This paper investigates the modal and non-modal uses and readings of the purposive suffix in the ... more This paper investigates the modal and non-modal uses and readings of the purposive suffix in the Western Desert (Pama-Nyungan) language Pintupi-Luritja. It is shown that the suffix is associated with a range of root-modal readings, with some variability in modal force. The modal readings are investigated in a variety of non-upward-entailing environments and compared with those of other variable modal force languages as described in the literature. I suggest that the purposive suffix does not behave in the same way as in these languages, which suggests that the typology of variable force modality is not uniform. I conclude by suggesting a connection to the modality described in non-finite and nominalised environments in a number of other languages.
Proceedings of GLOW in Asia XII & SICOGG XXI, 2019
We examine patterns of syncretism in suppletive verbal stems in the Papuan language Yelmek. Yelme... more We examine patterns of syncretism in suppletive verbal stems in the Papuan language Yelmek. Yelmek verbs can supplete based on both the number and gender features of their objects; we discuss these in light of a prediction of gender/number syncretisms made in Kramer (2018), namely that if plural agreement morphology is syncretic with a particular singular gender, then it will be the default gender. Yelmek suppletion displays all syncretism patterns except this pattern; however we argue that this does not constitute a real counter-example to Kramer's prediction, as the syncretic gender appears to be unspecified, if not default.
This thesis investigates issues surrounding the apparent optionality of ergative/nominative case ... more This thesis investigates issues surrounding the apparent optionality of ergative/nominative case markers as described in the literature, in particular in relation to a number of languages of Australia and Papua New Guinea. Although described as optional, these markers display several unexpected characteristics. The most salient of these is the fact that the actual frequency of occurrence of case morphology correlates with a number of morpho-syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, and information structural features. The distribution of case marking therefore seems to track these features. Although this phenomenon has been quite thoroughly described in many languages over the last decade or so, there is very little work investigating it from a generative perspective. Following a description of the phenomenon and several short case studies, this thesis explores a range of issues encountered when attempting to integrate the phenomenon into a current understanding of case marking in Minimalism. These include the relation of optional case marking to differential and split case marking systems, and whether analyses of these phenomena are applicable to optional case marking; what role information structure plays in determining the distribution of case and the likely nature of this involvement; and finally, how optionality itself can be derived in a theory of grammar which does not assume that probability or stochasticity are built into the grammar. I argue here that it is a reasonable assumption that the distribution of case marking in these languages is determined by the grammar itself, and that a post-syntactic morphology is likely the locus of the marking alternation. In regards to the problem of optionality, I suggest there are several ways that a discrete system can produce variable output, and describe such a system based on the integration of a threshold. Although still in early stages, I argue that such a system captures many characteristics of optional case marking which are otherwise difficult or cumbersome to account for.
This thesis investigates a number of issues in the syntax and semantics of Pintupi-Luritja, a Wes... more This thesis investigates a number of issues in the syntax and semantics of Pintupi-Luritja, a Western Desert (Pama-Nyungan) language spoken in Central Australia. Languages of the region have long been noted for their non-configurational character, whereby the role of syntax in determining or constraining grammatical phenomena is uncertain. However this research has largely been restricted to the determination of grammatical functions, and information structural notions. The role of scope for example as a semantic factor with a potential syntactic reflex has been comparatively much less investigated. Based on both original fieldwork and existing materials, in this thesis I investigate a range of topics in Pintupi-Luritja, and to what extent variations in meaning correlate with variations in word order. These topics include negation, focus sensitivity, and modality. These are investigated both as standalone phenomena, as well as how they interact with each other. This work suggests that to differing degrees in different domains, syntax does play an important role in determining how these phenomena interact semantically. These studies therefore not only provide a deeper description of negation, focus sensitivity, and modality in Pintupi-Luritja, but also informs our understanding of these topics as phenomena of natural language. This in turn has theoretical significance, helping to map out the (limits of) variation in how languages do and don’t encode certain phenomena through syntactic means.
This paper investigates the modal and non-modal uses and readings of the purposive suffix in the ... more This paper investigates the modal and non-modal uses and readings of the purposive suffix in the Western Desert (Pama-Nyungan) language Pintupi-Luritja. It is shown that the suffix is associated with a range of root-modal readings, with some variability in modal force. The modal readings are investigated in a variety of non-upward-entailing environments and compared with those of other variable modal force languages as described in the literature. I suggest that the purposive suffix does not behave in the same way as in these languages, which suggests that the typology of variable force modality is not uniform. I conclude by suggesting a connection to the modality described in non-finite and nominalised environments in a number of other languages.
