The Multi-functionality of the Indefinite/Interrogative stab in Lushootseed
by Evangelia Daskalaki & David Beck
This paper examines the textual distribution of the Lushootseed stab
‘something/what?’, which functions both as an indefinite and an
interrogative. That the same set of words can be used for both these
functions holds in various genetically-unrelated languages, which
raises the question of whether this is due to homonymy or
monosemy/underspecification (see Bhat 2000, 2004; Haspelmath 1997,
2011). Our research on stab indicates that its various functions,
rather than being part of its inherent semantics, are contextually
derived. Specifically, it seems that stab is semantically equivalent
to the ontological category ‘thing’ and its interrogative and various
indefinite interpretations are added to this common semantic core by a
range of contextual devices.
Keywords: Lushootseed, Salish, indefinite words, interrogative words
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