Referential Hierarchy Research Articles

Dative Doubling in Non-Mandatory Contexts in European Spanish

Clitic doubling (CD) is the co-appearance in the same sentence of the clitic and a correlative syntagma in the canonical position of the object. Apart from obligatory contexts, CD of the indirect object (IO) is found with variable frequency in Romance languages and even in different varieties of the same language, most likely because it is a phenomenon of internal/external language interface. The objective of this work is to determine the frequency of CD in non-obligatory contexts of recipient and location IO in peninsular Spanish, and to analyse its features according to the referential hierarchy used for the diachronic evolution of the phenomenon. For this purpose, we extracted data from two open access corpora of interviews (COREC and PRESEEA) from different regions that are (or are not) areas of historical contact with other languages. The results show a significant extension of doubling in contexts where this is optional and the neutralisation of features that previously predicted CD of IOs. Nevertheless, there are geographical differences in peninsular Spanish in terms of frequency, definiteness, specificity, the influence of the cliticization of the direct object, and the accessibility of the IO referents in the minds of the speakers.

KRITIK DAN PENOLAKAN ULAMA HANBALI ATAS PEMIKIRAN TEOLOGI IBNU TAIMIYYAH

Ibnu Taimiyyah (d. 728 H) has been the source of tension between his supporters and opponents for centuries. These supporters believed that Ibn Taimiyyah was ma'shum, more superior to Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, and they even believed he was the ultimate mujtahid (khatim al-mujtahidin). However, such claims ignore the sharp rejection of Sunnis schools and generations (Hanafiyyah, Malikiyyah, Syafi'iyyah) and even the internal assessments of the Hanbali scholars such as Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (w. 795H), Imam Ibnu al-Mardawi al-Hanbali (w. 885H), Imam Ibnu Najjar al-Hanbali (w. 972H), Imam al-Buhuti al-Hanbali (w. 1051H), dan Imam al-Safarayni al-Hanbali (w. 1188H). This paper uses an interdisciplinary approach to analyze primary sources to demonstrate the referential hierarchy as the internal consensus of the Hanbali school (ijma' fi al-madhabihi), as the dispute over the results of tarjih formulation in ushul and furu' comes up. The first rank is the founding father of Hanbali school, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal himself. The second place is Imam Ibnu Qudamah al-Maqdisi al-Hanbali, the writer of Kitab al-Kafi fi Fiqh al-Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal and Kitab al-Mughni. The third contributor is Imam Majduddin Abu al-Barakah al-Taimy, the writer of Kitab al-Muharrar fi al-Fiqh. The fourth rank belongs to Imam Ibn Muflih al-Hanbali, Kitab al-Furu's writer. The fifth place is Imam Ibnu Rajab al-Hanbali, the writer of Kitab al-Qawa'id al-Fiqhiyah. The sixth rank is Imam Ibnu Hamdan al-Hanbali, the writer of Kitab al-Ri'ayah al-Kubra. The seventh contributor is Imam Taqiyyuddin Ibn Taimiyyah, who wrote Kitab Majmu' al-Fatawa. The eighth rank is Imam Ibn 'Abdus al-Hanbali, the writer of Kitab al-Tadhkirah fi al-Fiqh. Furthermore, this article also proves that Ibn Taymiyyah is not the only scholar of the Hanbali school to hold the title of Syaikhul Islam among Hanbali scholars; there are still many others. Instead, Syaikhul Imam Abdul Qadir al-Jilani al-Hanbali received a more prestigious title as the Sultan-al-Masyayikh among the leading scholars of the Hanbali school.

Tangut verb agreement

Abstract The Tangut language is of particular importance to the field of Sino­Tibetan Studies, notably because of its morphological conservatism, which is unexpectedly correlated with a simplification of its syllable structure, a consequence of a process Miyake (2012) called “compression”. Such conservatism is evident in the syllable qualities reconstructed, which sometimes reflect proto­ Tangut’s ancient derivational processes. Verbs also exhibit various flectional phenomena, mainly due to conversion of agreement rules and referential hierarchy rules (Silverstein 1976), in a manner reminiscent of the indexation system of languages of the rGyalrongic taxon within the Qiangic family. The present paper attempts to explain the absence of indexation in the Tangut verb, a key phenomenon in the history of verb agreement analysis. First, I recall the main rules of the Tangut verb’s agreement system, as shown by Kepping (1975) and Gong (2001). Second, cases of non­agreement are analyzed. Apart from the case of non­local contexts, we see that the absence of agreement occurs in non­finite forms resulting from a dependency pattern, such as clause chaining, topic/comment context, and semantically dependent modality.1

