The internal syntax of Shona class prefixes  

Oleh:

Dechaine, Rose-Marie ; Girard, Raphael ; Mudzingwa, Calisto ; Wiltschko, Martina

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: Language Sciences (Full Text) vol. 43 (2014), page 18-46.
Topik: Agreement; Bantu; Evaluative; Noun-class; Gender; Number
Fulltext: 43_D-chaine.pdf (2.33MB)

Isi artikel

Shona (Southern Bantu, Guthrie Zone S10) gender/noun-class prefixes display massive multi-functionality, with concomitant semantic heterogeneity. We argue that this pervasive multi-functionality is a consequence of the pre-syntactic association of Saussurean sound-meaning correspondences and that it reflects the possibility of a prefix associating to distinct syntactic positions, with predictable semantic differences. Using the model of Interface Syntax, we claim that Shona noun-class prefixes associate to one of four syntactic positions: to NOMINAL INNER ASPECT as sortal heads for mass nouns; to NOMINAL OUTER ASPECT as number-marking heads for count nouns; to a dedicated EVALUATIVE position as expressives; to D as honorifics. The analysis provides a structural basis of the count/mass contrast, correctly predicts the distribution of substitutive and additive number-marking, accounts for the difference between descriptive and evaluative noun-class prefixes, and derives the existence of alliterative (concordial) agreement.

Opini Anda

Klik untuk menuliskan opini Anda tentang koleksi ini!

Kembali