Transcript Firenze
Comparative linguistics
areal linguistics
linguistic typology
genealogical linguistics
features
shared by
languages
of a geographical
area
constructional
patterns
langugages
belong to
linguistic
relationship
language unions
(Sprachbund)
language types
language families
1
Europe as a linguistic area
(Sprachbund):
the Standard Average European
(SAE)
2
Relative clauses with declinable relative pronouns
3
Particle comparative with standard of comparison
4
Nominative experiencers
5
Some other SAE features displayed by both Hungarian and Finnish
● Verb fronting in polar interrogatives
● Comparative marking of adjectives
● Suppletive second ordinal
● Relative-based equative constructions – use of adverbial
relative pronouns or demonstratives (olyan, ugyanolyan,
yhtä) with correlative particles (mint/kuin)
● Lack of alienable/inalieanable opposition
in adnominal possession
● Lack of an inclusive/exclusive opposition
in first person non-singular
pronouns
● Lack of reduplication constructions
6
Some SAE features lacked by both Hungarian and Finnish
● Anticausative prominence: reflexive or medial derivation
on the base of the causative verb and not the other way
round
● No cooccurrence of verbal negation with negative
indefinite pronouns
● Intensifierreflexive differentiation
7
Some SAE features displayed by Hungarian but not by Finnish
● Definite and indefinite articles
● Comitativeinstrumental syncretism
● Dative external possessors
8
A SAE feature displayed by Finnish but not by Hungarian
● Non-pro-drop (strict) person marking (in 3Sg)
9
Degrees of membership in SAE (combining 9 features)
10
Comparative linguistics
areal linguistics
linguistic typology
genealogical linguistics
features
shared by
languages
of a geographical
area
constructional
patterns
langugages
belong to
linguistic
relationship
language unions
(Sprachbund)
language types
language families
11
Morphological typology:
(emerging: 19th century)
grouping languages
according to their common
morphological structures
main point: word construction
12
isolation
guru
muda itu memberi gadis pandai itu buku bagus
teacher young this give
girl
clever this book nice
● No declinations and conjugations
● Separate stems + separate stems in grammatical function
● Word order, intonation
13
agglutination
hajlít-hat-atlan-ság-uk-tól
● Analytic (monosemantic) morphemes: stem + suffixes with one
meaning/function each
● The string of morphemes constitutes a complete word on every
step of extension
hajlít
’(s)he bends’
hajlíthat
’(s)he can bend’
hajlíthatatlan
’unbending (inflexible)’
hajlíthatatlanság
’inflexibility’
hajlíthatatlanságuk
’their inflexibility’
hajlíthatatlanságuktól
’from their inflexibility’
● Morphemes are mostly uniform,
their boudaries are strict and clear
14
inflection
analytic declination
synthetic declination (external flection):
föld- -nek
st e m
+
terr-ae
singular + case morpheme
ste m + singular case morpheme
föld-ek-nek
terr-is
st e m + plural + case morpheme
ste m +
plural case morpheme
synthetic stem morphemes (inner inflection):
anya
anyá-k
láb
láb-ak
Mutter
Mütter
lát
lát-ott
see
saw
foot
feet
15
flection
agglutination
isolation
16
August Schleicher (19th century)
On the basis of Hegel’s dialectics:
Thesis:
isolation: the word is a whole, but the grammatical
relation is not expressed
Antithesis:
agglutination: the grammatical relation is
expressed, but the word is not a whole (i.e. falls
into its parts)
Synthesis:
flection: both the grammatical relation is expressed
and the word remains a whole
17
flection
isolation
agglutination
18
Syntactic typology
(emerging: 20th century)
word order types
„contentive” typology:
system of alignment (basic
sentence construction) patterns
19
Basic notions 1.
Agent:
the actuator or intentional instigator of the act, process
or state expressed by the predicate verb
Patient:
the entity affected by the verbal content, i.e. the animate
or inanimate being which undergoes, or is targeted by, the
process in question, which comes into being by virtue
of the event, or is, independently of its own acts,
in the state denoted by the verbal predicate
20
Basic notions 2.
Intransitive verb:
a verb, that constitutes a sentence by itself,
or that has only one compulsory complement (argument)
(In what follows, we will be only concerned with the latter type.)
Transitive verb:
a verb, that has two or three compulsory complements
(arguments) of which at least one is a patient
(We will be only concerned with the two arguments type.)
