Contrastive Topic, Contrastive Focus, Alternatives, and Scalar Implicatures

Abstract

This chapter attempts to establish Contrastive Topic (CT) and Contrastive Focus (CF) in relation to how their alternatives are evoked via their focal components involved and Question under Discussion (QUD) in discourse. CT, as part of Potential Topic, is claimed to generate conventional scalar implicature, not cancellable. CT but not ‘list CT’ has unresolved sub-questions. CF is shown to occur via alternative question (ALT-Q), which has the exhaustivity condition that exactly one disjunct holds. CT and CF constructions are cross-linguistically witnessed. CF, in parallelism with ALT-Q, may shed some light on the problematic exceptions to suspension of scalar implicatures in DE contexts such as antecedents of conditionals, and similar problems as well.