Morphological Complexity
and Language Contact
Marianne Mithun
University of California, Santa Barbara
[email protected]
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1. Morphological
Complexity
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Many morphemes per word?
Many in every word?
Many in every verb?
Average number of morphemes/word?
Highest possible number of morphemes per word?
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Mohawk
Iroquoian family, Northeastern North America
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Mohawk Verb
Tha’tewakatonnhatierónnion.
tha’-te-wak-at-onnh-at-ier-onni-on
CONTRASTIVE-DUPLICATIVE-1SG.PAT-MID-life-MID-do-DIST-STATIVE
‘My life was really quite strange.’
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But consider the full sentence.
Iáh ki’
nowén:ton
iah
not
not
n=o-went-on
the=N-ever-STATIVE
ever
ki’
actually
actually
nahò:ten’
na-w-o’t-en’
PRTV-N-be.a.kind.of-PFV
anything
‘There was actually never anything
tha’tewakatonnhatierónnion.
tha’-te-wak-at-onnh-at-ier-onni-on
CONTRASTIVE-DV-1SG.PAT-MIDDLE-life-MIDDLE-do-DIST-STATIVE
my life was quite strange
unusual about my life.’
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Number of slots in a template?
Mohawk Verb Template
CTR
TL
CNC
FAC
DL
FUT CL
IRR
REP
PRO
AGT
PRO
PAT
MD
NS
LK
VR
RFL
INCH
CS
INS
BN
DS AND
ASP
TAM
REV
PRT
NEG
CTR
CONTRASTIVE
CL
CISLOCATIVE
CS
CAUSATIVE
CNC
COINCIDENT
RP
REPETITIVE
INS
INSTRUMENTAL
PRT
PARTITIVE
MD
MIDDLE
TL
TRANSLOCATIVE RFL
REFLEXIVE
FAC
FACTUAL
NS
NOUN STEM
DL
DUPLICATIVE
LK
LINKER
DS
DISTRIBUTIVE
FUT
FUTURE
VR
VERB ROOT
AND
ANDATIVE
IRR
IRREALIS
INCH
INCHOATIVE
ASP
ASPECTS
NEG
NEGATIVE
REV
REVERSIVE
TAM
TENSE ETC.
APPLICATIVE
BN
BENEFACTIVE
APPLICATIVE
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Usually not all slots filled
CTR
CNC
TL
FAC
DL
FUT CL
IRR
REP
PRO
AGT
PRO
PAT
MD
NS
LK
VR
RFL
INCH
CS
INS
BN
DS AND
ASP
TNS
REV
PRT
NEG
Thóhson.
t-ho-ihs-on
CISLOCATIVE-M.SG.PATIENT-finish-STATIVE
‘He has finished.’
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Usually not all slots filled
CTR
CNC
TL
FAC
DL
FUT CL
IRR
REP
PRO
AGT
PRO MD
PAT
RFL
NS
LK
VR INCH
CS
INS
BN
DS AND
ASP TNS
REV
PRT
NEG
Thóhson.
t-ho-ihs-on
CISLOCATIVE-M.SG.PATIENT-finish-STATIVE
‘He has finished.’
And not all languages are templatic.
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Central Alaskan Yup’ik
Eskimo-Aleut Family
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Number of bound morphemes
in the inventory?
Central Alaskan Yup’ik Eskimo
One initial root
Hierarchical derivational suffixes: ~500
Inflectional endings: ~ 450
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Cognitive separation of morphemes?
Mohawk
Ontkáhtho’
[ųtkáhthoʔ]
wa’-w-at-kahtho-’
FACTUAL-N.AGT-MID-look-PFV
‘It saw it.’
[ų] = wa’-w-a
Sequences of affixes are often lexicalized,
processed as chunks,
probably much more than we realize.
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Cognitive separation of morphemes?
Yup’ik
Ayagciqsugnarqua.
ayag-ciqe-yugnarqe-u-a
go-FUTURE-probably-INTR.INDICATIVE-1SG
‘I’ll probably go.’
Suffix -yugnarqe-‘probably’
-yuke-narqe‘think.that’ ‘tend.to.cause.one.to’
-nar‘cause’
...
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Phonological Processes?
