Existentials at the Interface

University Of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA

Investigators

Abstract

With National Science Foundation support, Drs. Sandra Chung and James McCloskey will conduct three years of linguistic research on the form, meaning, and use of expressions of existence in five languages whose linguistic profiles differ radically from English. Previous research has established that these expressions fall into a small range of types, closely connected in form to expressions of location, possession, and impersonality. Relatively little is known about variation in the meaning and use of such expressions. Consistent with the intuition that existence is a fundamental concept, many linguists and philosophers hold that sentences expressing existence have a constant function, whatever their form. But most previous research involved a small number of well-known and closely related languages. Broader investigation is needed to reveal whether differences in form are correlated with specific differences in meaning and in patterns of use in these expressions. Chung and McCloskey's research team will investigate these questions in three languages of the Pacific (Chamorro, Maori, and Samoan) and two languages of Europe (Breton and Irish). Data collected through fieldwork with native speakers, from written language materials, and in naturally occurring discourse will address these questions: (1) In each language, what linguistic forms express existence? (2) How are these forms used in discourse? In narrative, for instance, can sentences expressing existence introduce new characters or reintroduce familiar characters? (3) What meaning restrictions, if any, are imposed on expressions of existence? Can they be used to assert the existence of a particular object, of a kind of object, of every object of a certain kind? (4) Does the linguistic form of these expressions correlate with their meaning or function? This research is important for several reasons. First, it will broaden the range of languages whose expressions of existence are studied in depth. Second, it will contribute insights into the cross-linguistic interaction of linguistic form, sentence meaning, and discourse function. Third, the five languages to be investigated are endangered. This research will contribute significantly to their documentation, which is especially important in the under-studied areas of meaning and language use.