Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
1.1
0.9
Journals
Languages
Special Issues
Studies in the Morphosyntax, Semantics, & Pragmatics of Modern-Day Guarani
share announcement

Studies in the Morphosyntax, Semantics, & Pragmatics of Modern-Day Guarani

A special issue of Languages (ISSN 2226-471X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 October 2021) | Viewed by 11971

Special Issue Editor

Assoc. Prof. Bruno Estigarribia

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Romance Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3170, USA
Interests: language documentation of Guarani varieties and of Rusitène (Rosetano, Calabrian, Southern Italy); code-switching; syntax of Argentinian Spanish; Clitic Doubling and other argument multiplication phenomena: clitic left-dislocations, clitic "tripling" (i.e. clitic left-dislocations with epithets or augments), split NPs.

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The general purpose of this special issue is to delve more deeply into the grammar of modern Paraguayan Guarani and of closely related languages such as Mbyá Guarani and Correntinean Guarani. Its specific aim is to provide in-depth formal analyses of aspects of the phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics of this language which is among the most widely spoken Amerindian languages today.

Even though such an undertaking is crucial for the language standardization process that is still ongoing, until the publication of Estigarribia & Pinta (2017) there were relatively few sources of formal linguistic analyses of Guarani. And whereas a new, comprehensive Reference Grammar has recently been published by UCL Press (Estigarribia 2020), it is intended for a broad audience, and consequently does not feature in-depth studies of the various aspects of the grammar. Other than these two book-length works, there is no contemporary comprehensive collection of studies of the grammar of Paraguayan Guarani. However, scholars worldwide continue to quickly close the gaps in our knowledge of the formal properties of the language (e.g., Califa 2018; Carol & Avellana 2019; Pancheva & Zubizarreta 2019; Paz 2018; Zubizarreta & Pancheva 2017). This special issue will be an opportunity to gather the work of some of these and other scholars in a volume to continue making inroads towards a deeper understanding of this and related Guarani varieties. The goal of this Special Issue is, therefore, to collect state-of-the art articles on different aspects of the grammar of modern-day Guarani—more concretely, on its phonology, morphosyntax, semantics, and pragmatics.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400-600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send abstracts to Languages editorial office (languages@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editor for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the special issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Tentative completion schedule:

  • Abstract submission deadline: 7 January 2021
  • Notification of abstract acceptance: 31 January 2021
  • Full manuscript deadline: 1 October 2021

References

Califa, Martín. 2018. "Coerción Aspectual En Guaraní Paraguayo y Otras Lenguas Sudamericanas." Lenguas Modernas (52): 73-97.

Carol, Javier Jerónimo and Alicia Mariana Avellana. 2019. "Tiempo, Evidencialidad y Miratividad En Guaraní Paraguayo y Español De Contacto: Ra'e y Había Sido." Verba 46: 11.

Dolzani, Mercedes Valeria. 2016. "La Partícula ra’e En Guaraní Mbyá. Evidencialidad y Temporalidad." Liames 16 (2) (Jul): 241.

Estigarribia, Bruno. 2020. A Grammar of Paraguayan Guarani. Grammars of World and Minority Languages Series. London, UK: UCL (University College London) Press.

Estigarribia, Bruno and Justin Pinta (Eds.). 2017. Guarani Linguistics in the 21st Century. Studies in the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (BSILA) Series. Leiden: Brill.

Pancheva, Roumyana and Maria Luisa Zubizarreta. 2019. "On the Role of Person Features in the Evidential-Temporal Connection." Canadian Journal of Linguistics 64 (4) (12): 673-708.

Paz, Silvina Marcela. 2018. "Los Verbos De Afección Psicológica Entender y Gustar en El Guaraní-Jopara: Divergencias Entre Roles Temáticos y La Estructura Argumental." Forma y Función 31 (2): 31-50.

Zubizarreta, Maria Luisa and Roumyana Pancheva. 2017. "A Formal Characterization of Person-Based Alignment: The Case of Paraguayan Guaraní." Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 35 (4) (11): 1161-1204.

