In this thesis, I discuss the range of numerals in South American languages, the strategies that languages use to form their numerals, and what cultural and historical causes can be given to the...Show moreIn this thesis, I discuss the range of numerals in South American languages, the strategies that languages use to form their numerals, and what cultural and historical causes can be given to the range of the numerals. The Quechuan languages consistently possess an infinite decimal system. This could be the result of the preservation of the high numerals after colonization that were used to keep track of administration in the extended Inca Empire. In the Arawakan family, both the range and the internal structure of the numerals differ. Just as for the Quechuan, the Arawakan people were involved in trade and war which could indicate a need of high numerals. However, unlike for the Quechuan numerals, they have not been preserved. During colonization, Arawakan groups fled from their original settlements and adopted other groups into their communities, which indicates substratum influence and explains the diversity of the Arawakan numerals. In the Guaporé-Mamoré linguistic area, numerals are mostly concentrated around a maximum of 20. The body-part system and a connection to company or loneliness are common in the numerals in this area.Show less
This thesis compares the consonant inventories of constructed languages with the consonant inventories of natural languages, in an attempt to find out what natural languages are most similar to...Show moreThis thesis compares the consonant inventories of constructed languages with the consonant inventories of natural languages, in an attempt to find out what natural languages are most similar to these constructed languages in terms of consonant inventories. The main objective is to find out whether language creators are influenced by their native languages when creating their own languages. For this purpose, two programming scripts were created in order to quickly compare consonant inventories with each other. Using these programs, 7 constructed languages were each compared to 3,019 natural languages from the online database PHOIBLE. In more than half of the analysed constructed languages, the consonant inventories of the constructed language and the creator’s native language had an overlap of 70% or more, which, when compared to the overlap with other natural languages, is on the higher end of the scale, but rarely the highest end. These results point towards an influence of the native language of the creator on the consonant inventory of their created language.Show less
This thesis looks at positive and negative existentials in Finnish and Hungarian with the help of the framework of Denis Creissels’ 7 types of existentials for the positive constructions, as well...Show moreThis thesis looks at positive and negative existentials in Finnish and Hungarian with the help of the framework of Denis Creissels’ 7 types of existentials for the positive constructions, as well as Croft’s Cycle for the negative constructions. The findings are that neither language fits neatly within Creissels’ types, as both show several different constructions. Finnish has three distinct ways of forming existentials: ‘olla + locative’, ‘olla + agent participle of olla + locative’, or a ‘copula only’ construction. Hungarian has two different ways of forming existentials: with ‘lenni + locative’, as well as a ‘copula only’ construction. Not every construction is grammatical in every context. Often existentials cannot be clearly separated from locatives and possessives. Generally, word order and context work together with a specific construction to somewhat differentiate it from other constructions. However, multiple interpretations of a single construction are often possible, so this is not absolute. These findings go against multiple claims often made in conventional literature.Show less
The Dialect of Vlasotince is a Torlak variety of South Slavic spoken in and around the small town of Vlasotince in southern Serbia, between Kosovo (KiM) and Bulgaria. This grammar sketch aims to...Show moreThe Dialect of Vlasotince is a Torlak variety of South Slavic spoken in and around the small town of Vlasotince in southern Serbia, between Kosovo (KiM) and Bulgaria. This grammar sketch aims to provide a succinct description of its phonology, morphology and select syntactic features as currently used by the inhabitants of Vlasotince, supplemented with a small number of texts to illustrate its use in practice. Due to Vlasotince’s considerable growth since the end of WWII (Vukmirović 2013: 106) and the proliferation of media and schooling in the standard language, what is most commonly heard on the street nowadays is a variety with stronger influence from the standard language than is usually found in the works on Torlak dialectology from the past century, yet one that clearly retains much of its distinctive character. It is this contemporary, commonly used register, sprinkled with influences from the standard, that I have tried to describe here. It should serve as a representative snapshot of the way people from Vlasotince speak amongst themselves today.Show less
