Abstract Complementation strategies in both ancient and modern Semitic languages include the use of a series of cognate complementizers typically sharing a k-element: e.g., Tigrinya käm, Modern Hebrew ki, Akkadian kī(ma) or Ge’ez kama. The sources and the developments that led to the complementizer use of these multifunctional k-subordinators are not sufficiently clear, and diverse interpretations have been proposed. The present article analyses the oldest written record of k-complement markers in Semitic, focusing on Old Akkadian, Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian. The analysis of the type and distribution of complement constructions suggest a different explanation for their development based on the grammaticalization of similative manner expressions, a process attested in Afro-Asiatic and other languages. The article also highlights the presence and potential role of nominal complementation among the earliest recorded forms of complementation in Akkadian. The data presented here provide insights into the origin of k-complementizers in Semitic languages with less ancient written evidence, from Ancient Hebrew to Ethiosemitic.
摘要 古代和现代闪米特语言中的补语策略包括使用一系列同源补语,这些补语通常共享一个 k 元素:如提格雷亚语 käm、现代希伯来语 ki、阿卡德语 kī(ma) 或 Ge'ez 语 kama。导致使用这些多功能 k 副词的补语的来源和发展还不够清楚,人们提出了各种不同的解释。本文以古阿卡德语、古巴比伦语和古亚述语为重点,分析了闪米特语中最古老的 k 补码标记的书面记录。对补语结构的类型和分布的分析表明,对补语结构的发展有不同的解释,其基础是相似方式表达的语法化,这一过程已在非洲-亚洲语言和其他语言中得到证实。文章还强调了在阿卡德语最早记录的补语形式中,名词补语的存在和潜在作用。本文提供的数据有助于我们深入了解从古希伯来语到伊塞米语等书面证据较少的闪米特语言中 k 补语的起源。
{"title":"The grammaticalization of manner expressions into complementizers: insights from Semitic languages","authors":"Rodrigo Hernáiz","doi":"10.1515/ling-2021-0197","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2021-0197","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Complementation strategies in both ancient and modern Semitic languages include the use of a series of cognate complementizers typically sharing a k-element: e.g., Tigrinya käm, Modern Hebrew ki, Akkadian kī(ma) or Ge’ez kama. The sources and the developments that led to the complementizer use of these multifunctional k-subordinators are not sufficiently clear, and diverse interpretations have been proposed. The present article analyses the oldest written record of k-complement markers in Semitic, focusing on Old Akkadian, Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian. The analysis of the type and distribution of complement constructions suggest a different explanation for their development based on the grammaticalization of similative manner expressions, a process attested in Afro-Asiatic and other languages. The article also highlights the presence and potential role of nominal complementation among the earliest recorded forms of complementation in Akkadian. The data presented here provide insights into the origin of k-complementizers in Semitic languages with less ancient written evidence, from Ancient Hebrew to Ethiosemitic.","PeriodicalId":47548,"journal":{"name":"Linguistics","volume":"1 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139437920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This article presents a corpus-based overview of strategies of direct quotation that employ two similative demonstratives, tak ‘so’ and taki ‘such/like this’, in colloquial spoken Polish. It will be shown that the ways in which Polish tak and taki encode, respectively, manner and quality in exophoric, endophoric, and cataphoric uses are also reflected in their quotative uses. Further, special emphasis is placed on two verbless quotative strategies: (Conj) NP tak and (Conj) NP taki, to offer two grammaticalization-related accounts: one for tak and another for taki. As will be argued, (Conj) NP tak is a reduced clause (originally NP VERB tak), while (Conj) NP taki is a stacking of two independent quotative strategies: (Conj) NP on the one hand, and taki on the other. The study thus contributes to our understanding of how manner/quality expressions are recruited in clause-combining tasks involving the integration of direct quotes into speakers’ utterances.
摘要 本文基于语料库概述了波兰口语中使用两个类比性状语 tak "如此 "和 taki "这样/像这样 "的直接引语策略。文章将指出,波兰语 tak 和 taki 在外显、内隐和拟人用法中分别表示方式和质量的方式也反映在它们的引语用法中。此外,我们还特别强调了两种无动词的引语策略:(Conj)NP tak 和(Conj)NP taki,以提供两种语法化相关的解释:一种是 tak,另一种是 taki。正如本文将论证的那样,(Conj) NP tak 是一个简化分句(最初是 NP VERB tak),而 (Conj) NP taki 则是两个独立引语策略的叠加:一方面是 (Conj) NP,另一方面是 taki。因此,本研究有助于我们理解,在涉及将直接引语整合到说话人语篇中的分句组合任务中,是如何使用方式/质量表达的。
{"title":"Quotative uses of Polish similative demonstratives","authors":"Wojciech Guz","doi":"10.1515/ling-2021-0201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2021-0201","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article presents a corpus-based overview of strategies of direct quotation that employ two similative demonstratives, tak ‘so’ and taki ‘such/like this’, in colloquial spoken Polish. It will be shown that the ways in which Polish tak and taki encode, respectively, manner and quality in exophoric, endophoric, and cataphoric uses are also reflected in their quotative uses. Further, special emphasis is placed on two verbless quotative strategies: (Conj) NP tak and (Conj) NP taki, to offer two grammaticalization-related accounts: one for tak and another for taki. As will be argued, (Conj) NP tak is a reduced clause (originally NP VERB tak), while (Conj) NP taki is a stacking of two independent quotative strategies: (Conj) NP on the one hand, and taki on the other. The study thus contributes to our understanding of how manner/quality expressions are recruited in clause-combining tasks involving the integration of direct quotes into speakers’ utterances.","PeriodicalId":47548,"journal":{"name":"Linguistics","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139439556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The Turkish nominalizer -(y)Iş demonstrates a broad spectrum of functions ranging from a deverbal word-formation device that forms lexicalized nouns with concrete and abstract meanings to an inflectional marker used in nominal clauses, especially in clausal complementation. In some uses, the item conveys manner semantics. While the item itself has been variously investigated and forms an established part of any Turkish grammar description, there is still a lack of consensus on its functional and semantic properties. This article investigates the morphosyntactic functions and the semantic features of the nominalizer -(y)Iş in light of the claims in the linguistic literature on the one hand, which include manner, countable events, factive imperfective, single instance of an event, direct reference to the inner process of an action, etc., and of examples from primary sources on the other, and evaluates the findings from the perspective of grammaticalization. It will be argued that the range of functions of this item and the fact that it seems to resist any straightforward analysis result from its transition from a derivational marker to an inflectional marker with tasks including complementizer functions, a process in which manner semantics will be argued to play a role.
