This study analyses the role of conjunctions in clause linkage in Australian languages. Conjunctions are seemingly straightforward clause-linking devices, but they remain under-studied, both for Australian languages and from a broader typological perspective. In this study, we propose a functional definition of conjunctions, as set against other resources for clause linkage. We show that this captures not just the prototypical free-standing elements (the equivalents of if, because, but etc.), but also various types of bound markers with a similar function (bound to clause-scoping positions or predicates). We survey the role of conjunctions in a representative sample of 53 Australian languages, showing that they are not a marginal clause linkage resource in Australia, as seems to be assumed in the relevant literature, but often form a major category within clause linkage systems. We also identify a number of areal patterns, based on the size of conjunction inventories and their morphosyntactic features.
{"title":"Conjunctions and clause linkage in Australian languages","authors":"Ellison Luk, Jean-Christophe Verstraete","doi":"10.1075/sl.20055.luk","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.20055.luk","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This study analyses the role of conjunctions in clause linkage in Australian languages. Conjunctions are seemingly\u0000 straightforward clause-linking devices, but they remain under-studied, both for Australian languages and from a broader\u0000 typological perspective. In this study, we propose a functional definition of conjunctions, as set against other resources for\u0000 clause linkage. We show that this captures not just the prototypical free-standing elements (the equivalents of if, because, but\u0000 etc.), but also various types of bound markers with a similar function (bound to clause-scoping positions or predicates). We\u0000 survey the role of conjunctions in a representative sample of 53 Australian languages, showing that they are not a marginal clause\u0000 linkage resource in Australia, as seems to be assumed in the relevant literature, but often form a major category within clause\u0000 linkage systems. We also identify a number of areal patterns, based on the size of conjunction inventories and their\u0000 morphosyntactic features.","PeriodicalId":46377,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Language","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83027741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
David Felipe Guerrero-Beltran, Katarzyna I. Wojtylak
This paper aims to describe the morphosyntax and semantics of postpositions in Karijona, a Cariban language from Northwest Amazonia. The data, collected in the Karijona settlement of Puerto Nare (Colombia), were analyzed according to Basic Linguistic Theory and Cognitive Semantics. Like other Cariban languages, Karijona has a typologically unusual system of postpositions, which can cross-reference person and number, and form complex stems consisting of locative roots and locative suffixes. In terms of their semantics, the system distinguishes among spatial, relational, and ‘mental state’ postpositions. The first type encodes noun classification, orientation, and distance. While the second type has prototypical relational meanings, the third refers to cognitive and emotional states. This paper presents the first systematic description of the Karijona postpositions.
{"title":"Through space, relations, and thoughts","authors":"David Felipe Guerrero-Beltran, Katarzyna I. Wojtylak","doi":"10.1075/sl.20050.gue","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.20050.gue","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This paper aims to describe the morphosyntax and semantics of postpositions in Karijona, a Cariban language from\u0000 Northwest Amazonia. The data, collected in the Karijona settlement of Puerto Nare (Colombia), were analyzed according to Basic\u0000 Linguistic Theory and Cognitive Semantics. Like other Cariban languages, Karijona has a typologically unusual system of\u0000 postpositions, which can cross-reference person and number, and form complex stems consisting of locative roots and locative\u0000 suffixes. In terms of their semantics, the system distinguishes among spatial, relational, and ‘mental state’ postpositions. The\u0000 first type encodes noun classification, orientation, and distance. While the second type has prototypical relational meanings, the\u0000 third refers to cognitive and emotional states. This paper presents the first systematic description of the Karijona\u0000 postpositions.","PeriodicalId":46377,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Language","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80334221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The present study investigates the grammatical origin of the postverbal negator ḇu in Rif Berber (Afroasiatic, Berber; North, Northeast, and Northwest Morocco) and in Moroccan Arabic of Oujda (Afroasiatic, Semitic; Northeast Morocco), the only languages in which it is commonly attested up till now. Based on new data obtained from recent fieldwork in Morocco, the study will demonstrate that this negator is most probably of Berber origin and has been construed out of an existential by system-internal grammaticalization. The study will also provide evidence for quadruple negation marking in Rif Berber, relating to a reduplication of the ḇu-negator. Moreover, it will show how Berber constantly innovates its cyclical negation system, in which, in this case, different Jespersen Cycles and a Negative Existential Cycle are interlaced. Accordingly, the study will prove that ḇu in Moroccan Arabic is an innovation phenomenon induced by contact with Rif Berber and instantiated through the processes of pattern replication and matter borrowing.
