This chapter is about one particularly rich part of the verbal inflection of Oneida, a polysynthe... more This chapter is about one particularly rich part of the verbal inflection of Oneida, a polysynthetic Iroquoian language. Morphological referencing of event participants in Oneida is achieved via a system of fifty-eight pronominal prefixes that are an obligatory part of the inflection of verbs. The sheer number of prefixes, and the relations between them, afford us the opportunity to ask what we believe is a unique set of questions about morphological complexity.
The polysynthesis parameter. By MARK C. BAKER. New York and Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1996... more The polysynthesis parameter. By MARK C. BAKER. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Pp. xix, 556. Reviewed by JEAN-PIERRE KOENIG and KARIN MICHELSON, State University of New York at Buffalo. The Polysynthesis Parameter is an investigation into the nature of polysynthesis within a formal principles-and-parameters framework. The languages defined as polysynthetic by the author( hereafter B ) have certain distinctive properties, which he classifies into two broad categories: nonconfigurational phenomena and noun incorporation.
The relevance of the concepts of local syntactic selection and constraints on locally selected de... more The relevance of the concepts of local syntactic selection and constraints on locally selected dependents in modeling how arguments are syntactically realized has been virtually unchallenged and is assumed to be universal. In this article, we examine more closely these assumptions and ask whether there is anything invariant in the realization of arguments. We argue that the facts of Oneida, and Iroquoian in general, suggest the answer to this question is No. There is no use in Oneida for local selection of phrases realizing semantic arguments (and lexical records of this selection), and words are, as a result, functionally complete. We also argue that there is no use for a level of argument structure or any analogous notion in Oneida. The kinds of processes that justify positing such a level are systematically absent. The facts of Oneida suggest that there is less universality in the syntax/semantics interface (particularly when it comes to the realization of semantic arguments) than is typically assumed and that languages may vary widely in the way semantics is mapped onto syntax. We end with a formal model of the relevant fragment of Oneida within head-driven phrase structure grammar (HPSG).
International Journal of American Linguistics, 1981
... 'wood' i Gannatagaion (p. 44) kanatakd:yu 'an old village&#x27... more ... 'wood' i Gannatagaion (p. 44) kanatakd:yu 'an old village' lotaksen (p. 57) yo?taksv 'it is bad' Etiogaras (p. 21) tety6:kara?s 'it is dark ... 'he got hurt' (wa? > wa/ h) 8aOoseriag (p. 57) wa?throhsEri:ya?kE? 'he passed the winter' These punctual forms are surprising for several ...
This chapter is about one particularly rich part of the verbal inflection of Oneida, a polysynthe... more This chapter is about one particularly rich part of the verbal inflection of Oneida, a polysynthetic Iroquoian language. Morphological referencing of event participants in Oneida is achieved via a system of fifty-eight pronominal prefixes that are an obligatory part of the inflection of verbs. The sheer number of prefixes, and the relations between them, afford us the opportunity to ask what we believe is a unique set of questions about morphological complexity.
The polysynthesis parameter. By MARK C. BAKER. New York and Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1996... more The polysynthesis parameter. By MARK C. BAKER. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Pp. xix, 556. Reviewed by JEAN-PIERRE KOENIG and KARIN MICHELSON, State University of New York at Buffalo. The Polysynthesis Parameter is an investigation into the nature of polysynthesis within a formal principles-and-parameters framework. The languages defined as polysynthetic by the author( hereafter B ) have certain distinctive properties, which he classifies into two broad categories: nonconfigurational phenomena and noun incorporation.
The relevance of the concepts of local syntactic selection and constraints on locally selected de... more The relevance of the concepts of local syntactic selection and constraints on locally selected dependents in modeling how arguments are syntactically realized has been virtually unchallenged and is assumed to be universal. In this article, we examine more closely these assumptions and ask whether there is anything invariant in the realization of arguments. We argue that the facts of Oneida, and Iroquoian in general, suggest the answer to this question is No. There is no use in Oneida for local selection of phrases realizing semantic arguments (and lexical records of this selection), and words are, as a result, functionally complete. We also argue that there is no use for a level of argument structure or any analogous notion in Oneida. The kinds of processes that justify positing such a level are systematically absent. The facts of Oneida suggest that there is less universality in the syntax/semantics interface (particularly when it comes to the realization of semantic arguments) than is typically assumed and that languages may vary widely in the way semantics is mapped onto syntax. We end with a formal model of the relevant fragment of Oneida within head-driven phrase structure grammar (HPSG).
