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On the Sources of Person Hierarchy Effects in Halkomelem Salish

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2016

Martina Wiltschko  and
Strang Burton
Martina Wiltschko
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
Strang Burton
Affiliation:
Sto:lo Shxweli Halq’emeylem Language Program
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Abstract

Like many other Salish languages, in Halkomelem Salish, with transitive verbs, it is not possible to combine a 3rd person with a 2nd person. We propose that this *3/2 constraint is morphological in nature. This departs from previous analyses which have taken the *3/2 constraint to be the effect of a hierarchy of [person] and/or [animate] features. One consequence of analysing the *3/2 constraint as morphologically based is that person/animacy hierarchies are not primitives in the grammar. In particular, we show that person-based gaps in transitive verb paradigms receive a morpho-syntactic explanation, and that apparent restrictions on the distribution of the [animate] feature actually reflect the lexical semantics of the predicate.

Résumé

Résumé

Comme dans plusieurs langues Salishennes, en Halkomelem Salish il n’est pas possible, avec un verbe transitif, de combiner une 3ième personne avec une 2ième personne. Nous proposons que cette contrainte *3/2 est de nature morphologique. Cette approche se distinguent des analyses antérieures qui traitaient la contrainte *3/2 comme étant l’effet d’une hiérarchie de traits de [personne] et/ou de traits d’[animé]. L’analyse de la contrainte *3/2 en termes morphologiques a comme conséquence que les hiérarchies de traits de [personne] ou [animé] ne sont pas des éléments primitifs dans la grammaire. En particulier, nous démontrons que les trous dans les paradigmes des verbes transitifs reçoivent une explication morphosyntaxique, et que les restrictions apparentes sur la distribution du trait [animé] sont en réalité l’effet de la sémantique lexicale du prédicat.

Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique , Volume 49 , Issue 1 , March 2004 , pp. 51 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Linguistic Association/Association canadienne de linguistique 2004 

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