DOCSLIB.ORG

Introduction

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Introduction chapter 1 Introduction 1 The Aim of the Study The aim of this study is to compare and contrast the use of case in five Finnic languages, especially the alternations involving the partitive case, and also the different forms of the accusative case. The languages include Estonian, Finnish, Karelian, Livonian, Veps and to a minor extent Votic, with occasional reference to some others. The aim is to compare the use of case for objects, predicates and subjects, using parallel texts from the New Testament in these languages. I am not aware of any simi- lar study comparing five Finnic languages, particularly as the New Testament translations into Karelian (2003) and Veps (2006) are fairly recent. In addition to comparing recent translations of the New Testament, a diachronic study has also been carried out for each language. Although there are other dia- chronic studies, especially in Estonian and Finnish, the present study provides new quantitative analysis, including some Estonian material which has only recently become generally available on line. In order to supplement the infor- mation gained from Bible texts some additional material from oral collections is used, especially in Veps and Votic, where the biblical material is limited. Some of the data presented here has been published previously in a more condensed form and including only a part of the present corpus, with earlier publications comparing only Estonian and Finnish. References to these publi- cations are given in the various chapters concerned. Case alternations are found in many languages. Iemmolo (2013) discusses the classification of these into asymmetric and symmetric, depending on direct object encoding. In asymmetric alternations a case marker alternates with zero marking, while in the symmetric system, all alternations have a case marker. In Finnic languages the partitive-accusative case alternation is sym- metric (Iemmolo 2013: 381). He does not mention the accusative alternation, which involves the zero-marked (nominative) form. The main area of interest here is the partitive case and its alternations, as well as the various forms of the accusative case. Tamm (2014: 98) points out the difference between the partitive concept (separative relationship), which can be expressed in various ways, and the linguistic partitive (the morpholog- ical case), which has evolved to uses not directly related to separation. She explores the relationship between the concept and the morphological case © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���5 | doi ��.��63/9789004�96367_00� 2 Chapter 1 in Uralic languages.The present study deals with the linguistic partitive. The partitive case is found in all the Finnic languages, but not as a separate mor- phologic case in most other languages. While there is mention of the partitive in Hungarian (Moravcsik 1978: 261), it is really the elative case being used in this sense. The partitive case has a number of different functions, the most common use being for objects. There is commonly mention of ‘partitive sub- jects’ in Finnic languages. These are found in existential clauses and there are differences of opinion as to whether these are really subjects or whether they are objects or something in between. With objects the partitive case alternates with the accusative, and in the case of subjects with the nominative case. These alternations, while similar in all the Finnic languages (Kont 1959a: 132), do show some significant differences from one language to the next. The fac- tors governing the choice of case have also varied diachronically. As Grünthal (2003: 21) points out, the genetic relationship between the Finnic languages is so well accepted that much less attention has been paid to their differences. The aim of the present study is to look at the differences in the case alterna- tions between the various languages and the factors conditioning them, as well as diachronic changes in individual languages. A number of features are involved in determining whether a clause is bounded, in which the object is accusative. These are related to the proper- ties of the verb (aspect) and the object (quantification). There is a gradation from partitive to accusative and a grey area in between. There are some clauses which are partitive in all the languages and some which are accusative in all of them, but many vary from language to language. This variation forms an important part of this study. The different forms of the accusative case have also been studied in the various languages. The choice of form here is determined by syntax. A smaller section is devoted to the comparison of partitive predicates and arguments of existential clauses in the different languages. 2 The Organization of the Present Study This chapter gives a background description of the Finnic languages as well as the related Saami. This is followed by a section explaining the Finnic case system and a special section, describing the historical development of the partitive and accusative cases. Details concerning the corpus and the general methods involved in carrying out this study are given in Chapter 2. Chapters 3 to 7 discuss the case selection for objects, Chapter 3 giving a general back- ground from the literature, and the other chapters dealing with results from .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nouns, Verbs and Sentences 98-348: Lecture 2 Any Questions About the Homework? Everyone Read One Word
    Nouns, Verbs, and Sentences 98-348: Lecture 2 Nouns, verbs and sentences 98-348: Lecture 2 Any questions about the homework? Everyone read one word • Þat var snimma í ǫndverða bygð goðanna, þá er goðin hǫfðu sett Miðgarð ok gǫrt Valhǫ́ll, þá kom þar smiðr nǫkkurr ok bauð at gøra þeim borg á þrim misserum svá góða at trú ok ørugg væri fyrir bergrisum ok hrímþursum, þótt þeir kœmi inn um Miðgarð; en hann mælti sér þat til kaups, at hann skyldi eignask Freyju, ok hafa vildi hann sól ok mána. How do we build sentences with words? • English • The king slays the serpent. • The serpent slays the king. • OI • Konungr vegr orm. king slays serpent (What does this mean?) • Orm vegr konugr. serpent slays king (What does this mean?) How do we build sentences with words? • English • The king slays the serpent. • The serpent slays the king. They have the • OI same meaning! • Konungr vegr orm. But why? king slays serpent ‘The king slays the serpent.’ • Orm vegr konugr. serpent slays king ‘The king slays the serpent.’ Different strategies to mark subjects/objects • English uses word order: (whatever noun) slays (whatever noun) This noun is a subject! This noun is a subject! • OI uses inflection: konung r konung This noun is a subject! This noun is an object! Inflection • Words change their forms to encode information. • This happens in a lot of languages! • English: • the kid one kid • the kids more than one kid • We say that English nouns inflect for number, i.e. English nouns change forms based on what number they have.
