What is new information?

Definition
	New information is information that is assumed by the speaker not
	to be known to or assumed by the addressee, or previously established in the discourse.

Discussion
	New information typically
	is placed late in the sentence, and has a high amount of stress placed on the words representing it.

Examples (English)
	In the following exchange, the stressed words are new information: A: Do you know where my SHOES are? B: I put them in the CLOSET.

Kinds
	What is a brand-new entity? What is an unused entity?

Generic
	New information is a kind of
	What is given versus new information?

Sources
	Crystal 1980 241
	Levinson 1983 88
	Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik 1985 1361

Context for this page:

Concept module: new information
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): N
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

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