Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Re: topic/focus or theme/rheme

From:John Cowan <cowan@...>
Date:Monday, February 22, 1999, 16:04
Raimundus A. Brown scripsit:

> Yes, indeed. Breton seems to have this problem. The Welsh order "Si=F4=
n
> aeth i'r lyfrgell", which is the colloquial form of the literary "Si=F4=
n a
> aeth i'r lyfrgell" ([It is] John who went to the library - the relative=
> pronoun "a" usually being omitted in speech), has become the normal > 'unfocussed' form:
This has also become the rule in the Gascon variety of Occitan, but with the relative pronoun preserved: Lo men frair que 't voler'e parlar. (the) my brother who to-you wishes to-talk My brother would like to talk to you. The presence of "que" or its emphatic relatives "be" and "ja" (< BENE, IAM) is mandatory in every affirmative main clause or sentence complement. So speaking historically, Gascon has no sentences, only topics with attached relative clauses! -- = John Cowan http://www.ccil.org/~cowan cowan@ccil.org You tollerday donsk? N. You tolkatiff scowegian? Nn. You spigotty anglease? Nnn. You phonio saxo? Nnnn. Clear all so! 'Tis a Jute.... (Finnegans Wake 16.5)