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Journal Articles ZASPiL, Berlin Year : 2006

Condition, topic and focus in African languages: why conditionals are not topics

Bernard Caron

Abstract

A general assumption concerning the information structure of conditional sentences is that "conditionals are topics". However, in South Bauchi West languages spoken in Northern Nigeria, as well as in Banda Linda, an Adamawa language spoken in RCA, conditionals share their structure with focus, not topic. This leads us to reconsider the facts and characterizations of conditionals, topic and focus in general. We conclude with a definition of conditionals as a " fictitious assertion "
On considère généralement, en ce qui concerne la structure informationnelle des conditionnelles, que " les conditionnelles sont des topiques ". Cependant, dans les langues Sud-Bauchi occidentales parlées au nord du Nigéria, ainsi qu'en banda-linda, langue adamawa parlée en RCA, les conditionnelles on la même structure que la focalisation, non pas la topicalisation. Ceci nous à conduit à reconsidérer les faits et la caractérisation des conditionnelles, de la topicalisation et de la focalisation en général. Nous concluons par une définition des conditionnelles comme des " assertions fictives ".
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Dates and versions

halshs-00644434 , version 1 (27-11-2011)

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  • HAL Id : halshs-00644434 , version 1

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Bernard Caron. Condition, topic and focus in African languages: why conditionals are not topics. ZASPiL, Berlin, 2006, 46, pp.69-82. ⟨halshs-00644434⟩
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