In the project ‘Bantu Syntax and Information Structure’ (BaSIS) we want to learn about the expression of information structure in Bantu languages. Which linguistic strategies do Bantu languages use... Show moreIn the project ‘Bantu Syntax and Information Structure’ (BaSIS) we want to learn about the expression of information structure in Bantu languages. Which linguistic strategies do Bantu languages use to mark the focus of a sentence, for example, or for shifting to another topic? This is important because information structure has a fundamental impact on the grammar of Bantu languages. It is therefore crucial to investigate information structure so that we can fully describe and understand these languages.For each individual language, we want to systematically discover which strategies are used for which functions in information structure. In order to do that, two things are required: on the one hand we need to gather the relevant data, and on the other hand we need to understand how we can draw the right conclusions from these data. This document aims to help in both the data gathering and the understanding. If you read and work your way through it, by the end you can explain the key concepts in information structure, you know which tests can be used to diagnose the meaning of a linguistic strategy, and you can draw conclusions about form/meaning mapping on the basis of the data that you gather from understudied languages. The document consists of three parts. Part I presents and explains various notions in information structure. This part is built up step by step, with exercises in between. These exercises are included to help you to reflect on the notions and diagnostics for yourself, and thereby better understand the material. It is recommended to do the exercises before reading on, because they stimulate you to think and therefore retain the knowledge better. The key to the exercises can be found at the end of Part I. Part II contains a series of diagnostics to be conducted in collaboration with a native speaker informant. This is the key methodology for the BaSIS project, and with its results we can draw well-motivated conclusions on the expression of information structure in each language. Part III provides diagnostics for abstract Case and nominal licensing. This is also of essence to the BaSIS project, because the hypothesis underlying the BaSIS project is that nominal licensing is fundamentally influenced by information structure in the Bantu languages. Show less
Waszink, V.; Reuneker, A.; Wouden, T. van der 2018
