DOCSLIB.ORG

Straight from the Source: the Semantics and Functions of the Ablative Case Clitic of Iraqw

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Straight from the Source: the Semantics and Functions of the Ablative Case Clitic of Iraqw Straight from the Source: The semantics and functions of the ablative case clitic of Iraqw Anne Kruijt s1289349 June 2017 [email protected] Thesis in partial fulfillment of Research Master Linguistics, Leiden University Supervisor: Prof. Dr. M. Mous Second reader: Dr. E. Crevels ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I need to thank my wonderful language consultant Basilisa Hhao who has helped me with the collection of the data and worked patiently with me as my language teacher. Another special thanks to Ephraim Neema who opened his house to me and provided me with a home during my time at Kwermusl. I am also very grateful to Prof. Dr. M. Mous for introducing me to Kwermusl and its community. His support both during the period in the field and in the period afterwards have proved to be invaluable. I am also very thankful for receiving the Uhlenbeck Scholarship and Lustra+scholarship from Leiden University, which provided me with the funding that made the fieldwork for this research possible. Lastly, a brief shout out to my family, friends, and housemates (in particular Sanne) for all the mental support, coffee breaks and, in general, keeping me sane. Na’as lówa alé! ii ABSTRACT This thesis focuses on the description of the ablative case clitic of Iraqw, a Cushitic language of Tanzania. The ablative case clitic of Iraqw is reported to have multiple functions and is attested to be used for expressing source, location, time, reason, and (simile) adverbial constructions. Especially the apparent extension of source to location marker is remarkable, as Iraqw has a separate goal marker and this particular Source=Location≠Goal syncretism is extremely rare in languages of the world. The ablative case clitic is part of the adverbial case clitics of Iraqw, which consist of the ablative, directional, instrumental, and reason case clitics. These clitics introduce an extra oblique argument to a clause and are closely tied to the verb. The source semantics of the ablative clitic inherently express Place and Path. In locational clauses the notion of Path is expressed in a durative aspect and the clitic therefore does not function as a primary locative marker. The ablative is also used in other contexts. It can be extended into the temporal domain to describe a temporal source and into the causal domain to denote the cause of an event. The ablative clitic is used in adverbial constructions that describe similarity and is grammaticalized in certain intensifying verbal adverbs. In conclusion the ablative case clitic is a source marker, and not a locative marker. Therefore I propose the pattern Source≠Location≠Goal for Iraqw. Keywords: Source marker, ablative case, location, spatial domain iii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................... iii ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES AND MAPS .......................................................................................................................... vi 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 On the Iraqw people, language, and culture ....................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research topic ..................................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Note on Iraqw orthography and glossing choices .............................................................................. 5 1.5 Structure of this thesis ........................................................................................................................ 6 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Cognitive semantics ............................................................................................................................ 7 2.2 Syncretism of source and location ...................................................................................................... 8 2.3 Semantic domains and overlap ......................................................................................................... 11 3. STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES ....................................................................................................................... 13 3.1 The adverbial case clitics .................................................................................................................. 13 3.1.1 Attachment issues....................................................................................................................... 14 3.1.2 Syntax ......................................................................................................................................... 17 3.1.3 Differences between the ablative and the other case clitics ...................................................... 19 3.2 Verbal nouns ..................................................................................................................................... 21 3.2.1 General properties of Iraqw verbal nouns ................................................................................. 21 3.2.2 The ablative clitic on verbal nouns ............................................................................................ 23 3.3 Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 28 4. SYNCRETISM OF SOURCE AND LOCATION ............................................................................................... 29 4.1 Source constructions ......................................................................................................................... 29 4.1.1 The source of a motion .............................................................................................................. 30 4.1.2 The source of a non-motion event ............................................................................................. 