This thesis attempts to give a clear outline of the distribution of case in Australian languages and thereby aims to clarify the common divsion between Pama-Nyungan and non-Pama-Nyungan languages....Show moreThis thesis attempts to give a clear outline of the distribution of case in Australian languages and thereby aims to clarify the common divsion between Pama-Nyungan and non-Pama-Nyungan languages. That is, Australianists have not always agreed about which cases and core cases occur in which language groupings and what the alignment looks like in each language. On the basis of a representative sample of 12 Australian languages, I give an overview of the core cases and the alignment of these languages. The initial outcome shows a mixture of features, like a widespread ergative case and multiple forms of split ergativity, which not necessarily define the difference between the Pama-Nyungan and the non-Pama-Nyungan language family. As Pama-Nyungan and non-Pama-Nyungan are valid terms, one can, strictly speaking, still make the distinction between these two language families, yet not convincingly on the basis of case.Show less
Het Helmonds is een taal (ook wel dialect genoemd) gesproken in de stad Helmond, gelegen in het oosten van de provincie Noord-Brabant. Het behoort tot de Peellandse tak van het Oost-Brabants. Deze...Show moreHet Helmonds is een taal (ook wel dialect genoemd) gesproken in de stad Helmond, gelegen in het oosten van de provincie Noord-Brabant. Het behoort tot de Peellandse tak van het Oost-Brabants. Deze scriptie beschrijft zijn fonologie, morfologie en morfofonologie. In deze domeinen verschilt het Helmonds het sterkst van het Standaardnederlands (SN). Zo heeft de taal veertien monoftongen, één meer dan de dertien die Booij (1995: 5) voor het SN beschrijft. Dit is ook typologisch opvallend. Maddiesons (2013) sample van 564 talen bevat bijvoorbeeld maar één taal met veertien klinkers. Daarmee is het Helmonds een zeldzaamheid onder de talen van de wereld. Naast de grotere klinkerinventaris verschilt het Helmonds van het SN op het gebied van flexie. Het heeft affixen die niet voorkomen in het SN. Ook wordt modificatie van de wortel van een woord veelvuldig gebruikt om bepaalde morfologische functies uit te drukken. Verder heeft de toevoeging van morfologie vaak invloed op de realisatie van de wortel, waardoor de fonetische realisatie van de taal vaak afwijkt van haar onderliggende structuur. De morfofonologie is daarmee erg complex. Ondanks deze complexiteit is deze scriptie toch een erg volledige beschrijving van de eerdergenoemde domeinen. De data waar deze beschrijving zich op baseert is door de auteur zelf verzameld in Helmond. Hierbij heeft hij rekening gehouden met sociolinguïstische factoren als gender en plaats van geboorte binnen Helmond. Uit dit onderzoek is daarmee ook gebleken dat er twee variëteiten in Helmond gesproken worden, hier Perifeer Helmonds (PH) en Centraal Helmonds (CH) genoemd. Deze variëteiten zijn te verbinden met de plaats van geboorte van de spreker. Deze beschrijving is de eerste volledige beschrijving van de fonologie, morfologie en morfofonologie van het Helmonds. Het is daarmee een onmisbare bron voor eenieder die geïnteresseerd is in het Helmonds, maar ook in Noord-Brabantse dialectologie in het algemeen. Verder is de sectie over fonologie ook interessant voor het vakgebied van de taaltypologie.Show less
In this typological survey, I study the distribution of irrealis markers in a sample of nine South American indigenous languages. I do this to assess the typological validity of Reality Status, a...Show moreIn this typological survey, I study the distribution of irrealis markers in a sample of nine South American indigenous languages. I do this to assess the typological validity of Reality Status, a crosslinguistic grammatical category defined by Elliott (2000) about which there is much debate. This category assumes that a notional distinction of realized and unrealized events underlies the formal marking of the irrealis. Based on Elliott’s notional definition, and inspired by Michael (2014), I set out a group of irrealis parameters, grammatical categories which are expected to be marked for irrealis in a language which makes an RS distinction, and study which of these parameters are marked for the irrealis. I argue that assuming RS is often not adequate in explaining the distribution of irrealis markers and that this distribution should instead be explained by assuming a focal meaning of future prediction, which shows interaction with either degree of assertion or metaphorical inference from markers of deictic space. Together, these factors can account for the distribution of the irrealis markers in this sample.Show less
