THE SYNTAX and SEMANTICS of the OJIBWE VERBAL DOMAIN KATE RICCOMINI Thesis Submitted to the University of Ottawa in Partial Fulf
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Language in the USA
This page intentionally left blank Language in the USA This textbook provides a comprehensive survey of current language issues in the USA. Through a series of specially commissioned chapters by lead- ing scholars, it explores the nature of language variation in the United States and its social, historical, and political significance. Part 1, “American English,” explores the history and distinctiveness of American English, as well as looking at regional and social varieties, African American Vernacular English, and the Dictionary of American Regional English. Part 2, “Other language varieties,” looks at Creole and Native American languages, Spanish, American Sign Language, Asian American varieties, multilingualism, linguistic diversity, and English acquisition. Part 3, “The sociolinguistic situation,” includes chapters on attitudes to language, ideology and prejudice, language and education, adolescent language, slang, Hip Hop Nation Language, the language of cyberspace, doctor–patient communication, language and identity in liter- ature, and how language relates to gender and sexuality. It also explores recent issues such as the Ebonics controversy, the Bilingual Education debate, and the English-Only movement. Clear, accessible, and broad in its coverage, Language in the USA will be welcomed by students across the disciplines of English, Linguistics, Communication Studies, American Studies and Popular Culture, as well as anyone interested more generally in language and related issues. edward finegan is Professor of Linguistics and Law at the Uni- versity of Southern California. He has published articles in a variety of journals, and his previous books include Attitudes toward English Usage (1980), Sociolinguistic Perspectives on Register (co-edited with Douglas Biber, 1994), and Language: Its Structure and Use, 4th edn. -
Chapter 6 Morphological Split
Chapter 6 Morphological Split Chapter 6 Morphological Split: Accusative Behaviour of Pronouns As mentioned in the previous chapters, Tongan shows a morphological split based on types of nouns. Specifically, full NP’s are divided into ERG and ABS, while pronouns show an accusative pattern: S and A appear as a subject pronoun, while O is realised in a distinct form. We will argue, however, that the accusative pattern does not mean that the pronouns receive NOM in the subject position and ACC in the object position. Rather, it is due to the fact that pronominal subjects are realised as clitics in Tongan. We will argue that the form of a subject clitic reflects the theta-role it bears and not the case. In particular, we will argue that despite the identical phonological form, a subject clitic receives ERG when it refers to A, and ABS when it refers to S. In §6.1, we will look at the data that demonstrate the apparent accusative pattern, which Tongan pronouns show. Our data demonstrate another peculiar property of the Tongan pronouns, namely, the compulsory word order alternation. In §6.2, we will argue that the SVO order results from the fact that the subject pronouns are clitics attached to T. We will also argue that object pronouns are full pronouns. Object clitics are not part of the lexical inventory of Tongan. In §6.3, we will develop the hypothesis that the subject clitics in Tongan are theta-role absorbers in the sense of Aoun (1985) and therefore, are arguments. This hypothesis explains why the pronouns in Tongan show an accusative pattern. -
Person-Based Prominence in Ojibwe
University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations Dissertations and Theses December 2020 Person-based Prominence in Ojibwe Christopher Hammerly University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2 Part of the Cognitive Psychology Commons, Language Description and Documentation Commons, Morphology Commons, Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics Commons, Syntax Commons, and the Typological Linguistics and Linguistic Diversity Commons Recommended Citation Hammerly, Christopher, "Person-based Prominence in Ojibwe" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations. 2024. https://doi.org/10.7275/18867536 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/2024 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PERSON-BASED PROMINENCE IN OJIBWE A Dissertation Presented by CHRISTOPHER MATHIAS HAMMERLY Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY September 2020 Linguistics © Copyright by Christopher M. Hammerly 2020 All Rights Reserved PERSON-BASED PROMINENCE IN OJIBWE A Dissertation Presented by CHRISTOPHER MATHIAS HAMMERLY Approved as to style and content by: Brian Dillon, Chair Rajesh Bhatt, Member Adrian Staub, Member Joe Pater, Department Chair Department of Linguistics For the Anishinaabeg of Nigigoonsiminikaaning and Seine River “How odd I can have all this inside me and to you it’s just words.” — David Foster Wallace, The Pale King ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis is at once a beginning and an end. -
