fz EuroBABEL/RHIM

Fernando Zúñiga EuroBABEL/RHIM research project (2009-2012)

Mapudungun and Blackfoot: Inverse morphology and three-participant clauses

The objective of the project is, besides further documenting Mapudungun (Chile, Argentina) and Blackfoot (USA, Canada), to ascertain for these two languages: (1) how "syntactic" inversion really is, (2) how the pragmatic factors determining obviation status work, exactly, and (3) how inversion works in three-participant clauses.

Background

Learn more about Mapudungun and Blackfoot here.
This three-year individual project (IP) is part of the collaborative research project (CRP) Referential Hierarchies in Morphosyntax (RHIM): description, typology, diachrony with four colleagues from Germany, England, and the USA.
The CRP is part of the recently created EuroBABEL, a EuroCORES program hosted by the European Science Foundation.

Events / news

The individual project started on July 1st, 2009.
The following people work as research assistants: Alexandra Herdeg joined the project at the beginning of September, 2009; she is writing an MA thesis on Mapudungun and Spanish differential object marking. Michèle Koláček joined the project on November 1st, 2009, and concentrates on Mapudungun differential object marking as well. Petra Dietiker joined the project on January 1st, 2010, and concentrates on Blackfoot inversion.
The collaborative research project as a whole was unofficially launched at the ALT VIII Conference in Berkeley, USA, via a thematic workshop session on the role of referential hierarchies on July 26, 2009. The CRP was officially launched at the EuroBABEL Launch Conference in Berlin, Germany, on September 11-13, 2009.