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Vol. 51, no. 1 (Spring 2009)

Contents

Abstracts

How to Swear in Maliseet-Passamaquoddy and Penobscot

Philip S. LeSourd
Indiana University

Conor McDonough Quinn
University of Southern Maine

Abstract. In the Eastern Algonquian languages Maliseet-Passamaquoddy and Penobscot, evaluative forms of verbs are derived by inserting one of several morphemes, not meaningful in themselves, within the verb stem. Corresponding derivatives of nouns and particles are formed by suffixation. This article documents the shapes that these derivatives take and the ways in which they are used to express anger, scorn, impatience, or intensity. Comparative evidence suggests that the source of these formations is an old process by which morphemes making reference to intimate body parts and other off-color concepts were added to verbs and nouns.

Cognitive Set and Lexicalization Strategy in Dogon Action Verbs

Jeffrey Heath
University of Michigan

Laura McPherson
University of California, Los Angeles

Abstract. Dogon languages lexicalize action verbs with obligatory reference to manner and/or process. This contrasts with English and “Standard Average European,” which (in neutral contexts) profile result and/or function. Many common English verbs like carry and eat correspond to sets of Dogon verbs with senses like ‘carry on back’ and ‘munch’. The pattern cuts across many semantic domains and constitutes a generalized lexicalization strategy, which suggests that Dogon speakers, on the one hand, and speakers of English and “Standard Average European,” on the other, have distinct cognitive orientations toward observable actions. A number of explanatory frameworks are available to account for these cultural differences.

Dream as Deceit, Dream as Truth: The Grammar of Telling Dreams

Waud H. Kracke
University of Illinois at Chicago

Abstract. The Kagwahiv (Tupí-Guaraní) grammatical particle used exclusively in the telling of dreams had earlier been claimed to be just a specialized tense marker used in dream narrative. Instead, it is argued that this particle is also part of a system of evidentials—specifically, of a set of reportative past markers. This is supported both by the form of the particle and by examination of its functions and etymological connections.

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