Reciprocal Constructions in Oceanic Languages
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The Ingredients of Reciprocity in Cuzco Quechua
Accepted for publication in the Journal of Semantics, pre-final version, February 2007. 1 The ingredients of reciprocity in Cuzco Quechua Martina Faller The University of Manchester Abstract In Cuzco Quechua reciprocity is marked by means of two verbal suffixes, one of which is a marker of reflexivity, the other of which is a marker of pluractionality. The paper develops an analysis that composes reciprocity from these more basic notions. Two further ingredients that are needed will be argued to derive from independent principles: universal quantifi- cation over parts of the reciprocal plural agent derives from plural pred- ication, as has been argued by other researchers for English reciprocity; distinctness of the participants in the reciprocal subevents derives from a semantic version of Condition B. This way of composing reciprocity is not universal, other languages have dedicated reciprocal markers or make other reciprocal ingredients overt. The compositional derivation of reciprocity is therefore a clear candidate for cross-linguistic semantic variation. 1 Introduction This paper develops a compositional analysis of reciprocity in Cuzco Quechua (CQ) with the aim of elucidating the question of how languages may differ in the compositional derivation of this complex semantic notion. In a wider sense, it is a contribution to the growing literature on the possible space of cross-linguistic semantic variation. Consider the following Quechua reciprocal sentence and its English translation. (1) Hayt’a-na-ku-n-ku. kick-pa-refl-3-pl ‘They kick each other.’ Both entail that there are at least two kicking events, that the agent and the theme of each kicking event are distinct but drawn from the same group con- sisting of at least two members (namely the group denoted by they, which serves as the antecedent for the pronominal each other), and that each of the members of this group is an agent of at least one of these events and a theme of at least another one. -
The Syntax of the Malagasy Reciprocal Construction: an Lfg Account
THE SYNTAX OF THE MALAGASY RECIPROCAL CONSTRUCTION: AN LFG ACCOUNT Peter Hurst University of Melbourne Proceedings of the LFG06 Conference Universität Konstanz Miriam Butt and Tracy Holloway King (Editors) 2006 CSLI Publications http://csli-publications.stanford.edu/ ABSTRACT The verbal reciprocal construction in Malagasy is formed by a reciprocal morpheme prefixing on the main verb with a corresponding loss of an overt argument in c-structure. Analyses of similar constructions in Chichewa and Catalan both treat the reciprocalized verb's argument structure as undergoing an alteration whereby one of its thematic roles is either suppressed or two thematic arguments are mapped to one grammatical function. In this paper I propose that the reciprocal morpheme in Malagasy creates a reciprocal pronoun in f-structure - thus maintaining its valency and leaving the argument structure of the verb unchanged, while at the same time losing an argument at the level of c-structure. 1. INTRODUCTION Malagasy is an Austronesian language and is the dominant language of Madagascar. The Malagasy sentences used in the analysis below are from the literature - in particular from a paper by Keenan and Razafimamonjy (2001) titled “Reciprocals in Malagasy” whose examples are based on the official dialect of Malagasy as spoken in and around the capital city Antananarivo. The Malagasy reciprocal construction is formed by the addition of a prefix -if- or -ifamp- to the stem of the verb accompanied by the loss of an overt argument in object position. Compare sentence (1a) below with its reciprocated equivalent (1b): (1) Malagasy a. N-an-daka an-dRabe Rakoto pst-act-kick acc.Rabe Rakoto V O S 'Rakoto kicked Rabe' b. -
Michailovsky Et Al
Vol. 8 (2014), pp. 119-135 http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/ldc http://hdl.handle.net/10125/4621 Documenting and Researching Endangered Lan- guages: The Pangloss Collection Boyd Michailovsky1, Martine Mazaudon1, Alexis Michaud1,2, Séverine Guillaume1, Alexandre François1,3, Evangelia Adamou1 CNRS-LACITO1, MICA Institute (HUST-CNRS/UMI2954-Grenoble INP)2, Australian National University3 The Pangloss Collection is a language archive developed since 1994 at the Langues et Civilisations à Tradition Orale (LACITO) research group of the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). It contributes to the documentation and study of the world’s languages by providing free access to documents of connected, spontaneous speech, mostly in endangered or under-resourced languages, recorded in their cultural context and transcribed in consultation with native speakers. The Collection is an Open Archive containing media files (recordings), text annotations, and metadata; it currently contains over 1,400 recordings in 70 languages, including more than 400 transcribed and annotated documents. The annotations consist of transcription, free translation in English, French and/or other languages, and, in many cases, word or morpheme glosses; they are time-aligned with the recordings, usually at the utterance level. A web interface makes these annotations accessible online in an interlinear display format, in synchrony with the sound, using any standard browser. The structure of the XML documents makes them accessible to searching and indexing, always preserving the links to the recordings. Long- term preservation is guaranteed through a partnership with a digital archive. A guiding principle of the Pangloss Collection is that a close association between documentation and research is highly profitable to both. -
