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Person marking in Longxi Qiang Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Wuxi Zheng
In Longxi Qiang, a Tibeto-Burman language, the verb agreement system is not marking a syntactic function or semantic role. Previous studies of the Qiang language have argued that person markings reflect the person and number of the agent. My analysis based on a large amount of natural data, however, reveals several different uses of person marking. First, person marking does not always agree with the
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Minimal participant structure of the event and the emergence of the argument/adjunct distinction Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Zygmunt Frajzyngier, Natalia Gurian, Sergei Karpenko
The present study answers the following questions: why the semantic roles of agent or patient are often unmarked; why other semantic roles, such as benefactive, stative locative, goal, or source, are unmarked when used with some verbs and marked when used with other verbs; and why semantic relations such as ‘associative’, ‘instrumental’, ‘reason’, ‘purpose’, and others often referred to as ‘adjuncts’
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Phasal polarity in Tunisian Arabic Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Jens G. Fischer, Bastian Persohn, Veronika Ritt-Benmimoun
This paper gives a corpus-based descriptive account of the phasal polarity system (still, already, not yet, and no longer) in the Arabic vernacular of Tunisia. The aim is to broaden the empirical foundations for cross-linguistic research in this domain, and to narrow the gap between typologically oriented and philological research on Arabic varieties. Like many languages (van Baar 1997: 118), Tunisian
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The constructional categorization of Saisiyat multi-predicate sentences Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Chien-pang Wang
This study investigates the constructional categorization of multi-predicate sentences in Saisiyat. This type of complex sentences simultaneously involves features of serial verb construction and complementation in Saisiyat, which give rise to indeterminacy in constructional categorization. In order to solve this problem, the current study probes into the categorization between serial verb construction
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Early Vedic compounds Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Erica Biagetti
Despite a longstanding tradition of studies in Sanskrit compounds, a description that enables comparisons in cross-linguistic perspective has not yet been worked out. The present article follows classificatory criteria introduced by Bisetto & Scalise (2005, 2009) and sketches a typology of compounds in the most archaic variety of Sanskrit, Early Vedic, as transmitted by the RigVeda. Analyzing compounds
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A new converb originating from the locative noun in Beserman Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Maria Usacheva, Natalia Serdobolskaya
In Beserman, a new converb grammaticalizes from the possessive locative form of the locative noun in (o)ń-ńig. We show that the constructions with the converb have a clausal structure, while the constructions with the locative noun are mostly noun phrases, even if they include an indication of the agent and patient of the situation encoded by the locative noun. Semantically, the two types of constructions
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Adjectival intensification in West Germanic Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Daniel Van Olmen
This article investigates the forms and functions of adjectival intensification in West Germanic. With corpus data from different discourse types, we challenge claims that German tends to use synthetic means and Dutch is between German and English but more like English in its preference for analytic ones. Our results show that all three languages, and Afrikaans too, favor analytic intensifiers but
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A binary inflectional voice contrast in Mabaan (Western Nilotic) Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Torben Andersen
In Mabaan, a Western Nilotic language, there is a binary inflectional voice contrast in the morphology of verbs. In addition to a morphologically unmarked basic voice, there is a fully productive applicative voice, which is morphologically marked. This applicative voice may be called circumstantial in order to distinguish it from another applicative voice, which is derivational, namely benefactive
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Comparing zero and referential choice in eight languages with a focus on Mandarin Chinese Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Maria Vollmer
Mandarin has a low rate of overtly expressed arguments in all syntactic functions without agreement marking on the verb. It has been claimed that Mandarin exhibits higher rates of zero arguments than other languages. Most previous work has compared Mandarin with English, while comparison with other languages remains a desideratum. This study compares Mandarin with seven languages (Cypriot Greek, English
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Argument indexing in Kamang Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Katherine Walker, Pegah Faghiri, Eva van Lier
Kamang (Alor-Pantar, non-Austronesian/Papuan) has a typologically unusual system of argument indexing, in which the S or P argument can be indexed on the verb by one of several prefix paradigms. Some verbs always show indexing, while others exhibit differential argument indexing (DAI). In DAI, the use of a particular prefix paradigm or zero marking depends on different (combinations of) factors. We
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The psycholinguistic realization of topic in Chinese Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Liulin Zhang
An OSV word order that deviates from the canonical SVO word order is typically viewed as derived through movement. This theory has been widely supported by psycholinguistic studies showing that the displaced constituents are mentally reactivated at the gap positions. However, some cognitive-functionalists have proposed an alternative account: in a topic-prominent language like Chinese, topic is the
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Simulative derivations in crosslinguistic perspective and their diachronic sources Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-09-22 Guillaume Jacques
This article deals with simulative derivations, meaning ‘pretend (to be) X’, where X stands for a verb or a noun. It shows that these derivations have three main origins: incorporation, denominal derivation and combination of reflexive and causative. It also systematically discusses the corresponding analytic constructions.
