Information Structure in Sentences: New Information

Abstract

New information in sentences is theorized as being marked by surface-structure word order and by word stress. Experiment 1 tested these theories by giving subjects active and passive sentences with stress on either the agent or patient of the sentences. Subjects decided what questions the sentences would be replies to. The question-answering element of the sentence is the new information in the sentence. Experiment 2 tested only the word-order theory of new information structure in sentences by giving subjects written active and passive sentences. The results are in agreement with word stress and passivization marking new information, but not with the theory that there is an information ordering in active sentences.

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