Nuu-chah-nulth denominal verbs (DNVs) are created by attaching one of many DNV suffixes to the first word of a noun phrase. In the framework of Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), constraints on phrases can apply to items in the lexicon. Word-order domains allow constraints on linear order, such as one that requires words with DNV suffixes to be first in their domain. Evidence suggests that the incorporated nominal is not counted towards the transitivity of the DNV. On the other hand, DNVs formed on several grammatical stems treat the corresponding unincorporated nominal as a full argument. The properties of DNV suffixes in three other languages are compared with those in Nuu-chah-nult,h and one general and three DNV-specific properties can account for all the behaviour noted. Other analyses of DNVs in Eskimo-Aleut languages and in Nuu-chah-nulth are shown to be inadequate for the full range of properties associated with Nuu-chahnulth DNVs.

The goals of the dissertation are documentation and description of the language, and investigation of theoretical issues raised by the language data. Nuu-chah-nulth, which constitutes, along with Ditidaht and Makah, the Southern branch of the Wakashan family, is in immediate danger of extinction. There are many factors contributing to endangerment, but above all, there is an enormous generation-gap between people who can speak the language and people who cannot, which may ultimately be too deep and broad to bridge without significant linguistic or educational measures. The problem is compounded by the fact the there is very little documentation of the language, hampering both linguistic research and efforts in the realm of education/revitalisation of the language. This work will contribute to documentation of Nuu-chah-nulth, which will ultimately help Nuu-chah-nulth people to develop education materials for their children. Although previous studies describe and analyse Tseshaht and Kyuquot, two of the 12 Nuu-chah-nulth dialects, there is not much comprehensive work where both the Nuu-chah-nulth sound system and related phonological phenomena and its morphology, are both well-described and analysed. Nuu-chah-nulth has unique and interesting dialect variation as well as linguistic phenomena which require organisation and generalisation. This thesis focuses on the description of the Ahousaht dialect. The documentation, in conjunction with previous work, will help us understand Nuu-chah-nulth better in terms of the different evolution between dialects as well as both linguistic and typological characteristics of the language. It is important to investigate the phonology and morphology of Nuu-chah-nulth from the perspective of linguistic theory. Many phonological and morphological processes in Nuu-chah-nulth raise interesting questions in terms of universality, markedness, learnability, variability, and typological issues. Theoretical treatments of linguistic phenomena will help us understand the language itself better, and general characteristics of human language as well. I discuss the segmental phonology of the language in Chapter 3, including the treatment of pervasive phonological processes such as glottalisation, lenition, (de)labialisation, vowel lengthening, vowel shortening, and vowel alternation due to variable vowels; I treat prosodic phonology in Chapter 4, the morphological structure of words in Chapter 2, and morphological processes such as reduplication and allomorphy in Chapter 5. I treat these phenomena within Optimality Theory, due to its direct encoding of claims concerning universality, language variation, and typology.

The goals of the dissertation are documentation and description of the language, and investigation of theoretical issues raised by the language data. Nuu-chah-nulth, which constitutes, along with Ditidaht and Makah, the Southern branch of the Wakashan family, is in immediate danger of extinction. There are many factors contributing to endangerment, but above all, there is an enormous generation-gap between people who can speak the language and people who cannot, which may ultimately be too deep and broad to bridge without significant linguistic or educational measures. The problem is compounded by the fact the there is very little documentation of the language, hampering both linguistic research and efforts in the realm of education/revitalisation of the language. This work will contribute to documentation of Nuu-chah-nulth, which will ultimately help Nuu-chah-nulth people to develop education materials for their children. Although previous studies describe and analyse Tseshaht and Kyuquot, two of the 12 Nuu-chah-nulth dialects, there is not much comprehensive work where both the Nuu-chah-nulth sound system and related phonological phenomena and its morphology, are both well-described and analysed. Nuu-chah-nulth has unique and interesting dialect variation as well as linguistic phenomena which require organisation and generalisation. This thesis focuses on the description of the Ahousaht dialect. The documentation, in conjunction with previous work, will help us understand Nuu-chah-nulth better in terms of the different evolution between dialects as well as both linguistic and typological characteristics of the language. It is important to investigate the phonology and morphology of Nuu-chah-nulth from the perspective of linguistic theory. Many phonological and morphological processes in Nuu-chah-nulth raise interesting questions in terms of universality, markedness, learnability, variability, and typological issues. Theoretical treatments of linguistic phenomena will help us understand the language itself better, and general characteristics of human language as well. I discuss the segmental phonology of the language in Chapter 3, including the treatment of pervasive phonological processes such as glottalisation, lenition, (de)labialisation, vowel lengthening, vowel shortening, and vowel alternation due to variable vowels; I treat prosodic phonology in Chapter 4, the morphological structure of words in Chapter 2, and morphological processes such as reduplication and allomorphy in Chapter 5. I treat these phenomena within Optimality Theory, due to its direct encoding of claims concerning universality, language variation, and typology. / Arts, Faculty of / Linguistics, Department of / Graduate

The goal of this thesis is to provide a syntactic analysis of the possessive constructions in NCN, a Southern Wakashan language. This thesis adopts a broadly minimalist perspective (Chomsky 1995) and draws on primary data from native speakers intuitions in addition to published sources. Elicited data come mainly from speakers of the Ahousaht dialect, which is spoken on Flores Island, British Columbia. I discuss three types of possessive constructions: (i) possessed DPs (ii) possessed nominal predicates (iii) possessor raising The third type, possessor raising, is of special interest: A possessive marker referring to a possessed subject DP can attach to that subject's predicate. Subject agreement on the predicate then indexes the possessor, not the possessed subject. Unlike in other types of possession, the possessor and its possessum do not form a single constituent. In contrast to parallel structures cross-linguistically, Nuu-chah-nulth possessor raising can occur only from possessed subjects, but it is otherwise unrestricted by possessor or predicate type. I propose for Nuu-chah-nulth that the possessive morpheme corresponds to a possessive head in the functional architecture of either the DP or clausal domain. Both the Possessive Phrase and a possessor DP are associated with a possessive feature. Where the possessive marker is generated above a possessed subject DP, the possessor must raise out of it in order to check this feature. I furthermore adopt the theory of multiple feature checking (Ura 1996), such that the possessor DP may be associated with both a possessive and a set of agreement (<J>) features. This allows the possessor to raise further, and check its agreement features with the head that hosts subject inflection. By occupying this higher position the possessor determines inflection structurally, without being directly linked to the external argument of the predicate. This analysis suggests that the notion of "subject" is split between at least two syntactic positions. Evidence illustrating clear subject-object asymmetries as well as data suggesting A-movement of the possessor supports a configurational, rather than discourse-driven, view of Nuu-chah-nulth grammar. / Arts, Faculty of / Linguistics, Department of / Graduate