Papers by Uta Reinöhl
Diegesis, 2024
We propose that repetition holds exciting new avenues for cross-disciplinary dialogue between lin... more We propose that repetition holds exciting new avenues for cross-disciplinary dialogue between linguistics, literary and narrative studies, cultural studies, and media studies. ‘Repetition’ as a phenomenon is located on a scale that ranges from micro-levels of linguistic expression to the macro-level ‘grammar’ of narratives, including novels, films, and other media. Repetition is a key component of meaning-making in spoken and written contexts and allows for a nuanced re-configuration and cross-fertilization of research into linguistic practices and narrative forms and functions. In order to explore this cross-disciplinary potential, we approach repetition through five conceptual frames: (1) tradition/transformation, (2) prediction, (3) seriality, (4) orality, and (5) social interaction. In exploring repetition through these touchpoints, we return time and again to what makes repetitions “meaningful re-enactments” (Brown) in dependence of context, and relating to questions of spatial and temporal scale.
Linguistics, 2024
This paper uncovers how metaphor forces argument overtnessacross languages and parts of speech. I... more This paper uncovers how metaphor forces argument overtnessacross languages and parts of speech. It addresses the relationship between semantically unsaturated terms, functors, and the argument terms that complete them. When the component terms' default senses clash semantically, a metaphor arises. In such cases, the argument must be overt, in contrast to literal uses. It is possible to say Everyone was waiting at the hotel. Finally, Kim arrived. By contrast, people do not use arrived metaphorically without a goal argument: Everything had been pointing to that conclusion all along. *Finally, Kim arrived. What they say is Finally, Kim arrived at it. We illustrate the phenomenon with powerful and diverse evidence: three corpus studies (Indo-Aryan languages, British English, Vera'a) and a sentence-completion experiment with around 250 native speakers of English. Both the corpus studies and the experiment show no or almost no exceptions to metaphor-driven argument overtness. The strength of the effect contrasts with a complete lack of speaker awareness. We propose that metaphor-driven argument overtnessas well as the lack of speaker consciousnessis a universal phenomenon that can be accounted for in terms of human language processing.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jun 30, 2023
Ethnolinguistic Prehistory of the Eastern Himalaya, 2022
This paper is a first step towards locating Kera’a (otherwise known as “Idu” or “Idu Mishmi”) wit... more This paper is a first step towards locating Kera’a (otherwise known as “Idu” or “Idu Mishmi”) within its immediate linguistic environment by examining dialectological data. Kera’a, a language spoken in the very northeastern corner of Arunachal Pradesh (India)—and, by extension, in the northeastern-most corner of India—is a language for which little material is available to date. The same applies to the other two “Mishmi” languages that Kera’a is traditionally grouped with, Tawrã (aka “Digaru (Mishmi)”) and Kman (aka “Miju (Mishmi)”). As far as I am aware, next to no material has been provided that clearly distinguishes between the dialects or other sub-varieties of Kera’a so far. Disentangling the sociolinguistic landscape of Kera’a, as well as its ties to other Mishmi languages and beyond, is a first step towards understanding the linguistic as well as ethnic history of this remote and understudied area. Importantly, it will become clear that linguistic and ethnic relationships in this region often do not align in a straightforward manner. Exploring the role of language as a marker of dynamic social identity is thus key to understanding cultural dynamics past and present in this region.
International Journal of Primatology, 2022
One of the great unknowns in language evolution is the transition from unstructured sign combinat... more One of the great unknowns in language evolution is the transition from unstructured sign combination to grammatical structure. This paper investigates the central — while hitherto overlooked — role of functor–argument metaphor. This type of meta- phor pervades modern language, but is absent in animal communication. It arises from the semantic clash between the default meanings of terms. Functor–argument metaphor became logically possible in protolanguage once sufficient vocabulary and basic compositionality arose, allowing for novel combinations of terms. For exam- ple, the verb to hide, a functor, could be combined not only with a concrete, spatial entity like food as its argument, but also with an abstract, non-spatial one like anger. Through this clash, to hide is reinterpreted as a metaphorical action. Functor–argu- ment metaphor requires the possibility of term combinability and the existence of compositionality. At the same time, it transcends compositionality, forcing a non- literal interpretation. We argue that functor–argument metaphor led the develop- ment of protolanguage into fully-fledged language in multiple ways. Not only did it expand expressiveness, but it drove the development of syntax including the con- ventionalization and fixation of word order, and the development of demonstratives. Thus, functor–argument metaphor fills in multiple gaps in the trajectory from a pro- tolanguage, with only some terms and simple term combinations, to the elaborate grammatical structures of fully-fledged human languages.
