UTokyo Linguistics Colloquium
The UTokyo Linguistics Colloquium is a lecture series on various topics of linguistic research, usually featuring speakers from outside of the UTokyo Linguistics department. It is hosted by my students and me. Colloquia take place in the Department of Linguistics seminar room at the University of Tokyo, Hongo (unless otherwise indicated). Please follow me on Twitter at @NoriNagaya to check the latest updates on the colloquium series.
2024-06-19: Indigenous Languages in Canada: Endangerment and Revitalization
Dr. Elaine Gold (Director | Directrice; Canadian Language Museum | Musée canadien des langues)
Date: Wednesday, June 19, 2024. 11:00〜12:00
Venue: Department of Linguistics, The University of Tokyo
Title: Indigenous Languages in Canada: Endangerment and Revitalization
Abstract: There are over 70 Indigenous languages in Canada: a few with thousands of speakers and many that are severely endangered. In this talk Dr. Elaine Gold, Director of the Canadian Language Museum, will describe Canada’s rich language heritage and outline the challenges facing Indigenous languages. Dr. Gold will present efforts being taken to maintain and revitalize these languages, both through federal legislation and from community level initiatives. Dr. Gold will also describe the role the Canadian Language Museum is playing in promoting Indigenous languages.
2023-10-06: Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm 先生・Henrik Liljegren 先生講演会
この度、ストックホルム大学 Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm 先生および Henrik Liljegren 先生が東京大学大学院人文社会系研究科・言語学研究室をご訪問なさいます。それにあわせて、下記の通り講演会を開催します。みなさまお誘い合わせの上、ご参加ください。
[1] Henrik Liljegren 先生講演会
日時: 2023年10月6日 (金) 10:25〜12:10
場所: 東京大学本郷キャンパス法文1号館3階317教室
Hindu Kush-Karakorum: geography, people and languages
Henrik Liljegren (Stockholm University)
Based on 25 years’ of fieldwork and collaborative research in the region, this talk provides an overview of the abundantly multi-ethnic and linguistically diverse Hindu Kush-Karakorum in High Asia (including Indo-Aryan, Nuristani, Iranian, Sino-Tibetan, Turkic and Burushaski). The region will be discussed in terms of its phylogenetic components, some of its general sociolinguistic characteristics as well as areal features that can be attributed to contact relationships (e.g., kinship terminology, numeral systems and phoneme inventories). Experiences of both past and ongoing language documentation (in Indo-Aryan Palula and Gawarbati) will be shared, as well as some methods and tools used in an areal-typological project in which first-hand data from 59 Hindu Kush language varieties were collected, coded and analysed.
Short bio: Henrik Liljegren: Henrik Liljegren is a professor in general linguistics at Stockholm University (https://www.su.se/english/profiles/helil-1.189050) with a focus on language documentation and description. His main interests are areal typology, language contact and Hindu Kush languages (spoken in northern Pakistan, north-eastern Afghanistan and the disputed territories of Kashmir and Ladakh). Apart from research, he has been engaged in language maintenance efforts and in advising local communities carrying out language documentation. As one of the co-founders of the Forum for Language Initiatives, a resource centre for language communities in Pakistan’s mountainous North, he lived in Pakistan for eight years with his wife and two children.
[2] Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm 先生講演会
日時: 2023年10月6日 (金) 17:00〜18:30
場所: 東京大学本郷キャンパス法文2号館二番大教室
Lexical typology: a brief overview
Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm (Stockholm University)
Lexical typology can be defined as the systematic study of cross-linguistic variation in words and vocabularies, which can be approached from different perspectives. For instance, an investigation can be onomasiologically framed, whereby researchers start with meanings, or denotation, and ask how these are expressed by words across languages. Conversely, semasiologically framed research starts from the lexemes themselves and asks about the meanings associated with them. Finally, lexical typology can also focus on cross-linguistic patterns in the lexicon–grammar interaction, such as typologically relevant features in the grammatical structure of the lexicon, or typologically significant correlations between lexicon and grammar. In my talk I will give a brief overview of the current developments in the field, focusing on key concepts and advantages and disadvantages of different methodological approaches.
