Determining the semantics of Inuktitut postbases
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Conor Cook
Abstract
This paper examines a number of properties of Inuktitut postbases, which are affixal morphemes that appear between the root and inflection. These morphemes are the source of polysynthesis in Inuktitut, since they allow the word to expand in principle indefinitely. A number of authors have pointed out that these elements are quite abstract in meaning. We argue that this property stems from the fact that they are all functional morphemes (Harley and Noyer 2000), i.e., grammatical elements. Their ordering is based on hierarchical relations which are determined by universals (Fortescue 1980; Cinque 1999). We show that both the affixal nature and abstract semantics of these elements have independent sources and result from general properties of the syntax, not from individual and idiosyncratic lexical specification.
Abstract
This paper examines a number of properties of Inuktitut postbases, which are affixal morphemes that appear between the root and inflection. These morphemes are the source of polysynthesis in Inuktitut, since they allow the word to expand in principle indefinitely. A number of authors have pointed out that these elements are quite abstract in meaning. We argue that this property stems from the fact that they are all functional morphemes (Harley and Noyer 2000), i.e., grammatical elements. Their ordering is based on hierarchical relations which are determined by universals (Fortescue 1980; Cinque 1999). We show that both the affixal nature and abstract semantics of these elements have independent sources and result from general properties of the syntax, not from individual and idiosyncratic lexical specification.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
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Part I. Polysynthesis
- Polysynthesis in the Arctic 3
- Polysynthesis as a typological feature 19
- Analytic vs. synthetic verbal constructions in Chukchi and West Greenlandic 35
- Lexical polysynthesis 51
- How synchronic is synchronic analysis? 65
- Comparative constructions in Central Alaskan Yupik 81
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Part II. Around the verb
- The efficacy of anaphoricity in Aleut 97
- Objective conjugations in Eskaleut and Uralic 115
- Complex verb formation revisited 135
- Determining the semantics of Inuktitut postbases 149
- The marking of past time in Kalaallisut, the Greenlandic language 171
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Part III. Discourses and contacts
- Tracking topics 185
- Arguments and information management in Inuktitut 201
- Space and structure in Greenlandic oral tradition 215
- Grammatical structures in Greenlandic as found in texts written by young Greenlanders at the turn of the millennium 231
- Chat – New rooms for language contact 249
- Seward Peninsula Inupiaq and language contact around Bering Strait 261
- Typological constraints on code mixing in Inuktitut–English bilingual adults 273
- Index of languages 307
- Index of subjects 309
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
-
Part I. Polysynthesis
- Polysynthesis in the Arctic 3
- Polysynthesis as a typological feature 19
- Analytic vs. synthetic verbal constructions in Chukchi and West Greenlandic 35
- Lexical polysynthesis 51
- How synchronic is synchronic analysis? 65
- Comparative constructions in Central Alaskan Yupik 81
-
Part II. Around the verb
- The efficacy of anaphoricity in Aleut 97
- Objective conjugations in Eskaleut and Uralic 115
- Complex verb formation revisited 135
- Determining the semantics of Inuktitut postbases 149
- The marking of past time in Kalaallisut, the Greenlandic language 171
-
Part III. Discourses and contacts
- Tracking topics 185
- Arguments and information management in Inuktitut 201
- Space and structure in Greenlandic oral tradition 215
- Grammatical structures in Greenlandic as found in texts written by young Greenlanders at the turn of the millennium 231
- Chat – New rooms for language contact 249
- Seward Peninsula Inupiaq and language contact around Bering Strait 261
- Typological constraints on code mixing in Inuktitut–English bilingual adults 273
- Index of languages 307
- Index of subjects 309
