Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T12:21:58.128Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Possessive and transitive in Eskimo*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Jacob Mey
Jacob Mey
Affiliation:
The University of Texas at Austin
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to give an account of some hitherto unexplained phenomena connected with the use of the Eskimo ‘relative case’. A deep structure is proposed that not only will account for the occurrence of certain surface morphemes, but also, and in a natural way, for the semantic affinities that exist between certain types of noun phrases and the transitive sentence in Eskimo. In particular, it is shown that in phrases of the type ‘the man's house’, there exists evidence for considering ‘man’ as the subject noun phrase, ‘house’ as the object noun phrase of some deep structure. The transformational machinery involved in deriving the correct surface structures is shown in some detail. A discussion of older terminology in Eskimo grammatical tradition provides additional, indirect confirmation of the naturalness of the proposed explanation.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Linguistics , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , March 1970 , pp. 47 - 56
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1970

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bergsland, K. (1955): A Grammatical Outline of the Eskimo language of West Greenland. Oslo (mimeographed).Google Scholar
Hammerich, L. (1936). Personalendungen und Verbalsystem im Eskimoischen. Det Kgl. Danske Vidensk. Selsk. Hist.-Fil. Meddelelser XXIII, 2, Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Jacobs, R. & Rosenbaum, P. (1968). English Transformational Grammar. Waltham, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Jespersen, O. (1921). De to hovedarter af grammatiske forbindelser. Det Kgl. Danske Vidensk. Selsk. Hist.-Fil. Meddelelser IV, 3, Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Kleinschmidt, S. (1851). Grammatik der grönländischen Sprache. Berlin.Google Scholar
Mey, J. (1968). On the notion ‘To Be’ in Eskimo. Foundations of Language, Supplementary Series, 6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mey, J. (1970) (forthcoming). The Cyclic Character of Eskimo Reflexivization. AL.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mey, J. (in prep.). The Syntax of the Greenlandic: Verbal Constructions.Google Scholar
Rasmussen, Chr. (1888). Grønlandsk Sproglære. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Rosenbaum, P. (1968). English Grammar II. Report RC 2070, IBM Research, Yorktown Heights, New York.Google Scholar
Rosenbaum, P. et al. (1966). Specification and Utilization of a Transformational Grammar. Report AFCRL: 66–762, IBM Research, Yorktown Heights, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thalbitzer, W. (1911). Eskimo, in: Boas, F., Handbook of American Indian Languages. Washington, D.C.Google Scholar