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Journal Articles Linguistic Typology Year : 2005

A typological overview of Mwotlap

Abstract

The typologist reader is presented here with an overview of the most interesting characteristics ofMwotlap, an Oceanic language of Vanuatu. After a short presentation of its phonology, its main morphosyntactic categories are described and explored from a functional angle. The construal of noun phrases reveals a cognitive asymmetry between human individuals and other referents. Nouns, just like verbs or adjectives, are predicative, and are even sensitive to tenseaspect- mood markers and actionality properties. The argument structure of a verb can regularly be affected by its modifiers. Finally, deictics can be shown to play a major role in the structuring of discourse and complex sentences.Whenever relevant, the grammar of Mwotlap is briefly compared to other languages, and assessed in the light of existing typological generalisations.
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Dates and versions

halshs-00136308 , version 1 (13-03-2007)

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  • HAL Id : halshs-00136308 , version 1

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Alexandre François. A typological overview of Mwotlap. Linguistic Typology, 2005, 9(1), pp.115-146. ⟨halshs-00136308⟩
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