[en] Integrating syntax and pragmatics : word order and transitivity, variations in tunumiisut

Type de document

Instance

HALSHS

Est une partie de

Mots clés en

Humanities and Social Sciences/Linguistics
Pragmatics
Word order
Transitivity
Inuit
Information structure
East Greenlandic

Date de publication

Langue du document

Anglais

Editeur

University of Chicago Press

Résumé

[en] The aim of this article is to investigate word order variations and transitivity choices in Inuit by examining the interplay and respective influence of morpho-syntactic, semantic and pragmatic features on the surface ordering of clausal constituents. The analysis of a modern-day Inuit text in East Greenlandic (Tunumiisut) shows that the pertinence of an SOV order requires certain qualifications because of the limited representation of lexical nominal groups. However, once these adjustments have been taken into account, both transitivity and surface ordering can be seen to have an important impact on pragmatic topic comment reordering principles. The theoretical flexibility commonly attributed to constituent ordering in Inuit appears to be reserved primarily for signaling particular pragmatic arrangements.

Nom de la revue

International Journal of American Linguistics

Collection

Source

HAL

Type de ressource

Notice

Licence

Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Citation bibliographique

Nicole Tersis, Shirley Carter-Thomas. Integrating syntax and pragmatics : word order and transitivity, variations in tunumiisut. International Journal of American Linguistics, 2005, 71 (4), pp.445-472. [10.1086/501248]. [halshs-00724694]

Citer cette ressource

[en] Integrating syntax and pragmatics : word order and transitivity, variations in tunumiisut, dans Études nordiques, consulté le 16 Avril 2025, https://etudes-nordiques.cnrs.fr/s/numenord/item/18097