Mixed languages from the perspective of comparative linguistics

Mixed languages from the perspective of comparative linguistics: Michif and Medny Aleut basic vocabulary Ekaterina Gridneva, NRU HSE Aim, method and background This study aims to consider the core vocabulary of two mixed languages from the stance of traditional comparative linguistics. Swadesh defined the ‘core’ vocabulary as the part of the lexicon is basic in all cultures [Swadesh 1971: 203], [Campbell 2013: 140]. Core vocabulary is supposed to be stable and is thus more useful to establish genealogical relations of a language than less stable lexicon. For mixed languages, there is a discussion whether conventional comparative methods yield interpretable results. We want to test whether core vocabulary comparison yields counts that show lexical mixture to the same extent as vocabulary in general. Note that, at least for Michif, it is claimed that nouns and verbs tend to have different sources (in Michif, for example, the majority of nouns came from French, and verbal roots from Cree [Bakker, Matras, 148, 2003]). This makes it necessary to compare the proportion of the words of different origin in the core vocabulary separately for differen parts of speech categories. Michif is a mixed language based on French and Plains Cree. The Cree part of the language remains grammatically intact, while the French vocabulary and morphosyntax is dominant in noun phrases. It also combines two separate phonological systems: one for the lexical items of French origin, the other for those of Cree origin. This language is spoken by the Metis tribe of St. Laurent, Canada (Bakker 1997). Medny Aleut is spoken on Bering island shows blending of Russian and Aleut elements in most components of the grammar, but most profoundly in the verbal morphology. The Aleut component comprises the majority of the vocabulary, all the derivational morphology, part of the simple sentence syntax, nominal inflection and certain other grammatical means. The Russian components comprise verbal inflection, negation, infinitive forms, part of the simple sentence syntax and all of the compound sentence syntax [Головко, 2009], [Головко, Вахтин, 305, 1997]. Michif (Swadesh 100) Parts of speech according to the Swadesh list Medny Aleut: there are only 4 nouns, 1 adverb, 8 pronouns, 1 particle and 2 numerals from the Russian language. Moreover, some nouns, pronouns and numerals are both from Russian and Aleut languages. Other parts of speech are from Aleut. Michif: In this language there is a more equal distribution of parts’ of speech between French and Cree. The majority of nouns are from French (53) and other (8) are from Cree. However, there are some nouns which have both French and Cree expressions. Adjectives (10) are mostly from French while verbs (17) and pronouns (10) are mostly from Cree. French; Unclear French; Both; ; 5 14 French; Cree; 29 French; 53 French Cree Russian Aleut • Nouns; • ‘Real’ adjectives (in Cree there are no adj. but noun modifiers are expressed by verbal constructions, that is, relative clauses, or by prefixation to the noun). • Articles; • Possessive pronouns; • Prepositions; • Numerals. • Verbs; • Demonstrative pronouns; • Personal pronouns; • Prepositions and postpositions; • Discourse particles. • Reflexive pronouns; • Possessive pronouns; • Demonstrative pronouns; • Adverbs; • Numerals; • Conjunctions; • Particles. • Nouns; • Verbs; • No adj. but nouns’ modifiers are expressed by a possessive combination of two nouns; • Subject and object pronouns; • Demonstrative pronouns; • Numerals until 10; • Postpositions; Eng. French I je you tu (masc, sing) this ceci that celà dog chien louse pou (de tête) tree arbre sit s'asseoir black Russian ; ; Russian Unclear ; Both; ; 15 ; 7 9 Russian ; Aleut; 65 Cree Michif niya ᓂᔭ niiya kiya ᑭᔭ (second person, sg; ) kiiya Пример списка (около 20 слов на каждый язык в виде таблицы) Medny Aleut (Swadesh 100) French Cree Both Unclear Russian and Aleut parts (in terms of the whole vocabulary) French and Cree parts (in terms of the whole vocabulary) Russian Aleut Both Unclear Results and further studies The current study shows that Michif is more and ‘ideal’ mixed in terms of comparative linguistics approach (Swadesh list) while the most of Medny Aleut’s vocabulary originated from Aleut. Moreover, the Michif language has more even distribution of parts of speech rather than Medny Aleut where the bigger part is again from Aleut. However, both languages have some words which can be expressed by both lexifiers’ languages. In the future studies it’s necessary to use extended Swadesh list and Leipzig. Jakarta list as well. They contain different vocabulary which make our results more reliable. all ômêyiw ᐆᒣᔨᐤ this ôma ᐆᒪ this anima ᐊᓂᒪ that ooma atim ᐊᑎᒼ dog ihkwa ᐃᐦᑲᐧ louse shyaen poo anima noir mistik ᒥᐢᑎᐠ tree aarbr apiwinᐊᐱᐃᐧᐣ sit The act of api sitting ayapihᐊᔭᐱᐦ please sit or ayapi be at home kaskitêwi-ᑲᐢᑭᑌᐃᐧ black nwayr tout, tous kahkiyawᑲᐦᑭᔭᐤ all Eng. I Russian я Aleut Medny A. Expressed by ya [R. я] / I verb ending two два алах dva [R. два] / two, alax neck шея уйуӽ uyuxx moon nose mouth tooth not луна, месяц нос рот зуб не all всё тугид аӽ tugiyaxx анӷусиӽ anuxxsixx агалӷиӽ agagglixx агалуӽ agalux Expressed by ne [R. не] / verb suffix not neet [R. нет] / no узуӈис vis' [R. весь] / all of it kuhkiyuw, tout Extracts from the lists Reference list • • • Bakker P. A Language of Our Own: The Genesis of Michif, the Mixed Cree-French Language of the Canadian M? tis. – Oxford University Press, 1997. – Т. 10. Bakker P. , Matras Y. (ed. ). Contact languages: A comprehensive guide. – Walter de Gruyter, 2013. – Т. 6. Campbell L. Historical linguistics. – Edinburgh University Press, 2013. Matras Y. , Bakker P. (ed. ). The mixed language debate: Theoretical and empirical advances. – Walter de Gruyter, 2003. – Т. 145. Michif dictionary http: //www. metismuseum. ca/michif_dictionary. php Swadesh M. The origin and diversification of language. – Transaction Publishers, 1971. Winford D. An introduction to contact linguistics. – Wiley-Blackwell, 2003. Головко Е. В. Алеутский язык в Российской Федерации (структура, функционирование, контактные явления) //Дисс. … докт. филол. наук. ИЛИ РАН, СПб. – 2009. Головко Е. В. , Вахтин Н. Б. Язык алеутов о. Медный //Контактологический энциклопедический словарь-справочник. – 1997. – №. 1. – С. 303 -308. 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