Published in Papers of the Twenty-Third Algonquian Conference, 1992, Edited by William Cowan
Published in Papers of the Twenty-Third Algonquian Conference, 1992, edited by William Cowan. Ottawa: Carleton University, pp. 119-163 A Comparison of the Obviation Systems of Kutenai and Algonquian Matthew S. Dryer SUNY at Buffalo 1. Introduction In recent years, the term ‘obviation’ has been applied to phenomena in a variety of languages on the basis of perceived similarity to the phenomenon in Algonquian languages to which, I assume, the term was originally applied. An example of a descriptive use of the term occurs in Dayley (1989: 136), who applies the terms ‘obviative’ and ‘proximate’ to two categories of demonstratives in Tümpisa Shoshone, the obviative category being used to introduce new information or to reference given participants which are nontopics, the proximate category for topics. But unlike the obviative and proximate categories of Algonquian languages, the Shoshone categories for which Dayley uses the terms are categories only of a class of words he calls ‘demonstratives’, and are not inflectional categories of nouns or verbs. Similarly, Simpson and Bresnan (1983) use the term ‘obviation’ to refer to a system in Warlpiri in which certain nonfinite verbs occur in forms that indicate that their subjects are nonsubjects in the matrix clause. These phenomena in non-Algonquian languages to which the term ‘obviation’ has been applied may bear some remote resemblance to the Algonquian phenomenon, but I suspect that most Algonquianists examining them would conclude that the resemblance is at best a remote one. The purpose of this paper is to describe an obviation system in Kutenai, a language isolate of southeastern British Columbia and adjacent areas of Idaho and Montana, and to compare it to the obviation system of Algonquian languages. -
THIRTEEN MOONS Curriculum
THIRTEEN MOONS Curriculum OJIBWAY CREE MOHAWK PRACTITIONER GUIDE LBS LEVELS 2 AND 3 13 MOONS – Teacher’s Guide 0 13 MOONS – Teacher’s Guide 1 © Ontario Native Literacy Coalition [2010] Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………..4 Aboriginal Calendars………………………………………………………………………………..…5 OJIBWE Unit………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….6 Introduction & Pronunciation Guide…………………………………………………….8 Moons …………………………………………………………………………………………………..9 Numbers …………………………………………………………………………………………….12 Days of the Week …………………………………………………………………………….….14 Seasons ……………………………………………………………………………………………...15 CREE Unit…………………………………………………………………………………………………..16 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………….18 Moons ………………………………………………………………………………………………...19 Numbers ………………………………………………………………………………………….…20 Seasons and Days of the Week ………………………………………………………..…..22 MOHAWK Unit…………………………………………………………………………………………..24 Vowels………………………………………….………………………………………………..……26 Consonants……………………………………………………………………………………..…..27 Months…………………………………………………………………………………………..……29 Numbers………………………………………………………………………………………..……30 Days………………………………………………………………………………………………..…..32 Seasons…………………………………………………………………………………………..…..33 Cycle of Ceremonies……………………………………………………………………………34 Resources……………………………………………………………………………………………….…36 2011-2012 Calendars ……………………………………………………………………..…37 2011 Moon Phases ………………………………………………………………………..…..38 Sample Calendar Page …………………………………………………………………...….40 Task-Based Activities……………………………………………………………………………………44 Writing Activity -
Person-Based Prominence in Ojibwe
PERSON-BASED PROMINENCE IN OJIBWE A Dissertation Presented by CHRISTOPHER MATHIAS HAMMERLY Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY September 2020 Linguistics © Copyright by Christopher M. Hammerly 2020 All Rights Reserved PERSON-BASED PROMINENCE IN OJIBWE A Dissertation Presented by CHRISTOPHER MATHIAS HAMMERLY Approved as to style and content by: Brian Dillon, Chair Rajesh Bhatt, Member Adrian Staub, Member Joe Pater, Department Chair Department of Linguistics For the Anishinaabeg of Nigigoonsiminikaaning and Seine River “How odd I can have all this inside me and to you it’s just words.” — David Foster Wallace, The Pale King ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis is at once a beginning and an end. It is the beginning of what I hope to be a lifetime of work on obviation, agreement, and my ancestral language Ojibwe; and the end of what I have figured out so far. It is the end of five incredible years of graduate studies at UMass; and the beginning of the relationships that I have built over the past half-decade. I am most deeply indebted to the Anishinaabe communities at Nigigoonsiminikaan- ing and Seine River in Ontario, especially those who participated in this study. Gi- miigwechiwi’ininim. Nancy Jones is a keeper of endless knowledge and experience, and I am so lucky that she has been willing to take me in and share it. Not only has she made this dissertation possible, she has made it possible for me to reconnect to my own roots. -
A Set-Based Semantics for Obviation and Animacy
