La multifonctionnalité des conjonctions bó et bɔ̀ en fon
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2017-12-31
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Citation of Original Publication
Renée Lambert-Brétière, "La multifonctionnalité des conjonctions bó et bɔ̀ en fon", Linguistique et langues africaines [En ligne] 3 (2017): 55–84. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/lla/11738 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/lla.11738
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Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED)
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED)
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Abstract
The aim of this article is to analyze constructions in which the conjunctions bó and bɔ̀ in Fon are used to link clauses from a functional-typological perspective. Fon is a Kwa language of the Niger-Congo family spoken in Benin by more than two million speakers. After an overview of the typological characteristics of the language, we focus on coordinations and subordinations that exhibit the use of the conjunctions bó and bɔ̀. Based on the principle of iconicity, our study reveals that these conjunctions are always used to link propositions denoting events occurring in the order in which they appear. In addition, events linked by coordination structure present less semantic and syntactic integration than events linked by subordination. Our demonstration includes a scenario of grammaticalization of the conjunctions bó and bɔ̀, from coordination to subordination.