Detachment

In syntax, a detachment construction is a construction in which a referential constituent occurs in a special peripheral position, generally separated by an intonation break and by commas in writing. A widely discussed subtype of detachment is dislocation.

Example
English: As for novels, Mary only likes those by Tolstoy.

Comment
In dislocation, there has to be a resumptive pronoun referring to the dislocated constituent, but this is not necessary in other detachment constructions, such as the English "as for" construction.

Subtypes

 * left-detachment

Related terms

 * hanging topic

Other languages
French détachement