Negation in Mauwake, a Papuan Language
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The Morphology of Modern Western Abenaki
The Morphology of Modern Western Abenaki Jesse Beach ‘04 Honors Thesis Dartmouth College Program of Linguistics & Cognitive Science Primary Advisor: Prof. David Peterson Secondary Advisor: Prof. Lindsay Whaley May 17, 2004 Acknowledgements This project has commanded a considerable amount of my attention and time over the past year. The research has lead me not only into Algonquian linguistics, but has also introduced me to the world of Native American cultures. The history of the Abenaki people fascinated me as much as their language. I must extnd my fullest appreciate to my advisor David Peterson, who time and again proposed valuable reference suggestions and paths of analysis. The encouragement he offered was indispensable during the research and writing stages of this thesis. He also went meticulously through the initial drafts of this document offering poignant comments on content as well as style. My appreciation also goes to my secondary advisor Lindsay Whaley whose door is always open for a quick chat. His suggestions helped me broaden the focus of my research. Although I was ultimately unable to arrange the field research component of this thesis, the generosity of the Dean of Faculty’s Office and the Richter Memorial Trust Grant that I received from them assisted me in gaining a richer understanding of the current status of the Abenaki language. With the help of this grant, I was able to travel to Odanak, Quebec to meet the remaining speakers of Abenaki. From these conversations I was able to locate additional materials that aided me tremendously in my analysis. Many individuals have offered me assistance in one form or another throughout the unfolding of my research. -
Chapter 1 Negation in a Cross-Linguistic Perspective
Chapter 1 Negation in a cross-linguistic perspective 0. Chapter summary This chapter introduces the empirical scope of our study on the expression and interpretation of negation in natural language. We start with some background notions on negation in logic and language, and continue with a discussion of more linguistic issues concerning negation at the syntax-semantics interface. We zoom in on cross- linguistic variation, both in a synchronic perspective (typology) and in a diachronic perspective (language change). Besides expressions of propositional negation, this book analyzes the form and interpretation of indefinites in the scope of negation. This raises the issue of negative polarity and its relation to negative concord. We present the main facts, criteria, and proposals developed in the literature on this topic. The chapter closes with an overview of the book. We use Optimality Theory to account for the syntax and semantics of negation in a cross-linguistic perspective. This theoretical framework is introduced in Chapter 2. 1 Negation in logic and language The main aim of this book is to provide an account of the patterns of negation we find in natural language. The expression and interpretation of negation in natural language has long fascinated philosophers, logicians, and linguists. Horn’s (1989) Natural history of negation opens with the following statement: “All human systems of communication contain a representation of negation. No animal communication system includes negative utterances, and consequently, none possesses a means for assigning truth value, for lying, for irony, or for coping with false or contradictory statements.” A bit further on the first page, Horn states: “Despite the simplicity of the one-place connective of propositional logic ( ¬p is true if and only if p is not true) and of the laws of inference in which it participate (e.g. -
Nature Redacted September 7,2017 Certified By
The Universality of Concord by Isa Kerem Bayirli BA, Middle East Technical University (2010) MA, Bogazigi University (2012) Submitted to the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY September 2017 2017 Isa Kerem Bayirli. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Signature redacted Author......................... ...... ............................. Departmeyf)/Linguistics and Philosophy Sic ;nature redacted September 7,2017 Certified by...... David Pesetsky Ferrari P. Ward Professor of Linguistics g nThesis Supervisor redacted Accepted by.................. Signature ...................................... David Pesetsky Lead, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SEP 2 6 2017 LIBRARIES ARCHiVES The Universality of Concord by Isa Kerem Bayirh Submitted to the Deparment of Linguistics and Philosophy on September 7, 2017 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics Abstract In this dissertation, we develop and defend a universal theory of concord (i.e. feature sharing between a head noun and the modifying adjectives). When adjectives in a language show concord with the noun they modify, concord morphology usually involves the full set of features of that noun (e.g. gender, number and case). However, there are also languages in which concord targets only a subset of morphosyntactic features of the head noun. We first observe that feature combinations that enter into concord in such languages are not random. -
