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Events, Times, and Mohawk Verbal Inflection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2016

Mark Baker  and
Lisa Demena Travis
Mark Baker
Affiliation:
Rutgers University
Lisa Demena Travis
Affiliation:
McGill University
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Abstract

The Mohawk tense-mood-aspect system has many “irregularities” that seem to require a powerful morphological component distinct from syntax. Nevertheless, it is shown that most of these “irregularities” can be explained in syntactic and semantic terms, once the right lexical entries are given. This result is achieved by making two assumptions of general interest: (1) mood is analyzed as the verbal equivalent of specifity in the NP system, and (2) habitual and stative verbs are shown to have time arguments, whereas ordinary eventive verbs have only event arguments. Given this, morpheme positions, cooccurrence restrictions, and the lack of recursion in the inflectional system can be derived from ordinary principles of composition, head movement, and a simple form of blocking. Only the selection of allomorphs is left to a post-syntactic morphology.

Résumé

Résumé

Le système «temps-mode-aspect» du Mohawk comporte plusieurs «irrégularités» qui semblent devoir relever d’une composante morphologique puissante distincte de la syntaxe. Il est cependant démontré que la plupart de ces «irrégularités» peuvent être expliquées en des termes syntaxiques et sémantiques si les entrées lexicales sont formulées adéquatement. Ce résultat est atteint en se basant sur deux hypothèses d’intérêt général: (1) le mode est analysé comme l’équivalent verbal de la spécificité dans le système nominal et (2) les verbes statifs et habituels ont des arguments temps, alors que les verbes événementiels ont uniquement des arguments événement. Ainsi, les positions des morphèmes, les restrictions de cooccurrence et l’absence de recursion dans le système flexionnel peuvent être dérivés des principes usuels de composition, du mouvement de tête et d’une simple forme de blocage. Seule la sélection des allomorphes relève d’une morphologie post-syntaxique.

Type
Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique , Volume 43 , Issue 2 , June 1998 , pp. 149 - 203
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Linguistic Association 1998

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