Article published In: Studies in Language
Vol. 43:3 (2019) ► pp.533–584
The naked truth about the Chamorro dual
Published online: 18 November 2019
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.17063.sto
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.17063.sto
Abstract
It is argued that the traditional belief that the formal expression of the dual in Chamorro is restricted to
intransitivity / low transitivity is inadequate since it precludes the possibility of accounting constructions in which the dual
is also expressed in combination with transitive verbs. In the empirical part of the study, evidence of the recurrent violations
of the intransitivity-based restrictions is discussed. It is shown that the dual is not excluded from transitive predicates. The
dual is also firmly established in the realm of transitivity albeit only in the third person. In addition, the dual also exists in
areas of Chamorro grammar for which it has hitherto been ignored. The hypothesis is put forward that the dual in the domain of
transitivity is a diachronic innovation. The Chamorro facts are compared to those of Numic languages in North America.
Keywords: dual, Chamorro, indirect marking, transitivity
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Conventions
- 3.Basic facts about Chamorro grammar and the dualint
- 4.Taking issue with a tradition
- 4.1What is commonly believed
- 4.2How idm is usually illustrated
- 4.3Preliminary summary
- 4.4What has been ignored
- 5.Fresh evidence of the dual
- 5.1
idm: Dualtra
and dualint
- 5.1.1The dualtra
- 5.1.2The dualint
- 5.1.2.1Parallels with the dualtra
- 5.1.2.2Definite numeral
- 5.2Further evidence of the dualtra
- 5.2.1The dualtra without co-referential lexical NP
- 5.2.2Reflexive constructions
- 5.2.3The Dual with Class IIIc words
- 5.2.4Passive voice
- 5.3Variation: Dual vs Plural
- 5.3.1Irrealis
- 5.3.2Variation with the passive
- 5.4Diachrony
- 5.1
idm: Dualtra
and dualint
- 6.North American parallels
- 7.Conclusions
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- Abbreviations
Primary sources References
References (67)
Ada, Angelina P. (ed.). 1998. Håfa siha manggugupu? Yan otro siha na betso. Hatgåtña: Government of Guam, Department of Education.
1998. Peskan i’e’ yan i gayon panaguan. In Roland R. G. Taimanglo, Aline Yamashita & Maria A. T. Rivera (eds.), Mångge yan håyi, Book 7. Hatgåtña: Government of Guam, Department of Education. [reprint from 1974].
Borja, Joaquin Flores & Borja, Manuel Flores & Chung, Sandra. 2006. Estreyas Marianas: Chamorro. Saipan: Estreyas Marianas Publications.
Cooreman, Ann. 1983. Chamorro texts. Saipan: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Isalands. [unpublished manuscript, 134 pp.]
Gould, Clotilde. 1998. I un punidera yan i dies na babui. In Angelina P. Ada (ed.), Håfa siha manggugupu? Yan otro siha na betso, Book 4. Hatgåtña: Government of Guam, Department of Education.
Lizama, Frank. 1974. I tronkon humugando yan otro estoria siha. Agana, Guam: Government of Guam, Department of Education.
. 1998. I mandikike’ mas mambunitu. In Roland R. G. Taimanglo, Aline Yamashita & Maria A. T. Rivera (eds.), Palåbras para minagof, Book 6. Hatgåtña: Government of Guam, Department of Education. [reprint from 1972]
Perez, Remedios L. G. 1975. Estera si Rai. Agana, Guam: Government of Guam, Department of Education.
Taimanglo, Roland R. G., Aline Yamashita & Maria A. T. Rivera (eds.). 1998a. Palåbras para minagof. Hatgåtña: Government of Guam, Department of Education. [reprint from 1972]
Taimanglo, Roland R. G. Aline Yamashita & Maria A. T. Rivera (eds.). 1998b. Mångge yan håyi. Hatgåtña: Government of Guam, Department of Education. [reprint from 1974]
Taimanglo, Roland R. G., Aline Yamashita & Maria A. T. Rivera (eds.). 1999. Mandidok yan mamfabulas na hemplon Guåhan. Hatgåtña: Government of Guam, Department of Education.
Babel, Molly & Andrew Garrett, Michael J. Houser & Maziar Toosarvandani. 2013. Descent and diffusion in language diversification: a study of Western Numic dialectology. International Journal of American Linguistics 79 (4). 445–489.
Bennett, Michael Eric. 1980. Aspects of grammatical number in Hopi. In The Sixth LACUS Forum 1979, 271–281.
Burrus, E. J. 1954. Sanvitores‘ grammar and catechism in the Mariana (or Chamorro) language (1668). Anthropos 491. 934–960.
