ATTENTION Séance initialement prévue le 22 juin repoussée au 23 juin et présentée par Linda

Date: Mercredi 23 juin à 19h
Lieu: Département Afrique de l'Inalco RDC - 10 rue Riquet 75019 Paris, Métro Riquet

Titre: Focus in Ewe
Auteurs: Linda Badan (Leiden University) and Leston Buell (University of Amsterdam)

Abstract:
Ewe, a Kwa language spoken in Ghana and Benin, has SVO word order but uses left-peripheral positions for both topicalisation and focus. Focused elements are often, but not always, followed by a focus particle, which can only occur in the left periphery. In this talk, we explore the properties of Ewe focus constructions from two perspectives: the mapping of the Ewe left periphery, and the semantic conditions licensing focus movement. The discussion of the latter is based on phenomena such as interaction with negation and the behaviour of phrases modified with 'only' and 'even'.