A set-based semantics for obviation and animacy Christopher Hammerly – University of Minnesota Preprint Draft 1.0 – March 22nd, 2021 Abstract This paper provides an analysis of the semantics of obviation and animacy through a case study of Ojibwe (Central Algonquian). I develop a lattice-based characterization of possi- ble person, obviation, and animacy categories, showing that the addition of two binary features, [±Proximate] and [±Animate], captures the six-way distinction of Ojibwe. These features denote first-order predicates formed from subsets of an ontology of person primitives, with composition and interpretation defined by (i) the functional sequence of the nominal spine, (ii) the denotation of feature values, and (iii) the theory of contrastive interpretations. I show that alternative ac- counts based in lattice actions or feature geometries cannot capture the partition of Ojibwe, and offer extensions of the proposed system to noun classification in Zapotec, Romance, and Bantu. Keywords: obviation, animacy, person, noun classification, gender, '-features 1 Introduction Languages show constrained, but rich, variation in how categories related to person are distin- guished and conflated. At the core of all person systems is the possibility to refer to the author of an utterance, the addressee, and various non-participants — all languages, and indeed all humans, appear to have access to these fundamental concepts. The major point of variation is how these concepts are accessed, encoded, and manipulated by the grammar. The view taken in this paper is that the author, addressee, and others are PRIMITIVES of a mental ontology that is manipulated and accessed by morphosyntactic FEATURES. These features, in turn, give rise to CATEGORIES that allow reference to the primitives. -
Universals of Causative and Anticausative Verb Formation and the Spontaneity Scale
2016 LINGUA POSNANIENSIS LVIII (2) DoI 10.1515/linpo-2016-0009 Universals of causative and anticausative verb formation and the spontaneity scale Martin Haspelmath Department of Linguistic and Cultural evolution, Max planck Institute for the Science of human history Institut für anglistik, Leipzig University e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Martin haspelmath. Universals of causative and anticausative verb formation and the spontaneity scale. the poznań Society for the advancement of arts and Sciences, pL ISSn 0079-4740, pp. 33-63 In this paper, I formulate and explain a number of universal generalizations about the formation of causative verbs (overtly marked verbs with causal meaning) and anticausative verbs (overtly marked verbs with non- causal meaning). Given the “spontaneity scale” of basic verb meanings (transitive > unergative > automatic unaccusative > costly unaccusative > agentful), we can say that verb pairs with a noncausal verb higher on the scale tend to be causative pairs, and verb pairs with a noncausal verb lower on the scale tend to be an- ticausative pairs. I propose that these generalizations can be subsumed under form-frequency correspondence: that transitive base verbs tend to form causatives (often analytic causatives) is because they rarely occur in causal contexts, and the fact that unaccusative verbs tend to be coded as anticausatives is because they frequ- ently occur in causal contexts, and special marking is required for the rarer and less expected situation. Keywords: causative verb, linguistic universal, spontaneity scale, transitivity, form-frequency correspondence 1. Introduction In this paper, I propose a unification of a number of cross-linguistic generalizations about the distribution of causative, anticausative and basic verb forms, as well as an explanation of the universals as an instance of the extremely widespread phenomenon of form-frequency correspondence (haspelmath 2018a). -
Elder Perspectives: LEVERAGING DIGITAL TOOLS in LANGUAGE REVIVAL INITIATIVES
Elder Perspectives: LEVERAGING DIGITAL TOOLS IN LANGUAGE REVIVAL INITIATIVES Elder Perspectives: Leveraging Digital Tools in Language Revival Initiatives Melissa Bishop A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education Faculty of Education Ontario Tech University Oshawa, Ontario, Canada December 2019 © Melissa Bishop, 2019 ELDER PERSPECTIVES ii THESIS EXAMINATION INFORMATION Submitted by: Melissa Bishop Master of Arts in Education Thesis title: Elder Perspectives: Leveraging Digital Tools in Language Revival Initiatives An oral defense of this thesis took place on December 2, 2019, in front of the following examining committee: Examining Committee: Chair of Examining Committee Dr. Lorayne Robertson Research Supervisor Dr. Allyson Eamer Examining Committee Member Dr. Ann LeSage Thesis Examiner Dr. Mary Ann Corbiere, Laurentian University The above committee determined that the thesis is acceptable in form and content and that a satisfactory knowledge of the field covered by the thesis was demonstrated by the candidate during an oral examination. A signed copy of the Certificate of Approval is available from the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. ELDER PERSPECTIVES iii Abstract Elders are held in high regard in First Nations, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) communities. They are the intergenerational transmitters of ancestral language and Indigenous knowledge. Without language revival initiatives, ancestral languages in FNMI communities -