32 4.1.3 Note on locational nouns ........................................................................................................... 35 iv 4.2 Locative constructions ...................................................................................................................... 37 4.2.1 Basic locative constructions in Iraqw ........................................................................................ 40 4.2.2 Locative use of the ablative case clitic ...................................................................................... 42 4.2.3 Locative use of the directional case clitic ................................................................................. 46 4.2.4 Note on locational nouns and motion events on ablative grounds ............................................ 48 4.2.5 Note on the syntactic-semantics interface ................................................................................. 52 4.3 Discussion and summary .................................................................................................................. 55 5. EXTENSIONS OF MEANING ....................................................................................................................... 56 5.1 Temporal domain .............................................................................................................................. 56 5.1.1 Temporal constructions with the ablative clitic ......................................................................... 57 5.1.2 The temporal noun iimír and the ablative clitic ........................................................................ 60 5.2 Causal domain ................................................................................................................................... 65 5.2.1 The ablative case clitic in causal constructions ......................................................................... 66 5.2.2 The reason case clitic ................................................................................................................. 68 5.3 Adverbial domain .............................................................................................................................. 71 5.3.1 Iraqw adverbials ......................................................................................................................... 72 5.3.2 Verbal adverbs with an incorporated ablative clitic .................................................................. 73 5.3.3 The ablative clitic in simile ‘such as/like’ constructions .......................................................... 76 5.3.4 Adverbalization with adverbial case clitics ............................................................................... 78 6. CONCLUSIONS .........................................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Rift Valley Bibliography Version 1.3
    Griscom, Richard, Andrew Harvey, and Anne Kruijt (eds.). 2020. Rift Valley Bibliography Version 1.3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4300224 Rift Valley Bibliography Version 1.3 December 1st, 2020 1 Introduction This document is a bibliography of the languages of the Rift Valley Area of Tanzania, which is home to dozens of distinctive ethnic groups and languages. Uniquely, it is the meeting place of languages from three of the largest language families in Africa—Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo, and Afro-Asiatic—as well as Sandawe, a language with possible affinity with the so-called 'Khoisan' group, and Hadza, a language isolate, which means that it is not known to be related to any other languages currently spoken. The Rift Valley Bibliography is compiled by members of the Rift Valley Network and is hosted on the network website at the Rift Valley Bibliography page. This is a text version of the bibliography, but other formats of the bibliography are available on the website for those who use reference manager software (e.g. Zotero, EndNote, or Mendeley), and a Zotero Group is used to make additions and changes to the bibliography. A PDF Collection of selected entries is available for members of the Rift Valley Network only, and release notes are made available for each release. For comments or questions related to this bibliography, please send an email to [email protected]. 1 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................................1
    [Show full text]
  • The Integration of Bantu Loans Into Burunge (Southern Cushitic)*
    ,,-- - I Spraehe und Gesehiehte in Afrika 16/17: 213-238 / THE INTEGRATION OF BANTU LOANS INTO BURUNGE (SOUTHERN CUSHITIC)* Roland Kiessling Universitdt Hamburg 1 Introduction 2 Areal situation: Burunge, its regional status and the neighbouring languages 3 Bantu loans into Burunge 3.1 Phonological adaptation 3.2 Morphological adaptation 3.2.1 Nouns: gender and plural 3.2.2 Verbs 4 Periods of contact 4.1 Transfers from Swahili and Rangi 4.2 Transfers between East African Bantu and West Rift 4.3 Transfers between Sandawe and Burunge 5 Result Notes References 1 Introduction :\ This article deals with Bantu loanwords in Burunge, a Southern Cushitic language in Tanzania, and examines how these loans, taken from a Bantu source, are integrated into the grammatical structure of the receiver language. This is of some typological interest in two ways. First, the principles of assign- ing gender to a Bantu loan and forming its plural in a Southern Cushitic framework gives us some vital information about the way the Burunge noun system works. Second, Burunge uses a somewhat unusual channel to adapt foreign verbs to its structure. Several layers of loans from different sources can be recognized in Burunge. The article closes with an appendix including -----------------~----, 214 ROLAND KIESSLING several comparative word lists as a preliminary outline of lexical transfers in the Rift area of Tanzania. 2 Areal situation Burunge is a Southern Cushitic language spoken in the Burunge hills in the southeastern part of Kondoa district of Dod oma region in central Tanzania. The last decades have seen many Bantu-speaking Rangi immigrants moving into the Burunge country.
