Cover not available
Part of
Verb Valency Changes: Theoretical and typological perspectives
Edited by Albert Álvarez González and Ia Navarro
[Typological Studies in Language 120] 2017
► pp. 285–304

Valency-decreasing operations in a valency-increasing language?

| National Research University Higher School of Economics
| National Research University Higher School of Economics
This paper surveys valency-changing operations in West Circassian (Adyghe), a polysynthetic language of the Northwest Caucasian family. This language has an amazing number of means to increase valency, which include various kinds of applicativization and causativization. In this paper we also present processes which may look valency-decreasing and argue that they do not necessarily remove arguments, even though some of them change transitivity. This implies, in particular, the need for distinguishing between valency change and transitivity change.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background on West Circassian
  • 3.Valency increase
    • 3.1Applicatives
    • 3.2Causatives
    • 3.3Summary
  • 4.Valency decrease?
    • 4.1Anticausatives
    • 4.2Agent suppression without detransitivization
      • 4.2.1Resultative forms
      • 4.2.2Facilitive and dificilitive
    • 4.3Means of detransitivization
    • 4.4Antipassive-like constructions
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 30 September 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.120.11lan
References (49)
References
Aikhenvald Alexandra Y., Dixon, Robert M. W. & Onishi, Masayuki (eds). 2001. Non-canonical Marking of Subjects and Objects [Typological Studies in Language 46]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Arkadiev, Peter & Letuchiy, Alexander. 2008. Derivacii antipassivnoj zony v adygejskom jazyke. In Issledovanija po otglagol’noj derivacii, Vladimir A. Plungian & Sergei G. Tatevosov (eds), 77–102. Moscow: Jazyki slavjanskix kul’tur.Google Scholar
. 2012. “Indirect” antipassive in Circassian. Paper presented at Syntax of the World’s Languages V, Dubrovnik.
Baker, Mark C. 1996. The Polysynthesis Parameter. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Bhaskararao, Peri & Subbarao, Karumuri Venkata (eds). 2004. Non-nominative Subjects [Typological Studies in Language 60–61], 2 vols. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Caponigro, Ivan & Polinsky, Maria. 2011. Relative embeddings: A Circassian puzzle for the syntax/semantics interface. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 29(1): 71–122. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Comrie, Bernard. 2006. Transitivitiy pairs, markedness, and diachronic stability. Linguistics 44(2): 303–318. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dixon, Robert M. W. 1979. Ergativity. Language 55(1): 59–138. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dixon, Robert M. W. & Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. 2000. Introduction. In Changing Valency: Case Studies in Transitivity, Robert M. W. Dixon & Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald (eds), 1–29. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fell, Brian. 2012. Applicatives and incorporation in Ubykh. SKY Journal of Linguistics 25: 61–92.Google Scholar
Fortescue Michael D. 1994. Polysynthetic morphology. In Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, Ronald E. Asher et al. (eds), 2601–2602. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
2007. The typological position and theoretical status of polysynthesis. In Linguistic Typology, Jan Rijkhoff (ed), 1–27. Еrhus: Statsbiblioteket Tidsskrift for Sprogforskning.Google Scholar
Geniušienė, Emma. 1987. The Typology of Reflexives. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Haspelmath, Martin & Müller-Bardey, Thomas. 2004. Valency change. In Morphology: A Handbook on Inflection and Word Formation, Vol. 2, Geert Booij, Christian Lehmann & Joachim Mugdan (eds), 1130–1145. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Helmbrecht, Johannes. 2008. Decay and loss of applicatives in Siouan languages: A grammaticalization perspective. In Studies on Grammaticalization, Elisabeth Verhoeven, Stavros Skopeteas, Yong-Min Shin, Yoko Nishina & Johannes Helmbrecht (eds), 135–155. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Hewitt, George. 2005. North West Caucasian. Lingua 115: 91–145. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
de Hoop, Helen & de Swart, Peter (eds). 2008. Differential Subject Marking. Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar
Hopper, Paul J. & Thompson, Sandra A. 1980. Transitivity in grammar and discourse. Language 56(2): 251–299. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kemmer, Susanne E. 1993. The Middle Voice [Typological Studies in Language 23] Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kumakhov, Mukhadin A. 1964. Morfologija adygskix jazykov, Sinxronno-diaxronnaja xarakteristika. I. Nal’chik: Kabardino-Balkarskoe knozhnoe izdatel’stvo.Google Scholar
Kumakhov, Mukhadin A. 1981. Sravnitel’no-istoričeskaja fonetika adygskix (čerkesskix) jazykov. Moscow: Nauka.Google Scholar
Kumakhov, Mukhadin & Vamling, Karina. 2009. Circassian Clause Structure. Malmö: Malmö University.Google Scholar
Kumakhov, Mukhadin, Vamling, Karina & Kumakhova, Zara. 1996. Ergative case in the Circassian languages. Working Papers 45: 93–111. Lund: Lund University, Dept. of Linguistics.Google Scholar
Lander, Yury. 2009. Subject properties of the Adyghe absolutive: Evidence from relatives. Ms.Google Scholar
. 2015. Aktanty i sirkonstanty v morfologii i v sintaksise adygejskogo jazyka. Vestnik RGGU: ser. Istorija. Filologija. Kul’turologija. Vostokovedenie 1: 7–31.Google Scholar
. 2016. Adyghe. In Word Formation, An International Handbook of the Languages of Europe, Vol. 5, Peter O. Müller, Ingeborg Ohnheiser, Susan Olsen & Franz Rainer (eds), 3508–3527. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2017. Nominal complex in West Circassian: Between morphology and syntax. Studies in Language 41(1): 76–98.Google Scholar
Lander, Yury & Letuchiy, Alexander. 2010. Kinds of recursion in Adyghe morphology. In Recursion and Human Language, Harry van der Hulst (ed.), 263–284. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lander, Yury & Testelets, Yakov. 2006. Nouniness and specificity: Circassian and Wakashan. Paper presented at the conference on Universality and Particularity in Parts-of-Speech Systems, University of Amsterdam.
