Identificational articulation marking thematic salience

Identificational articulation is found in two adjoining sentences that set up the issue of following leaders blindly. Ngiisi kwo ngaagira, kwo na niinyu mugaagira ‘Just as I do, that is how you also, you will do’. Towards the end of the story, they say, Si we watubwira kwo tukizi gira ngiisi kwo ugakizi gira. ‘You are the one who told us to do just what you will do’. These key thematic points in the text are the only places where identificational articulation is used. Table 14. Identificational articulation in Ubugeni bwamushosi muguma ‘wedding feast of one man’ T5 Text Explanation Mushosi muguma akagira lusiku lukulu hamwage. Analaalika abatuulani, kuguma nabagingi, nabaami, nabagunda ikumi, gira bamútabaale mu kuyegereza nokuzimaana yabo booshi ábakalaalikwa . One man had a feast at his house. And he invited his neighbors, and king’s officials, and the king, together with common people, so that they could help him in welcoming and serving food to all the invited guests. Anabwira yabo bagunda kwokuno, “Ndaloziizi mundeeze ishoni imbere lya yabo bandu booshi . Ku yaho, niehe nie mugakizi lolera kwo ikyanya mugabayegereza. Ngiisi kwo ngaagira, kwo na niinyu mugaagira.” And he told those common people thus, “I don’t want you to shame me before all of those people. Therefore me, I’m the one you should be looking at when you welcome them. Whatever I will do, that is what you also will do.” Ikyanya kyokugendi yegereza abageni, anayiteera hambere. Yabo bagunda booshi banamúkulikira. Analamusa yabo bageni , iri anahuniza itwe. Yabo bagunda , nabo banagira kwokwo ikyanya bakabalamusa. When it was time to welcome the guests, he went ahead of them. Those common people followed him. He greeted the guests, bowing the head. Those common people did the same thing when they greeted them. Ikyanya kyokuzimaana, yabo bageni kyanahika. Uyo mushosi, analengeza indaala yobundu. Abagunda nabo, banalengeza inyibo zagandi mandu, banamúkulikra. When it was time to serve the guest food, those commoners arrived. That man picked up the plate of stiff porridge. The commoners picked up other plates of stiff porridge, and followed him. Uyo mwene ubugeni , iri akahika imbere lya yabo ábagazimaanwa , anasiitara, anayibumbulika haashi, ibyokulya byo âli hiiti byanayoneka. Yabo bagunda booshi , banayigwisa nabo, ibyokulya byo bâli hiiti byoshi byanayoneka. The one giving the feast, when he arrived just in front of the guests, he stumbled, and went crashing down. The food which he had spilled all over. Those commoners all of them, they also fell down, and the food which they had spilled as well. Iri akavyuka yaho , anababwira, “Si keera mwanjereegeza ibyokulya byabageni . ” When he got up, he said to them, “Look, you have spoiled all my guest food.” Yabo bagunda banamubwira, “ Si we watubwira kwo tukizi gira ngiisi kwo ugakizi gira .” Those commoners said to him, “ You are the one who told us to do just as you do.” Haaho banatondeeza ukuhambanwa. Yabo bageni , banashiiba nishali. Uyo mwene ubugeni , anagwatwa neshoni. Then they began to argue. Those guests remained hungry. The one who gave the feast was shamed. Ihano: Áhali ikyoba, hatagendwa bwija. Advice: Where there is fear, things don’t go well.

