Grammatical functions and Pragmatic considerations

in clause combining

Mark DonohueAustralian National Universitymark.donohue@anu.edu.au

International Workshop on Clause Combining in and around Indonesia TUFS, 7-8 October 2012 International Workshop on Clause Combining in and around Indonesia TUFS, 7-8 October 2012

Overview

• Introduction• Skou:– Clause combining as a syntactically-governed process;– Clause combining as a pragmatically free process– Skou, Tukang Besi

• Tukang Besi:– Clause combining as a syntactically-governed process– Clause combining as a pragmatically free process;

• Strategies for success?

Premise

• Combinations of clauses frequently permit (or require) one clause to be dependent on the other for some reference

• She entered the hall and she sat down.

• The lady entered the hall and she sat down.

• The lady who she entered the hall sat down.

i j,i

i i,j

i i?

Syntactically-governed

• Constraints on reference:• I watched Beth and then ___ drank my tea.

• While ___ drinking tea, I watched Beth.

x

x

Subject = Subject

Syntactically-governed

• Constraints on reference:• Beth was watched and then ___ drank my tea.

• While ___ drinking tea, Beth was watched.

Subject = SubjectNot semantics

Syntactically-governed

• Constraints on reference:• I tickled the boy and then ___ laughed.

• I dropped the vase and then ___ broke.

x

x

Subject = SubjectNot pragmatics

Syntactically-governed

• Constraints on reference?• The busi hit the womanj

[ while ___j crossing the road ].

• (Compare: While __i crossing the road,the busi hit the womanj.)

Subject ≠ SubjectPragmatics?

Indonesian relative clauses

• Anjing itu meng-gigit kucing.dog that ACT-bite cat‘The dog bit the cat.’

• anjing [ yang __ meng-gigit kucing ] itu.dog REL ACT-bite cat that‘The dog that bit the cat.’

• kucing [ yang __ di-gigit anjing ] itu.dog REL NONACT-bite dog that‘The cat that was bitten by the dog.’

Indonesian relative clauses, 2

• anjing itu meng-gigit kucingdog that ACT-bite cat‘the dog bit the cat’

• anjing [ yang __ meng-gigitkucing ] itudog REL ACT-bite cat that‘the dog that bit the cat’

• kucing [ yang anjing meng-gigit __]dog REL dog ACT-bite‘the cat that the dog bit’

Overview

• Introduction• Skou:– Clause combining as a syntactically-governed process;– Clause combining as a pragmatically free process– Skou, Tukang Besi

• Tukang Besi:– Clause combining as a syntactically-governed process– Clause combining as a pragmatically free process;

• Strategies for success?

Skou

Skou

• Basics:• Pe=ueme=ing_a pe=ti pá.

3SG.F=woman=the 3SG.F=go house‘The woman went to the house.’

• Pe=ueme=ing_a hóe pe=p-ang.3SG.F=woman=the sago 3SG.F=3SG.F-eat‘The woman ate sago.’

Skou

• Simple clauses:

• Monovalent:S s=s-V (OBLIQUE)

• Bivalent:A (ERG) P a=a-V(:p)

(ADJUNCT)

• TrivalentA (ERG) P a=a-V:r RECIPIENT

Skou

• Simple example:• Tangí ke=moe toe,

Tangí 3SG.NF=return 3.cometáng=ing te=bíng fátà.bird=DEIC 3PL=die.PL all‘Tangí came back home, and all of the birds were dead, …’

Skou

• Simple example:• Hendrik ke=moe toe=pa

Hendrik 3SG.NF=return 3.come=PROXte=angku-ké=ke ke=fu.3PL-child=3SG.NF-3SG.NFDEIC 3SG.NF=see‘Hendrik came back home and saw his children.’

Skou

• Simple example:• Hendrik ke=moe toe=te

Hendrik 3SG.NF=return3.come=3SG.F.gote=angku-ké=ke ke=fu.3PL-child=3SG.NF-3SG.NFDEIC 3SG.NF=see‘Hendrik came back home and straight away saw his children.’

Skou

• Simple example:• Hendrik ke=moe toe=ko

Hendrik 3SG.NF=return 3.come=OBVnì te=angku-ké=ke nì=fu.1SG 3PL-child=3SG.NF-3SG.NFDEIC1SG=see‘Hendrik came back home and I saw his children.’

Skou

• Additional example:• Pe Hendrik pe=w-á=ko

3SG.F Hendrik 3SG.NF=3SG.NF-hit=OBVke=wang.3SG.NF=die‘She killed Hendrik.’

Overview

• Introduction• Skou:– Clause combining as a syntactically-governed process;– Clause combining as a pragmatically free process– Skou, Tukang Besi

• Tukang Besi:– Clause combining as a syntactically-governed process– Clause combining as a pragmatically free process;

• Strategies for success?

