19. Ethnicity, bilingualism and variable clitic marking in Bishnupriya Manipuri
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Shobha Satyanath
Abstract
This paper discusses variable patterns of overt marking in Bishnupriya NP structure. The main interest of the paper lies in the use of animacy-based classifier clitics (clf) which may be located on the head of a noun phrase, on one or more dependents, on both the head and the dependent(s) or on neither (i.e., zero marking). The variation in marking appears to be intimately linked with the structure of NP, variability in word order of NP constituents (i.e., head and the dependents), and the occurrence of the pronominal/numeral clitics (cl). The presence of cl itself is variable. The connection between the variable patterns of marking (of both clf and cl) and the variation in the ordering of head and dependent is explained in terms of bilinguality that is deeply embedded into the linguistic structure of Bishnurpriya. The duality of structure, it is argued here, serves as the symbolic marker of dual linguistic and ethnic identity of the Bishnupriyas as Bishnupriya Manipuri.
Abstract
This paper discusses variable patterns of overt marking in Bishnupriya NP structure. The main interest of the paper lies in the use of animacy-based classifier clitics (clf) which may be located on the head of a noun phrase, on one or more dependents, on both the head and the dependent(s) or on neither (i.e., zero marking). The variation in marking appears to be intimately linked with the structure of NP, variability in word order of NP constituents (i.e., head and the dependents), and the occurrence of the pronominal/numeral clitics (cl). The presence of cl itself is variable. The connection between the variable patterns of marking (of both clf and cl) and the variation in the ordering of head and dependent is explained in terms of bilinguality that is deeply embedded into the linguistic structure of Bishnurpriya. The duality of structure, it is argued here, serves as the symbolic marker of dual linguistic and ethnic identity of the Bishnupriyas as Bishnupriya Manipuri.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
-
Introduction
- The lure of a distant horizon: Variation in indigenous minority languages 1
-
Part I. Variation in phonetics and phonology
- 1. The phonetic and phonological effects of obsolescence in Northern Paiute 23
- 2. Diglossia and monosyllabization in Eastern Cham: A sociolinguistic study 47
- 3. Affricates in Lleidatà: A sociophonetic case study 77
- 4. Sociolinguistic stratification and new dialect formation in a Canadian aboriginal community: Not so different after all? 109
- 5. The changing sound of the Māori language 129
- 6. Toward a study of language variation and change in Jonaz Chichimeco 153
- 7. A sociolinguistic sketch of vowel shifts in Kaqchikel: ATR-RTR parameters and redundancy markedness of syllabic nuclei in an Eastern Mayan language 173
- 8. Phonological features of attrition: The shift from Catalan to Spanish in Alicante 211
- 9. Sociophonetic variation in urban Ewe 229
- 10. Phonological variation in a Peruvian Quechua speech community 245
- 11. A tale of two diphthongs in an indigenous minority language: Yami of Taiwan 259
- 12. Phonological markedness, regional identity, and sex in Mayan: The fricativization of intervocalic /l/ 281
- 13. The pronunciation of /r/ in Frisian: A comparative study with Dutch and Town Frisian 299
-
Part II. Variation in syntax, morphology, and morphophonology
- 14. Language shift among the Mansi 321
- 15. Fine-grained morphophonological variation in Scottish Gaelic: Evidence from the Linguistic Survey of Scotland 347
- 16. Animacy in Bislama? Using quantitative methods to evaluate transfer of a substrate feature 369
- 17. The challenges of less commonly studied languages: Writing a sociogrammar of Faetar 397
- 18. Language variation and change in a North Australian indigenous community 419
- 19. Ethnicity, bilingualism and variable clitic marking in Bishnupriya Manipuri 441
- 20. Clan as a sociolinguistic variable: Three approaches to Sui clans 463
- 21. Language loss in spatial semantics: Dene Sųłiné 485
- Index 517
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
-
Introduction
- The lure of a distant horizon: Variation in indigenous minority languages 1
-
Part I. Variation in phonetics and phonology
- 1. The phonetic and phonological effects of obsolescence in Northern Paiute 23
- 2. Diglossia and monosyllabization in Eastern Cham: A sociolinguistic study 47
- 3. Affricates in Lleidatà: A sociophonetic case study 77
- 4. Sociolinguistic stratification and new dialect formation in a Canadian aboriginal community: Not so different after all? 109
- 5. The changing sound of the Māori language 129
- 6. Toward a study of language variation and change in Jonaz Chichimeco 153
- 7. A sociolinguistic sketch of vowel shifts in Kaqchikel: ATR-RTR parameters and redundancy markedness of syllabic nuclei in an Eastern Mayan language 173
- 8. Phonological features of attrition: The shift from Catalan to Spanish in Alicante 211
- 9. Sociophonetic variation in urban Ewe 229
- 10. Phonological variation in a Peruvian Quechua speech community 245
- 11. A tale of two diphthongs in an indigenous minority language: Yami of Taiwan 259
- 12. Phonological markedness, regional identity, and sex in Mayan: The fricativization of intervocalic /l/ 281
- 13. The pronunciation of /r/ in Frisian: A comparative study with Dutch and Town Frisian 299
-
Part II. Variation in syntax, morphology, and morphophonology
- 14. Language shift among the Mansi 321
- 15. Fine-grained morphophonological variation in Scottish Gaelic: Evidence from the Linguistic Survey of Scotland 347
- 16. Animacy in Bislama? Using quantitative methods to evaluate transfer of a substrate feature 369
- 17. The challenges of less commonly studied languages: Writing a sociogrammar of Faetar 397
- 18. Language variation and change in a North Australian indigenous community 419
- 19. Ethnicity, bilingualism and variable clitic marking in Bishnupriya Manipuri 441
- 20. Clan as a sociolinguistic variable: Three approaches to Sui clans 463
- 21. Language loss in spatial semantics: Dene Sųłiné 485
- Index 517