{"title":"Innovating postverbal negation in North Africa","authors":"M. Lafkioui","doi":"10.1075/sl.19087.laf","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.19087.laf","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The present study investigates the grammatical origin of the postverbal negator ḇu in Rif Berber (Afroasiatic, Berber; North, Northeast, and Northwest Morocco) and in Moroccan Arabic of Oujda (Afroasiatic, Semitic; Northeast Morocco), the only languages in which it is commonly attested up till now. Based on new data obtained from recent fieldwork in Morocco, the study will demonstrate that this negator is most probably of Berber origin and has been construed out of an existential by system-internal grammaticalization. The study will also provide evidence for quadruple negation marking in Rif Berber, relating to a reduplication of the ḇu-negator. Moreover, it will show how Berber constantly innovates its cyclical negation system, in which, in this case, different Jespersen Cycles and a Negative Existential Cycle are interlaced. Accordingly, the study will prove that ḇu in Moroccan Arabic is an innovation phenomenon induced by contact with Rif Berber and instantiated through the processes of pattern replication and matter borrowing.","PeriodicalId":46377,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Language","volume":"81 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75438520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sonja Riesberg, Maria Bardají i Farré, Kurt Malcher, N. Himmelmann
Western Austronesian symmetrical voice languages exhibit at least two basic transitive constructions. This paper investigates what factors influence speakers’ choice of one voice over another in natural spoken discourse. It provides a thorough assessment of all factors that have been proposed to be relevant for voice choice in the literature on symmetrical voice systems. Using the Indonesian language Totoli as a case study, we show that unlike in languages with asymmetrical voice alternations, argument-related properties such as topicality, activation state, animacy, etc. do not play a major role in voice choice in symmetrical voice languages. We argue that for symmetrical voice alternations other factor groups are relevant than for asymmetrical voice alternations and that the clear structural differences between the two alternation types are mirrored in functional differences.
{"title":"Predicting voice choice in symmetrical voice languages","authors":"Sonja Riesberg, Maria Bardají i Farré, Kurt Malcher, N. Himmelmann","doi":"10.1075/sl.20061.rie","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.20061.rie","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Western Austronesian symmetrical voice languages exhibit at least two basic transitive constructions. This paper investigates what factors influence speakers’ choice of one voice over another in natural spoken discourse. It provides a thorough assessment of all factors that have been proposed to be relevant for voice choice in the literature on symmetrical voice systems. Using the Indonesian language Totoli as a case study, we show that unlike in languages with asymmetrical voice alternations, argument-related properties such as topicality, activation state, animacy, etc. do not play a major role in voice choice in symmetrical voice languages. We argue that for symmetrical voice alternations other factor groups are relevant than for asymmetrical voice alternations and that the clear structural differences between the two alternation types are mirrored in functional differences.","PeriodicalId":46377,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Language","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84585845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article proposes a detailed comparative treatment of negation in the Jodï-Sáliban language family (Venezuela-Colombia, Northwest Amazonia, South America), which consists of four languages: Jodï [yau], Sáliba [slc], Piaroa [pid] and Mako [wpc]. This comparative analysis of negation strategies across the four languages in the family not only offers an overview of negation strategies in this language family but also allows for conclusions to be drawn on the cognacy of the different constructions and markers as well as on the sources of the main negation strategies. Specifically, I show that, even though certain markers are not cognate, negation in these languages has – as far back as the documentation goes – always been postverbal and suggest that postverbal negation can be diachronically stable. This research thus offers an in-depth analysis of negation in Jodï-Sáliban, a language family that remains underdescribed, and, crucially, contributes to our understanding of postverbal negation and its sources.
