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<p><tt>Well, how _do_ we define "topic", or "subject" for that matter?</tt><br>
<br>
<tt>I've been learning Japanese recently, which makes this distinction</tt><br>
<tt>using particles:</tt><br>
<br>
<tt> wa - topic marker</tt><br>
<tt> ga - subject marker</tt><br>
<tt> wo - object marker</tt><br>
<br>
<tt>ga is used to mark either the one that is doing the action or the</tt><br>
<tt>one you are trying to identify as the point of the communication.</tt><br>
<tt>It normally appears only in the latter case or in embedded clauses.</tt><br>
<tt>In most simple sentences, the subject uses the topic marker wa.</tt><br>
<tt>However, wa can also replace the object marker wo, and can be used</tt><br>
<tt>to mark prepositional phrases as well as nouns.</tt><br>
<br>
<tt>Both wa and ga can be used contrastively, in ways that would</tt><br>
<tt>involve vocal emphasis in English. For ga, the issue is on</tt><br>
<tt>clarifying who it is we are talking about: It was _Sally_ (ga)</tt><br>
<tt>that slept (not Harry). But for wa, alternate topics are taken as</tt><br>
<tt>given points of reference for contrasting information: _Sally_ (wa)</tt><br>
<tt>is sleeping, while _Harry_ (wa) is watching TV.</tt><br>
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<tt>It seems to me that "topic" means an uncontroversial point of</tt><br>
<tt>reference to which further information can be related. That point</tt><br>
<tt>of reference can be a subject noun, but doesn't have to be. It</tt><br>
<tt>can be an adverb, a prepositional phrase, a full clause, or an</tt><br>
<tt>object noun just as easily.</tt><br>
<br>
<tt>I think all of the examples Regina cites might reasonably match</tt><br>
<tt>the Japanese contrastive wa usage:</tt><br>
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<tt>> </tt><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sally is^tiNme na Harry iNs^ TV waNyaNke</font>
<ul><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">S. sleep and H. CON TV watch</font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">‘Sally is sleeping and Harry is watching TV’</font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> </font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">or</font><br>
<font size="4" face="Courier New"> </font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sally is^tiNme na iNs^ Harry TV waNyaNke</font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">S. sleep and CON H. TV watch</font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">‘Sally is sleeping and Harry is watching TV’</font><br>
</ul>
<tt>Or: '_Sally_ (wa) is sleeping and _Harry_ (wa) is watching TV'</tt><br>
<tt>(The contrasting topics are subject nouns.)</tt><br>
<br>
<tt>> </tt><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">h^tal-ehaN wophethuN wa-I na iNs^ le aNpetu ki chuwignake waN wa-kayeg^e</font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">yesterday shop 1SG.AG-go and CON this day DEF dress IDF 1SG.AG-sew</font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">‘yesterday I went shopping and today I sewed a dress’</font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> </font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">h^tal-ehaN wophethuN wa-I na le aNpetu ki iNs^ chuwignake waN wa-kayeg^e</font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">yesterday shop 1SG.AG-go and this day DEF CON dress IDF 1SG.AG-sew</font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">‘yesterday I went shopping and today I sewed a dress’</font><br>
<br>
<tt>Or: '_yesterday_' (wa) I went shopping and _today_ (wa) I sewed a dress'</tt><br>
<tt>(The contrasting topics are adverbs of time.)</tt><br>
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<tt>> </tt><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Harry Sally wowapi k’u na iNs^ Mary waks^ica cha k’u</font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">H. S. book give and CON M. plate such give</font><br>
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">‘Harry gave Sally books and he gave Mary plates’</font><br>
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<tt>Or: 'Harry gave _Sally_ (wa) books and he gave _Mary_ (wa) plates'</tt><br>
<tt>(The contrasting topics are indirect object nouns.)</tt><br>
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<tt>The main mechanical difference would be that in Japanese, wa always</tt><br>
<tt>follows its topic and is used to mark both in a contrast, while in</tt><br>
<tt>Lakhota, iNs^ appears only on the second one in a contrast, and can</tt><br>
<tt>either precede or follow its topic.</tt><br>
<br>
<tt>Would this be a helpful interpretation of iNs^ ?</tt><br>
<br>
<tt>Rory</tt><br>
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