Linguist List Issue: AMAZONICAS III: Phonology and Syntax

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Message1: AMAZONICAS III: Phonology and Syntax
Date:22-Sep-2009
From:Camilo Alberto Robayo Romero carobayor at unal.edu.co
LINGUIST List issue http://linguistlist.org/issues/20/20-3265.html 


Full Title: AMAZONICAS III: Phonology and Syntax 
Short Title: AMAZONICAS III 

Date: 19-Apr-2010 - 24-Apr-2010
Location: Bogotá, Colombia 
Contact Person: Camilo Alberto Robayo Romero
Meeting Email: amazonIII_fchbog at unal.edu.co
Web Site: http://www.humanas.unal.edu.co/amazonicas3 

Linguistic Field(s): Phonology; Syntax 

Language Family(ies): Arawakan 

Call Deadline: 01-Dec-2009 

Meeting Description:

International Conference
AMAZONICAS III: Phonology and Syntax
Date: April 19 - 24, 2010
Place: Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá

The first two Amazonicas meetings, held in 2007 and 2008, were the successful outcome of an international project between several linguistic research centers: the Chair of Amazonian Languages at the VU University Amsterdam, CELIA (CNRS-IRD) Paris, INPA Manaus and UFAM Manaus. The third edition, hosted by the Universidad Nacional de Colombia UNAL in Bogotá and supported by the Instituto Francés de Estudios Andinos IFEA, will be co-organized by the former teams and a French-Colombian ECOS-Nord project (UNAL - U. Toulouse 2) focusing on phonological and grammatical typology of Colombian languages. 

Call for Papers

The focus topics of this meeting are:
1) The phonetics and phonology of laryngeal features (coordinators: Leo Wetzels, Elsa Gomez-Imbert, Frantomé Pacheco)
2) Valency increasing strategies (coordinators: Francesc Queixalós, Ana Carla Bruno)
3) Lexical categorization (coordinators: Elsa Gomez-Imbert, Ana María Ospina Bozzi)
4) The expression of spatial notions (coordinators: Ana María Ospina Bozzi, Elsa Gomez-Imbert)
5) Valency increasing mechanisms in Arawakan languages (coordinators: Françoise Rose, Frank Seifart, Lev Michael)

Future meetings will always include, besides thematic sessions on Amazonian languages, a workshop centered on a specific language family, which will be the Arawakan this year.

Scientific Committee :
Leo WETZELS,
Francesc QUEIXALOS,
Ana Carla BRUNO,
Frantomé PACHECO,
Elsa GOMEZ-IMBERT,
Ana María OSPINA BOZZI,
Françoise ROSE,
Frank SEIFART,
Lev MICHAEL.

Organization:
Camilo Robayo UNAL carobayor at unal.edu.co,
Elsa Gomez-Imbert IFEA gomezimb at univ-tlse2.fr,
Leo WETZELS wlm.wetzels at let.vu.nl,
Francesc QUEIXALOS qxls at vjf.cnrs.fr ,
Ana Carla BRUNO abruno at inpa.gov.br,
Françoise Rose Francoise.Rose at univ-lyon2.fr.

Submission of Abstracts:
Anonymous abstracts (max 200 words) should be sent to the corresponding thematic coordinators before 1st December, 2009. Please send a separate attachment, copied to amazonIII_fchbog at unal.edu.co  with your name, institutional affiliation and contact details. You may submit more than one proposal.

Notification for acceptance: 1st January, 2010.

Thematic Information:

