This thesis is a contribution to descriptive work on emotion expression in sign languages. The main purpose is providing a detailed description of anger expression in Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL),...Show moreThis thesis is a contribution to descriptive work on emotion expression in sign languages. The main purpose is providing a detailed description of anger expression in Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL), as well as placing this description within the framework of anger expression in the languages of the world. Anger is considered a basic emotion, resulting in a discussion about the universality of anger expression. This thesis aims to include sign languages in this discussion, by analysing anger expression in GSL in the context of proposed universals. Multiple data collection methods were applied, among which the usage of movie- and picture stimuli, scenarios containing different types of anger, and storytelling. Six signers of GSL were provided with these stimuli and asked to either narrate the movie, identify emotions, create a story containing expression of anger or act out scenarios. Results showed that GSL has a division, phonologically as well as semantically, between signs at the head and signs at the chest area. Furthermore, anger expression is largely iconic and metaphorical. GSL confirms existing theories about universals, such as the embodiment of anger expression and the universality of anger metaphors. However, GSL does distinguish itself from earlier research on anger expression in its usage of intensifiers. Furthermore, although GSL is based in American Sign Language (ASL), many of the signs belonging to the anger lexicon are unique to GSL. Nonetheless, the two signs most frequently used to express anger are the same in both languages.Show less
This thesis describes and analyzes the semantic categorization of fauna terms in Wayana and the role of culturally significant animals. Wayana is a Cariban language and this thesis specifically...Show moreThis thesis describes and analyzes the semantic categorization of fauna terms in Wayana and the role of culturally significant animals. Wayana is a Cariban language and this thesis specifically focusses on the language as it is spoken in the village of Apetina in the south of Suriname. My research approaches this subject using a transdisciplinary view in order to broaden the perspective on fauna to include indigenous knowledge which in turn can enlighten us about different conceptualizations of the world. Using the data collected from elicitations and spontaneous speech in the village over the course of two visits, I will attempt to create a semantic network of fauna terms. Issues on the perspective on fauna in Wayana include what their categorizations are for animals (e.g. what animals do they eat/do they not eat? How are the animals categorized, and in what priority?). I also attempt to create a better understanding of the role of fauna in ecological management and the role fauna plays in what could be called the “Wayana calendar”. This traditional ecological indigenous knowledge can lead to a deeper understanding of Wayana and the relation that the Wayana have with their natural world.Show less
There are a number of Cushitic languages that have a gender system that includes a gender known as ‘plural gender’. The existence of ‘plural’ gender is a peculiar feature in these languages and for...Show moreThere are a number of Cushitic languages that have a gender system that includes a gender known as ‘plural gender’. The existence of ‘plural’ gender is a peculiar feature in these languages and for that reason this thesis aims to find out how this gender developed. This thesis analyzes three languages in each of two branches of East-Cushitic languages. For each of the two branches this thesis examines at least one language with plural gender and one without.Show less
This thesis argues that conceptual blending of mental spaces (as described by Fauconnier and Turner (2002), and Brandt and Brandt (2005)) enables the understanding of metaphors and imagery. The...Show moreThis thesis argues that conceptual blending of mental spaces (as described by Fauconnier and Turner (2002), and Brandt and Brandt (2005)) enables the understanding of metaphors and imagery. The focus lies on the function of integration networks and their complex nested structures. I propose that the nested integration network designed by Per-Aage Brandt (2005) can be used to showcase the concept of a frame: a long-term mental space network of knowledge and information (Ziem 2014). Through the analysis of ten quotes from the Dutch literary comic series ‘De Avonturen van Tom Poes’ (‘The Adventures of Tom Puss’), this thesis demonstrates the use of a new model specifically designed to showcase nested structures: the Bommodel.Show less
The main focus of this thesis will lie on answering the question of how illness and health are linguistically expressed in the language of the Wayana, in order to acquire a more culturally...Show moreThe main focus of this thesis will lie on answering the question of how illness and health are linguistically expressed in the language of the Wayana, in order to acquire a more culturally appropriate understanding of the Wayana conceptualization of illness and health, which might result into an improvement of the health care system for the Wayana communities.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