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A cross-linguistic syntactic analysis of telicity in motion predicates in Southern Tati, Mandarin, and Ghanaian Student Pidgin Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-09-22 Pin-Hsi Patrick Chen, Kwaku Owusu Afriyie Osei-Tutu, Neda Taherkhani
This paper proposes an analysis of telicity in motion predicates within the framework of the Exo-Skeletal Model (Borer 2005b). We hypothesize that a motion event is syntactically represented by a Path component, the core of which is a vP that introduces a Figure argument. This Path component is interpreted as quantity in the sense of Borer (2005b) when there is a certain type of morpheme present in
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Variable index placement in Gutob from a typological perspective Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-09-22 Erika Just, Judith Voß
In Gutob (Munda, India) S/A indexes can attach to other hosts apart from the verb, unconstrained by syntax. Previous studies have described non-verbal index placement in Gutob as exceptional, establishing verbal indexes as the default. This paper presents the first case study on the placement of Gutob indexes based on corpus data. Our analysis shows that although index placement in Gutob is in fact
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Grammar (morphosyntax) and discourse Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-09-22 Tasaku Tsunoda
The present work attempts to examine the relationship between grammar and discourse. (i) First, it compares Warrongo (an ergative language that has antipassives and an S/O pivot) and English (an accusative language that has passives and an S/A pivot). Despite these polar opposite morphosyntactic characteristics, Warrongo and English behave almost in the same way in discourse – in terms of new mentions
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Towards robust complexity indices in linguistic typology Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-09-22 Yoon Mi Oh, François Pellegrino
There is high hope that corpus-based approaches to language complexity will contribute to explaining linguistic diversity. Several complexity indices have consequently been proposed to compare different aspects among languages, especially in phonology and morphology. However, their robustness against changes in corpus size and content hasn’t been systematically assessed, thus impeding comparability
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From grammaticalization to Diachronic Construction Grammar Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-09-22 Spike Gildea, Jóhanna Barðdal
The term grammaticalization originally denoted a particular outcome of language change (lexis > morphology), then got expanded to practically all studies involving language change, the processes that create such changes, and a theory modeling these. These expansions have been challenged in the literature as conceptually flawed. A usage-based analysis of the evolution of the concept culminates in the
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Multiple construction types for nominal expressions in Australian languages Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-07-24 Dana Louagie
This paper explores the rich diversity in structural possibilities that are available for (simple) nominal expressions in Australian languages. First, I identify a number of construction types found across a 50 language sample, which may be recognised by using a restricted set of parameters. I show that an important factor is whether a given parameter (such as word order) is generalised or displayed
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The history of the polyfunctional 𗗙 jij1 in Tangut Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-07-24 Shuya Zhang
This paper focuses on the history of a polyfunctional case marker 𗗙 jij1 in Tangut, an extinct Rgyalrongic language (Sino-Tibetan). This versatile case morpheme is a typological rarity of maximum syncretism among several abstract case functions, including differential object marking, the genitive, and the oblique (which overlaps with the dative). For one thing, accusatives originating from datives
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The linguistics of odour in Semaq Beri and Semelai, two Austroasiatic languages of the Malay Peninsula Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-07-24 Nicole Kruspe, Asifa Majid
There is a long history presuming smell is not expressible in language, but numerous studies in recent years challenge this presupposition. Large smell lexica have been reported around the world thereby showing high lexical codability in this domain. Psycholinguistic studies likewise find smell can be described with relatively high agreement, demonstrating high efficient codability. Often the two go
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A hitherto unnoticed type of verb-framed construction in Lithuanian and the typology of event conflation Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-07-24 Axel Holvoet
The article starts out from a Lithuanian construction denoting achievement of an excessive value of some parameter of an incremental event. It is verb-framed, that is, the main-clause verb denotes motion along a path towards a normative value of the parameter involved. Its implications for our understanding of the Talmyan typology of event conflation are discussed. Event conflation in the domains of
