27.04. Colloquium of African linguistics: Animacy-based noun classification in Central Africa (Güldemann)
- https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/en/region/africa/events/upcoming-events/27-04-colloquium-of-african-linguistics-animacy-based-noun-classification-in-central-africa-gueldemann
- 27.04. Colloquium of African linguistics: Animacy-based noun classification in Central Africa (Güldemann)
- 2021-04-27T16:15:00+02:00
- 2021-04-27T17:45:00+02:00
- “From differential grammatical treatment to gender: animacy-based noun classification in Central Africa and its typological significance” - Talk by Tom Güldemann (HU Berlin) given within the digital colloquium of African linguistics and languages
| When |
Apr 27, 2021
from
04:15 PM
to
05:45 PM
(Europe/Berlin / UTC200)
iCal
|
|---|---|
| Where | via Zoom |
| Contact Name | Christfried Naumann (christfried.naumann (AT) hu-berlin.de) |
While investigating the linguistic diversity of the Ituri rainforest in Central Africa, Schebesta (e.g., 1952) and Vorbichler (e.g., 1963) observed that several languages of this zone display grammatical traits reflecting a categorization of nouns according to a ±animate distinction. However, only few languages of the area have been described explicitly to possess an overt animacy-based gender system. Based on a wider survey of Central African languages, I show that this is because they tend to implement noun categorization grammatically in a far more extensive sphere of language structure that concerns behavioral properties of nouns. These can but need not lead eventually to full-grown gender systems. The cross-linguistic picture of noun classification in the area is thus not only relevant for African linguistics but also informs the general question of how gender systems emerge and develop.
- Please contact Christfried Naumann for access information -