Skou

• Coordinate clauses:• Pe=ueme=ing_a pe=ti pá

3SG.F=woman=the 3SG.F=go househóe pe=p-ang.sago 3SG.F=3SG.F-eat

‘The woman went to the house and ate sago.’

=pa=and

=ko=and

=te=and

later

straight away

Skou

• 1. Syntactic rules

=pa subject1 = subject2

=ko subject1 ≠ subject2

=te subject1 = subject2

immediately

Skou

• 1. Pragmatic rules

=pa event1 overlaps with event2

=ko event1 does not overlap with event2

=te subject1 = subject2

uninterrupted

And so …

• Skou:– Monitors coreference across clauses

(switch reference)– Allows non-syntactic interpretations for the same

reference-monitoring morphemes.(not entirely free, but free from syntax)

• Interpretation:– Ambiguity is not a bad thing;– Stylistic manipulation is rife.

Aside:

strong ellipsis

• Ta qu shangdian,3SG go shop__ mai-le pingguo,

buy-PERF apple__ hui jia,

return home__ chi-le __.

eat-PERF‘She went to the shops, bought (some) apples, returned home and ate them.’

• Palu’e• Kami phote nio,

1PL.EX pick coconutthuka,khla, kha psa,ascend split eat chew.fleshnala vae-ne ninu,take water-3GEN drinkpsa i-ne, …chew.flesh flesh-3GEN‘We picked some coconuts, climbed (up for them),split them, ate and chewed, took some water to drink, chewed the (coconut) flesh.’

• Palu’e• Kami phote nio,

1PL.EX pick coconutthuka, __ khla __,__ kha __ __ psa __,ascend split eatchew.flesh__ nala vae-ne __ ninu __,

take water-3GEN drink__ psa i-ne, …

chew.flesh flesh-3GEN‘We picked some coconuts, climbed (up for them),split them, ate and chewed, took some water to drink, chewed the (coconut) flesh.’

Overview

• Introduction• Skou:– Clause combining as a syntactically-governed process;– Clause combining as a pragmatically free process– Skou, Tukang Besi

• Tukang Besi:– Clause combining as a syntactically-governed process– Clause combining as a pragmatically free process;

• Strategies for success?

Tukang Besi

Basic Tukang Besi

• No-mai na ana i wunua.3R-come NOM child NOM house‘The child came to the house.’

• No-moro’u te wae na ana.3R-drink CORE water NOM child‘The child drank some water.’

• No-moro’u-ke te ana na uwe.3R-drink-3 CORE child NOM water‘The child drank the water.’

Basic Tukang Besi

• Monovalent:s-V na S

• Bivalent:a-V te P na A

a-V-p te A na P

Basic Tukang Besi

• Monovalent:s-V na S

• Bivalent:a-V te P na A

a-V-p te A na P

Basic Tukang Besi

• Saba’ane no-mai na ana i wunua.all 3R-come NOM child NOM house‘All the children came to the house.’

• Saba’ane no-moro’u te wae na ana.all 3R-drink CORE water NOM child‘All the children drank some water.’

• Saba’ane no-moro’u-ke te ana na uwe.all 3R-drink-3 CORE child NOM water‘The child drank all thewater.’

na = SUBJECT

Tukang Besi

• No-mai na ana maka no-kede.3R-come NOM child and.then 3R-sit‘The child came and then sat down.’

• Sa-mai-no na ana no-kede.when-come-3GEN NOM child 3R-sit‘When the child came, s/he sat down.’

Tukang Besi

• Sa-mai-no na anawhen-come-3GEN NOM childno-kede na ia.3R-sit NOM 3SG‘When the child came, s/he sat down.’

• Sa-mai-no na anawhen-come-3GEN NOM childno-kede na mo’ane.3R-sit NOM man‘When the child came, the man sat down.’

*!

Tukang Besi

• ‘when’ clauses:

•sa-V-GEN (NOM NPS) s-V (NOM

NPS)

Tukang Besi

• Sa-mai-no (na ana)when-come-3GEN NOM childno-kede (na ia).3R-sit NOM 3SG‘When (she/the child) came, s/he sat down.’

• Sa-mai-suwhen-come-1SG.GENno-kede na mo’ane.3R-sit NOM man‘When I came, the man sat down.’

Tukang Besi

• ‘when’ clauses:

•sa-V-GEN (NOM NPS) s-V (NOM

NPS)

Tukang Besi

• Sa-mai-no (na ana),when-come-3GEN NOM childno-kede (na ia).3R-sit NOM 3SG‘When (she/the child) came, s/he sat down.’

• Sa-mai-no (na mo’ane),when-come-3GEN NOM manku-kede.1SG-sit‘When I came, the man sat down.’

~?~

Tukang Besi

• ‘when’ clauses:

•sa-V-GEN (NOM NPS) s-V (NOM NPS)

• iff Animacy > Animacy

Tukang Besi

• No-manga-mo te kaujawa naana,3R-eat-PF CORE cassava NOMchildmakaand.thenku-’ita-’e ________.1SG-see-3‘The boy ate the cassava, and then I saw him.’