Reevaluating the etymology of Latin reflexives

Abstract This paper offers a synchronic and diachronic analysis of the diverse forms in Old Latin (third–second century BCE) that can be connected to Proto-Indo-European (PIE) *s(w)e-: se, sibi, sum, sam, sos, sas, sis, ipse. We classify our sample according to different grammatical, semantic, and pragmatic values, such as the construction type, animacy, and topicality of their referents. Among the results, we show that se and sibi are not primarily used as reflexives and that they share remarkably similar grammatical, semantic, and pragmatic features with the rest of the studied forms. These findings lead us to support the hypothesis of a single etymological origin in the PIE *s- + vowel (*sV) root and to further claim that this root was not a reflexive or a simple anaphoric marker, but a demonstrative pronoun that ranked high in a referential hierarchy.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ АГЕНТИВНОГО НЕЖИВОГО ПІДМЕТА В ЯПОНСЬКІЙ, АНГЛІЙСЬКІЙ ТА УКРАЇНСЬКІЙ МОВАХ

The article summarizes the main approaches to the problem of inanimate subject in Japanese. While English has a strong tendency to use inanimate subject on a daily basis, Japanese language has a lot of restrictions for this type of construction. As these restrictions seem to appear both in subjects and predicates of the sentences, the two approaches – nominal and verbal – were elaborated in order to account for the phenomena. Nominal approach accounts for the nouns, that tend to appear in the subject or object position, while verbal approach tries to find out which verbs can be used in the sentences with an inanimate subject. This article outlines the nominal approach and explains two theories that were elaborated in Japanese studies. The first theory developed by T. Tsunoda adopts referential hierarchy of Silverstein and states that although personal pronouns and nouns that indicate animate objects have a stronger tendency to become a subject of the sentence, there is a hierarchy between the nouns that name inanimate objects. For example, the nouns that indicate natural forces are more likely to become the subject of the sentence than nouns that indicate abstract notions and territory names. The second theory developed by S. Saito adopts the empathy hierarchy (hierarchy of the positions) of S. Kuno in order to account for the extending acceptance of the sentences with inanimate subject that include auxiliary verb ‘kureru’. The theory states that ‘kureru’ in such types of sentences manages to balance empathy on the non-subject participant (which is an animated entity) rather than the subject, that results into an acceptance of the type of sentences. The article also suggests that there are some similarities in the way Ukrainian and Japanese speakers tend to translate English sentences that have an inanimate subject. The article also points out the necessity for Ukrainian studies to develop its own approach to the sentences with inanimate subject, because it seems that Ukrainian language has its own restrictions on such sentences.

Word Order Alignment in Three-Argument Constructions of Irish

This study examines the ordering of the actor (A), theme (T) and recipient (R) arguments in three-argument clauses, the prepositional ditransitive constructions of Irish. The ordering of the A, T and R arguments in three-argument clauses is an area where linguistic complexity is manifest in the Irish grammar. Across languages, the factors which influence word order adjustments, from a basic word order of A-T-R, are known to include iconicity, information structure and topicalisation, the distinction between given and new information, the effects of the various referential hierarchies, and syntactic weight. We show that some, but not all, of these apply to the Irish data. Under certain conditions, the word order of these Irish three-argument clauses changes in a different alignment. Specifically, if the T is an accusative pronoun then the word order alignment changes and consequently the T occurs after the R in clause final position, yielding an A R-T word order. We argue that post-positioning of the theme PN is due to the alignment effects that can be explained by reference to the nominal and person hierarchies, and their intersection with the principle of syntactic weight. The Irish grammar seems to be disposed to place the accusative object PN T in clause final position in word order, adding an imposed salience. We characterise the effects of the nominal and person hierarchies, and syntactic weight, on word order within these constructions. We use elements of the functional model of Role and Reference Grammar in this characterisation. These word alignment effects raise important questions of the distribution of linguistic complexity across the grammar of Irish, and the interfaces between semantics, and syntax, as well as information structure.

