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Information Structure in Lesser-described Languages: Studies in prosody and syntax
Edited by Evangelia Adamou, Katharina Haude and Martine Vanhove
[Studies in Language Companion Series 199] 2018
► pp. 245–264

Chapter 9
Subjects and focus in clefts

The case of Tilapa Otomi

| SeDyL (CNRS – INaLCO – IRD)

This paper is an exploration of the syntax-pragmatics interface in the pseudo-clefts of Tilapa Otomi, an Oto-Manguean language of Mexico. The goal of this paper is to show that the focus phrase in the clefts of Tilapa Otomi is the subject of the cleft construction, which is entirely based on the copular construction. This claim has a theoretical interest because the alignment of focus and subject has been tainted as problematic in certain approaches to clefts that want the subject to be the topic. The subject in clefts in Tilapa Otomi conveys contrastive focus, but clefts in Tilapa Otomi may also be used as thetic constructions to express broad focus, in which case it is the whole clause that is in focus.

Article outline
  • 1.A brief introduction to clefts
  • 2.Basics of Tilapa Otomi grammar
  • 3.The copular construction and the clefts of Tilapa Otomi
  • 4.Discussion about the syntactic status of the FP in clefts
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 2 August 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.199.09pal
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Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Palancar, Enrique L.
2021. Biclausal vs. monoclausal focus constructions in Tilapa Otomi. Faits de Langues 52:1 ► pp. 139 ff. DOI logo

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