    [Show full text]
  • Élémentsde Description Du Langi Langue Bantu F.33 De Tanzanie
    ÉLÉMENTS DE DESCRIPTION DU LANGI LANGUE BANTU F.33 DE TANZANIE MARGARET DUNHAM Remerciements Je remercie très chaleureusement tous les Valangi, ce sont eux qui ont fourni la matière sur laquelle se fonde cet ouvrage, et notamment : Saidi Ikaji, Maryfrider Joseph, Mama Luci, Yuda, Pascali et Agnès Daudi, Gaitani et Philomena Paoli, M. Sabasi, et toute la famille Ningah : Ally, Saidi, Amina, Jamila, Nasri, Saada et Mei. Je remercie également mes autres amis de Kondoa : Elly Benson, à qui je dois la liste des noms d’arbres qui se trouve en annexe, et Elise Pinners, qui m’a logée à Kondoa et ailleurs. Je remercie le SNV et le HADO à Kondoa pour avoir mis à ma disposition leurs moyens de transport et leur bibliothèque. Je remercie les membres du LACITO du CNRS, tout le groupe Langue-Culture- Environnement et ceux qui ont dirigé le laboratoire pendant ma thèse : Jean-Claude Rivierre, Martine Mazaudon et Zlatka Guentchéva Je remercie tout le groupe bantu : Gladys Guarisma, Raphaël Kaboré, Jacqueline Leroy, Christiane Paulian, Gérard Philippson, Marie-Françoise Rombi et Serge Sauvageot, pour leurs conseils et pour leurs oreilles. Je remercie Jacqueline Vaissière pour ses conseils et sa disponibilité. Je remercie Sophie Manus pour la traduction du swahili du rapport de l’Officier culturel de Kondoa. Je remercie Ewen Macmillan pour son hospitalité chaleureuse et répétée à Londres. Je remercie mes amis à Paris qui ont tant fait pour me rendre la vie agréable pendant ce travail. Je remercie Eric Agnesina pour son aide précieuse, matérielle et morale. Et enfin, je ne saurais jamais assez remercier Marie-Françoise Rombi, pour son amitié et pour son infinie patience.
    [Show full text]
  • Thesis HUMA 2009
    A Phonetic Study on Implosives in China by Cun Xi A Thesis Submitted to The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Division of Humanities April, 2009, Hong Kong i HKUST Library Reproduction is prohibited without the author’s prior written consent UMI Number: 3365904 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ______________________________________________________________ UMI Microform 3365904 Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. _______________________________________________________________ ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 Acknowledgements At this exciting and momentous time, the first person I would like to thank is my supervisor Prof. Zhu Xiaonong. Many years ago, when I was a newcomer to linguistics, he introduced me to the possibilities along that path and encouraged me to explore them. Reading and correcting every detail of my thesis is not his style, but his comments often hit the nail on the head. He likes to talk to students in an open-hearted way, as our friend, and invite us to meals at his home.