A Backwards Binding Construction in Zapotec
Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session Volume 40 Article 1 1996 A backwards binding construction in Zapotec Cheryl A. Black SIL-UND Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/sil-work-papers Part of the Linguistics Commons Recommended Citation Black, Cheryl A. (1996) "A backwards binding construction in Zapotec," Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session: Vol. 40 , Article 1. DOI: 10.31356/silwp.vol40.01 Available at: https://commons.und.edu/sil-work-papers/vol40/iss1/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session by an authorized editor of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Backwards Binding Construction in Zapotec* Cheryl A. Black Many of the Zapotecan languages have a unique way of signalling coreference between the subject and the possessor of the object: the subject is null. Such a construction is upsidedown or backwards from commonly described anaphora con structions and its analysis is therefore problematic to current theories. This paper describes the construction and underlines the theoretical problem by arguing against any obvious alternative analyses. An analysis is proposed where it is the tail {rather than the head) of the chain of coreferent elements that is identified, suggesting that this is another place where parameterization is needed. 1. Introduction One part of Binding Theory deals with simple refl.exive constructions, such as (1) (where coindexing indicates coreference). -
Further Remarks on Reciprocal Constructions (To Appear In: Nedjalkov, Vladimir P
1 Further remarks on reciprocal constructions (to appear in: Nedjalkov, Vladimir P. (ed.) 2007. Reciprocal constructions. Amsterdam: Benjamins.) MARTIN HASPELMATH In view of the breathtaking scope of the comparative research enterprise led by Vladimir P. Nedjalkov whose results are published in these volumes, I have no choice but to select and highlight a few topics that I find particularly interesting and worthy of further comment and further study. I will focus here on conceptual and terminological issues and on some phenomena that have been discussed in the literature but are not so well represented in this work. I will also try to summarize some of the major known generalizations about reciprocals, as discussed in this work and elsewhere, in the form of twenty-six Greenberg-style numbered universals. 1. Reciprocal, mutual, symmetric Let us begin with a terminological discussion of the most basic term, reciprocal. In the present volumes, this term is used both for meanings (e.g. reciprocal situation, reciprocal event) and for forms (e.g. reciprocal construction, reciprocal marker, reciprocal predicate). In most cases, the context will disambiguate, but it seems to be a good idea to have two different terms for meanings and for forms, analogous to similar contrasts such as proposition/sentence, question/interrogative, participant/argument, time/tense, multiple/plural. Since all reciprocals express a situation with a mutual relation, I propose the term mutual for the semantic plane, reserving the term reciprocal for specialized expression patterns that code a mutual situation. A similar terminological distinction is made by König & Kokutani (2006), Evans (2007), Dimitriadis (2007), but these authors propose the term symmetric for meanings, reserving reciprocal for forms. -
Abstract of Counting Systems of Papua New Guinea and Oceania
Abstract of http://www.uog.ac.pg/glec/thesis/ch1web/ABSTRACT.htm Abstract of Counting Systems of Papua New Guinea and Oceania by Glendon A. Lean In modern technological societies we take the existence of numbers and the act of counting for granted: they occur in most everyday activities. They are regarded as being sufficiently important to warrant their occupying a substantial part of the primary school curriculum. Most of us, however, would find it difficult to answer with any authority several basic questions about number and counting. For example, how and when did numbers arise in human cultures: are they relatively recent inventions or are they an ancient feature of language? Is counting an important part of all cultures or only of some? Do all cultures count in essentially the same ways? In English, for example, we use what is known as a base 10 counting system and this is true of other European languages. Indeed our view of counting and number tends to be very much a Eurocentric one and yet the large majority the languages spoken in the world - about 4500 - are not European in nature but are the languages of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific, Africa, and the Americas. If we take these into account we obtain a quite different picture of counting systems from that of the Eurocentric view. This study, which attempts to answer these questions, is the culmination of more than twenty years on the counting systems of the indigenous and largely unwritten languages of the Pacific region and it involved extensive fieldwork as well as the consultation of published and rare unpublished sources. -
