Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T09:27:53.921Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Semantics of abstract finals in Algonquian transitive inanimate verbs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2016

J. Peter Denny
J. Peter Denny*
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

A general problem in Algonquian verb derivation is the role of various morphemes conveying abstract meanings, in contrast to those conveying the main concrete meaning of the verb. Usually, the specific action taking place is quite well described by the root, medial and concrete final, but other morphemes appear such as pre-medials, post-medials and abstract finals which have much more abstract but nonetheless vital meanings. The abstract morphemes are especially important because they are few in number, but occur frequently, so that the abstract meaning of any one of them is a component of the meaning of large numbers of verbs. In previous papers I have tried to show what some of these abstract meanings are. In Denny and Mailhot (1976) we showed that, in Cree-Montagnais, pre-medial -ā- indicates that the root expresses an extrinsic property of the object referred to by the medial, e.g., ossisk ā kam-āw ‘cypress-EXTRINSIC-lake-it.is = it is a cypress lake,’ whereas lack of pre-medial -ā- indicates that the root expresses an intrinsic property, e.g., čino-kam-āw ‘long-lake-it.is = it is a long lake.’

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique , Volume 28 , Issue 2 , Fall 1983 , pp. 133 - 148
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Linguistic Association 1983

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aubin, G. F. (1975) A Proto-Algonquian Dictionary. National Museum of Man: Ottawa.Google Scholar
Bloomfield, L. (1946) “Algonquian.” In Hoijer, H. et al, Linguistic Structures of Native America. The Viking Fund: New York, 85–129.Google Scholar
Chafe, W. L. (1970) Meaning and the structure of language. University of Chicago Press: Chicago.Google Scholar
Denny, J. P. (1978a) “Verb class meanings of the abstract finals in Ojibway inanimate intransitive verbs.” International Journal of American Linguistics 44:294–322.Google Scholar
Denny, J. P. (1978b) “Preliminary sketch of the meanings of the AI abstract finals.” University of Western Ontario, Department of Psychology, Research Bulletin No. 451.Google Scholar
Denny, J. P. (1981) “Algonquian word structure from the viewpoint of logical semantics.” Montreal Working Papers in Linguistics 16:21–29.Google Scholar
Denny, J. P., and Mailhot, J. (1976) “The semantics of certain abstract elements in the Algonquian verb.” International Journal of American Linguistics 42:91–98.Google Scholar
Dowty, D. (1978) “Applying Montague’s views on linguistic metatheory to the structure of the lexicon.” In Papers from the Parasession on the Lexicon (Chicago Linguistic Society), 97–137.Google Scholar
Ellis, C. D. (1962) Spoken Cree. Anglican Church: Toronto.Google Scholar
Metallic, A., and DeBlois, A. D. (1979) Micmac lexicon. Restigouche (Quebec) Band Council.Google Scholar
Mourelatos, A. P. D. (1978) “Events, processes and states.” Linguistics and Philosophy 2:415–34.Google Scholar
Nordenfelt, L. (1977) Events, actions, and ordinary language. Bokforlaget Doxa: Lund.Google Scholar
Perlmutter, D. M. (1978) “Impersonal passives and the unaccusative hypothesis.” Proceedings of the 4th Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society 157–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piggott, G. L. (1979) “Verb classification in Ojibwa.” Montreal Working Papers in Linguistics 12:149–86.Google Scholar
Proulx, P. M. (1978) Micmac inflection. Cornell University Doctoral Dissertation.Google Scholar
Rhodes, R. (1980) “On the semantics of the instrumental finals of Ojibway.” Papers of the Eleventh Algonquian Conference. Carleton University: Ottawa, 183–97.Google Scholar
Rhodes, R. (1981) “On the semantics of the Ojibway verbs of breaking.” Papers of the Twelfth Algonquian Conference. Carleton University: Ottawa, 47–56.Google Scholar
Watkins, E. A. (1938) A dictionary of the Cree language. Anglican Church: Toronto.Google Scholar
Wolfart, H. C. (1971) “Plains Cree internal syntax and the problem of noun incorporation.” Proceedings 38th International Congress of Americanists 3:511–18.Google Scholar
Wolfart, H. C. (1973) Plains Cree: A grammatical study. American Philosophical Society (Transactions, New Series 63(5): Philadelphia.Google Scholar