The focus system in Hadiyya

Authors

  • Dereje Adane Menore Addis Ababa University
  • Shimelis Mazengia Beyene Addis Ababa University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2478/topling-2022-0006

Keywords:

Hadiyya, Cushitic, focus, focus devices, information structure

Abstract

This study identifies, analyses and describes the devices and functions of focus in information structuring in Hadiyya, a Highland East Cushitic language. Data, which were collected from native speakers, were dealt with based on the theory of Functional Grammar (Dik 1997). For focalization, the language uses morphological, lexical and syntactic means. The latter involves word-order change and cleft construction (including pseudo-cleft). Comparatively, the morphological mechanism is the most dynamic and frequent in use while the lexical means is limited both in the number of items employed and in frequency of occurrence.

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Published

2022-06-23

Issue

Section

Articles