Papers by Ronald Schaefer
Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus
We examine verbs in series as they relate to Dixon’s (1991, 2010) notion of secondary concepts. O... more We examine verbs in series as they relate to Dixon’s (1991, 2010) notion of secondary concepts. Our verb samples and their structures derive from an Edoid language of southern Nigeria. Emai shows asymmetrical and symmetrical serial verb constructions. However, our analytic concern is the differential realization of secondary concepts according to form class. Most verbs that realize secondary concepts appear in A-SVCs as a minor component. Some verbs that code secondary concepts shun serialization and generally take complements that are clausal, truncated, or obliquely marked gerundives. Other form classes expressing secondary concepts are preverb and particle. Members reveal a verb heritage that is either lexical or phrasal. Even a few nouns convey secondary concepts. Auxiliaries, while referencing secondary concepts, do not disclose a verb heritage. Secondary concepts in A-SVCs reveal an asymmetry as occupants of positions V1 or V2 in series. V1 manifests event and participant qual...
Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America, Apr 27, 2023
Preverbs are positionally delimited grammatical forms that remain understudied. We examine their ... more Preverbs are positionally delimited grammatical forms that remain understudied. We examine their semantic classes in West Benue Congo (WBC) and its minor language Emai, which until recently was undocumented. Preverb classes in Emai display a subset of semantic categories identified in
SPIL plus, Dec 1, 2022
We examine verbs in series as they relate to Dixon's (1991, 2010) notion of secondary concepts. O... more We examine verbs in series as they relate to Dixon's (1991, 2010) notion of secondary concepts. Our verb samples and their structures derive from an Edoid language of southern Nigeria. Emai shows asymmetrical and symmetrical serial verb constructions. However, our analytic concern is the differential realization of secondary concepts according to form class. Most verbs that realize secondary concepts appear in A-SVCs as a minor component. Some verbs that code secondary concepts shun serialization and generally take complements that are clausal, truncated, or obliquely marked gerundives. Other form classes expressing secondary concepts are preverb and particle. Members reveal a verb heritage that is either lexical or phrasal. Even a few nouns convey secondary concepts. Auxiliaries, while referencing secondary concepts, do not disclose a verb heritage. Secondary concepts in A-SVCs reveal an asymmetry as occupants of positions V1 or V2 in series. V1 manifests event and participant qualifiers, whereas V2 exhibits primarily event qualifiers. Both positions also evidence serial-within-serial structures. Overall, secondary concepts only partially align with Emai verbs in series. Since a significant number of preverbs and particles actualize secondary concepts and have a verb heritage, we assume they have grammaticalized from earlier verb-in-series structures. Furthermore, we hypothesize that the preverbstem position in the canonical simplex clause of Emai has had a privileged role in the emergence of secondary concepts as preverbs from verbs in series and in the continual development of serialization as an expressive means for event and participant qualifiers.
The rise and fall of Serial Verb Constructions: Finale
SPIL plus, Dec 1, 2022
This article concludes the special issue of Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics PLUS dedicated to ... more This article concludes the special issue of Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics PLUS dedicated to the diachrony of Serial Verb Constructions. The authors of the ten contributions included in the volume discuss the most important results of their studies and suggest the possible lines for future research.
Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America, Apr 27, 2023
Preverbs are positionally delimited grammatical forms that remain understudied. We examine their ... more Preverbs are positionally delimited grammatical forms that remain understudied. We examine their semantic classes in West Benue Congo (WBC) and its minor language Emai, which until recently was undocumented. Preverb classes in Emai display a subset of semantic categories identified in
Postverbal Qualifiers and Constraints on Contrastive Focus
De Gruyter eBooks, Apr 24, 2023
Neglected Aspects of Motion-Event Description, 2022
This is a contribution from Neglected Aspects of Motion-Event Description. Deixis, asymmetries, c... more This is a contribution from Neglected Aspects of Motion-Event Description. Deixis, asymmetries, constructions. Edited by Laure Sarda and Benjamin Fagard.
