Four languages from the lower end of the typology of locative predication
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Michael Dunn
,
Anna Margetts
Abstract
As proposed by Ameka and Levinson (this issue) locative verb systems can be classified into four types according to the number of verbs distinguished. This article addresses the lower extreme of this typology: languages which offer no choice of verb in the basic locative function (BLF). These languages have either a single locative verb, or do not use verbs at all in the basic locative construction (BLC, the construction used to encode the BLF). A close analysis is presented of the behavior of BLF predicate types in four genetically diverse languages: Chukchi (Chukotko-Kamchatkan, Russian Arctic), and Lavukaleve (Papuan isolate, Solomon Islands), which have BLC with the normal copula/existential verb for the language; Tiriyó (Cariban/Taranoan, Brazil), which has an optional copula in the BLC; and Saliba (Austronesian/Western Oceanic, Papua New Guinea), a language with a verbless clause as the BLC. The status of these languages in the typology of positional verb systems is reviewed, and other relevant typological generalizations are discussed.
© Walter de Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Introduction: The typology and semantics of locative predicates: posturals, positionals, and other beasts
- Four languages from the lower end of the typology of locative predication
- ‘To sit face down’ — location and position in Goemai
- Locative construction and positionals in Trumai
- Grounding objects in space and place: locative constructions in Tidore
- Why a folder lies in the basket although it is not lying: the semantics and use of German positional verbs with inanimate Figures
- Laz positional verbs: semantics and use with inanimate Figures
- The coding of topological relations in verbs: the case of Likpe (Sεkpεlé)
- Standing divided: dispositionals and locative predications in two Mayan languages
- Publications received between 2 June 2006 and 1 June 2007
- Author index to Linguistics, volume 45, 2007
Articles in the same Issue
- Introduction: The typology and semantics of locative predicates: posturals, positionals, and other beasts
- Four languages from the lower end of the typology of locative predication
- ‘To sit face down’ — location and position in Goemai
- Locative construction and positionals in Trumai
- Grounding objects in space and place: locative constructions in Tidore
- Why a folder lies in the basket although it is not lying: the semantics and use of German positional verbs with inanimate Figures
- Laz positional verbs: semantics and use with inanimate Figures
- The coding of topological relations in verbs: the case of Likpe (Sεkpεlé)
- Standing divided: dispositionals and locative predications in two Mayan languages
- Publications received between 2 June 2006 and 1 June 2007
- Author index to Linguistics, volume 45, 2007
