The role of pronouns in NPs in Australian languages

SLE 46, Split University, 18-21 September 2013 The role of pronouns in NPs in Australian languages Dana Louagie & Jean-Christophe Verstraete 1 INTRODUCTION 2 Basic question Role of pronouns in NPs in Australian languages? • NP = syntactic structure that refers to an entity (Rijkhoff  Nominal head + modifiers: jointly determine reference 2009) • E.g. the big boat • Pronoun = paradigm of forms centered around distinction between speaker, addressee and other  directly determined reference • E.g. I INTRODUCTION 3 Basic question  NPs consisting of more than a pronoun? 1. Pronouns as heads  modified e.g. adjective highlighting relevant aspect (1) Jaru PRON ƞaɖu-ƞgu 1sg-ERG I, ho a MOD jambi-gu ƞa- a ɖaɖi big-ERG C-1sg.NOM kangaroo ig, speared a ka garoo. Tsunoda 1981: 93) lan-i spear-PST  Typology of constructions • Little or no earlier work in Australian languages or beyond • Comparison with proper names (Vandelanotte & Willemse 2002) INTRODUCTION 4 Basic question  NPs consisting of more than a pronoun? 2. Pronouns as modifiers e.g. pronoun > determiner (2) Wambaya PRON Ya du ng-u ngawurniji wurla 1sg.ERG 3du.ACC mind 1sg.A-FUT I ll at h the kids. Nordli ger 1998: 240) HEAD alag-ulu. child-du.ACC  Some earlier work (e.g. Stirling 2008; Stirling & Baker 2007)  Our data largely confirm their findings INTRODUCTION 5 Data • 30 Australian languages o (partial) genetic and areal spread (~ larger study in progress) o 22 Pama-Nyungan languages (largest family, covers most of the continent) 8 non-Pama-Nyungan languages (several families, not all represented) o INTRODUCTION 6 Data • NPs in Australian languages: earlier work o Classifier constructions (e.g. Harvey & Reid 1995; Wilkins 2000) o Discontinuity (e.g. Schultze-Berndt & Simard 2012) and unification constructions (e.g. Evans 2003a) o Pronouns: hardly anything, except on • Use as determiners (e.g. Stirling & Baker 2007) • Inclusory and coordination constructions (Singer 2001) INTRODUCTION 7 Overview 1. Pronouns as modified heads 2. Pronouns as modifiers 3. Conclusion INTRODUCTION 8 1. PRONOUNS AS MODIFIED HEADS 9 1. Pronouns as modified heads 1.1. Pronoun reference changed 1.2. Pronoun reference not changed 1.3. Pseudo-adverbial 1. PRONOUN as HEAD 10 1. Pronouns as modified heads 1.1. Pronoun reference changed 1.2. Pronoun reference not changed 1.3. Pseudo-adverbial 1. PRONOUN as HEAD 11 1.1. Pronoun reference changed (3) Warrongo PRON MOD ganba-mara ngaya jangarago-Ø yarro-n-da before-very 1sg.NOM small-NOM this,here-LIG-LOC waymba-garra-n. walk.about-ITER-NFUT 'A very long time ago I, [a] little [child], walked around in this place'. (Tsunoda 2011: 352) • Meaning Pronoun: SAP as reference point o Modifier: particular role or life-stage  restrictive modification o 1.1. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference changed 12 1.1. Pronoun reference changed • Form o Typical modifier: A/N denoting life-stage • Attested in: o Arabana, Guugu Yimidhirr, Umpila, Warrongo • Compare proper names (Vandelanotte & Willemse 2002) o Restrictive modification: ‘submanifestation’ of protoypical referent (4) English The old Margaret Thatcher was revived when she was falsely accused of corruption. (Vandelanotte & Willemse 2002: 17) 1.1. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference changed 13 1. Pronouns as modified heads 1.1. Pronoun reference changed 1.2. Pronoun reference not changed 1.3. Pseudo-adverbial 1.2. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference not changed 14 1.2. Pronoun reference not changed (1) Jaru PRON ƞaɖu-ƞgu 1sg-ERG I, ho a MOD jambi-gu ƞa- a ɖaɖi big-ERG C-1sg.NOM kangaroo ig, speared a ka garoo. Tsunoda 1981: 93)  Pronoun alone establishes reference  Non-restrictive modification 3 subtypes: 1.2.1. Highlighting relevant aspect 1.2.2. Grounding 1.2.3. Classifier 1.2. