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Information structure in a spoken corpus of Cameroon Pidgin English
We explore information structure in a spoken corpus of Cameroon Pidgin English, addressing the broad question of how far the corpus method addresses the needs of research in this area. Focusing on marked pronouns used in focus/topic constructions and the copula/focus marker na, we detail a method for investigating information structure in the corpus. Corpus analysis not only confirms but elaborates an emergent description allowed by the elicitation stage, demonstrating that while elicitation reveals what is possible, corpus analysis reveals what is preferred. However, we conclude that qualitative analysis is still required to identify instances of focus in the absence of marked morphosyntactic features, as well as interpretations governed by context.
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Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Publisher
John BenjaminsExternal DOI
Volume
199Page range
329-356Pages
456.0Book title
Information structure in lesser-described languages: studies in prosody and syntaxPlace of publication
AmsterdamISBN
9789027263810Series
Studies in Language Companion SeriesDepartment affiliated with
- English Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Editors
Katharina Haude, Evangelia Adamou, Martine VanhoveLegacy Posted Date
2017-11-09First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2017-11-08Usage metrics
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