1. The phonetics and phonology of laryngeal features

In the indigenous languages of South-America, the features that specify the glottal states of sounds (voice [+/- voice], aspiration [+/- spread glottis], glottalization [+/- constricted glottis]) often interact with other features. For example, glottalization may cause a creaky voice realization of contiguous vowels, implosivization or (pre)nasalization are often seen in combination with voicing, voicelessness of onsets or codas may restrict the number of contrastive tones in a syllable etc. Similarly, from a diachronic perspective, glottalization may lead to a creaky voice
opposition in vowels (or both), aspiration may devoice consonants and vowels, prenasalized consonants may develop into a series of plain nasal consonants, glottalization and aspiration as well as voicing may lead to tonal oppositions. In a context where the theoretical status of tone features is under debate (see the conference Tones and features, in honor of G. Nick Clements, Paris, 18-19 June 2009), the synchronic interaction processes of phonological tones with laryngeal features observed in several Amazonian languages is of great relevance for this debate. Also important is the fact that laryngeal features may present a strong tendency to function as prosodic features, as tones do, and may be used as devices to identify morphemic classes. The phonological session of the conference welcomes papers that deal with the phonetics and phonology of laryngeal features and tone, from a synchronic or diachronic perspective. Submissions may address
interactions of the kind exemplified above, but may also study different kinds of problems related to glottal features.

Anonymous submissions should be send to: Leo Wetzels wlm.wetzels at let.vu.nl
and Elsa Gomez-Imbert gomezimb at univ-tlse2.fr.

Keynote speaker: Larry Hyman, University of California at Berkeley.

2. Valency increasing strategies

The languages of the Americas are rich and diverse with regard to the two main mechanisms for valency increasing, i.e. causative and applicative (see Shibatani 2002, and Craig & Halle 1988, respectively). The Amazon is no exception in this respect, and in fact, in this area, constructions such as the comitative causative are found particularly frequently (Rose & Guillaume, forthcoming). We propose to collect original Amazonian data with respect to valency increasing, and discuss the question of how the languages of this region contribute to the knowledge of these mechanisms at the general typological level. Below we supply a few more specific topics that would be interesting to address in submissions and during the discussions. At first sight, causative and applicative do not have much in common besides the introduction of a new central participant in the conditions of existence
described by the predicate. In languages in which there is a clear hierarchy of grammatical relations, this new participant usually enters the scene through the top (subject) in the causative, and through the bottom (object) in the applicative. Both, however, have a similar effect on the object position, since the latter should host the participant that is thereby being demoted (in the case of the causative) or promoted (for the applicative): In verbs with a single argument the object position is created, whereas in verbs that allow two object slots this brings about a competition between the participant originally occupying the object position and the demoted / promoted participant.

On more formal grounds, it will be useful to test the idea that a verb derived by an increase in valency cannot take more core arguments than the maximum allowed by the non-derived verbs in the lexicon (Haspelmath & Muller-Bradey 2004). For example, a language without three-place verbs would not retain more than two arguments in the applicative or causative of a two-place verb. The most interesting aspect of the morphosyntax of causatives is the fate of the causee. Usually, languages choose between two basic strategies, which we can refer to as 'leap-frog' and 'push-chain'. The first, attested in a way by Émérillon and clearly identified long ago by Comrie (1974) in French, Turkish and other languages, leads the causee, deprived of its subject position, to take the first free position in a
descending hierarchy of grammatical relations ((subject >) direct object > indirect object > adjunct). The second, exemplified by Sikuani, invariably forces the causee to take the direct object position, while the participant that happened to be there moves to the indirect object position. A three-place causativised verb should relegate an original indirect object to an adjunct role. This game of musical chairs in which the causative and the applicative engage has an effect on case as well as on grammatical relations, and if a zone of objects is created as a consequence of it, the result in terms of ranking should be checked for both domains: The Korean
causative creates a double accusative but not a double object, since only one has the syntactic properties of the object of a divalent verb; the Bantu applicative results in two objects whose hierarchy varies following the syntactic test we perform (passivization and so on) on the applicative construction.''

Several semantic subtypes of causative can co-occur in one and the same grammatical system. The most common are the direct type - make X VRB - the
inductive - have X VRB - the permissive - let X VRB - the assistive - help VRB X - and, as we have seen, the comitative - have X VRB while VRBing oneself. Often, these types make use of different formal material and rely on subtle distinctions involving a difference in the controlling capacity of the causer and the causee. Recent Tupi-Guarani studies have shown that the well-known use of two different constructions depending on the valence of the causativised verb does not rest, at least in certain languages, on the formal category of valency, but is instead dependent on the semantic clue of degree of agentivity retained by the causee. This could shed light on an affinity often observed cross-linguistically between the direct type of causative and single-argument verbs. The applicative is commonly used to bring closer to the center of the scene a participant whose semantic role,
given a particular verb, forces it to surface as an adjunct. A human entity, especially a speech act participant, indirectly affected by or interested in the situation described, is the ideal candidate for applicative promotion, but other roles are also eligible, such as instrument or location.

