Johnson 2004 - CDLI - UCLA

[ Topic ganba œal 2.la] [ Presupposition iri gul.gul.lu.gin 7 [ Focus sa˙ar nam] bi 2.ib.˙a.za.en]]]
As for what is in the marketplace, it is not THE DUST that I want to take
possession of, as if (I were) someone who destroys cities, (but rather the precious
objects)
115. iri.bi ir 7.saœ mußen .gin 7 œiß.bi.ta As for their city (= the inhabitants), it is not
na.an.na.ra.ab.dal.en from their tree that I want them fly like
271
a wild dove,
116. mußen.gin 7 gud 3 us 2.sa.bi.a It is not from the nest attached to it that I
nam bi 2.ib.dal.en want them to fly like a bird,
117. ganba œal 2.la.gin 7
It is rather (-gin 7) what is in the market that
na.an.si.ig.en I want to load up,
118. iri gul.gul.lu.gin 7 sa˙ar nam It is not the dust that I want to take
bi 2.ib.˙a.za.en possession of, as if (I were) someone
who destroys cities,
119. aratta ki a 2.dam d en.ki.ke 4 nam Aratta, a settlement cursed by Enki,
ba.an.ku 5
120. ≠ki bi 2±.in.gul.la.gin 7 ki nam Is it not such as place, a place in ruins, that
ga bi 2.ib.gul.en I should want to undermine,
In (8), we find two examples of the construction in lines 116 and 118, separated by the
*na- modal prefix plus perfective verb of assertion in line 117. The alternation between
negative contrastive focus constructions and positive assertion in line 117 serves to