[Lexicog] polysynthetic languages

[Mike Maxwell]

Chaz and Helga Mortensen wrote:

> So all the while I have been working on a polysynthetic language. Correct me
> if I'm wrong.

I think the upshot of our recent discussion on the term 'polysynthesis'
is that I was wrong to think it had a reasonably coherent (if vague)
meaning.  Turns out it means vastly different things to different linguists.

> In the Embera languages in Colombia and Panama we have verb forms like:
>
> tu-    -ta                         -si     -a
> chop -punctiliar action -past -declarative
>
> "<Sg.> chopped it."
>
> Now ta- or else its homonym also occurs in expressions for throwing objects
> and diving into water. In a polysynthetic language, do verb roots like this
> get grammaticalized into derivational morphemes, as in the first example?

It looks off hand that this is what _I_ would call an agglutinating
language, as are most of the languages of Colombia.  (I think
Jupda/Hupda is an exception, buy my memories on that are vague.)

But are you saying that ta- occurs as an independent verb (in addition
to occuring as a suffix, as in your 'chop' example)?  If so, I guess I
would pre-theoretically describe that as a verb-verb compound.  It
wouldn't be (if I understand correctly) an example of incorporation,
since that term is generally (I think!!!) used to mean noun
incorporation into a verb.

Of course part of the question (apart from terminology) is how
productive this is--is -ta/ta- (if that's what it is) the only suffix/
verb pair like this in the language?  Or do you have similar things
with, say, the verb for 'sit' or 'stay' (with maybe an affixal meaning
of continuative), etc.  I recall in Tzeltal (Mayan) hearing compound
verbs like ix-tal 'carry-come' meaning "bring", and ix-ba'el 'carry-go'
meaning "take".  But even there I suspect it was only a handful of verbs
that could serve as the second member of such "compounds".  And
intuitively, verb-verb compounds are going to be rarer than noun-noun
compounds, because (1) verbs tend to be less common in languages than
nouns, and (2) many verbs would not have any kind of obvious
compoundable meaning.

	Mike Maxwell


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