{"title":"Synchrony and diachrony of postverbal negation in Jodï-Sáliban","authors":"Jorge Emilio Rosés Labrada","doi":"10.1075/sl.19062.ros","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.19062.ros","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article proposes a detailed comparative treatment of negation in the Jodï-Sáliban language family (Venezuela-Colombia, Northwest Amazonia, South America), which consists of four languages: Jodï [yau], Sáliba [slc], Piaroa [pid] and Mako [wpc]. This comparative analysis of negation strategies across the four languages in the family not only offers an overview of negation strategies in this language family but also allows for conclusions to be drawn on the cognacy of the different constructions and markers as well as on the sources of the main negation strategies. Specifically, I show that, even though certain markers are not cognate, negation in these languages has – as far back as the documentation goes – always been postverbal and suggest that postverbal negation can be diachronically stable. This research thus offers an in-depth analysis of negation in Jodï-Sáliban, a language family that remains underdescribed, and, crucially, contributes to our understanding of postverbal negation and its sources.","PeriodicalId":46377,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Language","volume":"75 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77369473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
While the Swedish negator inte may be doubled in a final clause-external position, in both standard Swedish and dialects, many dialects also allow a final, clause-internal particle (e, i or ai) in negated clauses. FNPs occur in a coherent area around the Baltic Sea, and in contrast with doubling negation, they are possible both after both inte and aldrig ‘never’. FNPs are also used in questions and exclamations, contexts that disallow doubling negation. These particles may have developed from the former Swedish negator ej or from the common inte. An argument for the former alternative is that other dialectal phenomena that spread from central Sweden during the late Middle Ages have approximately the same geographic distribution. In the final section of the paper, some typological consequences and implications are discussed. Furthermore, it is argued that syntactic studies of non-standard varieties may reveal new insights of typological relevance.
{"title":"Clause-final negative particles in varieties of Swedish","authors":"Henrik Rosenkvist","doi":"10.1075/sl.19037.ros","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.19037.ros","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 While the Swedish negator inte may be doubled in a final clause-external position, in both\u0000 standard Swedish and dialects, many dialects also allow a final, clause-internal particle (e, i or\u0000 ai) in negated clauses. FNPs occur in a coherent area around the Baltic Sea, and in contrast with doubling\u0000 negation, they are possible both after both inte and aldrig ‘never’. FNPs are also used in\u0000 questions and exclamations, contexts that disallow doubling negation. These particles may have developed from the former Swedish\u0000 negator ej or from the common inte. An argument for the former alternative is that other\u0000 dialectal phenomena that spread from central Sweden during the late Middle Ages have approximately the same geographic\u0000 distribution. In the final section of the paper, some typological consequences and implications are discussed. Furthermore, it is\u0000 argued that syntactic studies of non-standard varieties may reveal new insights of typological relevance.","PeriodicalId":46377,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Language","volume":"46 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91385329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Post-verbal markers of negation were once thought to be rare cross-linguistically, but as more has been learned about more languages, it has become clear that such markers occur in a number of parts of the world. Moreover, they often appear in areal clusters, suggesting that language contact may play a role in their development. Such a cluster can be seen in a well-known linguistic area of North America, Indigenous Northern California. Languages in the area show parallel negative constructions, but without shared substance. Here it is shown how such parallelisms may have come about.
{"title":"Stories behind post-verbal negation clustering","authors":"M. Mithun","doi":"10.1075/sl.19040.mit","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.19040.mit","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Post-verbal markers of negation were once thought to be rare cross-linguistically, but as more has been learned\u0000 about more languages, it has become clear that such markers occur in a number of parts of the world. Moreover, they often appear\u0000 in areal clusters, suggesting that language contact may play a role in their development. Such a cluster can be seen in a\u0000 well-known linguistic area of North America, Indigenous Northern California. Languages in the area show parallel negative\u0000 constructions, but without shared substance. Here it is shown how such parallelisms may have come about.","PeriodicalId":46377,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Language","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88607213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Seto is an exceptional language in the Uralic family due to its systematic use of postverbal negation, although preverbal and double negation marking are also used. Postverbal negation is still the most frequent and unmarked pattern occurring in about 74% of negative clauses in Seto. This paper analyzes variation between pre- and postverbal negation in East Seto (spoken in present-day Russia), based on data gathered during fieldwork trips in 2010–2013. By applying quantitative methods that are used in variationist studies (regression modelling, conditional inference trees, and random forests), we determine the variables affecting the choice between pre- and postverbal negation. Marked preverbal negation occurs more likely with first and third person, cognition verbs, and present tense, all of which are often used in fixed expressions like I don’t know. We also found a strong structural persistence effect in the data and remarkable differences between individual speakers.
