Profiling and identification in Hausa

Standard accounts of Hausa focus claim that a focused constituent is fronted before an out-of-focus clause and marked with the optional focus-marking copula nee/cee. This paper claims that the fronting and the copula are two independent parameters with different contributions to the semantics of focus constructions. The fronting alone expresses the simple foci, i.e., one of the three profiling states of emphasis, contrast and information request (such as in wh-questions). The copula nee/cee combines with the simple foci to give the complex foci. Hence, nee/cee marks the deictic identification focus and the specific referent focus with all three profiling states. It also interacts specifically with each profiling state to mark the exhaustive listing focus (with emphasis), the restricted set focus (with contrast) and the hearer knowledge presupposition focus (with wh-questions). The paper also shows that Hausa constituent focus constructions developed from [Clause 1] + [Clause 2] constructions where [Clause 1] is a main clause profiled against [Clause 2], which is a presupposed adverbial clause.