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference not changed 15 lan-i spear-PST 1.2.1. Highlighting relevant aspect (5) Warrongo MOD PRON goyi-nggo ngaya wajo-n. hungry-ERG 1sg.ERG cook-NFUT 'I, [a] hungry [person], cooked [food].' (Tsunoda 2011: 352) • Meaning o o Pronoun: deictic Modifier: • highlights an aspect which is relevant • not only within NP, but also on clause level! • Use < why relevant? o Causal (5) 1.2. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference not changed 16 1.2.1. Highlighting relevant aspect o Emphasizing participant status (Hill ms.) (6) o Umpila PRON ngampula 1pl.INCL.NOM kuuna neutral.DEM We old o e MOD ku u hi inga-na away palu kalmi old.woman speak-NFUT hey INTERJ come nhiina-tha-ntu sit-FUT-2pl.NOM alled out, he ou o e here a d sit do . Hill ms: 14) Personal name (7) Jaru PRON MOD ƞaɖu-ƞgu widbili -ɖu ƞa- a ɖaɖi 1sg-ERG a e -ERG C-1sg.NOM kangaroo I, Wid ili j, speared a ka garoo. Tsunoda 1981: 93) 1.2. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference not changed 17 lan-i spear-PST 1.2.1. Highlighting relevant aspect o Emphasizing number of participants (8) (9) Arabana PRON MOD Athu nguyu-ru ngurka-ra I.ERG one-ERG know-PUNC I alo e k o . lit: I, the o l o e, k o Hercus 1994: 285) Yidiny All of us little hildre stared hard at [the pla e]. PRON MOD Nganyji wawurr yarnggaa-ny some be.frightened-PST 1nsg.SA Some of us ere frighte ed [ it]. Di o : ; seg e tatio a d gloss mine) 1.2. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference not changed 18 1.2.1. Highlighting relevant aspect o Filling gap in pronominal paradigm (10) Yidiny PRON MOD Nyundu:ba dyambu:l wunangadan yinggu two.ABS lie-COMING-IMP here-LOC 2nsg.SA You t o o e a d sleep here! Di o : 1.2. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference not changed 19 1.2.1. Highlighting relevant aspect • Form o o Typical fillers: N, A, Num, adnominal NPs, relative clauses NP or appositional?  see later • Attested in: o Alyawarra, Gooniyandi, Warrongo, Martuthunira, Yidiny, Guugu Yimidhirr, Arabana, Umpila, Yalarngga, Jaru 1.2. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference not changed 20 1.2.1. Highlighting relevant aspect • Compare proper names (Vandelanotte & Willemse 2002) o Non-restrictive: ‘submanifestation – contrastive / foregrounding’ (11) English a. Prett Wo a s Julia ‘o erts re ei ed a other a ard last eek. (Vandelanotte & Willemse 2002: 25) b. An angry Blair left the meeting yesterday (vs. a calm/friendly/goodhu oured/… Blair Va dela otte & Wille se : 1.2. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference not changed 21 1.2.2. Grounding (12) Guugu Yimidhirr PRON MOD Dhana yinharrin gunbu dumbiilmbi-ga wudhuurr-bi 3pl.NOM DEM.PROX.ABS.PL dance.ABS break.RDP-PRF night-LOC These people ould ha e a da e at ight. Ha ila d : 1.2. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference not changed 22 1.2.2. Grounding • Meaning o o Establish relation referent – speech situation Semantics of demonstratives transparent? • Combination: • 1st pronoun + proximal demonstrative • 2nd pronoun + distal demonstrative • = fixed? (13) Gumbaynggirr PRON ngaramara nga:nya Chase-IMP 1sg.O Chase e! Eades : MOD yarrang DEM.DIST •  relative to perspectivisation 1.2. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference not changed 23 1.2.2. Grounding • Form o o Typical fillers: demonstratives, article 3rd – dem: head? • Attested in o Marra, Gumbaynggirr, Yir Yoront, Guugu Yimidhirr, Umpila • Compare proper names (Vandelanotte & Willemse 2002) o Non-restrictive: only attitudinal grounding (14) English a. There s a Mrs ‘ose M Neill here to see ou. Va dela otte & Wille se 21) b. That George Bush is a nice guy. (Vandelanotte & Willemse 2002: 22) 1.2. