Join the Centre for Research on Language Diversity for the first installment in the 2013 seminar series. Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr Stefan Schnell, will speak about Vera'a, an Oceanic language of North Vanuatu.

Abstract

This paper reports on a quantitative investigation of referential expressions of subjects and objects in Vera'a (Oceanic, Vanuatu) narrative texts. It shows that subjects are most commonly expressed by pronouns despite the attested possibility of zero anaphora, resembling agreement markers rather than free subject pronouns. Hence, 1st and 2nd person subjects are always pronominal, even in clause-chaining constructions where they appear to be highly redundant. With 3rd persons, variation between lexical, pronominal, and zero form is attested. However, a clear preference for pronouns can be shown to be independently of factors like animacy, subject/topic (dis)continuity, clause embedding, or transitivity (S and A are identical in this regard). This contrasts sharply with objects: pronominal objects are restricted to human referents, while non-human ones are left implicit (“zero” anaphora).
 
The preferably pronominal form of subjects is best accounted for in terms of the form (syllabic particle vs. non-syllabic clitic)  and function (+/-person values) of TAM markers. I conclude that subject pronouns and TAM markers come to form not only a phonological, but also a morphological unit, occupying the first position of the verb complex. Tendencies of fusion of subject pronoun and TAM marker as well as variable positioning of certain adverbs and discourse particles back this conclusion.

Cost

Free

Location

Building NR6, Room 106 - Seminar Room
Forest View Drive
La Trobe University
Bundoora, VIC

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More information

E: linguistic.typology@latrobe.edu.au
P: +61 3 9479 6400