Seneca (Iroquoian)
ia:s
‘he eats’
i-hra-k-s
PROTHETIC-M.SG.AGT-eat-HAB
*r > 0 from masculine prefixes (contact)
[-son] > 0 / __s #
Verbs must be at least two syllables. Add prothetic i if only one
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Where does elaborate morphology
come from?
Grammaticalization then fusion
pronouns > pronominal affixes
auxiliarites > aspect affixes
etc.
Fusion then grammaticalization
compounded root > affix
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2. North America
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Languages Indigenous to North America
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North American Languages
North of Mexico
Around 275 languages
Around 55 Genetic Groups
Various sized groups
26 isolates
Uto-Aztecan 31 languages
Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit 37 languages
Varying Documentation
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3. Arguments and predicate
within the one word
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Pronominal Affixes
Just how much pronominal reference
do we need?
All core arguments?
Should every one be represented overtly?
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Yup’ik Pronominal Suffixes
All core: 1, 2, 3, 3R
Elitnautui
elitnaur-tu-a-i
teach-customarily-TRANSITIVE.INDICATIVE-3SG/3PL
‘He teaches them.’
Paqciiqaqa.
paqete-ciiqe-ar-ka
go.check-FUTURE-TRANSITIVE.INDICATIVE-1SG/3SG
‘I’ll go check it.’
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Languages with All Core Arguments: 1, 2, 3
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But not all or nothing
Often unmarked
3rd person inanimate objects
3rd person objects
3rd person topical subjects
3rd person absolutives
3rd persons
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Navajo
Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit
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Navajo
1, 2, some 3
naa-sh-né
na-ni-né
naané
‘I am playing’
‘you are playing’
‘(he or she) is playing’
ha-sh-niłteeh
ha-ni-shteeh
haniłteeh
‘You are carrying me up.’
‘I am carrying you up.’
‘You are carrying (him/her) up.’
ha-bi-łteeh
ha-i-łteeh
‘(He/she/it) is carrying him/her (PROX).’
‘(He/she) is carrying him/her/it (OBV).’
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Choctaw
Muskogean family, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana
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Choctaw
Just 1, 2
Baliili-li-tok.
Ish-baliili-tok.
Baliili-tok.
‘I ran.’
‘You ran.’
‘(He/she/it/they) ran.’
Chi-pisa-li-tok.
Is-sa-písa-tok
‘I saw you’
‘You saw me.’
Pisa-li-tok
Ish-pisa-tok.
‘I saw (him/her/it/them)’
‘You saw (him/her/it/them)’
Sa-pisa-tok.
Chi-pisa-tok.
Pisa-tok.
‘(He/she/it/they) saw me’
‘(He/she/it/they) saw you.’
‘(He/she/it/they) saw (him/her/it/them)’
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Not all or nothing
Clitics
subject clausal enclitics, object verb suffixes
ergative enclitics, absolutive suffixes
all clitics
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Siuslaw
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Siuslaw
Subject enclitics, Object suffixes
Yaʔkʷs=ɨn
tša:qáqa-u:n.
seal=1SG.SUBJECT
spear.RDP-3OBJECT
‘I was spearing a seal.’
Frachtenberg, Leo 1914. Lower Umpqua texts and notes on the
Kusan dialect. Columbia University Contributions to
Anthropology 4. New York: Columbia University Press. 68.8.
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Pronominal Reference to Some Core Arguments
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Languages with only free pronouns
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Impressive Stability
Nearly all pronominal affix systems
already present in parent
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4. Noun Incorporation
NOUN-VERB
compounding
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Not necessary to make a verb a clause
but can reduce the number
of lexical arguments
Varying
robustness
uses
productivity
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Robust, Pervasive, Productive
Mohawk
Wahonwahró:ri’
é:ren
roia’tenhá:wiht,
wa-honwa-hrori-’
FACT-M.PL/M.SG-tell-PFV
they told him
eren
away
away
ro-ia’t-enhawi-ht
M.SG.PAT-body-carry-CAUS
he should bodily carry him
kí:ken
rahnekakà:stha’.
kiken
this
this
ra-hnek-a-ka’st-ha’
M.SG.AGT-liquid-overdo-HAB
he liquid overdoes
‘They told him to remove this drunkard.’
