Cover not available
Part of
Valence Changes in Zapotec: Synchrony, diachrony, typology
Edited by Natalie Operstein and Aaron Huey Sonnenschein
[Typological Studies in Language 110] 2015
► pp. 345–380

Chapter 16. Valence change

General and Zapotec perspectives

| University of Helsinki

Valence comprises the number of arguments a verb (maximally) takes. Valence is not an invariable notion, but the valence of verbs may be either increased (e.g. causative) or decreased (passive) by modifying the verbal morphology. In this chapter, an overview of the central valence changing operations will be given from both a general perspective and the perspective of Zapotec languages. First, both valence increase and decrease will be illustrated in light of numerous examples from different languages. This will be followed by an examination of the valence change in Zapotec languages. Special attention will be paid to those properties of Zapotec languages that can be seen as intriguing from a cross-linguistic perspective. These comprise, e.g. the high number of causatives, the lack of passive in most Zapotec languages, and the recursive marking of valence change.

Published online: 16 December 2015
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.110.16kit
References
Amberber, Mengistu
2002 Verb Classes and Transitivity in Amharic. Munich: Lincom.Google Scholar
Austin, Peter K
1982 Transitivity and cognate objects in Australian languages. In Studies in Transitivity, Paul J. Hopper & Sandra A. Thompson (eds), 37-47. New York NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Beam de Azcona, Rosemary
2004 A Coatlán-Loxicha Zapotec Grammar. PhD dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.
Bugenhagen, Robert D
1995 A Grammar of Mangap-Mbula: An Austonesian Language of Papua New Guinea. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.Google Scholar
Cole, Peter
1983 The grammatical role of the causee in universal grammar. International Journal of American Linguistics 49: 115-133. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Comrie, Bernard
1973 The ergative: Variations on a theme. Lingua 32: 239-253. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1975 Causatives and universal grammar. Transactions of the Philological Society 1974: 1-32.Google Scholar
Crowley, Terry
1983 Uradhi. In The Handbook of Australian Languages, Vol. III, R.M.W. Dixon & Barry J. Blake (eds), 307-430. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Davis, Karen
2003 A Grammar of the Hoava Language, Western Solomons. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.Google Scholar
Van de Kerke, Simon
1998 Verb formation in Leko: causatives, reflexives and reciprocals. In Typology of Verbal Categories. Papers Presented to Vladimir Nedjalkov on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday, Leonid Kulikov & Heinz Vater (eds), 195‑203. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
van den Berg, Helma
1995 Hunzib. Munich: Lincom.Google Scholar
van der Voort, Hein
2004 A Grammar of Kwaza. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dixon, Robert M.W
1994 Ergativity. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2000 A typology of causatives: Form, syntax and meaning. In Changing Valence: Case Studies in Transitivity, Robert M.W. Dixon & Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald (eds), 30-83. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dixon, Robert M.W. & Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y
2000 Introduction. In Changing Valence: Case Studies in Transitivity, Robert M.W. Dixon & Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald (eds), 1-29. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Donohue, Mark
1999a Warembori. Munich: Lincom.Google Scholar
1999b A Grammar of Tukang Besi. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dubinsky, Stanley, Lloret, Maria-Rose & Newman, Paul
1988 Lexical and syntactic causatives in Oromo. Language 64: 485–500. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Everett, Daniel L
1986 Pirahã. In Handbook of Amazonian Languages, Vol. I, Desmond C. Derbyshire & Geoffrey K. Pullum (eds), 200-325. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Foley, William A. & Van Valin, Robert D. Jr
1985 Information packaging in the clause. In Language Typology and Syntactic Description, Vol. I: Clause Structure, Timothy Shopen (ed), 282-364. Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar