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Progressives in present and past Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-07-24 Ghazaleh Vafaeian
This study investigates the relationship between progressive patterns and present and past time reference. First, it looks at the shared distribution of more than 90 progressives in two parallel corpora and discusses the characteristics of these contexts. It is shown that while progressives are used for dramatic and topical events in the present, they are typically used as backgrounding, supportive
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Copula to negator Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-07-24 Scott DeLancey
Van der Auwera & Vossen (2017) identify an intriguing shift from a copula to a negative marker in the Tibeto-Burman Kiranti group, and discuss it as a possible example of Jespersen’s Cycle. This paper traces a fuller history of the copula #ni, and presents an account of its association with negation, which is attested in several other Tibeto-Burman languages besides Kiranti. In most Tibeto-Burman languages
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It’s all about the sentential construction Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-05-09 Israela Becker
Cross-linguistically, very few complete sentences, as opposed to a myriad of phrases, lexicalize to become words. I here offer an account for this skewed distribution, along the lines of Construction Grammar, by analyzing a set of mono-clausal sentences in Hebrew which have indeed become – or are on the verge of becoming – words. I adopt the distinction between categorical and thetic propositions,
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Universal quantifiers, focus, and grammatical relations in Besemah Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-05-09 Bradley McDonnell
This article describes adverbial universal quantification in Besemah, a little-described Malayic language of southwest Sumatra, and how the syntactic position of the quantifier relates to grammatical relations and information structure. Given previous descriptions of the relationship between quantifiers and grammatical relations, especially in western Austronesian languages (e.g., Kroeger 1993; Musgrave
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Dogon pseudo-subjects with or without true subjects Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-05-09 Jeffrey Heath, Vadim Dyachkov
Dogon pseudo-subjects are bare meteorological, temporal-environmental, and partonymic nouns of low referentiality/specificity that occur in fixed noun-verb collocations. The pseudo-subject controls the choice of verb in all cases, but it fails to behave like a true subject in linear position, in a quotative-subject construction, or in pronominal-subject agreement. The pseudo-subject is the sole nominal
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Markedness and voicing gaps in stop and fricative inventories Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-05-09 Sheng-Fu Wang
This study investigates the hypothesis that marked sounds are more likely to be gaps in a sound inventory. A gap is defined as an absence of an [α voice] stop or fricative when the [−α voice] counterpart exists. Different formulations of markedness are tested and evaluated on whether they label the gaps as more marked than attested sounds. Results show an overall success of markedness based on typological
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Verbal number in Idi Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-05-09 Dineke Schokkin
This paper provides a first description of verbal number in Idi, a language of the Pahoturi River family spoken in Western Province, Papua New Guinea. Idi shows an intricate system of marking verbal number, evident in verb stems and two sets of suffixes occurring in different positions on the verb, based on a distinction between nonplural (1 or 2) versus plural (more than 2). Verbs also agree in person
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Spatial prepositions min and ʕan in Traditional Negev Arabic Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-05-09 Roni Henkin, Letizia Cerqueglini
The Arabic prepositions min and ʕan in their prototypical spatial use relate to the Source domain, translating as ‘(away) from’. In many contemporary dialects ʕan is absent or limited to secondary, non-spatial meanings. In Traditional Negev Arabic, however, both prepositions are used complementarily. The proto-scene of ablative min is a Figure (F) exiting from a 3-dimensional Ground (G)-source, with
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Language simplification in endangered languages? Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-01-19 Alexander Andrason, John Sullivan, Justyna Olko
The present paper examines a hypothetical correlation between language endangerment and the simplification of nominal and verbal inflections. After contrasting the complexities exhibited by two endangered languages (Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl and Wymysorys) with the complexities of their non-endangered predecessors (Older Nahuatl and Middle High German, respectively), the authors conclude that the e
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Nominal reduplication in cross-linguistic perspective Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-01-19 Simone Mattiola, Alessandra Barotto