Os sujeitos de 3ª pessoa na fala fílmica brasileira

Abstract – In this paper, based on a corpus of contemporary Brazilian film dialogues (the Sub-Corpus Carioca Urbano , Corpus I-Fala, Luso-Brazilian Film Dialogues as a resource for L1 & L2 Learning and Linguistic Research; De Rosa et alii 2017), we will discuss the presence and use of 3rd person referential subjects within the wider framework of the changes that are affecting Brazilian Portuguese, the latter being today considered a partial null-subject language. The study, based on Duarte (2012), analysed only referential pronominal subjects (overt or null) in finite sentences by focussing on two things. First of all, we considered mainly the semantic traits [±human] and [±specific], given that, according to the referential hierarchy proposed by Cyrino, Duarte and Kato (2000), referentiality has translinguistic relevance in pronominalization. Next, following Barbosa, Duarte and Kato (2005), we analysed their “sentential pattern”, i.e., the syntactic accessibility and functions of the antecedents.

Null objects in the spontaneous speech of monolingual and bilingual speakers of European Portuguese

AbstractThis paper investigates object omissions in the spontaneous production of European Portuguese by second-generation Portuguese-German bilingual speakers and compares them to first-generation migrants, and two age-matched groups of monolingual speakers. The results show that bilingual speakers as well as the younger generation of monolinguals show a higher number of null objects in their speech than the two older generations. This may reflect an inter-generational development that favours null objects, which is independent of language contact. The analysis of the syntactic and semantic conditions determining the occurrence of null objects in the speech of the different groups reveals that the semantic properties of the null objects realized by the bilinguals, particularly the higher rates of animate and non-propositional null objects, show that they extend the semantic-pragmatic conditions of null object realization along a referential hierarchy. The bilingual speakers may reflect a language-internal pathway that appears to resemble a diachronic change observed in BP.

Multiple ergatives

AbstractThis paper presents a cross-linguistic survey of case systems with several non-phonologically distributed markers of ergative case, based on a convenience sample of more than 70 languages from all over the world. It is shown that in most languages the distribution of different ergative markers splits along the lines predicted by the referential hierarchy (local pronouns > non-local pronouns > proper names > kinship terms > humans > nonhumans > inanimates), thus complementing the much better known ergativity splits. Other types of conditioning of “multiple ergatives” include gender, such nominal morphosyntactic features as number and (in)definiteness, as well as clausal morphosyntactic features like tense/aspect, polarity and person of co-arguments. “Fluid” systems where the choice of ergative marker is based on semantic or pragmatic factors are attested as well. The article also discusses the implications of ergative allomorphy and ergative alternations for the typology of ergativity and case marking in general.

Who's on First? Investigating the referential hierarchy in simple native ASL narratives

Discussions of reference tracking in spoken languages often invoke some version of a referential hierarchy. In this paper, we asked whether this hierarchy applies equally well to reference tracking in a visual language, American Sign Language, or whether modality differences influence its structure. Expanding the results of previous studies, this study looked at ASL referential devices beyond nouns, pronouns, and zero anaphora. We elicited four simple narratives from eight native ASL signers, and examined how the signers tracked reference throughout their stories. We found that ASL signers follow general principles of the referential hierarchy proposed for spoken languages by using nouns for referent introductions, and zero anaphora for referent maintenance. However, we also found significant differences such as the absence of pronouns in the narratives, despite their existence in ASL, and differential use of verbal and constructed action zero anaphora. Moreover, we found that native signers’ use of classifiers varied with discourse status in a way that deviated from our expectations derived from the referential hierarchy for spoken languages. On this basis, we propose a tentative hierarchy of referential expressions for ASL that incorporates modality specific referential devices.