This thesis aims to discuss the distinction between nouns and verbs (and other word classes) in Wakashan and Salish languages. I will be discussing this distinction with specific reference to the...Show moreThis thesis aims to discuss the distinction between nouns and verbs (and other word classes) in Wakashan and Salish languages. I will be discussing this distinction with specific reference to the two main approaches in flexible languages – categorial and precategorial classification. For the categorial approach, I will be looking at how well Hengeveld’s (1992) PoS system, and its revisions (Hengeveld et al. 2004, Hengeveld & Van Lier 2010), can be applied to the six Wakashan and Salish languages. For the precategorial approach, I will be working with Don & Van Lier's (2013) precategorial approach and notion of syntactic flexibility to determine how well it can be applied to the Wakashan and Salish languages. The resulting data and analysis indicates that neither approach is particularly suitable. Categorial classification is shown to be slightly too restrictive, whereas precategorial classification can be viewed as not restrictive enough. Additionally, a recurring issue is that word classes aren’t always mutually flexible, a problem which neither approach seems to account for.Show less
In this thesis I will be looking at complex predicates of Dutch, Jaminjung, Saramaccan and Japanese. The approach will be to part from Dutch and investigate which semantic types of complex...Show moreIn this thesis I will be looking at complex predicates of Dutch, Jaminjung, Saramaccan and Japanese. The approach will be to part from Dutch and investigate which semantic types of complex predicates are also present in the other languages. I found that, although they differ greatly in the combination of word classes in forming complex predicates, they show a great amount of similar semantic types. Each language has complex predicates which are in meaning predictable from the combination of their parts, and those which are not. Both in the predictable and in the non-predictable types they have similar functions, among which one part expresses a causative, inchoative, directional, quantificational, aspect or resultative.Show less
Ameka en Levinson (2007) hebben de verschillende locationele constructies die voor kunnen komen in talen van de wereld opgedeeld in vier types. Bij twee types kan er gebruik worden gemaakt van de...Show moreAmeka en Levinson (2007) hebben de verschillende locationele constructies die voor kunnen komen in talen van de wereld opgedeeld in vier types. Bij twee types kan er gebruik worden gemaakt van de positiewerkwoorden ‘liggen', ‘zitten’ en ‘staan’, zoals het Nederlands dat doet. Maar, hoe maken talen in de rest van de wereld gebruik van positiewerkwoorden in locationele constructies met onbezielde objecten? Aan de hand van literatuur onderzoek en een questionnaire afgenomen onder moedertaalsprekers van het Zweeds is er in deze scriptie gekeken worden naar het gebruikt van (positie)werkwoorden in locationele constructies in talen van de wereld. De talen die aan bod komen zijn het Zweeds (Indo-Europees, Noord-Germaans), Seri (isolaat), Gurenɛ (Niger-Congo, Gur), Tzeltal (Maya, Yucatecan-Core Maya), Ese Ejja (Tacana), Yélî Dnye (isolaat) en het Galo (Tibeto-Birmees, Tani). Deze talen maken ruwweg op dezelfde manier gebruik van positiewerkwoorden: ‘liggen’ wordt vooral gebruikt bij horizontaal georiënteerde objecten, ‘staan’ bij verticaal georiënteerde objecten en ‘zitten’ wanneer het object in of vast zit aan de ondergrond. Ook ‘hangen’ wordt in enkele talen gebruikt bij onbezielde objecten. Er zijn enkele uitzonderingen te vinden in de locationele constructies van het Galo, Tzeltal, Ese Ejja, en GurenɛShow less
Stassen (2009) defines four major types of predicate possession: with-possessives, topic-possessives, locational possessives and have-possessive. This thesis examines which of these types occur in...Show moreStassen (2009) defines four major types of predicate possession: with-possessives, topic-possessives, locational possessives and have-possessive. This thesis examines which of these types occur in a sample of the languages of the Pacific North West Coast linguistic area. The data used for this research was collected for eight languages and the sample is one of convenience, though it was attempted to gather a sample as genetically and geographically dispersed as possible. The possession-type for each language was determined by examining data gathered with a questionnaire and/or with existing data from grammars or dictionaries. The research shows that four of the languages use a predicativized with-possessive construction, one has a basic with-possessive, one has a topic-possessive, and two have a dual system consisting of a have-possessive in combination with one of the other basic types. Stassen (2009) formulates four universals of predicative possession, one for every basic type of construction. The universal for with-possessive is as follows: if a language has a with-possessive, it has deranked DS-sequences. The data shows that Gitksan is a with-possessive language, but that it has balanced DS-sequences. This makes Gitksan a counterexample to the with-possessive universal as formulated by Stassen (2009).Show less
