Narrow Focus, clefting and predicate inversion

In this paper evidence is provided from typologically diverse, non-related languages for the existence of a Focus strategy in which the focused constituent is merged as the predicate of a Small Clause. The interpretation of the predicate-Focus thus follows from inversion to Spec,FocP, where it checks the strong [+foc] feature. The subject of the relevant Small Clause is the Presupposition, which is realized as a free relative clause, headed by a generic NP-proform. This is restricted to range over a limited set of denotations (person, thing, place, time) and is semantically matched with the focused DP. Within the relative clause a null operator checks its l-features with the variable pro in argument position. This analysis is intended to provide a uniform account for the non-argument and nonoperator properties of the focused constituent in this type of construction, for its interpretation as an information Focus and for a number of apparently unrelated phenomena (e.g., antiagreement effects, scopal domain of negation, Case marking, clitic placement, insensitivity to islands, WCO effects). Furthermore, it leads to important predictions which are borne out by data. The analysis of embedded focused/wh-phrases and multiple wh-questions in a crosslinguistic perspective finally leads to the plausible hypothesis that the functional array of embedded C-domains should be considered as reduced with respect to root clauses.