Topics in Ho Morphosyntax and Morphophonology
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TOPICS IN HO MORPHOPHONOLOGY AND MORPHOSYNTAX by ANNA PUCILOWSKI A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Linguistics and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2013 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Anna Pucilowski Title: Topics in Ho Morphophonology and Morphosyntax This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Linguistics by: Dr. Doris Payne Chair Dr. Scott Delancey Member Dr. Spike Gildea Member Dr. Zhuo Jing-Schmidt Outside Member Dr. Gregory D. S. Anderson Non-UO Member and Kimberly Andrews Espy Vice President for Research & Innovation/ Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2013 ii c 2013 Anna Pucilowski iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Anna Pucilowski Doctor of Philosophy Department of Linguistics June 2013 Title: Topics in Ho Morphophonology and Morphosyntax Ho, an under-documented North Munda language of India, is known for its complex verb forms. This dissertation focuses on analysis of several features of those complex verbs, using data from original fieldwork undertaken by the author. By way of background, an analysis of the phonetics, phonology and morphophonology of Ho is first presented. Ho has vowel harmony based on height, and like other Munda languages, the phonological word is restricted to two moras. There has been a long-standing debate over whether Ho and the other North Munda languages have word classes, including verbs as distinct from nouns. Looking at the distribution of object, property and action concepts, this study argues that Ho does, in fact, have word classes, including a small class of adjectives. Several new morphological analyses are given; for example, what has previously been called `passive' is here analyzed as `middle'. The uses of the middle -oP in Ho overlap with uses documented for other middle-marking languages, suggesting that this is a better label than `passive'. Ho traditionally marks aspect in the verb rather than tense, especially for transitive verb constructions. Several aspect suffixes follow the verb root. Ho is developing a periphrastic past tense construction with the past tense copula form iv taikena. Also, the combination of perfect(ive) aspect suffixes and the transitivity suffix -ã always gives a past tense interpretation, to the extent that -ã may be re- grammaticalizing to past tense. Three types of complex clauses are discussed in the dissertation: complement clauses; relative clauses and serial verb constructions. Like many South Asian languages, Ho has productive serial verbs and several serialized verbs are grammaticalizing to become more like auxiliary verb constructions. v CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Anna Pucilowski GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics, 2013, University of Oregon Master of Arts in Linguistics, 2006, University of Canterbury Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics with Honours, 2004, University of Canterbury Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and French, 1997, University of Canterbury AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Typology, Morphosyntax, Munda linguistics, Languages of South Asia, Language Documentation PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Instructor, Department of Linguistics, University of Oregon, Summer 2008, Summer 2009, Summer, Fall 2012, Winter, Spring, 2013 Teaching Assistant, Department of Linguistics, University of Oregon, 2007-2012 Research Fellow, Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, Ranchi, India, Fall 2008 GRANTS, AWARDS AND HONORS: Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Department of Linguistics, 2006-2013 NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant BCS-1022940 Center for Asia Pacific Studies travel grant 2009, 2012 PUBLICATIONS: Pucilowski, A. to appear. Review of John Peterson. A Grammar of Kharia. In Linguistic Typology 17(2). vi Pucilowski, A. 2012. `Complementation in Ho (North Munda)' Mon-Khmer Journal 41:20-31. Pucilowski, A. 2011. `Aspects of the Phonetics and Phonology of Ho.' In Sophana Srichampa and Paul Sidwell (eds.) Austroasiatic Studies: papers from ICAAL4. Mon-Khmer Studies Journal Special Issue No. 2. Dallas, SIL International; Salaya, Mahidol University; Canberra, Pacific Linguistics. pp. 154-174. Pucilowski, A and E. Pederson. 2011. Review of Gregory D. S. Anderson. The Munda Languages. In Studies in Language 35(4):956-965. Pucilowski, A. 2010. `Noun incorporation in Sora, a South Munda Language.' University of British Columbia Working Papers in Linguistics: Proceedings of NWLC 2009. pp. 206-217. Pucilowski, A. 2005. Review of Ji Fengyuan. Linguistic Engineering: Language and Politics in Mao's China. In Journal of Sociolinguistics 9(1):153-156. