Doctoral Dissertation Research: Syntactic Ergativity in West Circassian

在对句子结构的语言学研究中，一个核心问题是如何识别句子的主语，以及是否可以以一种统一的方式对所有语言进行识别。在许多语言中(如英语和日语)，根据许多语法现象，主语可以被认为是句子中最突出的成分。然而，所谓的作格语言给这种相对稳定的跨语言图景带来了一个难题，因为在这些语言中，根据一些相同的现象，宾语而不是主语是最突出的元素。在处理作格语言时，人们采取了两种广泛的方法。第一种观点认为作格是一种表面现象，也就是说，作格并不反映作格语言和非作格语言之间的深层结构差异。第二种方法认为作格语言实际上在结构上不同于非作格语言，因为主语并不总是句子中最突出的成分。解决这场争论将是更好地了解人类语言结构可能变异的范围的重要一步。解决这场争论的一个重要步骤是对声称是作格的语言进行密切调查，因为其中许多语言仍然相对较少被研究。本项目的重点是这样一种语言：西切尔卡西亚语，属于西北高加索语系。在前人对语言的描述的基础上，主语和共同主语采用上述第二种方法作为他们解释该语言作格的初始假设。为了验证这一假说，合作圆周率将与俄罗斯阿代耶共和国西切尔卡西亚人的母语人士合作。将收集的数据将主要包括与发言者的录音对话和口头叙述。无论这一假设是否得到证实，该项目都将为我们理解语言变异的限度，以及我们对西切尔卡西亚目前研究不足的方面的了解做出有价值的贡献。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

A central question in linguistic research on the structure of sentences is how to identify the subject of a sentence, and whether this can be done in a uniform way for all languages. In many languages (e.g. English and Japanese), the subject can be identified as the most prominent element in a sentence, according to many grammatical phenomena. However, so-called ergative languages present a puzzle to this relatively stable cross-linguistic picture, since in these languages, the object, rather than the subject, behaves as the most prominent element according to some of those same phenomena. Two broad approaches have been taken in dealing with ergative languages. The first consists in claiming that ergativity is a surface phenomenon; that is, it is not a reflection of deep structural differences between ergative and nonergative languages. The second approach claims that ergative languages are in fact structurally different from nonergative languages, in that the subject is not always the most prominent element in the sentence. Settling this debate will be an important step towards gaining a better understanding of the range of possible variation in the structure of human languages.An important step in addressing this debate is the close investigation of languages that have been claimed to be ergative, since many of them remain relatively understudied. The present project focuses on one such language: West Circassian, of the Northwest Caucasian family. Based on previous descriptions of the language, the PI and co-PI adopt the second approach described above as their initial hypothesis in accounting for ergativity in this language. In order to test this hypothesis, the co-PI will work with native speakers of West Circassian in the Republic of Adygea, Russia. The data to be collected will primarily comprise recorded conversations with speakers and oral narratives. Whether the hypothesis is confirmed or not, the project will present a valuable contribution to our understanding of the limits of linguistic variation, as well as to our knowledge of currently understudied aspects of West Circassian.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.