Two scenarios of integration of negative
Two scenarios of integration of
negative existential into the standard
negation system:
The case of Nanai aba
Sonya Oskolskaya, Institute for Linguistic Studies RAS
(sonypolik@mail.ru)
Natalia Stoynova, Institute of the Russian Language RAS
(stoynova@yandex.ru)
1. Introduction
• The Nanai language (PST
IMPERFECTIVE >
IMPERFECTIVE=all possible readings >
all possible readings
25
с) The i
er for
of the o stru tio
affirmative: lit. I am present while seeing it – I see it o ;
negative: lit. I am absent while seeing it – I ha e ot see it .
the absence of the process in the present ~ the absence of the fact in
the past and the absence of its results in the present
d) Special position of the perfect context
Perfect is semantically intermediate between Present and Past (cf.
Comrie 1976: 52-53; Maslov 1987/2004: 426; Binnick 1991: 98-104);
The shift pro a l starts ith the i epti e-stative er s see, hear,
be.afraid etc.):
PRS: state (I see)
~ IMPERFECTIVE
PST: entry to the state (I have seen) ~ PERFECT
(cf. the aspectual classification of Nanai verbs in Oskolskaya 2017)
For such verbs the semantic reinterpretation under negation seems to
be very natural:
PRS IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECT
PST NEUTRAL
I do not see
I have not seen
I have not seen, I did not see
27
Therefore, if these assumptions are correct:
• The past tense SN-construction V-CVB.SIM(=dA) aba
emerges initially as a negative counterpart of the
imperfective V-CVB.SIM bi- (and than undergoes some
semantic and formal changes).
• It is not involved in fact in the process of «re e al» of
SN-system by means of EN-markers and it has no
potential for the next stages of Croft s cycle.
28
3.6. “i ilar ases eyo d the Croft s y le
(discussed in Veselinova 2014, 2016)
Bulgarian and Macedonian: the existential construction with
njama / nema there is no… (the frozen form of NEG + the
verb ha e expresses standard negation in the future tense.
Old Church Slavonic: the similar affirmative construction i ěti
ha e + INF with the meaning of the future tense is attested.
The future negator in Bulgarian and Macedonian is rather a
counterpart of this affirmative have-construction, so it does
not fit well in Croft s cycle.
29
4. Conclusions
• Two different types of SN constructions with the
negative existential aba in Nanai:
• a Bikin type
• an Amur type
• Both types represent stage B~C in Croft s terms.
• However they differ notably in their grammatical
nature and in the way of evolution.
30
• The Bikin aba-constructions is a more typical case of
doubling / reinforcement.
• The Amur past tense construction is more obscure and it
illustrates an extension of Croft s cycle.
• The hypothesis is that the Amur aba-construction:
• emerges legitimatel
as a counterpart of the affirmative
imperfective construction with bi- to e ,
• not due to the requirements of negation system itself,
• has no possibilities of further development within NEC.
• An interesting point: a semantic mismatch between biconstruction and aba-construction in tense-aspect domain.
References
• Auwera, J.van der. 2009. The Jespersen cycles // Gelderen, E. (Ed.) Cyclical change. Amsterdam–Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Auwera J. van der. 2010. On the diachrony of negation. Expression of Negation / Horn L. (ed.). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. P. 73–101.
Avrorin, V.A. 1961. Grammatika nanajskogo jazyka (Nanai grammar). Vol. 2. М.–L.: Nauka.
Avrorin, V.A. 1986. Materialy po nanajskomu jazyku I foljkloru (Materials on the Nanai language and folklore). L.: Nauka.
Binnick, R. I. 1991. Time and the Verb. A Guide to Tense & Aspect. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Comrie, B. 1976. Aspect. An introduction to the study of verbal aspect and related problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Croft, W. 1991. The evolution of negation // Journal of Linguistics, 27. P. 1–39.
Forker D. 2016. Toward a typology for additive markers // Lingua, 108. P. 69—100.
Jespersen, Otto. 1917. Negation in English and Other Languages. (Konelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. Historisk-filologiske
Meddelelser I,5.) Cope hage : Høst.
Maslov, Yu. S. 1987/2004. Perfective // Selected works: aspectology. General linguistics. M.: LRC. P. 426—444.
Miestamo, M. and J.van der Auwera. 2011. Negation and perfective vs. imperfective aspect // Mortelmans, J. et al. (Eds.) From now to
eternity. Cahiers Chronos, 20.
