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Pseudoclefts Crosslinguistically

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Abstract

Pseudoclefts have been divided into two types, specificational and predicational (Akmajian 1970; Higgins 1979). The two types differ in interpretive as well as syntactic characteristics. In this paper we argue that the availability of the specificational type depends on the particular lexical items that a language employs to form pseudoclefts. We discuss the significance of these findings for linguistic theory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Linguistics & Philosophy, 20D-219, MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02139, U.S.A.

    Sabine Iatridou

  2. Linguistics Section, Department of Philology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Athens, University Campus at Zografou, 15784, Athens, Greece, Email

    Spyridola Varlokosta

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  1. Sabine Iatridou
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  2. Spyridola Varlokosta
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Iatridou, S., Varlokosta, S. Pseudoclefts Crosslinguistically. Natural Language Semantics 6, 3–28 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008272704531

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