Short bio: Maria Koptjevskaja(-)Tamm: Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm [maˈriːa kɔpˈt͡ʃɛfskaja ˈtam] is a professor in general linguistics at Stockholm University (https://www.su.se/english/profiles/tamm-1.182300). She has published extensively on various aspects of semantically oriented typology, where she often combines synchronic and diachronic approaches. An important direction in Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm’s work has been areal typology, with the main focus on the European languages. Her most recent interests include cross-linguistic research on lexical typology, she has published work on the methodology of lexical-typological research and has been active in promoting lexical typology at various conferences and in courses at several European universities and summer schools. Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm is the editor of Linguistic Typology (https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/lity) and a fellow of Academia Europaea (http://www.ae-info.org). She has received the big Rettig Prize in the philosophical-philological class 2018 conferred by The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities.
2023-08-05: 独立研究者としての言語学研究：自由な探求の世界
広島市内で起業し代表取締役社長として活躍する傍ら、台湾原住民語研究者として研究を続ける今西一太先生に独立研究者としての言語研究についてお話をうかがいます。
2023年8月5日 (土) 14:00〜15:00
Zoom ミーティングルーム
今西一太 (株式会社エス・アイ 代表取締役)
日本では「言語学研究といえば大学に所属して行うもの」という認識が強く、言語学分野の独立研究者（在野研究者）というのはまだ珍しい存在である。本講演では、博士課程まで進んだ後に起業し、それ以来10年以上会社を経営しながら独立研究者として記述言語学研究を行っている発表者が、自らの経験をもとに言語学の独立研究者としての道を紹介しつつ、以下の3点を中心に在野研究の道筋、困難さ、魅力などを紹介する。
[1] 独立研究者になった経緯と理由：なぜ研究者のキャリアを外れたのか。なぜ就職ではなく起業し、その後も研究を続けているのか。
[2] 独立研究者としての研究生活：在野研究の実態、困難、逆に研究がやりやすいと感じる点など。
[3] 独立研究者を目指す方へのアドバイス：独立研究者のタイプ分け、研究以外のキャリアの柱を作る、職業選択が重要、在野研究に向いている人と向いていない人、その他細かいアドバイス諸々。また、在野研究の参考になる書籍の紹介。
アカデミアでの言語学研究がどんどん困難になってきている今、在野研究の魅力・具体例を提示して、様々な選択肢が存在することを示したい。
登録ページ: https://u-tokyo-ac-jp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vdeGrqTosHNDKuleWBtk1_p0ExM1kIKM4
2023-01-20: 言語接触の研究ー何が面白いのか
山下里香先生 (関東学院大学)
「言語接触の研究ー何が面白いのか」
2023年1月20日 (金) 18:00〜19:30
「言語接触」は、言語学の一分野とされている。しかし、メジャーな言語学の理論的枠組みと合わず、あくまで理論の傍証的な言語接触「現象」の記述をするものだと思う人も少なくない。確かに、言語接触は、複数の言語、複数のコミュニティ、複数の文化的アイデンティティ、複数のイデオロギーなど、複数性と交雑性とその動態に目を向けるという、繊細さと慎重さを要する。そのような点に目配りをする言語接触の研究は、言語に対するどのような問いや仮説に基づいているのだろうか。その立脚点をどこに定め、どう言語学に寄与しようとしているのか。本講演では、発表者およびその他の日本の研究者の（必ずしも「言語接触」分野として位置づけられていない）、ピジン・クレオール以外の言語接触現象の研究を紹介し、そのような問いに対する応答のひとつとしたい。
登録はこちらから: https://u-tokyo-ac-jp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMsceCvqzsqGtQ_skD_LCwzOyskCRGBQU5Y
※ 本講演会は JSPS 科研費 JP21K00522 の助成を受けたものです。
2022-12-02: Effect of consonants on onset F0: Evidence from Kansai Japanese
Dr. Miao Zhang (University at Buffalo)
"Effect of consonants on onset F0: Evidence from Kansai Japanese"
Friday, December 2, 10 am – 11 am (JST; UTC+9)
This study investigates the effect of voicing on onset F0 in Kansai Japanese. In tone languages, the effect of initial consonants on F0 tends to be smaller and shorter, hypothetically to maximize the tonal contrast preserved for lexical items. A recent study (Gao and Arai, 2019) found that despite Tokyo Japanese being a pitch-accent language, the consonant effect on F0 was not necessarily inhibited. However, this might be due to decreased laryngeal control in Tokyo Japanese because of its simple tonal contrast. Since the pitch accent system of Kansai Japanese is more complex than that of Tokyo Japanese, Kansai Japanese should show less F0 perturbation. In the experiment, five native speakers (4 females, 1 male) produced the target words /CVma/ (C: /n, b, p/, V: /i, a/) in different pitch accent types (HH, HL, LH) and focus conditions (broad, narrow, contrast focus). My data show that overall, F0 following /p/ is significantly higher. The more complex pitch-accent system did not lessen the F0 perturbation. Consistent across focus, the effect is slightly larger in words with a high pitch accent and in the high vowel /i/ context. This may be due to the congruence in laryngeal settings for high F0 production.