4.6.6 Identificational articulation marking thematic salience

Identificational articulation is a marked form, often occurring at key turning points of the story theme. In T9 the theme is a picky young man looking for a wife. There are forty-one lines altogether, but identificational articulation occurs in only three of them, twice at the beginning where the theme is laid out and once at the end, where the consequences are brought to bear. The theme of the story is that the man should have chosen a wife the way others do, and not be so picky with his own special criteria. In 74 the phrase ndaaye munyere ya asiima ‘there is no girl that he likes’ relates directly to the theme of the story. 74 Iri bakamuyereka abanyere booshi mu yako kaaya ke mwabo When they showed him girls all in that village of theirs anadeta kwo yehe ndaaye munyere ya Asiima. he said that HE there is no girl that he likes. ‘When they showed him all the girls in that village of theirs, he said the HE, there is no girl that he likes.’ T9 Then in 75 he finally finds a wife that he likes, and which will later bring him great problems yoyu ye shushiini na maawe ‘this very one is the one who resembles my mother’. 75 Iri akamubona ti “Nanga yoyu ye shushiine na maawe.” When he saw her quote Oh my this very one is the one who resembles with my mother. ‘When he saw her he said, “Oh my, this very one is the one that resembles my mother.” ’ T9 Towards the end of the story in 76, the theme is salient again, when the men of the village state what he has really brought in the village Muzimu yugwo aleeta ‘A devil this one he has brought’. 76 Muzimu yugwo aleeta A devil that one which he brought ‘A devil this one he has brought.’ T9 In the story of Umushosi muhiizi ‘The man the farmer’, identificational articulation is found at three key points of the developing the theme line. In each case it underscores the fact that the man was counting on one thing and ended up getting something else, which made him say that his son does not listen well. In 77 he shares his expectation that he will eat the rabbit for supper: ye ngayiji liira ubundu ‘he is the one that I will eat my stiff porridge with’. 77 Ulya mushosi anabwire mugala wage ti: “E mwana wani utwale uyu walukwavu ikaaya That man told son of him quote O son of mine take this rabbit home ye ngayiji liira ubundu.” it’s the one I will coming eat with stiff porridge. ‘That man told his son, “O my son, take this rabbit home. It’s what I will eat with my porridge.” ’ T10 In 78 the man is bragging that he will not be buying his meat in the market even if others do, since he has it with him: Ka nie wasuma ishogo yani? ‘Am I the one to purchase my meat?’ 78 Ulya mushosi yaho mu ndalo ti: “Ka nie wasuma ishogo yani.” That man there in field quote Q I’m the one I will buy meat of me. ‘That man there in the field said, “Am I the one who will buy my meat?” ’ T10 In 79 the man is upset that instead of eating the rabbit, the rabbit has been fed the special rooster: Ka lulya luhazi lwo mwaniga, lwo mwaheereza walukwavu ‘That rooster that you butchered, is that the one that you gave the rabbit?’ 79 Ulya mushosi ti “Ka lulya luhazi lwo mwaniga lwo mwaheereza walukwavu?” That man said Q that rooster which you butchered that is the one that you gave rabbit ‘That man said, “That rabbit which you butchered, is that the one that you gave to rabbit?” ’ T10 5 Information structure Information structure 16 deals with the way that information is presented in a text. There are three different ‘articulations’. They are presentational, topic comment, and identificational. P RESENTATIONAL articulation involves the introduction of major new participants, typically at the beginning of a narrative text. For example, ‘Once upon a time there were three little bears’ presents ‘the three little bears’ at the end of the clause section 3.1. T OPIC - COMMENT articulation deals with the way in which old information topic is presented at the beginning of the clause, while new information comment 17 is presented at the end. In Fuliiru new information may be something not yet mentioned in the text, 18 or it may be a new thematic development involving information that has already been mentioned. It should be noted that the notions of subjectverbobjectoblique are different from the notions of topiccomment. In 80 the subject and the topic happen to be the same, represented by Umushosi ‘Man’. This clause follows the default word order, SubjectVerbObjectOblique. 80 Subject Verb Object Oblique Umushosi, anagendi shiiga ubulembo ku yikyo kiti. The man and he went and smeared sap on that tree ‘The man went and smeared sap on that tree.’ However, the underlying clause actually represents a major new thematic development, as it involves the man setting the trap to catch the rabbit. Thus, in the restructured clause 81, the clause object yikyo kiti ‘that tree’ is preposed to the topic position first position in the clause. Incidentally, this kind of preposing only happens at marked especially high thematic developments in the story section 4. The clause subject is still umushosi ‘the man’. 81 Topic Comment Object Subject Verb Oblique Yikyo kiti, umushosi anagendi kishiiga kwo ubulembo That tree the man and he went smeared it with sap ‘That tree, the man went and smeared sap on it.’ T10 To mark thematic development, noun phrases can be signaled by a demonstrative pronoun at the end of the clause the place reserved for new information. In 82 both yulwo lusiku lukulu ‘that feast day’ and yiryo ishala ‘that feather’ have already been mentioned in the story. Even so, they are allowed to occur at the end of the clause, marked with demonstrative pronouns, since they demonstrate a new thematic development. 16 Andrews 1985, Heimerdinger 1999, and Lambrecht 1994. 17 Strictly speaking, the new information in a sentence is the ‘focus’; the comment consists of the focus plus optionally any other element that is not part of the topic. 18 This may also involve the shared cognitive experience of speaker and hearer. 82 Iyo mbulu yanagira yulwo lusiku lukulu na yiryo ishala. That lizard and he made that feast with that feather. ‘And the lizard made a feast with that feather.’ T4 9 Identificational articulation section 4.6 reverses the order of topiccomment, with new information being presented first in the clause and old information presented later. For example, in the question ‘Who brought the bread’, it is assumed old information that someone brought it. The question is ‘who’, which is at the beginning of the clause. This question is one type of identificational articulation. The answer ‘It is John who brought this bread’ is also couched in identificational articulation. The noun ‘John’ is the new information, presented at the beginning not the end of the sentence, but using a special construction known as a cleft construction: ‘It is ___ who ___’. This identificational articulation typically comes at points of emphatic prominence in the story.

5.1 Topic-comment articulation: maintaining relative placement of old and new information