Representing Information Structure in a Formal Grammar of Danish

Abstract. This paper presents a proposal for the integration of information structure in a unification-based grammar of Danish. Three information structure features – topic, focus and background – are defined, and it is shown how they are instantiated in a number of different grammar constructions. Prosodic, syntactic and information structure constraints characterising the various constructions are represented as typed features following Headdriven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), and the constructions themselves are ordered in a type hierarchy. The proposed approach modifies and extends earlier HPSG-based accounts by i. defining a new interface between information structure and semantics, and ii. integrating information structure as a dimension of phrasal and clausal grammar constructions.