Existential and Locative Predication in Some Eastern Oceanic Languages Claire Moyse-Faurie
Existential and locative predication in some eastern Oceanic languages Claire Moyse-Faurie To cite this version: Claire Moyse-Faurie. Existential and locative predication in some eastern Oceanic languages. Te Reo: Journal of the New Zealand Society, Linguistic Society of New Zealand, 2019, Special Issue in Honour of Frantisek Lichtenberk, 62 (1). hal-02868639 HAL Id: hal-02868639 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02868639 Submitted on 19 Jun 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Te Reo the Journal of the Linguistic Society of New Zealand Volume 62 Issue 1 (Special Issue): Issue in Honour of Frantisek Lichtenberk Research Article 2019 pp. 49–74 September 2019 Existential and locative predication in some eastern Oceanic languages Claire Moyse-Faurie Lacito-CNRS, France This paper is a peer-reviewed contribution from https://nzlingsoc.makeitso.nz/journal/current-issue ©Te Reo – The Journal of the Linguistic Society of New Zealand Guest Editors: Andreea S. Calude & Suzanne Kemmer Claire Moyse-Faurie 49 Existential and locative predication in some eastern Oceanic languages Claire Moyse-Faurie Abstract In many Oceanic languages a category of plain verbs expressing existence, and their negative counterparts, is found. -
Passamaquoddy-Maliseet Parts of Speech
PASSAMAQUODDY-MALISEET PARTS OF SPEECH ROBERT M LEAVTTT University of New Brunswick AND DAVID A. FRANCIS Pleasant Point Bilingual Program Thb paper explores ways of giving native names to the parts of speech in Passamaquoddy-Malbeet by identifying in each term the characteristics of a particular noun or verb type. A term may refer implicitly, for instance, to both the animacy and transitivity of a verb, or to the grammatical function of a noun. There has been much detailed analysb of Passamaquoddy- Malbeet as it b spoken today in Maine and New Brunswick. Lingubts and teachers have been working together to figure out how speakers make words, and what patterns can be found in the shape words take. Teachers especially see that new speak ers can learn to make use of these patterns; fluent speakers can use them to uncover the rich structure of the language. With out thb knowledge, teachers cannot plan a comprehensive native language instructional program. A catalogue of noun and verb paradigms keyed to descriptions of Passamaquoddy-Malbeet sentences is currently being com piled and will serve as a guide to the language. The paradigms are organized in a way that makes the hundreds of forms eas ily accessible. Both sections encourage users to compare similar words and to create categories of words that follow the same patterns. Any such guide must in turn be keyed to a dictionary 320 LEAVTTT AND FRANCIS that clearly displays the "principal parts" of each word (i.e., the different stems used in inflected forms). The guide and the dictio nary can then be used together to figure out how to say anything in Passamaquoddy-Malbeet—or at least make a good guess!— or how to translate anything from Passamaquoddy-Malbeet into English. -
Grammar in the Context of Language Learning
Richard Osborne In the Context of English Language Learning © 2019 Osborne Solutions All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Richard Osborne Director of Osborne Solutions Lieu dit La Malétie 24290 Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère France www.osbornesolutions.co [email protected] Feel like embedding your grammar explanations into communicative online activities? - ‘Ultra-Blended’ with online and offline video chat - Free ‘starter’ lesson templates - Training webinars and support community - Centralise your existing platforms and content Find out more at teacher-powered.com Front cover image copyright © 2019 Yucan Chen / Depositphotos.com Contents Introduction 6 Why use a Grammar book? 7 Tips 8 Chunking 8 Personalising 9 Learning 10 The internet 11 What is grammar? 12 Definition 12 Origins 12 Syntax 14 The English Sentence 14 The importance of Auxiliary Verbs 15 Would that it were… 16 Nouns 17 Plurality 17 Countability 18 Spelling and Pronunciation 19 Articles 20 Quantity 22 This, that, these and those 24 Verbs 25 To be or not to be 25 Irregular verbs 27 Phrasal verbs 28 Special cases 29 Modals 31 Adjectives 35 Comparison 35 Possession 36 Adverbs 37 Degree (very, quite, etc.) 38 Sentence 38 How often… -
The Evolution of Linguistic Diversity
