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
This thesis aims at providing a preliminary description of body part terms and their use in Hamar, a language of Ethiopia. Mainly based on elicited data from a native speaker, an overview is given...Show moreThis thesis aims at providing a preliminary description of body part terms and their use in Hamar, a language of Ethiopia. Mainly based on elicited data from a native speaker, an overview is given of body part terms in Hamar. Several lexical and grammatical features of body part terms are discussed. It is explained why a body part partonomy could not be established. Going beyond the human body, animal body part terms and their relation to human body part terms are explored. The way in which Hamar denotes the ‘top’ and the ‘back’ of objects is based on anthropomorphic and zoomorphic models. It is argued that body part mapping in Hamar is mainly due to an analogy in shape/appearance, space/position and function. Hamar uses body part terms to express deictic orientation, similar to other African languages. In doing so, the language interacts with case markers and elevation deictics. Based on the four-stage model of Heine et al. (1991), it is argued that Hamar body parts have only partly been grammaticalized. Locational body part nouns usually appear as BODY PART NOUN-F.OBL-LOCATIONAL CASE MARKER and are part of a genitive construction.Show less
As humans, we spend most of our time by standing, sitting or lying. These verbs that are used to refer to states of being in a position are used more extensively than one would expect at first...Show moreAs humans, we spend most of our time by standing, sitting or lying. These verbs that are used to refer to states of being in a position are used more extensively than one would expect at first sight. In different languages, these posture verbs can be used in a grammaticalized way. This is the case with Tsafiki and Cha'palaa, two languages spoken in the northwest of South America. In these two languages, the verb 'sit' (in Tsafiki) and 'lie' (in Cha'palaa) are grammaticalized into continuative markers. These are the main instances of grammaticalized posture verbs in these languages, besides other minor examples.Show less
Cross-linguistically, grammatical meanings, sequences of actions and closely related subevents are often described by serial verbs. Over time, serial verbs tend to grammaticalize and when they do,...Show moreCross-linguistically, grammatical meanings, sequences of actions and closely related subevents are often described by serial verbs. Over time, serial verbs tend to grammaticalize and when they do, they do so according to certain tendencies. This thesis aims to contribute to the research on serial verbs and grammaticalization by providing an analysis of serial verbs and their degrees of grammaticalization in the Ecuadorian Siona language, a severely endangered language from the Western Tukanoan family. The results of this research include a classification of Siona serial verbs according to the parameters as proposed by Aikhenvald (2006; 2018) as well as a list of frequently serialized stems and their degrees of grammaticalization according to parameters based on the four mechanisms of grammaticalization as proposed by Heine and Kuteva (2002). Where possible, an analysis is provided of the grammatical functions of the serialized verbs.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
The main objective of this thesis is to tackle the key questions that arise when one becomes aware of the omnipresence and seemingly unrestricted polysemy of the Czech reflexive marker se/si. Do...Show moreThe main objective of this thesis is to tackle the key questions that arise when one becomes aware of the omnipresence and seemingly unrestricted polysemy of the Czech reflexive marker se/si. Do all its different functions have something in common? And why are its equivalents in languages like English and Dutch exploited to a much lesser degree? Building on insights and solutions offered both by Czech structural grammarians and scholars working within different functionally oriented frameworks of present-day linguistics such as linguistic typology and Construction Grammar, the thesis attempts to draw a coherent picture of the semantic network underlying the different functions of the marker and to set this picture in a historical and crosslinguistic context.Show less
