Possessive Noun Incorporation in Oji-Cree

Abstract

This paper deals with possessive noun incorporation (NI) in Oji-Cree. In this construction, formed with the verbal suffix -e, the possessed noun is incorporated into the verb stem and is obligatorily preceded by a modifier. The goal of this paper is to examine the syntax and semantics of this construction within the larger emerging debate on the internal structure of the verb stem in Algonquian languages. Specifically, after highlighting some previously undocumented morphosyntactic properties of this construction, I focus on the relationship between stem components, particularly on the status of the adjectival element at the left edge of the stem, and its structural and semantic relation to the rest of the stem. The central proposal is that the obligatory presence of the modifier on the left edge (i.e., the left-edge requirement) falls out naturally from the selectional restrictions on the suffix -e: I propose that it selects for a small clause complement. This paper thus contributes to the larger debate on stem structure in Algonquian languages and to the growing body of literature on noun incorporation, shedding light on the possible relations between the incorporated noun and the rest of the stem.