This paper aims at investigating the semantics of nominal reduplication cross-linguistically. Nominal reduplication is treated as an iconic morphological device expressing functions that have something to do with plurality. Nevertheless, in the languages of the world, other types of functions are attested as well, which seem to pivot around different notions like conceptual similarity, heterogeneity
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Concessive conditionals beyond Europe Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-01-19 Tom Bossuyt
The present study is concerned with complex sentences known as concessive conditionals from a functional-typological perspective. It examines the coding strategies used in the protasis of the three subtypes of concessive conditionals – viz. scalar, alternative, and universal concessive conditionals – in a global sample of 17 languages, thus complementing a previous study of their formal properties
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On the status of information structure markers Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-01-19 Chris Lasse Däbritz
The paper at hand deals with morphological marking of information structural relations from the perspective of North-Western Siberian languages. Given many items (morphemes as well as particles and clitics) which have been analyzed as markers of information structure in these languages, I try to discuss whether they indeed mark information structural relations or whether this supposed marking is rather
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The ‘general fact’ copula in Yolmo and the influence of Tamang Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-01-19 Lauren Gawne, Thomas Owen-Smith
This paper examines the similarity of the Yolmo ‘general fact’ evidential and the ‘generic fact’ evidential in the Tamang dialect spoken in the valley of the Indrawati Khola. Yolmo òŋge is unlike any evidential attested in other Tibetic languages, but shares features with 1kha-pa in the local dialect of Tamang. Semantically, they both are used for situations that are generally known facts. Structurally
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Manner of motion in Estonian Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2023-01-19 Piia Taremaa, Anetta Kopecka
Recent decades have witnessed an increasing interest in motion events resulting in thorough knowledge about expressions of manner. However, the individual dimensions of manner of motion have been investigated less extensively. In this study, we focus on one particular dimension of manner: speed. By analysing the Estonian language and applying corpus methods, we show that speed is one of the core dimensions
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From syntax to morphology Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2022-10-06 Yong Wang
Noun-incorporation is a process of word-formation in which a nominal constituent is added to a verbal root, with the resulting construction being both a verb and a single word. The incorporated element may be the object of the verbal element; it may also denote agent, instrument, location, etc. Once incorporated the nominal constituent figures less prominently. The meaning of the resulting new word
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Derivation predicting inflection Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2022-10-06 Olivier Bonami, Matteo Pellegrini
In this paper, we investigate the value of derivational information in predicting the inflectional behavior of lexemes. We focus on Latin, for which large-scale data on both inflection and derivation are easily available. We train boosting tree classifiers to predict the inflection class of verbs and nouns with and without different pieces of derivational information. For verbs, we also model inflectional
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Cross-linguistic patterns in the lexicalisation of bring and take Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2022-10-06 Anna Margetts, Katharina Haude, Nikolaus P. Himmelmann, Dagmar Jung, Sonja Riesberg, Stefan Schnell, Frank Seifart, Harriet Sheppard, Claudia Wegener
This study investigates the linguistic expression of bring and take events and more generally of the semantic domain of directed caused accompanied motion (‘directed CAM’) across a sample of eight languages of the Pacific and the Americas. Unlike English, the majority of languages in our sample do not lexicalise directed CAM events by simple verbs, but rather encode the defining meaning components
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Periphrastic causative in West Circassian Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2022-10-06 Paul Phelan
This paper looks at a grammaticalized periphrastic causative construction in West Circassian. West Circassian is a polysynthetic language and expresses information largely through morphological means, which makes this construction all the more unusual. As interest in the complexities of polysynthetic languages grows, it is important to look at periphrastic strategies and syntactic operations in these
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Nominal determination in Moroccan Arabic Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2022-10-06 Utz Maas, Stephan Procházka
