Literary Discourse: Cleft sentence Part One

Introduction
In English Grammar and Usage, SENTENCE is an essential area of scholarly analysis. That is why the sentence continues to dominate our discussion. In a previous discourse, we examined a piece of usage with a structural flaw and a constructional relationship with Cleft Sentence. This piece – “It is I who is to do the work” – warrants a discourse on the Cleft Structure today. The discourse is to maximize our understanding of the previous one and equip us with knowledge of the appropriate application of the Cleft Structure.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this discourse, fellow learners and readers should be able to gain an improved understanding of:

• Cleft Sentence and Usage
• Types of Cleft Sentence
• Importance of Cleft Sentence

Cleft Sentence
A Cleft Sentence is a special complex sentence structure whose meaning could be expressed in a simple sentence. This implies that a Cleft Sentence is divided into two parts: an independent/main clause and a dependent/subordinate clause. The word “Cleft” is a derivative from the verb “cleave”, which means to divide into two. A Cleft Sentence is applied to achieve effects of focus and emphasis on a particular part of a construction. Although used in speaking too, a Cleft Sentence is generally regarded as the writing version of the technique of intonation in speaking. Indeed, by using this sentence structure, a writer can emphasize one part of a sentence as a speaker can do by intoning certain words.

Types of Cleft Sentence
There are many types of Cleft construction, but the “it-cleft” is seemingly the commonest. Below is the structure of the “it-cleft” sentence:

• It + conjugated form of to be + area of focus + subordinate clause

The area of focus could be a noun or pronoun or noun phrase , a prepositional phrase , an adjectival phrase, and an adverbial phrase. Let us see examples:

• Timtooni likes African Literature. [Simple sentence].
• It is Timtooni who likes African Literature. [Cleft Sentence].
• She is to do the assignment. [Simple Sentence].
• It is she who is to do the assignment. [Cleft Sentence].

In the first sentence, we only learn that Timtooni likes African Literature, but in the second sentence, we see emphasis on the point that Timtooni is the person who likes African Literature. This explanation goes for the third and fourth sentences in which pronouns have been used. For better understanding, let us see other types of Cleft structure as follows:

Wh-cleft/Pseudo-cleft

• What Divela wants to eat is tuubaani. [Cleft Sentence].
• Divela wants to eat tuubaani. [Simple Sentence].

Reversed wh-cleft/Inverted pseudo-cleft
A mansion is what Tiyumba plans to build . [Cleft Sentence].

• Tiyumba plans to build a mansion. [Simple Sentence].

All-cleft

• All Chalpang and his colleagues are expecting from their employer is justice. [Cleft Sentence].
• Chalpang and his colleagues are expecting justice from their employer. [Simple Sentence].

Inferential cleft

• It is not that we love our interest less. It is that we love public interest more. [Cleft Structure].
• We do not love our interest less. We love public interest more. [Simple Structure].

There-cleft

• There is a new book Azindoo intends to publish. [Cleft Sentence].

• Azindoo intends to publish a new book. [Simple Sentence].

It is instructive to observe that the type of a Cleft Sentence largely depends on the Cleft indicator in the sentence. Cleft indicators are elements of the Cleft structure such as “it”, “wh”, “all”, and “there.” Besides, it is significant to state that there are still many types of Cleft Sentence that time and space would not permit us to examine in this discourse. Readers may consult the following authorities for more information on the Cleft structure: Lambrecht (2001) for a comprehensive survey, Collins (1991) for an in-depth analysis of it-clefts and wh-clefts, and Calude (2009) for an investigation of clefts in spoken English.

To be continued.
By Abubakar Mohammed Marzuq Azindoo, Coordinator of Students and University Relations, University of Applied Management (UAM), Germany – Ghana Campus, McCarthy Hill, Accra and Tamale

Email: [email protected] Tel: 0244755402