Small-scale patterns in a larger picture

2021 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-106
Author(s):  
Barbara Sonnenhauser ◽  
Anastasia Escher
Keyword(s):  
Prima Facie ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
Favorable Environment ◽  
Pronominal System ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Object Indexing

Abstract Telling apart family-internal developments from contact-induced changes and socio-geographically conditioned areal trends is still one of the main challenges in tracing the development - and stability - of languages. Notably prima facie contact phenomena might turn out to have resulted from the interaction of a variety of sources upon closer inspection; assessing their interaction is a crucial requirement for comprehending the dynamics of change. Based on the example of simplification patterns in the system of short personal pronouns observed in the Balkan Slavic dialects located in the territory of North Macedonian and Greece, the present paper illustrates the necessity of identifying the multiplicity of triggers and their interaction, thereby making a case for the relevance of small-scale, transient patterns in understanding diachronic processes. In particular, it places the simplifications within the pronominal system into the larger context of differential object indexing by preverbal pronominal elements in the Balkan languages. With the loss of agreement distinctions on pronouns being characteristic for the last phase in the emergence of object indexing, both processes appear to be closely related. Obviously, in this case, the convergence of various different processes has created a favorable environment for the mutual reinforcement and stabilization of two otherwise highly volatile phenomena.

scholarly journals Retentions of Indo-Aryan grammatical elements in Norwegian Para-Romani

1970 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 153-168
Author(s):  
Guro Fløgstad
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
Pronominal System

The present article sets out to describe the system of personal pronouns in Norwegian Para-Romani.* As we shall see, thepronominal system constitutes one of the few remnants of original Indic elements in the grammatical lexicon of Norwegian Para-Romani. In Norwegian Para-Romani, the original Inda-Aryan grammar, morphology and syntax have, with few exceptions, beenreplaced with Norwegian ones. However, the personal pronouns originate in possessive pronouns in original Romani. This article has three parts. First, I give a brief introduction to the notion of Para-Romani itself and specifically to the Norwegian variety. Secondly, I give a description of the pronominal system. Thirdly, I place the data in a semantic-diachronic frame.

A comparative approach to the pronominal system in Transeurasian

2020 ◽  
pp. 554-584
Author(s):  
Michal Schwarz ◽  
Ondřej Srba ◽  
Václav Blažek
Keyword(s):  
Main Part ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
The Third ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Pronominal System

The present chapter focuses mostly on personal pronouns in Transeurasian languages. A brief introduction describes the main typological similarities and differences among the pronominal systems of all branches. The main part gives a summary of the declension of personal pronouns in the five branches. The overview is based on sets of tables with declensions of Turkic (separately for subgroups), Mongolic, Tungusic, Korean, and Japanese branches. Further tables reconstruct pronominal declensions for the daughter protolanguages and the final result is an attempt to reconstruct and comment on the Transeurasian protosystem. The third part gives an overview of other types of pronouns, mainly demonstratives, possessive and reflexive forms, interrogatives with related indefinite and negative forms. At the end of the chapter, internal loanwords and elements borrowed from other than Transeurasian languages are mentioned.

scholarly journals Culture(s) of control: Political dynamics in cannabis policy in England & Wales and the Netherlands

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 566-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Brewster
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Cannabis Policy ◽  
Relations Of Power

This paper draws upon an empirical comparative study of policy-making in England & Wales and the Netherlands. Recent changes in cannabis policy prima facie indicate some convergence towards a toughening of approaches, thereby suggesting commonalities in control cultures. However, analysis of findings illuminate significant differences in the policy process between these jurisdictions which contribute towards continued divergence towards small-scale supply and consumption of cannabis. It is argued that this can be understood and explained through an understanding of differences in both political institutions and cultures, and in organizational responsibilities and relations of power. Consequentially, this further supports the notion that comparative research and theorizing needs to take account of mechanisms and features which lead to variegated control cultures.

scholarly journals Morphosyntax Analysis of Acehnese Clitic

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 212
Author(s):  
Denni Iskandar ◽  
Mulyadi ◽  
Iskandar Abdul Samad
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Personal Pronoun ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Pronominal System ◽  
Grammatical Theories

Clitic has challenged many grammatical theories because it is a combination between syntax and morphology. At most theory, clitization is considered as a phenomenon of phrase because the clan of its form is similar to affixes attached to whole phrase. Some experts claim that clitic is one form that is difficult to identify and classify. This qualitative research investigates the clitic of Acehnese in the perspective of morphosyntax. This research found that Acehnese consists of proclitic and enclitic. The function is to emphasize the topic being talked by the subject. In general, Acehnese clitic is a relatively complex personal pronoun because Acehnese’s pronominal system is identical with the content of morality (politeness and friendship). Each personal pronoun has its own proclitic and enclitic including the adjustment of clitic for variant personal pronouns which refers to the level of politeness. In addition to personal pronoun, the clitic in Acehnese is also used to refer to noun or nounphrase either to animals, plants, or other types of nouns.

