Non-verbal Predication in the World’s Languages: A Typological Survey Volume 1: Eurasia, North America, South America

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Non-verbal Predication in the World’s Languages

A Typological Survey Volume 1: Eurasia, North America, South America

Edited by: Pier Marco Bertinetto , Luca Ciucci and Denis Creissels

Part of the multi-volume work

Comparative Handbooks of Linguistics [CHL]
Non-verbal Predication in the World’s Languages

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2026

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Comparative Handbooks of Linguistics [CHL]

About this book

The notion of predication is usually associated with the lexical class of verbs. However, the predicate function may also be expressed by Noun / Adjective / Adverb / Quantifier Phrases:

a. John is a doctor. b. The man is old. c. The boys are in the garden. d. Sam's friends are many.

Natural languages do, with respect to non-verbal predication, what they are expected to do in any compartment of grammar: they sharply diverge in their behavior.
This book offers a wide typological overview of how languages deal with non-verbal predication (henceforth: NVP). After the pioneering works by Hengeveld (1992) and Stassen (1997), no other work has attempted to provide a comprehensive overview of this pervasive syntactic phenomenon. Hence, the need for this book.
The introductory chapter highlights the main features to be considered:

the lexical and morphosyntactic nature of the predicate.
the morphological expression of NVP.
the semantic types of NVP.

The bulk of the book consists of a collection of papers, written by well-known specialists, targeting different languages or language families, thus offering a rich array of typological data.
This book will be of interest to typologists, syntacticians of any theoretical creed, and students of linguistics at large.

Author / Editor information

Pier Marco Bertinetto, Pisa, Italy; Luca Ciucci, Passau, Germany; Denis Creissels, Lyon, France.

Supplementary Materials

Questionnaires

Topics

Publicly Available

Frontmatter
I

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List of the Authors
V

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Acknowledgments

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Contents
IX

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Part I: Setting the stage
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1 Non-verbal predication: An analytical framework
1
Denis Creissels, Pier Marco Bertinetto and Luca Ciucci

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2 A diachronic view on non-verbal predication
57
Caterina Mauri and Andrea Sansò

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3 Crucial issues in non-verbal predication: A questionnaire
87
Denis Creissels, Pier Marco Bertinetto and Luca Ciucci

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Part II: Case studies
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4 Non-verbal predication in Caijia and Waxiang: A Southeast Asian perspective
91
Shanshan Lü and Hilary Chappell

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5 Non-verbal predication in Siyuewu Khroskyabs
129
Yunfan Lai

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6 Non-verbal predication in Uralic
155
Rigina Ajanki and Johanna Laakso

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7 Non-verbal predication in Turkic languages
195
Elisabetta Ragagnin

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8 Non-verbal predication in the so-called Paleosiberian languages
239
Brigitte Pakendorf

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9 Non-verbal predication in Tungusic languages
275
Brigitte Pakendorf

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North America
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10 Non-verbal predication in the Yupik-Inuktitut-Unangan (Eskimo-Aleut) family
313
Marianne Mithun and Carl Christian Olsen

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11 Non-verbal predication in Western Apache (Athabaskan/Dene), with comparisons to Hän Athabaskan
353
Willem J. de Reuse

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12 Non-verbal predication in Algonquian languages
385
Fernando Zúñiga

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13 Non-verbal predication in Lushootseed (Salishan)
429
David Beck

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14 Non-verbal predication in Uto-Aztecan languages from northwestern Mexico
463
Zarina Estrada-Fernández and Albert Alvarez Gonzalez

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South America
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15 Verbless clauses and copula clauses in Arawak languages
505
Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald

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16 Non-verbal predication in Tupian, especially Tupí-Guaraní languages
541
Wolf Dietrich

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17 Non-verbal predication in Zaparoan languages
581
Lev Michael and Christine Beier

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18 Non-verbal predication in Chicham
625
Simon E. Overall

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19 Non-verbal predication in the Pano languages of Western Amazonia
653
Pilar M. Valenzuela and Roberto Zariquiey

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20 Non-verbal predication in Guaycuruan and Mataguayan
697
Alejandra Vidal and Verónica Nercesian

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21 Non-verbal predication in Old Zamuco
743
Luca Ciucci

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Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

November 6, 2025

eBook ISBN:

9783110730982

Hardcover published on:

November 6, 2025

Hardcover ISBN:

9783110736328

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Front matter:

14

Main content:

784

Illustrations:

22

Coloured Illustrations:

3

Tables:

65

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110730982

eBook ISBN: 9783110730982

Hardcover ISBN: 9783110736328

Keywords for this book

Language Typology; Non-Verbal Predication; Copula Clauses

Audience(s) for this book

Scholars interested in Language Typology, Syntax and Semantics and Linguistics in General.

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Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Genthiner Straße 13
10785 Berlin
productsafety@degruyterbrill.com

Non-verbal Predication in the World’s Languages

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Supplementary Materials

Topics

Table of contents

Frontmatter

List of the Authors

Acknowledgments

Contents

1 Non-verbal predication: An analytical framework

2 A diachronic view on non-verbal predication

3 Crucial issues in non-verbal predication: A questionnaire

4 Non-verbal predication in Caijia and Waxiang: A Southeast Asian perspective

5 Non-verbal predication in Siyuewu Khroskyabs

6 Non-verbal predication in Uralic

7 Non-verbal predication in Turkic languages

8 Non-verbal predication in the so-called Paleosiberian languages

9 Non-verbal predication in Tungusic languages

10 Non-verbal predication in the Yupik-Inuktitut-Unangan (Eskimo-Aleut) family

11 Non-verbal predication in Western Apache (Athabaskan/Dene), with comparisons to Hän Athabaskan

12 Non-verbal predication in Algonquian languages

13 Non-verbal predication in Lushootseed (Salishan)

14 Non-verbal predication in Uto-Aztecan languages from northwestern Mexico

15 Verbless clauses and copula clauses in Arawak languages

16 Non-verbal predication in Tupian, especially Tupí-Guaraní languages

17 Non-verbal predication in Zaparoan languages

18 Non-verbal predication in Chicham

19 Non-verbal predication in the Pano languages of Western Amazonia

20 Non-verbal predication in Guaycuruan and Mataguayan

21 Non-verbal predication in Old Zamuco

Bibliographic data