Serial verb constructions in Kamtok (Cameroon Pidgin English)

English Today ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Ayafor
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Contact Language ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Grammatical Structures

Kamtok, an English-based expanded pidgin/creole in Cameroon, has many of the grammatical structures of its lexifier language. However, there are certain grammatical structures in this contact language which are not so obvious in its lexifier, though they may exist sparingly in spoken forms of the production of some native speakers. One of these is the serial verb construction (SVC). SVCs are ‘a series of two (or more) verbs [that] have the same subject and are not joined by a conjunction … or a complementiser … as they would be in European languages (Holm, 1988: 183).

scholarly journals A case for revisiting definitions of serial verb constructions: Evidence from Akan serial verb nominalization

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-99
Author(s):  
Obadele Kambon ◽  
E. Kweku Osam ◽  
Nana Aba Appiah Amfo
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Semantic Integration ◽  
Not Given ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Serial Verbs ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Direct Objects ◽  
Do So

In this study, we undertook an experiment in which native speakers of Akan were given serial verbs both with and without oblique non-verbal elements (such as relator nouns, direct objects, postpositions, etc.) and asked them to construct Serial Verb Construction Nominals (SVCNs) from them. We found that, by and large, when not given said non-verbal elements, speakers were not able to construct nominal forms. In another task, we gave speakers nominal forms and asked them to deconstruct them to the constituent serial verbs from which they were derived. Time and again, speakers gave, not only the serial verbs, but also the non-verbal elements even though they were not asked to do so. Gestalt meanings were also given by speakers when asked the meanings of individual elements. Thus, the semantic integration and lexicalization that takes place in full lexicalized-integrated serial verb constructions extends not only to serial verbs but also to these non-verbal elements which, to native speakers, seem to form just as important a part of the SVC as the verbal elements. Thus, we argue that definitions of SVCs, henceforth, should not prejudice the serial verbs to the detriment of other equally important parts of the construction.

The wziąć gram in Polish. A serial verb construction, or not?

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-629
Author(s):  
Alexander Andrason
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Area ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Polish Language ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Categorial Status ◽  
Radial Network

Abstract This article analyzes the categorial status of the wziąć gram – a construction that is composed of two consecutive inflected verbs: the minor verb wziąć ‘lit. take’ (V1) and a major verb (V2) – within the radial network of serial verb constructions (SVC). After comparing the wziąć gram with properties associated with the prototype of a SVC and its cross-linguistic instantiations, the author concludes that the construction can be regarded as a relatively canonical member of the SVC category. The gram complies with all the primary characteristics of the prototype of a SVC, and exhibits various secondary properties and phenomena that are associated with or accompany SVCs across languages. The position of the wziąć gram is canonical even though the Polish language utilizes verbal serialization only minimally and belongs to a geographic area that is scarce for systems with productive serialization. In this manner, Polish proves that verbal serialization is a grammatical device that is not unknown to Indo-European languages of Europe.

Recognizing a serial verb

Serial Verbs ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 20-54
Author(s):  
Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Overwhelming Majority ◽  
Event Type ◽  
Cultural Stereotypes ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Event Argument ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Serial Verbs ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb

A serial verb construction is a sequence of verbs which act together as a single predicate. Serial verbs are always monoclausal and are pronounced as a single verb would be. The components of a serial verb construction share tense, aspect, modality, reality status, evidentiality, mood, and also polarity values. A serial verb construction typically refers to what can be conceptualized as one event, and one recognizable event type, in terms of cultural stereotypes available to the speakers. Serial verbs tend to share at least one argument. An overwhelming majority of serial verbs have a single overall argument structure, with the subjects, objects and obliques belonging to the whole construction. In switch-function serial verb constructions, the O (or the recipient) of the first component is the same as the S (rarely, the A) of the second one. Event-argument and resultative serial verb constructions share no arguments.

