Alessandra Giorgi, Ph.D.,
Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies
University of Venice

 

 

Image

Danger! Towards an integrated model of syntax, prosody and gesture for warning expressions

In this work I consider the properties of certain expressions of warning and propose an integrated model of syntax, prosody and gesture, along the lines discussed in Giorgi & Dal Farra (2019) for surprise and surprise-disapproval, based on the theoretical framework of the Minimalist Generative Model (Chosmky 1995, 2000, 2013).  Expressions of warnings can be explicit – for instance, imperatives such as beware (of), watch out (for), look out, be careful etc – or can be much more similar to assertions, as in the following case:

In a context where I see that John is stepping in a big puddle, I warn him and say:
1) C’è una pozzanghera!

There is a puddle!

Apparently, the sentence in (1) is identical to a simple assertion, realized as a presentational sentence, but is understood as a warning because of its prosodic contour and typical gesture patterns.  I will argue that the syntactic representation to be associated with (1) is not the one representing a simple presentational sentence but is more similar to the imperative structures.   I will show that this peculiar syntax triggers the characteristic prosody and gesture found in (1), in a way similar to surprise and surprise-disapproval sentences.  This analysis is a further confirmation that pragmatics – i.e., the contribution of the context to the interpretation – is not an isolated component of grammar, in that the phenomena in question can be better accounted for in a perspective where the various components of grammar are actually integrated.

ZOOM:  https://arizona.zoom.us/j/89054971539
Password: Cogs595