[TACOL] Jesse HANCOCK-TEED │ “The Trans-Mississippian Hypothesis as it Stands Today”

2024 Sep, 18

Séminaire Terrains, Analyse et COmparaison des Langues (TACOL)

The next session of our TACOL seminar will take place on Tuesday, october 08 at 2:30 pm, on site (meeting room 311, CNRS Villejuif Campus) and on Zoom.

We will have the pleasure to listen to Jesse Hancock-Teed (Universität Bern).

Title of talk:

“The Trans-Mississippian Hypothesis as it Stands Today”

Abstract:

Since at least as early as Sapir (1929), there has been a tradition in the literature arguing that the Iroquoian (iroq1247) and Caddoan (cadd1255) families are genealogically related. Most famously, this grouping was assumed to be a primary sub-branch of the Macro-Siouan hypothesis of Chafe (1976). In the intervening half-century there has been a descriptive and documentary revolution in both Iroquoian and Caddoan linguistics, with most Iroquoian and some Caddoan languages now having basic descriptive materials. In response to that work, the theory was taken up again by Hancock-Teed (2022) and Hancock-Mac Tamhais (2024) where it was named the “Trans-Mississippian Hypothesis.” This presentation will provide a state of the art overview of the hypothesis as it stands today.
The Trans-Mississippian hypothesis rests on around sixty core lexical cognates showing regular sound changes. Building on these correspondences, the talk turns to case studies in the reconstruction of the verbal complex. Particular attention will be paid to the pronominal prefixes, aspectual marking, and derivational suffixes. The talk will close with a forward looking view on the structure of Proto-Trans-Mississippian predicate syntax by proposing that the well-known polysynthetic verbal complexes of the Iroquoian and Caddoan languages were not yet developed by the break up of the proto-language.

References

Chafe, Wallace L. 1976. The Caddoan, Iroquoian, and Siouan Languages. Vol. State-of-the-Art Reports 3 (Trends in Linguistics). The Hague: The Netherlands: Mouton.
Hancock-Mac Tamhais, J Drew. 2024. Reconstructing the Proto-Trans-Mississippian Pronominal Prefixes. Bismark: USA.
Hancock-Teed, J Drew. 2022. Revisiting Iroquoian and Caddoan: Preliminary Comparison from Inflectional and Derivational Morphology. Charlottesville: USA.
Sapir, Edward. 1929. Central and North American Languages. Encyclopedia Britannica.

For further information, please contact Lameen Souag

Ecole d’été │ Summer school : FieldLing 2024

2024 Sep, 4

Dear colleagues, dear students, the 16th edition of FieldLing will take place on September 2-6, 2024, at the INALCO, Paris.

FieldLing, the International School in Linguistic Fieldwork, is at present the only regular intensive training program in France preparing students to study theories and methods for language description through fieldwork. FieldLing introduces students to the complexity of scientific and ethical issues relevant to linguistic fieldwork, and to the technological tools that facilitate it. An assiduity attestation will be delivered at the end of the school.

FieldLing is an introduction to linguistic fieldwork. It aims primarily at Master and doctoral students in General Linguistics, but may also be interesting to students in anthropology and other social sciences planning to do fieldwork. Researchers and lecturers are also welcome. Fieldling is included in the studies program of INALCO and Sorbonne Nouvelle University.

FieldLing is organised by four laboratories. Three of them are attached to Labex EFL: LLACAN (UMR 8135, INALCO, CNRS), SeDyL (UMR 8202, INALCO, CNRS, IRD), and LACITO (UMR 7107, Sorbonne Nouvelle, INALCO, CNRS). One is attached to the National Museum of Natural History: EA (UMR 7206, MNHN, University Paris City, CNRS). FieldLing reveived financial support from the Doctoral school of the INALCO (Code EC INALCO: SDLA520b), PARIS 3, the Labex EFL, the SeDyL, and the LLACAN.

The preliminary schedule includes training sessions on general linguistics (e.g., morphosyntax and typology), fieldwork preparation (e.g., stimuli and recording), fieldwork itself (practice sessions with native speakers of different languages), and data structuring (e.g., how to write a dictionary or a grammar). Additional information will be uploaded in the incoming months, please connect regularly to follow our latest update.

