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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Predicate derivations in Thulung

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimée Lahaussois
Keyword(s):  
New Delhi ◽  
Complex Predicates ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
East Indian ◽  
North East ◽  
Specific Description ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Asian Languages

Abstract In this article, I describe a subset of complex predicates in Thulung (Kiranti, Nepal) which I call “predicate derivations” (after Post, Mark. 2010. Predicate derivations in the Tani languages: root, suffix, both or neither? In Mark Post & Stephen Morey (eds.), North East Indian linguistics, 175–197. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press India). I argue that these constructions in Thulung are built on grammaticalized elements that can be synchronically considered to be derivational. I focus on their morphology, placing it within the context of simplex verbs, and highlighting certain features – multiple exponence, allomorphy of the derivational suffixes similar to that of simplex verbs – which suggest strongly a development from serial verb constructions. I discuss their functions, which cover valence changes, as well as the marking of associated motion and aspect/Aktionsart. Complex predicates are seen as a feature of South Asian languages, but the types found in Tibeto-Burman languages appear to be quite different, morphologically, from what is found in Indo-Aryan or Dravidian languages. This article therefore represents a language-specific description as a contribution to cross-linguistic research on the topic.

Linguistic expression of commands in Lao

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Enfield
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Social Hierarchy ◽  
National Language ◽  
Linguistic Expression ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Linguistic Resource ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Person Reference ◽  
Serial Verb

This chapter undertakes a survey of commands and similar speech acts in Lao, the national language of Laos. The survey draws upon a corpus of naturally occurring speech in narratives and conversations recorded in Laos. An important linguistic resource for expressing commands is a system of sentence-final particles. The particles convey subtle distinctions in meaning of commands, including matters of politeness, urgency, entitlement, and expectation. These distinctions are illustrated with examples. Forms of person reference such as names and pronouns also play a role in the formulation of commands, particularly in so far as they relate to a cultural system in which social hierarchy is strongly valued. Various other linguistic issues related to commands are examined, including negative imperatives, complementation, indirect strategies for expressing commands, and serial verb constructions.

Verbal Serialization in Biblical Aramaic

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-33
Author(s):  
Alexander Andrason ◽  
Bonsam Koo
Keyword(s):  
Linguistic Typology ◽  
Verbal System ◽  
Semitic Languages ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Relative Chronology ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Recent Modification ◽  
Serial Verb

AbstractThe present paper discusses the issue of Serial Verb Constructions (SVCs) in Biblical Aramaic within the dynamic grammaticalization-based model of verbal serialization – a recent modification of a prototype-driven approach to SVCs used in linguistic typology. Having analyzed the entire corpus of Biblical Aramaic, the authors conclude the following: (a) verbal serialization constitutes an integral part of the verbal system of Biblical Aramaic; (b) pre-canonical SVCs are more common that canonical SVCs, and no cases of post-canonicity are attested; (c) Biblical Aramaic is a semi-advanced serializing language. Overall, the research corroborates the tendency of Semitic languages to gradually increase their serializing profile; a tendency that is often – albeit not without exception – correlated with the languages’ relative chronology.

scholarly journals Grammaticalization in Oceanic languages

2018 ◽  
pp. 282-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Moyse-Faurie
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Representation ◽  
Original Function ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Grammatical Morphemes ◽  
Oceanic Languages ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Serial Verb

This chapter investigates the main grammaticalization processes found in Oceanic languages. In connection with verbs of posture and localization (‘sit’, ‘be at a place’), of motion (‘go up/down’, ‘come’, ‘return’, ‘follow’) and with verbs such as ‘take’, ‘make’, ‘do’ as sources, different paths of development will be described that give rise to various grammatical morphemes, often preserving the original function and meaning of the verb. A few cases of grammaticalization involving nouns, as well as cases of relexification and unusual developments such as ‘degrammation’, will be discussed as well. The perspective of my analysis will be both a typological and a semantic one, underlining the importance of spatial representation, the contribution of serial verb constructions, and the role of metonymy and reanalysis in the grammaticalization processes found in Oceanic languages.

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