Discourse Analysis

This study investigates the international cues speakers exploit to signal discourse structure. In an introduction we outline the principles essential to the organization of an effective discourse and briefly discuss the international means at a speaker's disposal for signaling discourse structure. We postulate an open set of discourse patterns including: Statement : Restatement, General Statement : Examples, Thesis : Antithesis, Concession : Reservation and observe Co-Occurence Relations between these and given intonation patterns. A detailed rethorical and international analysis of the respective opening statements faciliates the interpretation of the empirical data presented in the appendix.