NB: Please register at https://fieldling.sciencesconf.org/registration (you will need to open an account). Do not forget to upload your CV at https://fieldling.sciencesconf.org/user/submissions (the link is also included in the registration form. The page mentions ‘abstract’, but please upload your CV there instead). Registrations without CVs will not be evaluated. The results will be sent two weeks after the closing of the upload period.

Registration: From the 31st of March to the 11th of June 2024. The results will be communicated end of June.

Finance: No registration fee. Lunch and coffee break are provided. Participants are in charge of their own travel and accomodation expenses.

Please refer to our official website for additional information. Contact us fieldling@sciencesconf.org.

The languages of the summer school are English and French. Knowledge of both languages is recommended.

Cher.e.s collègues, cher.e.s étudiants.e.s, la 16e édition de FieldLing (International School in Linguistic Fieldwork, séminaire d’initiation à la linguistique de terrain) aura lieu du 02 au 06 septembre 2024.

Le FieldLing, International School in Linguistic Fieldwork, est à ce jour la seule formation intensive régulière existant en France pour préparer des étudiants à l’étude des théories et des méthodologies impliquées par la description de langues au moyen de l’enquête de terrain. Le FieldLing se propose en particulier d’introduire les étudiants à la complexité des enjeux scientifiques et éthiques du travail de terrain en linguistique, ainsi qu’aux outils technologiques couramment utilisés dans la pratique de cette activité. Une attestation d’assiduité est délivrée en fin d’école.

FieldLing est une introduction à la recherche linguistique sur le terrain. Il s’adresse en priorité aux étudiant(e)s M2 et aux doctorant(e)s en linguistique générale, mais il peut également être intéressant pour les étudiant(e)s d’anthropologie envisageant du travail sur le terrain. Les enseignants/chercheurs sont également les bienvenus. Le cas échéant, des M1 en faisant la demande peuvent aussi être accueillis en fonction des places disponibles. Le séminaire est homologué par l’INALCO et La Sorbonne Nouvelle.

FieldLing sera organisé par quatre laboratoires. Trois rattachés au Labex EFL : le LLACAN (UMR 8135, INALCO, CNRS), le SeDyL (UMR 8202, INALCO, CNRS, IRD) et le LACITO (UMR7107, INALCO, PARIS 3). Ainsi qu’un laboratoire rattaché au Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle: l’EA (UMR 7206, MNHN, Université Paris Cité, CNRS). La formation a bénéficié de l’aide de l’École Doctorale de l’INALCO (Code EC INALCO: SDLA520b), de PARIS 3, du Labex EFL, du SeDyL et du LLACAN.

Au programme, des sessions de formation pour la linguistique générale (p.ex., morphosyntaxe, typologie), la préparation au terrain (p. ex., stimuli, enregistrement), le terrain lui-même (travaux pratiques avec des locuteurs de langues différentes) et la structure des données (comment écrire un dictionnaire ou une grammaire). Le site web et le programme seront complétés au fur et à mesure pendant les mois qui viennent, connectez-vous régulièrement pour suivre les mises à jour.

NB : l’inscription s’effectue à https://fieldling.sciencesconf.org/registration (il est nécessaire d’ouvrir un compte). N’oubliez pas de fournir votre CV à https://fieldling.sciencesconf.org/user/submissions (le lien est aussi fourni dans le formulaire d’inscription. La page mentionne ‘résumé’ mais veuillez y mettre votre CV). Les inscriptions sans CVs ne seront pas évaluées. Le résultat sera communiqué deux semaines après la clôture des dépôts.

Date d’inscription: du 31 mars au 11 juin 2024. Les résultats seront transmis fin juin.

Finances: L’inscription est gratuite. Les déjeuners et pauses café sont fournis. Le déplacement et l’hébergement est à la charge des participants.

Les langues employées durant la formation sont le français et l’anglais. Il est recommandé d’avoir des capacités linguistiques dans les deux langues.

Pour plus d’informations, voir le site web de la formation, et écrire à fieldling@sciencesconf.org.

Organizing committee │ Organisateurs:
Katharina Haude – SEDYL
Nicolas Quint – LLACAN
Lameen Souag – LACITO
Marc Allassonnière-Tang (EA)

Book │ ENDANGERED LANGUAGES │ E. Adamou © 2024

2024 Sep, 3

Endangered Languages

By Evangelia Adamou

Description

A concise, accessible introduction to language endangerment and why it is one of the most urgent challenges of our times.