On the diachronic side, the causative generally displays a stage on the axis of grammaticalization that goes from a bi-propositional construction where the main lexical verb is the non-finite complement of a causal verb of the type make - a periphrastic causative - up to a single propositional construction marking causation by a mere affix. The semantics described above can take advantage of this formal difference when the latter is present in one single language. Applicative morphemes often involve forms akin to adpositions, and less commonly, etc. The morphology of the applicative, as we know, results from a kind of incorporation, often involving adpositions, and less commonly verbs or even nouns (Baker 1988).
Depending on the developmental diachronic stage of grammaticalization, the etymology of the applicative morpheme is more or less transparent. Because
grammaticalization only represents the initial part of the axis of semantic
demotivation that a given element undergoes, the process can extend up to
lexicalization.

Anonymous submissions should be send to: Francesc Queixalós qxls at vjf.cnrs.fr
and Ana Carla Bruno abruno at inpa.gov.br .

Baker, M. (1988). Incorporation. A Theory of Grammatical Function
Changing. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Comrie, B. (1974). 'Causatives and universal grammar'. Transactions of the Philological Society, 1-32.
Craig, C. & Hale, K (1988). 'Relational preverbs in some languages of the Americas: Typological and historical perspectives'. Language 64, 312-344.
Haspelmath. M. & Müller-Bardey, Th. (2004). 'Valency change'. Booij, G.
& Lehmann, C. & Mugdan, J. (eds.) Morphology:A Handbook on Inflection and
Word Formation. vol. 2. (Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissen-schaft) Berlin: de Gruyter, pp. 1130-1145.
Shibatani. M. (ed.), (2002). The grammar of causation and interpersonal manipulation Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

3. Lexical categorisation

In a typological perspective, the identification of universal lexical categories is problematic. In amerindian languages, the universal status of noun and verb is already difficult to establish (see Lois & Vapnarsky 2006 for a synthesis). Still more problematic is the universality of adjectives. For Dixon (2004), adjectives are a universal part of speech, while for Palancar (2006) and several authors in the Lois & Vapnarsky volume, adjectives are not an independent lexical class. We wish to explore more deeply the expression of property/quality concepts in South-American
languages, mainly the phonological, morphosyntactic, semantic and pragmatic
criteria that contribute to their identification as a class. We are particularly interested in the contribution of phonological criteria such as prosodic minimality, tonal or accentual specification, to the identification of lexical categories.

Anonymous submissions should be send to: Elsa Gomez-Imbert
gomezimb at univ-tlse2.fr and Ana María Ospina amospinab at bt.unal.edu.co.

Keynote speaker : Valentina Vapnarsky, CNRS-EREA, Paris.

Croft William. Parts of Speech as language universals and as language- particular categories. pp. 65-102. In: Vogel & Comrie (eds.).
Approaches to the typology of world classes. Serie: Empirical approaches to language typology; 23. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2000.
Haspelmath Martin. Pre-established categories don't exist: Consequences
for language description and typology. Linguistic typology 11 (2007). Hengeveld Kees. 2005. Parts of speech. In: Anstey & Mackenzie (eds.)
Crucial readings in functional grammar. Berlin, New York. Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 79-106.
Hopper Paul, Thomson Sandra. The Discourse Basis for Lexical Categories in Universal Grammar. Language, Vol. 60, No. 4 (Dec., 1984), pp. 703-752.
Langacker Ronald W. Nouns and Verbs. Language, Vol. 63, No. 1 (Mar.,1987), pp. 53-94.
Dixon R. M. W. 2004. Adjective classes in typological perspective. In R. M. W. Dixon and A. A. Aikhenvald (eds.) Adjective classes A cross-linguistic typology. OUP.
Lois Ximena, Vapnarsky Valentina (eds). 2006. Lexical categories and root classes in Amerindian Languages. Bern: Peter Lang.