Shibatani & Pardeshi (2002) have argued that there is a continuum from direct to indirect causatives and that there is a connection between that continuum and the productivity of the causative...Show moreShibatani & Pardeshi (2002) have argued that there is a continuum from direct to indirect causatives and that there is a connection between that continuum and the productivity of the causative form. They have also proposed a hypothesis on causative-applicative syncretism. Meanwhile Dixon (2012) has found a correlation between the ‘compactness’ of causative forms and how those forms score on nine parameters. This thesis analyses causative constructions in a geographically and genetically balanced sample of nine languages to check whether these hypotheses hold. This thesis concludes that there is no evidence against these hypotheses and that any possible counterevidence encountered in the sample can be explained on the basis of one these hypotheses.Show less
This thesis attempts to establish an adequate framework to describe question words. On the basis of this framework some universal tendencies within the constructions of question words will be...Show moreThis thesis attempts to establish an adequate framework to describe question words. On the basis of this framework some universal tendencies within the constructions of question words will be established and some new insights will be exposed. Through the analysis of the question words of several languages an implicational hierarchy of the semantic categories of question words will be postulated. Furthermore, it will become clear that general question words need to be treated differently from question words which have a specified meaning regardless of the context. When looking at the internal constructions of question words, I conclude that all question words consist of a Q-element (QE), which indicates the interrogative mood and a Semantic Indicator Element (SIE), which specifies the exact content of the interrogative mood. The order of these two elements appears to be similar to the order of the head and dependent of nominal constructions. Finally I discuss the fact that this division between QE and SIE is also to be found in sign languages, and therefore universally applicable. Also, from a historical point of view the order of QE and SIE within submorphemes can be an indication of the head and dependent order in Proto-languages.Show less
According to Miestamo (2005:18), a lot of cross-linguistic research has been undertaken on what is called standard negation (Dahl 1979; Payne 1985; Forest 1993; Honda 1996). However, in these works...Show moreAccording to Miestamo (2005:18), a lot of cross-linguistic research has been undertaken on what is called standard negation (Dahl 1979; Payne 1985; Forest 1993; Honda 1996). However, in these works, little attention is paid to the negation of existential clauses. Recently, a typological study of negative existential clauses was carried out by Vesselinova (2013), who focuses on how this special type of negation relates to standard negation. Since affirmative existential clauses are often related to possessive and locative clauses (Lyons 1967; Clark 1978; Payne 1997), this thesis examines negative existential clauses according to their relation with negative possessive and locative clauses in a geographically and genetically balanced sample of 12 languages. This relation is compared to the way their affirmative counterparts relate to each other. The data used in this study comes from descriptive grammars, linguistic articles on the languages, and personal communication with speakers. It appears that in the majority (66,67%) of the sample languages negative existential, possessive and locative clauses are related to each other in the same configuration as their affirmative counterparts, while a minority of the sample languages is asymmetric in this respect. The pattern that is found in most of the sample languages is that in which all three clause types are related to each other. None of the sample languages follows a pattern in which negative existential clauses are not related to either negative possessive or negative locative clauses.Show less