Proceedings of GLOW in Asia XII & SICOGG XXI, 2019
We examine patterns of syncretism in suppletive verbal stems in the Papuan language Yelmek. Yelme... more We examine patterns of syncretism in suppletive verbal stems in the Papuan language Yelmek. Yelmek verbs can supplete based on both the number and gender features of their objects; we discuss these in light of a prediction of gender/number syncretisms made in Kramer (2018), namely that if plural agreement morphology is syncretic with a particular singular gender, then it will be the default gender. Yelmek suppletion displays all syncretism patterns except this pattern; however we argue that this does not constitute a real counter-example to Kramer's prediction, as the syncretic gender appears to be unspecified, if not default.
This thesis investigates issues surrounding the apparent optionality of ergative/nominative case ... more This thesis investigates issues surrounding the apparent optionality of ergative/nominative case markers as described in the literature, in particular in relation to a number of languages of Australia and Papua New Guinea. Although described as optional, these markers display several unexpected characteristics. The most salient of these is the fact that the actual frequency of occurrence of case morphology correlates with a number of morpho-syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, and information structural features. The distribution of case marking therefore seems to track these features. Although this phenomenon has been quite thoroughly described in many languages over the last decade or so, there is very little work investigating it from a generative perspective. Following a description of the phenomenon and several short case studies, this thesis explores a range of issues encountered when attempting to integrate the phenomenon into a current understanding of case marking in Minimalism. These include the relation of optional case marking to differential and split case marking systems, and whether analyses of these phenomena are applicable to optional case marking; what role information structure plays in determining the distribution of case and the likely nature of this involvement; and finally, how optionality itself can be derived in a theory of grammar which does not assume that probability or stochasticity are built into the grammar. I argue here that it is a reasonable assumption that the distribution of case marking in these languages is determined by the grammar itself, and that a post-syntactic morphology is likely the locus of the marking alternation. In regards to the problem of optionality, I suggest there are several ways that a discrete system can produce variable output, and describe such a system based on the integration of a threshold. Although still in early stages, I argue that such a system captures many characteristics of optional case marking which are otherwise difficult or cumbersome to account for.
This thesis investigates a number of issues in the syntax and semantics of Pintupi-Luritja, a Wes... more This thesis investigates a number of issues in the syntax and semantics of Pintupi-Luritja, a Western Desert (Pama-Nyungan) language spoken in Central Australia. Languages of the region have long been noted for their non-configurational character, whereby the role of syntax in determining or constraining grammatical phenomena is uncertain. However this research has largely been restricted to the determination of grammatical functions, and information structural notions. The role of scope for example as a semantic factor with a potential syntactic reflex has been comparatively much less investigated. Based on both original fieldwork and existing materials, in this thesis I investigate a range of topics in Pintupi-Luritja, and to what extent variations in meaning correlate with variations in word order. These topics include negation, focus sensitivity, and modality. These are investigated both as standalone phenomena, as well as how they interact with each other. This work suggests that to differing degrees in different domains, syntax does play an important role in determining how these phenomena interact semantically. These studies therefore not only provide a deeper description of negation, focus sensitivity, and modality in Pintupi-Luritja, but also informs our understanding of these topics as phenomena of natural language. This in turn has theoretical significance, helping to map out the (limits of) variation in how languages do and don’t encode certain phenomena through syntactic means.
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I argue here that it is a reasonable assumption that the distribution of case marking in these languages is determined by the grammar itself, and that a post-syntactic morphology is likely the locus of the marking alternation. In regards to the problem of optionality, I suggest there are several ways that a discrete system can produce variable output, and describe such a system based on the integration of a threshold. Although still in early stages, I argue that such a system captures many characteristics of optional case marking which are otherwise difficult or cumbersome to account for.
These studies therefore not only provide a deeper description of negation, focus sensitivity, and modality in Pintupi-Luritja, but also informs our understanding of these topics as phenomena of natural language. This in turn has theoretical significance, helping to map out the (limits of) variation in how languages do and don’t encode certain phenomena through syntactic means.
I argue here that it is a reasonable assumption that the distribution of case marking in these languages is determined by the grammar itself, and that a post-syntactic morphology is likely the locus of the marking alternation. In regards to the problem of optionality, I suggest there are several ways that a discrete system can produce variable output, and describe such a system based on the integration of a threshold. Although still in early stages, I argue that such a system captures many characteristics of optional case marking which are otherwise difficult or cumbersome to account for.
These studies therefore not only provide a deeper description of negation, focus sensitivity, and modality in Pintupi-Luritja, but also informs our understanding of these topics as phenomena of natural language. This in turn has theoretical significance, helping to map out the (limits of) variation in how languages do and don’t encode certain phenomena through syntactic means.