Focus Mongol Heleer May 2026
In 78% of narrow focus responses in Heleer , accusative case was absent when the object was focused preverbally, compared to 12% in Khalkha. The clitic =l functions as an exhaustive focus marker in both varieties. However, in Heleer , =l attaches more frequently to non-subject arguments and can even follow a dropped case marker:
Kiss, K. É. (1995). Discourse configurational languages. Oxford University Press. Focus Mongol Heleer
: Bi nom-iig unsh-sun. I book-ACC read-PAST ‘I read a book.’ (neutral) In 78% of narrow focus responses in Heleer
Pierrehumbert, J. (1980). The phonology and phonetics of English intonation (PhD thesis). MIT. Focus Mongol Heleer