Date: 24-Mar-2009
From: Douglas Ball <tsketar gmail.com>
Subject: Clause Structure and Argument Realization in Tongan
 E-mail this message to a friend
Institution: Stanford University
Program: Department of Linguistics
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2008
Author: Douglas L Ball
Dissertation Title: Clause Structure and Argument Realization in Tongan
Dissertation URL: http://www.stanford.edu/~dball/diss.html
Linguistic Field(s):
Syntax
Subject Language(s): Tongan (ton)
Dissertation Director:
Peter Sells
Sandy Chung
Beth Levin
Ivan A Sag
Dissertation Abstract:
This dissertation investigates the structure of clauses and how key
subparts of them - the arguments of their predicates - are realized in the
Polynesian language, Tongan. The leading proposal of this work, running
through the analyses of all phenomena, is that Tongan can be analyzed with
less syntactic structure than has previously been proposed by others
working on Polynesian languages. The framework I make use of - Sign-Based
Construction Grammar (SBCG) - is multi-factorial; it spreads the analytical
load among parallel (but related) constituency, syntactic valency, and
semantic data structures. This dissertation, drawing on extensive fieldwork
data, shows that Tongan is better analyzed in terms of minimal hierarchical
structure and that a multifactorial approach offers a more comprehensive
and accurate understanding of Tongan morphosyntax than previous accounts.
Issues of clause structure are the focus of the first half of the
dissertation. The region of verbal clauses that includes the verb and its
dependents is analyzed in terms of a 'flat' structure, while the predicate
and arguments in non-verbal clauses are assigned more hierarchical
structure. This difference derives from different argument realization
constraints on the predicates in these clauses: verbs and prepositions,
respectively. The combination of an initial Tense-Aspect-Mood word and one
of these verbal or non-verbal constituents usually completes the
construction of the basic Tongan clause.
A discussion of argument realization phenomena constitutes the remainder of
the dissertation: the subject clitics, the cross-predicate distribution of
case, the structure and distribution of noun incorporation, and the
preposition-like and applicative constructions with the instrumental
particle 'aki. These investigations provide evidence against a syntactic
treatment of argument realization in Tongan, and for a treatment centered
around lists of potential dependents of predicates. These lists allow
hierarchical structure to be minimized, because they provide another locus
for grammatical interactions. This locus avoids the complications that
arise on other approaches where the interactions are derived entirely
within the phrase structure. Yet, these lists allow direct generation of
the phrasal structures, licensing the structure that is necessary for an
account of the syntax of Tongan.
This Year the LINGUIST List hopes to raise $60,000. This money will go to help
keep the List running by supporting all of our Student Editors for the coming year.
See below for donation instructions, and don't forget to check out our Fund Drive
2009 LINGUIST List Restaurant and join us for a delightful treat!
http://linguistlist.org/fund-drive/2009/
There are many ways to donate to LINGUIST!
You can donate right now using our secure credit card form at
https://linguistlist.org/donation/donate/donate1.cfm
Alternatively you can also pledge right now and pay later. To do so, go to:
https://linguistlist.org/donation/pledge/pledge1.cfm
For all information on donating and pledging, including information on how to
donate by check, money order, or wire transfer, please visit:
http://linguistlist.org/donate.html
The LINGUIST List is under the umbrella of Eastern Michigan University and as such
can receive donations through the EMU Foundation, which is a registered 501(c) Non
Profit organization. Our Federal Tax number is 38-6005986. These donations can be
offset against your federal and sometimes your state tax return (U.S. tax payers
only). For more information visit the IRS Web-Site, or contact your financial advisor.
Many companies also offer a gift matching program, such that they will match any
gift you make to a non-profit organization. Normally this entails your contacting
your human resources department and sending us a form that the EMU Foundation fills
in and returns to your employer. This is generally a simple administrative procedure
that doubles the value of your gift to LINGUIST, without costing you an extra penny.
Please take a moment to check if your company operates such a program.
Thank you very much for your support of LINGUIST!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue
|