{"title":"Variation in negation in Seto","authors":"L. Lindström, Maarja-Liisa Pilvik, Helen Plado","doi":"10.1075/sl.19063.lin","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.19063.lin","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Seto is an exceptional language in the Uralic family due to its systematic use of postverbal negation, although preverbal and double negation marking are also used. Postverbal negation is still the most frequent and unmarked pattern occurring in about 74% of negative clauses in Seto. This paper analyzes variation between pre- and postverbal negation in East Seto (spoken in present-day Russia), based on data gathered during fieldwork trips in 2010–2013. By applying quantitative methods that are used in variationist studies (regression modelling, conditional inference trees, and random forests), we determine the variables affecting the choice between pre- and postverbal negation. Marked preverbal negation occurs more likely with first and third person, cognition verbs, and present tense, all of which are often used in fixed expressions like I don’t know. We also found a strong structural persistence effect in the data and remarkable differences between individual speakers.","PeriodicalId":46377,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Language","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84700031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The present article examines the claim in the literature that the negative first principle, i.e. the preference for the order negation-verb to verb-negation, is stronger in negative imperatives (or prohibitives) than in negative declaratives. To test this hypothesis, we develop – in contrast to earlier research – a systematic, three-way classification of languages, which is also operationalized as a ranking capturing the overall level of strength of the principle. This classification is applied to a genealogically and geographically balanced sample of 179 languages. In addition, we consider the role of several factors known to correlate with the position of negation – like its form, constituent order and areality. However, no cross-linguistic evidence is found for any difference in negation’s position between negative imperatives and negative declaratives. We therefore conclude that the hypothesis should be rejected.
{"title":"On order and prohibition","authors":"Daniël Van Olmen","doi":"10.1075/sl.19036.van","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.19036.van","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The present article examines the claim in the literature that the negative first principle, i.e. the preference\u0000 for the order negation-verb to verb-negation, is stronger in negative imperatives (or prohibitives) than in negative declaratives.\u0000 To test this hypothesis, we develop – in contrast to earlier research – a systematic, three-way classification of languages, which\u0000 is also operationalized as a ranking capturing the overall level of strength of the principle. This classification is applied to a\u0000 genealogically and geographically balanced sample of 179 languages. In addition, we consider the role of several factors known to\u0000 correlate with the position of negation – like its form, constituent order and areality. However, no cross-linguistic evidence is\u0000 found for any difference in negation’s position between negative imperatives and negative declaratives. We therefore conclude that\u0000 the hypothesis should be rejected.","PeriodicalId":46377,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Language","volume":"64 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83105828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
As one of the most robust typological findings, the suffixing preference captures the empirical observation that grammatical categories are more likely to be coded by suffixes than by prefixes. The goal of this contribution is to explore the effects that this asymmetry may have on the inflectional paradigms of the languages of the world. Three empirical issues are addressed: do languages with either possessive prefixes or suffixes and languages with both possessive prefixes and suffixes differ in their suffix-to-prefix ratio? Do prefixes and suffixes differ in the number of cases that they code? Do prefixes and suffixes differ in their probability of explicit singular in addition to plural marking? The answer to all three questions is in the affirmative. These effects are understood in terms of a response to an inherent disadvantage of prefixes. Morphological systems reduce the processing difficulty incurred by prefixes by assigning them fewer tasks (i.e. number of cases), by limiting their occurrence in highly competitive contexts (i.e. inconsistent possessive-affix coding) and by creating prefix paradigms, which are conceived of as protective structures in which the individual members strengthen one another. The general claim these three effects lead up to is that morphological systems develop “repair strategies” which reduce the processing cost involved in using inherently disadvantaged units. These repair strategies shape morphological structure.
{"title":"Paradigmatic consequences of the suffixing preference","authors":"T. Berg","doi":"10.1075/SL.20019.BER","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/SL.20019.BER","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000As one of the most robust typological findings, the suffixing preference captures the empirical observation that grammatical categories are more likely to be coded by suffixes than by prefixes. The goal of this contribution is to explore the effects that this asymmetry may have on the inflectional paradigms of the languages of the world. Three empirical issues are addressed: do languages with either possessive prefixes or suffixes and languages with both possessive prefixes and suffixes differ in their suffix-to-prefix ratio? Do prefixes and suffixes differ in the number of cases that they code? Do prefixes and suffixes differ in their probability of explicit singular in addition to plural marking? The answer to all three questions is in the affirmative. These effects are understood in terms of a response to an inherent disadvantage of prefixes. Morphological systems reduce the processing difficulty incurred by prefixes by assigning them fewer tasks (i.e. number of cases), by limiting their occurrence in highly competitive contexts (i.e. inconsistent possessive-affix coding) and by creating prefix paradigms, which are conceived of as protective structures in which the individual members strengthen one another. The general claim these three effects lead up to is that morphological systems develop “repair strategies” which reduce the processing cost involved in using inherently disadvantaged units. These repair strategies shape morphological structure.","PeriodicalId":46377,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Language","volume":"104 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87731017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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