Morpheme Order and Semantic Scope: Word Formation in the Athapaskan Verb

by Keren Rice

• ISBN13: 9780521583541
• ISBN10: 0521583543
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-18
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Athapaskan languages are well known for their intricate morphology, in particular the complexity of their verbs. The significance of these languages for linguistic theory is widely acknowledged. In this book, Keren Rice offers a rich typological survey of morpheme ordering in Athapaskan verbs, with implications for both synchronic grammar and language change. She shows that verb structure is in fact widely predictable across Athapaskan languages if appropriate syntactic factors and an overarching principle of semantic scope are taken into account. The presentation also includes a detailed study of argument and aspectual systems. This landmark volume is the first major comparative study of its type for the Athapaskan language family, combining descriptive depth with a contemporary theoretical perspective. Clear and insightful, it will be welcomed by Athapaskanists, typologists, historical and theoretical linguists alike.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Introduction: Beginning the Journey	1	(8)
PART I. FIRST STEPS
Introducing the Problem	9	(11)
The Templatic Nature of the Athapaskan Verb	9	(1)
Templatic Properties of the Verb	10	(5)
The Verb and Word Formation	15	(5)
Global Uniformity and Local Variability: A Possible Account	20	(13)
Two Hypotheses	20	(4)
Defining Scope	24	(2)
Theoretical Preliminaries	26	(7)
PART II. THE LEXICAL ITEMS
First Stop: Introducing the Lexical Items	33	(41)
Definitions	33	(2)
Preverbs	35	(6)
Quantificational Elements	41	(27)
Incorporates	68	(3)
Other Lexical Material	71	(2)
Summary	73	(1)
A Brief Side Trip: The Position of the Verb Stem	74	(5)
Ordering of the Lexical Items	79	(47)
On the Ordering of the Lexical Items	79	(3)
Principles of Ordering	82	(2)
Ordering within the Preverbs	84	(17)
Ordering within the Quantificational Elements	101	(5)
Ordering within the Incorporates	106	(1)
Summary	107	(1)
Ordering among Constituents	107	(14)
The Other Lexical Items (Negative, Inceptive)	121	(3)
Summary	124	(2)
Voice/Valence	126	(45)
Background Assumptions	127	(1)
Productive Uses	128	(30)
Middles and Causatives	158	(7)
Idiosyncratic Nature	165	(3)
The Lexical Entry	168	(1)
Summary	169	(2)
Summary: Lexical Items	171	(4)
PART III. THE FUNCTIONAL ITEMS
An Introduction to the Functional Elements	175	(5)
Pronominals	180	(66)
Subject Form Pronominals	180	(23)
The Status of Object Inflection	203	(7)
On Noncanonical Subjects	210	(12)
A Return to the Ordering Questions	222	(2)
Problems for Object-Subject Inflection Ordering	224	(20)
Summary: The Pronominal Inflection System	244	(2)
The Aspect System	246	(78)
Aspect 1: Viewpoint Aspect	246	(5)
Aspect 2: Situation Type Aspect	251	(30)
Ordering within Aspect	281	(2)
On the Role of the Suffixes	283	(12)
On the Position of the Suffixes	295	(8)
Beyond Slave	303	(7)
Ordering and Combinatorics	310	(10)
Summary	320	(1)
Appendix: A Comparative Look: Situation Aspect and Aspectually Determining Morphemes	321	(3)
Qualifiers and Their Ordering	324	(18)
The Qualifiers: Content	324	(8)
The Ordering of Qualifiers	332	(9)
Summary	341	(1)
On the Ordering of Functional Items	342	(27)
The Ordering of Objects and Situation Aspect	342	(4)
The Ordering of First/Second Person Subjects and Aspect	346	(2)
The Ordering of Subject Number and Aspect	348	(2)
The Ordering of Subject Number and Qualifiers	350	(3)
The Ordering of Noun Class Markers	353	(2)
The Ordering of Pronouns and the Middle Voice Qualifier: Semipassives in Navajo	355	(1)
Situation Aspect and d/n Qualifiers in Navajo	356	(1)
A Navajo `Floating' Qualifier	357	(2)
Interacting Systems	359	(10)
PART IV. A VIEW OF THE LEXICON
The Scope Hypothesis and Simplifying the Lexicon	369	(4)
Evidence from the Lexicon	373	(14)
Predictions	373	(10)
Summary	383	(4)
PART V. THE END OF THE JOURNEY
Looking Back, Looking Ahead	387	(14)
On the Nature of the Lexical Entry	387	(4)
On the Distinction between Inflection and Derivation	391	(2)
On the Domain of Word Formation	393	(1)
On the Role of Scope in Determining Morpheme Order	394	(1)
On Consequences for a Template Model	395	(1)
On Consequences for Historical Change	396	(2)
For the Future	398	(3)
PART VI. APPENDIXES
Templates and Affix Ordering	401	(5)
The Template	401	(3)
Pan-Athapaskan Templates	404	(2)
The Languages	406	(3)
Language Classification	406	(2)
Why These Languages?	408	(1)
Summary of Constraints and Language Differences	409	(6)
Ordering Principles	409	(3)
Interfaces	412	(1)
Differences Not Related to Scope	412	(2)
Idiosyncrasies	414	(1)
Notes	415	(16)
References	431	(12)
Name Index	443	(4)
Languages Index	447	(2)
Subject Index	449