TY - JOUR
T1 - Bride-price, baskets, and the semantic domain of “carrying” in a matrilineal society
AU - HILL, Deborah
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - The semantic domain of “carrying” is culturally salient in the Oceanic language, Longgu. Like many Austronesian languages, Longgu has about a dozen lexically specific verbs that refer to modes of carrying things and small children. This paper discusses the semantics of verbs in this domain, paying particular attention to the most culturally significant verb sungia, which is heterosemous with the noun sungi ‘bride-price exchange’ and refers to the manner in which women carry things supported on their head. The paper discusses meaning components, such as manner and motion, of verbs in this domain and highlights the importance of the association between some verbs and material objects. Further, the paper argues that there are grounds for suggesting the gender of the carrier is entailed in the lexical meaning of some verbs. The paper also discusses whether, given there is no generic verb ‘carry’, there is an underlying semantic pattern to this domain, and suggests that it may revolve around the cultural prominence of the verb sungia ‘to carry something [supported] on the head’.
AB - The semantic domain of “carrying” is culturally salient in the Oceanic language, Longgu. Like many Austronesian languages, Longgu has about a dozen lexically specific verbs that refer to modes of carrying things and small children. This paper discusses the semantics of verbs in this domain, paying particular attention to the most culturally significant verb sungia, which is heterosemous with the noun sungi ‘bride-price exchange’ and refers to the manner in which women carry things supported on their head. The paper discusses meaning components, such as manner and motion, of verbs in this domain and highlights the importance of the association between some verbs and material objects. Further, the paper argues that there are grounds for suggesting the gender of the carrier is entailed in the lexical meaning of some verbs. The paper also discusses whether, given there is no generic verb ‘carry’, there is an underlying semantic pattern to this domain, and suggests that it may revolve around the cultural prominence of the verb sungia ‘to carry something [supported] on the head’.
KW - oceanic
KW - semantics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85006069993&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1353/ol.2016.0023
DO - 10.1353/ol.2016.0023
M3 - Article
SN - 0029-8115
VL - 55
SP - 500
EP - 521
JO - Oceanic Linguistics
JF - Oceanic Linguistics
IS - 2
ER -