On Understanding Grammar by Givón T.;

Author:Givón, T.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Published: 2018-02-14T12:42:16+00:00

What is more, grammaticalized subject constructions are used in different discourse contexts than paratactic topic constructions. Thus, the grammatical subject construction in (4a) is used in mid-chain contexts of high referential continuity; the L-dislocation clauses in (4b,c) are used in chain-initial contexts of high referential discontinuity; and the Y-movement clause in (4d) is used in mid-chain contexts of switch-reference (see ch. 2).

5.2.3From topicalization to passivization

As noted earlier (chs 1, 2), in some Bantu languages the L-dislocation construction has given rise to a new passive construction, where the L-dislocated object has become the grammatical subject of the passive clause. Thus, revisiting the Kimbundu data (Charles Uwimana, i.p.c.): 5

(5)

Object L-dislocation Passive

a. Nzua, a-mu-mono ⇒ Nzua a-mu-mono (kwa meme)

John they-him-saw John they-him-saw by me

‘John, they saw him’ ‘John was seen (by me)’

b. meme, a-ni-mono ⇒ meme a-ni-mono (kwa Nzua)

I they-me-saw I they-me-saw by John

‘as for me, they saw me’ ‘I was seen (by John)’

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