21
Transitivity chart
S
intransitive verb
A
transitive verb
P
S A P – triadic (tripartite) alignment
S = A (but P) – nominative alignment
S = P (but A) – ergative alignment
22
Nominative alignment
S = A (but P)
S
intransitive verb
A
transitive verb
P
Nominative
Accusative
23
Functions of nominative
The boy is cold.
A fiú fázik. Poika palelee.
(patient of state)
The boy runs.
A fiú fut. Poika juoksee.
(agent of intentional intransitive action)
The boy is coughing.
A fiú köhög. Poika yskii.
(agent [or patient?] of unintentional action)
The boy is eating bread.
A fiú kenyeret eszik. Poika syö leipää.
(transitive affecting agent)
The boy is baking bread.
A fiú kenyeret süt. Poika leipoo leipää.
(transitive effecting agent)
The boy is washing.
A fiú mosakodik. Poika peseytyy.
(agent of reflexive action)
A bottle of wine was given to the teacher. (patient of transitive action)
The teacher was given a bottle of wine.
(recipient of transitive action)
This violin is easy to play the sonata on.
(locative of transitive action)
This is a house.
Ez itt egy ház. Tämä on talo.
([part of a] predicate)
24
Markedness of subject and direct object
1. Both unmarked
The boy is eating bread.
(This type is commonly called neutral.)
2. Subject unmarked, direct object marked
A fiú fut.
A fiúk futnak.
A fiú kenyeret eszik.
A fiú (meg)eszi a kenyeret.
A fiúk kenyeret esznek.
A fiúk (meg)eszik a kenyeret.
Poika juoksee.
Pojat juoksevat.
Poika syö leipää.
Poika syö leivän.
Pojat syövät leipää.
Pojat syövät leivän.
’the boy is running’
’the boys are running’
’the boy is eating bread’
’the boy eats up the bread’
’the boys are eating bread’
’the boys eat up the bread’
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3. Both subject and direct object marked.
Domin-us agricola-m laudat.
’the master praises the farmer’
Domin-us agricola-s laudat.
’the master praises the farmers’
Domin-i agricola-m laudant.
’the masters praise the farmer’
Domin-i agricola-s laudant.
’the masters praise the farmers’
4. Subject marked, direct object unmarked
No nominative language of this type exists.
26
Passive sentence construction
The house is being built by the workers.
Дом строится рабочими.
A ház építtetik a munkások által.
(No such construction in Finnish.)
27
Ergative alignment
S = P (but A)
S
intransitive verb
A
transitive verb
P
Ergative (case)
Absolute case
(Absolutive)
28
What would Hungarian be like if it were an ergative language?
Normal (nominative)
Hungarian
a fiú szédül
“Ergative Hungarian”
a fiú szédül
’the boy feels dizzy’
a fiú kenyeret eszik
a fiúpak kenyér eszik
’the boy is eating bread’
fiú – nominative (subject)
kenyeret – accusative (d.o.)
fiú, kenyér – absolutive
fiúpak – ergative
(“-pak/-pek” is a fictive case ending)
Neither absolutive
nor ergative
Neither nominative
nor accusative
29
What would Finnish be like if it were an ergative language?
Normal (nominative)
Finnish
poika pyörtyy
“Ergative Finnish”
poika pyörtyy
’the boy feels dizzy’
poika syö leipää
poikapak syö leipä
’the boy is eating bread’
poika – nominative (subject)
leipää – partitive (d.o.)
poika, leipä – absolutive case
poikapak – ergative case
(“-pak/-pek” is a fictive case ending)
Neither absolutive
nor ergative
Neither nominative
nor accusative
30
A real ergative language: yalarngga (Australia)
kupi waya
fish
that
kupi-ku
fish-ERGATIVE
na-tu
I-ERGATIVE
kunu-ka
’the fish is in the water’
water-locative case ending
mila
fly
kupi
fish
taca-mu
’the fish swallowed the fly’
swallow-past
wala-mu
’I killed the fish’
kill-past
kupi ’fish’ + (unmarked) absolute case
kupiku ’fish’ + ergative case
31
Avar (Caucasian)
çi
man
v-
aç’-ula
male.human.class
ebél-alda
mother-erg. (sup.)
çi
’the man comes’
come-pres.
v-at-
-ula
’the mother finds
the man’
-find-
32
Georgian (Caucase)
dzaghl-i bagh-ši da-i
-mal -a
dog-abs. garden-dat. he-intr. -hide -aor3Sg
’the dog hid in the garden’
bić’-ma dzaghl-i
boy-erg.
bagh-ši da-mal-a
’the boy hid the dog in the garden’
bić’-i
bagh-ši da-rch
stay
-a
’the boy stayed in the garden’
33
Yidin (Australia)
wagu:ja-ŋgu jugi gunda-l
(galba:n-da)
man-erg
tree
cut-impf. (axe-instr.)