58% of the world’s languages—or, approximately 4,000 languages—are endangered. When we break this figure down, we realize that roughly ten percent of languages have fewer than ten language keepers. And, if one language stops being used every three months, this means that in the next 100 years, if we do nothing, 400 more languages will become dormant. In Endangered Languages, Evangelia Adamou, a specialist of endangered languages and a learner of her own community language, Nashta, offers a sobering look at language endangerment and what is truly lost when a language disappears from usage.

Combining recent advances from the Western scientific tradition—from the fields of linguistics, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, language attrition, population genetics, and natural language processing—and insights from Indigenous epistemology, theory, and ethics, Adamou examines a wealth of issues surrounding endangered languages. She discusses where endangered languages are found, including how they are faring in a digital world, why these languages are no longer used, and how communities can reclaim languages and keep them strong. Adamou also explains the impact of language continuity on community and individual health and well-being, the importance of language transmission in cultural transmission, and why language rights are essentially human rights.

Drawing on varied examples from the Wampanoag Nation to Wales, Endangered Languages offers a powerful reminder of the crucial role every language has in the vitality and well-being of individuals, communities, and our world.

Adamou, Evangelia (2024) : Endangered Languages, The MIT Press, 264 pp., 5 x 7 in, 3 b&w illus. ISBN: 9780262548700, https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262548700/endangered-languages/.

[TACOL] Valentina ALFARANO │ “Valency morphology and verb classes in Santa Cruz language: a view from Proto-Oceanic”

2024 Jun, 11

Terrains, Analyse et COmparaison des Langues (TACOL) seminar

The next session of our TACOL seminar will take place on Monday, July 08 at 2:30 pm, on site (meeting room 311, CNRS Villejuif Campus) and on Zoom.

We will have the pleasure to listen to Valentina Alfarano (post-doctorante à l’Université d’Oslo).

Title of talk:

“Valency morphology and verb classes in Santa Cruz language: a view from Proto-Oceanic”

Abstract:

Reefs-Santa Cruz (RSC) languages, which belong to a primary subgroup of the Oceanic family (Ross & Næss 2007), are spoken in Temotu province, the easternmost province of Solomon Islands. They include Äiwoo, spoken in the Reef Islands, and the three languages of Santa Cruz (SC) Island, namely, Natügu, Nalögo and Engdewu. In the Oceanic literature, RSC languages have always been regarded as “aberrant” (Wurm 1969). Their origins have been debated for more than thirty years until 2007, when they were finally recognised as Oceanic (Ross & Næss 2007). In terms of valency-changing devices and clausal structure, RSC languages as a group show some unusual patterns. On the one hand, Äiwoo is analysed as having a symmetrical voice system with three basic voices, that is, actor voice, undergoer voice, and circumstantial voice (Næss 2021). Symmetrical voice systems are thought to have been lost in the transition from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian to POc (Lynch et al. 2002: 60–62). On the other hand, SC languages display more canonical Oceanic transitivity-based systems, with some valency-changing devices of POc origin.

While some studies have been conducted on the functions and origins of the voice markers in Äiwoo (Næss, 2013, 2021), SC languages still lack a detailed comparative-historical analysis of their valency morphology. The aim of this talk is to analyze the functions and distribution of two SC valency-increasing devices, (v)a- and -ti, reflexes of POc *pa[ka]- and *-i, as well as showing how verb classes evolved over time. I will show that the SC causative (v)a- retained all the causative functions of *pa[ka]-, as well as a non-causative one, namely, marking verb modifiers (Evans 2003). However, unlike *pa[ka]-, (v)a- can also occur with transitive verbs, even though this use has only one attestation in Nalögo. The SC applicative -ti is the affix showing most formal and functional changes in the transition from POc to SC. It retained most functions of POc *-i, but many of them are decaying or decayed. Along with the uses inherited from POc, some innovative functions developed over time. Overall, it seems that the role of POc *-i in deriving transitive verbs is decaying in SC. This phenomenon might have contributed to the emergence of a new class of transitive verbs detransitivized by the prefix (v)ö-, a marker with middle/reciprocal semantics and a possible reflex of POc *paRi- (Lichtenberk 2000, Bril 2005). In the last part of the seminar, time permitting, I will compare the functions of SC valency morphology with the voice and valency markers attested in Äiwoo.

