Topic-Focus Articulation from the Semantic Point of View

摘要

In the paper we show that sentences differing only in topic-focus articulation have different logical structures, and thus they also have different truth-conditions. Our analysis is based on the procedural semantics of Transparent Intensional Logic (TIL) assigning to sentences hyperpropositions as their structured meanings. We analyse the phenomena of presupposition connected with a topic and allegation triggered by a focus of a sentence so that relevant consequences can be formally derived.