Callistus [Lopinot], P. 1910. Chamorro-Wörterbuch enthaltend I. Deutsch=Chamorro, II. Chamorro=Deutsch nebst einer Chamorro-Grammatik und einigen Sprachübungen. Hongkong: Typis Societatis Missionum ad Exteros.
Chung, Sandra. 1998. The Design of Agreement. Evidence from Chamorro. Chicago, London: The University of Chicago Press.
. 2017. Another way around causatives in Chamorro. In Claire Bowern, Laurence Horn & Raffaella Zanuttini (eds.), On looking into words (and beyond): Structures, Relations, Analyses, 263–288. Berlin: Language Science Press.
Cooreman, Ann M. 1987. Transitivity and Discourse Continuity in Chamorro Narratives. Berlin, New York, Amsterdam: Mouton de Gruyter.
Dayley, Jon P. 1989. Tümpisa (Panamint) Shoshone grammar. Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oxford: University of California Press.
Durie, Mark. 1986. The grammaticalization of number as a verbal category. In Vassiliki Nikiforidou et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, 355–368. Berkeley/Ca.: Berkeley Linguistics Society.
Fritz, Georg. 1903. Chamorro Grammatik. Mitteilungen des Seminars für Orientalische Sprachen an der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität 61. 1–27.
Givón, T. 1995. Functionalism and Grammar. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
2011. Ute reference grammar. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Bejamins.
Greenberg, Joseph H. 1966. Some universals of grammar with particular reference to the order of meaningful elements. In Joseph H. Greenberg (ed.), Universals of language, 2nd ed., 73–113. Cambridge/Mass, London: The M.I.T. Press.
Hagège, Claude. 1975. Le problème linguistique des prepositions et la solution chinoise (avec un essai de typologie à travers plusieurs groupes de langues). Paris, Louvain: Peeters.
Hale, Kenneth. 1997. Some observations on the contributions of local languages to linguistic science. Lingua 1001. 71–89.
Harbour, Daniel. 2019. Frankenduals: Their typology, structure, and significance. Ms. Queen Mary University of London. 53 pp.
Haspelmath, Martin. 2010. Framework-free grammatical theory. In Bernd Heine & Heiko Narrog (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Analysis, 287–310. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Huxel, Lolita A. G. 1980. Chamorro Concept Grammar (MARC Working Papers 16). University of Guam: Micronesian Area Research Center.
Kats, Jan. 1917. Het Tjamoro van Guam en Saipan vergeleken met eenige verwante talen. S’s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff. [met opmerkingen van Prof. Mr. Dr. J. C. G. Jonker]
Langacker, Ronald W. 1977. Studies in Uto-Aztecan Grammar. Vol. 1: An Overview of Uto-Aztecan Grammar. Dallas, TX: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
Plank, Frans & Wolfgang Schellinger & Wilhelm Geuder. 1997. Indirect Duals. Unpublished manuscript. University of Konstanz. 18 pp. [[URL]]
Preissig, Edward Ritter von. 1918. Dictionary and Grammar of the Chamorro Language of the Island of Guam. Washington/DC: Government Printing Office.
Press, Margret L. 1979. Chemehuevi. A grammar and lexicon. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.
Safford, William Edwin. 1909. The Chamorro Language of Guam. A Grammar of the Idiom spoken by the Inhabitants of the Marianne, or Ladrones, Islands. Washington/DC: W.H. Lowdermilk & Co. [reprinted from the American Anthropologist, 1903–1905]
Stolz, Thomas. 2015. Chamorro inflection. In Matthew Baerman (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Inflection, 465–490. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tenorio Rivera, Maria Ann. 1998. Sostånasian i Chamoru-ta. Hagåtña: Gubietnamenton Guåhan, Dipåttamenton Idukasion.
Thornes, Timothy Jon. 2003. A Northern Paiute grammar with texts. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon, Department of Linguistics unpublished PhD thesis.
Topping, Donald M. & Bernadita C. Dungca. 1973. Chamorro Reference Grammar. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Topping, Donald M. & Pedro M. Ogo. 1980. Spoken Chamorro with Grammatical Notes and Glossary, 2nd ed. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Topping, Donald M., Pedro M. Ogo & Bernadita C. Dungca. 1975. Chamorro-English Dictionary. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Van Valin, Robert D. & David P. Wilkins. 1996. The case for “effector”: case roles, agents and agency revisited. In Masayoshi Shibatani & Sarah A. Thompson (eds.), Grammatical constructions: their form and meaning, 289–322. Oxford: Clarendon.
Whorf, Benjamin Lee. 1946. The Hopi language, Toreva dialect. In Harry Hoijer et al. (eds.), Linguistic structures of native America, 158–183. New York: The Viking Fund.
