LINGUIST List 7.926

Mon Jun 24 1996

Qs: Conjugation, Artikulationsbasis, Pro-drop languages

Editor for this issue: Ann Dizdar <dizdartam2000.tamu.edu>

Directory

1. Yoshihiro Masuya, Conjugation
2. Bryan Jenner, Artikulationsbasis
3. Bjarne Birkrem, Pro-drop languages

Dear Linguists,

Japanese verb forms are determined chiefly according to the morpheme
which follows.

I will show you the conjugation of the verb *yomu* (to read).


*yom-a nai*: Ano ko wa hon o yoma nai.
 not that child topicalization book(s) accusative
 particle particle
 (That child does not read books.)

*yom-i masu* (*masu* is a politer form to close a declarative sentence
with):
 Ano ko wa yoku hon o yomi masu. (That child reads well.)
 often

*yom-u* (form with which the unmarked declarative sentence or the
negative imperative sentence is closed):
 Ano ko wa yoku hon o yomu. (That child reads well.)
 Sonna hon wa yomu na. (*na*: particle for negative
 imperative.)
 such (Do not read such (a) book(s).)

*yom-u* (form standing before a noun qualified by the verb): Yoku hon
o yomu hito.

 person(s)
 ((A) person(s) who read(s) well.)

*yom-e ba*: Motto hon o yome ba ii noni.
 if good (*noni* expresses the speaker's
 dissatisfaction.)

 (If you/he/she, etc.(judged from the context) read(s) many more
 books, it would be better for you, etc.)

*yom-e* (Imperative if this form closes the sentence): Motto hon o
yome. (Read more!)

*yom-oo* (*oo* is pronounced as a long monophthong and expresses the
speaker's intention): Hon o takusan yomoo. (Let's read many books.)
 many


Is there any other language where the conjuated forms of a verb is
mainly determined by what follows it?

If any, and if anyone lets me know, I should be grateful.

When I am given information, I shall place a summary in THE LINGUIST.

Professor Yoshihiro Masuya <masuyamxb.meshnet.or.jp>
Professor of English Linguistics and Phonetics.
Graduate School of Humantities & |
Institute for Language and Culture |RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
Konan University |9-14, Tsukushi ga Oka 1 Chome
9-1, Okamoto 8 Chome |Kita-ku, KOBE 651-12
Higashinada-ku, KOBE 658 |Japan
Japan |
Tel: +81-78-431-4341. |Tel: +81-78-581-9958.
Fax: +81-78-435-2545. |Fax: +81-78-586-2101.

I am trying to locate a dissertation by Werner Vockerath, entitled
"Die deutsche und die englische Artikulationsbasis", published in
Greifswald, Germany in 1925 (!) If any of you have a copy in your
library or know where I might find one I would be very glad to hear
from you.

Bryan Jenner
Department of English
Kumamoto University, Japan
Fax/Phone (81)96-342-2614

Dear fellow linguists!

I am doing research on the northern Middle English "personal pronoun
rule", whereby verbal suffixes in the present indicative plural were
"reduced" to -e or zero when the subject was a personal pronoun
immediately adjacent to the finite verb. In this connection I have
come across the term "pro-drop languages", but I have not yet been
able to locate any references to this. If any of you know something
about this term and where it is referred to, I should very much
appreciate the help. Thank you!


***************************************************************************
* BJARNE BIRKREM Ph.D student, Old & Middle English philology *
* *
* Department of British and American Studies, University of Oslo *
* P.O. Box 1003, Blindern, 0315 OSLO, Norway *
* *
* Tel.: (00 47) 22 85 47 75 Fax: (00 47) 22 85 68 04 *
* E-mail: bjarne.birkremiba.uio.no *
***************************************************************************