Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
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This thesis investigates the linguistic expression and conceptualization of lexical temporal concepts in Kavalan, a highly endangered Austronesian (Formosan) language spoken on the east coast of...Show moreThis thesis investigates the linguistic expression and conceptualization of lexical temporal concepts in Kavalan, a highly endangered Austronesian (Formosan) language spoken on the east coast of Taiwan. The first part consists of a grammar sketch. The second part is the core component, describing and analyzing lexical time in Kavalan based on fieldwork data. The lexical temporal concepts are taken from Haspelmath’s (1997) typological semantic classification of temporal NP-based adverbials. The conceptualization of these concepts is examined using the Conceptual Metaphor Theory as advanced by Lakoff & Johnson (e.g. 1980, 1999b) and adjusted and expanded by Moore (2000, 2006, 2014). Expressions motivated by various TIME IS SPACE metaphors are found to be fairly frequent in Kavalan. The third and final part contains a small typological study, in which Kavalan’s linguistic behavior in terms of temporal expression and conceptualization is compared to that of four other Formosan languages: Tsou, Saisiyat, Isbukun Bunun, and Paiwan. A general pattern is the different encoding of temporal clauses in past situations as opposed to those in future and generic/habitual situations (Zeitoun 1997). Both Kavalan and Saisiyat are curiously found to deviate from this two-way distinction by being more implicit. Tsou is an obvious outlier in various respects, as expected from its likewise diverging general linguistic properties.Show less
