Lexicalizing directional and nondirectional motion in Emai

Gwama DD, 2018

The verb system in Gwama, a Koman language spoken in Ethiopia, has two contrastive morphemes grounded in the spatial domain, which are labelled deictic-directional (DD) markers. Since there is no tense/aspect inflection on verbs, the semantics of these directional morphemes also extend into the temporal/aspectual domain. With motion verbs, the unmarked verb form signals an unspecified direction away from the deictic centre. In contrast, a verb form with DD1 indicates direction to the deictic centre/ speaker and a verb form with DD2 indicates direction to the addressee. Due to interaction with person marking and mood, these basic notions may be altered, especially with second person and imperative. With non-motion verbs, the semantics change and distancing in non-spatial domains becomes more prominent, especially for DD2. Correspondingly, this marker is found in counterfactual constructions in combination with an Intentitive auxiliary. In addition, the role of DD markers in benefactive constructions is discussed. The existing literature on Gwama does not discuss verbal direction and, also failing to address tone, has struggled to interpret verb forms meaningfully. This paper, in showing the centrality of the directional markers in the verb system, provides a much-needed basis for the interpretation of verb forms. Cite as: Hellenthal, Anne-Christie. (2018). Semantics of directional verb morphology in Gwama. In: Nilo-Saharan Issues and Perspectives. Eds. Helga Schröder & Prisca Jerono. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe. pp. 179-192.

This dissertation aims to give a semantic account of serial verb constructions (SVCs) in motion events in a French-based Caribbean Creole variety (Kwéyòl) which uses motion verbs to create complex events with no overt clues to their class or semantic range. This study attempts to deconstruct these SVCs by applying existing semantic models to author-generated examples. The overall framework for analysis is typological motion event categories with Kwéyòl SVCs exhibiting characteristics of an Equipollently-framed language. The primary analysis is based on a model designed for Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE) which aids in delineating the type of motion encoded in Kwéyòl verbs of motion as well as their combinatory range in forming SVCs. Manner of Motion verbs are shown not to be restricted to V1 position but can equally appear as V2 of serialized complexes. The only two Deictic Motion verbs found for Kwéyòl, alé (go) and vini (come), conform to predictions for NPE in that they cannot be serialised. However, unlike NPE, they can precede Manner of motion verbs in SVCs, albeit in lexicalised usage. The final verb category, Base-Relative Motion verbs, are shown to occupy V1 position with Manner of Motion or Deictic Motion verbs unlike NPE. However, a more accurate framework for the distribution of Motion verbs in Kwéyòl SVCs is shown to be one corresponding to Simultaneous (SSVC) and Consequential (CSVC) serial verb constructions. The examples generated show that Kwéyòl SVCs with a MANNER verb in V1 position fit the SSVC paradigm with V2 operating as the semantic head of the SVC and V1 functioning as a modifier of V2. PATH verbs in V1 position, however, are shown to create CSVCs where V1 functions as semantic head and V2 as a subordinate event of the serial verb construction.

Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 2007

This paper addresses the issue of how to characterize manner-of-motion verbs cross-linguistically, and more specifically, in Italian (a topic more fully developed in Zubizarreta & Oh (2007)). It is informative to begin by looking at manner-of-motion verbs in a serial verb language like Korean. In Korean, manner-of-motion verbs are unambiguously activity-denoting verbs; they do not encode directed motion. Compare the examples in (1) with the ones in (2). The locative-ey can denote the goal of the motion in the context of the light verbs ka-"go" and o-"come", as illustrated in (1). On the other hand, the locative-ey cannot denote the goal of motion in the context of manner-ofmotion verbs such as run, walk, swim, fly, crawl, etc., as illustrated in (2). (1) a. John-i pang-ey tul-e-ka-ss-ta John-Nom room-Loc into-L go-Past-Decl "John went into the room" b. John-i pang-ey tul-e-o-ass-ta John-Nom room-Loc into-L come-Past-Decl "John came into the room." (2) a. *John-i kongwen-ey talli-ess-ta John-Nom park-Loc run-Past-Decl "John ran to the park." Cf. John-i kongwen-eyse talli-ess-ta John-Nom park-Loc run-Past-Decl "John ran at the park" * The material in this paper has been drawn from the book On the Syntactic Composition of Manner and Motion, MIT Press, 2007

