Michael Götze 1 , Thomas Weskott 1 , Cornelia Endriss 1 , Ines Fiedler 2 , ... Stefan Hinterwimme... more Michael Götze 1 , Thomas Weskott 1 , Cornelia Endriss 1 , Ines Fiedler 2 , ... Stefan Hinterwimmer 2 , Svetlana Petrova 2 , Anne Schwarz 2 , ... University of Potsdam( 1 ) and Humboldt University Berlin( 2 ) ... The guidelines for Information Structure include instructions for the ...
This paper aims at presenting different ways of expressing focus in Foodo, a Guang language. We c... more This paper aims at presenting different ways of expressing focus in Foodo, a Guang language. We can differentiate between marked and unmarked focus strategies. The marked focus expressions are first syntactically characterized: the focused constituent is in sentence-ini- tial position and is second always marked obligatorily by a focus mar- ker, which is nɩ for non-subjects and N for subjects. Complementary to these structures, Foodo knows an elliptic form consisting of the focused constituent and a predication marker gɛ́. It will be shown that the two focus markers can be analyzed as having developed out of the homophone conjunction nɩ and that the constraints on the use of the focus markers can be best explained by this fact.
This is the second part of the presentation of data elicited by means of QUIS within the project ... more This is the second part of the presentation of data elicited by means of QUIS within the project on information structure in Gur and Kwa languages. Whereas the first part (Anne Schwarz) introduces the project and the rationals behind the development of the focus translation task, this part provides some comparative remarks gained from the data presented in both parts.
The paper investigates the marking of contrastive topics in Gbe (Kwa). Gbe languages dispose of a... more The paper investigates the marking of contrastive topics in Gbe (Kwa). Gbe languages dispose of a marked topic construction which is used to mark different types of topics, such as new and inactive topics as well as contrastive topics. This marked topic construction is characterized by the left-dislocation of the topic constituent, the pronominal resumption of it in the comment part of the sentence and the optional use of a morphological marker. It will be shown that contrastive topics are marked differently from other topics in Gbe and that the contrastive reading is not only an effect of the context.
Ziel dieses Artikels ist es, allgemeine Frage- und Problemstellungen bei der Untersuchung des Phä... more Ziel dieses Artikels ist es, allgemeine Frage- und Problemstellungen bei der Untersuchung des Phänomens Fokus in ausgewählten Gur- und Kwa- sprachen vorzustellen, d.h. unsere Forschungsvorhaben kurz zu skizzieren, ohne dass wir bereits auf Ergebnisse eingehen können. Dieser Aufsatz gibt einen Überblick über das Forschungsfeld, damit verbundene Problem- stellungen und die von uns anvisierten Aufgaben und Methoden: - Was verstehen wir unter Fokus? - Warum sind die Gur- und Kwasprachen für diese Untersu- chung von Relevanz?
In our presentation we will outline the verb system of Lelemi and concentrate on certain focal ... more In our presentation we will outline the verb system of Lelemi and concentrate on certain focal aspects which are of primary interest to us. Lelemi has two TAMP paradigms: one constituting the so-called simple tenses, the other the so-called relative tenses(Allan ...
... Trenton New Jersey: Africa World Press. Allan, Edward Jay. 1973. ... Oxford ua: Clarendon Pre... more ... Trenton New Jersey: Africa World Press. Allan, Edward Jay. 1973. ... Oxford ua: Clarendon Press. Tchitchi, Toussaint Y. 1984. Systématique de l'Ajagbe, Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III: Thèse pour le doctorat de 3ème cycle. Westermann, D. 1930. ...
Journal of African Languages and Linguistics, 2000
ABSTRACT It has often been claimed that in tone languages such as Ewe, prosodic devices are not e... more ABSTRACT It has often been claimed that in tone languages such as Ewe, prosodic devices are not exploited in order to mark information-structural categories. The present study therefore investigates, on the basis of an experimental study, whether there is an impact of different focus structures (all-new utterances, in situ object focus, ex situ object focus and subject focus) on the prosodic realization of utterances in this language. The basic prosodic cues we have looked at are F0 variation and duration. From this study we can conclude that focus in Ewe is in fact also expressed prosodically. The prosody affects the constituent in focus, the out-of-focus part of the utterance and the focus particle itself. These effects can however be argued to play a secondary role to morphological marking and ex situ positioning.