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of many people. Firstly, I would like to thank all the Hos I met in Jharkhand. They welcomed me into their communities and shared their language and culture and for this I am immensely grateful. From the beginning, Jitesh Tiriya sat with me for many hours helping me to understand the intricacies of Ho. I am also indebted to Malti Birua, Moti Purty, Renu Pat Pingua and Nandi Kandeyang for the many hours that they spent teaching me Ho. So many other Jharkhandis contributed to the project in one way or another. I could not have managed any fieldwork without the support of Professor Ganesh Murmu at Ranchi University. He introduced me to Ho speakers and advised me on many practical matters of Jharkhand life. Dr. Bhubneshwar Sawaiyan was the very first Ho I met in Ranchi. From the beginning he became a good friend, introducing me to many people and easing my path in many ways. Both the Purty family of Tuibir and the Munda family of Ranchi invited me into their homes and were unfailingly warm and generous to this strange foreigner. Mr. Moti Hembrom became a good friend who very generously drove me about and shared his culture with me. I am also grateful to the Ursuline sisters of Ranchi who so kindly welcomed me into their community in 2012. Lea Schulte-Droesch was also a great inspiration to me and I am thankful for all our conversations in Ranchi. This dissertation was shaped most of all by invaluable advice from my adviser Doris Payne. I am thankful for all her perceptive comments that developed my ideas and led to new analyses. My dissertation committee also offered insightful viii comments at various points along the way and I am grateful to Scott Delancey, Spike Gildea, Greg Anderson and Zhuo Jung-Schmidt. I am very fortunate to have studied linguistics at the University of Oregon. During my graduate student career I learned so much from all the Linguistics faculty. I am immensely grateful to them and also to Linda Campbell who eased my way on many institutional matters. Dr. Gregory D. S. Anderson was one of my first teachers at the University of Oregon and he introduced me to the fascinating world of Munda languages. He and K. David Harrison at Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages enabled my first trip to Jharkhand with a fellowship to work on the Ho Talking Dictionary as part of the National Geographic Enduring Voices Project. I am indebted to both of them for believing in me and I am further grateful to Greg for sharing his vast knowledge of Munda linguistics as I was writing and presenting various parts of the dissertation. My second and third field trips were made possible with the support of an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant BCS-1022940. I am additionally thankful for the many years of financial support from the Department of Linguistics at the University of Oregon. My friends both inside and outside the program made graduate student life more fun and were constant sources of support. I'm indebted especially to Danielle Barth, Linda Konnerth, Irina Shport, Holly Lakey and Gwen Hyslop, as well as all the very smart members of the weekly fieldling group. I am thankful to my parents, Fran and Mike Pucilowski, and the rest of my New Zealand family who have always cheered me on. Lastly, my deepest gratitude goes to my new American family, Julian, who always encouraged me to celebrate the small successes. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION.............................1 1.1. The Ho Language and Its Speakers...............1 1.2. Previous Research on Ho.....................5 1.3. Methodology and Background..................8 1.4. Overview of the Dissertation................... 10 1.5. Some Essentials of Ho Grammar................. 11 II. PHONETICS, PHONOLOGY AND MORPHOPHONOLOGY..... 14 2.1. Phonetics and Phonology of Ho................. 14 2.1.1. Consonants........................... 14 2.1.1.1. Stops.......................... 15 2.1.1.2. Fricatives....................... 24 2.1.1.3. Nasals......................... 25 2.1.1.4. Liquids........................ 28 2.1.1.5. Glides......................... 28 2.1.2. Vowels.............................. 29 2.1.2.1. Short Vowels..................... 30 2.1.2.2. Long Vowels...................... 32 2.1.2.3. Diphthongs...................... 35 x Chapter Page 2.1.2.4. Vowel Nasalization.................. 36 2.1.3. Syllable Structure........................ 37 2.1.4. Stress and Intonation...................... 39 2.2. Morphophonology......................... 41 2.2.1.