The present study explores the relationship between multilingualism and expressiveness, with reference to the case of ideophones in Zulu. Ideophones make up a large and productive word class in...Show moreThe present study explores the relationship between multilingualism and expressiveness, with reference to the case of ideophones in Zulu. Ideophones make up a large and productive word class in Zulu, as they do in most Bantu languages (Nkabinde, 1986; Doke & Vilakazi, 1951). However, a study by Childs (1996) found that ideophone knowledge and use is in decline among young Zulu speakers in South Africa, likely because of influence from Afrikaans and English as prestige languages which do not have ideophones. This study seeks to follow up on this and expand upon it with the inclusion of gestures and an investigation of the attitudes surrounding ideophone use. The central finding is that the results here conform to Childs’s (1996) prediction that ideophone use is decreasing among Zulu speakers; however, ideophones are generally positively perceived by urban speakers, which stands in stark contrast to what Childs (1996) found. The implications of these positive attitudes are discussed in light of South Africa’s sociolinguistic history and current context. Lastly, I posit the tentative hypothesis that many of the functions of ideophones have persisted into urban Zulu in the form of onomatopoeia and even code-switching.Show less
Using a comparative typological method, this work investigates focus in Jamaican Creole and a selection of its West African substrates, in an attempt to determine the extent to which these...Show moreUsing a comparative typological method, this work investigates focus in Jamaican Creole and a selection of its West African substrates, in an attempt to determine the extent to which these substrate languages have influenced JC focus structures. This paper systematically analyses the typological features of JC focus structures and then compares them with those of the selected substrates, before reaching a conclusion about which substrate has had the most significant influence.Show less
This MA thesis provides the first description and discussion of three temporal predicative particles (aɬta, ɬke and hata) found in Sanapaná, an underdocumented and underdescribed Enlhet-Enenlhet...Show moreThis MA thesis provides the first description and discussion of three temporal predicative particles (aɬta, ɬke and hata) found in Sanapaná, an underdocumented and underdescribed Enlhet-Enenlhet language of the Paraguayan Chaco. Furthermore, it compares the form and function of these particles in Sanapaná to that of their cognates in the other Enlhet-Enenlhet languages: Angaité, Enxet, Enlhet, Guaná and Enenlhet. As such, this thesis has three main objectives. Firstly, it aims to be a contribution to the descriptive literature on an understudied indigenous language of South America, since it is based on primary data gathered during my own field work. Secondly, it hopes to provide insights into the genetic relations between the languages of the Enlhet-Enenlhet language family. Thirdly, this work hopes to provide data for possible areal or typological studies of the phenomena manifested by these particles: tense-aspectmodality systems, and (nonverbal) predication. It is argued that aɬta, when it follows a verb, functions as a prehodiernal past marker. When it follows a word from a different word class, it can locate the referent of a noun in the past (but is not a nominal tense marker), and it makes the inherent predicativity of this word explicit, just as Kalisch (2009) argues that these particles do in Enlhet. ɬke, secondly, is argued to be an immediate aspect marker when it follows a verb, and has the same predicative force when following a word from a different class. Furthermore, it can locate the previous mention of a referent or its previous presence in the extralinguistic context in the past. Lastly, hata functions as an indefinite future marker when combined with a verb, and also has this aforementioned predicative force. Based on these (admittedly limited) Sanapaná data and that of its sister languages, it seems that Unruh & Kalisch’ (2003) hypothesis of a Western and an Eastern branch of the family is warranted: Guaná, Sanapaná and Enenlhet cluster together, while Enlhet shares fewer features with these languages. Within the former group, Guaná and Sanapaná seem to be most similar.Show less