Oskolskaya, S. A. and N. M. Stoynova. 2016. Systemic and non-systemic aspects in the inventory of heterogeneous morphosyntactic means:
negation markers in the Nanai language. // Typology of the morphosyntactic parameters. Materials of the international conference. / Eds.
Konoshenko M. B., Lyutikova E. A., Tsimmerling A. V. Moscow: MSPU. P. 211—231.
Oskolskaya, S. A. 2017. Aspect in Nanai. PhD Thesis.
Schmid, M.A. 1980. Co-occurrence restrictions in negative, interrogative, and conditional clauses: A cross-linguistic study. Ph. D. Diss., State
University of New York at Buffalo.
Sem, L.I. 1976. Očerki dialektov nanajskogo jazyka. Bikinskij dialect (Sketches on Nanai dialects. The Bikin dialect). L.: Nauka.
Veselinova, L. 2013. Negative existentials: A cross linguistic study // Delia Bentley, Francesco Maria Ciconte and Silvio Cruschina (Eds.)
[Special issue] Italian Journal of Linguistics, 25(1). P. 107–145.
Veselinova, L. 2014. The Negative Existential Cycle Revisited // Linguistics, 52(6). P. 1327–1389.
Veselinova, L. 2016. The negative existential cycle viewed through the lens of comparative data // Gelderen E. Cyclical Change Continued.
Amsterdam – Philadelphia: John Benjamins. P. 139—187.
32
Abbreviations
1, 2, 3 — 1, 2, 3 person; ACC — accusative; ASS — associative plurality;
COLL — collective; CVB — converb; DAT — dative; DIR — directive;
EMPH — emphatic; EN — existential negation; EXNEG — negative
existential; IMP — imperative; INCH — inchoative; INF — infinitive;
INS — instrumental; IPFV — imperfective; NEG — negative; NSIM —
non-simultaneous; OBL — oblique; P — possessive; PL — plural; PST —
past; PURP — purposive; QUOT — quotative; REFL — reflexive; REP —
repetitive; SBJV — subjunctive; SG — singular; SIM — simultaneous;
SN — standard negation; V — verb; VBLZ — verbalizer.
33
negative existential into the standard
negation system:
The case of Nanai aba
Sonya Oskolskaya, Institute for Linguistic Studies RAS
(sonypolik@mail.ru)
Natalia Stoynova, Institute of the Russian Language RAS
(stoynova@yandex.ru)
1. Introduction
• The Nanai language (PST
IMPERFECTIVE >
IMPERFECTIVE=all possible readings >
all possible readings
25
с) The i
er for
of the o stru tio
affirmative: lit. I am present while seeing it – I see it o ;
negative: lit. I am absent while seeing it – I ha e ot see it .
the absence of the process in the present ~ the absence of the fact in
the past and the absence of its results in the present
d) Special position of the perfect context
Perfect is semantically intermediate between Present and Past (cf.
Comrie 1976: 52-53; Maslov 1987/2004: 426; Binnick 1991: 98-104);
The shift pro a l starts ith the i epti e-stative er s see, hear,
be.afraid etc.):
PRS: state (I see)
~ IMPERFECTIVE
PST: entry to the state (I have seen) ~ PERFECT
(cf. the aspectual classification of Nanai verbs in Oskolskaya 2017)
For such verbs the semantic reinterpretation under negation seems to
be very natural:
PRS IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECT
PST NEUTRAL
I do not see
I have not seen
I have not seen, I did not see
27
Therefore, if these assumptions are correct:
• The past tense SN-construction V-CVB.SIM(=dA) aba
emerges initially as a negative counterpart of the
imperfective V-CVB.SIM bi- (and than undergoes some
semantic and formal changes).
• It is not involved in fact in the process of «re e al» of
SN-system by means of EN-markers and it has no
potential for the next stages of Croft s cycle.
28
3.6. “i ilar ases eyo d the Croft s y le
(discussed in Veselinova 2014, 2016)
Bulgarian and Macedonian: the existential construction with
njama / nema there is no… (the frozen form of NEG + the
verb ha e expresses standard negation in the future tense.
Old Church Slavonic: the similar affirmative construction i ěti
ha e + INF with the meaning of the future tense is attested.
The future negator in Bulgarian and Macedonian is rather a
counterpart of this affirmative have-construction, so it does
not fit well in Croft s cycle.
