Existential predication in Hamar
This paper analyzes predicative constructions expressing location, existence and possession in Hamar, a South Omotic language spoken in South-West Ethiopia. The semantic domain location-existence-possession is conveyed in Hamar by one and the same lexeme, but in different constructions. The distinc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nordic Africa Research Network
2019-12-01
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| Series: | Nordic Journal of African Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.njas.fi/njas/article/view/461 |
| _version_ | 1797697107523534848 |
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| author | Sara Petrollino |
| author_facet | Sara Petrollino |
| author_sort | Sara Petrollino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
This paper analyzes predicative constructions expressing location, existence and possession in Hamar, a South Omotic language spoken in South-West Ethiopia. The semantic domain location-existence-possession is conveyed in Hamar by one and the same lexeme, but in different constructions. The distinction between location and existence in particular is expressed by variation in the syntax and information structure, reflecting the different conceptualization and perspectivization of the abstract relation between a figure and a ground. The semantic and syntactic properties of these constructions are analyzed and compared to the findings of Creissels’ typology of “inverse locational predication” (2013) and Koch’s constructional typology (2012). The analysis of existential predication in Hamar confirms that there is a contrast between the languages of the Sudanic belt and those of North Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa (Creissels 2018a; 2019), and it suggests that Hamar, like other Afro-Asiatic languages (Koch 2012:585), belongs to languages which do not express informational salience, nor propositional salience. A closer look however reveals that Hamar existential constructions display special morpho-syntactic features: the different conceptualization of the figure-ground relationship is encoded not only by means of word order alternations, but also by means of gender marking on the figure and the ground, and different aspectual marking on the predicator.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:35:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3bffdb0b03ac4987b6427f024f8898a6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1459-9465 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:35:33Z |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | Nordic Africa Research Network |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordic Journal of African Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-3bffdb0b03ac4987b6427f024f8898a62023-09-03T13:15:31ZengNordic Africa Research NetworkNordic Journal of African Studies1459-94652019-12-0128410.53228/njas.v28i4.461Existential predication in HamarSara Petrollino0Leiden University Centre for Linguistics This paper analyzes predicative constructions expressing location, existence and possession in Hamar, a South Omotic language spoken in South-West Ethiopia. The semantic domain location-existence-possession is conveyed in Hamar by one and the same lexeme, but in different constructions. The distinction between location and existence in particular is expressed by variation in the syntax and information structure, reflecting the different conceptualization and perspectivization of the abstract relation between a figure and a ground. The semantic and syntactic properties of these constructions are analyzed and compared to the findings of Creissels’ typology of “inverse locational predication” (2013) and Koch’s constructional typology (2012). The analysis of existential predication in Hamar confirms that there is a contrast between the languages of the Sudanic belt and those of North Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa (Creissels 2018a; 2019), and it suggests that Hamar, like other Afro-Asiatic languages (Koch 2012:585), belongs to languages which do not express informational salience, nor propositional salience. A closer look however reveals that Hamar existential constructions display special morpho-syntactic features: the different conceptualization of the figure-ground relationship is encoded not only by means of word order alternations, but also by means of gender marking on the figure and the ground, and different aspectual marking on the predicator. https://www.njas.fi/njas/article/view/461omoticexistenceinformation structuregender |
| spellingShingle | Sara Petrollino Existential predication in Hamar Nordic Journal of African Studies omotic existence information structure gender |
| title | Existential predication in Hamar |
| title_full | Existential predication in Hamar |
| title_fullStr | Existential predication in Hamar |
| title_full_unstemmed | Existential predication in Hamar |
| title_short | Existential predication in Hamar |
| title_sort | existential predication in hamar |
| topic | omotic existence information structure gender |
| url | https://www.njas.fi/njas/article/view/461 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sarapetrollino existentialpredicationinhamar |