Dependent-head Synthesis in Nivkh
Dependent-head Synthesis in Nivkh

Author: Johanna Mattissen

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2003-01-01

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 9027229651

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Dependent-Head Synthesis in Nivkh has been awarded a prize of the Offermann-Hergarten Donation at the University of Cologne in 2004. The endowments are granted for outstanding innovative and comprehensibly documented research.This book offers an innovative approach to three interlaced topics: A systematic analysis of the morphosyntatic organization of Nivkh (Paleosiberian); a cross-linguistic investigation of complex noun forms (parallel to complex (polysynthetic) verb forms); and a typology of polysynthesis. Nivkh (Gilyak) is linguistically remarkable because of its highly complex word forms, both verbs and nouns. They are formed productively from ad hoc concatenation of lexical roots in dependent — head relations without further morphological marking: primary object — predicate, attribute - noun, noun — relational morpheme ("adposition"). After an in-depth examination of the wordhood of such complexes the morphological type of Nivkh is explored against the background of polysynthesis, noun incorporation, verb root serialization, noun complexes and head/dependent marking. For this purpose, a new delimitation and classification of polysynthesis is proposed on the basis of an evaluation of 75 languages. Besides contributing to a reconciliation of previous diametrically opposed approaches to polysynthesis, this study challenges some common preconceived notions with respect to how languages "should be".

Dependent-Head Synthesis in Nivkh
Dependent-Head Synthesis in Nivkh

Author: Johanna Mattissen

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2003-12-11

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 9027275203

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Dependent-Head Synthesis in Nivkh has been awarded a prize of the Offermann-Hergarten Donation at the University of Cologne in 2004. The endowments are granted for outstanding innovative and comprehensibly documented research.This book offers an innovative approach to three interlaced topics: A systematic analysis of the morphosyntatic organization of Nivkh (Paleosiberian); a cross-linguistic investigation of complex noun forms (parallel to complex (polysynthetic) verb forms); and a typology of polysynthesis. Nivkh (Gilyak) is linguistically remarkable because of its highly complex word forms, both verbs and nouns. They are formed productively from ad hoc concatenation of lexical roots in dependent — head relations without further morphological marking: primary object — predicate, attribute - noun, noun — relational morpheme ("adposition"). After an in-depth examination of the wordhood of such complexes the morphological type of Nivkh is explored against the background of polysynthesis, noun incorporation, verb root serialization, noun complexes and head/dependent marking. For this purpose, a new delimitation and classification of polysynthesis is proposed on the basis of an evaluation of 75 languages. Besides contributing to a reconciliation of previous diametrically opposed approaches to polysynthesis, this study challenges some common preconceived notions with respect to how languages "should be".

Advances in the Theory of the Lexicon
Advances in the Theory of the Lexicon

Author: Dieter Wunderlich

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2008-08-22

Total Pages: 509

ISBN-13: 3110197812

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The book investigates the interface structure of the lexicon from various perspectives, including typology and processing. It surveys work on verb classes, verb-noun similarities, semantic representations, concepts and constructions of polysynthetic languages, research on the processing of inflectional and derivational elements, and new work on inheritance-based network models. The book will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in all fields of linguistics and in the cognitive sciences.

The Languages and Linguistics of Northern Asia
The Languages and Linguistics of Northern Asia

Author: Edward Vajda

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2024-03-04

Total Pages: 528

ISBN-13: 3111378381

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The Languages and Linguistics of Northern Asia: A Comprehensive Guide surveys the indigenous languages of Asia’s North Pacific Rim, Siberia, and adjacent portions of Inner Eurasia. It provides in-depth descriptions of every first-order family of this vast area, with special emphasis on family-internal subdivision and dialectal differentiation. Individual chapters trace the origins and expansion of the region’s widespread pastoral-based language groups as well as the microfamilies and isolates spoken by northern Asia’s surviving hunter-gatherers. Separate chapters cover sparsely recorded languages of early Inner Eurasia that defy precise classification and the various pidgins and creoles spread over the region. Other chapters investigate the typology of salient linguistic features of the area, including vowel harmony, noun inflection, verb indexing (also known as agreement), complex morphologies, and the syntax of complex predicates. Issues relating to genealogical ancestry, areal contact and language endangerment receive equal attention. With historical connections both to Eurasia’s pastoral-based empires as well as to ancient population movements into the Americas, the steppes, taiga forests, tundra and coastal fringes of northern Asia offer a complex and fascinating object of linguistic investigation.

