Clausal morphosyntax and information structure

Downing, Laura J.; Marten, Lutz

Abstract

With some 300–500 closely related languages, the Bantu family provides a wealth of examples for the study of syntactic micro-variation within a set of typologically similar languages. This chapter surveys six central topics in the clausal morphosyntax, highlighting similarities and variation across the Bantu spectrum. The themes discussed are: word order, agreement in the phrase and the clause, valency-changing morphosyntax, non-verbal predication, complex clause structure and dependent clauses and the phonology-syntax interface. Each topic is amply illustrated with data from several geographically disparate languages, and the implications of the data for leading theoretical frameworks are discussed.

Citation

Downing, L. J., & Marten, L. (2019). Clausal morphosyntax and information structure. In M. Van de Velde, K. Bostoen, D. Nurse, & G. Philippson (Eds.), The Bantu Languages (2nd edition) (270-307). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315755946-9

• Publication Date: Feb 11, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jun 18, 2019
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 270-307
• Series Title: Routledge Language Family Series
• Series ISSN: 2994-5135
• Book Title: The Bantu Languages (2nd edition)
• ISBN: 9781138799677
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315755946-9