11 Negatives
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Elly van Gelderen
Abstract
It is really important to express whether a statement or command is affirmative or negative. Most languages lack an affirmative marker, whereas all languages have negative markers. Unlike questions, which can be marked by changing word order or special intonation, negation is always marked by an independent word or affix. Although the expression of negation is universal, how languages express negation is pretty varied. Linguists look at questions such as if the negative is an affix, a separate word, an adverb, or a verb; if it is expressed differently in a declarative or imperative; and if it is expressed differently in sentences with copulas. This chapter explores some patterns that negatives in languages and language families of North America (NA) display. It examines five questions: (a) is it more typical for (NA) languages to have an affix or a particle, (b) where is the negative placed in the sentence, (c) are there negative verbs or auxiliaries, (d) is the negative different depending on the tense, aspect, mood (TAM), or subordinated nature of the clause, and (e) what do the negative indefinites look like? The main finding is that earlier negatives consist of two clauses that are condensed into one, with the negative now represented as auxiliary but originally a full verb inflected for TMA. This pattern is found frequently across the families/languages.
Abstract
It is really important to express whether a statement or command is affirmative or negative. Most languages lack an affirmative marker, whereas all languages have negative markers. Unlike questions, which can be marked by changing word order or special intonation, negation is always marked by an independent word or affix. Although the expression of negation is universal, how languages express negation is pretty varied. Linguists look at questions such as if the negative is an affix, a separate word, an adverb, or a verb; if it is expressed differently in a declarative or imperative; and if it is expressed differently in sentences with copulas. This chapter explores some patterns that negatives in languages and language families of North America (NA) display. It examines five questions: (a) is it more typical for (NA) languages to have an affix or a particle, (b) where is the negative placed in the sentence, (c) are there negative verbs or auxiliaries, (d) is the negative different depending on the tense, aspect, mood (TAM), or subordinated nature of the clause, and (e) what do the negative indefinites look like? The main finding is that earlier negatives consist of two clauses that are condensed into one, with the negative now represented as auxiliary but originally a full verb inflected for TMA. This pattern is found frequently across the families/languages.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Table of contents VII
- List of North American families, languages, and dialects XIII
- Maps XLI
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I Sounds and sound structure
- 1 Acoustic phonetics 1
- 2 Articulatory phonetics 39
- 3 Tone 63
- 4 Segmental phonology 89
- 5 Prosodic morphology 109
- 6 Word prosody 135
- 7 Prosody beyond the word 155
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II Words
- 8 What is a word? 183
- 9 Word classes 205
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III Sentences
- 10 Syntax within the clause 247
- 11 Negatives 267
- 12 Questions and requests in North American languages 283
- 13 Information structure 305
- 14 Clause-combining: Relative clauses 323
- 15 Clause combining: Syntax of subordination and complementation 345
- 16 Switch-reference and event cohesion 363
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IV Discourse
- 17 Verbal art 385
- 18 Conversation structure 421
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V Meaning
- 19 Lexicalization and lexical meaning 453
- 20 Lexicography 479
- 21 Evidentiality 497
- 22 Pluractionality and distributivity 511
- 23 Mass and count nouns 527
- 24 Sense of place: Space, landscape, and orientation 547
- 25 A sense of time and world 577
- 26 Pragmatics 599
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VI Languages over space and time
- 27 Languages as dynamic systems: How grammar can emerge 619
- 28 Language contact and linguistic areas 647
- 29 Language classification 669
- 30 Archival-based sociolinguistic variation 689
- 31 Community-based sociolinguistic variation 701
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Table of contents VII
- List of North American families, languages, and dialects XIII
- Maps XLI
-
I Sounds and sound structure
- 1 Acoustic phonetics 1
- 2 Articulatory phonetics 39
- 3 Tone 63
- 4 Segmental phonology 89
- 5 Prosodic morphology 109
- 6 Word prosody 135
- 7 Prosody beyond the word 155
-
II Words
- 8 What is a word? 183
- 9 Word classes 205
-
III Sentences
- 10 Syntax within the clause 247
- 11 Negatives 267
- 12 Questions and requests in North American languages 283
- 13 Information structure 305
- 14 Clause-combining: Relative clauses 323
- 15 Clause combining: Syntax of subordination and complementation 345
- 16 Switch-reference and event cohesion 363
-
IV Discourse
- 17 Verbal art 385
- 18 Conversation structure 421
-
V Meaning
- 19 Lexicalization and lexical meaning 453
- 20 Lexicography 479
- 21 Evidentiality 497
- 22 Pluractionality and distributivity 511
- 23 Mass and count nouns 527
- 24 Sense of place: Space, landscape, and orientation 547
- 25 A sense of time and world 577
- 26 Pragmatics 599
-
VI Languages over space and time
- 27 Languages as dynamic systems: How grammar can emerge 619
- 28 Language contact and linguistic areas 647
- 29 Language classification 669
- 30 Archival-based sociolinguistic variation 689
- 31 Community-based sociolinguistic variation 701