A Syntactic Study of Idioms
A Syntactic Study of Idioms

Author: Anna Dąbrowska

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2018-09-30

Total Pages: 371

ISBN-13: 1527516784

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Since the general tendencies of present-day English focus more on idiomatic usage, it seems to be worth paying attention to the role phraseological units play in a language. In the field of English phraseology, linguists have shown a constant interest in idioms. Undoubtedly, not only are idioms an important part of the language and culture of the society, but they also carry more impact than non-idiomatic expressions because of their close identification with a particular language and culture. It is difficult to speak or write English without using idioms, especially while describing one’s emotional or mental condition. Therefore, it is interesting and worthwhile to to analyse both the language of phraseological units and emotions. In other words, this book focuses not only on idioms, but also on one’s psychological condition. However, its purpose is neither to discuss the issues of idioms and emotions from the psychological point of view, nor provide a conceptual analysis of emotional metaphors. Instead, the book analyses idioms referring to psychological states in English from the perspective of syntax, focusing particularly both on the syntactic structure of this specific set of verbal psych-idioms, and on the constraints on the way they are built. Therefore, the most current studies, performed within the scope of the Phase Theory and the Idioms as Phases Hypothesis are chosen to address certain syntactic problems that idioms pose.

The Vanishing Languages of the Pacific Rim
The Vanishing Languages of the Pacific Rim

Author: Osahito Miyaoka

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2007-04-12

Total Pages: 552

ISBN-13: 0191532894

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This book presents the first comprehensive survey of the languages of the Pacific rim, a vast region containing the greatest typological and genetic diversity in the world. It includes the littoral regions of North and South America, Australasia, east and south-east Asia, and Japan, as well as the Pacific itself. As its languages decline and disappear, sometimes without trace, this rich linguistic heritage is rapidly eroding. In The Vanishing Languages of the Pacific Rim distinguished scholars report on the current state of the region's languages and provides a critical survey of the current state of the region's languages. They show what is currently known and recorded and what remains to be examined and documented. They consider which languages are the most vulnerable to extinction and what steps that can be taken to save them. Their analyses range from the regional to the local and focus on languages in a wide variety of social and ecological settings. Together they make a compelling case for research throughout the region, and show how and where this needs to be done.

Memorization and the Compound-Phrase Distinction
Memorization and the Compound-Phrase Distinction

Author: Marcel Schlechtweg

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2018-01-09

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 3110570866

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Over the last decades, it has been hotly debated whether and how compounds, i.e. word-formations, and phrases differ from each other. The book discusses this issue by investigating compounds and phrases from a structural, semantic-functional and, crucially, cognitive perspective. The analysis focuses on compounds and phrases that are composed of either an adjective and a noun or two nouns in German, French and English. Having distinguished compounds from phrases on structural and semantic-functional grounds, the author claims that compounds are by their nature more appropriate to be stored in the mental lexicon than phrases and supports his argument with empirical evidence from new psycholinguistic studies. In sum, the book maintains the separation between compounds and phrases and reflects upon its cognitive consequences.

The Sound Structure of Modern Irish
The Sound Structure of Modern Irish

Author: Raymond Hickey

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2015-02-17

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 3110369036

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The Sound Structure of Modern Irish contains a comprehensive description of the phonology of Irish. Based on the main forms of the language, it offers an analysis of the segments and the processes in its sound system. Each section begins with a description of the area of phonology which is the subject - such as stress patterns, phonotactics, epenthesis or metathesis - and then proceeds to consider the special aspects of this subject from a theoretical and typological perspective. The book pays particular attention to key processes in the sound system of modern Irish. The two most important of these are palatalisation and initial mutation, phenomena which are central to Irish and the analysis of which has consequences for general phonological theory. The other main emphasis in the book is on a typological comparison of several different languages, all of which show palatalisation and/or initial mutation as part of their systems. The different forms of Celtic, Slavic languages, Romance dialects and languages along with languages such as Finnish, Fula, Nivkh and Southern Paiute are considered to find out how processes which are phonetic in origin (external sandhi) can become functionalised and integrated into the morphosyntactic system of a language.

Interfaces in Functional Discourse Grammar
Interfaces in Functional Discourse Grammar

Author: Lucia Contreras-García

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2021-08-23

Total Pages: 457

ISBN-13: 3110711591

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In grammar design, a basic distinction is made between derivational and modular architectures. This raises the question of which organization of grammar can deal with linguistic phenomena more appropriately. The studies contained in the present volume explore the interface relations between different levels of linguistic representation in Functional Discourse Grammar as presented in Hengeveld and Mackenzie (2008) and Keizer (2015). This theory analyses linguistic expressions at four linguistic levels: interpersonal, representational, morphosyntactic and phonological. The articles address issues such as the possible correspondences and mismatches between those levels as well as the conditions which constrain the combinations of levels in well-formed expressions. Additionally, the theory is tested by examining various grammatical phenomena with a focus both on the English language and on typological adequacy: anaphora, raising, phonological reduction, noun incorporation, reflexives and reciprocals, serial verbs, the passive voice, time measurement constructions, coordination, nominal modification, and connectives. Overall, the volume provides both theoretical and descriptive insights which are of relevance to linguistics in general.