Article published in:
Cross-linguistic Investigations of Nominalization Patterns
Edited by Ileana Paul
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 210] 2014
► pp. 85–118

Assigning reference in clausal nominalizations

| The University of British Columbia
Nominalizations in Blackfoot can be formed of full clauses, and depending on the properties of the clause from which the nominalization is formed, the referent of the nominalization varies. In this paper I describe the patterns of reference assignment in Blackfoot nominalizations, and develop an analysis to account for the various patterns. I demonstrate that clausal nominalizations partition according to clause type: in matrix clause nominalizations the referent is a grammatical argument (subject or object), but in subordinate clauses it is not (thematic object or oblique). I propose that reference assignment in clausal nominalizations is achieved via an agreement relation with an N feature, and that the two types of nominalizations differ with respect to where this N feature is realized.
Published online: 18 February 2014
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.210.04bli
References
Alexiadou, Artemis
2001 Functional Structure in Nominals: Nominalizations and Ergativity [Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 42]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Armoskaite, Solveiga
2011 The Destiny of Roots in Blackfoot and Lithuanian. PhD dissertation, The University of British Columbia.Google Scholar
Baker, Mark C
2011 Degrees of nominalization: Clause-like constituents in Sakha. Lingua 121: 1164-1193. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
2003 Lexical Categories: Verbs, Nouns, and Adjectives. Cambridge: CUP. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bliss, Heather
In prep. The Blackfoot Configurationality Conspiracy. PhD dissertation, The University of British Columbia.
2010 Argument structure, applicatives, and animacy in Blackfoot. In Proceedings of WSCLA 13 & 14: Workshop on the Structure and Constituency of the Languages of the Americas [UBC Working Papers in Linguistics 26], Heather Bliss & Raphael Girard (eds), 58-69. Vancouver: Univerisity of British Columbia.Google Scholar
2007 Object agreement in Blackfoot: Sentient and non-sentient controllers. In Papers of the 38th Algonquian Conference , H. Christoph Wolfart (ed.), 11-28. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press.Google Scholar
2005 Formalizing Point-of-View: The Role of Sentience in Blackfoot’s Direct/Inverse. MA thesis, University of Calgary.Google Scholar
Bliss, Heather, Ritter, Elizabeth & Wiltschko, Martina
2012 A comparative analysis of theme marking in Blackfoot and Nishnaabemwin. To appear in Papers of the 42nd Algonquian Conference , Monica Macaulay & Rand Valentine (eds). Albany NY: SUNY Press.Google Scholar
Borsley, Robert D. & Kornfilt, Jaklin
2000 Mixed extended projections. In The Nature and Function of Syntactic Categories, Robert D. Borsley (ed.), 101–131. New York NY: Academic Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bowers, John
2011 Non-event nominals and argument structure. Lingua 121: 1194-1206. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Brittain, Julie
2003 A distributed morphology account of the syntax of the Algonquian verb. In Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Canadian Linguistics Association , Sophie Burelle (ed.), 26–41. Montreal: Université du Québec à Montréal.Google Scholar
Cole, Peter
1987 The structure of internally headed relative clauses. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 5(2): 277-302. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Dayal, Veneeta
2011 Hindi pseudo-incorporation. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 29: 123-167. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Déchaine, Rose-Marie & Tremblay, Marie
2011 Deriving nominal reference. Paper presented at WECOL 2011, Vancouver BC, Simon Fraser University, November 18-20.
Déchaine, Rose-Marie & Wiltschko, Martina
2010 Micro-variation in agreement, clause-typing, and finiteness: Comparative evidence from Blackfoot and Plains Cree. To appear in Papers of the 42nd Algonquian Conference , Monica Macaulay & Rand Valentine (eds). Albany NY: SUNY Press.Google Scholar
Denny, Peter
1978 Verb class meanings of the abstract finals in Ojibway inanimate intransitive verbs. International Journal of American Linguistics 44: 294–322. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Frantz, Donald G
2009 Blackfoot Grammar, 2nd edn. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
1991 Blackfoot Grammar. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Glougie, Jennifer
2000 Topics in the Syntax and Semantics of Blackfoot Quantifiers and Nominals. MA thesis, The University of British Columbia.Google Scholar
Grimshaw, Jane
1990 Argument Structure. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.Google Scholar
Hirose, Tomio
2001 Origins of predicates: Evidence from Plains Cree. PhD dissertation, The University of British Columbia.Google Scholar
Hockett, Charles
1966 What Algonquian is really like. International Journal of American Linguistics 32: 59-73. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jany, Carmen
2011 Clausal nominalization as relativization strategy in Chimariko. International Journal of American Linguistics 77(3): 429-443. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kornfilt, Jaklin & Whitman, John
2011 Afterword: Nominalizations in syntactic theory. Lingua 121: 1297-1313. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Leiber, Rochelle
2004 Morphology and Lexical Semantics. Cambridge: CUP. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Louie, Meagan
2009 The Blackfoot ‘means’ linker iiht-. Ms, The University of British Columbia.Google Scholar
Massam, Diane
2001 Pseudo noun incorporation in Niuean. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 19(1): 153-197. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mathieu, Eric
2006 The syntax of abstract and concrete finals in Ojibwe. In Proceedings of 37th Annual Meeting of the Northeast Linguistics Society , Emily Elfner & Martin Walkow (eds). Amherst MA: GLSA.Google Scholar
Matushansky, Ora
2006 Head movement in linguistic theory. Linguistic Inquiry 37(1): 69-109. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Panagiotidis, E. Phoevos & Grohmann, Kleanthes
2009 Mixed projections: Categorial switches and prolific domains. Linguistic Analysis 35: 141-161.Google Scholar
Rhodes, Richard
2010 Relative root complement: A unique grammatical relation in Algonquian syntax. In Rara & Rarissima: Documenting the Fringes of Linguistic Diversity, Jan Wohlgemuth & Michael Cysouw (eds), 305-324. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Ritter, Elizabeth & Thomas Rosen, Sara
2008 Animacy in Blackfoot: Implications for event structure and clause structure. In Syntax, Lexical Semantics and Event Structure, Edit Doron, Ivy Sichel & Malka Rappaport-Hovav (eds). Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Ritter, Elizabeth & Wiltschko, Martina
To appear. The composition of INFL: An exploration of tense, tenseless languages, and tenseless constructions. To appear in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory.
Williams, Edwin
1981 Argument structure and morphology. The Linguistic Review 1: 81-114. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Hsieh, Henrison
2019. Distinguishing nouns and verbs. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 37:2 ► pp. 523 ff. Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 14 may 2022. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.