Lexicosyntactic coherence and complex verb morphology

Abstract:

This lecture examines morphological typology with a focus on polysynthesis. Drawing on data from Ket and Nivkh—two linguistic isolates of northern Asia—it demonstrates the existence of two fundamentally different subtypes of polysynthesis. The Ket type is strictly monoclausal: morphological material incorporated into the verb is confined to the finite clause. In contrast, the Nivkh type allows the incorporation of material belonging to more than one clause. This contrast reflects a deeper structural parameter governing how languages integrate words and syntactic structures—a dimension that can be termed lexicosyntactic coherence. A brief geographic survey situates families containing languages such as Ket and Navajo within the “tight coherence” type, and Yupik and Inuit within the “loose coherence” type. The lecture concludes by exploring the implications of this typological distinction for historical-comparative linguistics.

Bio:

Edward Vajda has taught at Western Washington University since 1987. He has been a professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures since 1987, with an adjunct position in the Linguistics Department. His courses focus on introductory linguistics, morphological theory, historical linguistics, Russian language, folklore and culture, and Eurasia's nomadic peoples. His research focuses on Northern Asia, particularly Ket, a language spoken by fewer than 50 people in the remote Yenisei River basin. From 2005 to 2015 he was affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig, Germany), where in August 2006 he proposed evidence of a genealogical connection between Yeniseian, the language family to which Ket belongs, and the Na-Dene family of North America. He received his university's Excellence of Teaching Award in 1992 and Paul J. Olscamp Distinguished Research Award in 2011.

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