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Accounting for the Features of Shape and Transitivity in a Functional-Typological Approach to the Ring Languages Phd in Linguist

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Accounting for the Features of Shape and Transitivity in a Functional-Typological Approach to the Ring Languages Phd in Linguist Accounting for the features of Shape and Transitivity in a Functional-Typological approach to the Ring Languages PhD in Linguistics 2020 By Ciara Browne Trinity College Dublin Supervisors: Dr. Brian Nolan Prof. John Saeed I declare that this thesis has not been submitted as an exercise for a degree at this or any other university and it is entirely my own work. I agree to deposit this thesis in the University’s open access institutional repository or allow the library to do so on my behalf, subject to Irish Copyright Legislation and Trinity College Library conditions of use and acknowledgement. I consent /do not consent to the examiner retaining a copy of the thesis beyond the examining period, should they so wish (EU GDPR May 2018). Signed: ____________________ Date: _______________________ i Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Brian Nolan for his invaluable insights, direction and time over the course of my PhD. I would also like to thank Prof. John Saeed for his overseeing this, for his insightful input and for his feedback with regard to my trip to Cameroon. I’m extremely grateful to a number of people who contributed to my knowledge of the Ring languages and helped to co-ordinate my travels to Bamenda. In particular Jon and Sandra Blackwell, Cameron Hamm, Dr. Pius Akumbu and Jane Ingle and many other from SIL who welcomed and helped me along the way. I would also like to thank Dr. Roland Kiessling for his personal correspondence and excellent insights on Ring and related languages. Thank you to my wonderful husband, Nathan, for his loving support throughout my studies and to my mother, sister and brother, Mary, Roisín and David for their encouragement and support. I’m sure my father, Seán, would have been so proud of this achievement. Many thanks, too, to my extended family and friends, and all those unnamed who have helped and encouraged along the way. SDG. ii Abstract The Ring languages, an understudied sub-group of the Grassfields Bantu family is examined from a function-typological perspective in relation to features of [Shape] and [Transitivity] as per Rijkhoff (2002, 2003). The word classes of noun, adjective and verb of a selection of these languages are examined as to their sensitivity to these features along with implications of these findings in areas such as the position of modifiers in the NP, how these relate to the notion of iconicity and NP word order, and the impact on voice and valence-changing constructions. Evidence to suggest that the Ring languages do not a have a large distinct adjectival class suggests that its nominals may be characterised by the feature [-Shape]. While Rijkhoff (2002) largely points to sortal numeral classifiers as evidence for [-Shape] nominals, an examination of the semantics of Ring noun classes along with the presence of partially grammaticalised numeral classifier systems in line with findings form Dimmendaal (2011) and Kiessling (2018) suggests that noun class markers that encode shape/configuration may also be a useful tool in diagnosing [- Shape] nominals. An analysis of the feature of [Transitivity] in Ring verbs suggests that, due to the presence of A-labile verbs in a language like Kom, it may in fact be the feature of [Dynamicity] that is the differentiating feature when it comes ot the presence of a distinct verb class in a given language, contra Rijkhoff (2003). An analysis of the feature of [Transitivity] in so-called ‘semi-transitive’ and ‘bi- transitive’ verbs of Babungo is significant however in a reanalysis of such as complex predicates. This finding has implications for an understanding of the causative -sə suffix in Ring, which when examined in light of evidence from Creissels (2016) on the Manding languages and Bostoen et al. (2015) on the presence on an anti-passive marker in Bantu, suggests that an anti-passive fuction may be encoded in the -sə suffix. These findings point to a need to use typologically appropriate frameworks when describing understudied languages such as Ring thus avoiding the pitfalls of purely semantic or syntax-first approaches and point to a need for further shape- based investigations into the Ring languages from both a typological and cognitive perspective. Support was provided for Kiessling (2018) and Dimmendaal’s suggestion that apparent emergence of numeral classifier systems in related languages is compensating for the loss of noun classes. Future research into the understudied field of numeral classifiers in shape-based semantics in Bantoid and Bantu could further strengthen these assertions. The analysis of word classes and iii their impact on the NP in Ring supported Rijkhoff’s (2002) suggestion that a misattribution of elements to particular categories in the simplex NP may skew findings as they relate to the notion of iconicity. While findings on [Transitivity] features suggest the need for a clarification of definitions in Rijkhoff’s (2003) proposal and lay the groundwork for research on grammaticalisation paths of the causative suffix in Ring as it potentially relates to an anti-passive function. iv Table of Contents List of abbreviations.............................................................................................................................................xi List of tables...........................................................................................................................................................xiv List of figures............................................................. ...........................................................................................xvi Chapter 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview of the thesis ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Universals and Typology ........................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Defining Word Classes: The features of [Shape] and [Transitivity] ....................... 3 1.4 The languages under analysis: The Ring Languages .................................................... 6 1.5 Sources of data ........................................................................................................................... 7 1.6 Hypothesis and Research Questions .................................................................................. 8 1.7 Theoretical Framework: Role and Reference Grammar ............................................ 9 1.8 Structure of the Thesis ......................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2. The Bantu Languages .................................................................................................. 11 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 11 2.2 The Bantu Language Family ............................................................................................... 14 2.3 Historical Definition of Bantu............................................................................................ 16 2.4 Classification ............................................................................................................................ 17 2.4.1 External .............................................................................................................................................. 17 2.4.2 Internal ............................................................................................................................................... 18 2.5 Bantu Nominal Morphology ............................................................................................... 18 2.5.1 Noun Class Assignment, Distribution and Pairing. ......................................................... 19 2.6 Syntax ......................................................................................................................................... 21 2.6.1 Word Order ...................................................................................................................................... 21 2.6.2 The Nature of the Verb ................................................................................................................ 21 2.6.3 Tense and Aspect in Bantu ........................................................................................................ 22 2.7 Grassfields Bantu and the Ring Languages ................................................................... 24 2.7.1 Vowels, Consonants, and Tone ................................................................................................ 26 2.7.2 The Noun Class System ............................................................................................................... 26 2.7.3 The Verb in Grassfields Bantu .................................................................................................. 28 2.7.4 Syntax.................................................................................................................................................. 29 2.7.5 The Ring Languages ...................................................................................................................... 29 2.8 Summary ..................................................................................................................................
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