Difference between revisions of "Classifier (Athapaskan linguistics)"

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(New page: In Athabaskan linguistics, the term '''classifier''' is traditionally used for a class of verbal prefixes that modifiy the transitivity or valence of the verb in some way. ===Exa...)
 
(Added some examples of the Tlingit classifier (use in middle voice), and discussion of why the term is still apt for Tlingit.)
 
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In Athabaskan linguistics, the term '''classifier''' is traditionally used for a class of verbal prefixes that modifiy the [[transitivity]] or [[valence]] of the verb in some way.
 
In Athabaskan linguistics, the term '''classifier''' is traditionally used for a class of verbal prefixes that modifiy the [[transitivity]] or [[valence]] of the verb in some way.
  
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The prefix ''h-'' is a transitivizing classifier.
 
The prefix ''h-'' is a transitivizing classifier.
 +
 +
Tlingit has perhaps the most complex form of the classifier, with three variables encoded in a portmanteau morpheme. (Examples from Naish & Story p. 373.)
 +
 +
*''at wusiteen'' (''at-wu-Ø-si-teen'' |<small>INDN.OBJ</small>-<small>PERF</small>-<small>3SUBJ</small>-<small>CL</small>[+I, s, −D]-see|) “he saw it”
 +
*''sh wudziteen'' (''sh-wu-Ø-dzi-teen'' |<small>RFLX.OBJ</small>-<small>PERF</small>-<small>3SUBJ</small>-<small>CL</small>[+I, s, +D]-see|) “he saw himself”
  
 
===Comments===
 
===Comments===
::*''“This term...is a clear misnomer since so-called classifiers do not classify either verb lexical entries or verb arguments — as it was originally supposed — in any reasonable sense. .. The unhappy nature of the term “classifier” is recognized by many Athabaskanists (see Krauss 1969, Cook 1984:162, Young and Morgan 1987:117, Thompson 1989:9, Rice 1989:439). However, the listed authors still use the term preferring to preserve the continuous tradition. I propose to abandon this harmful term that keeps misleading both newcomers to the field of Athabaskan linguistics and non-Athabaskan linguists.”'' (Kibrik 1993:...)
+
The term “classifier” is sometimes derided by those working in Athabaskan lanuages, e.g. by Kibrik (1993):
 +
 
 +
:“This term...is a clear misnomer since so-called classifiers do not classify either verb lexical entries or verb arguments — as it was originally supposed — in any reasonable sense. ... The unhappy nature of the term “classifier” is recognized by many Athabaskanists (see Krauss 1969, Cook 1984:162, Young and Morgan 1987:117, Thompson 1989:9, Rice 1989:439). However, the listed authors still use the term preferring to preserve the continuous tradition. I propose to abandon this harmful term that keeps misleading both newcomers to the field of Athabaskan linguistics and non-Athabaskan linguists.”
 +
 
 +
Kibrik’s commentary however neglects the fact that in Tlingit, a relative of the Athabaskan family, the classifier is still used to some extent as part of the verbal classification system. For example, the following verbs differ only in their use of the classifier to indicate the class of the object (Naish & Story 1973:376).
 +
 
 +
* ''dáanaa x̱waatáw'' (''dáanaa wu-x̱a-ya-táw'' |money <small>PERF</small>-<small>1SG.SUBJ</small>-<small>CL</small>-steal|) “I stole money”
 +
* ''atshiḵóok x̱wasitáw'' (''atshiḵóok wu-x̱a-si-táw'' |radio <small>PERF</small>-<small>1SG.SUBJ</small>-<small>CL</small>-steal|) “I stole a radio”
  
 
===Synonym===
 
===Synonym===
* ''transitivity indicator'' (proposed by Kibrik 1993:48)
+
* ''transitivity indicator'' proposed by Kibrik (1993:48)
 +
* ''extensor'' — used by Naish and Story, e.g. Story (1966), Naish (1966), Naish & Story (1973)
  
 
=== Origin ===
 
=== Origin ===
The term dates back “to the early work by Boas on Tlingit and by Sapir on Athabaskan” (Kibrik 1993:48).
+
The term dates back “to the early work by Boas on Tlingit and by Sapir on Athabaskan” (Kibrik 1993:48). Recent historical work by Jeff Leer has reconstructed the classifier for the entire Na-Dené family (Leer 2008:22).
  
 
===References===
 
===References===
 
*Cook, Eung-Do. 1984. ''A Sarcee grammar.'' Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
 
*Cook, Eung-Do. 1984. ''A Sarcee grammar.'' Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
*Kibrik, Andrej A. 1993. "Transitivity increase in Athabaskan languages." In: Comrie, Bernard & Polinsky, Maria (eds.) 1993. ''Causatives and transitivity.'' Amsterdam: Benjamins, 47-67.
+
*Kibrik, Andrej A. 1993. “Transitivity increase in Athabaskan languages.In: Comrie, Bernard & Polinsky, Maria (eds.) 1993. ''Causatives and transitivity.'' Amsterdam: Benjamins, 47-67.
 
*Krauss, Michael. 1969. "On the classsifiers in Athapaskan, Eyak and Tlingit verb." Supplement to ''International Journal of American Linguistics'' 35.2:49-83.
 
