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Dear Joan,<br>
<br>
Yes, you are right. I have made an error in my glossing. The
examples with topicalization should be as follows:<br>
<br>
<font color="#3333FF">As for the dog (TOPIC), John grabbed
it grab is neutral
voice</font><font color="#000000"> <br>
</font><font color="#3333FF">As for John (TOP), he grabbed the
dog grab is
neutral voice</font><font color="#000000"> <br>
<x-tab> </x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab>
(not actor focus voice)<br>
<x-tab> </x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab><br>
Thanks for catching this!<br>
<br>
Aaron<br>
At 02:25 PM 3/20/00 -0500, you wrote: <br>
<blockquote type=cite cite>Interesting observation....is there a typo in
thegloss of the second example below?: <br>
<br>
</font><font color="#3333FF">Compare this to topicalization, which
doesn't use the actor focus voice:</font><font color="#000000"> <br>
<br>
</font><font color="#3333FF">As for the dog (TOPIC), John grabbed
it grab is neutral
voice</font><font color="#000000"> <br>
</font><font color="#3333FF">As for John (TOP), he grabbed the
dog grab is
actor focus voice</font><font color="#000000"> <br>
<br>
You say that topicalization doesn't use the actor focus voice, but then
gloss the second example as containing actor focus voice. <br>
<br>
thanks for clarifying, <br>
Joan <br>
<br>
George Aaron Broadwell wrote: <br>
<blockquote type=cite cite>Dear LFG-ers, <br>
<br>
I've followed the discussion on relative clauses with some interest, but
<br>
one thing has puzzled me. Perhaps some of you can clarify how we
know what <br>
the correct discourse function of the head of RC is with respect to the
RC. <br>
<br>
In most Mayan languages, there is a very clear morphological distinction
<br>
between focus constructions and topic constructions. If you focus a
<br>
transitive subject, you *must* use a special verb form (usually called
<br>
"antipassive", but perhaps more correctly "actor
focus", as Aissen as argued.) <br>
<br>
For example in Kaqchikel, the facts are as follows: <br>
<br>
(interrogative focus) <br>
<br>
Who did John
grab?
grab is in the neutral voice <br>
Who grabbed the dog? grab is in the actor focus voice
<br>
<br>
(contrastive focus) <br>
<br>
It was the dog that John grabbed (not the cat). grab is neutral voice
<br>
It was John who grabbed the dog (not Mary)
grab is actor focus voice <br>
<br>
Compare this to topicalization, which doesn't use the actor focus voice:
<br>
<br>
As for the dog (TOPIC), John grabbed
it grab is neutral voice
<br>
As for John (TOP), he grabbed the
dog grab is
actor focus voice <br>
<br>
Now the problem is that relative clauses show the same pattern as focus
<br>
constructions, and not the pattern seen in topic constructions: <br>
<br>
The dog John grabbed has
mange.
grab is neutral voice <br>
The man who grabbed the dog is my
uncle grab is actor focus
voice <br>
<br>
That suggests to me that the head of the relative clause has the
discourse <br>
role FOCUS, and not TOPIC. <br>
<br>
Towards the end of his last post, Yehuda said "One thing we have to
<br>
remember is that 'relative clause' isn't an analysis <br>
-- it's a taxonomic classification. Different languages may use different
<br>
formal devices to achieve the same consequence, and even one language may
<br>
use multiple devices." <br>
<br>
Do people think that the head might be TOPIC in some lgs and FOCUS in
others? <br>
<br>
Aaron <br>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
<br>
George Aaron Broadwell, g.broadwell@albany.edu <br>
Dept. of Anthropology, UAlbany, Albany NY 12222 <br>
(518)-442-4711 Web page:
<a href="http://www.albany.edu/anthro/fac/broadwell.htm">http://www.albany.edu/anthro/fac/broadwell.htm</a>
<br>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br>
"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than <br>
diagramming sentences." Gertrude Stein, Lectures in America, 1935.</blockquote><br>
-- <br>
Joan Maling <br>
Natural Language & Linguistic Theory <br>
Volen Center, MS-013 tel: 781-736-3261 (Office) <br>
Brandeis University tel: 781-736-4870 (Center) <br>
Waltham, MA 02454-9110 fax: 781-736-2398 <br>
</blockquote><br>
</font><br>
<div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------</div>
<div>George Aaron Broadwell, g.broadwell@albany.edu</div>
<div>Dept. of Anthropology, UAlbany, Albany NY 12222</div>
<div>(518)-442-4711 Web page: <a href="http://www.albany.edu/anthro/fac/broadwell.htm" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://www.albany.edu/anthro/fac/broadwell.htm</a></div>
<div>--------------------------------------------------------------------------</div>
"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." Gertrude Stein, Lectures in America, 1935.
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