TY - CHAP
T1 - Dimensions of Northern Paiute Multi-Verb Constructions
AU - Thornes, Tim
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Two constructions in Northern Paiute (Western Numic; Uto-Aztecan)- the secondary verb construction and the instrumental prefix construction- are described in detail with regard to their place within a typology of multi-verb constructions. Both are compositionally asymmetrical-that is, the defining member of the construction is from a restricted set. Converbs and verb-verb compounding are both, in theory, symmetrical in composition-that is, there is no restriction on which verbs may enter into them. However, we find, upon closer inspection, that predicates of a particular type are most likely to be interpretable as part of a monoclausal versus biclausal converb construction, and that there are also some clear frequency restrictions on which verbs most often appear as part of verbverb compounds. It is proposed that these restrictions shed further light on the possible historical relationships holding among all four multi-verb construction types.
AB - Two constructions in Northern Paiute (Western Numic; Uto-Aztecan)- the secondary verb construction and the instrumental prefix construction- are described in detail with regard to their place within a typology of multi-verb constructions. Both are compositionally asymmetrical-that is, the defining member of the construction is from a restricted set. Converbs and verb-verb compounding are both, in theory, symmetrical in composition-that is, there is no restriction on which verbs may enter into them. However, we find, upon closer inspection, that predicates of a particular type are most likely to be interpretable as part of a monoclausal versus biclausal converb construction, and that there are also some clear frequency restrictions on which verbs most often appear as part of verbverb compounds. It is proposed that these restrictions shed further light on the possible historical relationships holding among all four multi-verb construction types.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84947770303&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Chapter
T3 - Brill's Studies in the Indigenous Languages of the Americas
SP - 27
EP - 61
BT - Multi-Verb Constructions
A2 - Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y.
A2 - Muysken, Pieter C.
PB - Brill Academic Publishers
ER -