Foreman, John
2006 The Morphosyntax of Subjects in Macuiltianguis Zapotec. PhD dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles
Haspelmath, Martin
1993 More on the typology of inchoative/causative verb alternations. In Causatives and Transitivity [Studies in Language Companion Series 23], Bernard Comrie & Maria Polinsky (eds), 87-120. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kemmer, Suzanne
1993 Middle Voice [Typological Studies in Language 23]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kibrik, Andrej A
1996 Transitivity in lexicon and grammar. Godoberi, Alexandr E. Kibrik (ed), 107–146. Munich: Lincom.Google Scholar
Kittilä, Seppo
2005 Remarks on involuntary agent constructions. Word 56: 377–413. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2007 A typology of tritransitives. Alignment types and motivations. Linguistics 45: 455–508. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2009 Causative morphemes as non-valence increasing devices. Folia Linguistica 43: 67-94. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2013 Causative morphemes as de-transitivizing mechanisms. What do non-canonical instances reveal about causation and causativization? Folia Linguistica 47: 113-138.Google Scholar
Kulikov, Leonid I
1993 The “second causative”: a typological sketch. In Causatives and Transitivity [Studies in Language Companion Series 23], Bernard Comrie & Maria Polinsky (eds), 121–154. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lyman Boulden, Hilario
2007 Gramática popular del zapoteco de Comaltepec, Choapan, Oaxaca. México DF: Summer Institute of Linguistics.Google Scholar
Maran, Raw La & Clifton, John M
1976 The causative mechanism in Jinghpaw. In Syntax and Semantics, Vol. 6: The Grammar of Causative Constructions, Masayoshi Shibatani (ed), 443-458. New York NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Marks, Donna Louise
1976 Zapotec Verb Morphology: Categories and Tonomechanics with Special Attention to Sierra Juarez Zapotec. MA thesis, University of Texas at Arlington.
Nedjalkov, Vladimir P
(ed) 2007 Reciprocal Constructions [Typological Studies in Language 71]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nedjalkov, Igor V. & Nedjalkov, Vladimir P
1988 Stative, resultative, passive and perfect in Evenki. In Typology of Resultative Constructions, Vladimir P. Nedjalkov (ed), 241-257. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Peterson, David
2007 Applicative Constructions. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Shibatani, Masayoshi
1985 Passives and related constructions. A prototype analysis. Language 61: 821-848. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shibatani, Masayoshi & Prashant, Pardeshi
2002 Causative continuum. In The Grammar of Causation and Interpersonal Manipulation [Typological Studies in Language 48], Masayoshi Shibatani (ed.), 85-126. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shopen, Timothy & Konaré, M
1970 Sonrai causatives and passives: Transformational versus lexical derivations for propositional heads. Studies in African Linguistics 1: 211–254.Google Scholar
Siewierska, Anna
1984 The Passive: A Comparative Linguistic Analysis. London: Croom Helm.Google Scholar
2008 Passive constructions. In The World Atlas of Language Structures Online, Matthew S. Dryer & Martin Haspelmath (eds), Ch. 107. Munich: Max Planck Digital Library. [URL]Google Scholar
Smith Stark, Thomas C
1999 Cambios de valencia en el zapoteco de Chichicapan. PDLMA handout.
2002 Las clases verbales del zapoteco de Chichicapan. Memorias del VI Encuentro Internacional de Lingüística en el Noroeste, Vol. 2, Zarina Estrada Fernández & Rosa María Ortiz Ciscomani (eds), 166-212. Hermosillo: University of Sonora.Google Scholar
Song, Jae Jung
1996 Causatives and Causation. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Speck, Charles H
1978 The Phonology of Texmelucan Zapotec Verb Irregularity. MA thesis, University of North Dakota.
Svantesson, Jan-Olof
1983 Kammu Phonology and Morphology. Lund: University of Lund.Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Beam de Azcona, Rosemary G.
2023. The historical dialectology of stative morphology in Zapotecan. Journal of Historical Linguistics 13:1 ► pp. 115 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 21 april 2024. 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.