Focus-sensitive operator or focus inducer: always and only

There is a long-standing debate in the literature about whether focus particles function as focus-sensitive operators or focus inducers. However, it has not yet been established which perspective is correct. The current study investigates the effect of focus particles, using four different conditions. The results show that the focus particles are focus-sensitive operators, since the focused words are not affected by the presence of the focus particles. In addition, prosodic differences can be seen between always and only. The former has more increased mean and maximal F0, duration, and intensity values than the latter. This result suggests that always bears notable prosodic features in and of itself.