This study describes and compares two conventionalized uses of interjections in traditional narratives in Chuvash (Turkic) and Wan (Mande). First, interjections are shown to be associated with a quotative function: they help signal instances of reported speech. The use of interjections interacts… read more
This study presents a typology of existing approaches to logophoricity and discusses problems the different approaches face. It addresses, in particular, perspective-based accounts describing constructions with logophoric pronouns in terms of their intermediate position on the direct-indirect… read more
Wan makes use of a bidirectional case marker that does not attach to either the subject or the object but serves to separate core arguments that would otherwise be adjacent. The use of this optional marker depends on factors that are known to condition alignment splits in other languages (such as… read more
The study addresses the diachronic relationship between locative marking and the marking of goals and sources of motion. In ancient Indo-European languages, and in some modern ones, static spatial relations can be described by means of inherently dynamic expressions, which are normally used for… read more
This chapter explores diachronic evidence from Ancient Greek as a source of data on the categorization of motion verbs. Over its recorded history, Ancient Greek undergoes a change in the dominant goal-encoding strategy: from Homer to Classical Greek, it gradually develops into a consistently… read more
In Russian, as in a typical satellite-framed language, endpoints of motion are usually introduced by specialized directional PPs (such as combinations of a preposition with the accusative case). With a small set of verbs, however, the endpoint of motion can instead be introduced by locational PPs.… read more
In the study of word order typology, the SOVX word order pattern of Mande is often viewed as exceptional and explained diachronically as a “type in transition”. This paper argues against that view based on analysis of the sentence structure of Wan (Southeastern Mande). I show that the SOVX word… read more