’the man is cutting the tree (with an axe)’
galba:n-du wagu:ja gunda-:ji-ŋ
-erg.
’the axe cut the man’
34
Antipassive construction
Ergative
matyumpa-yu
kangaroo-ERG
Absolutive
Oblique case
kukapi
țaca -mu
grass (ABS)
eat-PAST
’the kangaroo ate the grass’
matyumpa
kukapi-u țaca-li-ma
’the kangaroo eats grass’
(= ‘kangaroos are grass-eating animals’)
35
Triadic (tripartite)
alignment
Stative
SAP
S
intransitive verb
A
transitive verb
Agentive
P
Accusative
36
Wankumara (Australia)
kana -ia
man-stat.
palu-a
die-past
kana-ulu kalka-a
-agnt. hit
’the man died’
titi-nana
dog-acc(fem)
’The man hit the bitch’
37
Active (agentive) alignment
ma-ţa
ma-waśte
ma-kaśka
ma-ya-kaśka
wa-ti
wa-kaśka
wa : active I
’I die’
’I am good’
’he binds me’
’you bind me’
’I dwell (somewhere)’
’I bind it’
ma : passive I (= me)
Active case
VERB
Inactive case
38
Choctaw (American indian language)
čokma ’good’
I + Active case + čokma
’I do good (things)’
I + Inactive case + čokma
’I am good’
I + Dative + čokma
’I am well’
39
Eastern Pomo
wí
I.inact
će·xelkâ
’I slip (unintentionally)’
há·
I.act
će·xelkâ
’I glide (intentionally)’
40
“Actual dismembering”
or information structure analysis of sentences
Theme or TOPIC:
That part of the sentence which refers to the information
already known by the hearer.
Rheme or COMMENT:
That part of the sentence which displays the new information
for the hearer.
The central (stressed) element of the comment is the FOCUS.
41
Comparison: syntatic parsing and actual dismembering
The boy likes the soup.
The boy likes the soup.
Subject
Theme (topic)
The boy likes the soup.
We are speaking of the boy,
new information: he likes the soup.
The boy likes the soup.
We do know that the boy likes something,
new information: it is the soup.
(It is the soup that the boy likes.)
The boy likes the soup.
(It is the boy who likes the soup.)
We do know that somebody likes the soup,
new information: it is the boy.
42
Tagalog (Philippines)
mags -alis
ang babae ng bigas sa sako
ag.-top.-take (fut.) top woman A/P rice loc. sack
para sa bata
for
child
’The woman will take rice out of the bag for the child.’
a-alis-in ng babae ang bigas sa sako para sa bata
pat.-top.
’As for the rice, the woman will take some out of the bag for the child.’
a-alis-an ng babae ng bigas ang sako para sa bata
loc.-top.
As for the sack, the woman will take rice out of it for the child.’
ipag-s -alis ng babae ng bigas sa sako para ang bata
dat.-top.
’As for the child, the woman will take rice out of the bag for him.’
43
mag -tatrabaho
ag.-top.-work (fut.)
ang lalaki
man
’The man will work.’
papa
-wisan
ang lalaki ’The man will sweat.’
ag./loc.-top.-sweat (fut.)
44
accusative alignments
Nominative pattern
I.
intransitive verb
II.
transitive verb
Triadic pattern
III. (Acc.)
I.
intransitive verb
II.
transitive verb
III. (Acc.)
45
transitive alignments
Nominative pattern
I.
intransitive verb
II.
transitive verb
Triadic pattern
III.
I.
intransitive verb
II.
transitive verb
III.
Ergative pattern
I.
II.
intransitive verb
transitive verb
III.
46
finite alignments
Nominative pattern
I.
intransitive verb
II.
transitive verb
Tripartite pattern
III.
I.
intransitive verb
II.
transitive verb
Ergative pattern
I.
III.
Active pattern
intransitive verb
Agent
Verb
Patient
II.
transitive verb
III.
47
nominative
triadic
ergative
active
proto-accusative
proto-transitive
proto-active
thematic
48
The semi-accusative construction
Volna
wave-NOM(FEM)
Lodka
boat-NOM(FEM)
Volnoj
wave-INSTR
unesla
lodku.
carried(FEM)
boat-ACC
(byla)
unesena
volnoj.
