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    A grammar of Rapa Nui

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    Author(s)
    Kievit, Paulus
    Collection
    Knowledge Unlatched (KU)
    Language
    English
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    Abstract
    This book is a comprehensive description of the grammar of Rapa Nui, the Polynesian language spoken on Easter Island. After an introductory chapter, the grammar deals with phonology, word classes, the noun phrase, possession, the verb phrase, verbal and nonverbal clauses, mood and negation, and clause combinations. The phonology of Rapa Nui reveals certain issues of typological interest, such as the existence of strict conditions on the phonological shape of words, word-final devoicing, and reduplication patterns motivated by metrical constraints. For Polynesian languages, the distinction between nouns and verbs in the lexicon has often been denied; in this grammar it is argued that this distinction is needed for Rapa Nui. Rapa Nui has sometimes been characterised as an ergative language; this grammar shows that it is unambiguously accusative. Subject and object marking depend on an interplay of syntactic, semantic and pragmatic factors. Other distinctive features of the language include the existence of a ‘neutral’ aspect marker, a serial verb construction, the emergence of copula verbs, a possessive-relative construction, and a tendency to maximise the use of the nominal domain. Rapa Nui’s relationship to the other Polynesian languages is a recurring theme in this grammar; the relationship to Tahitian (which has profoundly influenced Rapa Nui) especially deserves attention. The grammar is supplemented with a number of interlinear texts, two maps and a subject index.
    URI
    http://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/30840
    Keywords
    reduplication patterns; polynseian languages; metrical constraints; phonological shape of words; easter island; word-final devoicing; Determiner; Noun; Noun phrase; Polynesian languages; Preposition and postposition; Tahitian language; Verb; Verb phrase
    DOI
    10.5281/zenodo.235525
    ISBN
    9783946234760;9781542544795
    OCN
    1030820863
    Publisher
    Language Science Press
    Publisher website
    https://langsci-press.org/
    Publication date and place
    2017
    Grantor
    • Knowledge Unlatched
    Series
    Studies in Diversity Linguistics, 12
    Classification
    Linguistics
    Pages
    665
    Public remark
    Relevant Wikipedia pages: Determiner - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determiner; Easter Island - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Island; Noun - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun; Noun phrase - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun_phrase; Polynesian languages - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_languages; Preposition and postposition - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preposition_and_postposition; Tahitian language - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahitian_language; Verb - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb; Verb phrase - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrase
    Rights
    https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
    • Imported or submitted locally

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    License

    • If not noted otherwise all contents are available under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

    Credits

    • logo EU
    • This project received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 683680, 810640, 871069 and 964352.

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