Focalization process and intonation in Meridional Berber: the case of Tamasheq and Tetserret
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Cécile Lux
Abstract
The best-known information structures, focus and topic have already been described for almost all Berber languages. However, intonation in these structures is seldom described in spite of its essential part. In this paper, my aim is to describe the focalization process, focusing on intonation, in Tamasheq, as compared with Tetserret; indeed, the two languages, even if they share some similarities because of they are in constant contact and belong to the same phylum, follow different intonative rules in most occurrences. We will see that, in those two languages, the focalization process is rich, even from a typological point of view, and that, here again, intonation is different from one language to another.
©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Tashlhiyt's ban of complex syllable onsets: phonetic and perceptual evidence
- Derivational gender in Moroccan Berber: examples from Ayt Seghrushen
- Siwi addressee agreement and demonstrative typology
- Foundations for a typology of the annexed/absolute state systems in Berber
- Qualification and comparison in Berber. The verb-noun distinction and its Fluctuations
- Typology of relative clauses: the case of Berber
- Topicalization in Berber: a typological perspective
- Focalization process and intonation in Meridional Berber: the case of Tamasheq and Tetserret
- Typology of Eastern Medieval Berber
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Tashlhiyt's ban of complex syllable onsets: phonetic and perceptual evidence
- Derivational gender in Moroccan Berber: examples from Ayt Seghrushen
- Siwi addressee agreement and demonstrative typology
- Foundations for a typology of the annexed/absolute state systems in Berber
- Qualification and comparison in Berber. The verb-noun distinction and its Fluctuations
- Typology of relative clauses: the case of Berber
- Topicalization in Berber: a typological perspective
- Focalization process and intonation in Meridional Berber: the case of Tamasheq and Tetserret
- Typology of Eastern Medieval Berber
