An Overview

(1)

A Bird’s Head view

on complex predicates

as part of the project

Daniel Krauße

CNRS-Lattice, ENS–PSL & USN, Paris

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What is this talk about?

• Complex predicates

❑ serial verb constructions

❑ prepositional verbs / verbal prepositions

❑ multi-predicational constructions

❑ other verb juxatpositions and related constructions

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What is this talk about?

❑ other verb juxtapositions and related constructions

• Introduction to the ComPLETE project

❑ cross-linguistic investigation and database of verbal complex predicates

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What is this talk about?

❑ other verb juxtapositions and related constructions

• Introduction to the ComPLETE project

❑ cross-linguistic investigation and database of verbal complex predicates

• Bird’s Head languages

❑ Eastern Indonesia / Western New Guinea / Tanah Papua

❑ several language families

❑ Austronesian > Eastern Malayo-Polynesian > Raja Ampat–South Halmahera (RASH)

❑ Non-Austronesian / Papuan: East Bird’s Head, South Bird’s Head, West Bird’s Head, Hatam-Mansim, Konda-Yahadian, Maybrat-Karon

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What is a complex predicate?

• Sounds complicated, sounds like a complex topic, so let us look at some examples:

(1) Akan (Kwa, Ghana):

Agyenkwã́ no wú mã-ã̀ yɛn.

Savior that die give-PFV 1PL.OBJ

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What is a complex predicate?

‘The Saviour died for us.’

(Christaller 1875:139, cited in Krauße 2021:99)

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What is a complex predicate?

‘The Saviour died for us.’

(Christaller 1875:139, cited in Krauße 2021:99)

• This clause also contains two verbs: wú ‘die’ and mã ‘give’

• The combined meaning of these verbs is ‘die for (someone)’

• Which verb determines the subject, which the object?

• What does this combination have to do with giving?

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What is a complex predicate?

(2) Kamu (Eastern Daly, Australia):

Yim may=ma goerr∼goerr-wa-ga=anyayn?.

firewood that=FOC REDUP∼drag-get-come=go:2SG.PST.PFV

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‘Did you drag that firewood back here?’.

(Harvey 1990:92-93, cited in Krauße & Harvey 2021:122)

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What is a complex predicate?

‘Did you drag that firewood back here?’.

(Harvey 1990:92-93, cited in Krauße & Harvey 2021:122)

• This clause contains four verbs: goerr ‘drag’, wa ‘get’, ga ‘come’ & anyayn ‘you go’

• The combined meaning of these verbs is ‘drag here’

• Which verb determines the subject, which one the object, which one the direction?

• What does this combination have to do with coming?

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What is a complex predicate?

(3) Hualapai (Cochimi-Yuman, Arizona):

Ɲâ-č hmí-táv-k pà ɲ-kwíl-we.

1SG-NOM be.tall-be.much-SS 3 SUBORD-pass-do

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‘I am much taller than they are’. (Redden 1990:241)

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What is a complex predicate?

‘I am much taller than they are’. (Redden 1990:241)

• This clause also contains four verbs: hmí ‘be tall’, táv ‘be much’, kwíl ‘pass’ & we ‘do’

• The combined meaning of these verbs is ‘drag here’

• Which verb determines the subject, which one the object, which one the direction?

• What does this combination have to do with passing?

• Quite exotic …

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What is a complex predicate?

(4) Japanese (Japonic, Japan):

女の人が洞穴に降りて行きました。

Onna-no hito-ga horaana-ni ori-te iki-masi-ta.

woman-GEN person-NOM cave-LOC go.down-CNV go-POL-PST

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What is a complex predicate?

女の人が洞穴に降りて行きました。

‘A woman went down into a cave.’

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What is a complex predicate?

女の人が洞穴に降りて行きました。

‘A woman went down into a cave.’

• This clause contains two verbs with similar meanings: ori ‘go down’ & iki ‘go’

• The combined meaning of these verbs is ‘go down’

• Which verb determines the subject and which one the direction?

• Why do we even need an extra verb referring to going?

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What is a complex predicate?

(5) Basque (isolate, France/Spain):

Herri-a-Ø handi-tu-z d-oa-Ø.

place-SG-ABS grow-INF-INSTR 3-go-SG

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‘The place keeps growing’. (Silvie Strauß, p.c.)

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What is a complex predicate?

‘The place keeps growing’. (Silvie Strauß, p.c.)

• This clause contains two verbs: handitu ‘grow’, doa ‘it goes’

• The combined meaning of these verbs is ‘keep growing’

• Which verb determines the subject, and which one the aspect?

• What does this combination have to do with going?

• Basque is also quite exotic …

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What is a complex predicate?

(25) Seget (West Bird’s Head, Papuan):

Yakobus w-are di w-ade Yuhannis.