Substratal Influence in Saramaccan Serial Verb Constructions

1992 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
John McWhorter
Keyword(s):  
Universal Grammar ◽  
West African ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
African Languages ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
The World ◽  
Serial Verbs ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Substrate Influence

Bickerton's bioprogram hypothesis uses serial verbs as a primary demonstration that Saramaccan represents the closest approximation to Universal Grammar extant, judging from the fact that speakers of mutually unintelligible West African languages formulated it with little contact with European languages. Closer examination of Saramaccan and its substrate languages suggests, however, that the creole is a prime demonstration of substrate influence. The uniformity of serials across the substrate languages can be shown to have provided the opportunity for compromise between the small differences in the constructions in forming the language, according to perceptual saliency relative to the languages involved. A survey of serializing language families shows that serials in Saramaccan are most similar to those in its substrate, while a survey of créoles around the world shows that serials appear in créoles with similar substrates and almost never in those with nonserializing substrates. Furthermore, the explanation of serials as compensation for missing categories in Saramaccan is belied by an evaluation of this argument as applied to prepositions, which shows that the Saramaccan system mirrors that of its substrate with limited accommodations to its superstrate.

scholarly journals Ya33 ‘give’ as a valency increaser in Jinghpo nuclear serialization

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guozhen Peng ◽  
Hilary Chappell
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Yunnan Province ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Natural Discourse ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Asian Languages ◽  
Determining Factor

This paper analyzes serial verb constructions in Jinghpo formed by ya33 ‘give’, arguing that it has the function of a valency–increasing device in nuclear serialization: The use of ya33 allows the licensing of an additional beneficiary argument as a core argument to the lexical verb. In a new twist, however, on the evolution of give verbs, we demonstrate that the benefactive usage is extended to malefactive semantics in a distinct, derived structure, conditioned via the expression of possession, a type of malefactive that is not well-documented in current literature on this domain. Furthermore, the existence of two distinct constructions for the benefactive and the malefactive in Jinghpo conforms to Radetzky & Smith’s claim (2010: 116) that this is an areal feature comprising the Indian subcontinent, Southeast and East Asia, and thus contrasts strongly with the conflation of both types of construction in many European languages. Finally, we propose that the nuclear type of serialization, integral to the typological profile of Jinghpo, a SOV language, is a determining factor in the reanalysis of ya33. This feature is subsequently invoked to explain why the malefactive usage of ya33 constitutes a separate development from the well-attested pathway for give verbs leading to permissive causative verbs and adversative passive markers, which, while blocked in Jinghpo, is commonly found in many other East and Southeast Asian languages with core serialization. The present analysis is based on the variety of Jinghpo spoken in Luxi County, Yunnan Province, China, using, in the main, natural discourse data collected in the field.

Historical development of ba and jiang in the Tang Dynasty

1990 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
One-Soon Her
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Instrumental Function ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Common Misconception ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
The Common

ABSTRACTBased on evidence in Zen dialogues, Bianwen and Chuanqi texts in the Tang Dynasty (a.d. 618–907), and other sources from earlier and later periods, this article, after dismissing the common misconception that during Tang ba () was frequently used in the disposal and serial-verb constructions, proposes that the grammaticalization of the jiang () serial-verb construction was encouraged by yi (), but jiang's disposal characteristic was modeled after its passive counterpart bei, and that it is via the process of lexical replacement that ba replaced jiang's prepositional functions in instrumental and disposal constructions. Ba later lost its instrumental function to na (). We thus resolve the debate between Huang (1986) and Bennett (1981). Moreover, from the recurring pattern of change in the historical development of yi, jiang, ba, and na, we observe two counteracting principles at work: functional refinement, which forces a one-to-one correspondence between a form and its function, and analogous development, which does just the opposite to create a one-to-many relationship.