The Evolution of Linguistic Diversity Daniel Nettle Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD University College London 1996 ProQuest Number: 10044366 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10044366 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the causes and consequences of diversity in human language. It is divided into three sections, each of which addresses a different aspect of the topic. The first section uses computer simulations to examine various mechanisms which may produce diversity in language: imperfect learning, geographical isolation, selection on the basis of social affiliation, and functional selection amongst linguistic variants. It is concluded that social and functional selection by speakers provide the main motive forces for the divergence of languages. The second section examines the factors influencing the geographical distribution of languages in the world. By far the most important is the ecological regime in which people live. Seasonal climates produce large ethnolinguistic groups because people form large networks of exchange to mitigate the subsistence risk to which they are exposed. -
Reanalysis of Serial Verb Constructions in Yimas, a Sepik-Ramu Language Ofpapua
REANALYSIS OF SERIAL VERB CONSTRUCTIONS IN YIMAS, A SEPIK-RAMU LANGAUGE OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA by DANIELLE GILBERTE MATHIEU-REEVES A THESIS Presented to the Department ofLinguistics and the Graduate School ofthe University of Oregon in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the degree of Master ofArts June 2009 11 "Reanalysis of Serial Verb Constructions in Yimas, a Sepik-Ramu Language ofPapua New Guinea," a thesis prepared by Danielle Gilberte Mathieu-Reeves in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the Master ofArts degree in the Department of Linguistics. This thesis has been approved and accepted by: Prof. SPI Ildea, Chair ofthe Examining Committee Date Committee in Charge: Prof. Spike Gildea, Chair Prof. Doris Payne Accepted by: Dean ofthe Graduate School III © 2009 Danielle Gilberte Mathieu-Reeves IV An Abstract ofthe Thesis of Danielle Mathieu-Reeves for the degree of Master ofArts in the Department of Linguistics to be taken June 2009 Title: REANALYSIS OF SERIAL VERB CONSTRUCTIONS IN YIMAS, A SEPIK- RAMU LANGUAGE OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA Approved: Yimas, a Nor-Pondo language ofthe Lower Sepik-Ramu in Papua New Guinea, has two causative constructions and one attemptive construction that appear to have developed historically from a particular kind ofserial verb construction. Although Yimas has many complex verbal constructions, including three kinds ofserial verb constructions, all three novel constructions, it is argued, were reanalyzed from juxtaposition serial verb constructions (JSC). The construction specific semantics, as well as the specific verbal semantics oftal 'hold', tmi 'say' and tay 'see' contributed to reanalysis. It is notable that three new constructions have developed from a single source construction. -
A Journey Through Austronesian and Papuan Linguistic and Cultural Space Papers in Honour of Andrew Pawley
A journey through Austronesian and Papuan linguistic and cultural space Papers in honour of Andrew Pawley edited by John Bowden, Nikolaus P. Himmelmann and Malcolm Ross with the editorial assistance of Edgar Suter Pacific Linguistics School of Culture, History and Language College of Asia and the Pacific The Australian National University Published by Pacific Linguistics School of Culture, History and Language College of Asia and the Pacific The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200 Australia Copyright in this edition is vested with Pacific Linguistics First published 2010 National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Title: A journey through Austronesian and Papuan linguistic and cultural space : papers in honour of Andrew Pawley / edited by John Bowden, Nikolaus P. Himmelmann and Malcolm Ross. ISBN: 9780858836204 (pbk.) Notes: Includes bibliographical references. Subjects: Austronesian languages. Papuan languages. Historical linguistics. Other Authors/ Bowden, John. Contributors: Himmelmann, Nikolaus P., 1959- Ross, Malcolm, 1942- The Australian National University. School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Pacific Linguistics. Dewey Number: 499.2 Cover photo by Kevin Murray, Madang, Papua New Guinea, taken at Kalam Guest Hours, Simbai, 8th November, 2005. Fonj headdress from the Simbai area used for special ceremonial occasions, for example, initiation, pig killing and bride price payment ceremonies. Inside cover photos by Kevin Murray of Raphael from Kaiberim and Stanley from Suosu. Typeset by Jeanette Coombes Copyedited by Felicita Carr, Melissa Crowther and Lila San Roque Cover design by Julie Manley Printed and bound by Addcolour Digital Pty Ltd, Fyshwick, Canberra 13 The impact of a dynamic environmental past on trade routes and language distributions in the lower-middle Sepik PAMELA SWADLING Introduction1 Today small ships can travel up the Sepik River as far as Ambunti some 200 km as the crow flies from the sea (Figures 1–2). -
Negation, Referentiality and Boundedness In
