Cleft constructions in spoken language

Abstract

This paper deals with three cleft constructions of English as exemplified in a body of task-related dialogues and in a body of spontaneous conversation. We will explore the role of thematization and deixis in combination with the copular structure and in relation to the discourse context of clefts. We will claim that the sentence-initial, i.e. thematized, deictic elements THAT/THIS, WH clause and IT in Reverse WH clefts, WH clefts and IT clefts respectively are central to the focusing function of clefts. Reverse WH clefts focus on entities in the immediately surrounding discourse or situation, holding onto important items before the discourse moves away from them, and creating a slight backwards pull. WH clefts are forward-pointing and often introduce topics or mark an important starting point for the following discourse. IT clefts are neutral with respect to forwards or backwards pointing. They focus on the clefted constituent, which is typically a full NP, and are the preferred cleft for expressing overt contrast. We conclude that the choice of clefts does not merely depend on how well a cleft continues the thematic line of the previous discourse; rather in our data, different cleft types fulfil largely complementary focusing functions.