<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">Dear Christian,<div><br></div><div>I think that it would depend on the type of incorporation -- non-saturating incorporation is not, but when the incorporated noun corresponds to the object of the base verb, resulting in an intransitive incorporating verb, I think that we can argue that object incorporation is a antipassivization strategy (this is what I proposed in the following chapter: <a href="https://benjamins.com/catalog/tsl.130.13jac">Chapter 13. Antipassive derivations in Sino-Tibetan/Trans-Himalayan and their sources (benjamins.com)</a>; I can provide a PDF upon request). From a diachronic point of view, Southern Kiranti languages such as Puma and Bantawa offer interesting examples of antipassive prefixes originating from an incorporated generic noun kʰa-.</div><div><br></div><div>Best wishes,</div><div><br></div><div>Guillaume</div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">Le lun. 9 oct. 2023 à 18:12, Christian Lehmann <<a href="mailto:christian.lehmann@uni-erfurt.de">christian.lehmann@uni-erfurt.de</a>> a écrit :<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><u></u>
<div>
I have a partly conceptual, partly terminological question: Do you
know of any substantive arguments to decide the question whether
incorporation may be considered a form of demotion? To explain:<br>
<br>
A hierarchy of syntactic functions along the lines of 'subject -
direct object - indirect object - other complement - adjunct' is
assumed. Demotion is by definition the shift of an actant (some
people prefer 'argument') from its (relatively high) position to a
lower position on this hierarchy.The shift is generally accompanied
by occupying the freed position by something else, so the demoted
actant is "ousted".<br>
<br>
Since the incorporated position of a nominal expression is not a
syntactic function (but rather a morphological one), the
straightforward answer to the introductory question would be 'no'.
However:<br>
<ul>
<li>There is no sharp boundary between syntax and morphology, so a
gradience that starts in the syntax might end in the morphology.</li>
<li>Something occupying a relatively low hierarchical position
generally becomes optional. If it is omitted, it somehow
disappears from the syntactic structure. This could also be said
of an incorporated nominal.</li>
<li>An incorporated nominal often frees its syntactic position -
generally, the direct-object or absolutive position -, so this
may be occupied by something else. Thus, in ergative syntax, if
the undergoer is incorporated, the actor does not remain in the
ergative, but becomes the absolutive actant.</li>
</ul>
So there would at least seem to be some similarity between demotion
(of a direct object or absolutive actant) and its incorporation. If
demotion is not the appropriate cover term, should I subsume both
phenomena under something else?<br>
<div>-- <br>
<p style="font-size:90%">Prof. em. Dr. Christian Lehmann<br>
Rudolfstr. 4<br>
99092 Erfurt<br>
<span style="font-variant:small-caps">Deutschland</span></p>
<table style="font-size:80%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Tel.:</td>
<td>+49/361/2113417</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>E-Post:</td>
<td><a href="mailto:christianw_lehmann@arcor.de" target="_blank">christianw_lehmann@arcor.de</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Web:</td>
<td><a href="https://www.christianlehmann.eu" target="_blank">https://www.christianlehmann.eu</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Lingtyp mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org" target="_blank">Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a><br>
<a href="https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp</a><br>
</blockquote></div><br clear="all"><div><br></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div>Guillaume Jacques</div><div><br></div><div>Directeur de recherches<br>CNRS (CRLAO) - EPHE- INALCO <br></div><div><a href="https://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=1XCp2-oAAAAJ&hl=fr" target="_blank">https://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=1XCp2-oAAAAJ&hl=fr</a><br></div><div><a href="http://cnrs.academia.edu/GuillaumeJacques" target="_blank">https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/295</a></div><div><div><a href="http://panchr.hypotheses.org/" target="_blank">http://panchr.hypotheses.org/</a></div></div></div></div>