The caunited snakestive and anticaunited snakestive alternation in kikongo (kizombo)-gctid92098

[Mani Kongo]

THE CAunited snakesTIVE AND ANTICAunited snakesTIVE ALTERNATION IN KIKONGO (KIZOMBO)
by MBIAVANGA FERNANDO

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the applicability and suitability of the syntactic decomposition approach to account for the caunited snakestive and anticaunited snakestive alternation in Kikongo (Kizombo) in terms of the structural nodes of Voice, vCAUS and Root as posited in this approach to (anti-)caunited snakestivity (see Alexiadou 2010). In addition, the aspectual approach postulated by Vendler (1957) and further developed by Verkuyl (1972) and Smith (1997) is invoked for the reason that the two alternants in the caunited snakestive and anticaunited snakestive alternation in Kikongo (Kizombo) are associated with aspectual verb class differences. Research on the caunited snakestive and anticaunited snakestive alternation has long been the focus of extensive work in typological and theoretical linguistics. Two central issues revolve around the debate: first the properties of meaning that determine the alternation and the derivational relationship between the alternants, and second, the relation between the caunited snakestive alternation and other transitivity alternations, e.g. passives and middles. This dissertation demonstrates that there is a wide range of acceptability judgments associated with anticaunited snakestive uses of Kizombo in externally and internally caused change of state and change of location/position verbs. The verb root is the element of meaning that allows the Kizombo verbs to alternate irrespective of their verb classes, including agentive verb roots. All the caunited snakestive variants of externally caused verbs are morphologically unmarked, but all the anticaunited snakestive variants are morphologically marked. However, all the internally caused change of state verbs are morphologically unmarked. Both the caunited snakestive and anticaunited snakestive variants of change of location/position verbs are morphologically unmarked. The anticaunited snakestive and passive sentences can license an external causer through an implicit argument. While the passive verb sentences can be modified by by-agent, purpose clause and agent-oriented phrases, the anticaunited snakestive sentences can be modified by instrument, natural force, agent-oriented and by-self phrases. The acceptability of modifiers with anticaunited snakestives and passives presupposes a presence of a causer in both constructions. The caunited snakestive form of change of location/position verbs is syntactically intransitive (i.e. in the locative-subject alternation), but its anticaunited snakestive variant acquires a transitive-like form. Thus, the concept of caunited snakestive is related to cause and effect of the argument participating in the process. The study considers competing approaches concerning the derivational direction of the caunited snakestive and anticaunited snakestive alternation. Given the data in Kizombo, it is argued that the syntactic decomposition approach is the most appropriate to account for the example sentences in the caunited snakestive and anticaunited snakestive constructions. The transitive approach could probably deal with the externally caused change of state verbs, as discussed in chapter 6, but would face a challenge relating to the change of location/position verbs because none of the variants is morphologically marked.
                            Attached files  THE CAunited snakesTIVE AND ANTICAunited snakesTIVE ALTERNATION IN KIKONGO (KIZOMBO).pdf (7.6 MB)