Snippets of linguistic insight, as found in various
textbooks
Conditionals
- Sources of conditional connectives (if, when...)
-
Hopper, Traugott 1993, chapter 7
- forms for modality, e.g.: suppose
- interrogatives
- temporals expressing duration or are ambiguous between
duration and punctuality
- copula constructions [it being that]
- forms signalling something as known or given, [given
that]
Pidgins and creoles
- Characteristics of minimal pidgins
-
Hopper, Traugott 1993, chapter 8
- a lexicon comprised largely of the two major categories
N and V (e.g., Tok Pisin sik used for `be sick,
disease')
- lack of word formation rules in the lexicon
- periphrasis (e.g., Tok Pisin haus sik
`hospital', gras bilong pisin `feather', literally
`grass of bird')
- temporal expressions expressed by adverbs or particles
(e.g., Tok Pisin baimbai `later, future,'
pinis `finished, completed, past`); no consistent
means of expressing tense, aspect, or modality
- absence of inflection and allomorphy
- absence of clefting, topicalization, etc., largely
resulting from absence of fixed word order
- absence of embedding
- absence of stylistic variants
- Characteristics of creoles
-
Hopper, Traugott 1993, chapter 8
- articles: a distinction between
- definite inferential [I bought the book
(that you already know about)],
- indefinite referential [I bought a (particular)
book]
- indefinite non-referential [I bought a book (or
books)] (not even the speaker knows which
book(s))
- tense-modality-aspect systems, often through
periphrasis, typically sequences of
- ±relative past tense
- ±irrealis modality
- ±punctual aspect
- a distinction is made between
- realized (+realis) complementation [decided to do
it and did it]
- unrealized (-realis) complementation [decided to do
it but didn't, for some reason]
- multiple (aka. "double") negation: in negative
sentences typically both the non-definite subjects,
non-definite verb phrase constituents and the verb must all
be negated: [I didn't see nothin'!]
- clause dependency, especially relativization
- focusing by leftward movement
Complementation
- Types of complex clauses
-
Dixon, Aikhenvald 2006, chapter 1
- coordinate and non-embedded subordinate constructions:
- One boy sang and another boy danced -> One boy
sang. Another boy danced.
- One boy sang while another boy sang -> One boy
sang. (At the same time, ) Another boy danced.
The verbs in the clauses are independent.
- relative clause constructions: a clause modifies an N
and is part of an NP
- complement clause constructions: a clause is a core
argument of another clause (usually object) and the outer,
higher clause has a verb from a restricted set, usually the
verbs see, hear, know, believe, like and often
tell.
- Not all languages have complement clause constructions
-
Dixon, Aikhenvald 2006, chapter 1
Instead, or in addition, they might have one or more
complementation strategies
- Some languages have extended intransitive
clauses
-
Dixon, Aikhenvald 2006, chapter 1
Abbreviated E, this is often marked by
dative
Only a subset of intransitives can be extended, just about
the same subset that can take a complement clause
- Secondary verbs, aka, secondary concepts, must have an
argument that is a clause
-
Dixon, Aikhenvald 2006, chapter 1
- Verbs that may be complemented
-
Dixon, Aikhenvald 2006, chapter 1
- ATTENTION
-
- see, hear, notice, smell, show
- recognize, discover, find
- THINKING
-
- think (of/about/over), consider, imagine, dream
(of/about)
- assume, suppose
- remember, forget
- know, understand
- believe, suspect
- LIKING
-
- like, love, prefer, regret
- fear
- enjoy
- SPEAKING
-
- Some English verb/adjective pairs that are
complemented
-
Dixon, Aikhenvald 2006, chapter 1
Adjective |
Verb |
unsure (of/about) |
doubt |
sorry (about) |
regret |
afraid (of) |
fear |
fond (of) |
enjoy |
eager (for) |
want |
- Types of secondary concepts
-
Dixon, Aikhenvald 2006, chapter 1
- No addition to the semantic roles associated with its
related verb
-
- Most likely a verbal affix or a modifier
- If a verb and transitive, the complement clause has the
same subject as the outer verb
- If a verb and intransitive, the complement clause is
the subject of the outer verb.
- Concepts included:
- Negators: not, don't
- Modals: can, should, must, might
- Beginning: begin, start, continue, stop, cease, finish
- Trying: try, attempt
- want, wish (for), hope (for), pretend
- Prefers same subject in both clauses but must'nt
- As transitive verbs with complement as O
- As extended intransitive verbs with complement as E
- make, cause, force, let, help
- Realized by either:
-
A verbal affix increasing the valency by one, adding a
causer/helper
- A verb taking a complement as O
Subject of outer and inner verb are assumed to be different.
Dixon, Richard M. W.,
and Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. 2006. Complementation.
Hopper, Paul J., and
Traugott, Elizabeth Closs. 1993. Grammaticalization. Cambridge:
Cambridge Univ. Press.