Contribution to Book
Dimensions of Northern Paiute Multi-Verb Constructions
Multi-Verb Constructions : A View from the Americas
(2011)
Abstract
Two constructions in Northern Paiute (Western Numic; Uto-Aztecan—the secondary verb construction and the instrumental prefix construction—are described in detail with regard to their place within a typology of multi-verb constructions. Both are compositionally asymmetrical—that is, the defining member of the construction is from a restricted set. Con-verbs and verb-verb compounding are both, in theory, symmetrical in composition—that is, there is no restriction on which verbs may enter into them. However, we find, upon closer inspection, that predicates of a particular type are most likely to be interpretable as part of a monoclausal versus biclausal converb construction, and that there are also some clear frequency restrictions on which verbs most often appear as part of verb-verb compounds. It is proposed that these restrictions shed further light on the possible historical relationships holding among all four multi-verb construction types.
Disciplines
Publication Date
2011
Editor
Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald and Pieter C. Muysken with the assistance of Joshua Birchall
Publisher
Brill
Series
Brill's Studies in the Indigenous Languages of the Americas
ISBN
9789004194526
Citation Information
Tim Thornes. "Dimensions of Northern Paiute Multi-Verb Constructions" LeidenMulti-Verb Constructions : A View from the Americas Vol. 3 (2011) p. 27 - 61 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/timothy_thornes/3/