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Vol. 41, no. 1 (Spring 1999)

Contents

Abstracts

Moses-Columbia Imperatives and Interior Salish

Nancy Mattina
University of Montana

Abstract. The morphology and syntax of positive and negative imperative constructions in Moses-Columbia are described and compared with those of the other Interior Salish languages. In positive commands, Moses-Columbia employs imperative clitics that are unique among Interior Salish languages in their form and distribution. Other features of the Moses-Columbia positive imperative construction are common to all daughters of Proto-Interior Salish. Negative commands have the form of negated "unrealized" expressions--a pattern that is typical of Southern Interior Salish languages, the subgroup to which Moses-Columbia belongs.

The Kinship Terminology of the Miami-Illinois Language

David J. Costa
University of California, Berkeley

Abstract. In this article, I reconstruct the kinship terminology of the Miami- Illinois-speaking tribes and discuss the details of its usage across the different time periods of the language. In so doing, I also discuss some interesting cross linguistic issues that arise when the kinship system of the Miami-Illinois language is compared to those of its sister languages.

Referential Tracking in Oklahoma Choctaw: Language Obsolescence and Attrition

Robert S. Williams
Saint Michael's College

Abstract. This intergenerational study examines the use of referential tracking mechanisms in Oklahoma Choctaw, an obsolescing language. The central question concerns differences in the referential tracking systems of older and younger Oklahoma Choctaw speakers. In addressing this question, I make between-group comparisons of the use of two referential tracking mechanisms: switch-reference markers, used for intrasentential referential tracking, and sentential conjunctions, used for referential tracking across sentence bound aries. Finally, I address more general questions about the nature of structural change in obsolescing languages. Data for the study are taken from free narratives based upon a silent action film.

The Typology and Semantics of Complex Nominal Duplication in Ewe

Felix K. Ameka
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, and Leiden University

Abstract. Different kinds of repetition occur in grammar and discourse cross linguistically. Yet, many descriptions present the different processes of repetition as if they were the same. This article demonstrates the inadequacy of such an approach using data from Ewe and other West African languages. It argues that formally and functionally, Ewe makes a distinction between reduplication, triplication, syntactic iteration, clausal repetition, and complex nominal duplication. The article focuses mainly on the hitherto unsystematically described complex nominal duplicative constructions, their structural types (the juxtaposed and the morphologically linked), and their semantic types (the temporal, the distributive, the additive, the possessive superlative, the iterative numeral, and the deprecatory). The semantics of the deprecatory construction type and the manner in which repetitive structure, connectives, and other morphological marking all combine to produce the deprecatory interpretation are described from a crosslinguistic perspective.

The Significance of the Verb Kwe in Igbo Personal Names

Monday C. Onukawa
Abia State University, Nigeria

Abstract. The concept of �kw�kwe 'agreement' is central in Igbo thought and beliefs. Igbos believe that, in order to survive and prosper, certain social and supernatural powers must agree. Prayers for the agreement of the social and supernatural powers are expressed in personal names formed with the verb kwe 'agree'. This article discusses the centrality of �kw�kwe 'agreement' in Igbo traditional culture as evidenced by the popularity of kwe names.

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