    [Show full text]
  • The Finnish Noun Phrase
    Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia Facoltà di Lingue e Letterature Straniere Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Scienze del Linguaggio The Finnish Noun Phrase Relatore: Prof.ssa Giuliana Giusti Correlatore: Prof. Guglielmo Cinque Laureanda: Lena Dal Pozzo Matricola: 803546 ANNO ACCADEMICO: 2006/2007 A mia madre Table of contents Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………….…….…… III Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………........ V Abbreviations ……………………………………………………………………………VII 1. Word order in Finnish …………………………………………………………………1 1.1 The order of constituents in the clause …………………………………………...2 1.2 Word order and interpretation .......……………………………………………… 8 1.3 The order of constituents in the Nominal Expression ………………………… 11 1.3.1. Determiners and Possessors …………………………………………………12 1.3.2. Adjectives and other modifiers …………………………………………..… 17 1.3.2.1 Adjectival hierarchy…………………………………………………………23 1.3.2.2 Predicative structures and complements …………………………………26 1.3.3 Relative clauses …………………………………………………………….... 28 1.4 Conclusions ............……………………………………………………………. 30 2. Thematic relations in nominal expressions ……………………………………….. 32 2.1 Observations on Argument Structure ………………………………….……. 32 2.1.1 Result and Event nouns…………………………………………………… 36 2.2 Transitive nouns ………………………………………………………………... 38 2.2.1 Compound nouns ……………….……………………………………... 40 2.2.2 Intransitive nouns derived from transitive verbs …………………… 41 2.3 Passive nouns …………………………………………………………………… 42 2.4 Psychological predicates ……………………………………………………….. 46 2.4.1 Psych verbs ……………………………………………………………….
    [Show full text]
  • Syntax of Hungarian. Nouns and Noun Phrases, Volume 2
    Comprehensive Grammar Resources Series editors: Henk van Riemsdijk, István Kenesei and Hans Broekhuis Syntax of Hungarian Nouns and Noun Phrases Volume 2 Edited by Gábor Alberti and Tibor Laczkó Syntax of Hungarian Nouns and Noun Phrases Volume II Comprehensive Grammar Resources With the rapid development of linguistic theory, the art of grammar writing has changed. Modern research on grammatical structures has tended to uncover many constructions, many in depth properties, many insights that are generally not found in the type of grammar books that are used in schools and in fields related to linguistics. The new factual and analytical body of knowledge that is being built up for many languages is, unfortunately, often buried in articles and books that concentrate on theoretical issues and are, therefore, not available in a systematized way. The Comprehensive Grammar Resources (CGR) series intends to make up for this lacuna by publishing extensive grammars that are solidly based on recent theoretical and empirical advances. They intend to present the facts as completely as possible and in a way that will “speak” to modern linguists but will also and increasingly become a new type of grammatical resource for the semi- and non- specialist. Such grammar works are, of necessity, quite voluminous. And compiling them is a huge task. Furthermore, no grammar can ever be complete. Instead new subdomains can always come under scientific scrutiny and lead to additional volumes. We therefore intend to build up these grammars incrementally, volume by volume. In view of the encyclopaedic nature of grammars, and in view of the size of the works, adequate search facilities must be provided in the form of good indices and extensive cross-referencing.
