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The evolution of grammatical nominalizations in Cahita languages

  • Albert Álvarez González
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Finiteness and Nominalization
This chapter is in the book Finiteness and Nominalization

Abstract

This paper studies the evolution of grammatical nominalizations in Cahita languages (Tehueco, Yaqui, and Mayo, from the Uto-Aztecan family) and also addresses the problem of the relation between nominalization and relativization in this kind of language. The analysis shows that as part of this evolution, the source of grammatical nominalizers is mainly postpositional in Cahita, and that an old agent nominalizer with tempo-aspectual restrictions (suffix -(’)u) has now become a new patient nominalizer. This change clearly demonstrates that the referential function associated with this grammatical nominalization is prior to the noun-modifying function, showing that in Cahita relativization has to be considered as merely one specialized function of nominalization, namely the modifying function of an appositive grammatical nominalization.

Abstract

This paper studies the evolution of grammatical nominalizations in Cahita languages (Tehueco, Yaqui, and Mayo, from the Uto-Aztecan family) and also addresses the problem of the relation between nominalization and relativization in this kind of language. The analysis shows that as part of this evolution, the source of grammatical nominalizers is mainly postpositional in Cahita, and that an old agent nominalizer with tempo-aspectual restrictions (suffix -(’)u) has now become a new patient nominalizer. This change clearly demonstrates that the referential function associated with this grammatical nominalization is prior to the noun-modifying function, showing that in Cahita relativization has to be considered as merely one specialized function of nominalization, namely the modifying function of an appositive grammatical nominalization.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgments vii
  4. Finiteness and nominalization 1
  5. PART I. Finiteness, nominalization and information structure
  6. Finiteness, nominalization, and information structure 13
  7. Exploring finiteness and non-finiteness in Pima Bajo (Uto-Aztecan) 43
  8. PART II. Correlation between continuum of finiteness and scale from dependent to independent clause
  9. Finiteness in Haruai 71
  10. Non-finite chain-medial clauses on the continuum of finiteness in Purepecha 83
  11. PART III. Nominalization structures and their relation to the scale of finiteness
  12. The evolution of grammatical nominalizations in Cahita languages 107
  13. On the tightrope between infinitives and action nouns 141
  14. Referential markers in Oceanic nominalized constructions 171
  15. The role of nominalization in theticity 205
  16. On non-finiteness and canonical imperatives 243
  17. PART IV. Diachronic process: re-finitization and finitization
  18. Nominalization and re-finitization 271
  19. Shifting finiteness in nominalization 297
  20. The Manner converb in Beja (Cushitic) and its refinitization 323
  21. On finitization 345
  22. Language Index 371
  23. Name Index 373
  24. Subject Index 377
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.113.06gon

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgments vii
  4. Finiteness and nominalization 1
  5. PART I. Finiteness, nominalization and information structure
  6. Finiteness, nominalization, and information structure 13
  7. Exploring finiteness and non-finiteness in Pima Bajo (Uto-Aztecan) 43
  8. PART II. Correlation between continuum of finiteness and scale from dependent to independent clause
  9. Finiteness in Haruai 71
  10. Non-finite chain-medial clauses on the continuum of finiteness in Purepecha 83
  11. PART III. Nominalization structures and their relation to the scale of finiteness
  12. The evolution of grammatical nominalizations in Cahita languages 107
  13. On the tightrope between infinitives and action nouns 141
  14. Referential markers in Oceanic nominalized constructions 171
  15. The role of nominalization in theticity 205
  16. On non-finiteness and canonical imperatives 243
  17. PART IV. Diachronic process: re-finitization and finitization
  18. Nominalization and re-finitization 271
  19. Shifting finiteness in nominalization 297
  20. The Manner converb in Beja (Cushitic) and its refinitization 323
  21. On finitization 345
  22. Language Index 371
  23. Name Index 373
  24. Subject Index 377
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