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Fillers and placeholders in Nahavaq

  • Laura Dimock
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Fillers, Pauses and Placeholders
This chapter is in the book Fillers, Pauses and Placeholders

Abstract

This discussion describes fillers and placeholders in spoken Nahavaq (Austronesian). Nahavaq has a wide range of syntactically-specific fillers which are related to various prefixes, some of which are synchronically unproductive. There are, for example, lexicalised placeholders (from ‘this thing’), which can function as nominal or verbal heads. There are also interrogative placeholders. These fillers and placeholders are distinguished in terms of their purpose, syntax, and prosody. Key words: Nahavaq; Austronesian; prosody; hesitation; filler

Abstract

This discussion describes fillers and placeholders in spoken Nahavaq (Austronesian). Nahavaq has a wide range of syntactically-specific fillers which are related to various prefixes, some of which are synchronically unproductive. There are, for example, lexicalised placeholders (from ‘this thing’), which can function as nominal or verbal heads. There are also interrogative placeholders. These fillers and placeholders are distinguished in terms of their purpose, syntax, and prosody. Key words: Nahavaq; Austronesian; prosody; hesitation; filler

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