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference not changed 24 : 1.2.3. Classifier (15) Kunjen MOD PRON a ubal person 2du.NOM *Old.mission-g. Old.Mission-ALL You t o go a k do er away igu-l *Mission-g go-IMP Mission-ALL to the issio , to Old Missio uRunhdh, downward “o er • Meaning o o ‘person’ -> highlighting (non-relevant) aspect, fixed Other classifiers possible? 1.2. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference not changed 25 : 1.2.3. Classifier • Form o o Not obligatory, but occurs frequently Examples for all persons and numbers in Kunjen • Attested in: Yir Yoront, Kunjen 1.2. PRONOUN as HEAD: reference not changed 26 1. Pronouns as modified heads 1.1. Pronoun reference changed 1.2. Pronoun reference not changed 1.3. Pseudo-adverbial 1.3. PRONOUN as HEAD: pseudo-adverbial 27 1.3. Pseudo-adverbial (16) Djabugay PRON MOD ngawu dagal-ndu minya guni-l slow-A fish.O cut-PRS I.A I cut the fish slowly [i.e.carefully]. Patz • Meaning: o head-modifier  modifier about predicate • Form o o : Noun – adjective Pronoun – adjective • Attested in Djabugay 1.3. PRONOUN as HEAD: pseudo-adverbial 28 Pronoun as head: conclusion • Meaning o Similarities with non-pronominal NPs? NP: Head – Clf – Qual – Quant – Det (e.g. Rijkhoff 2009, McGregor 1990)  if pronoun is head: same modification possibilities? 1. PRONOUN as HEAD: conclusion 29 Pronoun as head: conclusion • Meaning o NP: Head – Clf – Qual – Quant – Det pronoun grounding ‘person’ restr: ? n-restr: highlighting restr: role n-restr: highlighting 1. PRONOUN as HEAD: conclusion 30 Pronoun as head: conclusion  o if pronoun is head: same modification possibilities? YES o BUT adapted to semantics: • Restrictive modification (qualifier) limited • Non-restrictive modification more frequent • Always just one modifier; full template never realised 1. PRONOUN as HEAD: conclusion 31 Pronoun as head: conclusion • Form o Could be analysed as appositional constructions (e.g. Bhat 2004), but: • • • • Contiguous Same ordering restrictions as in non-pronominal NP Same case marking patterns (but no contrastive examples) Diagnostic slot (e.g. second position clitics in Jaru)  why not analyse as one NP? 1. PRONOUN as HEAD: conclusion 32 2. PRONOUNS AS MODIFIERS 33 Previous work (2) Wambaya PRON Ya du ng-u ngawurniji wurla mind 1sg.A-FUT 1sg.ERG 3du.ACC I ll at h the kids. Nordli ger 1998: 240) HEAD alag-ulu. child-du.ACC • Some literature o o Stirling & Baker 2007; Stirling 2008; Bickerdike et al. ms One language or small sample • Literature suggests determiner function o o Exact function not clear Occurs in certain discourse contexts (e.g. highlight scenes, first reference to main participant) 2. PRONOUN as MODIFIER 34 Our sample • Attested in 16 out of 30 languages • Sample confirms determiner analysis o Kind of referent ~ use of pronoun • Human referents in all languages • If used for inanimate referents > also used for animate and human referents •  Animacy Hierarchy: human > animate > inanimate • ~ number etc. (e.g. Corbett 2000) 2. PRONOUN as MODIFIER 35 Our sample • Sample confirms determiner analysis o Position pronoun w.r.t. NP • Fixed or preferred order in most languages: initial or final •  outer layer of NP • ~ general tendency of determiners: outer layer (Rijkhoff 2009) 2. PRONOUN as MODIFIER 36 Our sample • Sample confirms determiner analysis o Functions < authors • Definiteness/specificity (optional marking in most languages) • Narrative structure (e.g. topic continuation; initial mentions) • Indicating number • Note: also used with proper names (17) Arrernte HEAD PRON Gavan re Margaret ine-rle.lhe-ke. Gavan 3sgA Margaret get-DO & GO-pc Ga a pi ked Margaret up. Lit: The Ga a I sure ou a ide tif got Margaret and went.) (Wilkins 1989: 123) 2. PRONOUN as MODIFIER 37 Pronoun as modifier: conclusion  Analysis as determiner confirmed Exact nature of discourse functions need to be investigated for each language individually 2. PRONOUN as MODIFIER 38 CONCLUSION 39 Conclusion MEANING FORM FUNCTION SAP in another role N/A denoting life-stage Restrictive qualifier Pronoun reference not changed 3 types: Highlighting Grounding Classifier A/N, Num, Dem, Article, Classifier, complex fillers Non-restrictive modifiers Pseudo-adverbial Modifier of NP about action of predicate Adjective Adverbial Grounding Pronoun modifying nonpronominal head Determiner PRONOUN AS HEAD Pronoun reference changed PRONOUN AS MODIFIER CONCLUSION 40 Open questions (1) • Example (9) (9) Yidiny All of us little hildre stared hard at [the pla e]. PRON MOD Nganyji wawurr yarnggaa-ny some be.frightened-PST 1nsg.SA Some of us ere frighte ed [ it]. Di o : ; seg e tatio a d gloss mine) • Analysed as ‘Reference pronoun not changed: highlighting relevant aspect.’ • Alternative analysis possible? •  Reference pronoun changed: restrictive quantification CONCLUSION 41 Open questions (2) • Inclusory and coordination constructions? (Singer 2001) (18) Kayardild PRON ? nga-rr-a kajakaja warra-ja thaa-th daddy.NOM go-ACT return-ACT 1-du-NOM 'Dadd a d I ill go (lit. 'we two, including daddy, will go'). (Evans 1995: 249) (19) Gooniyandi PRON ? ? ? gid-yarndi lambadi ngaanggi garingi ngaanggi nginyji 2nsg-pl father-in-law 2sg.obl wife 2sg.obl 2sg.nom You lot: your father-in-la , our ife, a d ou. (McGregor 1990: 286) CONCLUSION 42 References (1) • Alpher, Barry. 1973. Son of ergative: the Yir Yoront language of northeast Australia. Cornell University PhD. • Alpher, Barry. 1991. Yir-Yoront lexicon: sketch and dictionary of an Australian language. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. • Bhat, D. N. S. 2004. Pronouns. Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Bickerdike, Isabel, Lauren Campbell & Lesley Stirling. The choice of referring expressions in a Ganalbingu hunting narrative. Ms. • Blake, Barry, Luise A. Hercus, Stephen Morey & Edward Ryan. 2011. The Mathi group of languages. (Pacific Linguistics 628). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. • Blevins, Juliette. 2001. Nhanda: An Aboriginal Language of Western Australia. (Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications 30). Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press. • Bowe, Heather & Stephen Morey. 1999. The Yorta Yorta (Bangerang) language of the Murray Goulburn including Yabula Yabula. (Pacific Linguistics C-154). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. • Bowern, Claire & Quentin Atkinson. 2012. Computational phylogenetics and the internal structure of Pama-Nyungan. Language 88(4). 817–845. • Breen, Gavan & Barry Blake. 2007. The grammar of Yalarnnga: a language of Western Queensland. (Pacific Linguistics 584). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. • Corbett, Greville G. 2000. Number. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Cysouw, Michael. 2001. The Paradigmatic Structure of Person Marking. Nijmegen: Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen PhD thesis. • Dench, Alan. 1994. Martuthunira. A language of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. (Pacific Linguistics C-125). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. • Dixon, R. M. W. 1977. A grammar of Yidin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Dixon, R. M. W. 1991. Words of our country : stories, place names, and vocabulary in Yidiny, the Aboriginal language of the Cairns-Yarrabah region / compiled and edited by R.M.W. Dixon ; with flora identification and interpretation by Tony Irvine. St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press. • Donaldson, Tamsin. 1980. Ngiyambaa. The language of the Wangaaybuwan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 43 References (2) • Douglas, Wilfrid. 1976. The Aboriginal Languages of the South-West of Australia. 2nd ed. (Australian Aboriginal Studies. Research and Regional Studies 9). Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. • Eades, Diana. 1979. Gumbaynggir. In R. M. W. Dixon & Barry Blake (eds.), Handbook of Australian Languages, vol. 1, 244– 361. Canberra: Australian National University Press. • Evans, Nicholas. 1995. A grammar of Kayardild with historical-comparative notes on Tangkic. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. • Evans, Nicholas. 2003a. Bininj Gun-wok. A Pan-dialectal grammar of Mayali, Kunwinjku and Kune. (Pacific Linguistics). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. • Evans, Nicholas. 2003b. Introduction: Comparative non-Pama-Nyungan and Australian historical linguistics. In Nicholas Evans (ed.), The Non-Pama-Nyungan languages of northern Australia: comparative studies of othe continent’s most linguistically complex region, 3–25. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. • Ford, Lysbeth Julie. 1998. A description of the Emmi language of the Northern Territory of Australia. Australian National University PhD thesis. • Hamilton, Philip. 1996. Oykangand Sketch Grammar. Draft only. • Harvey, Mark. 2002. A Grammar of Gaagudju. Berlin; New York: Mouton de Gruyter. • Harvey, Mark & Nicholas Reid (eds.). 1997. Nominal Classification in Aboriginal Australia. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. • Haviland, John. 1979. Guugu Yimidhirr. Sketch Grammar. In Robert M. W. Dixon & Barry Blake (eds.), Handbook of Australian Languages, vol. 1. Canberra: The Australian National University. • Heath, Jeffrey. 1981. Basic Materials in Mara: Grammar, Texts and Dictionary. (Pacific Linguistics C-60). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. • Hercus, Luise A. 1982. The Baagandji language. (Pacific Linguistics B-67). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. • Hercus, Luise A. 1994. A Grammar of the Arabana-Wangkangurru language, Lake Eyre basin, South Australia. (Pacific Linguistics C-128). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. • Hill, Clair. The Noun Phrase in Umpila. Ms. 44 References (3) • Kite, Suzanne & Stephen Wurm. 2004. The Duungidjawu language of southeast Queensland. Grammar, texts and vocabulary. (Pacific Linguistics 553). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. • McGregor, William. 1990. A Functional Grammar of Gooniyandi. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Nash, David. 1980. Topics in the Warlpiri grammar. Massachusetts Institute of Technology PhD. • • Nordlinger, Rachel. 1998. A Grammar of Wambaya, Northern Territory (Australia). (Pacific Linguistics C-140). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. • Patz, Elisabeth. 1991. Djabugay Grammar, Texts and Vocabulary. In Robert M. W. Dixon & Barry Blake (eds.), Handbook of Australian Languages, vol. 4, 244–347. Canberra: Australian National University Press. • Rijkhoff, Jan. 2009. The Noun Phrase. reprint. (Oxford Studies in Typology and Linguistic Theory). Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Schultze-Berndt, Eva. 2000. Simple and Complex verbs in Jaminjung: a study of event categorisation in an Australian language. Nijmegen: Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen PhD thesis. • Schultze-Berndt, Eva & Candide Simard. 