The Syntax-Semantics Group will hold its next meeting on Thursday, February 5th, at 2-3pm in Room 002 of the McGill linguistics department. Online participants can join with this link: https://mcgill.zoom.us/j/84180431566
Laurestine Bradford (McGill) will be presenting “Tlingit Spatial Roots” Here is the abstract:
- Tlingit “motion” verb roots are curious. There are several ways of using them that don’t entail that any literal motion takes place. These forms may describe an object simply existing in one place, or they may still incorporate a path argument and describe stationary existence at several locations along the path. I therefore propose to call them “spatial” roots rather than motion. There are also verbs which are not traditionally “motion” verbs, but which do describe motion events when used in the Progressive form. I will explore various avenues to analyze where the actual motion semantics of a motion verb comes from, whether it be the Progressive aspect, the verb root, or somewhere else.