Double-marking language
Encyclopedia
A double-marking language
is one where the grammatical
marks showing relations between different constituents of a phrase tend to be placed on both the heads (or nuclei) of the phrase in question, and on the modifiers or dependents. Pervasive double marking is rather rare, but instances of double-marking occur in many languages.
For example, in Turkish
, in a genitive construction involving two definite nouns, both the possessor and the possessed are marked, the former in the genitive case, the latter with a suffix marking the possessor (and corresponding to a possessive adjective
in English). For example, 'brother' is kardeş, and 'dog' is köpek, but 'brother's dog' is kardeşin köpeği. The consonant change is part of a regular consonant mutation
.
Another example would be a language in which gender-
and/or case endings
are used to indicate the role of both nouns and their associated modifiers (such as adjectives) in a sentence (e.g. Russian
, Spanish
); or in which case endings are supplemented by verb endings marking the subject
, direct object and/or indirect object of a sentence. The Proto-Indo-European language
was double-marking in both verb phrases (verbs were marked for person and number, nominals were marked for case) and noun-adjective phrases (both marked with the same case-and-number endings), but not in possessive phrases (only the dependent was marked).
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
is one where the grammatical
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
marks showing relations between different constituents of a phrase tend to be placed on both the heads (or nuclei) of the phrase in question, and on the modifiers or dependents. Pervasive double marking is rather rare, but instances of double-marking occur in many languages.
For example, in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, in a genitive construction involving two definite nouns, both the possessor and the possessed are marked, the former in the genitive case, the latter with a suffix marking the possessor (and corresponding to a possessive adjective
Possessive adjective
Possessive adjectives, also known as possessive determiners, are a part of speech that modifies a noun by attributing possession to someone or something...
in English). For example, 'brother' is kardeş, and 'dog' is köpek, but 'brother's dog' is kardeşin köpeği. The consonant change is part of a regular consonant mutation
Consonant mutation
Consonant mutation is when a consonant in a word changes according to its morphological and/or syntactic environment.Mutation phenomena occur in languages around the world. A prototypical example of consonant mutation is the initial consonant mutation of all modern Celtic languages...
.
Another example would be a language in which gender-
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
and/or case endings
Grammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
are used to indicate the role of both nouns and their associated modifiers (such as adjectives) in a sentence (e.g. Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
); or in which case endings are supplemented by verb endings marking the subject
Subject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
, direct object and/or indirect object of a sentence. The Proto-Indo-European language
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
was double-marking in both verb phrases (verbs were marked for person and number, nominals were marked for case) and noun-adjective phrases (both marked with the same case-and-number endings), but not in possessive phrases (only the dependent was marked).
See also
- Dependent-marking languageDependent-marking languageA dependent-marking language is one where the grammatical marks showing relations between different constituents of a phrase tend to be placed on the dependents or modifiers, rather than the heads of the phrase in question. In a noun phrase, the head is the main noun and the dependents are the...
- Head-marking languageHead-marking languageA head-marking language is one where the grammatical marks showing relations between different constituents of a phrase tend to be placed on the heads of the phrase in question, rather than the modifiers or dependents. In a noun phrase, the head is the main noun and the dependents are the...
- Zero-marking languageZero-marking languageA zero-marking language is one where there tend to be no grammatical marks on either the dependents or modifiers or the heads or nuclei showing the relationship between different constituents of a phrase....