    [Show full text]
  • Rift Valley Bibliography Version 1.1
    Griscom, Richard, and Andrew Harvey. 2019. Rift Valley Bibliography Version 1.1. Rift Valley Bibliography Version 1.1 November 1st, 2019 1 Introduction This document is a bibliography of the languages of the Rift Valley Area of Tanzania, which is home to dozens of distinctive ethnic groups and languages. Uniquely, it is the meeting place of languages from three of the largest language families in Africa—Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo, and Afro-Asiatic—as well as Sandawe, a language with possible affinity with the so-called 'Khoisan' group, and Hadza, a language isolate, which means that it is not known to be related to any other languages currently spoken. The Rift Valley Bibliography is compiled by members of the Rift Valley Network and is hosted on the network website at the Rift Valley Bibliography page. This is a text version of the bibliography, but other formats of the bibliography are available on the website for those who use reference manager software (e.g. Zotero, EndNote, or Mendeley), and a Zotero Group is used to make additions and changes to the bibliography. A PDF Collection of selected entries is available for members of the Rift Valley Network only. For comments or questions related to this bibliography, please send an email to [email protected]. 1 2 Table of Contents 1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................................1 2 Table of Contents....................................................................................................................................2
    [Show full text]
  • The Power of Bible Translation
    The Power of Bible Translation Aloo Osotsi Mojola The Bible generates a range of complex and often ambiguous in which the text they are translating is written, by what attitudes. For some the Bible is perceived as an oppressive tool the dominant institutions and ideology expect of them, that has historically been used to alienate and dehumanize. It has by the public for whom the translation is intended.1 been viewed as an instrument of empire, of colonial and cultural For example, Gen 11:1 in the New English Bible, “Once upon domination, of conquest and subjugation. At various times and a time all the world spoke a single language,” reflects the places, the Bible has been used as a basis for the discrimination presuppositions of the translators. This reading was later, and oppression of women and minorities. The Bible is not neutral. presumably under pressure from some quarters, changed in the Its entry into a culture sends mixed messages. Where some see Revised English Bible to, “There was a time when all the world loss, others see gain. Where some see dispossession, others see spoke a single language.” Similarly, consider a reading such as empowerment. Where some see conquest, others see freedom. Isa 7:14, where the Contemporary English Version presently Where some see cultural dispossession and alienation, others has, “A virgin is pregnant,” but previously had “young woman.” see a call and challenge to reclaim the divine image—and thus Some contemporary Bible versions, such as NLT, NIV, NRSV, equality and dignity—in all humans. For many in the church, and ESV, transparently make known the translation team and the Bible is viewed as a transformative and indispensable tool.
    [Show full text]
  • Language and Identity Among Marginal People in East Africa
    Language and Identity among marginal people in East Africa MAARTEN MOUS Leiden University - Centre for Linguistics Abstract Language is one of the strongest expressions of group identity. Many communities in East Africa are multilingual and for some of the smaller communities this leads to language loss and for others to language revival. The article shows how different groups in similar circumstances opt for different linguistic behaviour and how these choices can swiftly change in the light of external circumstances including econom- ic need. The article examines the linguistic attitude of groups such as the Yaaku, Aasa, Akiek, Ma’á/Mbugu from East Africa and compares them among each other and with other former hunter-gatherers such as the Bakola/Bagyele pygmies in Cameroon and the agricultural Mbugwe from Tanzania who are equally small in numbers. Keywords Ethnic identity; language loss, dorobo, East Africa, hunter-gatherers 218 1. MARGINAL PEOPLE IN EAST AFRICA My aim in this article is to provide an overview and an analysis how vari- ous smaller communities deal with group identity and how this affects their linguistic ideologies. I use the term “marginal” despite its negative connota- tions.1 Many of those small populations have or had their own ethnic identity and language and now either live in symbiosis with and depending on an- other population (the various so-called dorobo2 groups) or live (still or until recently) from hunting and gathering. What I am interested in is how such groups find a way out in the current society and a way to survive, how they create a self-image that allows them to have enough self-respect to develop.
