The Grammar of Possession: Inalienability, Incorporation and Possessor Ascension in Guarani

ISBN-13: 9789027230362 / Angielski

Opis

A study of linguistic structures in Paraguayan Guarani which are directly or indirectly associated with the semantic domain of inalienability. Constructions analyzed in the text include adnominal and predicative possessive constructions, noun incorporation, and possessor ascension. A complete picture is shown of inalienability as a coherent integrated system of grammatical and semantic oppositions in a language that has received little attention in the theoretical linguistic literature. The analysis moves from general principles to specific details of the language while applying principles of cognitive grammar and functional linguistics. The aim is to uncover the peculiarities of form-meaning connections, as well as the communicative and discourse functions of the structures examined.