A survey of criteria for differentiating focus from topic constructions in the Adamawa Fulfulde

Focus and topic are two similar emphatic constructions that operate on different semantic points. Though both of them deal with emphasis, they differ both syntactically and semantically in their operation. Therefore, this paper aims at analysing the criteria for differentiating focus from topic constructions by compiling the emphatic markers, classifying them and analysing their sematic function according to their processes. The study employs unobtrusive observation for data collection due to the nature of the target data. Minimalist Programme (MP) is adopted for data analysis. The paper reveals that there are three means of identifying focus from topic constructions in Fulfulde. They include the emphatic markers, the structural pattern and the tense aspect markers. The study also confirms that topic and focus constructions in Fulfulde are also similar as: emphatic constructions, A-bar constructions and having the similar configurational schema.