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NOUN-VERB
NOUN
- VERB
-ia’t-enhawiht
NOUN
 VERB STEM
=
‘body-remove’
‘remove anim physically’
=
‘liquid-overdo’
‘drink to excess’
- VERB
-hnek-ka’st
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Siouan Languages
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Pervasive but more Restricted
Lakhota
Wakšíyužažayo!
wakši-yu-žaža=yo
dish-pulling-stir.in.water=M.IMPV
‘Wash the dishes!’ = ‘Dishwash!’
Large number of NOUN-VERB compounds
Word formation device
Generic activities, recurring situations
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Lexicalization
lol-
‘pertaining to food’
lol’ígni
lol’ópȟetȟuŋ
lol’íh’aŋ
lol’íšičA
‘look for food’
‘buy groceries
‘cook (deal with food)’
‘be greedy with food’
Now no independent noun lol
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Archaic, Non-productive
Choctaw
Identifiable nouns inside of a few verbs
ok‘water/eye’
nok‘neck’
ibi-/ibak
‘nose/face’
yosh
‘hair/head’
Only ok- corresponds to independent
noun in Choctaw.
Others correspond to cognate nouns in other
Muskogean languages.
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Choctaw relics
ok-shalolih
ok-mochoolih
‘have sunken eyes’
‘close the eyes’
ok-chabaahah
ok-loboshlih
‘be thick (of liquid), viscous’
‘to sink’
ibak-tokolih
ibii-kowah
‘be blunt-nosed’
‘have a nosebleed’
yosh-bonoochih
yosh-milaalih
‘roll (hair)’
‘be totally bald’
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Noun Incorporation
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Noun incorporation constructions
can continue to evolve
to productive affixation
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Innu
Algonquian Languages
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Innu (Montagnais) Medials
Lyn Drapeau, p.c.
Matineumesheu
nutaui.
ma:tənwe:-me:š-e:w
share-fish-FIN.AI-3
n-uta:wi:
1-father
‘My father shares out fish.’
VERB-NOUN > VERB-SUFFIX
Some suffixes resemble independent nouns
others do not.
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[NOUN-VERB]V  [PREFIX-VERB]V
Navajo
Dá’ák’enáhi’niilchą́ą́’.
da’ák’e-ná-hi-’-ni-ii-l-chą́ą́’
field-back-one.after.the.other-NPFV-1DU.SUBJECT-CL-two.run.PFV
‘We two snuck back into the field.’
-l-chąą’
‘two run’
dá’ak’e-
‘field’ <
dá’ák’eh
dá’- < dą́ą́
-k’eh
‘field, cornfield’
‘food, corn’
‘place’
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Tsimshianic Languages
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[VERB-NOUN]V  [PREFIX-NOUN]V
Nisgha
ḳim- Prefix ‘buy’
ḳim-ksláw’iskʷ ‘buy a shirt’
ḳim-pó:t
‘buy a boat’
’isPrefix ‘smell of’
’is-hó:n
‘to smell of fish’
’is-lá:m
‘to smell of alcohol’
Some prefixes resemble root counterparts.
Tarpent, Marie-Lucie 1987. A grammar of the Nisgha language. Ph.D. dissertation, University
of Victoria, B.C.
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[VERB-NOUN]V  [PREFIX-NOUN]V
Nisgha
ḳim- Prefix ‘buy’
ḳim-ksláw’iskʷ ‘buy a shirt’
ḳim-pó:t
‘buy a boat’
Verb root kí:kʷ ‘buy’
’isPrefix ‘smell of’
Verb root ’iskʷ ‘stink’
’is-hó:n
‘to smell of fish’
’is-lá:m
‘to smell of alcohol’
Some prefixes resemble root counterparts.
Tarpent, Marie-Lucie 1987. A grammar of the Nisgha language. Ph.D. dissertation, University
of Victoria, B.C.
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Salishan languages
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‘Lexical’ Affixes
Lillooet, Salishan
Some specific in meaning, some abstract, general
-qs ‘nose, point, protruding part, direction’
nís-qs-am’
xát-qs-an’
ƛ’iq-qs
cuɫ-qs-ən
‘to blow one’s nose’
‘to lift up one end of a log’
‘to reach over here’ (to the tip or end of something)
‘to point a finger at someone when angry’
xat- ‘lift up’, ƛ’iq- ‘arrive here’, cuɫ- ‘point at’, etc.