This event is open to everyone.
This event is supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP21K00522.
Register here: https://u-tokyo-ac-jp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkc-itrj0iEtwEXFOCkFsm-RMyY_1fQN3B
2022-11-08: Animacy alternation in Lalana Chinantec as remanence of inversion
Shun Nakamoto (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
Animacy alternation in Lalana Chinantec as remanence of inversion
Date & Time: Tuesday, November 8, 2022. 6pm-7:30pm (JST)
Venue: Department of Linguistics, The University of Tokyo
Abstract [pdf]
Registration: Google Form
2022-07-19: Applying Talmy’s Force Dynamics to characterize food and taste descriptions
Dr. Sayaka Abe (Middlebury College)
Applying Talmy’s Force Dynamics to characterize food and taste descriptions
Date & Time: Tuesday, July 19, 2022. 4:30pm-6pm (JST)
Venue: Online
In this talk, I present how Len Talmy’s Force Dynamics, a schematic system that underlies causation (Talmy, 1988, 2000), can be applied to the analysis of food and taste descriptions. Upon providing a basic introduction to the approach, which uses the notion of force opposition between the Agonist (“the focal force entity”) and the Antagonist (“the force element that opposes the Agonist”), I show how seemingly identical results (e.g., “motion”) can be characterized in terms of different types of causation (e.g., “pressure” vs. “blockage”). Using examples from online food columns in Japanese, I discuss which force dynamic patterns are attested and (un)common, and how these patterns correspond to certain phrase and sentence patterns.
Abe, Sayaka. (2016). An L2 corpus study of the Japanese grammatical marker -te-simau: An application of force dynamics. In Kaori Kabata and Kiyoko Toratani (Eds.), Cognitive-functional approaches to the study of Japanese as a second language (pp. 203-236). Boston, Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614515029-011
Abe, Sayaka. (2022). Applying force dynamics to analyze taste descriptions in Japanese online columns. K. Toratani (Ed.) The language of food in Japanese: Cognitive perspectives and beyond (pp. 319-343). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/celcr.25.11abe
Talmy, Leonard. (1988). Force dynamics in language and cognition. Cognitive Science, 12, 49–100.
Talmy, Leonard. (2000). Toward a cognitive semantics, Volume I: Concept structuring systems. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
2022-04-02: Clusters vs units in Tlapanec
Dr. Hiroto Uchihara (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)
Clusters vs units in Tlapanec
Date & Time: Saturday, April 2, 2022. 11am-1pm (JST)
Venue: Online & Department of Linguistics, The University of Tokyo (hybrid)
Since the pioneering work of Trubetzkoy (1939), there have been various proposals as to how to distinguish consonant clusters and units in individual languages. In this paper, I will look at the case of Malinaltepec Tlapanec (Mè’phàà). I will look at general and language-particular criteria to distinguish clusters and units in these languages. I will show that in both cases the diagnostics do not always converge: some sequences are judged to be clusters by certain diagnostics but as units by others. Based on these observations, and drawing insights from Canonical Typology (Brown et al. 2012), I argue that the distinction between clusters and units is not dichotomous, but multidimensional: individual cases may simultaneously resemble clusters in some aspects but units in others, thus the typology of behaviors is richer than a simple binary opposition.