Jacob 3SG.M-be.angry RECIP 3SG.M-be.with John

‘Jacob quarrels with John.’ (Verdizade 2023:12)

• This clause presumably contains two verbs: -are ‘(be) angry’, -ade ‘(be) with’

• The combined meaning of these verbs is ‘be angry with’

• Are both verbs real verbs (just because they have subject indexing)?

• Let’s explore …

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What is a complex predicate?

• What do Akan, Kamu, Hualapai, Japanese, Basque and Seget have in common?

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• The common feature of these languages:

• At least 2 verbs can appear in the same clause

• The meanings of the verbs are combined

• There is one combined argument structure (e.g. one subject [+ one object] for all verbs)

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What is a complex predicate?

• The common feature of these languages:

• At least 2 verbs can appear in the same clause

• The meanings of the verbs are combined

• There is one combined argument structure (e.g. one subject [+ one object] for all verbs)

• However, they also display differences, therefore various names for such complex predicates exist:

• serial verb construction

• light verb construction

• coverb construction different surface structures of a complex predicate

• converb construction

• verb-adjunct construction …

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What is a complex predicate?

• Various definitions have been proposed for the term ‘complex predicate’, two should suffice here:

The argument structure is complex (two or more semantic heads contribute arguments). The grammatical functional structure is that of a simple predicate. It is flat: there is only a single predicate […] and a single subject.

(Butt 1995:2)

A complex predicate is a theoretical concept which refers to a monoclausal structure consisting of multiple predicational constituents, which can be accommodated in a single VP-shell. The overall argument and event structure of these merged constituents corresponds to that of a simple predicate. A complex predicate may be

discontinuous. (Krauße 2021:8)

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ComPLETE Project & Database

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ComPLETE Project & Database

• French-German project funded by the ANR (France) and the DFG (Germany)

• The project runs from April 2022 to June 2025 (https://complete.huma-num.fr/)

• Led by four PIs and managed by one postdoc and two PhD students in Paris/Mainz

• A questionnaire has been designed, which includes the theoretical points we are interested in for each construction supplied (Vanhove et al. 2021)

• The questionnaire has been converted into a web-interface (HTML/Javascript) using a MySQL database and Python

• A consortium of 35 linguists and engineers from several countries will supply their data to the database

• Definition of the term: A verb-based complex predicate is a grammatical construction serving as a predicative constituent to a single syntactic subject, and involving at least

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ComPLETE Database – User Interface

• Step 1: Adding a new language to the database

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ComPLETE Database – User Interface

• Step 2: Check the data you have added for your language

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• Step 3: Adding a new construction to the database

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• Step 3: When adding a new construction, conditional selections are possible

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ComPLETE Database – User Interface

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• Step 4: Checking the constructions that have so far been submitted

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ComPLETE Database – User Interface

• Step 5: Adding a new example to a construction in the database

1

2

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• Step 6: Check your example

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• Step 6: View and update/delete all your other examples

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• Step 6: Add a new grammaticalization path to an existing example

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ComPLETE Database – User Interface

• Step 6: Suggest a new grammaticalization path to the database and add it to an existing example

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• Step 7: Add or suggest a new lexicalization path to an existing example

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ComPLETE Database – Manual

• The ComPLETE database comes with a detailed manual with examples and instructions about how to answer each question

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ComPLETE Database – Why?

• We want to explain what is going on in multi-verb structures

• How does the merger of two verbs work across languages?

• Which verb determines the arguments (subject, object) and how do they “pool” their arguments?

• What combinations are possible? What combinations are not possible?

• How do we distinguish these constructions from coordination (cf. Latin veni, vidi, vici)?

• How can we compare these complex structures across languages?

• Which languages allow combination A, B, or C?

• Is there a correlation between word order and the type of complex predication?

• Are certain geographical areas more prone to have complex predicates?

• Are complex predicates universal?

• …

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Complex Predicates in Melanesia

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Complex Predicates in Melanesia

• Location of Melanesia

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Spin-off Database – Complex Predicates in Melanesia

• Location of Melanesia

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• Bird’s Head / Vogelkop / Semenanjung Bomberai

SVCs in Melanesia

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• Language families in the New Guinea area, the linguistically most diverse region in the world

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Complex Predicates in the Bird’s Head area

• Language families in the New Guinea area, the linguistically most diverse region in the world

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Complex Predicates in the Bird’s Head area

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❑ Many of these languages need urgent description

❑ Endangerment:

△ = nearly extinct

◇ = moribund

= endangered)

❑ Description status:

green: long or short grammar orange: grammar sketch

red: phonology/text/wordlist or less

❑ Some of these languages have never been documented (Arnold 2022)

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Complex Predicates in the Bird’s Head area

• Expression of direction:

(6) Batanta (SHWNG, Austronesian):

Yen y-a y-u³t d<y>o³g qana¹²nh.

