It-clefts as pragmatically-motivated extraposed constructions?

This paper investigates the discursive and pragmatic functions of it-clefts in contemporary English. The qualitative corpus-based study is based on the hypothesis that an it-cleft originates from the extraposition of a complex noun phrase in an underlying initial pseudo- or TH-cleft structure. From this perspective, it is shown that it-clefting pragmatically displays both specific properties and features shared with a related non-canonical construction, namely extraposition. The analysis demonstrates that it-clefts are not mere syntactic or stylistic devices, but that their use is motivated by pragmatic considerations and the discourse situation. Although it-cleft formation deviates from a canonical pattern and is therefore marked, it-clefts themselves can be either marked or unmarked. This study proposes a unified account of their discourse functions, arguing that their primary communicative function is to identify or specify an argument or circumstance, and that their uses parallel those of extraposed subject-subordinate clauses. It further provides evidence for a gradient ranging from the most prototypical to the least typical it-clefts, which supports the view that they form a unified discursive category, with differences residing only in co(n)textual factors and pragmatic effects.

# Philology. Linguistics # Computational linguistics. Natural language processing # it-clefts # NP extraposition # pragmatic motivation # communicative function # prototypical and non-prototypical it-clefts # TH-cleft

Christelle Lacassain (2026). "It-clefts as pragmatically-motivated extraposed constructions?". Discours. https://doi.org/10.4000/16hth