The Function of the Post Verbal la in Dagbani

This paper investigates the function(s) of the post verbal particle la in Dagbani, a Gur language spoken in Northern Ghana. I contend that the particle marks neither imperfective aspect nor contrastive focus on NP objects and adjuncts, as suggested by earlier researchers. Here, I refine the existing...

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Autor principal:	Samuel Alhassan Issah
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN FR
Publicado:	LibraryPress@UF 2013
Materias:	Dagbani Gur focus discourse Philology. Linguistics P1-1091
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/22aea2481e5a4ac785a524203412f83b
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:22aea2481e5a4ac785a524203412f83b2021-11-19T03:52:28ZThe Function of the Post Verbal la in Dagbani10.32473/sal.v42i2.1072720039-35332154-428Xhttps://doaj.org/article/22aea2481e5a4ac785a524203412f83b2013-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.flvc.org/sal/article/view/107272https://doaj.org/toc/0039-3533https://doaj.org/toc/2154-428XThis paper investigates the function(s) of the post verbal particle la in Dagbani, a Gur language spoken in Northern Ghana. I contend that the particle marks neither imperfective aspect nor contrastive focus on NP objects and adjuncts, as suggested by earlier researchers. Here, I refine the existing analyses and put forth an alternative proposal in which the particle la marks presentational focus. I suggest that la could mark presentational focus on NP complements, adjuncts or the entire VP. I demonstrate that full NPs follow la, while object pronouns precede it, suggesting that object pronouns either undergo object shift or are syntactically bound to the verb. I also discuss ka and n, which have been proposed to have functions similar to la. More information on the interaction of these elements will be relevant for the understanding of the latter’s function. I further show that there is co-occurrence restrictions between ka/n and post verbal la, as has been claimed by earlier research. I show that although we can have la that co-occurs with the focus markers ka/n, that la is probably a deictic discourse particle and not the presentational focus marker. I propose that when the deictic la co-occurs with ka/n, it appears only clause finally. I conclude that the use or non-use of the post verbal la is due to discourse-pragmatic considerations.Samuel Alhassan IssahLibraryPress@UFarticleDagbaniGurfocusdiscoursePhilology. LinguisticsP1-1091ENFRStudies in African Linguistics, Vol 42, Iss 2 (2013)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN FR
topic	Dagbani Gur focus discourse Philology. Linguistics P1-1091
spellingShingle	Dagbani Gur focus discourse Philology. Linguistics P1-1091 Samuel Alhassan Issah The Function of the Post Verbal la in Dagbani
description	This paper investigates the function(s) of the post verbal particle la in Dagbani, a Gur language spoken in Northern Ghana. I contend that the particle marks neither imperfective aspect nor contrastive focus on NP objects and adjuncts, as suggested by earlier researchers. Here, I refine the existing analyses and put forth an alternative proposal in which the particle la marks presentational focus. I suggest that la could mark presentational focus on NP complements, adjuncts or the entire VP. I demonstrate that full NPs follow la, while object pronouns precede it, suggesting that object pronouns either undergo object shift or are syntactically bound to the verb. I also discuss ka and n, which have been proposed to have functions similar to la. More information on the interaction of these elements will be relevant for the understanding of the latter’s function. I further show that there is co-occurrence restrictions between ka/n and post verbal la, as has been claimed by earlier research. I show that although we can have la that co-occurs with the focus markers ka/n, that la is probably a deictic discourse particle and not the presentational focus marker. I propose that when the deictic la co-occurs with ka/n, it appears only clause finally. I conclude that the use or non-use of the post verbal la is due to discourse-pragmatic considerations.
format	article
author	Samuel Alhassan Issah
author_facet	Samuel Alhassan Issah
author_sort	Samuel Alhassan Issah
title	The Function of the Post Verbal la in Dagbani
title_short	The Function of the Post Verbal la in Dagbani
title_full	The Function of the Post Verbal la in Dagbani
title_fullStr	The Function of the Post Verbal la in Dagbani
title_full_unstemmed	The Function of the Post Verbal la in Dagbani
title_sort	function of the post verbal la in dagbani
publisher	LibraryPress@UF
publishDate	2013
url	https://doaj.org/article/22aea2481e5a4ac785a524203412f83b
work_keys_str_mv	AT samuelalhassanissah thefunctionofthepostverballaindagbani AT samuelalhassanissah functionofthepostverballaindagbani
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The Function of the Post Verbal la in Dagbani

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