    [Show full text]
  • Swahili Loanwords and Their Semantic Nativisations Into African Languages
    Swahili Loanwords and their Semantic Nativisations into African Languages Amani Lusekelo Dar es Salaam University College of Education [email protected] Abstract: Traditionally, contributions of loanwords to the morphology of most African languages are recognizable in terms of phoneme inventories, consonant clusters, and syllable structures. The present paper, however, articulates the semantic and pragmatic issues emanating from the Swahili loanwords into the morphology of most African languages in Tanzania. The focus is mainly on the influence of Swahili into the different semantic fields in ten Bantu languages in the country. Data of 500 lexical words is drawn from a sample of Bantu languages in the country. Formal interviews had also been conducted to decipher semantic and pragmatic inferences springing out of the usages of those loanwords in the respective speech communities. It is concluded that most semantic fields of loanwords include education, utensils and domestic tools, as well as health and medical care services. In addition, pragmatically, some loanwords divide communities according to their usages, e.g. in Ruhaya and Runyambo, the entries for church include ekerezía [<ecclesia, ecclesiae Latin] which is dominantly used for Roman Catholic churches while ekanisa [<kanisa, Swahili] is used by Lutheran churches. INTRODUCTION1 A number of linguists have raised concerns on the different patterns in morphology of African languages which have been none existent in such languages before but have been accommodated in a course of time after lexical borrowing (see e.g. Scotton and Okeju, 1972 [Ateso, Nilo-Saharan]; Newman, 2000 [Hausa, Afro- Asiatic]; Swilla, 2000 [Chindali, Niger-Congo]; Batibo, 2002; Mwita, 2009; Shembuli, 2010 [Swahili, Niger-Congo]; among others).
    [Show full text]
  • Towards a Grammar of Space of Iraqw
    Towards a Grammar of Space of Iraqw A Cushitic language of Tanzania Twan H.M. Peters Date: 27-05-2016 ULCN ID: s1015613 E-mail: [email protected] Leiden University - Faculty of Humanities - LUCL MA-thesis: Linguistics (Research) Supervisors: Felix Ameka and Maarten Mous 3 Table of contents i. Acknowledgements 6 ii. Abbrevations 7 1. Introduction 8 1.1. The Iraqw language 8 1.2. Deviations from traditional orthography 9 2. The study of space in language 10 2.1. Topological relations 11 2.2. Frames of reference 13 2.3. Motion 15 2.4. Stimuli 16 2.4.1. Topological relations 16 2.4.2. Frames of reference 17 2.4.3. Motion 18 3. A brief overview of some key morphological features of Iraqw 19 3.1. Nouns 19 3.2. Suffixation 20 3.2.1. Directive case 21 3.2.2. Ablative case 22 3.2.3. Construct case 22 3.2.3.1. Locational and temporal nouns 23 3.2.4. Instrumental 25 3.3. Selectors 25 3.3.1. Note on the glossing of selectors 26 3.4. Verbal morphology 27 3.4.1. Tense 28 3.4.2. Verbal suffixes 28 3.4.3. Selectors in verbal clauses 29 4. Topological relations 31 4.1. Non-BLC constructions for rendering topological relations 36 4.1.1. Constructions with positional verbs 36 4 4.1.2. Non-BLC constructions for inanimate Figures 38 4.2. A note on negative location 39 4.3. A note on existential predication 39 4.4. The semantic range of locational nouns 40 4.4.1.