Michael Götze 1 , Thomas Weskott 1 , Cornelia Endriss 1 , Ines Fiedler 2 , ... Stefan Hinterwimme... more Michael Götze 1 , Thomas Weskott 1 , Cornelia Endriss 1 , Ines Fiedler 2 , ... Stefan Hinterwimmer 2 , Svetlana Petrova 2 , Anne Schwarz 2 , ... University of Potsdam( 1 ) and Humboldt University Berlin( 2 ) ... The guidelines for Information Structure include instructions for the ...
This paper aims at presenting different ways of expressing focus in Foodo, a Guang language. We c... more This paper aims at presenting different ways of expressing focus in Foodo, a Guang language. We can differentiate between marked and unmarked focus strategies. The marked focus expressions are first syntactically characterized: the focused constituent is in sentence-ini- tial position and is second always marked obligatorily by a focus mar- ker, which is nɩ for non-subjects and N for subjects. Complementary to these structures, Foodo knows an elliptic form consisting of the focused constituent and a predication marker gɛ́. It will be shown that the two focus markers can be analyzed as having developed out of the homophone conjunction nɩ and that the constraints on the use of the focus markers can be best explained by this fact.
This is the second part of the presentation of data elicited by means of QUIS within the project ... more This is the second part of the presentation of data elicited by means of QUIS within the project on information structure in Gur and Kwa languages. Whereas the first part (Anne Schwarz) introduces the project and the rationals behind the development of the focus translation task, this part provides some comparative remarks gained from the data presented in both parts.
The paper investigates the marking of contrastive topics in Gbe (Kwa). Gbe languages dispose of a... more The paper investigates the marking of contrastive topics in Gbe (Kwa). Gbe languages dispose of a marked topic construction which is used to mark different types of topics, such as new and inactive topics as well as contrastive topics. This marked topic construction is characterized by the left-dislocation of the topic constituent, the pronominal resumption of it in the comment part of the sentence and the optional use of a morphological marker. It will be shown that contrastive topics are marked differently from other topics in Gbe and that the contrastive reading is not only an effect of the context.
Ziel dieses Artikels ist es, allgemeine Frage- und Problemstellungen bei der Untersuchung des Phä... more Ziel dieses Artikels ist es, allgemeine Frage- und Problemstellungen bei der Untersuchung des Phänomens Fokus in ausgewählten Gur- und Kwa- sprachen vorzustellen, d.h. unsere Forschungsvorhaben kurz zu skizzieren, ohne dass wir bereits auf Ergebnisse eingehen können. Dieser Aufsatz gibt einen Überblick über das Forschungsfeld, damit verbundene Problem- stellungen und die von uns anvisierten Aufgaben und Methoden: - Was verstehen wir unter Fokus? - Warum sind die Gur- und Kwasprachen für diese Untersu- chung von Relevanz?
In our presentation we will outline the verb system of Lelemi and concentrate on certain focal ... more In our presentation we will outline the verb system of Lelemi and concentrate on certain focal aspects which are of primary interest to us. Lelemi has two TAMP paradigms: one constituting the so-called simple tenses, the other the so-called relative tenses(Allan ...
... Trenton New Jersey: Africa World Press. Allan, Edward Jay. 1973. ... Oxford ua: Clarendon Pre... more ... Trenton New Jersey: Africa World Press. Allan, Edward Jay. 1973. ... Oxford ua: Clarendon Press. Tchitchi, Toussaint Y. 1984. Systématique de l'Ajagbe, Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III: Thèse pour le doctorat de 3ème cycle. Westermann, D. 1930. ...
Journal of African Languages and Linguistics, 2000
ABSTRACT It has often been claimed that in tone languages such as Ewe, prosodic devices are not e... more ABSTRACT It has often been claimed that in tone languages such as Ewe, prosodic devices are not exploited in order to mark information-structural categories. The present study therefore investigates, on the basis of an experimental study, whether there is an impact of different focus structures (all-new utterances, in situ object focus, ex situ object focus and subject focus) on the prosodic realization of utterances in this language. The basic prosodic cues we have looked at are F0 variation and duration. From this study we can conclude that focus in Ewe is in fact also expressed prosodically. The prosody affects the constituent in focus, the out-of-focus part of the utterance and the focus particle itself. These effects can however be argued to play a secondary role to morphological marking and ex situ positioning.
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Papers by Ines Fiedler