International Journal of American Linguistics, 1981
... 'wood' i Gannatagaion (p. 44) kanatakd:yu 'an old village&#x27... more ... 'wood' i Gannatagaion (p. 44) kanatakd:yu 'an old village' lotaksen (p. 57) yo?taksv 'it is bad' Etiogaras (p. 21) tety6:kara?s 'it is dark ... 'he got hurt' (wa? > wa/ h) 8aOoseriag (p. 57) wa?throhsEri:ya?kE? 'he passed the winter' These punctual forms are surprising for several ...
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Papers by karin michelson
in Oneida is achieved via a system of fifty-eight pronominal prefixes that are an
obligatory part of the inflection of verbs. The sheer number of prefixes, and the
relations between them, afford us the opportunity to ask what we believe is a unique
set of questions about morphological complexity.
University Press, 1996. Pp. xix, 556.
Reviewed by JEAN-PIERRE KOENIG and KARIN MICHELSON, State University of New
York at Buffalo.
The Polysynthesis Parameter is an investigation into the nature of polysynthesis within a
formal principles-and-parameters framework. The languages defined as polysynthetic by the
author( hereafter B ) have certain distinctive properties, which he classifies into two broad categories:
nonconfigurational phenomena and noun incorporation.
in modeling how arguments are syntactically realized has been virtually unchallenged
and is assumed to be universal. In this article, we examine more closely these assumptions and ask
whether there is anything invariant in the realization of arguments. We argue that the facts of
Oneida, and Iroquoian in general, suggest the answer to this question is No. There is no use in
Oneida for local selection of phrases realizing semantic arguments (and lexical records of this selection),
and words are, as a result, functionally complete. We also argue that there is no use for a
level of argument structure or any analogous notion in Oneida. The kinds of processes that justify
positing such a level are systematically absent. The facts of Oneida suggest that there is less universality
in the syntax/semantics interface (particularly when it comes to the realization of semantic
arguments) than is typically assumed and that languages may vary widely in the way semantics
is mapped onto syntax. We end with a formal model of the relevant fragment of Oneida within
head-driven phrase structure grammar (HPSG).
in Oneida is achieved via a system of fifty-eight pronominal prefixes that are an
obligatory part of the inflection of verbs. The sheer number of prefixes, and the
relations between them, afford us the opportunity to ask what we believe is a unique
set of questions about morphological complexity.
University Press, 1996. Pp. xix, 556.
Reviewed by JEAN-PIERRE KOENIG and KARIN MICHELSON, State University of New
York at Buffalo.
The Polysynthesis Parameter is an investigation into the nature of polysynthesis within a
formal principles-and-parameters framework. The languages defined as polysynthetic by the
author( hereafter B ) have certain distinctive properties, which he classifies into two broad categories:
nonconfigurational phenomena and noun incorporation.
in modeling how arguments are syntactically realized has been virtually unchallenged
and is assumed to be universal. In this article, we examine more closely these assumptions and ask
whether there is anything invariant in the realization of arguments. We argue that the facts of
Oneida, and Iroquoian in general, suggest the answer to this question is No. There is no use in
Oneida for local selection of phrases realizing semantic arguments (and lexical records of this selection),
and words are, as a result, functionally complete. We also argue that there is no use for a
level of argument structure or any analogous notion in Oneida. The kinds of processes that justify
positing such a level are systematically absent. The facts of Oneida suggest that there is less universality
in the syntax/semantics interface (particularly when it comes to the realization of semantic
arguments) than is typically assumed and that languages may vary widely in the way semantics
is mapped onto syntax. We end with a formal model of the relevant fragment of Oneida within
head-driven phrase structure grammar (HPSG).