Assoc. Prof. Bruno Estigarribia
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Amerindian languages
  • Indigenous languages
  • Tupi-Guarani
  • Tupian
  • phonology
  • morphosyntax
  • semantics
  • pragmatics

Published Papers (6 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 391 KiB  
Article
Interrogative Constructions in Guaraní: Grammatical, Pragmatic and Typological Aspects
by Silvina Paz and Alejandra Vidal
Languages 2022, 7(4), 297; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7040297 - 23 Nov 2022
Viewed by 1455
Abstract
This article is set in the framework of typological and functional studies on interrogativity, and focuses on the study of Guaraní, based on primary data collected in Formosa (Argentina). Interrogative constructions encode the speaker’s request for information, and their intention to confirm the [...] Read more.
This article is set in the framework of typological and functional studies on interrogativity, and focuses on the study of Guaraní, based on primary data collected in Formosa (Argentina). Interrogative constructions encode the speaker’s request for information, and their intention to confirm the underlying statement of the information that is the focus of the question. This topic has been partially addressed in previous descriptive works on Guaraní. There are, however, aspects in this domain yet to be explored. One involves the functions and meanings of the different interrogative strategies this language exhibits and the semantic particularities of their combination. In this regard, we analyze the distribution, meaning and pragmatic function of clitics =pa and =piko in polar and content questions. Furthermore, a preliminary analysis of tag questions (as a subtype of polar questions) is advanced here. Finally, we also discuss the way how the concurrence of interrogative words and clitics in Guarani is pragmatically and semantically motivated by the speaker’s epistemic attitude when posing the question. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies in the Morphosyntax, Semantics, & Pragmatics of Modern-Day Guarani)
30 pages, 2646 KiB  
Article
The Verbal Phrase in Paraguayan Guarani: A Case Study on the Role of Prosody in Linearization
by Maria Luisa Zubizarreta
Languages 2022, 7(3), 221; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7030221 - 19 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1537
Abstract
This paper examines in detail the morpho-syntax of the verbal phrase in Paraguayan Guarani, in root and complement clauses, and argues that while the ordering relation between the verb and its associated functional morphemes is congruent with the syntax (cf. the Mirror Principle), [...] Read more.
This paper examines in detail the morpho-syntax of the verbal phrase in Paraguayan Guarani, in root and complement clauses, and argues that while the ordering relation between the verb and its associated functional morphemes is congruent with the syntax (cf. the Mirror Principle), the ordering of post-verbal arguments is best understood in terms of phonological linearization. More specifically, it is argued that there are language-particular prosodic requirements that force the post-verbal arguments to be phonologically linearized outside the accentual domain defined by the verb and its associated functional morphemes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies in the Morphosyntax, Semantics, & Pragmatics of Modern-Day Guarani)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 424 KiB  
Article
Grammaticalization, Language Contact, and the Emergence of a Hortative in Guaraché, a New Mixed Language in Paraguay
by Jan David Hauck
Languages 2022, 7(3), 173; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7030173 - 05 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2172
Abstract
This paper discusses the emergence of a hortative marker in Guaraché, a new mixed language in Paraguay, the result of language mixing of the Indigenous Aché language and Paraguayan Guaraní. After settlement on reservations, the formerly nomadic Aché hunter-gatherers began shifting to the [...] Read more.
This paper discusses the emergence of a hortative marker in Guaraché, a new mixed language in Paraguay, the result of language mixing of the Indigenous Aché language and Paraguayan Guaraní. After settlement on reservations, the formerly nomadic Aché hunter-gatherers began shifting to the national language Guaraní, resulting in Guaraché, which is currently learned by children as their first language. Guaraché speakers have incorporated parts of the lexicon and morphology from Aché and Guaraní into their verbal repertoires, including parts of the Guaraní inflectional morphology. Thereby, they are modeling their use of the Guaraní 1pl.in marker ja-/ña- on a specific function that it has in Guaraní, hortative mood. Neither Aché nor Guaraní have grammatical hortative markers. Such a reanalysis and transfer of only one function of ja-/ña- suggests that a novel grammatical distinction is emerging between ja-/ña- for the hortative and the free pronoun ñande/nande for all other cases of 1pl.in. This paper analyzes hortative constructions in a corpus of recordings of naturally occurring interactions from children and adults. This case of grammaticalization is a strong indicator of a gradual transformation of Guaraché from language-mixing practices into a new mixed language. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies in the Morphosyntax, Semantics, & Pragmatics of Modern-Day Guarani)