WECATfON, REFERENTLALm ANT) BOUNDEDNESS flV BRETON A CASE STUDY Dl MARKEDNESS ANI) ASYMMETRY Nathalie Simone rMarie Schapansky B.A. (French), %=on Fraser University 1990 M.A. (Linguistics), Simon Fraser university 1992 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIEiEMEN'I'S FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of Linguistics @Nathalie Simone Marie Schapansky, 1996 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY November 1996 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. BibiiotMque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Direction des acquisitions et Bibliogra~hicServices Branch des services bibiiographiques Your hie Vorre rbference Our hle Notre r6Orence The author has granted an k'auteur a accorde une licence irrevocable nsn-exclusive f icence irtct5vocable et non exclusive allowing the National Library of perrnettant a la Bibliotheque Canada to reproduce, loan, nationale du Canada de distribute or sell copies of reproduire, prgttor, distribuer ou his/her thesis by any means and vendre des copies de sa these in any form or format, making de quelque rnaniere et sous this thesis available to interested quelque forme que ce soit pour persons. mettre des exemplaires de cette these a la disposition des personnes interessees. The author retains ownership of L'auteur conserve la propriete du the copyright in his/her thesis. droit d'auteur qui protege sa Neither the thesis nor substantial these. Ni la these ni des extraits extracts from it may be printed or substantiels de celle-ci ne otherwise reproduced without doivent &re imprimes ou his/her permission. -
The Yimas Language of New Guinea
The Yimas Language of New Guinea William A. Foley Stanford University Press Stanford, California Stanford University Press Stanford, California Copyright © 1991 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University Printed in the United States of America of CIP data appear at the end the book For the Yimas people as they find their way in the modern world Preface This book is the result of a research project spread over some ten years and funded largely by the Australian Research Grants Scheme (Grant A176/15655), with some supplementary funding in 1985 from the Fac ulties Research Fund of the Australian National University. The goal of the project was a complete study of the Yimas language, its grammar and lexicon, the social and cultural contexts of the use of the language, its history and genetic relations, and its interactions with neighboring languages. Some of the results of this project have been reported in pre vious works, notably Foley (1986, 1988), but this book represents the most complete document on the language to date. Still to come are a Yimas dictionary and a volume of traditional legends, presented in Yi mas with Tok Pisin and English translations. Further, the result of the Yimas language project will play a central role in a long term research project I have just commenced-a reconstruction of the prehistory of the Sepik-Ramu basin, using largely linguistic data. The following grammar is not written in any set theoretical frame work. I wanted the organization of the grammar to reflect the structure of the language as closely as possible. -
Conditions on Agreement in Yimas*
Conditions on Agreement in Yimas* Colin Phillips 1. Introduction This paper is concerned with a “trading relation” between the syntax of phrases and the syntax of heads. A central concern in the study of polysynthetic languages has been to explain the connection between two of the most striking features of these languages: highly articulated systems of argument agreement marking on the one hand, and very free ordering and omission of independent phrases expressing the arguments of a clause on the other. One of the oldest answers to this question has been one of the most lasting: Wilhelm von Humboldt (Humboldt 1836) claimed that in Nahuatl it is the affixes on the verb which fill the argument positions of the verb, and that independent expressions are only loosely linked to these affixes. Jelinek’s analysis of Warlpiri (Jelinek 1984) is a revival of this tradition in a generative framework. Most importantly, Jelinek also poses the question from a new perspective: why is it that independent expressions cannot appear in argument positions in polysynthetic languages? Her suggestion is that both thematic roles and abstract Case are assigned to the verbal affixes themselves, and hence are unavailable to license independent phrases in argument positions. Baker’s study of Mohawk (Baker 1991) pursues Jelinek’s question, but delivers a new twist. He concludes that independent phrases can appear in argument positions in Mohawk, but that only if they are either phonologically null or clausal, that is, if they are not subject to the Case Filter (Rouveret & Vergnaud 1980). The reason for this, Baker argues, is that abstract Case is assigned to agreement affixes, making it unavailable to independent phrases.