Information Structure of It-clefts

Abstract

It has been generally accepted that it-cleftsserve to cleave information into focus and presupposition, which is based on the assumption that new information is focused and old information or shared knowledge is presupposed. However, a number of examples show that new information can also be presupposed in it-clefts. It means that approaches based on the distinction between focus and presupposition are too restricted to explain information packaging of it-clefts and that the shared knowledge view of presupposition needs to be reconsidered. In this papers, I depart from the shared knowledge view of presupposition and instead resort to Delin (1995) and Abbott (2000) who claim that what is presupposed in it-clefts is a nonasserted proposition and try to explain information packaging of it-clefts in terms of the distinction between assertion and nonassertion. Furthermore, I will show that nonassertion view of presupposition can explain the three discourse functions of it-clefts, i.e., specification, thematization, and stativization.