Uchihara, Hiroto. 2021. Clusters vs units in Otomanguean: the cases of Tlapanec (Mè’phàà) and Zapotec (Dixsa:). Cuadernos de Lingüística de El Colegio de México 8. 1–57. https://doi.org/10.24201/clecm.v8i0.224.
This event is supported by LIXIL Ushioda East Asian Humanities Initiative.
Registration: https://u-tokyo-ac-jp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvc-utrjspHNWH7YgpZT5qz1gSmdCkhElf
2022-03-30: Can markedness of meaning shape language learning and grammar?
下記の要領で、車田千種先生をお招きして、車田先生の論文のオンライン勉強会を開催します。車田先生に、論文の内容について30分程度ご発表いただいたのちに、論文についてみんなで議論します。どなたでも参加可能です。以下の論文を読んだ上でご参加ください。
Kurumada, Chigusa & Scott Grimm. 2019. Predictability of meaning in grammatical encoding: Optional plural marking. Cognition 191. 103953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2019.04.022.
Kurumada, Chigusa & T. Florian Jaeger. 2015. Communicative efficiency in language production: Optional case-marking in Japanese. Journal of Memory and Language 83. 152–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2015.03.003.
Dr. Chigusa Kurumada (University of Rochester)
Can markedness of meaning shape language learning and grammar?
Wednesday, March 30, 2022. 10am to 12 noon (JST)
Zoom meeting room
The markedness principle plays a central role in linguistic theory: marked meanings or grammatical categories (like plural) tend to receive more linguistic encoding (e.g., morphological marking), while unmarked categories (like singular) tend to receive less linguistic encoding. What precisely makes a grammatical category or meaning marked, however, remains unclear. One prominent proposal attributes markedness to the inferrability of meanings: less predictable and thus less inferrable meanings are more likely to receive extra linguistic encoding than more predictable/inferable meanings. Support for this hypothesis has come from cross-linguistic studies that have found that corpus frequency (a coarse approximation of the average inferrability of the meaning in context) tends to correlate with the amount of linguistic encoding (e.g., Haspelmath & Karjus, 2017). These findings are thought-provoking but purely correlational: they leave open whether meaning inferrabiltiy has a causal role in linguistic encoding. Recent advances in psycholinguistic experimentation now make it possible to test this stronger hypothesis. I will discuss two series of psycholinguistic experiments that have addressed this question: a recall production study on optional accusative case-marking in Japanese (Kurumada & Jaeger, 2015) and an artificial language learning study on markedness reversal in number marking as attested in languages such as Dagaare, Maltese, and Welsh (Kurumada & Grimm, 2019).
This event is supported by LIXIL Ushioda East Asian Humanities Initiative.
Registration: https://u-tokyo-ac-jp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYsfu2trD8qE93557QM1FudsFvMebX-S_Iq
2021-11-26: 現代言語類型論60年—成果と課題—
柴谷方良先生 (神戸大学; Rice University; 東京大学)
「現代言語類型論60年—成果と課題—」
2021年11月26日 (金) 15:00〜17:30 (JST) オンライン
Greenberg (1963) “Some universals of grammar with particular reference to the order of meaningful elements” の出版によってもたらされた言語類型論の再興隆は、過去60年に亘って大きな成果を産み出してきたが、その一方で多くの領域における様々な限界や課題も明らかになってきた。本講演では、現代言語類型論において集中的に追究されてきた以下の文法論トピックにおける成果と展開、ならびに積み残された課題について検討する。
語順
能格性（ergativity)
文法関係（特に「主語」について）
関係節
態 (voice)
本講演会は東京大学ヒューマニティーズセンター LIXIL Ushioda East Asian Humanities Initiative 公募研究（A）「体言化の言語類型論: 性、数、類別詞および定性を中心に」ならびに JSPS 科研費 JP21K00522 の助成を受けたものです。
登録: https://u-tokyo-ac-jp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMkc--tqTMiE9xq1dBbWamypk_EtkueoF_q
2021-09-23: Possessive constructions and nominalizations in Kove
Dr. Hiroko Sato (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa)
Possessive constructions and nominalizations in Kove
Thursday, September 23, 2021. 10:30 to 12:00 (JST), Zoom meeting room
As with Proto-Oceanic and many of its daughter languages, Kove, spoken in Papua New Guinea, has a rich system of possessive constructions. It has a formal distinction between direct and indirect possessive constructions. In a direct possessive construction, the pronominal affix that indexes the possessor occurs on the possessum (possessed) noun, while in an indirect possessive construction, the possessor-indexing affix occurs on a possessive classifier. The choice among these constructions depends on the relation between the possessor and possessum. This paper talks two topics: the semantics of possessive constructions and the co-occurrence of nominalization and possessives. Some Kove nouns occur in the possessum position of more than one type of possessive construction with different semantics. These nouns include nominalized verbs that occur in the possessum position. The talk shows that any argument of a nominalized verb is expressed as a possessor, but different possessive constructions may be chosen depending on the notional grammatical relations of the arguments. Furthermore, multiple arguments can be expressed as possessors within one clause, but with some restrictions.