2013

Motion-direction serialization (MDS) is a type of verb serialization that involves motion and directional verbs. This type of verb serialization commonly occurs in serializing languages including Javanese. This paper aims to discuss the characteristics and syntactic structure of MDS in Javanese. The syntactic structure, which comprises constituent and functional structures, is presented by using the theory of lexical -functional grammar (LFG) By adopting the lexical conceptual structure, the writer presents a model of functional structure to explain the syntactic and semantic relation between the motion verb and the directional verb in MDS. The data used in this study were taken from the novel “Suparto Brata’s Omnibus: Kumpulan Roman” written by Suparto Brata (2007) In Addition, this paper also used spoken data from two Javanese native speakers of the Surakarta dialect. The result shows that MDS in Javanese shares the same SUBJ argument, aspect, and negation. This shows that MDS exp...

requested for both intensive and extensive investigation of motion domain in the different language phyla in Africa. This article presents the expression of motion events in the Bantu languages of the Niger-Congo phylum. In the tripartite clustering of the world languages (Slobin 2004), looking on path and manner, the Bantu languages Tswana and Shona demonstrate verb-framedness (Schaefer & Gaines 1997). The findings in this study point out that the proposed verb-framedness is fully attested in the Bantu languages Swahili, Nyakyusa, Mashami and Nyambo. But the detailed analysis of dictionary as well as elicited data points towards the fact that the co-event (manner) and direction of motion are the most salient features of a typical Bantu motion events. This picture seems to deviate from proposal that path should be taken as a core-schema in the analysis of motion events. .

1982

The serial verb construction has been observed in many languages of the world, including Chinese [Li and Thompson 1973, 1978], Malayalam [K.P. Monahan, personal communication], and pidgins and creole languages. Among the languages of Africa, it is accepted to be a characteristic of, though not limited to, the Kwa languages. Various proposals have been made to account for the phenomenon. Some speculate that its existence and productivity is in inverse relation to the functional yield of the inflectional categories in the verb and/or of prepositions in individual languages. The hypothesis on reanalysis of verbs is related to the explanation which takes cognisance of prepositions [Giv6n 1975J. Although this relatedness is not explicitly pursued in the present work, we present data to show that in Yoruba, and perhaps in other Kwa languages, reanalysis of verbs is ill-motivated as a working hypothesis depending, as it does, solely on cross-linguistic analogy and translation. But more crucially, no transformational account of the SVC finds justification in the data. The SVC is, therefore, not a surface structure phenomenon, at least not in the sense that can be accounted for by deletion transformations described on putative underlying coordinate and embedded sentences proposed to date. 'Olu said that you came' a. so ~ e wa Olu say ( ) You(pl. ) come

Language Sciences, 2018

Talmy's typology of motion events in world languages as verb-framed (V-framed) and satellite-framed (S-framed) languages focuses on the expression of Path and Manner either in the verb or in a satellite to it. However insightful and interesting this typology is, it has too restrictive a scope to account for the role of other conceptual components such as Figure, Ground, and Cause in the overall motion event. The current article brings evidence from Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) to bear on Talmy's lexicalization patterns. In particular, it shows that, owing to its rich morphology, MSA includes, apart from path-and manner-driven verbs, verb patterns centered on the Figure, Ground, and Cause. Because of the difficulty occasioned by data from MSA and various other languages for Talmy's typology, the article proposes a typology of motion verbs along conflation patterns rather than lexicalization patterns.

Authors: Modhala Veerababu, Prof. R.N Bakshi ABSTRACT: The present work is an attempt at a semantic analysis of a set of verbs of motion in English and Telugu.characterizing the semantic organization of the motion situation these verbs operate in, and the approach adopted in the present study, to the assumptions underlying such an approach and to its advantages as well as disadavantages.verbs of motion characterize a motion situation in which an entity moves from a source position to a goal position. The present study is concerned mainly with the semantic characterization of the motion situation which involvesthe semantic functions, Theme, Source, Goal, path and state of motion. The function ‘agent’, also participates in the motion situation if the situation is of a causative type, the situation is brought into existence as a result of the intention of a volitional entity.In Section-1 an attempts investigate into the directional verbs of movement and non- directional verbs of movement the verbs of movement which are directionally oriented constitute the feature ‘Locomotion’ (place of displacement) in common. The semantic study of these verbs can be attempted into class 1 directional verbs and the second phase throws light on various means of movement verbs grouped into class 2 directional verbs. Key Words: Semantics, Theoretical Linguistics, Thematic roles, Motion Verbs,