2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Contrastive Studies on Relative Clause Constructions in Polynesian Languages
| Project/Area Number |
15520239
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Linguistics
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| Research Institution | Muroran Institute of Technology |
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Principal Investigator |
SHIONOYA Toru Muroran Institute of Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Associate Professor, 工学部, 助教授 (10281867)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2004
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| Keywords | Polynesian languages / Relative clause construction |
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| Research Abstract |
1.This research project showed what kinds of relative clause constructions were found in 14 Polynesian languages (Cook Island Maori, Easter Island language, Hawaiian, Luangiuan, Maori, Marquesan, Pileni, Rennellese/Bellonese, Samoan, Tahitian, Tokelauan, Tongan, Tavaluan, West-Futuna-Aniwan).
2.Relative clause constructions found in Polynesian languages can be classified into 7 types (the gap type, the personal pronoun type, the anaphoric particle type, relative clause constructions with a possessive subject, relative clause constructions without a head noun, the postposed demonstrative type, and the actor emphatic type). Moreover, they can be classified into two categories (relative clause constructions formed from a verbal predicate and relative clause constructions formed from a nominal predicate).
3.Some types of relative clause constructions are found in most Polynesian languages, while others are found only in a few Polynesian languages. For example, the gap type can be found in many languages all over Polynesia, while the actor emphatic type can be found only in a few languages spoken in Eastern Polynesia.
4.In most types of Polynesian relative clause constructions, there is no element which is unique to relative clause constructions. Therefore, we cannot decide whether a certain structure is a relative clause construction or not without looking at the whole sentence. However, the combination <ARTICLE + TENSE ASPECT MARKER> found in relative clause constructions without a head noun is unique to relative clause constructions.
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