Eijk, Jan van 1997. The Lillooet Language. Vancouver: University of British Columbia 95.
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Descendants of Noun Incorporation
Lexical Affixes
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Widespread Means/Manner Prefixes
Central Pomo
da-kél
ma-kél
čʰ-kél
s-kél
’-kél
š-kél
pʰ-kél
‘brush away dirt’
‘wipe feet’
‘wipe off, as a baby’s dirty face’
‘wash off’
‘clean, as pebbles out of beans before cooking’
‘pull up weeds out of lawn’
‘hoe dirt to make it look nice’
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Descendants of Noun Incorporation
Means/Manner Prefixes
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Languages with Incorporation
Or Descendants of Incorporation
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Languages with No Incorporation
and no remnants of incorporation
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5. VERB-VERB
Compounding
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Kathlamet Chinook
Hymes 1955:218
VERB-VERB
Second verb indicates direction
-i-cu
-x̣uni-pck
-ski-λx
‘go-down’ = ‘fall’
‘drift-from.water.to.shore’
‘launch-go.toward.water’
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Widespread Locative/Directional Suffixes
Central Pomo
ča-w
čá-:la-w
čá-:qač’
čá-č
čá-way
‘run’
(-w PFV)
‘run down’
‘run up’
‘run away’
‘run against hither, as whirlwind up to you’
čá-:’wa-n
čá-mli-w
čá-mač’
čá-:q’
čá-m
(-n IPFV)
‘run around here and there’
‘run around something (tree, rock, pole)’
‘run northward’
‘run by, over (on level), southward’
‘run over, on, across (as a bridge)’
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Descendants of Compounds
Locative/Directional Suffixes
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Remarkable Stability
Incorporation generally reconstructible
to parent languages
Iroquoian, Siouan, Caddoan, Kiowa-Tanoan, Muskogean families etc.
Lexical affixes generally reconstructible
Algonquian, Salishan, Wakashan, Chimakuan families etc.
Means/Manner prefixes generally reconstructible
Pomoan, Yuman-Cochiti, Palaihnihan, Chumashan, Maidun, Sahaptian,
Wappo-Yuki families, and Numic, Karuk, Yana, Washo, Klamath, Takelma
.
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6. But Areality
63
Overall
Circumstantial evidence of areal effects
but transfer rarely caught in the act
Ample elaborate morphology
But different kinds in different areas
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Why?
Morphology is distinguished by routinization.
Speakers are less conscious of parts,
less likely to replicate in another language.
What is said most often is automated
over long periods of time,
gradually resulting in fusion, erosion,
of frequently-recurring sequences.
Morphological complexity need not have spread
instantaneously, fully formed.
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What may be spread by bilingualism
are patterns of expression
earlier in the process:
areas of semantic elaboration
patterns of compounding
tendencies toward fusion and erosion
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Evidence
Parallel Patterns of Elaboration
Northwest Coast
Wakashan, Salishan, Chimakuan families
ROOT - LEXICAL SUFFIXES
California and neighboring areas of the West
across hypothesized deep genetic lines, but not all relatives
Pomoan, Yuman-Cochiti, Palaihnihan, Chumashan, Maidun, Sahaptian, WappoYuki, Uto-Aztecan families, Karuk, Yana, Washo, Klamath, Takelma
MEANS/MANNER PREFIXES
– ROOT
West
ROOT- LOCATIVE/DIRECTIONAL SUFFIXES
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Pomoan, Karuk, Shastan, Palaihnihan,, Yana, Washo, Maidun, Klamath,Sahaptian
Irrecoverable sources of affixes in core areas
but still visible compound sources
at the periphery
Uto-Aztecan NOUN-VERB compounds
with initial instruments
Chinookan VERB-VERB compounds
with final locations/directions
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7. Conclusion
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Nuanced Complexity
Gradiant and Variable
Stable
because morphology is routinization.
Affixes
are not necessarily transferred as such.
Areal
because multilinguals may transfer patterns of expression
and tendencies toward automation that underlie their development
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Mohawk Sweetgrass Basket
Ann Mitchell, basketmaker
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