This event was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP21K00522.
Registration: https://u-tokyo-ac-jp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYlde-urzgsGNdDcKhWotsJFaLYJw3SAmYD
2021-09-21: ダパ語の数詞類別詞: 地域的観点から
白井聡子先生 (東京大学)
「ダパ語の数詞類別詞: 地域的観点から」
2021年9月21日 (火) 10:30〜12:00 (JST) オンライン
ダパ語（チベット＝ビルマ諸語；ISO 639-3 zhb）の数詞類別詞について、記述言語学的観点から分析を行った上で、地理言語学的観点から周辺言語との関係を探る。類別詞はしばしば地域的言語特徴の観点から注目される。またダパ語は、地理的・類型的・系統的に近いとされる言語グループ「チァン諸語」の一つである。ところが、チァン諸語間で類別詞の発達に大きな差が見られる。本発表ではまず、現地調査で得られたデータに基づいてダパ語メト方言の数詞類別詞の特徴を記述し分析する。その観察に基づき、言語地図を用いて周辺言語との対比を行う。
本講演会は科学研究費補助金「消滅の危機に瀕するダパ語方言の記述研究」(#19K00543) のアウトリーチ活動です。
登録: https://u-tokyo-ac-jp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpfuitrjooE9f9obKtsu0kweS33ukTFkPt
2021-04-20: Constituency in the Ayautla Mazatec clause, with special attention to tone sandhi
Shun Nakamoto (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico)
Constituency in the Ayautla Mazatec clause, with special attention to tone sandhi
Tuesday, April 20, 2021, 10am to 11am (JST)
This study reports the result of the application of 23 constituency tests to the Ayautla Mazatec clause. Special attention will be paid to its tone sandhi, a phonological process whereby a floating high tone is associated with the subsequent syllables. Since its effect, blocking conditions, obligatoriness and applicability are sensitive to different domains, tone sandhi in Ayautla Mazatec provides constituency diagnostics at several different levels.
This event was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP21K00522.
2021-04-13: Constituency in Oklahoma Cherokee
Dr. Hiroto Uchihara (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico)
Constituency in Oklahoma Cherokee
Tuesday, April 13, 2021. 10am to 11am (JST)
Oklahoma Cherokee, a Southern Iroquoian language spoken in North Carolina and Oklahoma, the United States, is a polysynthetic language, and as in other such languages, poses a question with regard to the definition of ‘word’: ideas conveyed by phrases or sentences in languages such as English, Spanish or Japanese can be conveyed by a ‘word’ in Cherokee, as can be illustrated by (1); the plus sign indicates that the morphemes connected with this sign are synchronically no longer analyzable:
(1) dv̌:ní:ne:giʔe:li
ta-anii-nee+kiʔ-ee-l-i
8-11-13-14-20-23-24
CISL-3PL.A-liquid+take-DAT-PFT-MOT
‘They will take it (liquid) from him.’ (Feeling et al. 2003: 206)
A natural question arises as to the word-hood and the internal structure of the Cherokee and Iroquoian verbs: how can a ‘word’ be defined in these languages? Do the verbs in these languages have internal structures or not? In this paper, I will examine both morphological and phonological constituent structures in Cherokee. The data from Cherokee suggests first that the domains do not cluster in one constituent structure but rather more than one constituent need to be posited, as in other languages rich in morphology (Schiering et al. 2010; Bickel & Zúñiga 2016). At the same time, one constituent stands out among others since more criteria converge on this constituent. This domain constitutes of pre-pronominal prefixes, (seven slots), a pronominal prefix, a middle and reflexive prefix, a verb root, a compounded verb or noun root, derivational suffixes (seven slots), an aspectual suffix and a modal suffix and enclitics. This is the constituent which is the domain for (i) word-final apocope; (ii) syllabification; (iii) vowel deletion and h-metathesis; and (iv) interruptibility.