    [Show full text]
  • Grammatical Case in Estonian
    Grammatical Case in Estonian Merilin Miljan A thesis submitted in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh September 2008 Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis is of my own composition, and that it contains no material previously submitted for the award of any other degree. The work reported in this thesis has been executed by myself, except where due acknowledgement is made in the text. Merilin Miljan ii Abstract The aim of this thesis is to show that standard approaches to grammatical case fail to provide an explanatory account of such cases in Estonian. In Estonian, grammatical cases form a complex system of semantic contrasts, with the case-marking on nouns alternating with each other in certain constructions, even though the apparent grammatical functions of the noun phrases themselves are not changed. This thesis demonstrates that such alternations, and the differences in interpretation which they induce, are context dependent. This means that the semantic contrasts which the alternating grammatical cases express are available in some linguistic contexts and not in others, being dependent, among other factors, on the semantics of the case- marked noun and the semantics of the verb it occurs with. Hence, traditional approaches which treat grammatical case as markers of syntactic dependencies and account for associated semantic interpretations by matching cases directly to semantics not only fall short in predicting the distribution of cases in Estonian but also result in over-analysis due to the static nature of the theories which the standard approach to case marking comprises.
    [Show full text]
  • Case and Agreement in Mehweb
    Chapter 7 Case and agreement in Mehweb Dmitry Ganenkov University of Bamberg; National Research University Higher School of Eco- nomics The chapter deals with patterns of case marking and agreement in Mehweb. On the basis of morphosyntactic coding and anaphoric binding, a system of five va- lency classes is described. The chapter covers basic monoclausal structures with verbs of the five valency classes as well as their interaction with several specific constructions, such as reciprocal, causative, and biabsolutive. Keywords: case, personal agreement, gender, transitivity, experiential verbs, dative verbs, subject, reported speech, biabsolutive construction. The present chapter deals with the morphosyntax of argument expression in Mehweb. In many respects, Mehweb is a fairly typical representative of the Dargwa branch of Nakh-Daghestanian, and of the Nakh-Daghestanian family in general. In certain respects, however, the language displays rare features only attested in a few other languages of the family. Three linguistic phenomena –ar- gument case marking, gender agreement, and person agreement – are the focus of this chapter. The three coding properties are interrelated in many ways and together constitute major surface evidence about grammatical functions (includ- ing subjecthood), supported by other diagnostics, such as the binding of reflexive and reciprocal pronouns. They also generally determine how the Mehweb verbal lexicon can be broken down into verb (valency) classes. The notion of core ar- gument will be key to capturing the system of valency classes. In this chapter, I define core argument as a clausal constituent expressed by a noun phrase that is able to determine at least one type of verbal agreement, either gender or person, or both.
    [Show full text]
  • The Grown-Up Siblings: History and Functions of Western Uralic *Kse
    Rigina Ajanki University of Helsinki The grown-up siblings: history and functions of Western Uralic *kse In this paper, it is claimed that the case suffix *kse, known as translative, dates back to the Finnic-Mordvin proto language, where it functioned as a functive� It is illustrated using synchronic data from Finnic-Mordvin languages that the functions of *kse do not display an inherent feature of directionality ‘into’, or in other terms, lative� It is even possible that the suffix was neutral with respect to time stability, as it is in contemporary Erzya� Further, it is assumed that since the Northern Finnic languages have acquired a new stative case, the functive labelled essive *nA, formerly applied as an intralocal case, the functions of *kse have changed in these languages: *kse has become mainly the marker of a transformative, with an inherent feature of dynamicity� 1� Introduction 5�1� Translative with 2� Typological background: stative copula in Finnish: *kse as a functive similatives and functives 3� Translatives in the case systems 5�2� Finnish ditransitive of Finnic-Mordvin languages constructions displaying 3�1� The Finnish case translative-essive variation system revisited 5�3� Erzya and Finnish expressions 3�2� Functives as of order in translative non-verbal predicates 6� The developmental path 4� The emergence of *kse of translative *kse as a case suffix 7� The emergence of essive 5� The functions of *kse and its consequences for in contemporary the functions of *kse Finnic-Mordvin languages 1. Introduction The translative
    [Show full text]
  • Himalayan Linguistics Brokpa Nominal Morphology