Description of Thai as an isolating language

2011 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makoto Minegishi
Keyword(s):  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Language Structure ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Basic Sentence

The article illustrates morphosyntactic characteristics of Thai, an isolating language, in contrast to the modern European languages. Thai is characterized as a topic-prominent language, where the voluntary–spontaneous contrast rather than transitive–intransitive one plays significant roles in forming basic sentence constructions. By assuming non-hierarchical serial verb constructions as its basic sentence structures, the author claims that the modern hierarchical view of language structure is not appropriate for Thai. In Thai, verbs are serialized to denote not only successive actions or an action and its objective, but also a cause and its result, an action and its evaluation. Furthermore, causative and passive constructions are analyzed as part of verb serializations which are structurally identical, but antiparallel to each other in the direction of affectedness.

scholarly journals Serial Verb Constructions in Sikkanese

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 790
Author(s):  
Ni Luh Ketut Mas Indrawati ◽  
Ni Made Suryati ◽  
Ida Ayu Made Puspani
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Features ◽  
Common Phenomenon ◽  
Morphological Markers ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Dependent Type

Serial verb construction (hereafter abbreviated as SVC) is a construction consisting of more than one verbs without any overt markers of coordinator or subordinator. SVC is a common phenomenon in isolating languages which lack morphological markers for syntactic processes. Sikka language (Sikkanese belongs to isolating language with SVO type and it does not have diathesis. This research attempts to analyse the typological characteristics of Sikkanese SVCs which cover: prosodic/phonological, morpho-syntactic, and semantic features of SVCs in Sikkanese. The theory adopted in this research is typological theory which is applied by Van Stedent and Ger Reesink (2008) in analysing SVCs in East-Nusantara languages. The prosodic characteristic shows that Sikkanese SVCs fell under one intonation contour, similar to the intonation of a single clause and without being separated by a pause; morphosyntactically SVCs in Sikkanese could be categorised into independent and some belong to co-dependent type without any morphological markers; and symantically they could be analysed  into: (1) motion; (2) direction, (3) manner; (4) instrument; (5) purpose; (6) progressive; (7)  modality.

scholarly journals Serial Verb Construction in Etulo

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1221
Author(s):  
Chikelu Ihunanya Ezenwafor
Keyword(s):  
Motion Verbs ◽  
Complex Predicates ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Complex Predicate ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Grammatical Functions

In languages, different criteria are often adopted in the classification of the verb category many of which are language specific or universal. Etulo makes a distinction between simple and complex predicates. This work discusses serial verb construction (SVC) as a type of complex predicate using the typological criteria proposed in Aikhenvald (2006). Etulo SVCs have diverse semantic and grammatical functions. They express benefactive, instrumental, comparative meaning, as well as prepositional and adverbial notions indicating direction using motion verbs. Different types of serial verb constructions (SVCs) are established: the symmetric vs asymmetric type, contiguous vs non-contiguous, and the optional vs obligatory type. The SVC is further distinguished from a similar multi-verb construction known as the consecutive construction.

A comparative study of the semantics of serial verb constructions in Dagaare and Cantonese

2001 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.K. Luke ◽  
Adams Bodomo
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
African Languages ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Semantic Typology

The serial verb construction (SVC) is a productive syntactic phenomenon in many Asian and African languages and has been the subject of various studies. Many of these studies are, however, mainly based on data from the individual Asian and African languages or language groups (e.g. Jayaseelan 1996 for Malayalam; Schiller 1991 for Khmer; Chang 1990 for Mandarin; Bodomo 1997, 1998 for Dagaare and Akan; and Awoyale 1988 for Yoruba). There is a near lack of comparative studies involving Asian and African languages with regards to SVCs. Given the wide variety of syntactic and semantic manifestations that are characteristic of SVCs, cross-linguistic studies are crucial in developing a clear universal typology of SVCs as a first step towards a universal account of their syntax and semantics. Based on Dagaare (a Gur language of West Africa) and Cantonese (a Yue dialect of Chinese), this paper proposes a semantic typology of SVCs including benefactive, causative (resultative), inceptive, instrumental, and deictic serialization.

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