Structures and their Functions in Usan

Ger P. Reesink

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027230157 | EUR 120.00 | USD 180.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027282118 | EUR 120.00 | USD 180.00

Usan is a Papuan language. In this monograph on the grammatical structures of Usan and their function the author shows the unique features of this language: how speakers can exploit certain principles for communicative purposes, how the language reflects their physical environment. Uniqueness can only be shown in the context of communality with other languages. This monograph offers numerous occasions to observe similarities and differences between Usan and other language, those that can be called Papuan in particular.

[Studies in Language Companion Series, 13] 1987. xviii, 369 pp.

Publishing status: Available

https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.13

Table of Contents

Preface | p. xi

Abbreviations and spelling conventions | p. xiii

Learning Usan | p. xv

Maps | p. xvi

1 The Usan people and their language | p. 1

1.0 Introduction
1.1 The Usan as speech community
1.2 Theoretical principles

2 Phonology | p. 25

2.1 The phonemes
2.2 Syllable and word structure
2.3 Stress
2.4 Intonation

3 Morphology | p. 43

3.0 Introduction
3.1 Verbs
3.2 Nouns
3.3 Pronouns
3.4 Question words
3.5 Nominal modifiers
3.6 Adverbs
3.7 Deictics
3.8 Connectives
3.9. Affixation

4 Predication | p. 120

4.1 Order of constituents
4.2 Classes of predicates
4.3 Verb serialization
4.4 Terms
4.5 Sentence types

5 Coordination and switch-reference | p. 174

5.0 Introduction
5.1 Coordination of terms
5.2 Coordination of predicates
5.3 Switch-reference

6 Subordination | p. 207

6.0 Introduction
6.1 Topic
6.2 Relative clause
6.3 Conditionals
6.4 Temporals and Peak information
6.5 Cause and reason
6.6 Purpose
6.7 Subordination compared with coordination
6.8 Beyond the sentence

7 Sentential modes | p. 271

7.0 Introduction
7.1 Negation
7.2 Interrogation
7.3 Imperatives
7.4 Conclusion

8 Organization of information | p. 310

8.0 Introduction
8.1 In conversation
8.2 In a ‘travelogue’
8.3 In an edited folktale
8.4 Conclusion

Appendix: Text material | p. 338

The story about the moon | p. 338

The story about the sky | p. 354

Index of names | p. 367

Index of languages | p. 369

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Hammond, Jeremy

2016. Discourse factors of switch-reference in Whitesands (Oceanic). In Switch Reference 2.0 [Typological Studies in Language, 114], ► pp. 253 ff.

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2014. Complex coordination in diachrony. Diachronica 31:3 ► pp. 379 ff.

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2024. Semi-embedded clauses in Aisi. Functions of Language

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Wechsler, Stephen

2011. Mixed agreement, the person feature, and the index/concord distinction. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 29:4 ► pp. 999 ff.

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Baerman, Matthew, Dunstan Brown & Greville G. Corbett

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2002. Joking Avoidance: A Korowai Pragmatics of Being Two. American Ethnologist 29:2 ► pp. 335 ff.

Foley, William A.

2000. The Languages of New Guinea. Annual Review of Anthropology 29:1 ► pp. 357 ff.

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This list is based on CrossRef data as of 26 september 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.

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