Nominal Suffixes as Markers of Information Structure in Basketo
Nominal Suffixes as Markers of Information Structure in Basketo

Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with the information function of two nominal suffixes, -i appearing in allnouns, and -n- in first- and second-person pronouns in Basketo, a North Omotic languagepredominantly spoken in the Basketo Special Woreda in Ethiopia. The suffix -i is oftendescribed as nominative. However, object nouns without definite marker can be markedby -i, and as a result -i can appear in both subject and object in the same sentence. Weanalyze morpheme -i as a marker of specificity. Suffix -n- distinguishes short and longforms of the first- and second-person subject pronoun. The short form is the same as thepossessive. In general, possessive does not bear any pragmatic information in discourse.Likewise, short pronouns also show no pragmatic function, but show what is subject oragent in a clause. On the other hand, long pronouns are morphologically and pragmaticallymarked. We analyze morpheme -n- as the foregrounded topic in discourse in contrastwith zero anaphora.

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