Two Subject Asymmetries in Defaka Focus Constructions

Defaka allows optional fronting of one XP in a clause; this fronting carries with it some type of discourse prominence, and is taken here to be a process of focus movement. Interestingly, this movement can trigger special morphology in two different places, depending on what kind of phrase is focused. This results in two asymmetries between subjects and other types of phrases. First, focused local subjects are immediately followed by the particle ko, while other types of focused phrases are followed by the particle ndo. Second, if the focus-moved phrase is anything other than a local subject, a special post-verbal clitic –ke appears, obligatorily. These asymmetries are illustrated in the paradigm below: (1) is a discourse-neutral sentence; (2) focuses the subject (which appears clause-initially, followed by the particle ko), while (3) focuses the object (which appears clause-initially, followed by the particle ndo, and the clitic –ke appears after the verb and its tense/aspect/mood clitics).