1SG 1SG-want:FUT 1SG-carry <SG>descend areca

‘I’m going to bring [this] areca nut down [from the tree].’ (Arnold f/c) (7) Wauyai (SHWNG, Austronesian):

ˈYene ˈy-el y-ut kamˈcu³ ge-ta.

1SG 1SG-descend 1SG-bring areca.nut DEF-DIST

‘I am bringing down that areca nut.’ (Arnold f/c) (8) Meyah (East Bird’s Head, Papuan):

Ge-orka en beda ge-ocunc gu ge-osu.

→ Is this a complex predicate and/or an adverbial construction?

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Complex Predicates in the Bird’s Head area

• Expression of prior-motion predicate serialization (cf. Guillaume & Koch 2021):

(9) Mooi (West Bird’s Head, Papuan):

Te-feden kemaina t-amu-san nin om.

1SG-arrive because 1SG-come-get 2SG EMPH

‘I came because I (wanted) to meet (lit. come and get) you.’ (Menick 1996:50) (10) Kalabara (West Bird’s Head, Papuan):

Nan n-mu n-bet.

2SG 2SG-go 2SG-play

‘You go playing.’ (Purba et al. 1987:72)

→ Is this a complex predicate or two independent clauses?

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• Expression of aspect:

(12) Mooi (West Bird’s Head, Papuan):

Ta-laagi t-a m-aagi m-ein-s.

1SG-woman 1SG-POSS 3SG.F-die 3SG.F-finish-PERF

‘My wife already died.’ (Menick 1996:53) (13) Hatam (West Bird’s Head, Papuan):

Noni coi kep dimbou dini.

3SG enter keep door DEM.PROX

‘He/she always enters this door.’ (Reesink 2000:238) (14) Meyah (East Bird’s Head, Papuan):

Me-ah emesa.

→ Is this a complex predicate and/or an auxiliary construction?

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Complex Predicates in the Bird’s Head area

• Expression of associated position (cf. Guillaume & Koch 2021):

(15) Biak (SHWNG, Austronesian):

S-kain us ena mar~mar..

3PL-sit protect 3PL RED~die

‘They sit down with (i.e. and protect) the corpse.’ (Reesink 2000:239) (16) Ambel (SHWNG, Austronesian):

Jadi wa-ne ta-kátown ta-tabón bi … so DEM.CNT-PROX 1PL-sit 1PL-wait just

‘So, these days we just sit and wait …’ (Arnold 2018:447) (17) Moskona (East Bird’s Head, Papuan):

Eri i-ot i-eregejg(a) ofa.

3PL 3PL-stand 3PL-surround 3SG

‘They were standing around (i.e. surrounding) him/her.’ (Gravelle 2010b:296)

→ Is this a complex predicate or two independent clauses?

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Complex Predicates in the Bird’s Head area

• Expression of instrument:

(18) Sougb (East Bird’s Head, Papuan):

En eic kepta a-tkwa hwej.

3SG take machete INS-cut.up pig

‘He/she cut up the pig with (i.e. taking) a machete.’ (Reesink 2002a:14) (19) Hatam (Hatam-Mansim, Papuan):

Nyeni ni-ba micim ni-bi-dat yani.

1PL.EXCL 1PL.EXCL-use spear 1PL.EXCL-INS-pierce 3PL

‘We pierced them with (i.e. using) spears..’ (Reesink 2002a:15) (20) Meyah (East Bird’s Head, Papuan):

M-era medeb efeyi m-er-ei mod.

→ Is this a complex predicate or a constructions of a verb + prepositional?

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Complex Predicates in the Bird’s Head area

• Expression of resultatives:

(21) Abun (isolate, Papuan):

An grem buku ne kwop mo nu mit.

3SG put book DEF die LOC house inside

‘He put the book down inside.’ (Berry & Berry 1999:67) (22) Maybrat (Maybrat-Karon, Papuan):

Y-ehoh fane m-hai.

3SG.M-hit pig(F) 3SG.F-die

‘He killed the pig dead (i.e. he hit it and it died).’ (Dol 1996:26) (23) Mansim (Hattam-Mansim, Papuan):

D-iyani nan nə-prot wayi monen.

1SG-push 2SG 2SG-fall hit ground

‘I push you to (lit. fall and hit) the ground.’ (Reesink 2002b:295)

→ Is this a complex predicate and/or two independent (small) clauses?

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Complex Predicates in the Bird’s Head area

• Prepositional verbs or verbal prepositions?

(24) Tehit (West Bird’s Head, Papuan):

T-aheit t-aq mbol.

