Situational points of departure Referential points of departure

Transitions in discourse, termed discontinuities by Dooley and Levinsohn 2001, can be classified with respect to three textual dimensions: 1 situation such as time and space; 2 referents participants and props; and 3 type of action speech versus non-speech; event versus non-event. Of these, the third type type of action has not been found to occur in Godié. Thus only two main types of PoDs may be distinguished for Godié, namely situational PoDs including temporal, spatial, and causal PoDs and referential PoDs, referring to participants. While participants are the agents in the narrative and thus normally animate, props are mostly inanimate objects. Another function of PoDs has to do with information processing. When established and complex information is left-dislocated and then referred to in the clause with a pronoun, the amount of linguistic material within the clause is reduced and thus easier for the hearer to process. Examples 80a and 80b below illustrate this function of a PoD. In both cases, the main clause bolded is very short, consisting of two and three words respectively. 80 a. - mɔɔ nyiee klʋʋ gokpüü LOC lagoon: DEF surface: OBL bateau: PL : DEF ‘There on the lagoon, the canoes - ɩ tʋ-anyɩ bhlä nä […] kɩ bʋä NHP : REL cross: ICP –1 PO PST 1: LOP SP 1 ASF : NHP be_slow: ICP that used to take us across … they are really slow.’ [greve 18, 21] b. sɔna - lʋä nä waa kpaa mnö second DPF : PL SP 1 3 P : GEN group: DEF inside ‘‘The second group lit. the second ones, in their group, - mɔɔ n - kʋmʋ bhlä LOC 1 S BE 1: COM : CP PST 1: LOP it was there that I was also …’ [greve 82–84] Another advantage of packaging the information in this way is that it allows the speaker to give the old information before the new information, which is in accordance with the principle of natural information flow. In certain cases the spacer nä ‘SP1’ is inserted between the PoD and the subsequent clause, as in example 81 see also example 80a above. Spacers will be discussed in chapter 7. For the spacer nä, see §7.1. 81 zɩkää ylʋʋ kʋ nä ŋwadi mʋ ylä today: GEN day: DEF on SP 1 lad go: ICP now: LOP ‘Now one day lit. on the day of today a lad was coming along …’ [kazo 15–16]

4.2.1 Situational points of departure

The default use of situational PoDs is to set a new temporal, spatial, or other frame of reference. A situational PoD can be an adverb, as in example 82a; a temporal clause, as in 82b; or a postpositional phrase, as in 82c. Note that the temporal PoD in 82b is a noun phrase with a relative clause that has the noun dä ‘place’ as an antecedent and ends with the spacer nä. 82 a. kɔɔkɔ sɔɔ ɔ nʋ ylä always thus she do now: LOP ‘All the time, that’s how she now acted.’ [siamoi 52] b. dä Jübëyua ylɩbhä ylä waa gɔlʋʋ nä when Neyo:child: PL : DEF return: ICP now: LOP 3 P : GEN canoe: DEF SP 1 ‘When the Neyo children were turning round their canoe, kʋ bhuo- ASF : NH 3 turn_over: CP it turned over.’ [neyo 19.1–2] c. sɔna - lʋä nä waa kpaa mnö second DPF : PL SP 1 3 P : GEN group: DEF inside ‘The second group lit. the second ones, in their group, - mɔɔ n - kʋmʋ bhlä LOC 1 S BE 1: COM : CP PST 1: LOP it was there that I was also.’ [greve 82–84] If the left-dislocated constituents in example 82 were in their normal place after the verb, as shown in example 83, the information structure of the clause would not follow the principle of natural information flow, since established information namely, that there were two groups of people would be placed at the end of the clause instead of being given first. 83 n - kʋmʋ bhlä sɔna lʋää kpaa mnö 1 S BE 1: CP : COM PST 1: LOP second DPF : GEN group: DEF inside ‘I was also in the group of the second ones.’ [fabricated example]

4.2.2 Referential points of departure

The default function of a referential PoD is to introduce a participant as the new frame of reference for the information given in the following clause or clauses. In example 84a the referential PoD introduces a brand new referent, “a certain man”; in 84b it reactivates a de-activated referent, “the canoe”; and in 84c it activates a semi-active referent, “their village chief himself.” In all three cases, the referent thus becomes a candidate for playing the pragmatic role of topic. 84 a. nyɩkpɔ -bhlogbe ɔ -nʋ sää ɔɔ gɔlʋlɛɛ person one_single 3 S make: CP DP 1 3 S : GEN canoe: DIM : DEF ‘… a certain man, he took his small canoe nɩ ɔ ŋʋɔ- masii ADD 1 3 S put: NH 3: CP motor and he put a motor on it.’ [greve 25–26] b. gɔlʋʋ nɩ ɔ yiu yɩ pɩa canoe: DEF ADD 1 3 S XFUT : NH 3 now pull_ashore ‘The canoe, he now pulled it ashore…’ [kazo 32] c. waa ducifio titi ɔ lä ɔ kä nyie tɔɔ 3 P : GEN village:chief: DEF self 3 S say 3 S XPOT lagoon cross ‘Their village chief himself, he said he wanted to cross the lagoon.’ [greve 50–51] Example 85 has three referential PoDs: nyëbluo ‘the young lad’, ɔ nɔ ‘his mother’, and Mali ‘Mary’, the second and third ones being coreferential. The repetition of the referent has the effect of highlighting that referent. 85 nɩ nyëbluo wa laa lä Zozi nä ADD 1 lad: DEF 3 P call LOP Jesus SP 1 ‘Then the young boy they called Jesus, ɔ nɔ Mali ɔmɔ -mä Laagɔzuzu yio bhlä 3 S mother Mary 3 S : TH ADD 4 God_spirit XFUT :3 SO PST 1: LOP his mother Mary, on her an angel from God s ɩɩ -mɔɔ kʋ kwlii nɩ ʋ yio soo also LOC VPC come_down ADD 1 NH 3 XFUT :3 SO speak also came down there and spoke to her.’ [elisabet 48–51]

4.2.3 Tail-head linkage