Deixis and Reference Tracking in Tsova-Tush a Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Division of the University of Hawaiʻi at M
DEIXIS AND REFERENCE TRACKING IN TSOVA-TUSH A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN LINGUISTICS MAY 2020 by Bryn Hauk Dissertation committee: Andrea Berez-Kroeker, Chairperson Alice C. Harris Bradley McDonnell James N. Collins Ashley Maynard Acknowledgments I should not have been able to finish this dissertation. In the course of my graduate studies, enough obstacles have sprung up in my path that the odds would have predicted something other than a successful completion of my degree. The fact that I made it to this point is a testament to thekind, supportive, wise, and generous people who have picked me up and dusted me off after every pothole. Forgive me: these thank-yous are going to get very sappy. First and foremost, I would like to thank my Tsova-Tush host family—Rezo Orbetishvili, Nisa Baxtarishvili, and of course Tamar and Lasha—for letting me join your family every summer forthe past four years. Your time, your patience, your expertise, your hospitality, your sense of humor, your lovingly prepared meals and generously poured wine—these were the building blocks that supported all of my research whims. My sincerest gratitude also goes to Dantes Echishvili, Revaz Shankishvili, and to all my hosts and friends in Zemo Alvani. It is possible to translate ‘thank you’ as მადელ შუნ, but you have taught me that gratitude is better expressed with actions than with set phrases, sofor now I will just say, ღაზიშ ხილჰათ, ბედნიერ ხილჰათ, მარშმაკიშ ხილჰათ.. -
The Unergative-Unaccusative Split: a Study of the Verb DIE 1
The Unergative-Unaccusative Split: A Study of the Verb DIE 1 Nabhidh Kijparnich 2 ABSTRACT This article aims to diagnose the unergative-unaccusative distinction with reference to the verb die which often displays differing behaviours because it can appear in many different syntactic constructions. Particularly, the study seeks to establish whether die is an unergative or an unaccusative verb, using eight diagnostics for unaccusativity (e.g. the one’s way construction, the pseudo-passive construction, the cognate object construction) Results of the study have shown that the verb die stands astride the border between an unergative verb and an unaccusative verb. There is no single reliable diagnostic test for the unergative/unaccusative contrast, which can dictate whether die is either unergative or unaccusative. It is more likely to depend on which diagnostic test is adopted. บทคัดย่อ บทความวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อหาสาเหตุความบกพร่องในการแบ่งกริยาอกรรมออกเป็น 2 ประเภท (unergative และ unaccusative) โดยอ้างอิงจากค�าอกรรมกริยา “ตาย” ซึ่งมีลักษณะการ ปรากฏในหน่วยสร้างต่างกัน บทความนี้ยังมุ่งพิสูจน์ว่า “ตาย” เป็นกริยาอกรรมแบบมีผู้กระท�าเป็นประธาน (unergative) หรือแบบมีผู้รับการกระท�าหรืออรรถบทเป็นประธาน (unaccusative) โดยอาศัยแบบทดสอบ วินิจฉัย 8 แบบ (อาทิ หน่วยสร้าง one’s way หน่วยสร้างกรรมวาจกเทียม หน่วยสร้างแบบกรรมที่มีรูป แสดงเหมือนกับค�ากริยา เป็นต้น) ผลการศึกษาพบว่า “ตาย” เป็นได้ทั้งกริยาอกรรมแบบมีผู้กระท�าเป็น ประธานและแบบมีผู้รับการกระท�าหรืออรรถบทเป็นประธาน ฉะนั้นจึงยังไม่ปรากฏว่ามีแบบทดสอบวินิจฉัย ที่ใช้แยกกริยาอกรรมออกเป็น 2 ประเภทอย่างชัดเจน -
Unaccusatives, Resultatives, and the Richness of Lexical Representations
Introduction to Syntax, 24.951, MIT, Fall 2003 Unaccusatives, Resultatives, and the Richness of Lexical Representations Idan Landau (1) Definition “A resultative phrase is an XP that denotes the state achieved by the referent of the NP it is predicated of as a result of the action denoted by the verb in the resultative construction”. (2) The Direct Object Restriction (DOR) A resultative phrase may be predicated of the immediately postverbal NP, but may not be predicated of a subject or of an oblique complement. Distribution (3) Selected object of transitive a. It soaks all your fine washables clean. b. He kissed them alive. (4) *Subject of unergative a. * Dora shouted hoarse. b. * The officers laughed helpless. (5) *Oblique object a. * John loaded the hay into the wagon full. b. The silver smith pounded (*on) the metal flat. (6) Nonthematic object of unergatives a. Dora shouted herself hoarse. fake reflexive b. The officers laughed themselves helpless. fake reflexive c. The dog barked him awake. d. Sleep your wrinkles away. inalienable possession (7) Unselected object of a transitive a. She cooked them into premature death. unspecified object b. He drank himself silly. unspecified object 1 Introduction to Syntax, 24.951, MIT, Fall 2003 Note: These “fake objects” can’t appear on their own (*Dora shouted herself, *The dog barked him, *He drank himself). (8) Subject of passive a. The floor has been swept clean. b. She was shaken awake by the earthquake. (9) Subject of unaccusative a. The river froze solid. b. The curtain rolled open on the court. (10) Subject of middle a.