Micro-typological Covariation of Negation and Focus Marking Morphology in Bantu Languages

Main author: Shinagawa, Daisuke
Other authors: Marten, Lutz
Format: Journal Article           
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id eprints-37589
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
description This paper investigates the typological correlation between negation marking and focus marking based on the ‘Bantu Morphosyntactic Variation Database’ (Marten et al. 2018) compiling linguistic data obtained through 142 parameters to capture morphosyntactic microvariation in Bantu languages. Based on the inter-parametric analysis on the correlation between four parameters related to main clause negation marking and one parameter related to morphological focus marking, two typologically significant correlation are established: 1) languages with a postverbal strategy for main clause negation highly tend to have a morphological focus marker, and 2) languages lacking a morphological means of focus marking tend to adopt the preinitial strategy for main clause negation. These two tendencies can be explained from three perspectives, namely, 1) focus as inherent nature of (pragmatic) negation and the incompatibility of preinitial negation with an additional morphological focus marker, 2) the grammaticalisation path from a locative as a focus marking element to postverbal negation particle, and 3) ‘focus contrast’ as a structural requirement in the postverbal negative particle constructions.
format Journal Article
author Shinagawa, Daisuke
author_facet Shinagawa, Daisuke
Marten, Lutz
authorStr Shinagawa, Daisuke
author_letter Shinagawa, Daisuke
author2 Marten, Lutz
author2Str Marten, Lutz
title Micro-typological Covariation of Negation and Focus Marking Morphology in Bantu Languages
publisher Nihon Gengo Gakkai = Linguistic Society of Japan
publishDate 2021
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/37589/