phonology and other components of grammar: The case of Hungarian. In: Phonology 4: 243-63.
Vogel, I.-Kenesei, I. 1990. Syntax and semantics in phonology. In: Inkelas, S.-Zec, D. (eds): The phonology-syntax connection, 339-63. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hunyadi, L. The Outlines of a Metrical Syntax of Hungarian. Acta Linguistica Hungarica 46, 69–93 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009677808603
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009677808603