Grammatical relations in Mixe and Chimariko
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Carmen Dagostino
Abstract
The growing documentation and analysis of endangered and other less commonly studied languages has revealed many unique grammatical systems which can not be explained using traditional concepts, such as subject and object. This paper compares two such systems in two different languages: (a) a hierarchical system with direct or inverse alignment in Chuxnabán Mixe and (b) a hierarchical system based on agents and patients in Chimariko. Although the two systems are very distinct, they share several properties and demonstrate how grammatical marking depends on the grammatical, semantic, and pragmatic properties of the arguments in a clause. Overall, this paper illustrates how the study of endangered and even extinct languages contributes to theories defining the nature of grammatical relations.
Abstract
The growing documentation and analysis of endangered and other less commonly studied languages has revealed many unique grammatical systems which can not be explained using traditional concepts, such as subject and object. This paper compares two such systems in two different languages: (a) a hierarchical system with direct or inverse alignment in Chuxnabán Mixe and (b) a hierarchical system based on agents and patients in Chimariko. Although the two systems are very distinct, they share several properties and demonstrate how grammatical marking depends on the grammatical, semantic, and pragmatic properties of the arguments in a clause. Overall, this paper illustrates how the study of endangered and even extinct languages contributes to theories defining the nature of grammatical relations.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Dedication vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Introduction xi
-
Part I. Language Endangerment: Challenges and Responses
- The world’s languages in crisis 3
- What can revitalization work teach us about documentation? 21
- Unanswered questions in language documentation and revitalization 43
- Training as empowering social action 59
- How to avoid pitfalls in documenting endangered languages 79
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Part II. Case Studies in Documentation and Revitalization of Endangered Languages and Languages in Contact
- Converb and aspect-marking polysemy in Nar 97
- Grammatical relations in Mixe and Chimariko 119
- Having a shinshii/shiishii ‘master’ around makes you speak Japanese! 141
- Internal and external calls to immigrant language promotion 157
- Code-switching in an Erzya–Russian bilingual variety 175
- Colonialism, nationalism and language vitality in Azerbaijan 197
- Revitalizing languages through place-based language curriculum 221
- Remembering ancestral voices 243
- Index 271
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Dedication vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Introduction xi
-
Part I. Language Endangerment: Challenges and Responses
- The world’s languages in crisis 3
- What can revitalization work teach us about documentation? 21
- Unanswered questions in language documentation and revitalization 43
- Training as empowering social action 59
- How to avoid pitfalls in documenting endangered languages 79
-
Part II. Case Studies in Documentation and Revitalization of Endangered Languages and Languages in Contact
- Converb and aspect-marking polysemy in Nar 97
- Grammatical relations in Mixe and Chimariko 119
- Having a shinshii/shiishii ‘master’ around makes you speak Japanese! 141
- Internal and external calls to immigrant language promotion 157
- Code-switching in an Erzya–Russian bilingual variety 175
- Colonialism, nationalism and language vitality in Azerbaijan 197
- Revitalizing languages through place-based language curriculum 221
- Remembering ancestral voices 243
- Index 271