The thesis concerns Serudung Murut, a language of the Southwest Sabah subgroup of the Austronesian language family. Outside of a wordlist in Lobel (2016), virtually no published material on...Show moreThe thesis concerns Serudung Murut, a language of the Southwest Sabah subgroup of the Austronesian language family. Outside of a wordlist in Lobel (2016), virtually no published material on Serudung Murut exists. Data for this thesis comes from three main sources: two corpuses of language material collected in the periods of 1988-1991 and 2013-2016 by SIL researcher Jack Rushing, and one corpus of language material collected by the author for the author's Fieldwork (Internship) module in the period of January 16 to February 17, 2017. The bulk of language material comes from the variety of Serudung Murut spoken in the village of Serudung Laut in the western-most corner of Tawau Division, Sabah, Malaysia. Serudung Murut displays full lexical reduplication (mugad "travel" > mugad-mugad "wander about"), full root reduplication (gadingan "elephant" > gading-gadingan "lots of elephants"), and partial reduplication (bariu "wind" > babariu "windy"). Reduplication may occur with a stem from any word class, and may either alter the word class or the semantics of the stem, or both. Sometimes, a word which displays reduplication is amorphous, as with certain animal names and body parts: kakapir "praying mantis", sisigon "stingless bee", susuap "kneecap", bibingo "ankle". The thesis frames an analysis of reduplication in Serudung Murut according to a recent model devised by Jackendoff & Audring (to appear), called Relational Morphology. Relational Morphology is an offshoot of the Parallel Architecture (Jackendoff, 2002), a linguistic model which proposes that Phonology, Semantics and Syntax are independent linguistic components and are active simultaneously in speech production and parsing. Relational Morphology generalizes patterns between words in a lexicon and represents them as schemas. Therefore, a description of Serudung Murut reduplication according to this framework must posit generalized schemas which capture not only the structural variation, between full and partial reduplication, but also the variation in semantic effects.Show less
Amarasi nominal demonstratives ia, naan and ne are used both pro- and adnominally to refer to objects and entities in the speech situation, with ia being used for near-speaker reference, naan being...Show moreAmarasi nominal demonstratives ia, naan and ne are used both pro- and adnominally to refer to objects and entities in the speech situation, with ia being used for near-speaker reference, naan being the near-addressee term for visible referents and ne being used for distal reference. The terms ia and ne are visibility-neutral. The nominal demonstratives can be used pronominally in copular clauses to identify referents in the speech situation. In adnominal form, they can co-occur with other determiners in a noun phrase. The corresponding local adverbs are ia, naa and nee respectively. Both ia and naan can be used for endophoric reference. Addressee-based naan is used anaphorically to refer back to preceding noun phrases and preceding chunks of discourse. The cataphoric demonstrative is ia, used to introduce direct speech. Speaker-based ia can only be used for anaphoric reference when the referent has high topicality.Show less
This paper researches tone in Bobo Madare North, a Niger-Congo, Mande language (ISO 639-3: bbo), spoken in Mali and Burkina Faso, closely related to Sya. After examining its basic principles...Show moreThis paper researches tone in Bobo Madare North, a Niger-Congo, Mande language (ISO 639-3: bbo), spoken in Mali and Burkina Faso, closely related to Sya. After examining its basic principles regarding tone, a limited overview of tone in the verb system is given. The paper proceeds to investigate tone in the noun system. Morphologically simple nouns, inflection (pluralisation), some compounding and derivation, as well as tone processes happening across word boundaries (definite and possessive constructions) are investigated. The author makes use of her own research data, applying principles of autosegmental phonology for her analysis. Bobo Madare North has three underlying tones with automatic and non-automatic downstep, tone spreading and (local?) upstep.Show less
This master’s thesis focuses on comparing and contrasting Property Concept Words (PCWs) in six Amazonian languages. PCWs are usually referred as ‘adjectives’ in Indo-European languages, words that...Show moreThis master’s thesis focuses on comparing and contrasting Property Concept Words (PCWs) in six Amazonian languages. PCWs are usually referred as ‘adjectives’ in Indo-European languages, words that have a semantic denotation of properties or features. However, they vary in different languages regarding whether they belong to a morphosyntactically distinct word class or not. In other words, whether these PCWs should all be included in an adjectival class (if exist) or some may be categorized in subclasses of nouns or verbs. In my sample of six Amazonian languages: Panare, Hup, Karajá, Jarawara, Kwaza and Cavineña, PCWs are found behaving differently in each language. When discussing whether adjectives should be classified as a separate syntactic class or not, semantics is quite often involved. Moreover, the introduction of copula clauses complicates this discussion. Payne & Payne (2013) argues for a separate word class of AD-forms instead of adjectives in Panare to represent words that are usually characterized as either ‘adjectives’ or ‘adverbs’ in Indo-European languages. However, AD-forms are quite similar to nouns in Panare. Epps (2008) agrees on a closed set of adjectives in Hup that is quite