A SYNTACTIC ANALYSIS OF FOCUS CONSTRUCTIONS IN KĨMŨTHAMBĨ

Abstract

Focus is an aspect of information structure that is associated with the left periphery of the clause. It is a functional projection in the left periphery; FocP (Focus phrase), which projects its own specifier and head positions. Studies of the left periphery present varied details on how focused constituents are realized across languages and this kind of detail has not been examined in Kĩmũthambĩ. Hence the need to characterize
Kĩmũthambĩ focus elements as features of the left periphery. Kĩmũthambĩ is a central Kenya Bantu language, which belongs to the larger Kikuyu-Kamba group (E50); classified as E531 Mwimbi- Muthambi.
This study provides a description of focus marking in Kĩmũthambĩ and a syntactic analysis of this projection
as an element of the left periphery guided by the Syntax of Cartography Approach. The study explores the
various strategies for encoding focus in Kĩmũthambĩ and proposes that there are two domains for encoding
focus; post verbally and in the left periphery. The study also analyses the interaction of focus constituents
with other constituents in the left periphery in order to establish the position of FocP in the left periphery.
The data used in this work was collected through elicitation from native speakers of Kĩmũthambĩ and the
author’s intuition as a speaker of the language. The findings of the study showed that Kĩmũthambĩ employs
various strategies for focus. In in-situ focus, the focused element remains in its canonical position and does
not carry the focus marker ni-. Conversely, in ex-situ focus, where the focused element is fronted, it is
marked with ni-. Subject focus is expressed through cleft sentences and in the situation where a subject
comes before a focus item, this was considered an aspect of topicalization, whereas wh-questions vie for the
same focus positions. The focus marker ni- is essential for indicating focus, particularly in ex-situ positions.
The present study contributes to the description of the language and also to typological and comparative
studies of focus constructions in various languages.