4 Moysefaurie
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. Some only refer to pure existence (‘be’, ‘exist’), others aim at localizing the existence (‘be at’), either in a neutral way or, as shown by Lichtenberk (2002), by specifying the posture (‘be standing, sitting, lying’). Moreover, existential verbs are well known for expressing possession (Lyons 1967). This article aims to discuss the expressions of (non-)existence and localization in some New Caledonian and Polynesian languages, investigating how the languages express these notions and how they are interrelated: in specific compatibilities with tense-aspect and negative markers and in their choice of subjects (impersonal vs. personal, specific vs. nonspecific, animate vs inanimate). I will show that existential predicates and constructions manifest considerable diversity in Oceanic languages: in their lexical inventory, in their contrasts between affirmation and negation, in their semantic differentiations between ‘existence’ and ‘localization’ as well as in their constructional properties. Oceanic languages have more existential verbs than non-existential ones (Pawley 2000). -
On the Reciprocal in Ndebele Langa KHUMALO 1 University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
Nordic Journal of African Studies 23(3): 140–161 (2014) On the Reciprocal in Ndebele Langa KHUMALO 1 University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa ABSTRACT This article presents an analysis of the reciprocal extension in the Ndebele language (S.44, ISO 639-3 nde; not to be confused with South African Ndebele, S.407, ISO 639-3nbl) using the apparatus of the Lexical Functional Grammar’s Lexical Mapping Theory. The reciprocal in Ndebele, like in most Bantu languages, is clearly marked by the verbal suffix an-. Its typical properties are that the subject NP must be plural or alternatively must be a coordinate structure and that it is an argument changing verbal extension. This article will demonstrate that in Ndebele the reciprocal verb can take the direct object. It will further show that the reciprocal in Ndebele can co-occur with the passive and finally the paper will show that the notion of transitivity is not so straightforward both at syntactic and semantic levels when viewed in the context of certain reciprocal constructions. Keywords : reciprocal, argument structure, LMT, dyadic and monadic reciprocal. 1. INTRODUCTION This article discusses the Ndebele reciprocal derivation using the Lexical Mapping Theory (henceforth LMT), which is a sub-theory of Lexical Functional Grammar (henceforth LFG). It is important to note that LFG owes its origins from the dissatisfaction with Chomsky’s early framework of linguistic analysis as espoused in the Principles and Parameter framework and Government and Binding Theory. LFG has been described as the non-transformational successor to the transformational generative forerunners of Government and Binding. -
Even (Malchukov).Pdf
Even Andrei L. Malchukov LANGUAGES OF TilE WORLD/Malerials \2 1995 LINCOM EUROPA Miinchen - Newcastle Published by LlNCOM EUROPA. Munchen. Newcaslle. 1995. All correspondence concerning LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD/Materials should be addressed to: LlNCOM EUROPA. P.O. Box 1316. D-85703 Unterschleissheim/Munchen. Germany. All rights reserved . including the righlS of translation into any foreign language. No part of this book may be reproduced in any way without the permission of the publisher. Printed in Nurnberg. Germany Edited by U.J. Uiders Scientific Advisory Board of L1NGUAGES OF THE WORLD/Materials (LW/M); W. Bisang, M. Brenzi nger , F. Corricmc, R.M.W. Dixon. W.Foley, J. Goddard. N. Himmelmann, A.E. Kibrik. L. Johanson. A.S. Kaye, M. Mithun, U. Mosel, J. Owens. G. Sommer, H.E. Wolff. Die DeUlsche BibliOlhek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Malchukov, Andrej L.: Even I Andrej L. Malchukov. - MOnchen (i.e. ) Unterschleissheim; Newcastle : LlNCOM EUROPA, 1995 . (Languages of the world: Materials; 12) ISBN 3-929075-13-X British Library Cataloguing in PublicaJion Dala A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Printed on ch lorine·free paper CU lltellls O. Foreword. .......................... .... ...................... ................ .. ............. 3 PART I: Essemials of Even grammar ..... ........................... .. ............................. 3 I. Gener.tl data on Even ..... .............. ....................... .................... .............. 3 1. 1. General socio- and geo·linguistic infonnation ........... -
