6. Semantic primes and their grammar in a polysynthetic language: East Cree

Junker, Marie-Odile

doi:10.1075/slcs.102.11jun

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…These hypotheses can then be tested against a given word's, or construction's, range of use, and wherever possible, discussed with native speakers (cf. Harkins 2001;Junker 2008). The consultants are not treated as objects of the investigation whose behaviour can be video-clipped, and perhaps even amicably discussed, but whose putative meanings can only be formulated in the researcher's technical metalanguage, not in the consultants's own language.…”

Section: A Coda: Video-clipping Vs Conceptual Analysismentioning

confidence: 98%

“Reciprocity”

Wierzbicka

2009

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This paper develops a semantic approach to the study of "reciprocity" -an area increasingly seen as central to linguistic typology. "Reciprocal" and "reflexivereciprocal" constructions from five languages -English, Russian, Polish, French and Japanese -are analyzed in considerable detail. The different, though interrelated, meanings of these constructions are explicated, and the proposed explications are supported with linguistic evidence. The paper challenges current approaches which tend to lump formally and semantically distinct constructions under one arbitrary label such as "RECIP", and it seeks to show how linguistic typology can be transformed by joining forces with rigorous cross-linguistic semantics. It also challenges the Nijmegen School approach, which privileges extensionalist "video-clipping" over conceptual analysis. The analysis presented in the paper demonstrates the descriptive and explanatory power of the NSM methodology. The results achieved through semantic analysis are shown to be convergent with hypotheses about "shared intentionality" put forward by Michael Tomasello and colleagues in the context of evolutionary psychology, and to throw new light on social universals ("human sociality").

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Section: A Coda: Video-clipping Vs Conceptual Analysismentioning

confidence: 98%

“Reciprocity”

Wierzbicka

2009

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“…The qualification 'in these words' is important, for it is perfectly possible that √beng is independently meaningful in some of the other words in which it appears. To broaden the discussion, we will in a moment compare the Dalabon situation with a similar situation in another polysynthetic language that has been studied specifically using NSM methodology, namely, East Cree (Junker 2003(Junker , 2007(Junker , 2008.…”

Section: Evans' (2007) Proposed Paraphrase For Dalabonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We argue that the list of semantic primes and their grammar should be in every field linguist's backpack. Section 4 examines some issues in semantic analysis in relation to three languages from far afield: Dalabon (Evans 2007(Evans , 2010, East Cree (Junker 2003(Junker , 2008, and Pirahã (Everett 2005(Everett , 2008. These issues include the relationship between morphological analysis and semantic analysis, the use of reductive paraphrase as a procedure for deciding between monosemy and polysemy, and the roles of experimental data and interpretative analysis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Semantic fieldwork and lexical universals

Goddard

Wierzbicka²

2014

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The main goal of paper is to show how NSM findings about lexical universals (semantic primes) can be applied to semantic analysis in little-described languages. It is argued that using lexical universals as a vocabulary for semantic analysis allows one to formulate meaning descriptions that are rigorous, cognitively authentic, maximally translatable, and free from Anglocentrism. A second goal is to shed light on methodological issues in semantic fieldwork by interrogating some controversial claims about the Dalabon and Pirahã languages. We argue that reductive paraphrase into lexical universals provides a practical procedure for arriving at coherent interpretations of unfamiliar lexical meanings. Other indigenous/endangered languages discussed include East Cree, Arrernte, Kayardild, Karuk, and Maori. We urge field linguists to take the NSM metalanguage, based on lexical universals, into the field with them, both as an aid to lexicogrammatical documentation and analysis and as a way to improve semantic communication with consultants.

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“…Examples are provided in East Cree Standard Roman Orthography (see Junker et al, 2013) and interlinearized according to Leipzig Glossing Rules (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 2015). 1 The third line in examples such as (1) follows Drapeau et al (2019), with subscript notations indicating verb classes and inflectional paradigms (called ‘orders’ in Algonquian linguistics).…”

Section: Ne Creementioning

confidence: 99%

The acquisition of the passive voice in Northern East Cree

Henke,

Brittain,

Deen

et al. 2023

First Language

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This article analyzes the acquisition of the passive voice in Northern East (NE) Cree and pays particular attention to the interaction of frequency effects and language-specific cues in the way children form and employ expectations, the process of anticipating oncoming structure in the ambient language. The passive has long been of interest in first-language acquisition, and expectations may play a role in the reported challenges acquiring the passive in languages such as English. We present two studies analyzing approximately 24 hours of naturalistic video recordings involving one adult and two children: Daisy (age 3;08–5;11) and Billy (4;06–5;10). Study 1 examines the passive voice in child-directed speech (CDS). CDS employs passive verbs frequently, at rates much higher than what has been reported for other languages. Passives also typically occur without overt arguments and most often are derived from verbs with two animate participants. Study 2 traces the acquisition of the passive by Daisy and Billy. Daisy demonstrates productivity with all three passive suffixes by age 3;11. Billy’s recordings begin at a later age, and he shows productivity with suffixes -naaniu at 4;06, -ikiwi at 4;10, and -ikiniw at 5;05. Both children produce passives at rates much higher than what has been reported in child speech for other languages. They also most frequently produce passives without overt arguments, and they show no difficulties passivizing verbs with two animate arguments. These results expand the typological purview of passives research and shed additional light on the role of expectations in acquiring the passive voice. The combination of high frequency and particular structural characteristics for the passive voice in Cree CDS allows children to build expectations differing greatly from those of children acquiring languages such as English. In turn, children acquiring NE Cree do not show the same difficulties in acquiring the passive voice.

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6. Semantic primes and their grammar in a polysynthetic language: East Cree

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

“Reciprocity”

“Reciprocity”

Semantic fieldwork and lexical universals

The acquisition of the passive voice in Northern East Cree

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