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In:Switch Reference 2.0
Edited by Rik van Gijn and Jeremy Hammond
[Typological Studies in Language 114] 2016
► pp. 231–252

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The zero-marked switch-reference system of the Papuan language Iatmul

 | Sangmyung University
Published online: 25 October 2016
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https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.114.07jen
Although in Iatmul switch-reference is not marked by dedicated morphemes, the absence of subject cross-reference markers indicates subject continuity, whereas their presence signals disjoint reference. Switch-reference clauses can show various degrees of syntactic integration into a matrix clause, and specific constellations have undergone grammaticalization or lexicalisation. Tail-head linkage carries the switch reference mechanism over to the next sentence, but is also attested as a coordination device. What distinguishes the Iatmul system from converbs in languages such as Turkish and Korean is the role of reference tracking, since Turkish and Korean converbs primarily express semantic relations between clauses, whereas the primary function of the Iatmul system is participant tracking.
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Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y.
2024. Clause chaining and switch-reference in Ndu languages. In Clause Chaining in the Languages of the World, ► pp. 149 ff. DOI logo

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