Local Constraints on Sentence Markers and Focus in Somali

We present a computationally tractable account of the interactions between sentence markers and focus marking in Somali. Somali, as a Cushitic language, has a basic pattern wherein a small `core' clause is preceded, and in some cases followed by, a set of `topics', which provide sceneseting information against which the core is interpreted. Some topics appear to carry a `focus marker', indicating that they are particularly salient. We will outline a computationally tractable grammar for Somali in which focus marking emerges naturally from a consideration of the use of a range of sentence markers.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: ACL
• Authors: Katherine Hargreaves, Allan Ramsay
• Keywords: ACL 2006, ACL 2007, Cushitic Language, Focus Marking Emerges, Sentence Markers