Kutenai has an obviation system reminiscent of the systems found in Algonquian languages, in which at most one third person nominal in a clause is proximate and others are obviate. Although the behavior of proximate nominals within clauses and within texts reflects a special status for proximates as having some sort of "higher rank" than…

A brief typological sketch of Wappo syntax is presented as well as a detailed presentation of one particular typological characteristic, "subjecthood." An explanation for the unusual surface coding of subjects in Wappo is given. (Author/NCR)

The verb in Classical Aztec is slowly moving from the end of the sentence to the beginning due to the attraction of sentence initial modal particles to the verb. Not only the function but also the position of elements should be examined to account for word-order change. (SCC)

A conservative analysis of simple declarative sentences in Lummi is given in order to clarify the role of the morpheme "ng" (a phonetic approximation of this morpheme) and the order and form of pronouns. In Lummi the combination of the transitivizer and "ng" acts as a passive marker on the verb. However, there are cases where…

The primary goal of the present study is an exposition of the structure of Mam, a Mayan language of the Mamean group. Mam is the most widely spoken of the four Mamean languages, and has been roughly estimated to have a quarter million speakers located in the departments of Huehuetenango and San Marcos in Guatemala and in the state of Chiapas in…

This research suggests a possible diachronic explanation for the emergence of OVS (Object-Verb-Subject) as basic sentence word order in Carib languages. The application of afterthought grammaticalization patterns to explain diachronic change in the position of subject necessitates some modification of Hyman's and Venneman's hypotheses. Neither…

A study of verb agreement and clause structure in Karaja, a Brazilian indigenous language of Macro-Je stock, discusses the subject and object agreement systems with relation to the Feature Specification Constraint. Implementation of the SOV order in Karaja is then analyzed and evidence is presented for the existence of a single functional phrase…

The two volumes present information on the structure, grammar, and alphabet of the language of the Otoe and Iowa Indian tribes. They are intended to support the teaching and maintenance of that language and culture. The first book introduces the reader to simple sentences in three segments: letters of the alphabet, with a simple illustrative…

This dissertation is a grammatical sketch of Colville, a Salishan language of eastern Washington. After an introductory chapter on language family, the phonology (consonants, stops, resonants, vowels) is outlined. The chapter on morphology discusses the basic intransitive nature of all roots and the production of transitive, middle, and…

A cultural and linguistic textbook on the Tolowa Indians of Northwestern California and Oregon provides a history of the tribe, a Tolowa Unifon chart and pronunciation guide, map of tribal lands with place names in Tolowa and English, stories, prayers, songs, genealogy, commonly-used words grouped topically, explanation in English of cultural…