This event was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP21K00522.
2020-09-12: 21世紀の中国語声調研究と上海語変調
髙橋康徳先生 (神戸大学 大学教育推進機構)
「21世紀の中国語声調研究と上海語変調」
2020年9月12日 (土) 14:00–15:30 (JST)
中国語声調の音韻論的研究では、1980年前後に自律分節素理論と韻律理論の適用が始まり、20世紀末にピークを迎えるのと同時に純粋な形式的アプローチの限界が明らかとなる。この限界を克服するため、21世紀に入ると音声学的なデータを利用した実験音韻論的分析が急速に広がり始めて現在に至る。本発表では、21世紀に入ってからの中国語声調音韻論の代表的な研究を紹介するとともに、発表者が過去10年間に行った上海語変調の一連の研究が声調研究史の中でどのような位置付けを占めるのかを議論する。
本講演会は科学研究費補助金「発声に注目した東アジア言語声調の音韻的研究」(#18K12371) のアウトリーチ活動です。
2020-06-21: 記録・保存・復興：消滅の危機に瀕した北ビルマの口承文芸
倉部慶太先生 (東京外国語大学アジア・アフリカ言語文化研究所)
「記録・保存・復興：消滅の危機に瀕した北ビルマの口承文芸」
2020年6月21日 (日) 14:00–15:30 (JST) Zoom meeting room
本発表では、失われつつある北ビルマ (ミャンマー) の口承文芸の記録・保存・復興に関する発表者らの取り組みについて報告する。記録：筆者は2009年よりフィールドワークにより北ビルマの口承のドキュメンテーションを行った。2016年からは現地コミュニティと協働で調査を行い、2020年時点で約2,600話を記録した。保存：蒐集した資料のうち 1,805話を2017年にオーストラリアの危機文化アーカイブPARADISECに登録・公開した。復興：蒐集した資料を2019年よりSNSで公開し、3,000人以上のフォロワーを得るなど、現地コミュニティに還元する活動を行っている。
本講演会は科学研究費補助金 (#20K13024) のアウトリーチ活動です。
2020-02-19: ハ、ガ、φ (ゼロ): 日本語話しことばにおける助詞
中川奈津子先生 (国立国語研究所)
ハ、ガ、φ（ゼロ）：日本語話しことばにおける助詞
2020年2月19日 (水) @ 16:00〜17:30
本発表では、日本語の助詞（提題助詞と格助詞）を日本語話しことばコーパスを用いて定量的に調査した博士論文第4章に基づく。分析によって、提題助詞（ハ、ゼロ助詞、トイウノハ、コピュラ+ケド/ガ）の分布には活性状態が、格助詞（ガ、ヲ、ゼロ助詞）の分布には焦点性と項構造が重要な役割を果たしていることを指摘した。先行研究においては主にハとガの違いが重点的に議論されてきたが、本論文は他の提題助詞や格助詞も含めた助詞の分布を分析した。
本講演会は科学研究費補助金 (#18K12366) の助成を受けて行われました。
2020-01-30: Introduction to North Saami Morphophonology
Ryo Umeda (University of Helsinki)
"Introduction to North Saami Morphophonology"
Thursday, January 30, 2020 @ 17:30〜19:00
North Saami is a Finno-Ugric language spoken in the northernmost area of Scandinavia. Unlike other Finno-Ugric languages that have a straightforward agglutinating morphology, North Saami shows a complex system of inflectional morphology which is intertwined with phonology. In this talk, I will showcase the topics in North Saami morphophonology, paying a special attention to metrical stress phonology.
