Information structure marking in Sandawe texts
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Helen Eaton
Abstract
This article considers data from the Sandawe language (Khoisan, Tanzania) and discusses how information structure is marked in the language. Previous research on Sandawe has mainly been restricted to sentence-level investigations, with discourse being largely ignored. The research presented in this paper is based on a corpus of seven Sandawe texts which provide examples of how two morphemes, the realis pronominal clitic (pc) and the subject focus (sf) marker, are used to mark information structure. In addition to being discourse markers, these two morphemes have core grammatical functions, namely, marking the clause type and identifying the subject. Sandawe can thus be cited as a clear example of how languages may exhibit a close relationship between information structure and core grammar.
Abstract
This article considers data from the Sandawe language (Khoisan, Tanzania) and discusses how information structure is marked in the language. Previous research on Sandawe has mainly been restricted to sentence-level investigations, with discourse being largely ignored. The research presented in this paper is based on a corpus of seven Sandawe texts which provide examples of how two morphemes, the realis pronominal clitic (pc) and the subject focus (sf) marker, are used to mark information structure. In addition to being discourse markers, these two morphemes have core grammatical functions, namely, marking the clause type and identifying the subject. Sandawe can thus be cited as a clear example of how languages may exhibit a close relationship between information structure and core grammar.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- Information structure marking in Sandawe texts 1
- Topic and focus fields in Naki 35
- The relation between focus and theticity in the Tuu family 69
- Focus marking in Aghem 95
- On the obligatoriness of focus marking 117
- Focalisation and defocalisation in Isu 145
- Discourse function of inverted passives in Makua-Marevone narratives 165
- Topic-focus articulation in Taqbaylit and Tashelhit Berber 193
- Focus in Atlantic languages 233
- Topic and focus construction asymmetry 261
- Verb-and-predication focus markers in Gur 287
- Why contrast matters 315
- Focus and the Ejagham verb system 349
- Language index 377
- Subject index 379
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- Information structure marking in Sandawe texts 1
- Topic and focus fields in Naki 35
- The relation between focus and theticity in the Tuu family 69
- Focus marking in Aghem 95
- On the obligatoriness of focus marking 117
- Focalisation and defocalisation in Isu 145
- Discourse function of inverted passives in Makua-Marevone narratives 165
- Topic-focus articulation in Taqbaylit and Tashelhit Berber 193
- Focus in Atlantic languages 233
- Topic and focus construction asymmetry 261
- Verb-and-predication focus markers in Gur 287
- Why contrast matters 315
- Focus and the Ejagham verb system 349
- Language index 377
- Subject index 379
