Chet A. Creider

Inflectional morphology in Word Grammar

Abstract The treatment of morphology in Word Grammar has received less attention than syntax and semantics, but the general principles are equally applicable to morphology. We outline a theory of inflectional morphology which uses ideas familiar from the Word-and-Paradigm tradition — Inflection, Lexeme and Stem — in combination with the logic of default inheritance. We apply this theory to a range of different morphological data: agglutinative (Swahili) and fusional, with and without syncretism (English, Welsh). We show that it is possible to analyse each of these types in a natural way without forcing it into an unsuitable mould, and in a discussion of Cree we show how dialect variation can be accommodated. We compare the WG theory with other approaches which are currently popular, especially a-morphous morphology, distributed morphology and network morphology.

Social distinctions in non-verbal behavior

The availability and ease of use of the videotape recorder promises to make it possible to notice or discover and study in depth behavior which previously went unnoticed because of its highly transient character. Recent work in linguistics (Labov, 1972: 183-259) has demonstrated conclusively that many aspects of linguistic structure are discoverable (and fully understandable) within the context of spontaneous unelicited interaction. Body movement behavior perhaps more than verbal behavior is tied to context so that it is at least surmisable that the categories of body movement events that are utilized by observers (having roots perhaps in folk lexical sets dealing with body movement behavior) cover only a fraction of the kinds of behavioral events and processes which individuals perform and are capable of attending to in interaction. This study attempts to show that the non-verbal behavior of spontaneous interaction may be profitably examined. In addition, the research reported here attempts to answer the substantive question of whether social distinctions determine non-verbal facial behavior in interactions, and whether those behaviors are perceived by interactors. Stated in a general form the question is: Does an individuals facial behavior vary in non-idiosyncratic ways depending on the non-individual characteristics of the person with whom he is interacting; or, when individuals interact, is their facial behavior determined by their membership in certain social categories? Non-individual characteristics, or membership in social categories, can be thought of either very broadly, Americans vs. nonAmericans, for instance, or very specifically, as in linguists who were trained at the University of Chicago in the 1950s. The specific form of the general question taken for this study is: Is one persons facial behavior determined by the sex, relative age, and degree of acquaintance with the individual with whom he is interacting, and is such variation in facial behavior recognizable to untrained observers? A negative answer to the first part of this question would be given in several instances: if individuals behave invariably towards all others, if every

Interlanguage comparisons in the study of the interactional use of gesture: Progress and prospects

In this paper I summarize work on a cross-language study of the interactional use of body movement. In addition to reporting on the results, I will identify what I consider to be important areas and issues for further research. Given the extreme difficulty of conducting field research on nonverbal behavior, there is no possibility of obtaining anything like a random sample of the worlds languages or even of obtaining data for a respectable number of languages. I have been able to study three languages in detail: Kipsigis, Luo, and Gusii. In addition, I have made less detailed observations for Swahili, Samburu, and Eskimo. The sample is thus strongly biased toward Africa, but in view of the fact that virtually all other work of this nature is based on European languages (e.g. Kendon 1970a, Efron 1941), an African bias is a step in the right direction. It should be clear, however, that an important research priority should be to extend the coverage of languages studied to include as many language families as possible. Amerindian, Asian, and Australian languages remain unstudied in this respect to date. The following is a brief characterization of the languages and cultures in the sample. Gusii is a Niger-Congo (Bantu) language spoken in Western Kenya by about 100,000 individuals. The basic order of constituents in a sentence is subject-verb-object (SVO), Luo is a Nilo-Saharan (Western Nilotic) language spoken by about three million in Western Kenya. It also has a basic SVO order. Kipsigis is a Nilo-Saharan (Southern Nilotic) language with one million speakers located just north and east of the Luo and the Gusii in Western Kenya. The basic order of constituents is VSO. Samburu is another Nilotic language (Eastern, however) with about 100,000 speakers located in Northern Kenya. Like Kipsigis, it is a VSO language. Swahili is a NigerCongo (Bantu) language, here used as a lingua franca by speakers whose native languages are Samburu and Kikuyu (a Bantu language similar to Gusii). It is an SVO language. Finally, Inuktitut belongs to the Eskimo-Aleut family, has about 100,000 speakers, and is an SOV language.

Preset two-head automata and morphological analysis of natural language ∗

Modeling the morphological structure of natural languages in terms of a nondeterministic finite-state automaton is shown to be inadequate in its handling of some common natural language phenomena. We show that a two-tape nondeterministic automaton is capable of handling these phenomena. The modeling is improved by the specification of a new type of automaton, the preset two-head automaton, which we argue is equivalent in expressive power to a linear context-free grammar. We discuss the operation of a parser which implements the improved model.

Binary vs. N-ary features

Abstract The use of binary features in the classical works in generative phonology and its phonetic foundations has met with considerable opposition. This opposition has come from both phoneticians and phonologists. The evidence against binary features, however, has primarily been phonetic (‘there is no justification for regarding any single phonetic parameter as a composite of binary features’, cf. Lindau (1978)), and there are surprisingly few phonological arguments in the literature. The principal aim of this paper is to present phonological evidence from a process of vowel coalescence in Nandi (a Southern Nilotic language spoken in the highlands of Western Kenya) which argues in favour of the appropriateness of splitting a single articulatory/acoustic dimension (vowel height) into two binary features. I also discuss a number of other cases in the vowel, tone and consonant feature areas which are relevant to the binary/non-binary feature controversy.

DAVID MCKNIGHT , People, countries, and the Rainbow Serpent: Systems of classification among the Lardil of Mornington Island . (Oxford studies in anthropological linguistics, 12.) Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Pp. x, 270. Hb

Anthropologists have long recognized that Australian aboriginal cultures have a rich repertoire of cognitive achievements, and they have contrasted this richness with the relative impoverishment of their technological repertoire. However, despite the richness of the cognitive repertoire, the anthropological literature contains no overall inventory for any aboriginal cultural group. McKnights monograph is the first work that covers everything: social structure (including kinship), myth, ritual, dancing, property structure, and biological classification. The quality of the scholarship is very high. At the time of writing, McKnight had worked with the Lardil for 30 years, including 16 field trips, with a total time of residence among the Lardil of more than five years. After completing an MA on West African materials under Darryl Forde, he switched to Australia, where he also worked with the Wik-mungkan and a number of other groups. The present monograph is the first of a projected trilogy; work is under way now on the second volume, a monograph on marriage, sorcery, and violence. In recent years, McKnight has been involved, on behalf of the Lardil, in negotiations with the Australian government for land claims.

75.00.

Norwegian Nynorsk An introduction for foreign students Peter Hallaraker Bergen — Oslo — Stavanger — Tromso 1983. 246 pages North American distribution: Columbia University Press

Norwegian nynorsk: An introduction for foreign students

Abstract Examination of spontaneous conversational (East Africa) and musical (Southern Spain) materials shows the existence of two distinct modes of discourse construction. One mode proceeds in a non‐structural fashion (locally‐connected topical developments and transitions). The other mode involves the use of a higher level of formal organization.