Arguments and information management in Inuktitut
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Elke Nowak
Abstract
Research on a variety of structurally different languages suggests that information packaging is assigned to grammatical form via preferred representations of arguments. According to the Preferred Argument Structure Hypothesis (PAS), these preferences can be captured by four interacting constraints. Since polysynthetic languages are not under the hegemony of syntax, the constraints concerning grammatical form must be reconsidered. In Inuktitut, arguments of predicates are represented morphologically, and in the vast majority of instances, they are not specified by independent lexical items. Incorporation, on the other hand, represents the established domain for lexical representation of arguments. In Inuktitut, and probably in other polysynthetic languages, information structure manifests itself within the domain of the polysynthetic word. Information structure thus manifests itself wherever grammatical configuration occurs.
Abstract
Research on a variety of structurally different languages suggests that information packaging is assigned to grammatical form via preferred representations of arguments. According to the Preferred Argument Structure Hypothesis (PAS), these preferences can be captured by four interacting constraints. Since polysynthetic languages are not under the hegemony of syntax, the constraints concerning grammatical form must be reconsidered. In Inuktitut, arguments of predicates are represented morphologically, and in the vast majority of instances, they are not specified by independent lexical items. Incorporation, on the other hand, represents the established domain for lexical representation of arguments. In Inuktitut, and probably in other polysynthetic languages, information structure manifests itself within the domain of the polysynthetic word. Information structure thus manifests itself wherever grammatical configuration occurs.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
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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
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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
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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
