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.

scholarly journals Direction and associated motion in Tibeto-Burman

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Genetti ◽  
Kristine Hildebrandt ◽  
Nathaniel A. Sims ◽  
Alexia Z. Fawcett
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Relationship ◽  
Motion Verbs ◽  
Syntactic Ambiguity ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Auxiliary Verbs ◽  
Temporal Relationships ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Pragmatic Interpretation

AbstractThis study analyzes systems of direction and associated motion in 23 languages of the Tibeto-Burman family. Both direction and associated motion can be encoded by a range of grammatical strategies, including affixes, clitics, particles, serial-verb constructions, and auxiliary verbs. While some languages have only associated motion or direction, others have both, either via distinct subsystems, syntactic ambiguity, or context-dependent interpretation. While directional encodings can be interpreted as associated motion in some contexts, the reverse can also be true. Verbal semantics is key to the pragmatic interpretation of examples in context; some types of motion verbs are more compatible with directional interpretations and others with associated motion. In addition, certain types of motion verbs were found to be compatible with different temporal relationships that hold between the activity of the primary verb and the motional component. Finally, the grammatical role of the figure in such constructions depends on both the temporal relationship and the semantics of the verb.

Decomposing complex serialization

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heejeong Ko ◽  
Daeyoung Sohn
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Site ◽  
Matching Condition ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Empirical Coverage ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Derivational Suffix ◽  
Identical Property

This paper investigates the role of merger and the typology of v in the syntax of Serial Verb Constructions (SVCs) in Korean. Some SVCs with a derivational suffix (e.g. a causative/passive v) in Korean display distinct behavior from the others. We argue that this is due to different syntactic structures among SVCs and that SVCs in Korean must be divided into two sub-types: H(igh)-SVC and L(ow)-SVC. Specifically, we propose that different types of SVCs result from different merger sites of the derivational v head. An H-SVC results when a causative or passive v head is merged to a verb before it is serialized with another verb; an L-SVC results when verbal serialization occurs prior to the merger of the derivational v head. We then turn our attention to a condition on verbal serialization, and propose that verbs can be serialized only when their v heads bear the specific identical property of introducing an external argument. We show that our matching condition coupled with the proposed dichotomy of SVCs has broader empirical coverage than the previous analyses. Theoretically, our study supports the claim that the morphology and the syntax are intertwined so that the attachment site of derivational suffixes may vary in syntax. Our argument also provides novel support for the finer-grained classification of v heads.

Serial Verb Constructions in Indian Ocean French Creoles (IOCs)

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anand Syea
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Serial Verbs ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
The One ◽  
Creole Languages ◽  
Historical Nature

This paper revisits the debate between Bickerton on the one hand and Seuren, Corne, Coleman and Curnow on the other on the question of whether serial verb constructions exist in the French creoles of the Indian Ocean (namely Seychelles Creole and Mauritian Creole). It examines data particularly from Mauritian Creole (which was rather marginally represented in that discussion) and argues in agreement with Bickerton (1989, 1996) that serial verbs do indeed exist in this creole just as they do in Seychelles Creole. However, it also argues that their presence in these languages must be attributed not to an innate linguistic mechanism (as claimed in Bickerton 1989, 1996) nor to a substrate source (contra Corne et al. 1996, Corne 1999) but to an independent internal development in which consecutive imperatives were reanalyzed as serial verb constructions. It is assumed that, given the socio-historical nature of creole contact situations, consecutive imperatives would have been a prominent part of early input as interchanges between those who spoke French and those who did not would have mostly been in the form of directives (commands, instructions, etc.) which are more often than not expressed through the imperative . However, it is recognized that this development could have benefited from substrate (particularly Malagasy) influence but it remains in the main the result of an internal diachronic process. The proposal outlined has interesting implications for the role of input and the role that adults may have played in the development of creole languages in general and serial verb constructions in particular. Some aspects of creole languages, it is suggested, can be adequately accounted for without having to implicate either an innate linguistic mechanism or wholesale transfer from substrate sources.

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.

Periphrasis in Archi1

Periphrasis ◽  
2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Chumakina
Keyword(s):  
Complex Predicates ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Descriptive Purpose ◽  
Published Research

The Nakh-Daghestanian language Archi has several types of verbal constructions: periphrases, complex predicates, and phenomena very similar to serial verb constructions. This chapter investigates these constructions, using the approach of canonical typology; this allows different constructions to be ranked in terms of their proximity to the canonical centre. The analysis suggested is relevant for the general typology of multiword constructions, since it identifies tests for distinguishing them: for complex predicates the test will be their syntactic behaviour, for constructions close to serialization it is the fact that they are only available for a subset of verbs, while periphrasis is exhaustive. The chapter also has a descriptive purpose: published research on Archi does not describe all the available meanings for the periphrastic constructions nor their syntactic behaviour, and so an attempt is made to fill these gaps.

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