Presentational nana constructions in Reunion Creole: from bi-clausal cleft to monoclausal construction

• Alina McLellan ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Manchester

     University of Manchester

     Reino Unido

     
• Localización: Isogloss: Open Journal of Romance Linguistics, ISSN-e 2385-4138, Vol. 10, Vol. 1, 2024
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo  1    2  
• Resumen

  • This paper discusses a cluster of related constructions in Reunion Creole involving nana ‘have’. Focusing on a presentational construction that is functionally equivalent to the il y a-cleft of French, I argue that a once bi-clausal cleft has developed into a monoclausal broad focus construction in Reunion Creole. I present a Role and Reference Grammar analysis of both the bi-clausal cleft and the monoclausal construction, and in the former, I explain how the cleft relative clause differs from restrictive relative clauses.