Spotlight / Focus
Focus
Emphasis
Cleft
Contrastive focus
What is the most important new information?
booster
intermediate
Information structure
意味
The part of the message that carries the main emphasis, contrast, correction, or answer to the current question.
見分け方
Ask which part would be stressed or corrected in context.
例
単語
only|even|it was|not X but Y
フレーズ
it was Anna who|ANNA did it|only Peter
文
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
言語別ビュー
母語では
Japanese
表れ方
strong
重要度
Focus is often shaped by が, は, も, word order, omission and prosody.
アンナが本を買った。
Anna bought the book.
学習中の言語では
Bengali (standard)
表れ方
strong
難易度
Focus can be shown by stress, word order and particles such as -ই.
আমি-ই কাজটা করেছি।
I myself did the work.
よくあるつまずき
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.