The inverse in Japhug Rgyalrong (original) (raw)
This article proposes an idealized model of direct-inverse systems inspired by canonical morphology, against which attested systems are then evaluated in terms of their deviation from it. A language-independent definition of obviation is provided, and then applied to language families other than Algonquian. Referential hierarchies are shown not to be the only way of accounting for direct-inverse systems. Finally, the article surveys the attested origins of inverse systems and the ways in which they can be further reanalyzed, ultimately leading to their decay.
Generic person marking in Japhug and other Rgyalrong languages
This paper discusses the use of the inverse prefix in generic 5 person marking systems in several Rgyalrong languages. While closely re-6 lated, Japhug and tshobdun differ considerably: the inverse prefix marks 7 generic A in Japhug, while it appears in the generic P form in Tshobdun. 8 We propose a historical scenario to explain how such radically different 9 systems came into being, show that our reconstruction can also explain the 10 origin of the local scenario portmanteau 1→2 and 2→1 prefixes. These 11 reconstructions allow us to establish the existence of several previously 12 unattested grammaticalization pathways. 13
The Personal agreement system of Zbu rGyalrong (Ngyaltsu variety)
Transactions of the Philological Society, 2014
In this paper, the personal agreement system of the Ngyaltsu variety of Zbu rGyalrong is described, the first such description for this rarely documented Sino-Tibetan language. The agreement pattern is characterised by a direct-inverse system, analysed in detail using the conceptual apparatus from. The system is then compared with those of three neighbouring rGyalrong languages: Eastern rGyalrong, Japhug and Tshobdun, where it is suggested, especially from the behaviour of closed-syllable stems in Eastern rGyalrong, that the person suffixes across rGyalrong are internally structured, the 1SG suffix having a particularly close relationship with the stem.
Tangut, Gyalrongic, Kiranti and the nature of person indexation in Sino-Tibetan/ Trans-Himalayan
The diachronic analysis of person indexation systems in Sino-Tibetan (Trans-Himalayan) languages is currently a topical issue. Factual errors have occasionally crept in, detracting somewhat from the quality of the linguistic discussion about these systems. Evidence from Tangut, Gyal-rongic and Kiranti is so central to the debates that it appeared useful to provide a few clarifications about their person indexation systems, adduc-ing evidence from a body of texts that has been considerably enriched in the past decade. The main points made in this paper can be summarized as follows. First, the view that personal affixes derive diachronically from pronouns is by no means as self-evident as it may seem. Second, person indexation in Tangut, the oldest Trans-Himalayan language with person in-dexation, is not optional, as has sometimes been stated in the literature. Third, person indexation in Gyalrongic and Kiranti is sensitive to grammatical relations, a finding which calls into question its analysis as marking speech act participant involvement.
From denominal derivation to Incorporation
2012
""This article investigates the synchronic status and diachronic origin of an incorporation-like construction in Japhug, a polysynthetic Sino-Tibetan language of Eastern Tibet. This construction constitutes the intermediate stage on a path of development from denominal derivation to incorporation, the opposite of the usual path of development from incorporation to denominal derivation. Additionally, this article shows that similar phenomena exist in other languages, and that coalescence between noun and verb is not the only attested diachronic origin of incorporating verbs.""
Agreement and related phenomena in North American languages
The Routledge Handbook of North American Languages, 2019
North American languages exhibit a variety of agreement systems, including nominative-accusative, ergative-absolutive, hierarchical/direct-inverse, and agent-patient patterns, as well as phenomena such as object agreement, inverse number, and omnivorous number. This chapter examines the patterning and exponence of agreement in these languages, including the φ-features tracked by agreement, types of agreement systems and how these systems reflect grammatical alignment, debates about the syntactic status of agreement markers (as genuine agreement or clitics), and the points at which agreement can occur in the clausal spine.
On the conceptual framework for voice phenomena
This article attempts to lay the conceptual foundations of voice phenomena, ranging from the familiar active/passive contrast to the ergative/antipassive opposition, as well as voice functions of split case-marking in both transitive and intransitive constructions. We advance the claim that major voice phenomena have conceptual bases rooted in the human cognition of actions, which have evolutionary properties pertaining to their origin, development, and termination. The notion of transitivity is integral to the study of voice as evident from the fact that the so-called transitivity parameters identified by Hopper and Thompson (1980) and others are in the main concerned with these evolutionary properties of an action, and also from the fact that the phenomena dealt with in these studies are mostly voice phenomena. A number of claims made in past studies of voice and in some widely-received definitions of voice are shown to be false. In particular, voice oppositions are typically based on conceptual — as opposed to pragmati— meanings, may not alter argument alignment patterns, may not change verbal valency, and may not even trigger verbal marking. There are also voice oppositions more basic and wide-spread than the active/passive system, upon which popular definitions of voice are typically based.