The evolution of differential object marking in Alor-Pantar languages

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F61989592%3A15210%2F18%3A73588340" target="_blank" >RIV/61989592:15210/18:73588340 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="http://langsci-press.org/catalog/view/173/873/1044-1" target="_blank" >http://langsci-press.org/catalog/view/173/873/1044-1</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1228247" target="_blank" >10.5281/zenodo.1228247</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

The evolution of differential object marking in Alor-Pantar languages

Original language description

This paper investigates the evolution of Differential Object Marking (DOM) in Abui and Teiwa, two Papuan languages of the Alor-Pantar family in Eastern Indonesia. In both languages, reflexes of the same proto-morpheme are used in the differential marking of P (the non-agentive argument in transitive constructions), but the languages contrast in the way Ps are differentiated. We compare the synchronic DOM patterns of Abui and Teiwa with each other as well as with the DOM patterns we reconstruct for their shared ancestor. We establish how different patterns of DOM in this family have evolved over time, and which semantic and morphological changes occurred in the process. In their morphological expression, there are two strategies by which P’s are differentiated: (i) the asymmetrical strategy involves an opposition between P as either a verbal prefix or a free nominal, and (ii) the symmetrical strategy where the choice of a P-prefix is variable depending on the semantics of P. Both strategies are used in both Teiwa and Abui, but the symmetrical strategy involves a choice between two different prefixes in Teiwa and five different prefixes in Abui. Different factors trigger DOM in both languages: in Teiwa it is mostly based on the inherent properties (animacy) of P, while in Abui there are many other triggers besides the animacy of P, including the affectedness relation between the action and the P referent and the inflectional class of the verb. Furthermore, Abui has developed an extra, third, formal strategy to differentiate human Ps from non-human ones in a serial verb construction. The alignment system we reconstruct for the proto-language was semantic. It evolved into an accusative alignment system in Teiwa, but was retained and further complexified in Abui. Alignment systems are not static: their forms and triggers may be modified and complexified over time.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

C - Chapter in a specialist book

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60203 - Linguistics

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2018

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Book/collection name

Diachrony of differential argument marking

ISBN

978-3-96110-086-6

Number of pages of the result

27

Pages from-to

"69–95"

Number of pages of the book

553

Publisher name

Language Science Press

Place of publication

Berlin

UT code for WoS chapter

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