Definite reference and discourse prominence in Longxi Qiang

This paper focuses on the uses of the definite marker -tì in Longxi Qiang, a Tibeto-Burman language. Although the selection of referring expressions made by speakers is based on referent accessibility or cognitive status, at the same time, referring expressions have pragmatic and interactive dimensions. The concept of identifiability can account for the uses of the definite marker -tì; however, this concept is not sufficient to explain the selection of -tì in certain discourse contexts. Accordingly, this paper discusses the discourse uses of non-referential definite noun phrases. In addition to encoding definiteness, -tì serves as a prominence marker to trigger the interpretation that an entity, an action or a property is prominent, and the speaker intended to highlight the topicality. With respect to discourse functions, -tì is attached not only to noun phrases but also to verb and adjective phrases, fillers and connectors. These uses of -tì have been expanded into Wenchuan Mandarin.