Proc. 1st International Conference on Tone and Intonation (TAI), 2021
This paper provides a first acoustic analysis of the lexical tones found in Kera'a, an endangered... more This paper provides a first acoustic analysis of the lexical tones found in Kera'a, an endangered language spoken in the NorthEast of India (Arunachal Pradesh). Minimal existing work provides impressionistic descriptions of the tone system and leads to diverging claims. Apart from lexical contrasts, tones are reported to be affected by sociolinguistic variables such as clan and gender, as well as by elicitation setting. The present study explores these factors using f0 contours found in monosyllabic words that were produced by speakers that differed in gender, clanlectal background and in different elicitation contexts. Cluster analyses were used to explore the f0 variation. Preliminary results suggest interactions between speaker and elicitation context and shed a new light on the realisation of tones in Kera'a.
Linguistics, 2022
This article develops foundations for a new typology of nominal expressions. Despite the signific... more This article develops foundations for a new typology of nominal expressions. Despite the significant diversity attested in languages around the world, a view traditionally and sometimes still found holds that languages either have 'classic', rigidly structured noun phrases (NPs) or lack them. A simple dichotomy, however, does not adequately represent the significant language-internal and crosslinguistic diversity of forms and functions of nominal expressions. While many linguists may not in fact think in such binary terms, a comprehensive typology is still wanting. This article offers foundations towards such a typology, with a particular emphasis on language-internal diversity. This diversity within languages has received little attention in previous studies, even while it reveals much about the actual complexity in the nominal domain. Besides surveying structural types and their motivating factors across as well as within languages from around the world, this article approaches nominal expressions also from a variety of other perspectives to enrich our understanding of them. This includes approaching nominal expressions from the perspective of word class systems as well as diachronically. We round off the article by looking at the impact of orality-literacy dimensions and communicative modes.
Studies in African Linguistics, 2020
In the literature, it is often assumed that ergative constructions originate in passive construct... more In the literature, it is often assumed that ergative constructions originate in passive constructions. The present contribution explores the likelihood of such a passive-to-ergative analysis for one language (Tima, Niger-Congo, Sudan), showing that this analysis cannot be substantiated and suggesting an origin in active constructions instead. This study is situated in its areal context (outlining similarities to split case marking systems across the region, especially in the Southern branch of Eastern Sudanic) and against the background of discussions in the Indo-Iranian family (from where the passive-to-ergative hypothesis presumably spread).
Linguistic Typology, 2020
This study explores continuous and discontinuous word order patterns of multi-word nominal expres... more This study explores continuous and discontinuous word order patterns of multi-word nominal expressions in flexible word order languages (traditionally referred to as "free word order" or "non-configurational" languages). Besides describing syntagmatic patterns, this paper seeks to identify any functional or other correlates that can be associated with different word orders. The languages under investigation are a number of Australian languages as well as Vedic Sanskrit, all of which have long been known for their syntagmatic flexibility. With respect to continuous order, evidence from several of these languages suggests that default ordering is primarily governed by functional templates. Deviations from default order, while maintaining continuity, can be attributed to different types of "focus" interpretations or heaviness effects. With respect to discontinuous order, I identify three sub-types. The most widespread one, "Left-Edge Discontinuity", involves one element placed in or near utterance-initial position. It shows a clear, if not an absolute, correlation with different kinds of focus interpretations, similarly to deviations from the default order in continuity. The other two types of discontinuity are linked to the behaviour of specific function words. Besides teasing out cross-linguistic similarities, this paper also sheds light on language-specific characteristics that affect the forms and functions of complex (i.e. multi-word) nominal expressions in flexible word order languages, such as the nature of 2nd position ("Wackernagel") elements.
STUF, 2020
This paper tackles the challenge of how to identify multi-word (or "complex") nominal expressions... more This paper tackles the challenge of how to identify multi-word (or "complex") nominal expressions in flexible word order languages including certain Australian languages and Vedic Sanskrit. In these languages, a weak or absent noun/adjective distinction in conjunction with flexible word order make it often hard to distinguish between complex nominal expressions, on the one hand, and cases where the nominals in question form independent expressions, on the other hand. Based on a discourse-based understanding of what it means to form a nominal expression, this paper surveys various cases where we are not dealing with multi-word nominal expressions. This involves, in particular, periphery-related phenomena such as use of nominals as free topics or afterthoughts, as well as various kinds of predicative uses. In the absence of clear morpho-syntactic evidence, all kinds of linguistic evidence are relied upon, including, in particular, information structure and prosody, but also derivational morphology and lexical semantics. In this way, it becomes frequently possible to distinguish between what are and what aren't complex nominal expressions in these languages.
