This thesis presents a nonlinear analysis of the vowel schwa [a] in English with the application of Underspecification Theory, Feature Geometry Theory, Syllable Structure Theory and Lexical Phonology Theory, which provides insights into the underlying inventory of English vowels.

The present study investigated the role of accent in the activation of given and new information in discourse representation.

Using auditory moving window technique and double-task paradigm, this study explored the effect of correspondence between accentuation and information structure on discourse comprehension and the mechanism of this effect.