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Vol. 61, no. 2 (Summer 2019)

Contents

Abstracts

Upper Kuskokwim (Athabaskan, Alaska): Elementary Discourse Units and Other Aspects of Local Discourse Structure

Andrej A. Kibrik
Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
Lomonosov Moscow State University

Abstract. I investigate local discourse structure in Upper Kuskokwim (Athabaskan, Alaska), drawing on a corpus of discourses that includes a variety of genres. Local discourse structure consists of minimal steps in speech production, so called elementary discourse units (EDUs). As in other languages, prosodically identified EDUs correlate strongly with clauses; subclausal EDUs (e.g., increments to a preceding clause) and superclausal EDUs (e.g., matrix clause plus complement) occur. Larger units are spoken sentences, identifiable on prosodic grounds; sentence-final and sentence-medial prosodic patterns can be distinguished. The approach is extended to conversation, which shows shorter EDUs and pervasive code mixing. I also report an experimental study in which minimally trained participants were rather reliably able to identify EDUs in an unfamiliar language, relying exclusively on prosodic cues.

Maintaining Tradition: Thematic and Structural Coherence in Personal Stories by Upper Kuskokwim Athabaskans

Mira Bergelson
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow

Abstract. This article examines personal stories told in English by representatives of the last bilingual generation speaking the Upper Kuskokwim Athabaskan language, investigating how far formal and thematic features of the storytelling tradition persist despite the language shift. Coherence in stories of personal experience in this community depends on the linguacultural models needed for their interpretation and Alaskan Athabaskan cultural traditions of storytelling, determining both the structure of stories and the dynamics of storytelling situations.

Overt Topic Marking and Discourse Coherence in Pesh: Between Correlation and Divergence

Claudine Chamoreau
CNRS (SeDyL-CEMCA)

Abstract. In Pesh (Chibchan, Honduras), the topic marker =ma is generally not used for continuing topics or in topic shifts with accessible reference; use of =ma with a topic NP is correlated with thematic discontinuity or referent complexity, including shifted or contrastive topics, antitopics, frame-setting topics, and some continuing topics. Topic constituents other than antitopics are usually clause-initial, and all are marked by particular prosodic characteristics. Four uses of =ma do not fit this characterization: with personal pronouns (especially first person); in stacking of several constituents in the same clause or intonation unit; in relativization of subjects; and as a mark of certain kinds of embedded clauses.

Discourse Coherence in Narratives and Conversations: A Case Study in Yaqui (Uto-Aztecan)

Albert Álvarez González
Universidad de Sonora

Abstract. Genre effects on the construction of discourse coherence are investigated through a case study in Yaqui (Uto Aztecan, northwestern Mexico and in Arizona). Five different discourse factors (referential continuity, finiteness vs. nonfiniteness, information structure, pausing and intonation contours, and discourse markers) are selected in order to compare how they function together to create discourse coherence in two different texts representative of two main discourse genres: monologues (narrative) and dialogues (conversation). Differences between the texts are identified not only for each feature separately but also in terms of correlations between these features.

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