In:Motion and Space across Languages: Theory and applications
Edited by Iraide Ibarretxe-Antuñano
[Human Cognitive Processing 59] 2017
► pp. 123–150
Chapter 4The importance of minority languages in motion event typology
The case of Aragonese and Catalan
Published online: 14 August 2017
https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.59.06iba
https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.59.06iba
Abstract
Romance languages have been classified as verb-framed languages in Talmy’s typology (1991, 2000). However, it has been argued that languages with the same genetic affiliation and/or within the same typological group do not necessarily show the same behavior when it comes to describe motion events, that is, there is intratypological variation (see Goschler and Stefanowitsch 2013). This paper examines how speakers of Aragonese and Catalan, two Romance minority languages of Aragón (Spain), talk about motion based on data from the frog story. We conclude that there is no intratypological variation with respect to Manner of motion. As expected in verb-framed languages, both languages hardly describe this component either in detail or frequently. However, as far as Path is concerned, Catalan and, especially, Aragonese, can be regarded as high-path salient languages. Speakers describe this component in detail by means of pleonastic locative adverbial structures, complete path constructions, and adverbial pronouns.
Keywords: motion events, minority languages, Aragonese, Catalan
Article outline
- 1.Intratypological variation in genetically-similar languages
- 2.Aragonese and Catalan motion events
- 2.1Languages, informants, and data
- 2.2Aragonese and Catalan as verb-framed languages: Motion verbs
- 2.3Manner
- 2.4Path
- 2.4.1Minus-ground and plus-ground phrases in path descriptions
- 2.4.2“Complex paths” in path descriptions
- 3.Conclusions: Intratypological contrasts and minority languages
Acknowledgements Notes References
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