scholarly journals A native origin for Present-Day English they, their, them

Diachronica ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelle Cole
Keyword(s):  
Middle English ◽  
Old English ◽  
Personal Pronoun ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
Person Plural ◽  
Textual Evidence ◽  
The North ◽  
Third Person ◽  
Pronominal System ◽  
Germanic Languages

Abstract It is commonly held that Present-Day English they, their, them are not descended from Old English but derive from the Old Norse third-person plural pronouns þeir, þeira, þeim. This paper argues that the early northern English orthographic and distributional textual evidence agrees with an internal trajectory for the ‘þ-’ type personal pronouns in the North and indicates an origin in the Old English demonstratives þā, þāra, þām. The Northern Middle English third-person plural pronominal system was the result of the reanalysis from demonstrative to personal pronoun that is common cross-linguistically in Germanic and non-Germanic languages alike.

scholarly journals The characteristics and the communicative function of pronouns (Western and Eastern European languages)

2020 ◽  
Vol 210 ◽  
pp. 21008
Author(s):  
Nataliia Epifantseva ◽  
Anastasiia Baluta ◽  
Svetlana Bukhtiiarova ◽  
Alina Tsepeleva
Keyword(s):  
Communication Process ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
Communicative Function ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Latin Language ◽  
Syntactic Function ◽  
Pronominal System

Grammatical and syntactic characteristics of pronouns are mainly considered based on the material of French grammatical system, which implemented the analytical tendencies of the Latin language in the course of evolution. It has been established that the major opposition in the pronominal system, that is the opposition of the 1st and 2nd person forms to the 3rd person forms, is an important factor in the communicative function of pronouns. In the substitutive function, pronominal forms are distinguished by the presence of an antecedent: substitutes of the 3rd person as well as personal pronouns that are the substitutes of the 1st and 2nd person. It has been revealed that personal pronouns are independent and do not require the preliminary use of the substituted form. The syntactic function of pronouns as an indicator differentiating a simple/complex sentence has been noted. The communicative function of a pronoun has been particularly pointed out. Thus, the forms ‘read, reads’ in the context of indicating the grammatical person, could represent the sender/recipient/subject of communication, in this way implementing the function of the communicative role of the person in the speaking process. The results of the research allow to state that a pronoun, forming a complex system with oppositions of forms based on different principles, acts as a significant element of the communication process.

Reflexive pronouns in the Lindisfarne glosses

2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-244
Author(s):  
Elly van Gelderen
Keyword(s):  
Old English ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
Person Plural ◽  
Null Subject ◽  
The Third ◽  
Reflexive Pronouns ◽  
Third Person ◽  
Lindisfarne Gospels ◽  
Pronominal System ◽  
The Third Person

Abstract Old English uses personal pronouns, demonstratives, and limited null subject for reference to previously mentioned nouns. It uses personal pronouns reflexively and pronouns modified by ‘self’ identical in form with an intensive. This use of a pronoun modified by self has been attributed to British Celtic influence. Other changes in the pronominal system have been attributed to Scandinavian influence, e.g. the introduction of the third person plural pronoun they. This paper looks at the use of the specially marked reflexives in the glosses to the Lindisfarne Gospels, a northern text where both British Celtic and Scandinavian influence may be relevant. It provides lists of all of the self-marked forms and shows, for instance, that Matthew and Mark have reflexives based on an accusative/dative pronoun followed by self and they don’t have this form as an intensifier. British Celtic of this period has an intensifier but has no special reflexives and has lost case endings, so the Lindisfarne language is unlike British Celtic. Luke and John have intensives and reflexives, with ‘self’ modifying case-marked pronouns, again unlike British Celtic. In addition to contributing to the debate on external origins, the paper adds to the authorship debate by comparing the use of reflexives in the different gospels.

scholarly journals The Syntax of Dagbani personal pronouns: an analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-140
Author(s):  
Abukari Kwame
Keyword(s):  
Native Speaker ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
Pronominal System ◽  
Germanic Languages ◽  
Semantic Referent

Cross-linguistically, personal pronouns are noted as being deficient in relation to some morphosyntactic and phonological properties. Some striking asymmetries have been identified between strong and weak personal pronouns in relation to modification, coordination/conjunction, whether they have a semantic referent, and can encode focus. This study explores the personal pronominal system of Dagbani along Cardinaletti and Starke’s (1994) typology and observed asymmetries. Using insights from published literature on Dagbani pronouns as well as my understanding as a native speaker, I argue that, unlike personal pronouns in Romance/Germanic languages, Dagbani personal pronouns can be modified by quantifiers, can be coordinated, and can occur in conjunction constructions, as well as encode topic and focus as salient semantic discourse properties. Furthermore, the pre/post verbal distinctions among nonemphatic pronominal forms in Dagbani still hold, even as these occur in coordinated and modified constructions, due to structural constraints imposed on them by coordinating conjuctions and quantifiers.

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