(was FEM)
carry-PSSPART(FEM)
wave-INSTR
uneslo
lodku.
carried(NEUTR)
boat-ACC
49
Prenominativity
– any feature that precedes the nominative pattern in the
schematogonic tree, i.e. emerged during one of the “proto”periods, is a prenominative feature
nominative
tripartite
ergative
active
proto-accusative
proto-transitive
proto-active
– the nominative case and the nominative sentence pattern based
on it are historical products (and thus have a prehistory)
– this prehistory has left recoverable relics in the nominative
languages
50
Some examples of prenominative
relics in the Uralic languages
1. Unmarked object
51
a. With finite indicative forms of transitive verbs
Hungarian:
Only with either a first or a second person possessive marker
Ide hívom apám(at), anyám(at), minden rokonom(at).
’I will call my father, my mother, all my relatives’
Finnish
No such fenomenon
52
b. With imperative forms
Hungarian:
No such phenomenon
Finnish:
Lue tämä kirja! ’read this book through’,
Cf. Luen tämän kirjan. ’I will read this book through’.
53
c. With infinitives
Hungarian in archaic and dialectal varieties:
Az uram oda van fa vágni ’my husband is away cutting wood’
Jó lesz ez a vödör víz hordani
’this bucket will be good for bringing water’
Finnish:
Sinun olisi parasta mennä lukemaan englannin läksy
’It would be better for you to go and do your English lesson’,
Jaakolla oli halu käydä kiskaisemassa joulupukilta parta
’Jaakko felt like going up to Santa Claus and tearing off his
beard’,
Tuulikki piti velvollisuutenaan pestä lattia/lattian
’Tuulikki regarded it as her duty to mop up the floor’.
54
d. With other non-finite verbal and deverbal
nominal forms
Hungarian:
favágó ’woodcutter’,
favágás ’woodcutting, logging’
Finnish:
No such phenomenon.
55
e. With “passive” verb forms
Hungarian:
No such phenomenon.
Finnish:
asia jätettiin lepäämään yli vaalien
’they put the matter aside until after the elections’.
56
f. Numerals as unmarked object
Hungarian:
No adnominal case forms for numerals.
Finnish:
Näin kaksi pientä sorsaa ’I saw two ducklings’.
Cf.
Näin vain yhden pienen sorsan ’I only saw one duckling’.
57
g. Unmarked object in compounds
Hungarian:
favágó ’woodcutter’,
favágás ’woodcutting, logging’ (noun)
dolgavégezetlen ’without having succeeded’
Finnish:
tiedonhaku ’data-gathering (lit. information-seeking)’
(tieto + n + haku),
henkilöhaku ’casting (lit. person-seeking)’ (henkilö + haku),
levontarve ’need for rest’ (lepo + n + tarve),
asuntotarve ’demand for flats’ (asunto + tarve),
metsänhakkuu ’forest-clearing’ (metsä + n + hakkuu),
metsähakkuu ’forest-clearing’ (metsä + hakkuu).
58
Some examples of prenominative
relics in the Uralic languages
2. The ambivalence
of participle voice
59
Hungarian:
eladólány ‘female shop assistant’
(lit. ‘give-away-PART girl’) – active,
eladó lány
‘girl ready to marry, who has come of age’
(lit. the same) – passive;
olvasott ember ‘well-read person’– active,
olvasott könyv ‘a book read’– passive.
Finnish:
karhu on tapettu ‘the bear has been killed’ – passive;
ei tapettu ‘no killing has taken place’ ’– active,
tapettu karhu ‘the killed bear’ – passive;
karhun tapettua kananpojan
‘after the bear killed the chicken’ – active.
60
Some examples of prenominative
relics in the Uralic languages
3. The word order
of participial subordination
61
Hungarian:
A szállodába rendszerint csak sötét este érkező vendégek csak
reggel pillantják meg a tengert.
‘Guests normally arriving at the hotel only after dark
glimpse the sea only in the morning’
A gépekben hosszú éveken át folyamatosan használt
alkatrészeket akkor is ki kell cserélni, ha nem látszanak
hibásnak.
‘Parts used in the machine continually for many years
have to be replaced even if they do not appear to be faulty’
62
Finnish:
puolueet valmistautuvat kovaa vauhtia
syksyn kunnallisvaalien yhteydessä pidettäviin EU-vaaleihin
‘the parties are busy preparing for the EU-elections to be held
simultaneously with the municipal elections in the autumn’
suojelualueet pakkolunastetaan
sukupolvien ajan alueella asuneilta maanomistajilta
‘the protected areas are appropriated from landowners who
have lived there for generations’
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→ Word Order Typology
64