Many studies on Moroccan Arabic presuppose the existence of a determination system organized along the lines of definiteness and indefiniteness. Hence, they postulate a ‘definite article’ with the form /l-/ and an ‘indefinite article’ as its counterpart in the form /waħd.l-/. This study shows that the so-called ‘definite article’ /l-/ is actually a general referential marker that mainly marks a noun
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Possessive inflection in Chichimec inalienable nouns Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2022-10-06 Borja Herce
Person and number of a possessor are expressed in Chichimec in one of two ways. Most nouns use possessive classifiers. A smaller class (typically inalienables) inflects for the possessor synthetically. This paper constitutes the first in-depth exploration of this latter class. These nouns are characterized by unparalleled levels of irregularity, with more than 100 different inflection classes and most
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Weather expressions in Basque Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2022-08-09 Iñigo Arteatx, Xabier Artiagoitia
We make two claims regarding weather expressions in Basque: first, based on Eriksen et al.’s (2010) typology, we show that Basque tends towards the argument type (and less frequently so to the predicate-argument type) when coding dynamic (precipitation or other) events and to both the argument and the predicate type when coding static events; Basque often has transitive structures (i.e. both transitive
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Conjunctions and clause linkage in Australian languages Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2022-08-09 Ellison Luk, Jean-Christophe Verstraete
This study analyses the role of conjunctions in clause linkage in Australian languages. Conjunctions are seemingly straightforward clause-linking devices, but they remain under-studied, both for Australian languages and from a broader typological perspective. In this study, we propose a functional definition of conjunctions, as set against other resources for clause linkage. We show that this captures
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Through space, relations, and thoughts Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2022-08-09 David Felipe Guerrero-Beltran, Katarzyna I. Wojtylak
This paper aims to describe the morphosyntax and semantics of postpositions in Karijona, a Cariban language from Northwest Amazonia. The data, collected in the Karijona settlement of Puerto Nare (Colombia), were analyzed according to Basic Linguistic Theory and Cognitive Semantics. Like other Cariban languages, Karijona has a typologically unusual system of postpositions, which can cross-reference
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Creating versatility in Thai demonstratives Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2022-08-09 Shoichi Iwasaki, Parada Dechapratumwan
Beyond their basic function to index exophoric and endophoric referents, Thai demonstratives have a host of pragmatic functions to encode concerns regarding discourse organization, subjectivity, and intersubjectivity. Based on a detailed analysis of demonstratives used in conversation, we attempt to uncover the pattern of grammaticalization for this class of words in Thai, and to propose a mechanism
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A cross-linguistic study of emphatic negative coordination Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2022-08-09 Iker Salaberri
The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed cross-linguistic analysis of so-called emphatic negative coordination (enc). This kind of clause linkage is illustrated by neither and nor in She neither could nor would speak lightly of the accident. On the basis of a 250-language sample, the paper lays out a new typology of enc meant to gain novel insights. It is shown that languages can combine
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Review of Plank (1995): Double case: Agreement by Suffixaufnahme Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2021-12-10 Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald
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Review of Harvey & Reid (1997): Nominal Classification in Aboriginal Australia Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2021-12-10 Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald
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Innovating postverbal negation in North Africa Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2021-10-27 Mena B. Lafkioui
AbstractThe present study investigates the grammatical origin of the postverbal negator ḇu in Rif Berber (Afroasiatic, Berber; North, Northeast, and Northwest Morocco) and in Moroccan Arabic of Oujda (Afroasiatic, Semitic; Northeast Morocco), the only languages in which it is commonly attested up till now. Based on new data obtained from recent fieldwork in Morocco, the study will demonstrate that
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Predicting voice choice in symmetrical voice languages Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2021-09-27 Sonja Riesberg,Maria Bardají i Farré,Kurt Malcher,Nikolaus P. Himmelmann
AbstractWestern Austronesian symmetrical voice languages exhibit at least two basic transitive constructions. This paper investigates what factors influence speakers’ choice of one voice over another in natural spoken discourse. It provides a thorough assessment of all factors that have been proposed to be relevant for voice choice in the literature on symmetrical voice systems. Using the Indonesian
