Serial verbs in Oceanic

[Joel Bradshaw]

Paul,

It may not be a coincidence that the major repository of switch-subject SVCs
occur in Melanesia, in some proximity to canonical switch-reference
languages--principally Papuan, but some AN as well. (On the other hand, I don't
see why the African SVCs with illogical same-subject agreement markings on VPs
that clearly have different logical subjects should be considered the "normal"
ones. SVCs on the pattern of 'I-pour corn I-flow into water' seem weird to me,
when it clearly means the 'corn' ends up in the water, not 'me'.)

The following article explores some of the overlap between SRCs and SVCs in a
couple hardcore serializing AN languages whose immediate neighbors speak typical
SR Papuan languages. It was in OL's inaugural issue in the Project Muse
electronic database so it happens to be a free demo. (Your institution needn't
subscribe for you to view it.) Particulars follow. It's full of data that anyone
is free to reanalyze.

Bradshaw, Joel. 1999. Null Subjects, Switch-Reference, and Serialization in
Jabêm and Numbami. OL 38: 270-296. <http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/ol/>
(Subjects: Yabim language -- Switch-reference.; Melanesian languages --
Switch-reference.)

Joel
--
Joel Bradshaw <bradshaw at hawaii.edu>
Journals Manager, University of Hawai'i Press
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