Information Structure and the Utterance Right Periphery in Mandarin: A systematic overview with reference to English and Italian

A significant body of literature has explored information structure, examining how speakers shape content to suit communicative needs, including participants’ mental states. The utterance right periphery is a critical point in this process, allowing speakers to (re)evaluate utterance appropriateness before reception. In Mandarin, a topic-prominent language, these elements are pivotal in organizing discourse and facilitating effective communication. This volume extensively explores information structure, outlining the main categories, concepts and terminologies relevant to the expression of information structure, as well as the syntactic and prosodic strategies available for topic and focus encoding. Drawing chiefly upon functionalist models, an examination of Mandarin Chinese’s structures is provided with reference to Italian and English, highlighting their (a)symmetries. Furthermore, in addressing the multifunctionality and the faceted nature of the right periphery and right dislocations, the volume integrates syntactic, cognitive, and interpersonal perspectives to elucidate both language-specific and universal tendencies. Overall, the study aims to disentangle and consolidate theories on information structure and the right periphery while offering valuable insights into Mandarin's linguistic nuances. Ultimately, it contributes to a deeper understanding of cross-linguistic variations and their implications for communication.