Questionnaire on information structure (OUIS): reference manual

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This book provides a comprehensive exploration of information structure through a structured approach. It begins with an introduction to key concepts, followed by a detailed examination of grammatical correlates and the structure of the accompanying questionnaire. The experimental tasks are meticulously outlined, covering various aspects such as the differentiation of given and new information in different sentence types, including intransitives, transitives, and ditransitives. The tasks also investigate visibility, locations, sequences, and dynamic localization, among others, to understand how focus and discourse status influence communication. Subsequent chapters delve into translation tasks, focusing on intonational properties, focus, topic, and quantifiers, providing insights into how information structure is conveyed across languages. A summary survey encapsulates the findings related to syntax, morphology, and prosody, emphasizing the significance of information structure in linguistic studies. The performance of experimental tasks in field settings is documented, detailing metadata and informant agreement, which underscores the practical application of the research. This work serves as a valuable resource for linguists interested in the intricate relationship between information structure and language use.