Morphology - HEAD/DEPENDENT MARKING

Question 1

What is head vs dependent marking?

Answer 1

Another parameter of morphological classification.
> Along with synthesis and fusion.
> About the way marking operates.

MARKING:
- Head/dependent relation is expressed morphologically.
-When head/modifier relation is expressed morphologically
»>I.e. by an overt form
EG: (he) feed(-s) the child.

• Word-order is not ‘marking’ strictly speaking.
  > Because it is not overt.
  > No word-form is altered.
  > They only change location

Question 2

A typology of marking: the three types

Answer 2

Head/dependent relationship marked:

1. on head (head marking)
2. on dependent (dependent marking)
3. on both (double-marking - dalabon)
4. split-marking

PLUS juxtaposition = no overt marking

Question 3

residual cases of marking?

Answer 3

sometimes unclear
notion of "linker"
EG PERSIAN
asb-e-mard
horse-linker-man
the man’s horse

Question 4

What counts as a head?

Answer 4

No lists of heads/dependents that all linguists agree upon.

Nichols’ (1986:57) definition :
“the head is the [category] which governs …
or otherwise determines the possibility of occurrence”
of other categories

Question 5

What does the marking indicate?

Answer 5

Just the presence of a dependency relation.
> Presence and type of relation + other information.
» Gender, number, person etc.

Question 6

Dependency only

Answer 6

English possessive constructions
> doesnt contrast with anything
EG Jane’s house

Case-marking of arguments at clause level.
EG Ancient Greek
> Contrasts with other cases.
> Which indicate other relations with the verb (head).

Question 7

Dependency + other information

Answer 7

E.g. subject + other information.
> Such as AGREEMENT in person number and class.
EG Kinyarwanda (Niger Congo, Rwanda)

Question 8

Nichols’ (1986) on dependency strategies

Answer 8

Typological work on head/dependent marking.
> Head/dependent-marking distinction long recognized.
» Nichols added further typological dimensions.
»> Correlations with other typological features.
»» Attempts to find plausible explanations.

• classification of langs in terms of major strategy
• database of 60 langs: 4major types:
  1. mainly Head,
  2. mainly dependent
  (1,2 most common),
  3. significantly both = double
  4. both comparable proportions = split
• isolating excluded

RARELY “PURE” but STRONG TENDENCIES

Question 9

Lang Examples of both markings

Answer 9

Head marking:
French
Gunwinyguan
Evenki
Navajo

Dependent marking:
German
Greek
Russian
Japanese

Question 10

Typological patterns of head vs dependent marking

Answer 10

Distribution is not random.
> Most languages are either consistently head marking.
> Or consistently dependent-marking.

TWO major principles of distribution

1. Constituent bias
2. Grammatical category bias

Question 11

Typological marking patterns: constituent bias

Answer 11

Some constituents prefer head marking.
>Others dependent marking.
» NP or VP

Two implicational universals:
1. If a language has major, salient, head-marking morphology anywhere
it will have it at the clause level.
clausal head marking > any other head marking

2. If a language has dependent-marking morphology at the clause level,
   it will have it at the phrase level.
   phrasal dependent marking > clausal dependent marking

Question 12

Typological marking patterns: grammatical category bias

Answer 12

Some categories prefer head marking.
>Others dependent marking.

Clausal adjuncts rarely marked on the head.
» e.g. temporal, locational, manner expressions…

Question 13

marking correlations with basic constituent order

Answer 13

HEAD MARKING favours VERB INITIAL order

DEPENDENT MARKING DISFAVOURS it

head marking: VOS VSO
dependent marking: #VOS #VSO eg. Japanese (SOV)

Explanation?
> Languages tend to establish core grammatical relations
in a clause as early as possible.
> I.e. mark what comes first, whether head or dependent.
» If the verb comes first, it is marked.
»The verb = head.
» Then the head is marked, because it comes first.
»> Results in a head-marking language.

Question 14

marking correlations with other typological elements

Answer 14

> HEAD-marking correlates with LOW morphological complexity
DEPENDENT-marking with HIGH morphological complexity.

> HEAD-marking correlates with ACCUSATIVE alignment.
DEPENDENT-marking with ERGATIVE alignment.

correlation # causation

Question 15

What are morphological profiles

Answer 15

Languages’ ID cards:

1. Isolating vs (poly)synthetic.
2. Fusional vs agglutinative.
3. Head vs dependent marking.

Question 16

TYPES OF MARKING

OF VERBAL DEPENDENTS

Answer 16

Arguments
> Core (subject, object)
>Non-core (indirect object or oblique)

Adjuncts.
> Additional, non-grammatical information

3 ways of marking:

1. Word order – not morphological marking.
2. Agreement.
3. Case marking.