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Volume 4, Issue 3 (2010) Pp. 1–17.
- Semantic Effects in Halkomelem Directional Applicatives
- by Donna B. Gerdts
The Halkomelem directional applicative suffix allows the endpoint of a
motion verb to be expressed as an object argument. The applicative
construction is an alternative to expressing the endpoint as an
oblique phrase. Since there are two ways of expressing endpoints, this
raises the question of when one construction is preferred over the
other. Drawing on data from texts and elicitation, I show that several
semantic effects accompany the use of applicatives. While oblique
constructions are semantically neutral, applicative constructions have
the implication that a controlled action is directed by an animate
agent toward a topic-worthy endpoint for a particular purpose.
Keywords: Halkomelem; Salish; applicatives; motion verbs
Article [PDF file] (176Kb)
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