. To appear. In The Oxford Handbook of Polysynthesis, Michael Fortescue, Nicholas Evans & Marianne Mithun (eds). Oxford: OUP.
Lander, Yury & Vydrin, Arseniy. 2010. Nekanoničeskoe markirovanie subjekta situacii v jazykax Severnogo Kavkaza: modal’nye konstrukcii. Ms.Google Scholar
Lehmann, Christian & Verhoeven, Elisabeth. 2006. Extraversive transitivization in Yucatec Maya and the nature of the applicative. In Case, Valency and Transitivity [Studies in Language Companion Series 77], Leonid Kulikov, Andrej Malchukov & Peter de Swart (eds), 465–493. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Letuchiy, Alexander. 2007. Reciprocals, reflexives, comitatives, and sociatives in Adyghe. In Reciprocal Constructions [Typological Studies in Language 71], Vol. 2, Vladimir P. Nedjalkov (ed.), 773–811. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2009. Kauzativ, dekauzativ i labil’nost’. In Aspekty polisintetizma: očerki po grammatike adygejskogo jazyka, Yakov G. Testelets (ed.), 372–428. Moscow: RGGU.Google Scholar
. 2012. Ergativity in the Adyghe system of valency-changing derivations. In Ergativity, Valency and Voice, Gilles Authier & Katharina Haude (eds), 323–354. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2013. Verb classes in Adyghe: Derivational vs. nonderivational criteria. Linguistics 51(4): 729–766. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2015. The causative derivation and ordering of morphosyntactic operations in Adyghe. In Affix Ordering Across Languages and Frameworks, Stela Manova (ed.), 53–81. Oxford: OUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nedjalkov, Vladimir P. 2001. Resultative constructions. In Language Typology and Language Universals: An International HandbookVol. 2, Martin Haspelmath, Ekkehard König, Wulf Oesterreicher & Wolfgang Raible (eds), 928–940. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Nedjalkov, Vladimir P. & Jaxontov, Sergej Je. 1988. The typology of resultative constructions. In Typology of Resultative Constructions [Typological Studies in Language 12], Vladimir P. Nedjalkov (ed.), 3–62. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nichols, Johanna, Peterson, David A. & Barnes, Jonathan. 2004. Transitivizing and detransitivizing languages. Linguistic Typology 8(2): 149–211. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
O’Herin, Brian. 2001. Abaza applicatives. Language 77(3): 477–493. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paris, Catherine. 1985. Relations actancielles et valence verbale en avar: Effacement de l’actant et mise au jour du sens. Actances 1: 135–153.Google Scholar
. 1987. Comment sont remplies en tcherkesse les fonctions dévolues dans dʹautres langues aux variations de diathèse. Actances 3: 14–72.Google Scholar
. 1989. Esquisse grammaticale du dialecte abzakh (tcherkesse occidental). In The Indigenous Languages of the Caucasus, Vol. 2: The North West Caucasian Languages, B. George Hewitt (ed.), 154–260 New York: Caravan.Google Scholar
Peterson, David A. 2007. Applicative Constructions. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Polinsky, Maria. 2005. Antipassive constructions. In The World Atlas of Language Structures, Martin Haspelmath, Matthew S. Dryer, David Gill & Bernard Comrie (eds), 438–441. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Rogava, Georgi V. & Kerasheva, Zaynab I. 1966. Grammatika adygejskogo jazyka. Krasnodar/Maykop: Krasnodarskoe knižnoe izdatelʼstvo.Google Scholar
Smeets, Rieks. 1984. Studies in West Circassian Phonology and Morphology. Leiden: The Hakuchi Press.Google Scholar
Smeets, Rieks. 1992. On valencies, actants and actant coding in Circassian. In Caucasian Perspectives, B. George Hewitt (ed), 98–144. Munich: Lincom.Google Scholar
Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Lander, Yury & Michael Daniel
2019. West Caucasian relative pronouns as resumptives. Linguistics 57:6 ► pp. 1239 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 25 july 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.