The Clause-Typing System of Plains Cree: Indexicality, Anaphoricity, and Contrast (Oxford Studies of Endangered Languages)

This book offers detailed empirical coverage of the syntax and semantics of Plains Cree, an Algonquian language of western Canada. It combines careful elicitation with corpus studies to provide the first systematic investigation of the two distinct verbal inflectional paradigms - independent and conjunct - in the language. The book argues that the independent order denotes an indexical clause type with familiar deictic properties, while the conjunct order is an anaphoric clause type whose reference is determined by rules of anaphoric dependence. Both syntactic and semantic considerations are examined: on the syntactic side, indexical clauses are shown to be restricted to a subset of matrix environments, and to exclude proforms that have clause-external antecedents or induce cross-clausal dependencies. Anaphoric clauses have an elsewhere distribution: they occur in both matrix and dependent contexts, and freely host and participate in cross-clausal dependencies. The semantic discussion focusses primarily on the context in which a proposition is evaluated: it shows that indexical clauses have absolute tense and a speaker origo, consistent with deixis on a speech act; anaphoric clauses, by contrast, use anaphoric dependencies to establish the evaluation context. Data from Plains Cree is compared to the matrix/subordinate system found in English, to the clause-chaining system of the Amele language of Papua New Guinea, and to Romance subjunctive clauses. The book also provides the first micro-typology of pronominal marking and initial change in Algonquian languages. This Volume Examines Sentence Structure In Plains Cree, An Algonquian Language Of Western Canada. Its Detailed Discussion Of The Typologically Significant Syntactic And Semantic Properties Of Plains Cree Makes It A Valuable Resource For Those Already Familiar With This Language Family And To The Wider Field Of Language Typology. 1 Introduction: Indexical Versus Anaphoric Clauses 1 -- 1.1 Context Of The Research 2 -- 1.2 Methodology: Data Collection And Presentation 7 -- 1.3 Plains Cree Terminology 10 -- 2 Mapping Indexical And Anaphoric Cps Onto Plains Cree's Morphosyntax 12 -- 2.1 Cp Structure In Plains Cree Verbal Complexes 15 -- 2.2 Diagnosing Co Vs. Spec, Cp 29 -- 2.3 The Indexical/anaphoric Distinction ≠ Matrix/embedded Distinction 41 -- 3 Indexical Clauses: Plains Cree's Independent Order 45 -- 3.1 The Structural Context Of Indexical Clauses 47 -- 3.2 The Semantic Context Of Indexical Clauses 78 -- 3.3 Indexical Clauses Define Root Spans 109 -- 4 Anaphoric Clauses: Plains Cree's Conjunct Order 124 -- 4.1 The Structural Context Of Anaphoric Clauses 132 -- 4.2 The Semantic Context Of Anaphoric Clauses 155 -- 4.3 The Cross-linguistic Typology Of Anaphoric Clauses 170 -- 5 A Syntactic Classification Of Anaphoric Clauses 183 -- 5.1 Chained Clauses Are Excluded 187 -- 5.2 Adjoined Clauses Are Islands 194 -- 5.3 Clausal Vs, Nominal Arguments 209 -- 5.4 Structural Relations Between Matrix And Subordinate Clauses 221 -- 5.5 Vp-complementation Involves Restructuring 227 -- 6 A Semantic Classification Of Anaphoric Clauses 234 -- 6.1 The 'elsewhere' Properties Of ê- 236 -- 6.2 Presupposition And Kâ- 243 -- 6.3 Simple Conjunct Verbs Lack An Origo 260 -- 6.4 Kî-, Tense, And Aspect 283 -- 6.5 Deconstructing Modality: Clause-typing, Irreality, And Kî- 292 -- 7 Conclusions 301 -- 7.1 The Parallels Between Cps And Dps 302 -- 7.2 Variation In Clause-typing Across Algonquian 303. Clare Cook. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [314]-331) And Index. Plains Cree, an Algonquian language of western Canada, has two entirely distinct verbal inflectional paradigms: independent and conjunct. This book provides the first systematic investigation comparing these two verb types. It argues that the independent order denotes an indexical clause type with familiar deictic properties, while the conjunct order is an anaphoric clause type whose reference is determined by rules of anaphoric dependence. On the syntactic side, indexical clauses are shown to be restricted to a subset of matrix environments, and to exclude proforms that have clause‐external antecedents or induce cross‐clausal dependencies. Anaphoric clauses have an elsewhere distribution: they occur in both matrix and dependent contexts, and freely host and participate in cross‐clausal dependencies. The semantic discussion focusses primarily on the context in which a proposition is evaluated: it shows that indexical clauses have absolute tense and a speaker origo, consistent with deixis on a speech act. Anaphoric clauses, by contrast, use anaphoric dependencies to establish the evaluation context. Along the way, Plains Cree data is compared to English's matrix/subordinate system, to Amele's clause‐chaining system, and to Romance subjunctive clauses. In addition, a first micro‐typology of pronominal marking and initial change in Algonquian languages is provided This book examines sentence structure in Plains Cree, an Algonquian language of western Canada. Its detailed discussion of the typologically significant syntactic and semantic properties of Plains Cree makes it a valuable resource for those already familiar with this language family and to the wider field of language typology.