The syntactic function of a scope marking suffix in Iraqw
A morpheme that plays an important role in the organisation of information structure in the Iraqw sentence is the suffix -o. This suffix is used to indicate the clause that is the scope of negation, of yes/no questioning; the theme of the question; or the constituent that is the basis for comparison. It also indicates the setting of the sentence and appears on sentence adverbials of time or space. It is common on second objects that are not part of the verbal complex. Verbal nouns that occur outside the verbal complex contain this suffix. The suffix indicates the scope over which an operation is valid and excludes other comparable referents from the operation in question. Its verbal counterpart is a suffix -a which is used with verbal negation and questioning.