Feature GB129: Is there a notably small number, i.e. about 100 or less, of verb roots in the language?

Patrons: Hedvig Skirgård

Description ⇫

Summary

This feature tracks languages with few members in the word class which is most commonly known as ‘verbs’. If the word class ‘verbs’ contains approximately 100 roots or less, the language qualifies for this feature.

A large part of the grammar may be devoted to constructions where a verb from the closed class combines with open-class items to form predicates in most sentences. If a grammar never remarks on the size of the verbal inventory this almost always means that the language does not have a small number of verbs in the sense of the present question. If a language has a small number of verbs in this sense, typically a description will say that there is a closed class of verbs with few members.

In such languages, it is typically the case that what is described by one verb in other languages is instead expressed by so called ‘light verb constructions’ (see GB123). For example, do meeting could express the meaning ‘to meet’. It is also possible for a language to have few verbs but no light-verb constructions.

Procedure

  1. Code 1 if there are fewer than 100 verbs in the language based on statements in a grammar or dictionary.
  2. Code 1 if the descriptions describes verbs as a very restricted word class with few members even if a precise number is not given.
  3. Code 0 if there is no mention of verbs being a restricted word class in any sense.

Examples

Jaminjung-Ngaliwurru (ISO 639-3: djd, Glottolog: djam1255)

Jaminjung-Ngaliwurru is an example of a language with only around 30 verbs (Schultze-Bernt 2000: 83). This language is coded 1 for this feature.

Further reading

Pawley, Andrew K. 2006. Where have all the verbs gone? Remarks on the organisation of languages with small, closed verb classes. Presented at the 11th Binnenial Rice University Linguistics Symposium, 16–18 March 2006.

References

Schultze-Berndt, Eva. 2000. Simple and complex verbs in Jaminjung: A study of event categorisation in an Australian language. Nijmegen: Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen. (Doctoral dissertation.)


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Name Glottocode Family Macroarea Contributor Value Source Comment