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Front Matter For Sil-Und Work Papers Vol. 24 (1980)

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

No abstract provided.

Notes On African Linguistics, Terri R. Scruggs

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction, "This report is an overview of some of the common features of African languages."

¡Ethical Dative And Possessor Omission Sí, Possessor Ascension No!, David H. Tuggy

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "There is a very common type of Spanish sentence which has the following properties: (i) One of the arguments of the verb is a noun phrase which consists of an article (almost always a definite article) and a noun. (ii) There is also a dative pronoun dependent on the verb, and (iii) the dative pronoun is understood as the possessor of the definite noun. [Examples follow]

"I will refer to sentences of this kind as PA-type sentences.

"It has been suggested that sentences like [those above] should be accounted for under the theory of Relational Grammar by …

Clause Types In Southeastern Tepehuan, Thomas L. Willett

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "The clause in Southeastern Tepehuan (hereafter SE Tepehuan) consists of a predicate, its associated arguments, and other modifying elements. This paper seeks to show the various types of semantic and surface clauses and the relation between them.

"The semantic clause consists of various semantic components, both nuclear and peripheral, semantic prosodies, and certain presupposed information. What these elements are for SE Tepehuan and what is the resulting division of the semantic universe is shown in section 1. Section 2 details the constituent surface structure and neutral and "marked" orders of these constituents in relation to these semantic …

Nembi Discourse Structure, Ruth A. Tipton

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis deals with the way paragraphs, sentences, and clauses are brought together in Nembi discourse to form a coherent unit. Insights into discourse structure and discourse analysis gained from Joseph Grimes, Robert E. Longacre, and Michael A. K. Halliday are applied in the study of Nembi narrative and procedural texts. The thesis is based on the analysis of fourteen texts: four procedural and ten narrative. Six of the narratives are ancestral legends, and four are based on recent events. The analysis has led to several conclusions about discourse in the Nembi language.

Discourse is organized into an introduction, a …

Front Matter For Sil-Und Work Papers Vol. 23 (1979)

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

No abstract provided.

The Abstract Consonant In Seri, Stephen A. Marlett

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "The hallmark of generative phonology has been the postulation of unique underlying representations for morphemes and the derivation of surface allomorphs by means of a set of rules. In order for these rules to have the greatest generality possible, a number of linguists have proposed solutions involving underlying segments that never reach the surface with the same feature specifications that they had at the underlying level. These 'abstract' solutions have generally posited segments whose features are fully specified. [...]

"Abstract solutions have generated an abundance of discussion and some alternative proposals have been presented for most of …

Personal And Impersonal Passives In Seri, Stephen A. Marlett

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "In this paper I will examine and discuss passive constructions in Seri. My purpose will be basically two-fold: first, to present descriptive and typological facts concerning these constructions. My second purpose is to discuss how these facts should be accounted for in an explicit grammar. The paper is divided into three major sections in which alternative treatments of these clauses are discussed. In order to compare these alternatives, I will make them explicit in terms of relational grammar (Perlmutter (1978a, 1978b, in press, to appear), Perlmutter and Postal (1977, in press a, in press b, to appear)). …

A Diachronic Explanation For The Origin Of Ovs In Some Carib Languages, Desmond C. Derbyshire

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

Derbyshire and Pullum (1979, this volume) report on the evidence they have accumulated during the past two years showing the likely existence of twelve languages with object-initial basic order (OVS or OSV). Such languages are contrary to what had been generally predicted in the literature on word order typology until 1977. All twelve languages are found in what might broadly be termed the Amazon basin of South America. Seven of the eight OVS languages belong to the Carib family.

This paper suggests a possible diachronic explanation for the emergence of OVS as a basic order in Carib languages. It takes …

Object Initial Languages, Desmond C. Derbyshire, Geoffrey K. Pullum

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "The purpose of the present paper is to present some facts that have come to our attention recently concerning a number of Amerindian languages which we believe do exhibit object-initial basic orders. The languages we shall discuss belong to South American Indian groups which are known to have suffered more or less catatrophic decline in numbers due to the onslaught of European settlement in the New World over the past five hundred years (see Hemming 1978). Since the historical accident of European colonial expansionism has had such a devastating effect in this case, linguists might be well …

Grammatical Relations In Universal Grammar, Donald G. Frantz

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "[W]e shall look at a number of recurring language phenomena involving grammatical relations. Because most of these allow a universal formulation only in terms of relational networks rather than linear or constituent structures, we shall make use of Postal and Perlmutter's promising framework, generally referred to as Relational Grammar (RG)."

Reduplication And Accent In Southeastern Tepehuan, Elizabeth R. Willett

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "In the early stages of analysis, Southeastern Tepehuan (SET) vowel length appeared to be conditioned by accent. Although accent fell in a majority of words on closed syllables, there were so many exceptions that no general statement could be made. Thus accent was relegated to being a feature of the underlying character of roots. Reduplicated forms, however, were a confusing body of unpredictable accent; if accent were phonemic, why did it occur on the root syllable of some forms, and on the reduplicated syllable in others? Some plurals were judged irregular because they seemed to lose or …

The Phonology Of Texmelucan Zapotec Verb Irregularity, Charles H. Speck

Theses and Dissertations

The phonological rules governing Texmelucan Zapotec verb allomorphy are presented here as part of the phonological component of a generative grammar of the type conceived of by Chomsky and Halle but modified by Stampe, Rhodes and others. This modified theoretical framework has been referred to as natural phonology. Basic to the theory of natural phonology is Stampe's observation that two distinctive types of phonological principles operate in natural languages: natural processes which are innate and rules which are learned. The natural phonemic level is seen to relate to these principles.

