Two kinds of focus constructions in K’iche’

Yasavul, Murat

doi:10.3765/salt.v23i0.3161

SALT

2013

DOI: 10.3765/salt.v23i0.3161

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Two kinds of focus constructions in K’iche’

Murat Yasavul¹

Abstract: Based on original fieldwork data, I argue for a difference in meaning between two focus constructions in K'iche' (Mayan). In particular, I show that the interpretation of focus constructions with aree 'FOC' gives rise to existence and exhaustivity implications (the latter when they are used as answers), both of which do not necessarily arise from the interpretation of focus constructions without aree. I discuss how to analyze these implications and review previous approaches to similar phenomena. I also develo… Show more

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Cited by 3 publications

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References 38 publications

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“…3 Some Mayan languages, like K'iche', have a designated focus marker (Yasavul 2013); however Ch'ol has an optional focus marker jiñ discussed in detail below. The data in (6) provide examples of unmarked word order (6a), subject focus where the subject is preverbal (6b), and object focus with a preverbal object (6c).…”

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A compositional morphosemantic analysis of exclusivity in Ch'ol

Little

Wiegand

2018

Proc Ling Soc Amer

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Abstract. We argue that novel empirical generalizations on exclusive operators in Ch'ol (Mayan) provide strong evidence for a morphological decompositionality of exclusivity into a core semantic entry and focus sensitivity. There is a robust literature on exclusivity and the distributions of scalar particles in various languages (Beaver & Clark 2003, 2008Orenstein & Greenberg 2010;Coppock & Beaver 2013. Coppock & Beaver (2013) argue that mere operates in a different domain (properties) than only (propositions). Recent work on focus constructions in Mayan languages include Yasavul (2013) for K'iche' and AnderBois (2012) for Yucatec Maya. However, little work has been done on the variation among exclusives in morphologically rich languages like Ch'ol. Original data from fieldwork indicate that exclusivity can occur independently of focus marking, and when divorced from focus, the exclusive morpheme has a wider distribution and range of meanings.

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A compositional morphosemantic analysis of exclusivity in Ch'ol

Little

Wiegand

2018

Proc Ling Soc Amer

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Mayan Semantics

Henderson

2016

Language and Linguist. Compass

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This article has two interlocked goals. The first is to highlight the strands of research that have played an important role in shaping our understanding of Mayan language semantics. The second is to acquaint non‐Mayanists, and especially semanticists, with empirical phenomena that might prove especially interesting on typological or theoretical grounds. Given its particular dual mandate, this article cannot be an exhaustive survey of Mayan semantics, but it should instead be seen as introduction to those aspects of Mayan languages that have had an impact on the wider field of semantics, and that are current research hotspots.

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It's Not What You Expected! The Surprising Nature of Cleft Alternatives in French and English

2019

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While much prior literature on the meaning of clefts—such as the English form “it is X who Z-ed”—concentrates on the nature and status of the exhaustivity inference (“nobody/nothing other than X Z”), we report on experiments examining the role of the doxastic status of alternatives on the naturalness of c'est -clefts in French and it -clefts in English. Specifically, we study the hypothesis that clefts indicate a conflict with a doxastic commitment held by some discourse participant. Results from naturalness tasks suggest that clefts are improved by a property we term “contrariness” (along the lines of Zimmermann, 2008 ). This property has a gradient effect on felicity judgments: the more strongly interlocutors appear committed to an apparently false notion, the better it is to repudiate them with a cleft.

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Two kinds of focus constructions in K’iche’

Cited by 3 publications

References 38 publications

A compositional morphosemantic analysis of exclusivity in Ch'ol

A compositional morphosemantic analysis of exclusivity in Ch'ol

Mayan Semantics

It's Not What You Expected! The Surprising Nature of Cleft Alternatives in French and English

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