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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Topic/focus markers often have "other
functions" (just like all other grammatical marker types), but
what does it mean to be "clearly members of some broad category"?<br>
<br>
I don't think it is clear that English "not" can be said to "be an
adverb" (because the English Adverb category is extremely
heterogenous, and motivated primarily by a tradition going back to
antiquity that posits "adverb" as a major part of speech).<br>
<br>
It is also not clear that Estonian negative particles "are
auxiliaries", because other Estonian Auxiliaries (especially olema
'be') behave rather differently (see Tamm 2015: 403, in Miestamo
et al. (eds.)).<br>
<br>
The issue also arises for copula-derived focus markers (as in
Chinese and Hausa, mentioned by Kilu von Prince and Patrick
McConvell): Are these markers synchronically members of "a broad
copula category"? Detailed study of focus constructions has often
revealed clear behavioural differences between the two types of
forms.<br>
<br>
And do we want to say that Akan's focus marker "na" is "really a
coordinator"? (cf. Reggie Duah's and Daniel Ross's posts)<br>
<br>
It seems that the within-language similarities are often best
attributed to earlier diachronic processes which led to multiple
uses of elements which do not have a unified synchronic function
anymore. <br>
<br>
Identifying recurrent paths of change is an interesting research
question. But arguing about "reasonable analyses" of grammatical
elements as belonging to some broader class does not seem so
productive. Very often, grammatical markers are quite unique in
their behaviour and need not be seen as belonging to any category.<br>
<br>
Martin<br>
<br>
On 01.08.19 01:08, Frederick J Newmeyer wrote:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm
0.0001pt;font-family:"Palatino",serif"><font
size="4"><span style="font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif">I am looking for examples where topic
markers or focus
markers in some language are clearly members of some broad
morphosyntactic
category.<span></span></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm
0.0001pt;font-family:"Palatino",serif"><font
size="4"><span style="font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif">Let me give an example involving
negatives of the sort of thing
that I am looking for. Negative elements in various
languages are often members
of a broader category: in Estonian negative particles are
auxiliaries, in
Tongan they are complement-taking verbs, in English they
are adverbs, and so
on.<span></span></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm
0.0001pt;font-family:"Palatino",serif"><font
size="4"><span style="font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif">So what I am looking for are parallel
examples with topic and
focus markers: cases where a reasonable analysis would
assign them to some
broader category.<span></span></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm
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size="4"><span style="font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif">Thanks,<span></span></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm
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Roman",serif">Fritz<span></span></span></font></p>
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<div><font size="4"><br>
Frederick J. Newmeyer<br>
Professor Emeritus, University of Washington<br>
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<font size="4">Adjunct Professor, U of British
Columbia and Simon Fraser U</font><br>
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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Martin Haspelmath (<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:haspelmath@shh.mpg.de">haspelmath@shh.mpg.de</a>)
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Kahlaische Strasse 10
D-07745 Jena
&
Leipzig University
Institut fuer Anglistik
IPF 141199
D-04081 Leipzig </pre>
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