John Benjamins Publishing Company
Comparative constructions in Central Alaskan Yupik
Abstract
Eskimo comparative constructions include both comparative (’be more __ than’ as well as the superlative ‘be the most __’) and equalitive clauses (‘be as __ as’). In Central Alaskan Yupik at least, a number of typologically interesting features of these constructions have to my knowledge thus far received no attention, in particular the fact that both comparative and equalitive clauses (the ingressive ‘become more __ than’ as well as the stative) may be either transitive or intransitive. The morphological devices employed for this purpose may provide us with a glimpse into the properties of Eskimo-type polysynthesis, among them perhaps, the recursive reverbalisation of deverbalised clauses.
Abstract
Eskimo comparative constructions include both comparative (’be more __ than’ as well as the superlative ‘be the most __’) and equalitive clauses (‘be as __ as’). In Central Alaskan Yupik at least, a number of typologically interesting features of these constructions have to my knowledge thus far received no attention, in particular the fact that both comparative and equalitive clauses (the ingressive ‘become more __ than’ as well as the stative) may be either transitive or intransitive. The morphological devices employed for this purpose may provide us with a glimpse into the properties of Eskimo-type polysynthesis, among them perhaps, the recursive reverbalisation of deverbalised clauses.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
-
Part I. Polysynthesis
- Polysynthesis in the Arctic 3
- Polysynthesis as a typological feature 19
- Analytic vs. synthetic verbal constructions in Chukchi and West Greenlandic 35
- Lexical polysynthesis 51
- How synchronic is synchronic analysis? 65
- Comparative constructions in Central Alaskan Yupik 81
-
Part II. Around the verb
- The efficacy of anaphoricity in Aleut 97
- Objective conjugations in Eskaleut and Uralic 115
- Complex verb formation revisited 135
- Determining the semantics of Inuktitut postbases 149
- The marking of past time in Kalaallisut, the Greenlandic language 171
-
Part III. Discourses and contacts
- Tracking topics 185
- Arguments and information management in Inuktitut 201
- Space and structure in Greenlandic oral tradition 215
- Grammatical structures in Greenlandic as found in texts written by young Greenlanders at the turn of the millennium 231
- Chat – New rooms for language contact 249
- Seward Peninsula Inupiaq and language contact around Bering Strait 261
- Typological constraints on code mixing in Inuktitut–English bilingual adults 273
- Index of languages 307
- Index of subjects 309
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
-
Part I. Polysynthesis
- Polysynthesis in the Arctic 3
- Polysynthesis as a typological feature 19
- Analytic vs. synthetic verbal constructions in Chukchi and West Greenlandic 35
- Lexical polysynthesis 51
- How synchronic is synchronic analysis? 65
- Comparative constructions in Central Alaskan Yupik 81
-
Part II. Around the verb
- The efficacy of anaphoricity in Aleut 97
- Objective conjugations in Eskaleut and Uralic 115
- Complex verb formation revisited 135
- Determining the semantics of Inuktitut postbases 149
- The marking of past time in Kalaallisut, the Greenlandic language 171
-
Part III. Discourses and contacts
- Tracking topics 185
- Arguments and information management in Inuktitut 201
- Space and structure in Greenlandic oral tradition 215
- Grammatical structures in Greenlandic as found in texts written by young Greenlanders at the turn of the millennium 231
- Chat – New rooms for language contact 249
- Seward Peninsula Inupiaq and language contact around Bering Strait 261
- Typological constraints on code mixing in Inuktitut–English bilingual adults 273
- Index of languages 307
- Index of subjects 309