    [Show full text]
  • 1) Dissertation Grant SBR-9634752, $10,100, Sept 1996-Dec 1997, with Alejandra Vidal, for “Pilaga Grammar and Texts”, Resulting in Vidal (2001
    1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 1. Results From Prior NSF Support NSF support within the past five years consists of three grants: (1) Dissertation grant SBR-9634752, $10,100, Sept 1996-Dec 1997, with Alejandra Vidal, for “Pilaga Grammar and Texts”, resulting in Vidal (2001). (2) Conference grant SBR-9616482, $38,500, Feb 1997-Jan 1999, “International Conference on External Possession and Related Noun Incorporation Phenomena, Eugene, Oregon, Sept 7-10, 1997.” This resulted in publication of 20 scholarly papers (Payne & Barshi, eds., 1999), covering external possession in Australia, Asia, the Pacific, North America, Meso-America, South America, Europe, and Africa; (3) SBR- 9809387, $244,000, Sept 1998 - present, “Maa (Maasai) Lexicography and Text Databases”, for which the current supplement is being requested. Research results of the current grant are listed below. 1.1 Summary of results to-date, and description of databases. Five distinct Maa databases are under development by the PI and research team. A Maa lexicography database, developed using Shoebox 5.0, now contains some 4,200 primary entries and hundreds of additional sub-entries. Each entry includes fields for the “head” synchronic root or stem in accurate phonological form; the root (for facilitating cross-language historical work); a phonologically accurate citation word form; a Swahili-based orthography form (which most literate native and non-native speakers of Maa would use, but which lacks tone and certain vowel contrasts); dialect variants specifying dialect; case and number forms for nouns and adjectives; sense definitions; illustrative examples demonstrating senses and morphosyntactic facts; semantic domain(s) of the head root/stem; encyclopedic information; etymological information; morpheme breakdown where the head stem form is not morphologically transparent; argument structure and lexical aspect type for verbs; sources of information (speakers, texts, written documents); and identification of data-entry personnel.
    [Show full text]
  • Factors Influencing Language Shift: a Case of Iraqw
    The University of Dodoma University of Dodoma Institutional Repository http://repository.udom.ac.tz Humanities Master Dissertations 2018 Factors influencing Language shift: a case of Iraqw Bayo, Phaustini Banga The University of Dodoma Bayo, P. B., (2018). Factors influencing Language shift: a case of Iraqw. Dodoma: The University of Dodoma. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12661/705 Downloaded from UDOM Institutional Repository at The University of Dodoma, an open access institutional repository. FACTORS INFLUENCING LANGUAGE SHIFT: A CASE OF IRAQW PHAUSTINI BANGA BAYO MASTER OF ARTS IN LINGUISTICS THE UNIVERSITY OF DODOMA OCTOBER, 2018 FACTORS INFLUENCING LANGUAGE SHIFT: A CASE OF IRAQW BY PHAUSTINI BANGA BAYO A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN LINGUISTICS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DODOMA THE UNIVERSITY OF DODOMA OCTOBER, 2018 DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT I, Phaustini Banga Bayo, declare that this dissertation is my own original work and that it has not been presented and will not be presented to any other University for a similar or any other degree award. Signature……………… No part of this dissertation may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the author or the University of Dodoma. If transformed for publication in any other format shall be acknowledged that, this work has been submitted for degree award at the University of Dodoma”. i CERTIFICATION The undersigned certifies that she has read and hereby recommends for the acceptance by the university of Dodoma a dissertation entitled: “Factors Influencing Language Shift: a Case of Iraqw”; in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Arts in Linguistics of the University of Dodoma.
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Contents
    Table of contents Table of contents....................................................................................................i Acknowledgements..............................................................................................iii Maps of the fieldwork area ..................................................................................ix Introduction: The invention by tradition ..............................................................1 Introducing the Iraqw..........................................................................................29 Article abstracts ..................................................................................................45 Some reflections on the fieldwork experience....................................................49 Article I: Money, milk and sorghum beer: Change and continuity among the Iraqw of Tanzania, Africa, 66(3):367-386 (1996) ..................55 Article II: When hypothesis becomes myth: The Iraqi origin of the Iraqw, Ethnology, 37(1):17-38 (1998)......................................................85 Article III: “We are as sheep and goats”: Iraqw and Datoga discourses on fortune, failure and the future, in David Anderson and Vigdis Broch-Due (eds.): “The poor are not us”: Poverty and pastoralism in Eastern Africa, London: James Currey (Co- author: Astrid Blystad, in press, 1999)...................................................117 Article IV: Cross-cultural healing in East African ethnography, to appear in Medical Anthropology Quarterly, (1999)...............................151
    [Show full text]