DPs/WHs followed by highlighter in Atlantic restructured languages: a non cleft construction

The current study considers the fronted phrases followed by que ‘that’, without copula, in Atlantic restructured languages, by analysing the phenomenon from a diachronic perspective. Different from several other diachronic analyses, in this paper it is considered that fronted phrases followed by que ‘that’, without copula, are better described as non-cleft, and are therefore monoclausal constructions. Our proposal supports the concept of a highlighter in restructured languages. This highlighter manifests a feature of a universal nature and it was reinforced due to contact with African languages. Apart from this, the current study goes further, presenting a different analysis from a diachronic perspective and which takes into consideration universal features.