Referential hierarchies: A new look at some historical and typological patterns

AbstractThis paper proposes a diachronic typology for the various patterns that have been referred to as Hierarchical Alignment or Inverse Alignment. Previous typological studies have tried to explain such patterns as grammatical reflections of a universal Referential Hierarchy, in which first person outranks second person outranks third person and humans outrank other animates outrank inanimates. However, our study shows that most of the formal properties of hierarchy-sensitive constructions are essentially predictable from their historical sources. We have identified three sources for hierarchical person marking, three for direction marking, two for obviative case marking, and one for hierarchical constituent ordering. These sources suggest that there is more than one explanation for hierarchical alignment: one is consistent with Givón’s claim that hierarchical patterns are a grammaticalization of generic topicality; another is consistent with DeLancey’s claim that hierarchies reflect the deictic distinction between present (1/2) and distant (3) participants; another is simply a new manifestation of a common asymmetrical pattern, the use of zero marking for third persons. More importantly, the evolution of hierarchical grammatical patterns does not reflect a consistent universal ranking of participants – at least in those cases where we can see (or infer) historical stages in the evolution of these properties, different historical stages appear to reflect different hierarchical rankings of participants, especially first and second person. This leads us to conclude that the diversity of hierarchical patterns is an artifact of grammatical change, and that in general, the presence of hierarchical patterns in synchronic grammars is not somehow conditioned by some more general universal hierarchy.

Referential hierarchies and alignment: An overview

This introductory chapter to the special issue Referential and of Linguistics (54:3) gives an overview of the history and the different definitions of the notion (a.k.a animacy hierarchies of inherent lexical content, nominal etc.). It is furthermore gives a definition of what we understand by the term and shows how referential can influence alignment patterns. Finally, the articles represented in the volume are briefly summarized.

Decomposing hierarchical alignment: Co-arguments as conditions on alignment and the limits of referential hierarchies as explanations in verb agreement

AbstractApart from common cases of differential argument marking, referential hierarchies affect argument marking in two ways: (a) through hierarchical marking, where markers compete for a slot and the competition is resolved by a hierarchy, and (b) through co-argument sensitivity, where the marking of one argument depends on the properties of its co-argument. Here we show that while co-argument sensitivity cannot be analyzed in terms of hierarchical marking, hierarchical marking can be analyzed in terms of co-argument sensitivity. Once hierarchical effects on marking are analyzed in terms of co-argument sensitivity, it becomes possible to examine alignment patterns relative to referential categories in exactly the same way as one can examine alignment patterns relative to referential categories in cases of differential argument marking and indeed any other condition on alignment (such as tense or clause type). As a result, instances of hierarchical marking of any kind turn out not to present a special case in the typology of alignment, and there is no need for positing an additional non-basic alignment type such as “hierarchical alignment”. While hierarchies are not needed for descriptive and comparative purposes, we also cast doubt on their relevance in diachrony: examining two families for which hierarchical agreement has been postulated, Algonquian and Kiranti, we find only weak and very limited statistical evidence for agreement paradigms to have been shaped by a principled ranking of person categories.

Degrees of affectedness and verbal prefixation in Abui (Papuan)

This paper deals with the encoding of affectedness in Abui, a Papuan language of Indonesia. Abui is a head-marking language of the rare type where the verbs are marked for their undergoer arguments (So, O) formally split into several subtypes. This marking has been previously analyzed as a type of semantic alignment sensitive among others to affectedness. Affectedness is understood here as a scalar property delimiting the predicate (following Tenny 1987 and Beavers 2011). The paper explores the structure of the affectedness scale for Abui, comparing the functions and meaning of three types of person prefix paradigms. We show that verbs with similar meaning, encoding the same type of change (in Beavers’ terms) can differ in their entailments. We also show that there may be additional dimensions in which affectedness can be measured, such as affected agents, and that the interpretation of the degree on the affectedness scale interacts with instigator’s (source of force) status on the referential hierarchy. While human agents in some cases allow lower degrees of affectedness, the inanimate forces select the maximal degree reading. We conclude, that despite a considerable amount of fluidity of marking (Fedden et al. 2013, 2014), the shifts in degree of affectedness can be predicted as lowering of the degree stipulated for the predicate.