Tukang Besi

• No-mai-mo na anabou,3R-come-PF NOMboymakaand.thenku-’ita-’e ________.1SG-see-3‘The boy came, and I saw him.’

Tukang Besi

• No-mai-mo na anabou,3R-come-PF NOMboymakaand.thenno-’ita-’e te mo’ane ______.1SG-see-3 CORE man‘The boy came, the man saw him.’

Tukang Besi

• No-manga-’e-mo te ana nakaujawa,3R-eat-3-PF CORE child NOM cassavamakaand.thenku-’ita-’e .1SG-see-3‘The boy ate the cassava, and then I saw him.’

?*

‘The boy ate the cassava, and then I saw it.’

Tukang Besi: real narrative

• Jari te manusi(a) u kampo isoso COREpeople GEN village yono-sumbere-wila-mo saba'ane3R-suddenly-go-PF allako na-t[um]u'o te kau iso.PURP3I-chop<SI> COREtree yon‘So the people of that village all went off immediately and were going to chop that tree down.’

Tukang Besi: real narrative

• Sa-rato-n(o n)a wakutuu-nowhen-arrive=3GEN NOMtime=3GENane-mo ke mia [m]ala te baliube-PF with person fetch<SI> COREaxemaka a-t[um]u'o-ke.and.then 3R-chop<SI>-3 ‘There came the moment that there was someone with an axe, and he was going to chop (with) it.’

Tukang Besi: real narrative

• Toka bisa no-tu'o-ke (a)wana 'umpabut allow 3R-chop-3 manner Qte kau measo'e ai mbeaka no-hama-’eCOREtree REF-yon ANA not 3R-scratch-3na la'a-no.NOMjust-3GEN‘But no matter how much he tried chopping it, that tree wasn’t scratched one little bit .’

Tukang Besi: real narrative

• Structure:• &so NPs s-Vmono all

– for a-Vbi NPp

– When-V NPs

• exist NPs– Vbi NPp

• &then a-Vbi-p– But.though a-Vbi-p

• NPp not a-Vbi-p

Tukang Besi: real narrative

• Structure:• &so NPs s-Vmono all

– for a-Vbi NPp

– When-V NPs

• exist NPs– Vbi NPp

• &then a-Vbi-p– But.though a-Vbi-p

• NPp not a-Vbi-p

Tukang Besi: real narrative

• Structure:• &so NPs s-Vmono all

– for a-Vbi NPp

– When-V NPs

• exist NPs– Vbi NPp

• &then a-Vbi-p– But.though a-Vbi-p

• NPp not a-Vbi-p

SUBJ

SUBJ OBJ

SUBJ

SUBJ OBJSUBJOBJ

SUBJOBJ

SUBJOBJ

And so …• Tukang Besi:– Monitors subjecthood, and cares about it

(Philippine-style case marking, agreement morphology on the verb)

– Has to be able to swap pivots/topics around somehow.(since most discourse involves changing the topic from time to time)

• Solution:– Mixing levels of structure frees up the pragmatics;– Strong evidence for pragmatic domains, and local

relaxation of syntactic restrictions.

Overview

• Introduction• Skou:– Clause combining as a syntactically-governed process;– Clause combining as a pragmatically free process– Skou, Tukang Besi

• Tukang Besi:– Clause combining as a syntactically-governed process– Clause combining as a pragmatically free process;

• Strategies for success?

Conclusions

• Syntax matters;

• Pragmatics matters;

• The relative weight is not predictable, and has to be investigated language by language, ‘construction’ by ‘construction’

The endThe end

• Palu’e• Kami phote nio,

1PL.EX pick coconut__ thuka __,

ascend__ khla __,

split__ kha __ __ psa __,

eat chew.flesh__ nala vae-ne __ ninu __,

take water-3GEN drink__ psa i-ne, …

chew.flesh flesh-3GEN

Skou

• Ka-ung_a=wi_a nì=moe kóeho loe,just-now=this 1SG=return bordercomeing_a pa nì=hí-hí li.the water 1SG=wash-RED do‘I’ve just now come back from the border, that’s why I want to wash.’

kóeho=ing_a, pa=ing_aborder=the water=the

• Ke=barí ke heng3SG.NF=headman 3SG.NF accusationke=ká i li w-a=ko te3SG.NF=hit bedo 3SG.F-come=OBV3SG.F.goke=k-e ti Te Óeti.3SG.NF=3SG.NF-ascend 3SG.NF.go Wutung‘Because the headman had accused him, he went to Wutung.’

• Nì=re pá=fue_a1SG=go house=the‘I went to that house.’

• Pále=ing_a nì=fu-fu li.pig=the 1SG=see.F-RED do‘I want to look at the pig.’

• Nì=re pá=fue_a1SG=go house=thepále=ing_a nì=fu-fu li.pig=the 1SG=see.F-RED do‘I went to that house to look at the pig.’