1 BASIC VERB TYPES AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURES IN SHIPIBO-CONIBO by PILAR M. VALENZUELA A THESIS Presented to the Department of Linguistics and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts June 1997 2 3 “Basic Verb Types and Argument Structures in Shipibo-Conibo,” a thesis prepared by Pilar M. Valenzuela in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in the Department of Linguistics. This thesis has been approved and accepted by: ___________________________________________________________________ Dr. Doris L. Payne, Chair of the Examining Committee _______________________________ Date Committee in charge: Dr. Doris L. Payne, Chair Dr. Talmy Givón Accepted by: ___________________________________________________________________ Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School 4 An Abstract of the Thesis of Pilar M. Valenzuela for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Linguistics to be taken June 1997 Title: BASIC VERB TYPES AND ARGUMENT STRUCTURES IN SHIPIBO- CONIBO Approved: _____________________________________________________________ Dr. Doris L. Payne In this study I propose a classification of the major verb types in Shipibo- Conibo mostly based on the analysis of their morpho-syntactic behavior. Transitivity is viewed as a multi-componential notion involving several general and language specific properties. According to these criteria, prototypical and non-prototypical sub-classes of intransitive and transitive verbs are identified, and the transitivization and de- transitivization strategies that may be applied to these verbs are described. Finally, I deal with characteristics exhibited by sub-classes of verbs that appear to be independent from transitivity. 5 CURRICULUM VITA NAME OF AUTHOR: Pilar M. Valenzuela PLACE OF BIRTH: Pisco, Peru DATE OF BIRTH: December 27, 1961. GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú DEGREES AWARDED: Master of Arts in Linguistics, 1997, University of Oregon Diploma in Anthropological Studies, 1988, Pontificia Universidad Católica Perú Bachelor of Arts in Romance Linguistics and Literature, 1985, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Indigenous Languages of South America Multicultural and Bilingual Education Ethnolinguistics and Language Revitalization Second Language Acquisition and Teaching PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Linguistic Consultant for the Implementation of the Education Reform among the Indigenous Peoples of Eastern Bolivia. Sponsored by the Sub-secretariat 6 of Ethnic Affairs (SAE); the National Secretariat of Education (SNE); and the Indigenous Confederation of the Bolivian East, Chaco and Amazonia (CIDOB). 1995-97. Graduate Teaching Fellow, Linguistics Department, University of Oregon, Eugene, 1995-97. Visiting Professor, Andean Linguistics and Education Program, Universidad Nacional del Altiplano-Puno (Peru), 1994-95. Teacher and Linguist, Programa de Formación de Maestros Bilingües de la Amazonía Peruana (Bilingual Teachers Certification Program of the Peruvian Amazon). Sponsored by the Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana, and the Instituto Superior Pedagógico “Loreto;” Iquitos (Peru), 1990-93. Linguistic Researcher, Project Perú-Birf II for the Expansion of Bilingual Education in the Southern Andes. Sponsored by the National Institute for Education Research and Development (INIDE), Ministry of Education of Peru; 1988-89. Assistant Professor, Translation and Interpretation Program, Universidad Femenina del Sagrado Corazón, Lima (Peru), 1987. Teaching Assistant, Programa de Estudios Generales Letras, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, 1984-86. AWARDS AND HONORS: Target of Opportunity “Laurel Award,” Graduate School and Center of Multicultural Affairs, University of Oregon, 1997. Research/Travel Fellowship, Graduate Students Support Committee, Department of Linguistics, 1997. International Trade and Development Graduate Fellowship, Oregon State System of Higher Education and Sasakawa Foundation, 1995-96. US Graduate Study Fellowship for Latin American and Caribbean Citizens, 7 Inter-American Foundation, 1994-95. Travel Fellowship, 48th International Congress of Americanists, Symposium “Indigenous Languages of South America: Synchronic and Diachronic Aspects,” 1994. Linguistics Summer Program Fellowship at the University of Oregon, Ministry of Education of Peru and Summer Institute of Linguistics, 1988. Quechua Language Course Fellowship, Instituto de Pastoral Andina-Cuzco (Peru), 1987. PUBLICATIONS: VALENZUELA, PILAR. 1991. Comprobación del lugar de la lengua iñapari dentro de la rama pre-andina de la familia arahuac. En Ignacio Prado Pastor (ed.), Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Etnolingüísticos, vol.6:209-39. Lima: Ignacio Prado Pastor and Comité Ejecutivo del 46vo Congreso Internacional de Americanistas. _____. 1995. Una experiencia de taller morfo-sintáctico con futuros maestros bilingües. En Museo Nacional de Etnología y Folkore (ed.), Educación Bilingüe e Intercultural: Reunión Anual de Etnología 1994, Serie Anales de la Reunión Anual de Etnología, tomo II. La Paz: Museo Nacional de Etnología y Folklore. VALENZUELA BISMARCK, PILAR. 1995. Realización de la consonante oclusiva postvelar /q/ en el quechua del sur andino. En Lexis, Revista de Lingüística y Literatura, vol. XIX, 2:289-302. Lima: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I express my deepest gratitude to the Shipibo people from several different villages who generously shared their language, knowledge, and a little bit of their lives with me; to the indigenous organizations of the Peruvian Amazon, especially the Shipibo Federations, for granting me the privilege of working with them; and most particularly to Inkan Soi, Kruger Pacaya Cruz, for his significant help in this study. Professor Doris L. Payne has been involved in the preparation of this manuscript since its inception; special thanks are due to her for her patient assistance and valuable comments. However, any inaccuracies are exclusively my own. In addition, I express my appreciation to Professors Jacquelyn Schachter, Colette Grinevald, and Doris Payne for their kind encouragement during the course of my M.A. studies. The completion of my MA. program has been possible thanks to the financial and moral support of the following institutions: Inter-American Foundation, Oregon State System of Higher Education, Sasakawa Foundation, and, last but not least, the Linguistics Department at the University of Oregon. 9 DEDICATION A mis entrañables padres Jatíbi Shipibo jonibaona 10 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................... 1 Introduction........................................................................................... 1 The Shipibo People............................................................................... 5 The Data................................................................................................ 6 II. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK................................................................ 7 Prototype Theory................................................................................... 7 The Notion of Transitivity.................................................................... 10 Identifying a Verb Argument................................................................20 III. MAJOR FEATURES OF SHIPIBO-CONIBO......................................... 24 Shipibo-Conibo as a Lexical Argument Language............................... 24 Case-Marking in Shipibo-Conibo.........................................................27 Shipibo-Conibo Verb Inflection........................................................... 34 Short Answers to Yes/No Questions.................................................... 45 Transitivity in SC.................................................................................. 49 IV. INTRANSITIVE VERBS.........................................................................53 Copular Verbs and their Clauses.......................................................... 55