Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis uses Klein’s ("Time in Language", 1994) approach to tense and aspect to analyse verbal aspect in Ecuadorian Siona, a West-Tukanoan language of north-eastern Ecuador. Siona obligatorily...Show moreThis thesis uses Klein’s ("Time in Language", 1994) approach to tense and aspect to analyse verbal aspect in Ecuadorian Siona, a West-Tukanoan language of north-eastern Ecuador. Siona obligatorily encodes either perfective or imperfective aspect on its dependent verbs. These aspectual forms have two functions: a temporal one and a discourse one. As for the temporal function, imperfective forms signal that a state of affairs (event, situation, state, etc.) does not yet come to an end at a reference time, whereas perfective forms signal that a state of affairs does come to an end at a reference time. The discourse function is found in the verb caye ‘to say, to ask’. Imperfective forms signal that the speech act will be followed by a reply or an addition, whereas perfective forms signal that this is not the case. As such, imperfective forms signal that a verbal exchange does not yet come to an end, whereas perfective forms signal that a verbal exchange does come to an end. This discourse function is the product of a metaphorical extension of the temporal function. This thesis concludes that Klein’s (1994) approach presents a considerable number of analytical advantages over Reichenbach’s (1947) approach and other neo-Reichenbachian approaches when we want to analyse the temporal function and understand the discourse function of Siona aspect.Show less
In this thesis, I provide the first acoustic description of Ecuadorian Siona phonemic vowels, six oral vowels and six corresponding nasal vowels. Two phonetic dimensions – vowel height, measured...Show moreIn this thesis, I provide the first acoustic description of Ecuadorian Siona phonemic vowels, six oral vowels and six corresponding nasal vowels. Two phonetic dimensions – vowel height, measured through the first formant frequency (F1), and vowel backness, measured through the second formant frequency (F2) – are taken as the descriptors of vowel quality. These dimensions are used to illustrate the target vowels in their acoustic space. Vowel quantity, which refers to vowel duration, is also measured. For each target vowel, the mean frequencies of F1 and F2, as well as the durational means, are presented. In addition, the effects of different phonological environment on the realization of target vowels are investigated. Ultimately, I construct the acoustic vowel space for oral and nasal vowels, and I compare the acoustic properties of the two types of vowels. The results for oral vowels demonstrate six distinct qualities, similar to the ones described by Bruil (2014), with the back vowels appearing consistently lower in the vowel space. Nasal vowel space shows more variability and a general shrinking effect of vocalic contrasts. The findings also demonstrate a nasalization effect whereby all nasal vowels are on average lower than their oral counterparts. Finally, the analysis revealed that the vowels /i, ɨ̃/ are phonetically long, at least in the context that they appeared.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
2023-01-31T00:00:00Z
All Tukanoan languages have gender markers and classifiers, and both can be reconstructed to the proto-language to some degree. In this thesis, I provide a reconstruction of the development of the...Show moreAll Tukanoan languages have gender markers and classifiers, and both can be reconstructed to the proto-language to some degree. In this thesis, I provide a reconstruction of the development of the classifier system in the Tukanoan family, where I argue that it developed out of the older gender system morpho-syntactically, but that many of the synchronically found classifiers can morphologically be analysed as grammaticalized nouns. My arguments for this, as elaborated in this thesis, are as follows: i) all Tukanoan languages have similar gender markers which can probably be reconstructed for Proto-Tukanoan (Chacon 2021; in prep.); ii) the gender markers seem to have undergone grammaticalization at an early stage in the family; iii) many classifiers in the family are language-internal developments or can only be reconstructed for a sub-branch; iv) a few classifiers are widely found in the family and can be reconstructed for the proto-language, but these seem to be developments of either Proto-Tukanoan gender markers or originally complex forms. I analyse these complex forms as consisting of a gender marker in combination with some other marker. I furthermore provide an analysis of the development of the Proto-Tukanoan gender system, based on Chacon (2021; in prep), where I suggest that some of its morphological material may indicate borrowings from an Arawakan source. Lastly, by contributing to the reconstruction of the Proto-Tukanoan classifier system, this thesis may contribute to a reconstruction of classifiers in the wider area, as classifiers are a pervasive feature in non-Tukanoan languages as well, where the relatively gender-like morpho-syntactic characteristics of classifiers have been the subject of much discussion (e.g. Payne 1987; Aikhenvald 2000a, 10; Grinevald 2000, 81-82, 87).Show less
