Abstract
Clause chaining in Papuan languages is a keystone of the literature on switch-reference (Haiman & Munro 1983, Stirling 1993). Canonically, a clause chain is considered to comprise one or more ‘medial’ clauses, followed by a single ‘final’ clause. In Nungon and other Papuan languages, canonical clause chains coexist with non-canonical clause chains, which either feature medial clauses postposed after the final clause, or lack a final clause altogether. I examine the functions of non-canonical medial clauses in Nungon and other Papuan languages in a first attempt at a typology of these uses, given scanty data. Non-canonical medial clauses are argued to represent canny use of the features of clause chains and switch-reference systems to convey meaning efficiently. The exposition also solves an outstanding puzzle of the Amele switch-reference system (Roberts 1988, Stirling 1993).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 664-696 |
| Number of pages | 33 |
| Journal | Studies in Language |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Open Access - Access Right Statement
The version available here is the ‘author accepted manuscript'. Please refer to the published version when citing the work. The work remains under copyright and the publisher, John Benjamins Publishing Company, should be contacted for permission to re-use or reprint the material in any form.Keywords
- Nungon language
- Papuan languages
- grammar_comparative and general
- switch, reference