This study investigates if and how pre- and post-focal givenness affects the insertion of Intonation Phrase (henceforth, ι) boundaries in sentences with an embedded object clause in German. This is particularly interesting because sentence-internal clause edges were found to induce prosodic structure (by ι-boundary insertion) whereas focus and givenness were found to prevent prosodic structure (by destressing or dephrasing). Thus, these aspects might constitute opposing forces in the formation of ι-structure. A production experiment was conducted which tested ι-boundary insertion in sentences with an object clause in final position under different focus conditions. The results revealed the following patterns: first, speakers variably insert an ι-boundary in all-new sentences (without a narrow focus); second, narrow focus and givenness prevent the insertion of an ι-boundary if the focused constituent precedes the sentence-internal clause edge; and, third, narrow focus and givenness reduce the frequency of ι-boundary insertion if the focused constituent follows the sentence-internal clause edge, but do not prevent it altogether (where the unfocused material is discourse-given). In order to account for these findings, a model in the framework of Optimality Theory is proposed. This model accounts for variable ι-boundary insertion by means of an ordered global tie of Match constraints and captures the effects of focus and givenness by means of constraints that enforce the strengthening of stress positions (Stress-Focus, Rightmost) and a constraint militating against nuclear stress on given material (*Stress-Given).

中文翻译：

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分句嵌入句子中的语调短语形成

本研究调查了前后焦点被给予性是否以及如何影响语调短语（此后，ι）边界在德语中嵌入宾语从句的句子中的插入。这是特别有趣的，因为发现句子内部从句边缘会诱导韵律结构（通过 ι 边界插入），而发现重点和给定性会阻止韵律结构（通过减压或措辞）。因此，这些方面可能构成形成ι结构的相反力量。进行了一个生产实验，该实验测试了在不同焦点条件下在最终位置具有宾语从句的句子中的ι边界插入。结果揭示了以下模式：首先，说话者在全新的句子中可变地插入一个ι边界（没有狭窄的焦点）；第二，如果焦点成分位于句子内部从句边缘之前，则狭窄的焦点和给定性会阻止插入 ι 边界；第三，如果聚焦成分遵循句子内部从句边缘，则窄聚焦和给予性会降低 ι 边界插入的频率，但不会完全阻止它（在未聚焦的材料是话语给出的情况下）。为了解释这些发现，提出了最优理论框架中的模型。该模型通过匹配约束的有序全局关系来解释变量 ι 边界插入，并通过强制加强应力位置的约束（应力焦点，最右边）和限制给定材料上的核应力（*Stress-Given）。