1SG-stay 1SG-be.at house

‘I stay (at) home.’ (Flassy 1991:47) (25) Seget (West Bird’s Head, Papuan):

Yakobus w-are di w-ade Yuhannis.

Jacob 3SG.M-be.angry RECIP 3SG.M-be.with John

‘Jacob quarrels with John.’ (Verdizade 2023:12) (26) Mooi (West Bird’s Head, Papuan):

Aa-y-ei n-oosu man-ow.

→ Is this a complex predicate or a construction of verb + preposition?

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Spin-off Database – Complex Predicates in Melanesia (ComPLETEsia)

• To answer these questions, we will make use of the ComPLETE database

• As a preparation for that, a spin-off database for complex predicates in Melanesia (ComPLETEsia) is being developed

• Focus on complex predicates in Eastern Indonesia, PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia

• Possible outcome:

❑ Detect complex predicate patterns based on morphosyntax, affiliation and geography

❑ Offer hypotheses on possible/impossible complex predicates

❑ Run dependency tests (if language A has X because its structure is Y, should language B also have Xbecause its structure is Y?)

❑ Store the data in an online database (with possible contribution by other linguists?)

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Spin-off Database – Complex Predicates in Melanesia (ComPLETEsia)

• Step 1: Data crawling from various resources

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• Stage 2: Import data from secondary sources and analyze them

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Access to database

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Thank you!

Thank you very much for having attended this seminar!

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Thank you!

References

Arnold, L. (2018). A Grammar of Ambel: An Austronesian language of Raja Ampat, west New Guinea. PhD Thesis. Edinburgh: The University of Edinburgh.

——— (f/c). Sketch grammars of Wauyai Ma'ya and Batta: Two undocumented Austronesian languages of Raja Ampat, northwest New Guinea.

Berry, K. & C. Berry (1999). A Description of Abun: A West Papuan language of Irian Jaya. Pacific Linguistics, Series B (Vol. 115). Canberra: The Australian National University.

Christaller, J. G. (1875). A Grammar of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tshi [Chwee, Tw̍i]: Based on the Akuapem Dialect with Reference to the Other (Akan and Fante) Dialects. Basel: Basel Evangelical Missionary Society.

Dol, P. (1996). Sequences of Verbs in Maybrat. In G. Reesink: Studies in Irian Languages: Part II (pp. 21-40). Jakarta: Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya.

Flassy, D. A. L. (1991). Grammar Sketch of Tehit, a Toror Language: The West Doberai Peninsula New Guinea (Irian Jaya). Thesis. Leiden: Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden.

Gravelle, G. (2010a). Meyah, a language of West Papua, Indonesia. Pacific Linguistics (Vol. 619). Canberra: The Australian National University.

——— (2010b). A Grammar of Moskona: An East Bird’s Head Language of West Papua, Indonesia. PhD Thesis. Amsterdam: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Harvey, M. ([1990]). A Sketch Grammar of Kamu. Unpublished manuscript.

Krauße, D. (2021). Towards a Theory of Complex Predicates in Australian and Oceanic Languages: An Analysis of Coverb Constructions in Wagiman and Serial Verb Constructions in Vurës. PhD Thesis.

Newcastle: University of Newcastle.

Krauße, D. & M. Harvey (2021). Complex predication and adverbial modification in Wagiman. Australian Journal of Linguistics41(1): 96-129.

Menick, R. H. (1996). Verb Sequences in Moi. In G. Reesink: Studies in Irian Languages: Part II (pp. 41-60). Jakarta: Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya.

——— (2000). Moi. In G. Reesink: Studies in Irian Languages: Part II (pp. 7-24). Jakarta: Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya.

Purba, T. T.; L. Animung & J. Lamera (1987). Struktur Bahasa Kalabra (Fonologi). Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan.

Redden, J. E. (1990). Serial vs. Consecutive Verbs in Walapai. In B. D. Joseph & A. M. Zwicky: When Verbs Collide: Papers from the 1990 Ohio State Mini-Conference on Serial Verbs (pp. 240-246).

Columbus: The Ohio State University.

Reesink, G. (2000). Austronesian Features in a Linguistic Area. In M. Klamer: Proceedings of AFLA7: The Seventh Meeting of the Austronesian Formal Linguistics Association (pp. 231-243). Amsterdam: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

——— (2002a). Languages of the eastern Bird's Head. Pacific Linguistics (Vol. 524). Canberra: The Australian National University.

——— (2002b). Mansim, a lost language of the Bird’s Head. In G. Reesink: Languages of the eastern Bird's Head (pp. 277-340).

Vanhove, M., W. Bisang, A. Malchukov and A. François (2021). ComPLETE: Complex Predicates in Languages: Emergence, Typology, Evolution. Presentation of ComPLETE, a project funded by the ANR and DFG (2022–2025). Available at https://complete.huma-num.fr.