THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO NOUN CATEGORIZATION IN OJIBWE: GENDER AND CLASSIFIERS A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF THE HUMANITIES IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS BY CHERRY LYNN MEYER CHICAGO, ILLINOIS AUGUST 2020 Copyright © 2020 by Cherry Lynn Meyer All Rights Reserved For Ron Clark and Doc CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES . viii LIST OF FIGURES . x LIST OF DIAGRAMS . xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . xii ABSTRACT . xvii GLOSSING CONVENTIONS . xviii 1 NOUN CATEGORIZATION IN OJIBWE: GENDER AND CLASSIFIERS 1.1 Introduction . 1 1.2 Main claims: the link between gender and classifiers . 2 1.3 Ojibwe . 4 1.4 Summary of chapters . 6 2 NOUN CATEGORIZATION 2.1 Introduction to noun categorization . 10 2.2 Gender cross-linguistically . 11 2.3 Gender and noun classes cross-linguistically . 12 2.4 Classifiers cross-linguistically . 14 2.5 Comparison of gender and classifiers . 17 2.6 Correlations with morphological typology . 19 3 NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS 3.1 Introduction to numeral classifiers . 21 3.1.1 Classifier position in internal word structure . 23 iv 3.2 Mensural classifiers . 24 3.3 Sortal classifiers . 29 3.3.1 Lexical origin of sortal classifiers . 33 3.4 Distinction between sortal and mensural classifiers . 34 3.5 Non-classifier morphemes in numerals . 37 3.5.1 Measurements of time and land . 37 3.5.2 Change in numeral classifier status of /aabik/ . 40 4 VERBAL CLASSIFIERS 4.1 Introduction to verbal classifiers . 43 4.2 Verb structure and classificatory verbal affixes . 45 4.3 Differences in inventories of numeral and verbal classifiers . 48 4.4 Verb types occurring with classifiers . 49 4.5 Non-classifier morphemes in verbs: noun incorporation . 53 5 STATUS OF CLASSIFIER MORPHEMES IN NOUNS 5.1 Introduction to classifying morphemes in nouns . 59 5.2 Noun classifiers . 62 5.3 Class terms . 63 5.4 Lexical morphemes . .65 5.5 Comparison of noun classifiers, class terms and lexical morphemes . .65 6 GENDER 6.1 Introduction to gender in Ojibwe . 69 6.1.1 Gender agreement . 70 6.1.2 Gender marking on nouns . 72 v 6.2 Gender assignment . 75 6.2.1 Gender assignment and diachrony . 79 6.2.2 Case study: Dyirbal . 83 6.2.3 The debate of semantic assignment: How it relates to Ojibwe . 90 6.3 ‘Exceptional’ ANIMATES in Ojibwe: The link between gender and classifiers . 96 6.3.1 Multiple motivations . 107 6.3.2 Effect of taxonomy . 107 6.3.3 Diachronic changes . 109 6.3.4 Dialectal variation . 111 6.3.5 Productivity and analogical extension . 113 6.3.6 Grammatical gender in Ojibwe is a (folk) taxonomy . 114 7 RECATEGORIZATION OF GENDER 7.1 Introduction to recategorization of gender . 118 7.2 Nonce recategorization . 120 7.3 Lexical recategorization . 124 7.3.1 Lexical recategorization is gender as derivation . 131 7.3.2 Lexical recategorization results in two separate nouns . 137 7.3.3 Lexical recategorization in Construction Morphology . 141 8 GENDER, THE COUNT/MASS DISTINCTION AND NOMINAL ASPECT 8.1 Introduction to gender, the count/mass distinction and nominal aspect . 145 8.2 The claim that Algonquian languages do not have grammatical gender . 147 8.3 The claim that Algonquian languages have a singulative system . 151 8.4 Nominal aspect in Ojibwe . 160 vi 9 CONCLUSION 9.1 The function and semantics of gender and classifiers in Ojibwe . 164 9.2 Areas for further research . 168 REFERENCES . 170 vii LIST OF TABLES 2.5 Table 1. Comparison of characteristics in gender/noun classes and classifiers . 18 3.2 Table 2. Inventory of mensural classifiers . 26 3.3 Table 3. Inventory of sortal classifiers . 30 3.5.1 Table 4. Non-classifier measurements of time and land . 38 4.1 Table 5. Inventory of verbal classifiers . 44 5.5 Table 6. Comp. of Ojibwe classifying morphs. with CT and LM . 66 6.1.1 Table 7. Proximal demonstrative pronouns Southwestern/Odawa 1/Odawa 2 . 70 6.1.1 Table 8. Distal demonstrative pronouns Southwestern/Odawa 1/Odawa 2 . 71 6.2 Table 9. Composition of gender in French (Indo-European) . 78 6.2 Table 10. Composition of gender in Dizi (Omotic) . 78 6.2 Table 11. Composition of gender in Russian (Indo-European) . 78 6.2 Table 12. Composition of gender in Tamil (Dravidian) . 79 6.2 Table 13. Composition of gender in Arakul (dialect of Lak, NE Caucasian) . 79 6.2 Table 14. Traditional composition of gender in Dyirbal (Pama-Nyungan) . 79 6.2.1 Table 15. Current composition of gender in Dyirbal (Pama-Nyungan) . 81 6.2.2 Table 16. Dixon’s composition of gender in Dyirbal (Pama-Nyungan) . 84 7.3.1 Table 17. Characteristics of inflectional and derivational morphology . 134 8.2 Table 18. Comp. of nom. class. in Blackfoot, English and German . 148 8.3 Table 19. Southwestern Ojibwe mass nouns . 151 8.3 Table 20. Mass and singulative nouns in Breton . 152 8.3 Table 21. Ojibwe nouns potentially showing singulative pattern . 153 8.3 Table 22. Meskwaki nouns showing singulative pattern . 155 viii 8.3 Table 23. Southwestern Ojibwe nouns with ambiguous singular meanings . 158 8.4 Table 24. Three types of nominal aspect with ANIMATE gender . 162 8.4 Table 25. Three types of nominal aspect with INANIMATE gender . 162 9.1 Table 26. Semantic parameters of noun categorization devices . 165 ix LIST OF FIGURES 1.3 Figure 1. Map of Ojibwe dialects . 5 2.6 Figure 2. Cycle of morphological typology . ..