similar to verbs regarding their TAM-marking, and similar to bound nouns when occurring postnominally. According to Ribeiro (2012), Karajá lacks an independent part of speech for ‘adjectives’ where PCWs are considered a subclass of nouns without much difference from other types of nouns. Dixon’s (2004) grammar distinguishes a small closed class of adjectives from other word classes in Jarawara and at the same time argues that PCWs can also be expressed through possessed nouns and stative verbs. In Kwaza, Van der Voort (2004) claims that it is unnecessary to exhibit a distinct class of adjectives whereas PCWs behave quite similar to verbs. Lastly, Guillaume (2008) introduces two distinct subclasses of adjectives, predicative and attributive adjectives in Cavineña, where the former function as copula complements and the latter are postnominal modifiers. The six languages vary in whether adjectives should be identified as a distinct word class or not. Even though these analysis may be of different approaches, PCWs show certain similarities across languages: they can both modify nouns and function in predicative constructions; they usually can take TAM-markers; the noun-modifier construction most likely parallels possessive construction. In a nutshell, these Amazonian languages are different from prototypical Indo-European languages regarding the syntactic distribution of PCWs. However, within Amazonian languages, syntactic variability of PCWs is large but possibly limited.Show less
Yanesha is claimed to be heavily influenced by Quechua, especially in the lexical and phonological domain. The neighbouring Campa languages have probably also been in contact with Quechua. In this...Show moreYanesha is claimed to be heavily influenced by Quechua, especially in the lexical and phonological domain. The neighbouring Campa languages have probably also been in contact with Quechua. In this thesis the influence of Quechua on Yanesha on the one hand and on Campa languages on the other hand are compared, with the focus on structural features of the languages. It becomes clear that Quechua influence on the grammar of Yanesha is meagre. In Campa languages the inclusive-exclusive distinction is probably due to Quechua influence, but this seems to be the only major change in Campa structure because of Quechua. This case study challenges most of the existing theories about structural changes that follow lexical influence (Campa) and those theories who claim that the situation that causes heavy lexical influx, would also cause influence on the structure (Yanesha).Show less
This thesis will provide a basic phonology and orthography of Bano’o. Bano’o is one of three dialects that are part of Batanga. Bano’o is spoken along the south-west coast of Cameroon. The first...Show moreThis thesis will provide a basic phonology and orthography of Bano’o. Bano’o is one of three dialects that are part of Batanga. Bano’o is spoken along the south-west coast of Cameroon. The first section of this thesis describes the process of data collection. Following the data collection, the thesis will present a basic phonology of Bano’o, with focus on vowels, consonants and tone. Subsequently the thesis will concentrate on syllable and word structure. The last part of the thesis contains a brief orthography of the language.Show less
The concatenation of fully lexical verbs within a predicate, or verb serialisation, is prevalent in all Alor-Pantar languages (Klamer 2014: 27-9). This study provides a comparative overview of this...Show moreThe concatenation of fully lexical verbs within a predicate, or verb serialisation, is prevalent in all Alor-Pantar languages (Klamer 2014: 27-9). This study provides a comparative overview of this serialisation in two parts: (i) it describes the functions that may be carried out by Alor-Pantar serial verbs and (ii) it investigates the function and grammaticalisation of participant-introducing verbs. The functions carried out by Alor-Pantar serial verbs were compared to Aikhenvald’s (2006) function hierarchy. It was found that Alor-Pantar serial verbs do not fit Aikhenvald’s hierarchy particularly well, as it shows numerous breaches. Furthermore, it was found that stages of grammaticalisation exclude verbs from being classified as serial verbs, which would otherwise fit the hierarchy well. It was also found that the hierarchy is non-exhaustive, as Alor-Pantar serial verbs show myriad other functions. Verbs that serve to introduce clausal participants, as noted by (Schapper 2014a: 15), are prone to grammaticalisation. The second part of this study provides an overview of these verbs, with a focus on their degree and direction of grammaticalisation as well as the kinds of clausal participants they may introduce. It was found that the degree of grammaticalisation varies greatly both within and across languages, and that grammaticalisation occurs in two directions, resulting in the formation of postpositions with a nominal complement and the formation of VP-incorporated postpositions and applicatives. It was also found that VP-internal postpositions have different functions from postpositions heading their own PP, and that these functions tend to become more idiosyncratic in time.Show less