2019-12-22: Tlapanec (Mè'phàà) verbal inflection at the phonology-morphology interface
Dr. Hiroto Uchihara (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
"Tlapanec (Mè'phàà) verbal inflection at the phonology-morphology interface" (in collaboration with Gregorio Tiburcio Cano)
Sunday, December 22, 2019 @ 15:00〜16:30
Tlapanec (Mè’phàà) is known for its enigmatic tonal alternation, suppletion and other segmental alternations in verb forms according to person and aspect-mode categories. In this presentation, we will look at both regular and suppletive agentive verbs. First, we argue that the tonal alternations observed in Tlapanec regular agentive verbs can be straightforwardly accounted for by phonology, without resorting to any extreme abstractness: the lexical tones of the prefixes and the verb stems, with underspecification and floating tones, and cross-linguistically common tone processes such as tone spreading and floating tone docking. Such a phonological approach is contrasted with a an abstractive word-based approach (Blevins 2006, 2016; O’Neil 2014; or Pirrelli et al. 2015), where tonal alternations are viewed as inflectional classes. We show that the phonological approach is more adequate than an abstractive word-based approach. Secondly, we will look at suppletive agentive verbs that show stem suppletion according to the agent persons, which in addition employ a different set of agent prefixes than regular agentive verbs. We argue that such verbs cannot be accounted for by traditional morpheme-based approach, but rather support a word-based approach that can take into consideration the paradigmatic relations between cells. In sum, we argue that constructive word-based approach, such as Paradigm Functional Morphology (Stump 2001, 2016; Stump & Finkel 2013), Network Morphology (Corbett & Fraser 1993, Brown & Hippisley 2012), or Construction Morphology (Booij 2017, 2018b; Caballero 2018) is best suited to account for the complex inflectional morphology of Tlapanec, both of regular and suppletive agentive verbs.
This event was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP18K12366.
2019-11-31: What is a word in Ayautla Mazatec?
Shun Nakamoto (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
"What is a word in Ayautla Mazatec?: Morphosyntax and prosody"
November 2, 2019 @ 16:00~17:30
2019-05-31: Typological and discourse approaches to attitudinal indexicals
Dr. Foong Ha YAP (Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen)
"Typological and Discourse Approaches to Attitudinal Indexicals"
Friday, May 31, 2019 @ 13:00〜14:45
Attitudinal markers play an important role in our interaction with others. Recent studies have identified a variety of sources for attitudinal markers in various languages. In this talk, I will focus on how indexicals such as demonstratives and possessive pronouns develop into attitudinal markers. In the case of demonstratives, using data from Kerinci Malay (Ernanda & Yap, 2018), we will examine how demonstratives extend their use beyond the referential domain to serve a variety of pragmatic functions, and we will also see how Oblique and Absolute forms within Kerinci Malay provide us with a test to distinguish between referential and non-referential (including attitudinal) uses of demonstratives. In the case of possessives, using data from Khalka Mongolian (Brosig, Gegentana & Yap, 2018), we will examine how distinctions between person deixis within the possessive pronominal paradigm can be used to form a paradigm of speaker-oriented vs. addressee-oriented affective markers. In addition, using data from Kerinci Malay (Ernanda & Yap, 2019), we will also see how the pleonasticity of versatile third person ‘other-oriented’ possessive pronouns can be used to form speaker-oriented affective markers. For typological insights, comparisons will also be made with the attitudinal demonstratives and attitudinal possessives of other languages. For discursive insights, using DuBois’ Stance Triangle framework, we will highlight how deictic elements such as demonstratives and possessive pronominals contribute to alignments between interlocutors, and with the ‘stance object’ (i.e., the proposition being evaluated). A major objective of this talk is to spur further research on the typology and discursive pragmatics (and where possible, the diachrony as well) of attitudinal indexicals.