Studies in Khoisan Syntax

这项研究将处理科伊桑语语法中几个相互关联的问题，并特别注意科伊桑语。科伊桑语是非洲南部使用的一个语系。许多语言在不久的将来有灭绝的危险。例如，现在只有大约200名说Hoa语的人，其中大多数人都超过了60岁。没有说霍阿语的孩子。本研究将试图通过研究几个语法问题来加深我们对这一独特语言家族的认识。由于科伊桑语言的语法研究很少（无论是理论的还是描述性的），因此建议的工作必须是描述性的和探索性的。可以预期，本研究的结果将对任何句法框架的研究人员都有价值。本研究的目的如下：首先，PI将使用已经从Hoa收集的数据，对Ju/'hoan进行实地调查，以便在几个句法结构方面对两种语言进行详细的比较。要比较的句法方面是补语和副语的句法以及动词性复合词的句法。其次，PI将扩展他对华语的句法研究，将其与相互理解的方言萨西语进行比较，并收集萨西语和华语的口头文本。第三，PI将使用音高跟踪软件研究Hoa中音调和语法的相互作用。该项目是PI更大项目的一部分，该项目旨在编写准确的霍阿语语法，并探索各种科伊桑语言之间的句法关系。在更理论化的层面上，这个项目的结果应该最终为研究对象的句法位置、对称和不对称对象语言的语言分类、复杂谓词、复合与动词序列化的关系以及语气/语法的相互作用提供信息。PI也有兴趣将他对非洲语言的研究持续地纳入研究生和本科生的课程。

This research will address several interrelated issues in the syntax of Khoisan languages, with special attention being given to Hoa. Khoisan is a family of languages spoken in southern Africa. Many of the languages are in danger of dying out in the near future. For example, there are now only around 200 speakers of Hoa and most of these speakers are over 60. There are no children who speak Hoa. This study will attempt to deepen our knowledge of this unique language family by studying several syntactic issues. Since the Khoisan languages have had very little syntactic work done on them (either theoretical or descriptive), the proposed work must of necessity be very descriptive and exploratory. It is to be expected that the results of this research would be of value to researchers in any syntactic framework. The objectives of the research are as follows. First using data that the PI has already collected from Hoa, the PI will do fieldwork with Ju/'hoan in order to give a detailed comparison between the two languages with respect to several syntactic constructions. The syntactic aspects to be compared are the syntax of complements and adjuncts and the syntax of verbal compounds. Second, the PI will extend his syntactic work on Hoa by comparing it to the mutually intelligible dialect called Sasi, and collecting oral texts from Sasi and Hoa. Third, the PI will investigate the interaction of tone and syntax in Hoa, using pitch tracking software. The project is part of a larger project by the PI to write an accurate grammar of Hoa and to explore the syntactic relations between the various Khoisan languages. On a more theoretical level, the results of the project should eventually inform studies of the syntactic position of objects, the classification of languages into symmetrical versus asymmetrical object languages, complex predicates, the relation of compounding to verb serialization, and tone/syntax interactions. The PI is also interested in incorporating his research on African languages into graduate and undergraduate courses on a continuing basis.