In section 1: Lower Level Phonology, those principles which operate …

Aspects Of Seri Phonology, Stephen A. Marlett

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "In the following sections I will discuss the presence of the surface segments W, kw, Xw, ŋ, and nasalization, and the status of the phoneme /w/ in present-day Seri. I will also discuss other prominent aspects of Seri phonology, especially those features in which this analysis differs from that of Moser and Moser 1965."

Front Matter For Sil-Und Work Papers Vol. 22 (1978)

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

No abstract provided.

Notes On Diuxi Mixtec Tone, John P. Daly

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "In this paper I give a brief description of a reanalysis of the tone system of Diuxi Mixtec previously analyzed by Eunice Pike and Joy Oram (1976). Their analysis is heavily influenced by their conception of probably phonetic manifestations of tone, whereas my analysis is more influenced by morphophonemic considerations. Giving more attention to morphophonemic considerations in determining tone phonemes makes possible a simpler account of the morphophonemics of tone. This account, however, is not at the expense of phonetic simplicity but is compatible with a phonetically reasonable and relatively simple account of allphonic processes."

The Modalis Case In Iñupiat, Wolf Seiler

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "Eskimo has a set of six post-positions which traditionally have been called a "case system" by Eskimologists. It is my purpose to demonstrate the uses of one of these, the modalis case, and to interpret them within the framework of Relational Grammar."

Some Discourse Features In Siberian Yupik Eskimo Narrative, David C. Shinen, Marilene R. Shinen

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "This paper presents a tentative analysis of some features of narrative discourse including four discourse markers in Central Siberian Yupik Eskimo (CSY)."

The Particle T'Ah In Slavey Discourse, Carl H. Harrison, Victor P. Monus

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

No abstract provided.

The Point-Line Dimension: A Way Of Looking At Some Aspects Of The Referential System In Indonesian, H. Bambang Kaswanti Purwo

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "There exist, in Indonesian, certain pairs of forms where, although each member of the pair can be given the same gloss in a language such as English, there is a contrast in meaning between the members of the pairs not easily captured in simple glosses. These distinctions turn out to be difficult to grasp for a person who is not an Indonesian."

Texmelucan Zapotec Suprasegmental Phonology, Charles H. Speck

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "Speaking of general characteristics of tone languages, William S-Y-Wang (1967) points out some basic differences between the types of tone found in language areas of the world. Among other things, he notes that for some languages tone functions primarily to make lexical distinctions with the Sino Tibetan family being cited as examples of this type. For other languages tone functions primarily on the grammatical level. Otomanguean languages are cited as examples of this type. In light of this fact, it is not surprising that two types of tone perturbation need to be distinguished in Texmelucan Zapotec, hereafter …

Loanword Lengthening In Seri, Stephen A. Marlett

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

No abstract provided.

The Verbal System In Godié: A Daughter Dependency Approach, Lynell Marchese

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "The goal of this paper is to describe the verbal system of Godié, a Kru language spoken in southwest Ivory Coast, within the framework of daughter dependency grammar. This model has been recently developed by the British linguist, R. A. Hudson. The model could be called "generative" since structures are built up through the application of various sets of rules. This type of grammar varies considerably, however, from other generative grammars in that it generates only one structure for each construction (rather than the traditional deep and surface structures, with several intermediate structures in between). Rather than …

Articles In Seri, Mary B. Moser

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

No abstract provided.

A New View Of To-Contraction, Donald G. Frantz

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

All treatments of so-called to-contraction in English (Lakoff 1970, Bresnan 1971, Lightfoot 1976) attempt to deal with the phenomenon entirely in terms of contiguity. The purpose of this squib is to point out that the major constraint on this phenomenon is rather one of subject coreference, and furthermore that this coreference condition is identical to that for a universal rule which I have called 'equi-subject clause union' (Frantz 1976).

On Downstairs Transitivity In Causative Clause Unions, Donald G. Frantz

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that a number of languages require downstairs (ds) intransitivity for causative clause union (CsU). In addition I offer for testing the hypothesis that ds intransitivity is a universal constraint in CsU. In order to accomplish my initial purpose and at the same time give preliminary testing to the proposed hypothesis, I will compare the predictions made by the received version of CsU with those made by my own version plus the proposed ds intransitivity constraint for a number of languages."

Remarks On Cheyenne Obviation And Pluralization, Wayne E. Leman

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction, "In Cheyenne, as in other Algonquian languages, when two or more third-person nominals are in the same sentence or "contextual span" (Wolfart 1973:17), one of the nominals must be treated as "nearer" or more "in focus" than the other third-person nominal(s). The nearer person is called the "proximate" form while any other(s) is said to be "obviate" (sometimes called a "fourth-person"). The proximate nominal can function as the "topic" of a discourse segment, or "the person earlier spoken of and already known" (Bloomfield 1962:38). The marking of one or more nominals as obviates is called "obviation".

Participant Identification In Choapan Zapotec, Rosemary Lyman

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

No abstract provided.

The Imperative Morpheme In Seri, Stephen A. Marlett

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

From the introduction: "There are several allomorphs of the morpheme indicating second person imperative and several of the morpheme indicating first person imperative in Seri. Since these allomorphs are for the most part suppletive in each case, it is necessary to posit two multi-clause spelling rules to account for them. In this paper I will present evidence for the analysis I have adopted which to the best of my knowledge accounts for all of the second person and first person imperatives in Seri."

Front Matter For Sil-Und Work Papers Vol. 21 (1977)

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

No abstract provided.