The Geography and History of *R-Loss in Southern Oceanic Languages Alexandre François
Where *R they all? The Geography and History of *R-loss in Southern Oceanic Languages Alexandre François To cite this version: Alexandre François. Where *R they all? The Geography and History of *R-loss in Southern Oceanic Languages. Oceanic Linguistics, University of Hawai’i Press, 2011, 50 (1), pp.140 - 197. 10.1353/ol.2011.0009. hal-01137686 HAL Id: hal-01137686 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01137686 Submitted on 17 Oct 2016 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. Where *R they all? The Geography and History of *R-loss in Southern Oceanic Languages Alexandre François LANGUES ET CIVILISATIONS À TRADITION ORALE (CNRS), PARIS, AND AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Some twenty years ago, Paul Geraghty offered a large-scale survey of the retention and loss of Proto-Oceanic *R across Eastern Oceanic languages, and concluded that *R was “lost in proportion to distance from Western Oceanic.” This paper aims at testing Geraghty’s hypothesis based on a larger body of data now available, with a primary focus on a tightly knit set of languages spoken in Vanuatu. By observing the dialectology of individual lexical items in this region, I show that the boundaries between languages retaining vs. -
UC Berkeley Dissertations, Department of Linguistics
UC Berkeley Dissertations, Department of Linguistics Title Runyambo Verb Extensions and Constructions on Predicate Structure Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1xp5453s Author Rugemalira, Josephat Publication Date 1993 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Runyambo Verb Extensions and Constraints on Predicate Structure by Josephat Muhozi Rugemalira B .A. (University of Dar es Salaam) 1984 M.A. (University of Lancaster) 1986 M.A. (University of California at Berkeley) 1991 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics in the GRADUATE DIVISION of the UNIVERSITY Of CALIFORNIA at BERKELEY Committee in charge: Professor Charles J. Fillmore, Chair Professor Sam A. Mchombo Professor Johanna B. Nichols Professor Larry M. Hyman 1993 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The dissertation of Josephat Muhozi Rugemalira is approved: /iW ^ tqq \ Date __________ a/st; % /f fj v' ;---- Dat'e s---- L ---- _ \ / ) FvV <Lr.X--°1 KiCv . A- , 199 5 J . Date (A t!M fC^I* lyt^SL IjVOUJLo / U o o ■ / f i V S University of California at Berkeley 1993 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT RUNYAMBO VERB EXTENSIONS AND CONSTRAINTS ON PREDICATE STRUCTURE by Josephat Muhozi Rugemalira Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics University of California at Berkeley Professor Charles J. Fillmore, Chair This study presents a description of the productive verb extensions in Runyambo, a Bantu language of Tanzania. It challenges the common view that the extensions are potentially a resource for increasing the number of a verb's arguments indefinitely, and shows instead that the extensions form part of a set of interrelated mechanisms, within the Bantu languages, which ensure that the arguments of a verb remain distinguishable from each other. -
Looking Into Reduplication in Indonesian
Double Double, Morphology and Trouble: Looking into Reduplication in Indonesian Meladel Mistica, Avery Andrews, I Wayan Arka Timothy Baldwin The Australian National University The University of Melbourne {meladel.mistica,avery.andrews, [email protected] wayan.arka}@anu.edu.au Abstract tronic grammar for Indonesian within the framework of Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG). Our project This paper investigates reduplication in In- forms part of a group of researchers, PARGRAM1 donesian. In particular, we focus on verb redu- whose aim is to also produce wide-coverage gram- plication that has the agentive voice affix meN, exhibiting a homorganic nasal. We outline the mars built on a collaboratively agreed upon set of recent changes we have made to the imple- grammatical features (Butt et al., 1999). In order mentation of our Indonesian grammar, and the to ensure comparability we use the same linguistic motivation for such changes. tools for implementation.2 There are two main issues that we deal with One of the issues we address is how to adequately in our implementation: how we account for account for morphophonemic facts, as schematised the morphophonemic facts relating to sound in Examples (1), (2) and (3): changes in the morpheme; and how we con- ∧ struct word formation (i.e. sublexical) rules in (1) [meN+tarik] 2 creating these derived words exhibiting redu- ↔ meN+tarik+hyphen+meN+tarik plication. ↔ menarik-menarik “pulling (iteratively)” 1 Introduction ∧ (2) meN+[tarik] 2 This study looks at full reduplication in Indone- ↔ meN+tarik+hyphen+tarik sian verbs, which is a morphological operation that ↔ menarik-narik (*menarik-tarik) involves the doubling of a lexical stem.