Spotlight / Focus
Focus
Emphasis
Cleft
Contrastive focus
What is the most important new information?
booster
intermediate
Information structure
अर्थ
The part of the message that carries the main emphasis, contrast, correction, or answer to the current question.
इसे कैसे पहचानें
Ask which part would be stressed or corrected in context.
उदाहरण
शब्द
only|even|it was|not X but Y
वाक्यांश
it was Anna who|ANNA did it|only Peter
वाक्य
Anna bought the book, not Peter.
Visual guide
Basic shape
Message = background + focus Who bought the book? background: bought the book FOCUS: Anna Anna bought the book. = Anna, not Peter
Compare shape
Same focus, many shapes Stress: ANNA did it Cleft: it was Anna who... Particle: only Peter Contrast: not X but Y Word order/focus slot may mark it Task: find the spotlight
भाषा व्यू
आपकी भाषा में
Hindi (standard)
मौजूदगी
strong
महत्व
Focus is often marked by particles such as ही, भी, तो, by word order or intonation.
राम ही आया।
Ram only/emphatically came.
सीखी जा रही भाषा में
Bengali (standard)
मौजूदगी
strong
कठिनाई
Focus can be shown by stress, word order and particles such as -ই.
আমি-ই কাজটা করেছি।
I myself did the work.
सीखने वालों की आम चुनौती
Learners may miss the strong exclusive/corrective force of -ই.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.