References

Bril, Isabelle. 2005. Semantic and functional diversification of reciprocal and middle
prefixes in New Caledonian and other Austronesian languages. Linguistic Typology 9:25–76.
Evans, Bethwyn. 2003. A study of valency-changing devices in Proto Oceanic. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
Lichtenberk, Frantisek. 2000. Reciprocals without reflexives. In Reciprocals: Forms and functions, ed. by Zygmunt Frajzyngier and Tracy S. Curl, 31–62. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins
Lynch, John & Ross, Malcolm & Crowley, Terry. 2002. The Oceanic Languages. Richmond: Curzon Press.
Næss, Åshild. 2013. From Austronesian voice to Oceanic Transitivity: Äiwoo as the “Missing Link”. Oceanic Linguistics 52(1): 106–124.
———. 2021. Voice and Valency Morphology in Äiwoo. Oceanic Linguistics 60(1), 160–198.
Ross, Malcolm & Næss, Åshild. 2007. An Oceanic Origin for Äiwoo, the Language of the Reef Islands?. Oceanic Linguistics 46(2): 456–498.
Wurm, Stephen Adolphe. 1969. The linguistic situation in the Reef and Santa Cruz Islands. In Papers in the linguistics of Melanesia 2, Pacific Linguistics A-21, 47–105. Canberra: The Australian National University.

For further information, please contact Yann Le Moulec

[TACOL] Mezane KONUK │ “Correlative constructions in Abzakh: an interrogative-based structure?”

2024 Apr, 5

Séminaire Terrains, Analyse et COmparaison des Langues (TACOL)

The next session of our TACOL seminar will take place on Tuesday, May 21 at 2:30 pm, on Zoom.

We will have the pleasure to listen to Mezane KONUK (LACITO).

Title of talk: “Correlative constructions in Abzakh: an interrogative-based structure?”

Abstract:

The correlative constructions were first studied in Indo-Aryan languages where a sentence-initial relative clause has a demonstrative correlate in matrix clause. But in recent works, it has been attested that the correlative constructions may show morphosyntactic differences. The reason why the diversity of these constructions has not received a high interest until recently is that they are disguised in another structure attested in the given language (e.g. counterfactuals etc.). Thus, from typological point of view, classification of the correlative types is not easy and requires a detailed look on the morphosyntactic properties of the given language.
From an areal point of view, a classification of the correlatives in the Caucasian languages either as relativization-based or interrogative-based constructions has been proposed. At first sight, Circassian might be considered to have an interrogative-based construction due to the use of interrogative pronouns. Nevertheless, the morphosyntactic properties of a correlative construction and that of a partial interrogative sentence are different, which leads us to reconsider this classification method.
In this talk, we will discuss the morphosyntactic features of the correlative constructions in comparison to those of the interrogative sentences. The data comes from the Abzakh dialect (West Circassian), bringing out an overt counterfactual schema in the correlative constructions.

Key words: correlative constructions, Circassian, Abzakh, interrogative-based correlatives, counterfactuals.

For further information, please contact Lameen Souag

[TACOL] Maria Konoshenko & Maria Khachaturyan │ “Tonal systems in contact: A two-level tone language meets three level tones”

2024 Apr, 2

Séminaire Terrains, Analyse et COmparaison des Langues (TACOL)

The next session of our TACOL seminar will take place on Wednesday, March 20 at 2:30 pm, on site (meeting room 311, CNRS Villejuif Campus) and on Zoom.

We will have the pleasure to listen to Maria Konoshenko & Maria Khachaturyan.

Title of talk:

“Tonal systems in contact: A two-level tone language meets three level tones”

Abstract:

In this talk, we explore the multilingual acquisition of level tones in a contact situation. We analyse production data from Mano and Kpelle, two Mande languages that are only distantly related to each other but are spoken in the same region of Forest Guinea (West Africa). Both languages have level tones, but crucially, in Mano, there is a three-way lexical Low/Mid/High contrast, while Kpelle only features a binary Low/High contrast. We discuss how Kpelle-dominant bilinguals, who have two tonal categories in their dominant language, produce three level tones in Mano, and compare their tonal realisations with those of the benchmarks, i.e. Mano-dominant speakers, as well as with Kpelle benchmark production. We show that Low and High tones in Mano are relatively easy to acquire for Kpelle-dominant speakers, but the Mid tone is challenging for some. We then discuss whether acoustic similarity, tone frequency and phonological markedness can account for the observed variation.

For further information, please contact Lameen Souag