Representing events in Saanich (Northern Straits Salish) : the interaction of aspect and valence
The linguistic representation of events in time results from the interaction of various components: the inherent semantics of a given verb, derivational morphology, aspect, argument structure, adverbial modification, etc. In the Salish languages of Western North America, a great deal of information about argument structure is given by derivational affixes, and recent work on predicate classification in Salish languages has shown that some of these affixes affect the situation type (i.e., Vendlerian/Aristotelian aspectual class) of a predicate. This thesis examines the interaction of derivational affixes with both situation type and grammatical aspect in the Saanich dialect of Northern Straits Salish (SENCOTEN). Drawing mostly on primary fieldwork with speakers of this highly endangered language, I argue that aktionsart (derivational aspectual morphology), situation type, and grammatical aspect are distinct but interacting categories relevant to Saanich temporal interpretation. The thesis provides the most comprehensive description of Saanich grammatical aspect to date, by investigating its morphological status, its semantic restrictions, and its use in discourse. Building on previous analyses of aspect in
Turner, Claire Kelly
Representing events in Saanich (Northern Straits Salish) : the interaction of aspect and valence. The linguistic representation of events in time results from the interaction of various components: the inherent semantics of a given verb, derivational morphology, aspect, argument structure, adverbial modification, etc. In the Salish languages of Western North America, a great deal of information about argument structure is given by derivational affixes, and recent work on predicate classification in Salish languages has shown that some of these affixes affect the situation type (i.e., Vendlerian/Aristotelian aspectual class) of a predicate. This thesis examines the interaction of derivational affixes with both situation type and grammatical aspect in the Saanich dialect of Northern Straits Salish (SENCOTEN). Drawing mostly on primary fieldwork with speakers of this highly endangered language, I argue that aktionsart (derivational aspectual morphology), situation type, and grammatical aspect are distinct but interacting categories relevant to Saanich temporal interpretation. The thesis provides the most comprehensive description of Saanich grammatical aspect to date, by investigating its morphological status, its semantic restrictions, and its use in discourse. Building on previous analyses of aspect in
representing event northern interaction aspect valence linguistic representation event time interaction various component inherent semantics give verb derivational_morphology aspect argument_structure adverbial modification etc language western north_america great_deal information argument_structure give derivational affix recent_work predicate classification languages show affix affect situation_type aristotelian aspectual class predicate examines interaction derivational affix situation_type grammatical_aspect dialect northern drawing mostly primary fieldwork speaker highly endanger language argue derivational aspectual morphology situation_type grammatical_aspect distinct interact category relevant temporal interpretation provide_comprehensive description grammatical_aspect date investigate morphological status semantic restriction use discourse building previous analysis aspect