Emotive interjections in Maasai (Arusa)
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Alexander Andrason [1] ; Michael Karani [2]
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[1] University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
City of Cape Town, Sudáfrica
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[2] University of Dar es Salaam
University of Dar es Salaam
Gerezani, Tanzania
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- Localización: Italian journal of linguistics, ISSN 1120-2726, Vol. 35, Nº. 2, 2023, págs. 75-118
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
The present article studies the interjective category in Arusa Maasai. By using a typologically-based and prototype-driven approach to interjectionality, the authors test all emotive interjections previously collected in fieldwork in the Arusha region for their compliance with non-formal (semantic and pragmatic) and formal (phonological, morphological, and syntactic) properties associated with emotive interjections across languages. The analysis demonstrates that, when treated holistically, the category of interjections largely complies with the prototype of an interjection – in case of some features, tokens, and/or uses, compliance is indeed total. Nevertheless, in case of other features, tokens, and/ or uses, compliance is less evident, sometimes even marginal. Overall, both the events of compliance and violation are significant for emotive interjections in Arusa as they jointly determine the boundaries and variation of the interjective category envisaged in its totality
