Transfer and applicative constructions in Gunwinyguan languages
(non-Pama-Nyungan, Australia)
Maïa Ponsonnet | The University of Sydney, Centre of Excellence for
the Dynamics of Language
This article describes the syntax and semantics of benefactive and
comitative constructions in Dalabon, a Gunwinyguan language of
Australia (non-Pama-Nyungan). After having described the respective
subcategorisation operations and meanings of each of these
constructions, I show that the criterion for using benefactive
constructions is the animacy of the benefactive participant, whereas
the criterion for using comitative constructions is the semantic role
of the argument: the Dalabon comitative marker selects arguments
with typical “comitative” meaning (accompaniment and instrument). In
addition, I show that the comitative construction has developed a
cross-linguistically unusual semantic extension towards the notion
of transfer. When combined with verbs of attainment (‘get’, ‘pull’,
etc.), Dalabon comitative constructions express malefactive transfer
(or removal, i.e. the opposite of giving). Comparing Dalabon with
neighbouring languages of the same family reveals that this
extension is not limited to the Dalabon language, but also occurs in
Bininj Gun-wok and Rembarrnga, including with comitative markers
that are not cognate with the Dalabon marker. In addition, the
Dalabon comitative constructions can also express the transfer of
contents of communication with verbs meaning ‘tell’ or ‘ask’, an
extension that is not attested in Bininj Gun-wok or Rembarrnga.
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