Proceedings of TwinTalks at DHN 2019 – Understanding Collaboration in Digital Humanities, 2019
Diachronica , 2018
Recent decades have seen a surge of interest in grammaticalization. In this paper, however, we ar... more Recent decades have seen a surge of interest in grammaticalization. In this paper, however, we are not concerned with reaching a better understanding of the nature of grammaticalization phenomena or their triggering factors, but we ask under what circumstances grammaticalization does not take place, even if it would have seemed likely to – a topic that has scarcely been addressed in the literature. Based on a comparative investigation of the historical development of a class of Indo-European spatial adverbs, we argue that mismatches between layers of linguistic structure present one type of situation in which grammaticalization may be blocked. For grammaticalization to occur, the outer semantic-syntactic boundaries of the potentially grammaticalizing construction must be matched by prosodic boundaries. If prosodic chunking is shifted in relation to semantic-syntactic chunking, grammaticalization may be prevented.
Language, 2017
The concept of 'renewal' is widely used in the literature on morphosyntactic change, but hardly e... more The concept of 'renewal' is widely used in the literature on morphosyntactic change, but hardly ever theorized. Here we scrutinize the viability of this concept theoretically as well as empirically, revisiting in detail the most frequently cited case of renewal, namely the resemblance between the Latin and French synthetic futures. Phenomena accounted for in terms of renewal can also be accounted for in terms of grammaticalization theory. We argue that there is no need and no empirical support for renewal as its own type of change alongside grammaticalization. However, grammati-calization theory so far has neglected to properly account for influences of the existing system on ongoing grammaticalization processes. As an initial approximation of this vast field of study, we propose several domains where we believe that system influences on grammaticalization are operative. On the one hand, this involves making more precise the source determination hypothesis as developed in work by Joan Bybee and colleagues. On the other, it comprises interactions between constructions in paradigm formation.* 1. Introduction. This article is concerned with the question of whether the renewal of grammatical categories is a useful and theoretically viable concept in analyzing and explaining morphosyntactic change. As renewal is concerned with the development of grammatical constructions, it covers at least partially the same ground as grammatical-ization theory. Hence, the viability of renewal as a process sui generis depends in part on the question of whether it can account for aspects of the development of grammatical constructions not well covered by grammaticalization theory. We argue here that the answer to this question is 'no': renewal is not a type of grammatical change, since it lacks theoretical coherence and empirical support. The view, occasionally found in the literature , that renewal pertains to aspects of morphosyntactic change not well addressed by grammaticalization theory arises from that theory's neglect of the fact that the existing language system may influence the development of grammatical constructions in various ways. Consequently, we argue, what is needed is not a theory of renewal, but rather a substantial revision of grammaticalization theory so as to explicitly take into account the fact that grammatical change does not happen in a vacuum. The notion of 'renewal' 1 is widely used in language histories and in literature on language change and appears in the title of Meillet's famous article 'Le renouvellement des conjonctions'. 2 He claims in this article that the repeated disappearance and new creation
Diachronica , 2016
It has been widely assumed that the primary adpositions of modern Indo-European languages constit... more It has been widely assumed that the primary adpositions of modern Indo-European languages constitute a historically identical category, descending from the Proto-Indo-European 'local particles'. I argue that this assumption needs to be revised, because a major branch of the language family, Indo-Aryan, possesses adpositions of unrelated origin. This is not only a question of different etyma, but the New Indo-Aryan adpositions descend from structurally different sources. The ancient local particles, as attested in early Indo-Aryan varieties, combine with local case forms and show a preference for the prenominal position. By contrast, the New Indo-Aryan adpositions descend from nominal and verbal forms heading genitives, and show a propensity for the postnominal slot. Thus, we are dealing with elements unrelated not only etymologically, but also with regard to their morphosyntactic distribution.
Book Reviews by Uta Reinöhl
Journal of South Asian Languages and Linguistics, 2018
Linguistic Typology, 2011
Books by Uta Reinöhl
This book examines historical changes in the grammar of the Indo-Aryan languages from the period ... more This book examines historical changes in the grammar of the Indo-Aryan languages from the period of their earliest attestations in Vedic Sanskrit (around 1000 bc) to contemporary Hindi. Uta Reinöhl focuses specifically on the rise of configurational structure as a by-product of the grammaticalization of postpositions: while Vedic Sanskrit lacks function words that constrain nominal expressions into phrasal units - one of the characteristics of a non-configurational language - New Indo-Aryan languages have postpositions which organize nominal expressions into postpositional phrases. The grammaticalization of postpositions and the concomitant syntactic changes are traced through the three millennia of Indo-Aryan attested history with a focus on Vedic Sanskrit, Middle Indic Pali and Apabhramsha, Early New Indic Old Awadhi, and finally Hindi. Among the topics discussed are the constructions in which the postpositions grammaticalize, the origins of the postpositional template, and the paradigmatization of the various elements involved into a single functional class of postpositions. The book outlines how it is semantic and pragmatic changes that induce changes on the expression side, ultimately resulting in the establishment of phrasal, and thus low-level configurational, syntax.
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Papers by Uta Reinöhl
Book Reviews by Uta Reinöhl
Books by Uta Reinöhl