A typological overview of Mwotlap, an Oceanic language of Vanuatu
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Alexandre François
Abstract
The typologist reader is presented here with an overview of the most interesting characteristics of Mwotlap, an Oceanic language of Vanuatu. After a short presentation of its phonology, its main morphosyntactic categories are described and explored from a functional angle. The construal of noun phrases reveals a cognitive asymmetry between human individuals and other referents. Nouns, just like verbs or adjectives, are predicative, and are even sensitive to tense-aspect-mood markers and actionality properties. The argument structure of a verb can regularly be affected by its modifiers. Finally, deictics can be shown to play a major role in the structuring of discourse and complex sentences. Whenever relevant, the grammar of Mwotlap is briefly compared to other languages, and assessed in the light of existing typological generalisations.
© Walter de Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Suppletion in personal pronouns: Theory versus practice, and the place of reproducibility in typology
- Semantic and functional diversification of reciprocal and middle prefixes in New Caledonian and other Austronesian languages
- The noun phrase hierarchy and relational marking: Problems and counterevidence
- A typological overview of Mwotlap, an Oceanic language of Vanuatu
- Book Reviews
- Listening to the Pacific: In remembrance of Terry Crowley
Articles in the same Issue
- Suppletion in personal pronouns: Theory versus practice, and the place of reproducibility in typology
- Semantic and functional diversification of reciprocal and middle prefixes in New Caledonian and other Austronesian languages
- The noun phrase hierarchy and relational marking: Problems and counterevidence
- A typological overview of Mwotlap, an Oceanic language of Vanuatu
- Book Reviews
- Listening to the Pacific: In remembrance of Terry Crowley
