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The intonation of topic and focus

Zaar (Nigeria), Tamasheq (Niger), Juba Arabic (South Sudan) and Tripoli Arabic (Libya)
  • Bernard Caron , Cécile Lux , Stefano Manfredi and Christophe Pereira
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Corpus-based Studies of Lesser-described Languages
This chapter is in the book Corpus-based Studies of Lesser-described Languages

Abstract

A follow-up of the CorpAfroAs project, this paper presents a typologically-oriented study of the intonation of Topic and Focus in four Afroasiatic languages (Zaar, Tamasheq, Juba Arabic and Tripoli Arabic), in relation to their phonological and information structures. The different prosodic systems represented in the study — i.e. the demarcative accent system of Berber, the lexical stress system of Tripoli Arabic; the pitch accent system of Juba Arabic; and the tone system of Zaar — give ground to the study of the correlation between these prosodic systems and their intonation structures; and more particularly, how declination, wich seems to be a universal of the intonation of declarative sentences, interacts with other sentence types, such as Yes/No-Questions, WH-Questions, Exclamations, etc. Likewise, the paper explores the correlation between the prosodic systems and the intonational exponents of Topic and Focus. The paper starts by setting up the concepts and typological frame used for the study. Then, it presents a case study of the four languages, examining their prosodic systems, and the prosodic exponents of topic and focus. Finally, the paper compares the four systems, drawing conclusions from a typoligical point of view. A general rule seems to emerge from the study: lack of a specific intonation pattern for a specific intonation structure is supplemented by morpho-syntactic marking. In other words, the more a structure relies on morpho-syntax, the less it relies on intonation.

Abstract

A follow-up of the CorpAfroAs project, this paper presents a typologically-oriented study of the intonation of Topic and Focus in four Afroasiatic languages (Zaar, Tamasheq, Juba Arabic and Tripoli Arabic), in relation to their phonological and information structures. The different prosodic systems represented in the study — i.e. the demarcative accent system of Berber, the lexical stress system of Tripoli Arabic; the pitch accent system of Juba Arabic; and the tone system of Zaar — give ground to the study of the correlation between these prosodic systems and their intonation structures; and more particularly, how declination, wich seems to be a universal of the intonation of declarative sentences, interacts with other sentence types, such as Yes/No-Questions, WH-Questions, Exclamations, etc. Likewise, the paper explores the correlation between the prosodic systems and the intonational exponents of Topic and Focus. The paper starts by setting up the concepts and typological frame used for the study. Then, it presents a case study of the four languages, examining their prosodic systems, and the prosodic exponents of topic and focus. Finally, the paper compares the four systems, drawing conclusions from a typoligical point of view. A general rule seems to emerge from the study: lack of a specific intonation pattern for a specific intonation structure is supplemented by morpho-syntactic marking. In other words, the more a structure relies on morpho-syntax, the less it relies on intonation.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface 1
  4. Part 1: Phonetics, phonology and prosody
  5. Representation of speech in CorpAfroAs 13
  6. Tone and intonation 43
  7. Part 2: Interfacing prosody, information structure and syntax
  8. The intonation of topic and focus 63
  9. Quotative constructions and prosody in some Afroasiatic languages 117
  10. Part 3: Cross-linguistic comparability
  11. Glossing in Semitic languages 173
  12. From the Leipzig Glossing Rules to the GE and RX lines 207
  13. Cross-linguistic comparability in CorpAfroAs 221
  14. Functional domains and cross-linguistic comparability 257
  15. Part 4: Language contact
  16. Language contact, borrowing and codeswitching 283
  17. Part 5: Information technology
  18. ELAN-CorpA 311
  19. Language index 333
  20. Subject index 335
https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.68.03car

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface 1
  4. Part 1: Phonetics, phonology and prosody
  5. Representation of speech in CorpAfroAs 13
  6. Tone and intonation 43
  7. Part 2: Interfacing prosody, information structure and syntax
  8. The intonation of topic and focus 63
  9. Quotative constructions and prosody in some Afroasiatic languages 117
  10. Part 3: Cross-linguistic comparability
  11. Glossing in Semitic languages 173
  12. From the Leipzig Glossing Rules to the GE and RX lines 207
  13. Cross-linguistic comparability in CorpAfroAs 221
  14. Functional domains and cross-linguistic comparability 257
  15. Part 4: Language contact
  16. Language contact, borrowing and codeswitching 283
  17. Part 5: Information technology
  18. ELAN-CorpA 311
  19. Language index 333
  20. Subject index 335
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