2012. Constraints on noun phrase discontinuity in an Australian language: the role of prosody and information structure. Linguistics 50(5). 1015–1058. • Singer, Ruth. 2001. The Inclusory Construction in Australian Languages. Melbourne: University of Melbourne Honours thesis, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics. Sommer, Bruce. 1970. Kunjen syntax: A generative view. University of Hawaii PhD thesis. • • • • • • Sommer, Bruce. 2006. Speaking Kunjen. An ethnography of Oykangand kinship and communication. (Pacific Linguistics 582). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. Stirling, Lesley. 2008. “‘Double reference’” in Kala Lagaw Ya narratives. In Ilana Mushin & Brett Baker (eds.), Discourse and Grammar in Australian Languages, 167–202. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Stirling, Lesley & Brett Baker. 2007. Pronominal apposition and the status of “determiner” in Australian languages. Adelaide. Thompson, David. 1988. Lockhart River “sand beach” language: an outline of Kuuku Ya’U and Umpila. Darwin: Summer Institute of Linguistics. Tsunoda, Tasaku. 1981. The Djaru language of Kimberley, Western Australia. (Pacific Linguistics B-98). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. 45 References (4) • Tsunoda, Tasaku. 2011. A grammar of Warrongo. Berlin; New York: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. • Vandelanotte, Lieven & Peter Willemse. 2002. Restrictive and non-restrictive modification of proprial lemmas. Word 53(1). 9– 36. • Wilkins, David P. 1989. Mparntwe Arrernte (Aranda) : Studies in the Structure and Semantics of Grammar. The Australian National University PhD thesis, Linguistics. • Wilkins, David P. 2000. Ants, ancestors and medicine: a semantic and pragmatic account of classifier constructions in Arrernte (Central Australia). In Gunter Senft (ed.), Systems of Nominal Classification, 147–216. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Yallop, Colin. 1977. Alyawarra. An Aboriginal language of central Australia. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. dana.louagie@arts.kuleuven.be jean-christophe.verstraete@arts.kuleuven.be 46 Extra examples (1) • Contrastive use (20) Alyawarra pe uliar eha iour of a hite o a ho isits the a p Aminta alpilaniyla anyintantiya, aniyalhiyla, go.LIG.AUX.PRS.CONT one.still sit.LIG.AUX.PRS.CONT alone.NOM PRON MOD anukanthirrirtula irrpulirtula, aniyla ra anukanthirrirtula, 1pl.incl.DATIII.LOC black.LOC sit.PRS.CONT 3sg 1pl.incl.DATIII.LOC aniyaniyla, alpilaniyla ra anyintantiya sit.LIG.AUX.PRS.CONT go.LIG.AUX.PRS.CONT 3sg one.still she sets out al a s alo e, she o es a d sta s a o g us la k people, she stays with us, always stays, (then) she always goes away still o her o . (Yallop 1977: 64) 47 Extra examples (2) • Complex fillers (21) Warrongo We lost our swag. We went back from there to look for it.') MOD PRON ngona-ngomany-jo ngana-Ø golgorra-Ø jaymba-n. there-ABL-ERG 1pl-ERG swag-ACC find-NFUT Lit. 'We, [who went back] from there, found the swag.' (Tsunoda 2011: 206) (22) Arrernte PRON MOD---------------------------------------------------------------------------The Robert-kenhe-rle mweteke atnyene-me-le-rle Robert-POSS-REL car hold-NPST.PROG-ERG-REL 1sg.A(ERG) anyelkng-althe re-nhe arntirrkwe-ke steal-BAD.CHAR 3sg-ACC catch-PST.COMPL I ho had ‘o ert s ar aught the thief of the ar . (Wilkins 1989: §10.1.3.3) 48 Extra examples (3) • Restrictive quantifier? (23) Gooniyandi dina ngabjidda ngarloodoo-ngga yoowooloo man dinner we.ate.it three-ERG MOD PRON garndiwiddi ngidi-yooddoo yoowooloo yoowarni gardiya two 1nsg.R-du man one white.person We three e ate di er, t o of us A origi es a d o e hite a . M Gregor 1990: 271) 49