23.1297, Diss: Anthro Ling/Historical Ling/Lang Documentation: Robertson: 'Kamloops Chinuk Wawa, Chinuk pipa, and the Vitality of Pidgins'

linguist at linguistlist.org linguist at linguistlist.org
Wed Mar 14 16:04:14 UTC 2012


LINGUIST List: Vol-23-1297. Wed Mar 14 2012. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 23.1297, Diss: Anthro Ling/Historical Ling/Lang Documentation:  Robertson: 'Kamloops Chinuk Wawa, Chinuk pipa, and the Vitality of Pidgins'

Moderators: Anthony Aristar, Eastern Michigan U <aristar at linguistlist.org>
            Helen Aristar-Dry, Eastern Michigan U <hdry at linguistlist.org>

Reviews: Veronika Drake, U of Wisconsin-Madison
Monica Macaulay, U of Wisconsin-Madison
Rajiv Rao, U of Wisconsin-Madison
Joseph Salmons, U of Wisconsin-Madison
Anja Wanner, U of Wisconsin-Madison
       <reviews at linguistlist.org>

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

The LINGUIST List is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the
discipline of linguistics with the infrastructure necessary to function in
the digital world. Donate to keep our services freely available!
https://linguistlist.org/donation/donate/donate1.cfm

Editor for this issue: Xiyan Wang <xiyan at linguistlist.org>
================================================================  

Visit LL's Multitree project for over 1000 trees dynamically generated
from scholarly hypotheses about language relationships:
          http://multitree.linguistlist.org/
					
					
To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at
http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.cfm.


Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:03:36
From: David Robertson [ddr11 at columbia.edu, tuktiwawa at netscape.net]
Subject: Kamloops Chinuk Wawa, Chinuk pipa, and the Vitality of Pidgins

E-mail this message to a friend:
http://linguistlist.org/issues/emailmessage/verification.cfm?iss=23-1297.html&submissionid=4542545&topicid=14&msgnumber=1
 
Institution: University of Victoria 
Program: Department of Linguistics 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2011 

Author: David Douglas Robertson

Dissertation Title: Kamloops Chinuk Wawa, Chinuk pipa, and the Vitality of
Pidgins 

Dissertation URL:  http://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8080/handle/1828/3840

Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics
                     Historical Linguistics
                     Language Documentation
                     Writing Systems

Subject Language(s): Chinook jargon (chn)


Dissertation Director(s):
Ewa Czaykowska-Higgins

Dissertation Abstract:

This dissertation presents the first full grammatical description of unprompted (spontaneous) speech in pidgin Chinook Jargon. The data come from a dialect, 'Kamloops Chinuk Wawa', used in southern interior BC ca. 1900. I also present the first historical study and structural analysis of the shorthand 'Chinuk pipa' alphabet in which KCW was written, primarily by Salish people. This study emerges from the discovery of several hundred such texts that I have transliterated and analyzed. The Basic Linguistic Theory-inspired (cf. Dixon 2010) framework used here interprets KCW as surprisingly ramified in morphological and syntactic structure, a finding in line with recent studies reviewing the status of pidgins. Among major findings: an unusually successful pidgin literacy included a widely circulated newspaper Kamloops Wawa, and language planning by the missionary JMR Le Jeune, OMI. He planned both for the use of KCW and this alphabet, and for their replacement by English. Sociolinguistic factors determining how Chinuk pipa was written included Salish preferences for whole-word learning (rather than letter by letter), and for informal intra-community teaching of this first group literacy. In addition to compounding and conversion of lexical roots, KCW morphology exploited three types of preposed grammatical morphemes—affixes, clitics, and particles. Virtually all are homonymous with and grammaticalized from demonstrably lexical morphs. Newly identified categories include 'out-of-control' transitivity marking and discourse markers including 'admirative' and 'inferred'. Contrary to previous claims about CJ, no overt passive voice exists in KCW, but a previously unknown 'passivization strategy' of implied agent demotion is brought to light. A realis-irrealis modality distinction is reflected at several scopal levels: phrase, clause and sentence. Functional differences are observed between irrealis clauses before vs. after main clauses. Polar questions are restricted to subordinate clauses, while alternative questions are formed by simple juxtaposition of irrealis clauses. Main-clause interrogatives are limited to content-question forms, optionally with irrealis marking. Positive imperatives are normally signaled by a mood particle on a realis clause, negative ones by a negative particle. Aspect is marked in a three-part ingressive-imperfective-completive system, with a marginal fourth 'conative'. One negative operator has characteristically clausal, and another phrasal, scope. One copula is newly attested. Degree marking is largely confined to 'predicative' adjectives. Several novel features of pronoun use possibly reflect Salish L1 grammatical habits: a consistent animacy distinction in third-person pronouns, where pan-CJ 'iaka' (animate singular) and 'klaska' (animate plural) contrast with a null inanimate object/patient; non-specification for number of this null and 'iaka'; in intransitives, double exponence (repetition) of pronominal subjects; and pan-CJ 'klaksta' (originally 'who?') and 'klaska' (originally 'they') varying freely. Certain etymologically content-question forms are used also as determiners. KCW's numeral system is unusually regular and small for a pidgin; numerals are also used ordinally in a distinct type of personal name. There is a null allomorph of preposition 'kopa'. This preposition has additionally a realis complementizer function (with nominalized predicates) distinct from irrealis 'pus' (with verbal ones). Conjunction 'pi' also has a function in a syntactic focus-increasing and -reducing system. 






------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Year the LINGUIST List hopes to raise $67,000. This money will go to help 
keep the List running by supporting all of our Student Editors for the coming
year.

See below for donation instructions, and don't forget to check out Fund 
Drive 2012 site!

http://linguistlist.org/fund-drive/2012/

There are many ways to donate to LINGUIST!

You can donate right now using our secure credit card form at  
https://linguistlist.org/donation/donate/donate1.cfm

Alternatively you can also pledge right now and pay later. To do so, go to: 
https://linguistlist.org/donation/pledge/pledge1.cfm

For all information on donating and pledging, including information on how to 
donate by check, money order, or wire transfer, please visit: 
http://linguistlist.org/donation/

The LINGUIST List is under the umbrella of Eastern Michigan University and as 
such can receive donations through the EMU Foundation, which is a registered 
501(c) Non Profit organization. Our Federal Tax number is 38-6005986. These 
donations can be offset against your federal and sometimes your state tax
return (U.S. tax payers only). For more information visit the IRS Web-Site,
or contact your financial advisor.

Many companies also offer a gift matching program, such that they will match 
any gift you make to a non-profit organization. Normally this entails your 
contacting your human resources department and sending us a form that the 
EMU Foundation fills in and returns to your employer. This is generally a
simple administrative procedure that doubles the value of your gift to
LINGUIST, without costing you an extra penny. Please take a moment to check if
your company operates such a program.

Thank you very much for your support of LINGUIST!
 


----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-23-1297	
----------------------------------------------------------
Visit LL's Multitree project for over 1000 trees dynamically generated
from scholarly hypotheses about language relationships:
          http://multitree.linguistlist.org/
					
					



More information about the LINGUIST mailing list