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Complex verb formation revisited

Restructuring in Inuktitut and Nuu-chah-nulth

Abstract

This paper analyzes North Baffin Inuktitut affixal verbs as restructuring verbs. According to Wurmbrand (2001), restructuring verbs select complements of differing sizes. The sizes result in different behaviors. I show that there are three types of restructuring verbs in Inuktitut: (1) functional verbs; (2) verbs that select a thematically saturated complement; (3) verbs that select a tensed complement. The first two are also found in Nuu-chah-nulth, as discussed by Wojdak (2005). The present paper thus shows how restructuring is manifested in two polysynthetic languages. The case patterns found in the Inuktitut constructions are also discussed. We see that they are similar to patterns in other languages such as French, and they may shed light on some crosslinguistic puzzles.

Abstract

This paper analyzes North Baffin Inuktitut affixal verbs as restructuring verbs. According to Wurmbrand (2001), restructuring verbs select complements of differing sizes. The sizes result in different behaviors. I show that there are three types of restructuring verbs in Inuktitut: (1) functional verbs; (2) verbs that select a thematically saturated complement; (3) verbs that select a tensed complement. The first two are also found in Nuu-chah-nulth, as discussed by Wojdak (2005). The present paper thus shows how restructuring is manifested in two polysynthetic languages. The case patterns found in the Inuktitut constructions are also discussed. We see that they are similar to patterns in other languages such as French, and they may shed light on some crosslinguistic puzzles.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface vii
  4. Part I. Polysynthesis
  5. Polysynthesis in the Arctic 3
  6. Polysynthesis as a typological feature 19
  7. Analytic vs. synthetic verbal constructions in Chukchi and West Greenlandic 35
  8. Lexical polysynthesis 51
  9. How synchronic is synchronic analysis? 65
  10. Comparative constructions in Central Alaskan Yupik 81
  11. Part II. Around the verb
  12. The efficacy of anaphoricity in Aleut 97
  13. Objective conjugations in Eskaleut and Uralic 115
  14. Complex verb formation revisited 135
  15. Determining the semantics of Inuktitut postbases 149
  16. The marking of past time in Kalaallisut, the Greenlandic language 171
  17. Part III. Discourses and contacts
  18. Tracking topics 185
  19. Arguments and information management in Inuktitut 201
  20. Space and structure in Greenlandic oral tradition 215
  21. Grammatical structures in Greenlandic as found in texts written by young Greenlanders at the turn of the millennium 231
  22. Chat – New rooms for language contact 249
  23. Seward Peninsula Inupiaq and language contact around Bering Strait 261
  24. Typological constraints on code mixing in Inuktitut–English bilingual adults 273
  25. Index of languages 307
  26. Index of subjects 309
Variations on Polysynthesis
This chapter is in the book Variations on Polysynthesis
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.86.09com

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface vii
  4. Part I. Polysynthesis
  5. Polysynthesis in the Arctic 3
  6. Polysynthesis as a typological feature 19
  7. Analytic vs. synthetic verbal constructions in Chukchi and West Greenlandic 35
  8. Lexical polysynthesis 51
  9. How synchronic is synchronic analysis? 65
  10. Comparative constructions in Central Alaskan Yupik 81
  11. Part II. Around the verb
  12. The efficacy of anaphoricity in Aleut 97
  13. Objective conjugations in Eskaleut and Uralic 115
  14. Complex verb formation revisited 135
  15. Determining the semantics of Inuktitut postbases 149
  16. The marking of past time in Kalaallisut, the Greenlandic language 171
  17. Part III. Discourses and contacts
  18. Tracking topics 185
  19. Arguments and information management in Inuktitut 201
  20. Space and structure in Greenlandic oral tradition 215
  21. Grammatical structures in Greenlandic as found in texts written by young Greenlanders at the turn of the millennium 231
  22. Chat – New rooms for language contact 249
  23. Seward Peninsula Inupiaq and language contact around Bering Strait 261
  24. Typological constraints on code mixing in Inuktitut–English bilingual adults 273
  25. Index of languages 307
  26. Index of subjects 309
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