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SAY-complementizers and indexical shift in Poshkart Chuvash Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2021-09-14 Mikhail Knyazev
Abstract Although SAY-complementizers have been extensively documented, the question of the forms used in this function and their specific properties has received less attention. The paper focuses on the complementizer tenine (an action nominalization of SAY), which is used with communicative reception verbs (‘hear’, ‘read’, etc.), in a dialect of Chuvash (Turkic). The main puzzle concerns the difference
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Synchrony and diachrony of postverbal negation in Jodï-Sáliban Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2021-08-27 Jorge Emilio Rosés Labrada
AbstractThis article proposes a detailed comparative treatment of negation in the Jodï-Sáliban language family (Venezuela-Colombia, Northwest Amazonia, South America), which consists of four languages: Jodï [yau], Sáliba [slc], Piaroa [pid] and Mako [wpc]. This comparative analysis of negation strategies across the four languages in the family not only offers an overview of negation strategies in this
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Clause-final negative particles in varieties of Swedish Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2021-08-25 Henrik Rosenkvist
AbstractWhile the Swedish negator inte may be doubled in a final clause-external position, in bothstandard Swedish and dialects, many dialects also allow a final, clause-internal particle (e, i orai) in negated clauses. FNPs occur in a coherent area around the Baltic Sea, and in contrast with doublingnegation, they are possible both after both inte and aldrig ‘never’. FNPs are also used inquestions
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Stories behind post-verbal negation clustering Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2021-08-24 Marianne Mithun
AbstractPost-verbal markers of negation were once thought to be rare cross-linguistically, but as more has been learnedabout more languages, it has become clear that such markers occur in a number of parts of the world. Moreover, they often appearin areal clusters, suggesting that language contact may play a role in their development. Such a cluster can be seen in awell-known linguistic area of North
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Variation in negation in Seto Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2021-08-24 Liina Lindström,Maarja-Liisa Pilvik,Helen Plado
AbstractSeto is an exceptional language in the Uralic family due to its systematic use of postverbal negation, although preverbal and double negation marking are also used. Postverbal negation is still the most frequent and unmarked pattern occurring in about 74% of negative clauses in Seto. This paper analyzes variation between pre- and postverbal negation in East Seto (spoken in present-day Russia)
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Paradigmatic consequences of the suffixing preference Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2021-07-26 Thomas Berg
AbstractAs one of the most robust typological findings, the suffixing preference captures the empirical observation that grammatical categories are more likely to be coded by suffixes than by prefixes. The goal of this contribution is to explore the effects that this asymmetry may have on the inflectional paradigms of the languages of the world. Three empirical issues are addressed: do languages with
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A typology of Goal-Source marking in transfer events Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2021-07-16 Seppo Kittilä
AbstractThis paper discusses the coding of Goals and Sources from a cross-linguistic perspective and proposes a formal-functional typology based on how animacy and direction affect their coding. The proposed typology comprises three types; Goal vs. Source-languages, animacy and direction-languages, and variable types. The paper shows that the coding of Goals and Sources is primarily conditioned by
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Stability and change in the colour lexicon of the Japonic languages Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2021-07-13 John L. A. Huisman,Roeland van Hout,Asifa Majid
AbstractPrevious work on colour lexicons focussed on universal patterns in their structure and evolution. We collected newcolour naming data in Japanese and three under-described Ryukyuan languages (Amami, Miyako and Yaeyama) to investigate semanticvariation and change in the colour lexicon of related languages in a modern context. We found several new colour terms (e.g.,midori and guriin for ‘green’)
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The missing link between truth and intensification Studies in Language (IF 0.392) Pub Date : 2021-06-08 Ruti Bardenstein,Mira Ariel
AbstractTruth markers commonly evolve into intensifiers (Heine & Kuteva 2002), but we here argue that this shift is only indirect, and a counter-loosening phase necessarily mediates between truth marking and intensification. Counter-looseners instruct the addressee to avoid (or rather, constrain) the very natural interpretative process of broadening, whereby the speaker-intended concept would have