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Polycategoriality and zero derivation

Insights from Central Alaskan Yup’ik Eskimo

Abstract

The possibility of polycategorial lexical items, unspecified for category, raises interesting issues. One is the predictability of semantic relationships between polycategorial forms in predicating and referring uses. Another is the language-internal generality of the phenomenon, whether it necessarily holds of all units at a particular level. A third is its cross-linguistic generality and potential association with certain typological features. These issues are examined with examples from a language exhibiting striking similarities to the Mayan languages for which polycategoriality has recently been argued. Central Alaskan Yup’ik Eskimo appears to show robust polycategoriality at the root, stem, word, and clause level. A closer look indicates that the story is actually more interesting, and that the universality of polycategoriality remains an open question.

Abstract

The possibility of polycategorial lexical items, unspecified for category, raises interesting issues. One is the predictability of semantic relationships between polycategorial forms in predicating and referring uses. Another is the language-internal generality of the phenomenon, whether it necessarily holds of all units at a particular level. A third is its cross-linguistic generality and potential association with certain typological features. These issues are examined with examples from a language exhibiting striking similarities to the Mayan languages for which polycategoriality has recently been argued. Central Alaskan Yup’ik Eskimo appears to show robust polycategoriality at the root, stem, word, and clause level. A closer look indicates that the story is actually more interesting, and that the universality of polycategoriality remains an open question.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Acknowledgments ix
  4. List of contributors xi
  5. Lexical Polycategoriality: Cross-linguistic, cross-theoretical and language acquisition approaches 1
  6. Part I. Polycategoriality
  7. The flexibility of the noun/verb distinction in the lexicon of Mandinka 35
  8. Derivationally based homophony in French 59
  9. Categorial flexibility as an emergent phenomenon 79
  10. Part II. Polycategoriality across Amerindian languages
  11. Polycategoriality and hybridity across Mayan languages 101
  12. Polycategoriality and zero derivation 155
  13. What determines constraints on the relationships between roots and lexical categories? 175
  14. Part III. Polycategoriality across Austronesian and Australian languages
  15. Lexical and syntactic categories in Nêlêmwa (New Caledonia) and some other Austronesian languages 207
  16. Two classes of verbs in Northern Australian languages 243
  17. Part IV. Linguistic analysis in the light of acquisition data
  18. The ontology of roots and the emergence of nouns and verbs in Kuikuro 275
  19. Flexibles and polyvalence in Ku Waru 307
  20. Word class distinctiveness versus polycategoriality in Modern Hebrew 343
  21. Part V. Lexical categories and polycategoriality in acquisition
  22. Noun and Verb categories in acquisition 381
  23. Semantic discrimination of Noun/Verb categories in French children aged 1;6 to 2;11 413
  24. The acquisition of action nouns in Yucatec Maya 443
  25. Author index 467
  26. Language index 473
  27. Subject index 475
Lexical Polycategoriality
This chapter is in the book Lexical Polycategoriality
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.182.06mit

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Acknowledgments ix
  4. List of contributors xi
  5. Lexical Polycategoriality: Cross-linguistic, cross-theoretical and language acquisition approaches 1
  6. Part I. Polycategoriality
  7. The flexibility of the noun/verb distinction in the lexicon of Mandinka 35
  8. Derivationally based homophony in French 59
  9. Categorial flexibility as an emergent phenomenon 79
  10. Part II. Polycategoriality across Amerindian languages
  11. Polycategoriality and hybridity across Mayan languages 101
  12. Polycategoriality and zero derivation 155
  13. What determines constraints on the relationships between roots and lexical categories? 175
  14. Part III. Polycategoriality across Austronesian and Australian languages
  15. Lexical and syntactic categories in Nêlêmwa (New Caledonia) and some other Austronesian languages 207
  16. Two classes of verbs in Northern Australian languages 243
  17. Part IV. Linguistic analysis in the light of acquisition data
  18. The ontology of roots and the emergence of nouns and verbs in Kuikuro 275
  19. Flexibles and polyvalence in Ku Waru 307
  20. Word class distinctiveness versus polycategoriality in Modern Hebrew 343
  21. Part V. Lexical categories and polycategoriality in acquisition
  22. Noun and Verb categories in acquisition 381
  23. Semantic discrimination of Noun/Verb categories in French children aged 1;6 to 2;11 413
  24. The acquisition of action nouns in Yucatec Maya 443
  25. Author index 467
  26. Language index 473
  27. Subject index 475
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