Cataphoric use of serbian impersonal genderless pronouns ovo, to, ono in cleft sentences

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to analyze Serbian impersonal genderless pronouns ovo, to, ono (this, it, that) from the perspective of their cataphoric use and different distribution within clefts and pseudoclefts. The author argues that the above pronouns have full semantic meaning in these constructions. Their cataphoric use is based on the parameters of minimal Distance and strong Unity (Accessibility Theory, ARIEL, 1990, 2001), while the difference in distribution within clefts/pseudoclefts is triggered by various cognitive statuses (GUNDEL, HEDBERG et al. 1993) that they create in the mind of conversational participants.

Keywords

• cataphora
• impersonal genderless pronoun
• cleft sentence
• Accessibility Theory
• cognitive status