In this thesis I discuss Hittite verbs and formations that contain or may contain a nasal infix as well as nu-verbs, in order to outline the development of these types from PIE to Hittite and... Show moreIn this thesis I discuss Hittite verbs and formations that contain or may contain a nasal infix as well as nu-verbs, in order to outline the development of these types from PIE to Hittite and establish the extent to which the Hittite nasal verbs are related to comparable formations in the other Indo-European languages. Apart from treating the formal and etymological aspects of these verbs, this study also focuses on the semantics of the nasal affixes. In Hittitological literature they are often assumed to have a causative or a factitive meaning, but these functions do not cover the semantics of all the verbs with these affixes: there are infixed and nu-verbs that are clearly not causative, in fact there are even several intransitive nu-verbs. In this thesis it is therefore argued that the best solution to embrace the polysemy of nasal affixes is to assume that the underlying function of these morphemes is raising in transitivity. Show less
The present paper focuses on some Vedic present formations that are traditionally considered as iteratives. These include the -aya-presents with the short root syllable of the type patayati ... Show moreThe present paper focuses on some Vedic present formations that are traditionally considered as iteratives. These include the -aya-presents with the short root syllable of the type patayati ‘flutters’ (as opposed to the -aya-causatives of the type pātayati ‘makes fly, makes fall’ with the long root syllable) and the reduplicated presents of the type bibharti ‘carries’. The author argues that the meaning of these formations should be described as atelic, rather than iterative (although in some contexts the iterative meaning may indeed appear). An atelic action or process, such as patayati ‘flutters’ or bibharti ‘carries’, does not suggest any inner terminal point built into the situation (“iterativ-ziellose Bedeutung” in terms of B. Delbruck). By contrast, actions or processes expressed by such presents as patati ‘flies’ or bharati ‘brings’ can be qualified as telic, that is, directed to a certain goal, as suggested by the very nature of this action/process. The paper also provides morphological and functional parallels of these formations outside Indo-Iranian, foremost in Slavic (of the type nositi ‘carry’). Show less
This work discusses the typology of the middle, the causative and the passive marking systems of Ethiopian Afro-Asiatic languages. The discussion of these verbal derivations started from detail... Show moreThis work discusses the typology of the middle, the causative and the passive marking systems of Ethiopian Afro-Asiatic languages. The discussion of these verbal derivations started from detail description of the Causative derivation of the representative languages: Oromo, Amharic and Shakkinoono representing Cushitic, Semitic and Omotic languages of Ethiopia respectively. Oromo, Amharic and Shakkinoono have their own causative markings, causative structures and causative meanings. The causative discussion of the representative languages is followed by the causative discussion of Ethiopian Afro-Asiatic languages where variations and similarities of the causative verb derivations, argument structures and meanings of the causatives are shown. The second half of the work deals with the middle and the passive verbal derivations. The middle and the passive verbal derivation of Oromo are given different chapters since Oromo has separate middle and passive markings. But, in Amharic the middle and the passive are treated in one chapter since the middle marking is the same as the passive marking. In fact in this language there are ambiguous structures which could be treated either as a passive or as a middle. Similarly, in Shakkinoono the discussion of the passive and the middle verbal derivations are not given a separate chapters because the passive marking is often used as a middle marking. Finally, concluding chapters of the middle and the passive are given. Show less
The aim of this research was to establish if the semiotactic theory of C.L. Ebeling could be applied to Modern Japanese and mathematical descriptions of Japanese sentences could be made that are... Show moreThe aim of this research was to establish if the semiotactic theory of C.L. Ebeling could be applied to Modern Japanese and mathematical descriptions of Japanese sentences could be made that are consistent, clear and easy to understand. For this purpose example sentences from various sources, containing the most frequently used structures and expressions of Modern Japanese, were analyzed and described. In doing so, new light has been shed on various aspects of the Japanese language. Firstly, the general assumption that particles, also called postpositions, are similar in meaning and function to the prepositions in English proved to be true only for a number of the particles. Furthermore it was found that the traditional definitions for transitivity do not apply for Japanese, and the commonly assumed classification of noun phrases marked by the particle ga as direct objects has been rejected, in favor of the view that all noun phrases marked by nominative ga are subjects. That this method yields a better insight into the structure of the Japanese language is also demonstrated by the fact that, contrary to the classification commonly assumed until now, it was concluded that there are no indirect objects in Japanese. Show less
