Conference on Focus and Grammatical Relations in Creole Languages to be held at the University of Chicago, May 10-12, 1990

这次会议将促进对克里奥尔语焦点现象的仔细研究。之所以选择这一主题，既是因为在许多克里奥尔语的成分焦点中发现了相当复杂和多变的从句前形态，也因为这些语言使用了不同的焦点/强调方法。这些不同的战略是否代表了整个克里奥尔语的现象，或者是特定于语言的，这是一个相关的关切问题。这次会议将是第一次将其关注点缩小到克里奥尔语语法的一个方面。它将联合学者们从不同的理论角度对这一主题进行广泛而详细的讨论。有鉴于此，本次会议的主要目的可以概括为：a)从不同的理论观点探讨克里奥尔语横截面中焦点结构的主要方面；b)揭示关于克里奥尔语焦点模式的新事实及其对语言理论的影响；c)鼓励今后就克里奥尔语语法中其他具体确定的主题举行会议。

ABSTRACT The conference will promote the close examination of focus phenomena in creole languages. This topic was selected both because of the quite complex and variable preclausal morphology found in constituent focus in many creoles and because of the diverse methods of focus/emphasis that these languages utilize. The question of whether or not these different strategies represent a creole-wide phenomenon or are language-specific is a related concern. The conference will be the first of its kind to narrow its concerns to a single aspect of creole grammar. It will unite scholars to join in an extensive and detailed discussion of the topic from diverse theoretical perspectives. In view of these considerations, the principal aims of the conference can be summarized as follows: a) to explore the main aspects of focus constructions in a cross-section of creoles from a variety of theoretical viewpoints b) to uncover new facts about creole focus patterns and their implications for linguistic theory, and c) to encourage future conferences on other specifically determined topics in creole grammar.