Language and Linguistics - Current Issue

Abstract

This paper provides an intransitive analysis for an array of predicates which exhibit specific marking patterns in Budai Rukai. Contra previous lexical approaches, it is argued that a verbal prefix found on the predicates instantiates a functional head v, which constructs an intransitive vP. Its spell-out form is conditioned by its interaction with other higher functional categories, including tense, causative, passive, and complementizer. With respect to intransitivity, the resulting vP does not admit an accusative object, and it exhibits unergative, unaccusative, and anticausative properties. Regarding argument structure, these predicates are mostly one-place predicates. The sole argument is the grammatical subject which usually denotes an affected theme or an experiencer.

Abstract

In the Jieyang Southern Min dialect, the negative 無 bo⁵⁵ has evolved into a conjunctive that is used in multiple constructions: negative conditionals, cause and effect, disjunctives, and proposals. This paper aims to describe the multiple functions of 無 bo⁵⁵ and to construct its grammaticalization path as compared with those of 否則 fouze ‘otherwise or else’, and 要不 yaobu ‘if not’, in Mandarin. It is common in Chinese and other languages for a negative to combine with its adjacent conjunctive to develop a new conjunctive. However, the Jieyang dialect exhibits a unique feature in that 無 bo⁵⁵ is grammaticalized into a conjunctive per se by applying a complicated process of reasoning involving the logical relations among clauses without the support of any conjunctive constituents. This phenomenon can provide a new model for the study of grammatical evolution.

Abstract

This paper provides a preliminary description of the comparative construction in Tujia (northern dialect; NT), an endangered ergative Tibeto-Burman (TB) language spoken in China, in the context of the typologically diverse ways in which comparative meaning is expressed. In mono-clauses in NT, comparative marking depends on the position of the standard (i.e., that which is compared to). The standard may be marked with an ablative marker, or a topic marker if it appears in sentence-initial position due to left dislocation; otherwise, the comparandum (i.e., that which is to be compared) is assigned an ergative marker. Ergative on the comparandum and ablative on the standard can both occur but this is not obligatory. We propose that the ablative is the primary comparative marker in NT. However, this construction is subject to variation: the ablative marker is being replaced by a topic marker on the standard or by an ergative marker on the comparandum. We analyze this as change in progress (partly as a result of language contact); specifically, we propose that an ergative marker on the comparandum is starting to function as a focus marker, and in which the comparative meaning is derived from reanalysis. On the other hand, the comparative meaning in constructions where the standard is marked with a topic marker is proposed to result from the functional extension of the topic structure to comparative constructions. Both ergative marking on the comparandum and topic marking on the standard are typologically rare. Thus, the analysis of comparison marking in Tujia contributes to the typological understanding of comparative constructions in general.

Abstract

This paper has three aims. First, in its form, this paper uses a narrative style to overtly highlight the iterative process used to identify the meaning of the two suffixes in question. Second, this paper seeks to describe the intricate workings of two verbal suffixes in Thewo Tibetan. Finally, this paper makes a defense of why these two suffixes belong to the category of evidentiality. Thewo Tibetan is spoken in China on the Gansu-Sichuan border. The suffixes /ta³³/ and /nə³³/ appear either directly after action verbs, or directly after the progressive aspect marker. /nə³³/ is used to express that the speaker has sensory information of their claim at the time of the speech act. The temporal nature of the evidence, whether it is sensory information of the act itself or of the results of the act, is determined in part by the semantics of the verb (telic vs non-telic). In contrast, /ta³³/ is used to express that at the time of the speech act, the speaker no longer has sensory evidence (but formerly did) of the stated action. Based upon these observations, this paper argues that temporal space and verbal semantics are key to understanding the cognition which underlies interpreting /nə³³/ and /ta³³/. As such, this paper makes the following three contributions: (1) In its form it provides an anecdote of failures and success along the path to identifying the function and meaning of two evidential suffixes; (2) It introduces two suffixes of the hitherto un-described Thewo Tibetan evidential system; and (3) It gives an in-depth analysis of these suffixes and offers evidence to support the claim that they are evidential suffixes.

Abstract

Voicing alternation and the function of Tibetan verbal prefixes are two problems that have attracted scholars of Tibetan and Sino-Tibetan linguistics for over a century. This article presents a voicing rule in Thebo Tibetan and systematically analyzes the verb paradigm to explain the constraints for this rule and its apparent exceptions. The latter part of this article analyzes the evolution of the verbal paradigm from Old Tibetan to Thebo, using a model based on exceptions, sound laws, and analogy, and proposes the derived direction of the irregular verbal alternations in Thebo. The main contribution of this study is to provide additional evidence in solving the enigma of directionality for voicing alternation in Tibetan.

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to provide an analysis of two important aspects of conditional clauses in Korean. The first goal is to reveal the structure of the conditional clause. In investigating reduced conditionals and regular copula clausal conditionals, we suggest the right-periphery of conditional clauses based on the Split CP hypothesis (Rizzi 1997; Saito 2010). The second goal is to examine the distribution of the clausal pronoun kukes in reduced conditionals, which, we argue, is the result of FinP ellipsis, building on the ellipsis theory of pronominalization (Baltin & Craenenbroeck 2008). In doing so, we make two empirical points: (i) the parallelism regarding argument/adjunct asymmetry indicates that reduced conditionals are derived from clausal conditionals; and (ii) various connectivity effects reveal hidden clausal structure behind the pronominal element kukes, which means that there is a tight connection between focus constructions and conditional constructions in Korean. The implication of the present study is that we can argue against a simple-minded dichotomy of anaphora that says there are two types of anaphora, Deep and Surface, and Deep anaphora does not have syntactic structure.

This article reviews Toward a Motivation Model of Pragmatics9783110787580€144.95