Alternative expressions of 'want' complements

Abstract

The complements of “want” predicate may vary depending on the identity of the main and the dependent subjects. When identical, five main tendencies are found cross-linguistically: (i) the dependent subject is omitted, (ii) the dependent subject is overtly expressed, (iii) “want” is a desiderative affix or (iv) an uninflected particle, and (v) there are alternative choices (Haspelmath 2005). Using data from the Uto-Aztecan family, this article focuses on one of the less common means, the co-existence of alternative expressions. The analysis provides an account for this phenomenon in light of the Interclausal Relations Hierarchy (Van Valin 2005): whenever there are available structures in a language, the tightest linkage encodes intention, and the less tight expresses different mental states.

Behind the Mexican Mountains: Recent Developments and New Directions in Research on Uto‐Aztecan Languages

“…Other recent research on morphosyntax ad syntax has focused on clause structure and clause combination (Estrada Fernández 1991; Guerrero 2006, 2008, forthcoming; Martinez Fabian 2005; Peralta Ramírez 2004; Vázquez‐Soto 2002a), quantification and possession (Jelinek 2003; Munro 1984), inflectional morphology (Shaul 1990), and secondary predication (Vázquez‐Soto 2004a). There has also been an upsurge in interest in syntactic structures within the larger context of information structure (e.g., Guerrero and Belloro 2010; Vázquez‐Soto 2004b) and discourse analysis (e.g., Carrillo‐Carrillo 2010; Montes de Oca 2006, 2007; Payne 1987), although Uto‐Aztecan syntactic research is still largely confined to the lexical and clause levels.…”