Deictic marking in adpositions in Ap Ma and Waran
Two neighboring languages of the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea, Ap Ma (Keram) and Waran (Ramu), exhibit an unusual structure in adpositional phrases. In both languages, all postpositions that govern nouns are obligatorily marked with deictic prefixes that indicate the position of the referent of...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Bologna
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://typologyatcrossroads.unibo.it/article/view/13575 |
| _version_ | 1797858570090315776 |
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| author | Don Killian Russell Barlow |
| author_facet | Don Killian Russell Barlow |
| author_sort | Don Killian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Two neighboring languages of the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea, Ap Ma (Keram) and Waran (Ramu), exhibit an unusual structure in adpositional phrases. In both languages, all postpositions that govern nouns are obligatorily marked with deictic prefixes that indicate the position of the referent of the NP relative to the deictic center. Both languages employ deictic morphemes that index whether a referent is near, medial, or far. In addition to having many crosslinguistically common and expected applications, these morphemes also occur as obligatory elements in adpositional phrases. This article examines the details of these unusual deictic-marked adpositional constructions, placing them in a typological context. We conclude that diachronic changes in Ap Ma phonology were likely the historical impetus for these constructions, which may have subsequently spread to Waran through contact. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T21:15:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bbae32771b7b41519d07bd14801ac7ec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2785-0943 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T21:15:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | University of Bologna |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads |
| spelling | doaj.art-bbae32771b7b41519d07bd14801ac7ec2023-03-28T10:05:08ZengUniversity of BolognaLinguistic Typology at the Crossroads2785-09432022-04-0121376410.6092/issn.2785-0943/1357511893Deictic marking in adpositions in Ap Ma and WaranDon Killian0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4012-756XRussell Barlow1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2223-5938University of HelsinkiMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyTwo neighboring languages of the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea, Ap Ma (Keram) and Waran (Ramu), exhibit an unusual structure in adpositional phrases. In both languages, all postpositions that govern nouns are obligatorily marked with deictic prefixes that indicate the position of the referent of the NP relative to the deictic center. Both languages employ deictic morphemes that index whether a referent is near, medial, or far. In addition to having many crosslinguistically common and expected applications, these morphemes also occur as obligatory elements in adpositional phrases. This article examines the details of these unusual deictic-marked adpositional constructions, placing them in a typological context. We conclude that diachronic changes in Ap Ma phonology were likely the historical impetus for these constructions, which may have subsequently spread to Waran through contact.https://typologyatcrossroads.unibo.it/article/view/13575adpositionspostpositionsdeixisdemonstrativespapuankeram-ramu |
| spellingShingle | Don Killian Russell Barlow Deictic marking in adpositions in Ap Ma and Waran Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads adpositions postpositions deixis demonstratives papuan keram-ramu |
| title | Deictic marking in adpositions in Ap Ma and Waran |
| title_full | Deictic marking in adpositions in Ap Ma and Waran |
| title_fullStr | Deictic marking in adpositions in Ap Ma and Waran |
| title_full_unstemmed | Deictic marking in adpositions in Ap Ma and Waran |
| title_short | Deictic marking in adpositions in Ap Ma and Waran |
| title_sort | deictic marking in adpositions in ap ma and waran |
| topic | adpositions postpositions deixis demonstratives papuan keram-ramu |
| url | https://typologyatcrossroads.unibo.it/article/view/13575 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT donkillian deicticmarkinginadpositionsinapmaandwaran AT russellbarlow deicticmarkinginadpositionsinapmaandwaran |