Nuu-chah-nulth denominal verbs

• Main Author: Waldie, Ryan James.
• Other Authors: Hukari, Thomas E.
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: Nootka language
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1828/489

Nuu-chah-nulth denominal verbs (DNVs) are created by attaching one of many DNV suffixes to the first word of a noun phrase. In the framework of Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), constraints on phrases can apply to items in the lexicon. Word-order domains allow constraints on linear order, such as one that requires words with DNV suffixes to be first in their domain. Evidence suggests that the incorporated nominal is not counted towards the transitivity of the DNV. On the other hand, DNVs formed on several grammatical stems treat the corresponding unincorporated nominal as a full argument. The properties of DNV suffixes in three other languages are compared with those in Nuu-chah-nult,h and one general and three DNV-specific properties can account for all the behaviour noted. Other analyses of DNVs in Eskimo-Aleut languages and in Nuu-chah-nulth are shown to be inadequate for the full range of properties associated with Nuu-chahnulth DNVs.