TY - BOOK ID - 18754994 TI - The expression of information structure : a documentation of its diversity across Africa AU - Fiedler, Ines. AU - Schwarz, Anne. AU - International Conference on Focus in African Languages PY - 2010 VL - 91 SN - 9789027206725 9027206724 9789027288424 9027288429 1282558633 9786612558634 PB - Philadelphia : John Benjamins, DB - UniCat KW - African languages KW - Focus (Linguistics) KW - Intonation (Phonetics) KW - Typology (Linguistics) KW - Grammar, Comparative KW - Phonetics KW - Grammar KW - Grammar, Comparative and general KW - Language and languages KW - Linguistics KW - Pitch (Phonetics) KW - Prosodic analysis (Linguistics) KW - Tone (Phonetics) KW - Oral interpretation KW - Discourse analysis KW - Intonation KW - Topic and comment UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:18754994 AB - This study concerns the interaction of 'focus' with the verbal system of Ejagham, an Ekoid Bantu language. In particular it concerns the multiple forms of the perfective and imperfective aspects. The Ejagham system differs from the tendency in Bantu systems. The verb forms in Ejagham have a 'constituent' focus form that sub-categorizes predicates ("verbs") with terms ("nps"), and an 'operator' focus form used whenever the verbal operator is within the scope of focus. Bantu languages commonly have a form used when the verbal complement falls within the scope of focus but another form for other cases. So Bantu languages tend to group predicates with verbal operators. In addition, Ejagham conflates assertive and contrastive focus, a distinction that is important in other Bantoid languages in the general vicinity of Ejagham but not in Ejagham. ER -