    Himalayan Linguistics Brokpa nominal morphology Sara Rüfenacht University of Bern ABSTRACT The Brokpa language marks noun phrases for plurality and for case. While the five case markers of the language are relatively conservative in form and function compared to other Tibetic languages, the plural marker has been completely innovated. This paper discusses form and function of these markers and will make some relevant comparative observations. KEYWORDS Brokpa language, Tibetic languages, nominal morphology, agentive, genitive, dative, ablative, comitative This is a contribution from Himalayan Linguistics, Vol. 19(1): 83-106. ISSN 1544-7502 © 2020. All rights reserved. This Portable Document Format (PDF) file may not be altered in any way. Tables of contents, abstracts, and submission guidelines are available at escholarship.org/uc/himalayanlinguistics Himalayan Linguistics, Vol. 19(1). © Himalayan Linguistics 2020 ISSN 1544-7502 Brokpa nominal morphology Sara Rüfenacht University of Bern 1 Introduction The present paper discusses the nominal morphology of the Brokpa language.1 This includes number, discussed in section 2, and the five case markers agentive, genitive, dative, ablative and comitative, discussed in section 3. In addition to a description of these morphemes, some historical and comparative notes compare them to those of related languages. For this comparison, Written Tibetan, Dzongkha and Choca-ngacakha will be used for this comparison within the Tibetic subgroup of Trans-Himalayan. Note that, while Written Tibetan will be used to compare Brokpa to an earlier stage of the language, Written Tibetan is not itself an ancestor of Brokpa. However, Written Tibetan is considered to be very similar to Old Tibetan (cf.
    [Show full text]
  • Noun Cases of Hungarian Language in Romanian
    ACTA UNIVERSITATIS SAPIENTIAE, PHILOLOGICA, 6, 3 (2014) 295–315 Noun Cases of Hungarian Language in Romanian Csaba Attila BOTH Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca Faculty of Technical and Human Sciences, Târgu-Mureş bothcsabaattila@gmail .com Abstract. In the present-day discourse of bilingualism in Transylvania, the investigation of methods and possibilities for language teaching has an important role . In Romania, it is compulsory for the members of linguistic minorities to learn and to use the language of the state, but at the same time they face a number of problems in the process of learning it . To reconsider the methods of language teaching, there is need for studies which outline the particularities of language use of Romanian of Hungarian speakers . This paper is aimed at presenting a part of this image by analysing how the Hungarian language and the cognitive features entailed influence the translation of noun cases into the Romanian language . The paper presents the 18 noun cases and the prepositions they can be translated with into Romanian. Keywords: noun case, case suffix, preposition, translation, language use Introduction In Romanian, it is compulsory for the members of linguistic minorities to learn and to use the language of the state (the Romanian language) . In the process of language learning, the Hungarian learner faces a number of problems, which are caused by several factors, e .g . the very different language system of Hungarian from Romanian, cognitive issues (e .g ., different perceptions and divisions of the space) etc . It is a fact that the teaching of the Romanian language for the minorities does not have a well-structured framework, proper teaching materials and even proper methods .
    [Show full text]
  • Argument Structure and Functional Projections in Old Hungarian Verbal Gerunds1
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Repository of the Academy's Library Argument structure and functional projections in Old Hungarian verbal gerunds1 Éva Dékány Abstract This paper seeks to give a syntactic analysis of Old Hungarian verbal gerunds. I take the "mixed projection" approach to nominalizations (Bresnan 1997, Borsley & Kornfilt 2000, Alexiadou 2001, a.o.), whereby the extended vP is embedded under nominal functional categories. I argue that in the verbal part of the gerund there is solid evidence for AspP/PredP dominating VoiceP, but there is no conclusive evi- dence for a TP being projected. I suggest that the object of the gerundival verb may undergo scrambling to a position above negation, while the subject becomes a derived possessor on the surface. I propose that these gerunds do not contain a nominalizer (see Alexiadou 2005, Alexiadou et al. 2010b; 2011 for this possibility); the extended vP is embedded directly under the nominal functional head Poss. Keywords: gerund, mixed projection, nominalization, possessor, Old Hungarian 1 Introduction Old Hungarian (896–1526 A.D.) features a wide variety of non-finite verb forms: in addition to an infinitive, it also has several types of adjectival and adverbial participles as well as two types of gerunds. This paper focuses on the syntactic structure of one of the Old Hungarian gerunds: that marked by the suffix -t (1).2 (1) harom´Zèr tagac-me´ g´ [èngem-èt eSmèr-t-ed-èt] three.time deny-PRT I-ACC know-t-2SG-ACC `you deny your knowing me three times’ (Munich C.