29
4. Conclusions
• Two different types of SN constructions with the
negative existential aba in Nanai:
• a Bikin type
• an Amur type
• Both types represent stage B~C in Croft s terms.
• However they differ notably in their grammatical
nature and in the way of evolution.
30
• The Bikin aba-constructions is a more typical case of
doubling / reinforcement.
• The Amur past tense construction is more obscure and it
illustrates an extension of Croft s cycle.
• The hypothesis is that the Amur aba-construction:
• emerges legitimatel
as a counterpart of the affirmative
imperfective construction with bi- to e ,
• not due to the requirements of negation system itself,
• has no possibilities of further development within NEC.
• An interesting point: a semantic mismatch between biconstruction and aba-construction in tense-aspect domain.
References
• Auwera, J.van der. 2009. The Jespersen cycles // Gelderen, E. (Ed.) Cyclical change. Amsterdam–Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Auwera J. van der. 2010. On the diachrony of negation. Expression of Negation / Horn L. (ed.). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. P. 73–101.
Avrorin, V.A. 1961. Grammatika nanajskogo jazyka (Nanai grammar). Vol. 2. М.–L.: Nauka.
Avrorin, V.A. 1986. Materialy po nanajskomu jazyku I foljkloru (Materials on the Nanai language and folklore). L.: Nauka.
Binnick, R. I. 1991. Time and the Verb. A Guide to Tense & Aspect. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Comrie, B. 1976. Aspect. An introduction to the study of verbal aspect and related problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Croft, W. 1991. The evolution of negation // Journal of Linguistics, 27. P. 1–39.
Forker D. 2016. Toward a typology for additive markers // Lingua, 108. P. 69—100.
Jespersen, Otto. 1917. Negation in English and Other Languages. (Konelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. Historisk-filologiske
Meddelelser I,5.) Cope hage : Høst.
Maslov, Yu. S. 1987/2004. Perfective // Selected works: aspectology. General linguistics. M.: LRC. P. 426—444.
Miestamo, M. and J.van der Auwera. 2011. Negation and perfective vs. imperfective aspect // Mortelmans, J. et al. (Eds.) From now to
eternity. Cahiers Chronos, 20.
Oskolskaya, S. A. and N. M. Stoynova. 2016. Systemic and non-systemic aspects in the inventory of heterogeneous morphosyntactic means:
negation markers in the Nanai language. // Typology of the morphosyntactic parameters. Materials of the international conference. / Eds.
Konoshenko M. B., Lyutikova E. A., Tsimmerling A. V. Moscow: MSPU. P. 211—231.
Oskolskaya, S. A. 2017. Aspect in Nanai. PhD Thesis.
Schmid, M.A. 1980. Co-occurrence restrictions in negative, interrogative, and conditional clauses: A cross-linguistic study. Ph. D. Diss., State
University of New York at Buffalo.
Sem, L.I. 1976. Očerki dialektov nanajskogo jazyka. Bikinskij dialect (Sketches on Nanai dialects. The Bikin dialect). L.: Nauka.
Veselinova, L. 2013. Negative existentials: A cross linguistic study // Delia Bentley, Francesco Maria Ciconte and Silvio Cruschina (Eds.)
[Special issue] Italian Journal of Linguistics, 25(1). P. 107–145.
Veselinova, L. 2014. The Negative Existential Cycle Revisited // Linguistics, 52(6). P. 1327–1389.
Veselinova, L. 2016. The negative existential cycle viewed through the lens of comparative data // Gelderen E. Cyclical Change Continued.
Amsterdam – Philadelphia: John Benjamins. P. 139—187.
32
Abbreviations
1, 2, 3 — 1, 2, 3 person; ACC — accusative; ASS — associative plurality;
COLL — collective; CVB — converb; DAT — dative; DIR — directive;
EMPH — emphatic; EN — existential negation; EXNEG — negative
existential; IMP — imperative; INCH — inchoative; INF — infinitive;
INS — instrumental; IPFV — imperfective; NEG — negative; NSIM —
non-simultaneous; OBL — oblique; P — possessive; PL — plural; PST —
past; PURP — purposive; QUOT — quotative; REFL — reflexive; REP —
repetitive; SBJV — subjunctive; SG — singular; SIM — simultaneous;
SN — standard negation; V — verb; VBLZ — verbalizer.
33