*Krauss, Michael. 1969. "On the classsifiers in Athapaskan, Eyak and Tlingit verb." Supplement to ''International Journal of American Linguistics'' 35.2:49-83.
 +
*Naish, Constance. 1966. ''A syntactic study of Tlingit''. Master’s thesis, School of Oriental and African Languages, University of London.
 +
*Naish, Constance & Story, Gillian. 1973. ''Tlingit verb dictionary''. Fairbanks, Alaska: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
 +
*Leer, Jeff. 2008. “Recent advances in AET comparison”. Unpublished draft. Available online at [http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/docs/leer-2008.pdf].
 
*Rice, Keren. 1989. ''A grammar of Slave.'' Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
 
*Rice, Keren. 1989. ''A grammar of Slave.'' Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
*Thompson, Chad. 1989. "Pronouns and voice in Koyukon Athabaskan: A text-based study." ''International Journal of American Linguistics'' 55.1: 1-24.
+
*Story, Gillian. 1966. ''A morphological study of Tlingit''. Master’s thesis, School of Oriental and African Languages, University of London.
 +
*Thompson, Chad. 1989. “Pronouns and voice in Koyukon Athabaskan: A text-based study.''International Journal of American Linguistics'' 55.1: 1-24.
 
*Young, Robert W. & Morgan, William. 1987. ''The Navajo language: A grammar and colloquial dictionary.'' 2nd edition. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
 
*Young, Robert W. & Morgan, William. 1987. ''The Navajo language: A grammar and colloquial dictionary.'' 2nd edition. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
  
 
{{dc}}
 
{{dc}}
 
[[Category:Verbal morphology]]
 
[[Category:Verbal morphology]]

Latest revision as of 21:30, 10 March 2008

In Athabaskan linguistics, the term classifier is traditionally used for a class of verbal prefixes that modifiy the transitivity or valence of the verb in some way.

Examples

Slave (Rice 1989:455)

  • tse dé-Ø-k'ǫ́ ‘the wood is burning’
  • tse dé-h-k'ǫ́ ‘she burned the wood’

The prefix h- is a transitivizing classifier.

Tlingit has perhaps the most complex form of the classifier, with three variables encoded in a portmanteau morpheme. (Examples from Naish & Story p. 373.)

  • at wusiteen (at-wu-Ø-si-teen |INDN.OBJ-PERF-3SUBJ-CL[+I, s, −D]-see|) “he saw it”
  • sh wudziteen (sh-wu-Ø-dzi-teen |RFLX.OBJ-PERF-3SUBJ-CL[+I, s, +D]-see|) “he saw himself”

Comments

The term “classifier” is sometimes derided by those working in Athabaskan lanuages, e.g. by Kibrik (1993):

“This term...is a clear misnomer since so-called classifiers do not classify either verb lexical entries or verb arguments — as it was originally supposed — in any reasonable sense. ... The unhappy nature of the term “classifier” is recognized by many Athabaskanists (see Krauss 1969, Cook 1984:162, Young and Morgan 1987:117, Thompson 1989:9, Rice 1989:439). However, the listed authors still use the term preferring to preserve the continuous tradition. I propose to abandon this harmful term that keeps misleading both newcomers to the field of Athabaskan linguistics and non-Athabaskan linguists.”

Kibrik’s commentary however neglects the fact that in Tlingit, a relative of the Athabaskan family, the classifier is still used to some extent as part of the verbal classification system. For example, the following verbs differ only in their use of the classifier to indicate the class of the object (Naish & Story 1973:376).

  • dáanaa x̱waatáw (dáanaa wu-x̱a-ya-táw |money PERF-1SG.SUBJ-CL-steal|) “I stole money”
  • atshiḵóok x̱wasitáw (atshiḵóok wu-x̱a-si-táw |radio PERF-1SG.SUBJ-CL-steal|) “I stole a radio”

Synonym

  • transitivity indicator — proposed by Kibrik (1993:48)
  • extensor — used by Naish and Story, e.g. Story (1966), Naish (1966), Naish & Story (1973)

Origin

The term dates back “to the early work by Boas on Tlingit and by Sapir on Athabaskan” (Kibrik 1993:48). Recent historical work by Jeff Leer has reconstructed the classifier for the entire Na-Dené family (Leer 2008:22).

References

  • Cook, Eung-Do. 1984. A Sarcee grammar. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
  • Kibrik, Andrej A. 1993. “Transitivity increase in Athabaskan languages.” In: Comrie, Bernard & Polinsky, Maria (eds.) 1993. Causatives and transitivity. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 47-67.
  • Krauss, Michael. 1969. "On the classsifiers in Athapaskan, Eyak and Tlingit verb." Supplement to International Journal of American Linguistics 35.2:49-83.
  • Naish, Constance. 1966. A syntactic study of Tlingit. Master’s thesis, School of Oriental and African Languages, University of London.
  • Naish, Constance & Story, Gillian. 1973. Tlingit verb dictionary. Fairbanks, Alaska: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
  • Leer, Jeff. 2008. “Recent advances in AET comparison”. Unpublished draft. Available online at [1].
  • Rice, Keren. 1989. A grammar of Slave. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
  • Story, Gillian. 1966. A morphological study of Tlingit. Master’s thesis, School of Oriental and African Languages, University of London.
  • Thompson, Chad. 1989. “Pronouns and voice in Koyukon Athabaskan: A text-based study.” International Journal of American Linguistics 55.1: 1-24.
  • Young, Robert W. & Morgan, William. 1987. The Navajo language: A grammar and colloquial dictionary. 2nd edition. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.