Verbal Number in Yahgan (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Verbal Number in Yahgan
Author: Yoram Meroz
Abstract: Yahgan, an isolate language of Tierra del Fuego, has one of the largest known systems of verbal number marking, with some 50 suppletive singular/plural root pairs and hundreds of other roots marked for plurality by a set of productive suffixes. Using published and unpublished materials collected by the 19th century missionary Thomas Bridges, and fieldwork with the one remaining fluent speaker, I will discuss the morphological strategies for marking Yahgan plural verbs. The existence of regular derivational morphology for marking number of the stem argues for interpreting the irregular forms as suppletive, rather than separate lexical items.
Date: 1/8/2012
Primary URL: http://www.lsadc.org/info/documents/2012/annual-meeting/handbook.pdf
Primary URL Description: Abstract in meeting handbook, p. 199
Conference Name: SSILA/LSA annual winter meeting

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