
The Expression of Information Structure
A documentation of its diversity across Africa
John Benjamins Publishing Co
Published on 24. March 2010
Book
Hardback
383 pages
978-90-272-0672-5 (ISBN)
Description
This book analyzes the different patterns found across subsaharan Africa to express information structure. Based on languages from all four African language phyla, it documents the great diversity of linguistic means used to encode information-structural phenomena and is therefore highly relevant for some of the most pertinent questions in modern linguistic theory. The special contribution of this volume is the perspective on a variety of information-structurally related phenomena which go far beyond classical notions such as focus and topic. Detailed investigations are dedicated to so far less discussed focal subcategories, like focus on verbal operators or the thetic-categorical distinction. Finally, the information-structural configuration of unmarked, canonical sentence structures is recognized. The papers provide evidence that the formal means to encode information-structural categories range from means such as morphological markers or syntactic operations, famous in linguistics, to less well-known strategies, such as defocalization rather than focalization.
Reviews / Votes
Through its presentation of studies of information structure in languages from all of the major indigenous language phyla of Africa this volume makes a significant contribution to this increasingly important area of linguistic theory and analysis. Of particular interest are the investigations of special verb-focus marking in several languages, a phenomenon to which insufficient attention has been paid in the past. This volume is a welcome addition to the growing literature on the typological variation in information structure across languages. -- Robert D. Van Valin Jr., Heinrich Heine University, DuesseldorfMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Amsterdam
Netherlands
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 245 mm
Width: 164 mm
Weight
860 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-272-0672-5 (9789027206725)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Ines Fiedler | Anne Schwarz
The Expression of Information Structure
A documentation of its diversity across Africa
E-Book
03/2010
1st Edition
John Benjamins Publishing Company
€130.99
Available for download
Persons
Editor
Humboldt University, Berlin
Humboldt University, Berlin & James Cook University, Cairns
Content
1. Introduction (by Fiedler, Ines); 2. Information structure marking in Sandawe texts (by Eaton, Helen); 3. Topic and focus fields in Naki (by Good, Jeff); 4. The relation between focus and theticity in the Tuu family (by Guldemann, Tom); 5. Focus marking in Aghem: Syntax or semantics? (by Hyman, Larry M.); 6. On the obligatoriness of focus marking: Evidence from Tar B'arma (by Jacob, Peggy); 7. Focalisation and defocalisation in Isu (by Kiessling, Roland); 8. Discourse function of inverted passives in Makua-Marevone narratives (by Kroger, Oliver); 9. Topic-focus articulation in Taqbaylit and Tashelhit Berber (by Mettouchi, Amina); 10. Focus in Atlantic languages (by Robert, Stephane); 11. Topic and focus construction asymmetry (by Schaefer, Ronald P.); 12. Verb-and-predication focus markers in Gur (by Schwarz, Anne); 13. Why contrast matters: Information structure in Gawwada (East Cushitic) (by Tosco, Mauro); 14. Focus and the Ejagham verb system (by Watters, John R.); 15. Language index; 16. Subject index