THE EFFECT OF INFORMATION STATUS ON WORD ORDER: EVIDENCE FROM WOODS CREE

Authors

  • Donna Starks University of Auckland at Tamaki

Abstract

Word order differences taken from conversational exchanges and narrative texts show how information status influences word order in Woods Cree, an Algonquian language spoken in northern Manitoba. The paper illustrates how the position of noun phrases in a sentence is conditioned by their information status. Three factors are shown to influence word order. They are old/new information, importance and topic shift.

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Published

1993-09-09

How to Cite

Starks, D. (1993). THE EFFECT OF INFORMATION STATUS ON WORD ORDER: EVIDENCE FROM WOODS CREE. Linguistica Atlantica, 15, 165–173. Retrieved from https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/la/article/view/22477

Issue

Vol. 15 (1993)

Section

Articles