Cisão morfológica em construções bitransitivas em Nheengatu

In Tupi-Guarani languages, referential hierarchies have proven valuable for analyzing differential patterns of marking objects in transitive sentences (Jensen, 1990) for a comparative view). Unlike other languages of the family, Nheengatu (Amazonian lingual geral) treats speech-acts participants and 3rd person in transitive sentences the same. Nheengatu further differentiates itself by its innovative use of referential hierarchies in the ditranstive constructions: referential effects lead to a split in the form of marking goals/recepients. Additionally, the marking of goals/recepients may also be associated with the expression of purposive modality. This paper describes the patterns used for indicating goals/recepients, and analyzes the syntactic, semantic and pragmatic factors correlated to each of the possible constructions.

Direct/Inverse Systems

AbstractThis article proposes an idealized model of direct‐inverse systems inspired by canonical morphology, against which attested systems are then evaluated in terms of their deviation from it. A language‐independent definition of obviation is provided, and then applied to language families other than Algonquian. Referential hierarchies are shown not to be the only way of accounting for direct‐inverse systems. Finally, the article surveys the attested origins of inverse systems and the ways in which they can be further reanalyzed, ultimately leading to their decay.

Defective object clitic paradigms and the relation between language development and loss

Through an investigation of morphologically defective pronominal object paradigms in a number of northern Italian dialects, this article offers a reflection on the relation between the development and the loss of linguistic items based on the reconstruction of the possible diachronic path that has led to the current situation. The paper sets out to achieve two objectives. First, it presents a detailed description of the peculiarities of the object clitic paradigm in the northern Italian dialects and places them within the wider Romance context. Secondly, it discusses and evaluates the way the processes of emergence and loss of linguistic items relate to one another, with specific reference to what appears to be a more general hierarchy operative in languages, the Referential Hierarchy (Silverstein 1976, Comrie 1981, and many others).

Ergative case attrition in Central Indo-Aryan

Differential case marking is often determined on the basis of inherent semantic properties associated with core arguments of the verb. This frequently results in a hierarchical split in which certain types of NPs are more or less likely to be case marked when in the role of agent/patient. The Referential Hierarchy (RH) (see Silverstein 1976; Comrie 1981) models this phenomenon in terms of the markedness of agent vs. patient roles, based on the semantic parameters of animacy/definiteness. Yet recent studies have raised doubts as to the constistency of the RH in predicting split-ergative marking (e.g. Filimonova 2005; Bickel 2008). This paper explores an Indo-Aryan dialect with an NP-split in ergative marking that appears to contradict the RH: Kherwada Wagdi. It examines the possible historical scenarios that could result in a reverse NP-split, suggesting that such historical transitions tend to follow a non-linear course and are frequently left incomplete.

Referential Hierarchy Effects on Grammar: Toward a Unifying Functional Approach

It is still unclear whether grammatical systems based on referential hierarchies should be treated as an alignment type in its own right (Nichols 1992, Siewierska 2005, Zúñiga 2006), viewed in terms of voice (Givón 1994, Shibatani 2006), or analyzed based on the properties of individual systems (Bickel 2008). This paper examines referential hierarchy effects on grammatical marking in 45 languages showing that all systems can be explained in terms of subjectivity, politeness, and topicality, and that in different languages these functions are fulfilled in structurally distinct ways conditioned by genetic inheritance and contact�induced change, consequently supporting Bickel’s idiosyncratic approach.

Ditransitive Alignment and Referential Hierarchies in Araki

Since Bossong (1985), referential hierarchies have proven useful in accounting for patterns of differential object marking (DOM) in mono‑transitive clauses. More recent studies (Siewierska 1998; Haspelmath 2005; Bickel 2008; papers in this volume) have also shown the relevance of such hierarchies in explaining the alignment patterns of ditransitive verbs – that is, how languages treat formally the Theme and the recipient or Goal. Araki, a highly endangered Oceanic language of Vanuatu, not only shows DOM with its transitive verbs, but is also sensitive to referential properties of arguments in its handling of ditransitive alignment. On a hierarchy defined by the features [±local] (i.e. speech-act participant) and [±human], the higher-ranking participant receives the status of object, while the other one is demoted to a peripheral role. The result is a pattern of regular alternation between indirective and secundative alignment, depending on the relative properties of the Theme and the Goal. The present article will describe these patterns, and discuss cases of variation. Ultimately, rules of ditransitive alignment in Araki can be explained functionally as a competition between non-agent participants on a scale of affectedness.