    [Show full text]
  • Remarks on the Lative
    Remarks on the Lative NN ∗ December 21, 2008 Abstract According to the literature, the lative is a relatively rare case, found in certain Uralic and Caucasian languages. In this paper I shall look in detail at the lative in these languages and its function. I will show that the name ‘lative’ is applied in two senses, one of which is actually close to that of the allative used in grammars of other languages. This merits a reevaluation of the terminology employed in grammatical descriptions of the Uralic and Caucasian languages. §1. Introduction. This paper is devoted to the study of the lative. This is a relatively rare case, and an official definition is hard to find. Even so, I have found the name in many books, especially on Uralic languages. Thus, it may be of value to answer the following questions: • what exactly is the definition of the lative? • how is the lative distinct from similar cases? • which languages do or do not have a lative? It will turn out that the lative is used in two senses; the first of these uses is rela- tively difficult to understand and requires some complex analysis of the structure ∗This material has first been presented in Konstanz in November 2006. Thanks to the audience there in particular Frans Plank for useful comments. I have benefitted from discussions with Sándor Csúcs, András Kornai and Masha Polinski. Thanks also to the audience of the Local Case workshop, in particular Diana Forker for the material on Caucasian languages and to Sander Lestrade for carefully reading an earlier draft.
    [Show full text]
  • Objecthood of the Elative Argument of the Finnish Language*
    JSL,33 Volume 8 (2012), 33–44 Jun’ichi Sakuma Objecthood of the Elative Argument of the Finnish Language* Jun’ichi SAKUMA In the Finnish language the elative case, whose ending is –sta or –stä, is classified as an internal locative case and mainly used to indicate a place from which some entity moves outwards. However, the elative case has many other usages and some of them are in the process of grammaticalization. First of all, an elative stimulus argument of some psych verbs has something in common with a partitive stimulus argument, which serves clearly as the object. Second, some predicates, not so many though, can take as their complement both a partitive argument and an elative argument alternatively. This fact also shows that an elative argument of some predicates has object-like properties to some extent. Third, an elative argument of some predicates referring to a target of the described activity has a part-whole relation with a co-occurring object. All these things suggest that an elative argument can be sometimes regarded as a quasi-object, although the degree of objecthood is very low indeed. This quasi-object refers to a predefined entity that is qualitatively definite. 1. Introduction In the Finnish language the psych verbs expressing a mental state or event can be divided into subgroups according to the morphological cases that are used to mark their arguments1. The psych verbs have two arguments: one is the experiencer and the other is the stimulus. The experiencer argument of some psych verbs is marked in the partitive case and the stimulus argument in the nominative case.
    [Show full text]
  • Finnic Adpositions and Cases in Change Xxx Case System and the Reanalysis of Southern Veps Prolative-Comitative As Well As the Livonian Translative-Comitative
    Preface Human interest in the differences between genetically closely related languages and academic obligation explain why this book was written. Discovering the silent secrets of language took place far from the hectic of urban life. During the years 1999 to 2003, as I was planning, writing and editing my thesis, I felt it a privilege to learn more about the linguistic and cultural heritage of northern Europe. This was the constant joy of my work also after I had completed the most creative research stage. First of all, I would like to cordially thank Professor Johanna Laakso, my encouraging tutor during the writing of the current work and attentive friend since the beginning of my studies. The fi rst ideas grew to elaborated assumptions and linguistic research under constant collaboration with her. This book is a fruit of the joint project in which Johanna and Professor Anneli Sarhimaa participated. She was the other member of the personal research group and consulting team that opened for me new perspectives in language and linguistics, for which I am very grateful. I am greatly obliged to Professors Helle Metslang and Alho Alhoniemi for their valuable guidance and detailed comments on the manuscript of my thesis. Their advice was indispensable for completing the project successfully. The Department of Finno-Ugrian Studies at the University of Helsinki, with its productive yet relaxed atmosphere, was immensely important for me, as I was allowed to proceed at my own pace in writing the thesis. I am grateful to earlier and current directors of the Department, Professors Raija Bartens, Seppo Suhonen, Ulla-Maija Kulonen, and Tapani Salminen, for a motivating environment that both nurtured traditions and fostered innovations.
    [Show full text]