Aspects of the focus category in Angolan Portuguese

Abstract

Our work aims to point out the syntactic-discursive category focus in Angolan Portuguese, starting from a concept and typology specific to this category. Taking as a starting point a morphosyntax/discursive interface, we consider cleft and pseudo cleft sentences as being focus carrying, in that they present a specificational reading, containing an obligatory predication characteristic of the focussed constituent. We introduce an analysis of focus in Angolan Porof value to a variable, expressing the readings of ‘contrast’, ‘exclusiveness’ and ‘exhaustive’, tuguese from the starting point of a typology for cleft and pseudo-cleft sentences as developed in studies of Brazilian Portuguese. For the sentences traditionally classified as ‘interrogative cleft without copula’, we propose an analysis in which we consider this kind of sentence outside of cleft classification. We consider that the fronted element receiving the focus reading is followed by a focusing particle pointing to a grammatically controlled focus. ­

Keywords

• português de Angola, foco, clivagem