On the Semantic Classification of the Human Body by English Speaking Children and Tswana Speaking Adults
Mid-America Linguistics Conference, 1980
Number 2 , 2006 ON EMAI VBI PHRASES
We examine the distribution of Emai prepositional phrases and their NP complements relative to in... more We examine the distribution of Emai prepositional phrases and their NP complements relative to intransitive verbs. In canonical order constructions, vbi phrases follow a matrix verb as optional or obligatory constituents, or they follow the verb za in series before another matrix verb. In non-canonical order constructions, focused NP complements give rise to the verb za in series with only a subclass of intransitive verbs. Through lexical entry formats, we relate these distributional facts to distinct semantic roles and specific grammatical relations. Some vbi phrases show a complement relation for source and goal, but remaining phrases reflect inner locative complements or outer locative adjuncts, the latter signaled in focus constructions by za. We also comment on vbi prohibition outside the verb phrase and on its relationship to construal of affected object.
Possession and its Development in Comprehension and Production
Emai's Presentational Copula Construction
An initial orthography and lexicon for Emai, an Edoid language of Nigeria
A specific direction for typological inquiry is suggested by Talmy's (1991) proposal that languag... more A specific direction for typological inquiry is suggested by Talmy's (1991) proposal that languages fall into two basic types based on where they typically locate the schematic core or "upshot" of events of Motion, Change of State, Temporal Contour, Participant Correlation and Realization. Based on cross-language analyses, he hypothesizes that languages typically encode schematic core, the essential relating function in a clause, in either a main verb or a satellite (grammatical morpheme), as illustrated by prepositions in the satellite-framing language English, e.g. The ball rolled in, and She sang along, and verbs in the verb-framing language Spanish, e.g. salir 'to exit,' terminar 'to finish.' In Emai, a previously undocumented Benue-Congo language of southern Nigeria's Edoid family, schematic core is characteristically expressed across Talmy's (1991) domains by a main verb, e.g. foo 'finish,' chian 'become,' o 'enter, move-into,' or verbs in series, ba kun 'in vain.' However, Emai also expresses schematic core notions through postverbal particles with no obvious derivational relation to synchronic verb forms. In other words, Emai is not exclusively verb-framing; it manifests some properties of a satellite-framing language. In the following sections we take up the functions of Emai particles in Talmy's five domains. In the motion domain, Emai verbs encode the schematic core of an event. In addition to pure motion, they convey the directional path of a translational motion event. Forms like o 'to enter' and shan 'to move through' occur as the sole verb of a clause (la-b).
On the Semantic Classification of the Human Body by English Speaking Children and Tswana Speaking Adults
1987 Mid-America Linguistics …, 1988
10. Typological Mixture in the Lexicalization of Manner and Cause in Emai
Vol. 5, 1989
We undertake a two-step inquiry relative to Northern Nigeria's convergence zones. Initially w... more We undertake a two-step inquiry relative to Northern Nigeria's convergence zones. Initially we compare West Benue Congo's Edoid language Emai to linguistic features assigned these zones. This provides an affinity quotient for Emai relative to each zone: 75% for the Macro-Sudan Belt (MSB) and 55% for the Wider Lake Chad Region (WLCR). We then assess Emai sentential coordination and noun class prefixing. Coordination reveals cognates for adversative àmma 'but' and disjunctive ráà/láà 'or,' both found among Northern Nigeria's majority languages and sourced from Arabic. Cognates occur not only in Northern Nigeria but also among the Emai, today a forest zone agricultural clan. In addition, remnant noun class prefixing in Emai privileges herding over farming. It thus favors a pastoral past. Combined, coordination and noun prefix data suggest a wave-like migration of Edoid peoples into the rainforest and the opportunity for extended interaction of the Emai with ...
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Papers by Ronald Schaefer