4. Expression of spatial notions

In South American languages, motion and location as co-events or associated
motion are expressed using different strategies which include verbal serialization or composition (tatuyo, barasana, yuhup, hup), auxiliarization (sikuani), directionals and/or locatives affixation, associated motion, adverbial adpositions etc. We propose first a general  exploration of the many ways of expressing equivalent spatial notions in languages appealing to the strategies previously mentioned. Second, we are particularly interested in their codification through serial verb constructions, a device recently identified as recurrent in several Amazonian languages. Third, given that the series in this area are frequently of the contiguous and incorporating type, their status as either series or compounds is a matter of debate we would like to pursue in this meeting.

Anonymous submissions should be send to: Ana María Ospina
amospinab at bt.unal.edu.co and Elsa Gomez-Imbert gomezimb at univ-tlse2.fr.

Keynote speaker: Antoine Guillaume, CNRS & Université Lyon 2.

Aikhenvald Alexandra Y., Dixon R. M. W. (eds.). 2006. Serial verb constructions. A cross-linguistic typology. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Crowley. 2002. Linguistic Typology and Serial Verbs. In: Serial verbs in Oceanic: a descriptive typology. Oxford University Press.
Durie Mark. 1997. Grammatical structures in verb serialization.  In: Alsina Alex, Bresnan Joan & Sells Peter (eds) Complex Predicates. CSLI Publications, pp. 289-354. 
Guillaume Antoine. 2006. La catégorie du 'mouvement associé' en cavineña: apport à une typologie de l'encodage du mouvement et de la trajectoire. Bulletin de la Société de Linguistique de Paris, 101:1, pp. 415-436.
Talmy Leonard. 2003. Lexicalization patterns. pp. 21-146. In: Toward a Cognitive Semantics. Volume II: Typology and Process in Concept Structuring. Cambridge (Massachusetts), London (England): The MIT Press.
Senft Gunter. 2004. What do we really know about serial verb constructions in Austronesian and Papuan languages? In : Bril Isabelle & Ozanne-Rivierre Françoise, eds., Complex predicates in Oceanic languages: 49-64. Mouton de Gruyter.


5. Valency increasing strategies in Arawakan languages

In order to trigger comparison among Arawak languages and to foster tighter cooperation among specialists of the family, we invite abstracts for papers on valency-increasing devices in Arawak languages. Arawak languages are known for displaying a great variety of morphological valency-increasing devices, especially causatives and applicatives (Wise 1990; 2002; Aikhenvald 1999; Payne 2002). Surprisingly, several of them can sometimes occur simultaneously on the same root. Interesting points to examine concern the form, position, and origin of the markers, their relation with thematic syllables, transitivizers, so-called ''attributives'' and word-class changing derivations. The following parameters are particularly worth looking at for causatives: compatibility with root transitivity and semantic type of causation (direct, indirect, coercitive, sociative - according to the
involvement of the causer), and for applicatives:  semantic type (thematic role of the applied object). The possibility for a verb root to take several such markers could also be investigated. We welcome initial descriptions of valency-increasing devices in underdescribed Arawak languages, as well as in-depth studies of individual devices, and comparative papers.  Papers may be presented in English, Spanish, or Portuguese.

Anonymous abstracts should be sent to Francoise.Rose at univ-lyon2.fr

Aikhenvald, A., 1999, ''The Arawak language family'', in The Amazonian languages, R. M. W. Dixon and A. Aikhenvald (eds), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 65-106.
Payne, D., 2002, ''Causatives in Asheninka'', in The Grammar of Causation and Interpersonal Manipulation, M. Shibatani (ed), John Benjamins, Amsterdam, pp. 485-505.
Wise, M., 1990, ''Valence-Changing Affixes in Maipuran Arawakan Languages'', in Amazonian Linguistics, Studies in Lowland South American Languages, D. Payne (ed), University of Texas Press, Austin, pp. 89-116.
Wise, M., 2002, ''Applicative affixes in Peruvian Amazonian Languages'', in Current studies on South American Languages, M. Crevels, S. Van de Kerke, S. Meira and H. Van der Voort (eds), CNWS Publications, Leiden.


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