ABSTRACT
In contrast to ‘pure’ focus markers such as baa and ayaa in Somali or -?a and -be in Manam (Austronesian), 1 the expressions listed in (16) for English and (17) for German in the preceding chapter have a lexical meaning. In this chapter, a general overview of the parameters that play a role in the semantic analysis of these expressions will be given. The emphasis will be on the general rather than on the particular. The overview is thus meant to prepare the ground for the detailed analyses of individual particles in subsequent chapters.