{"title":"From derivation to inflection: the case of the Turkish nominalizer (y)Iş","authors":"Julian Rentzsch","doi":"10.1515/ling-2021-0196","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2021-0196","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The Turkish nominalizer -(y)Iş demonstrates a broad spectrum of functions ranging from a deverbal word-formation device that forms lexicalized nouns with concrete and abstract meanings to an inflectional marker used in nominal clauses, especially in clausal complementation. In some uses, the item conveys manner semantics. While the item itself has been variously investigated and forms an established part of any Turkish grammar description, there is still a lack of consensus on its functional and semantic properties. This article investigates the morphosyntactic functions and the semantic features of the nominalizer -(y)Iş in light of the claims in the linguistic literature on the one hand, which include manner, countable events, factive imperfective, single instance of an event, direct reference to the inner process of an action, etc., and of examples from primary sources on the other, and evaluates the findings from the perspective of grammaticalization. It will be argued that the range of functions of this item and the fact that it seems to resist any straightforward analysis result from its transition from a derivational marker to an inflectional marker with tasks including complementizer functions, a process in which manner semantics will be argued to play a role.","PeriodicalId":47548,"journal":{"name":"Linguistics","volume":"7 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139381105","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.
{"title":"Discourse markers as the locus of signaling the main-event line in Alsea narratives","authors":"Shahar Shirtz","doi":"10.1515/ling-2021-0038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2021-0038","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.","PeriodicalId":47548,"journal":{"name":"Linguistics","volume":"52 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139112803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.
{"title":"Discourse markers as the locus of signaling the main-event line in Alsea narratives","authors":"Shahar Shirtz","doi":"10.1515/ling-2021-0038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2021-0038","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.","PeriodicalId":47548,"journal":{"name":"Linguistics","volume":"52 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139116628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.
{"title":"Discourse markers as the locus of signaling the main-event line in Alsea narratives","authors":"Shahar Shirtz","doi":"10.1515/ling-2021-0038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2021-0038","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.","PeriodicalId":47548,"journal":{"name":"Linguistics","volume":"52 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139117643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.
{"title":"Discourse markers as the locus of signaling the main-event line in Alsea narratives","authors":"Shahar Shirtz","doi":"10.1515/ling-2021-0038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2021-0038","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.","PeriodicalId":47548,"journal":{"name":"Linguistics","volume":"52 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139117917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.
{"title":"Discourse markers as the locus of signaling the main-event line in Alsea narratives","authors":"Shahar Shirtz","doi":"10.1515/ling-2021-0038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2021-0038","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.","PeriodicalId":47548,"journal":{"name":"Linguistics","volume":"52 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139118629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.
{"title":"Discourse markers as the locus of signaling the main-event line in Alsea narratives","authors":"Shahar Shirtz","doi":"10.1515/ling-2021-0038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2021-0038","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.","PeriodicalId":47548,"journal":{"name":"Linguistics","volume":"52 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139118974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.
{"title":"Discourse markers as the locus of signaling the main-event line in Alsea narratives","authors":"Shahar Shirtz","doi":"10.1515/ling-2021-0038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2021-0038","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article argues that in Alsea ([aes]; Penutian/isolate; dormant; Oregon Coast) the main event line (mel) of narratives is reliably signaled by a particular combination of clause-initial particles, functioning as discourse markers, and not by a specific set of verb forms, the means usually identified and discussed in the literature as a cue for the mel status of a clause. The strength of the link between this combination of discourse markers and the mel, then, represents a cross-linguistic situation that seems rare. Alsea has a rich system of discourse markers and a rich system of verbal affixes, with over 20 potentially co-occurring markers in each. The relative wealth of these discourse markers and their potential combinations make an intricate system of signaling the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between clauses and their immediate environment, essentially signaling their discourse status. One combination of markers has the function of signaling the mel. Alsea verbal affixes, on the other hand, play a major role in event semantics and aspectual construal, but a minor one in discourse structuring. This allows for seemingly paradoxical uses of irrealis or imperfective verb forms on the mel of narratives, where the later coerces the event into specific types of bounded and realis readings.","PeriodicalId":47548,"journal":{"name":"Linguistics","volume":"52 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139121195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}