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Analyzing NPs
Analyzing NPs
When the research on nominal morphology is complete, the work team can move on to identifying the types of modifiers that may occur in the noun phrase and their ordering. For languages with noun classes, investigating modifier agreement is an important step in verifying, and potentially adjusting, the initial hypothesis in regards to class distinctions.
This stage should also include a discussion on orthographic conventions for word boundaries within the NP.
Photographer Credit:
Rodney Ballard
Overview: Noun Phrases
NP Goals:
Identify the elements of the noun phrase
Research how tone melodies are affected in the context of NP frames (if applicable)
Discover which modifiers agree with the head noun (if the language has noun classes)
Make initial decisions on word boundaries within the NP
Key Concepts:
Noun Phrase
Head Noun
Modifier
Time Estimate:
3-6 days
Materials Needed:
Nouns from Unit #1 (those written on small pieces of paper)
A printout of the nouns in any existing lexicons
Small pieces of paper
Writing Utensils (Pens, pencils, etc)
Large conference-style paper (for making charts)
Markers
Notebooks (for phrases & writing sentences)
Identify Types of Modifiers within the NP
Read through the nouns collected in Unit 1. For each noun, write down the different types of modifiers that can go with that word. These may include, but are not limited to, the following:
Determiners/Demonstratives (e.g. close, distant, farthest, anaphoric)
Possessives (all persons & number, including alienable/inalienable distinctions )
Numerals (the full numeral system used for counting)
Quantifiers
Qualificative Adjectives
Associative constructions (i.e. noun modified by another noun)
Basic prepositions/locatives
Relative pronouns
Relative clauses (check for noun class agreement & changes in tone melody)
For languages with noun classes, concentrate research activities on modifiers that agree with the head noun. If the language does not have noun classes, focus on establishing the types of modifiers that may occur.
Determine the Order of Phrasal Elements
Determine the Order of Phrasal Elements
Investigate the placement of each type of modifier within the NP, noting whether it occurs before or after the head noun, as well as its order in relation to other elements.
Once the relative position of each modifier has been determined, make a noun phrase position chart summarizing the order in which different elements may occur.
For Tonal Languages
For Tonal Languages
Identify any changes to tone melody on nouns and/or modifiers in the context of the noun phrase. If changes exist, discuss options for marking these tone distinctions in the orthography.
For Languages with Noun Classes
For Languages with Noun Classes
Up to this point, noun class distinctions have been determined on the basis of singular-plural affixes. Test this initial hypothesis using modifiers that must agree with the head noun.
First, choose a modifier that agrees with the noun classes, such as a demonstrative. Next, select a pile of words with the same singular-plural affixes. Have a participant read each word in the pile, both the singular and plural forms, along with the modifier. As the noun + modifier forms are read aloud, re-sort the nouns (as needed) based on the form of the modifier with which they agree.
Write the modifier's various forms on separate cards. Place each modifier form next to the pile of nouns with which it agrees. The final number of piles equals the number of noun classes in the language.
After the number of class distinctions has been established, choose nouns from each class to serve as examples. Chart the full set of affixes for every noun class on a large piece of conference-style paper. List the types of modifiers that agree with the various classes, along with example phrases.
Research Pronouns
Research the full set of pronouns in the language. Most pronoun forms can be elicited with a single sentence, but some forms (for example, anaphoric pronouns) may require additional context.
If the language is tonal, check for tone melody changes in the pronominal system. For languages with noun classes, chart the pronoun paradigms for each class.
Decide Word Boundaries
Making collective decisions about word boundaries avoids unnecessary confusion by creating consistency for both readers and writers.
As a group, determine whether the different elements of the NP should be written separately or attached to the head noun. Experiment with writing words and phrases in different ways on a lecture board, then have participants discuss the preferred option. Also decide on conventions for reduplicated words, compound nouns, and numbers. Make notes of decisions as well as examples that could be included in an orthography guide.
"The participants spent about an hour of the workshop discussing where to put word boundaries in numbers…The result of this work was a section in the orthography guide explaining word boundaries and giving examples for different derivational morphemes and clitics. These principles were created without a linguist needing to analyze the grammar…Yet community members have found that the rules make sense for reading and writing their language better than previous ad-hoc orthographies."
- Maria Stølen, Facilitator (Uganda)
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