Reduplication can express a multitude of semantic or grammatical changes within languages, and can occur in more than one form. Per language there are its own phonological and/or morphosyntactic...Show moreReduplication can express a multitude of semantic or grammatical changes within languages, and can occur in more than one form. Per language there are its own phonological and/or morphosyntactic rules reduplication has to abide by. This thesis is written based on data of the Papuan languages of Timor, Alor and Pantar, found in the collective sketch grammars edited by Antoinette Schapper (Ed.) Volume 1 (2014), Volume 2 (2017), and Volume 3 (2020), comparing the data on reduplication in those languages aiming to formulate typological similarities and differences.Show less
This thesis investigates prepositions in Melanesian Pidgin, consisting of the varieties Tok Pisin, Bislama and Pijin. It provides a systematic overview of the different types of simple prepositions...Show moreThis thesis investigates prepositions in Melanesian Pidgin, consisting of the varieties Tok Pisin, Bislama and Pijin. It provides a systematic overview of the different types of simple prepositions, as well as a discussion of some complex prepositions. Full Bible translations of all three varieties have been used as a corpus. It is argued that the category of simple prepositions consists of basic prepositions and verbal prepositions. The latter category is divided into prepositions with verbal charachteristics and bifunctional forms. In taking all three varieties into account, existing theories are either affirmed or debated, the latter especially counting for the prepositional use of bifunctional forms in relation to serial verb constructions. A continuum on which the simple prepositions appear is proposed. Complex prepositions are shown to occur in all three varieties, with variation in the occurrence of the locative preposition and word order in Pijin. Additionally, a quantitative comparison is made between the varieties to learn more about the preferred prepositional strategies, concluding that Bislama prefers complex prepositions over similar bifunctional forms, Pijin displays the opposite, and Tok Pisin may use different lexical items.Show less
