A Reconstruction of Proto-Sogeram Phonology, Lexicon, and Morphosyntax
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Author(s): Daniels, Don | Advisor(s): Mithun, Marianne | Abstract: The Sogeram languages are a family of ten languages spoken in central Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. This dissertation presents a reconstruction of Proto-Sogeram, including sections on its phonology, lexicon, verbal morphology, nominal morphology, and syntax. The methodology employed is, for the most part, the traditional comparative method, especially in the sections focusing on phonology, lexicon, and morphology. But I also argue for methodological innovations to the comparative method, which are grounded in a theoretical understanding of the nature of language and language change. These innovations allow for the reconstruction of syntax, and I reconstruct a good deal of the grammar of Proto-Sogeram. I also discuss many of the various innovations that the Sogeram languages have undergone, and conclude with a grammar sketch of Proto-Sogeram as I reconstruct it.The dissertation also contains six appendices, each of which is a grammar sketch of a previously undescribed Sogeram language. (Appendix 4 is actually a description of the two closely related Aisi languages.) These are the result of my fieldwork in Madang Province. The data from that fieldwork, along with data from other linguists on the three other Sogeram languages, constitutes the synchronic material on which the reconstruction is based.Keywords:
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Abstract Historical Glottometry is a method, recently proposed by Kalyan and François ( François 2014 ; Kalyan & François 2018 ), for analyzing and representing the relationships among sister languages in a language family. We present a glottometric analysis of the Sogeram language family of Papua New Guinea and, in the process, provide an evaluation of the method. We focus on three topics that we regard as problematic: how to handle the higher incidence of cross-cutting isoglosses in the Sogeram data; how best to handle lexical innovations; and what to do when the data do not allow the analyst to be sure whether a given language underwent a given innovation or not. For each topic we compare different ways of coding and calculating the data and suggest the best way forward. We conclude by proposing changes to the way glottometric data are coded and calculated and the way glottometric results are visualized. We also discuss how to incorporate Historical Glottometry into an effective historical-linguistic research workflow.
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