22 pages, 451 KiB  
Article
The Interpretation of Implicit Arguments in Paraguayan Guaraní
by Judith Tonhauser
Languages 2022, 7(2), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7020083 - 30 Mar 2022
Viewed by 1680
Abstract
Paraguayan Guaraní allows for implicit arguments, that is, arguments that are neither cross-referenced on the verb nor realized by an independent noun phrase. Building on prior description of the distribution of implicit arguments in the language, this paper describes the interpretations such arguments [...] Read more.
Paraguayan Guaraní allows for implicit arguments, that is, arguments that are neither cross-referenced on the verb nor realized by an independent noun phrase. Building on prior description of the distribution of implicit arguments in the language, this paper describes the interpretations such arguments can receive. Specifically, the paper shows that implicit arguments in Paraguayan Guaraní can receive elided and existential interpretations, in addition to the anaphoric interpretation described in prior work. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies in the Morphosyntax, Semantics, & Pragmatics of Modern-Day Guarani)
20 pages, 1979 KiB  
Article
On Syntactic Integration and Semantico-Pragmatic Distribution of Mbya Guarani Purpose Coding Strategies
by Estefanía Baranger
Languages 2022, 7(1), 52; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7010052 - 25 Feb 2022
Viewed by 1944
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to describe the available strategies for coding purpose relations in Mbya, focusing on their semantico-pragmatic distribution. According to Dooley, Mbya Guarani presents two main different strategies involved in the coding of purpose relations: aguã nominalizations and vy [...] Read more.
The aim of this paper is to describe the available strategies for coding purpose relations in Mbya, focusing on their semantico-pragmatic distribution. According to Dooley, Mbya Guarani presents two main different strategies involved in the coding of purpose relations: aguã nominalizations and vy-dependent clauses, and among the latter a motion-cum-purpose (MCP) construction subtype is included. These strategies differ in regard to the semantic class of the main verb, referential continuity between the dependent and the main unit, and the fact that the dependent form can be negated independently from the main clause—thus, establishing different degrees of integration within the main unit in each case—, but overlap in same-subject contexts that involve a directed motion verb. However, according to our data, speakers do not use these constructions interchangeably, whereas aguã nominalizations portray an intended hypothetical outcome of the event or state-of-affair (hereafter SoA) expressed in the matrix clause; vy-dependent clauses and motion-cum-purpose constructions consistently trigger a result interpretation, entailing that the intended SoA was successfully accomplished. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies in the Morphosyntax, Semantics, & Pragmatics of Modern-Day Guarani)
22 pages, 634 KiB  
Article
States, Changes of State, and ‘Feigned States’ in Paraguayan Guarani Je-/Ñe- Predicates
by Martín Califa
Languages 2022, 7(1), 48; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7010048 - 24 Feb 2022
Viewed by 1834
Abstract
Paraguayan Guarani features a pervasive pattern of aspectual polysemy whereby an underived monovalent predicate conveys both state and change of state senses, such as -o’ysã ‘be cold/get cold.’ The language also allows the derivation of monovalent predicates from causative verbs by the [...] Read more.
Paraguayan Guarani features a pervasive pattern of aspectual polysemy whereby an underived monovalent predicate conveys both state and change of state senses, such as -o’ysã ‘be cold/get cold.’ The language also allows the derivation of monovalent predicates from causative verbs by the je-/ñe- prefix, yielding two distinct classes. The first one, called Class I, comprises predicates derived from causatives without an underived intransitive counterpart, such as -je-pe’a, from -pe’a ‘open (tr.).’ The second class, called Class II, are predicates derived from causatives with an underived intransitive counterpart, such as -je-jeko and -ñe-moro’ysã, from -jeko ‘break (tr.)’ and -moro’ysã ‘make cold,’ which are associated with the underived intransitives -jeka ‘break (intr.)’ and -o’ysã ‘be cold/get cold,’ respectively. It is shown that the aspectual polysemy pattern extends to je-/ñe-derived predicates, but that its distribution is restricted to Class I predicates. An apparent exception to this are some Class II predicates with a ‘feigned state’ interpretation, such as -ñembotavy ‘pretend to be dumb.’ The evidence reveals, however, that these are not true states, but instead activities. Furthermore, it is argued that the je-/ñe- predicates with this interpretation are not the product of a derivation process but are rather best analyzed as an independent construction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies in the Morphosyntax, Semantics, & Pragmatics of Modern-Day Guarani)
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-6
Back to TopTop