Quiché focus constructions
1993; Elsevier BV; Volume: 91; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/0024-3841(93)90045-x
ISSN1872-6135
Autores Tópico(s)Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
ResumoIn Quiché (Mayan), constructions containing a focused, questioned, or relativized ergative NP are marked relative to those containing a focused, questioned, or relativized absolutive NP. Both types exhibit a change in word order. The former, however, also exhibits a morphological change in the verb. This change results in a 'mismatch' between the morphological and syntactic properties of agentive focus verbs. Formally, these verbs are intransitive. Syntactically, however, they are transitive. In addition, these verbs exhibit an unusual pattern of agreement. In some instances, they agree with the agent; in others, they agree with the patient. This paper proposes to explicate this pattern in terms of an explicit hypothesis regarding the nature of 'agentive focus' rules in Quiché. Specifically, it is claimed that there are two such rules. One rule promotes ergative (agent) NPs to the absolute relation. The other does not. Both rules are formulated as lexical rules within the framework of Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG). In this framework, such rules can manipulate both the category (i.e. features) of arguments and their grammatical relations. It is this feature that permits resolution of the mismatch between the morphological and syntactic properties of agentive focus verbs in Quiché.
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