Will Lewis Scott Farrar Terence D. Langendoen Last updated 13 June 2007 Free to use, distribute and edit. GOLD (General Ontology for Linguistic Description) The Linguist List Surrey Morphology Group http://linguistlist.org/emeld/ontology/martin-gold/gold15.xml ISO 639-3:eng The LINGUIST List, Ypsilanti MI XML ontology
pending pending pending pending pending pending pending pending pending pending pending pending pending genderSystem genderFeature is the set of values that are assigned to nouns on the basis of their inherent properties by an assignmentSystem and required by the syntax to appear on the target in an agreementSystem. Gender may but need not be assigned on the basis of sex. For a more complete definition and discussion, see the Features Website constructed by the SMG. The value of the genderFeature, established on the basis of agreement, to which nouns may be assigned if 1) they inherently denote females. Additionally, but not necessarily, nouns may be assigned this value if: 2) their formal properties (morphological or phonological) lead them to be assigned to the same agreement pattern as other nouns within the language that have female denotation. 3) they are arbitrarily assigned to the same agreement pattern as other nouns in the language that have female denotation. Languages may differ with regard to the point in the animacy hierarchy where sex-based gender assignment occurs (e.g., whether masculine or feminine is restricted to humans only, or includes domestic animals etc.). Typically, with lower-order animates, sex-based assignment will not play a role. As well as the label 'feminine', it is also possible to use an arbitrary label, such as an ArabicNumeralGender or romanNumeralGender for this value. This may be the case in certain traditions (e.g., descriptions of Bantu and Daghestanian languages) where there is a larger number of gender values, or where the sex-based assignment system is limited to a particular portion of the animates. The value of the genderFeature, established on the basis of agreement, to which nouns may be assigned if 1) they inherently denote males. Additionally, but not necessarily, nouns may be assigned this value if: 2) their formal properties (morphological or phonological) lead them to be assigned to the same agreement pattern as other nouns within the language that have male denotation. 3) they are arbitrarily assigned to the same agreement pattern as other nouns in the language that have male denotation. Languages may differ with regard to the point in the animacy hierarchy where sex-based gender assignment occurs (e.g., whether masculine or feminine is restricted to humans only, or includes domestic animals etc.). Typically, with lower-order animates, sex-based assignment will not play a role. As well as the label 'masculine', it is also possible to use an arbitrary label, such as an ArabicNumeralGender or romanNumeralGender for this value. This may be the case in certain traditions (e.g., descriptions of Bantu and Daghestanian languages) where there is a larger number of gender values, or where the sex-based assignment system is limited to a particular portion of the animates. A grammatical gender assigned to a class of nouns with human denotation. In a given language it may include larger or smaller numbers of nouns which do not meet this semantic criterion. If there is a two-way distinction in gender and one of them is humanGender, the other gender will typically be called non-human. A grammatical gender assigned to a class of nouns with animate denotation. In a given language it may include larger or smaller numbers of nouns which do not meet this semantic criterion. The animate gender may occur in a two-gender system, with the other gender being labelled inanimate. However, the animate gender may also occur in larger inventories (i.e. greater than two values). Examples of these larger systems are found in Bantu languages (where nouns denoting humans are included in the animate gender) and in languages of Daghestan (where the animate gender is typically for non-human animates). Membership in the animate grammatical class is largely based on meaning, in that living things, including humans, animals, spirits, trees, and most plants may be included in the animate class of nouns. Languages differ to a certain extent in what is construed as animate/inanimate. On terminology: In systems where humans are excluded from the animate gender by virtue of having human/feminine/masculine gender, it is possible to use the label 'animal gender' for animate gender. One of the two grammatical genders, or noun classes, of Nishnaabemwin, the other being animate. Membership in the inanimate grammatical class is largely based on meaning, in that non-living things, such as objects of manufacture and natural 'non-living' things are included in it. One convention for the values of gender is to use Arabic numerals. This is particularly useful where the number of genders is large. Roman and Arabic numerals may often be used for languages for which there is a descriptive tradition involving use of the term 'noun class', in particular in languages of the Caucasus or Bantu languages. As these are agreement systems involved in nominal classification, they are gender systems. It should also be noted that Roman or Arabic numerals may be used in instances where another value/label is possible. For instance, in one language the gender to which nouns with human denotation are assigned might be called 'human', whereas in another language nouns with a similar denotation might be assigned to a gender with an arbitary numerical label, such as "1". The term 'noun class' requires further clarification. It clearly indicates nominal classification, but can be vague with regard to the nature of that classification: only with reference to the actual form of the noun itself, or with reference to the agreements it takes. The former is most likely to be an instance of inflectional or morphological class, and the latter is an instance of gender agreement. One convention for the values of gender is to use Roman numerals. Roman and Arabic numerals may often be used for languages for which there is a descriptive tradition involving use of the term 'noun class', in particular in languages of the Caucasus or Bantu languages. As these are agreement systems involved in nominal classification, they are gender systems. It should also be noted that Roman or Arabic numerals may be used in instances where another value/label is possible. For instance, in one language the gender to which nouns with male rational denotation are assigned might be called 'masculine', whereas in another language nouns with a similar denotation might be assigned to a gender with an arbitary Roman numerical label, such as "I". The term 'noun class' requires further clarification. It clearly indicates nominal classification, but can be vague with regard to the nature of that classification: only with reference to the actual form of the noun itself, or with reference to the agreements it takes. The former is most likely to be an instance of inflectional or morphological class, and the latter is an instance of gender agreement. numberSystem NumberFeature is the set of number values that participate in the numberSystem. As defined here, 'number' involves quantification over the events or entities denoted by a noun or nominal element (irrespective of whether this is reflected in agreement or realized directly on the noun). In order for a language to be considered to have a value of numberFeature, it should be possible for that value to appear in the absence of a numeral. Linguists may also refer to quantification of events denoted by a verb as number. However, nominal number and verbal number are different concepts in the ontology. See aspect for verbal number/pluractionality. When nominal number is found expressed on the noun or the noun phrase as such, it is considered inherent (see inherentFeature). When found on other elements of the noun phrase, or on the verb, it is contextual (see contextualFeature). The numberSystem should not be confused with the numerals in a language. A value of numberFeature. pluralNumber quantifies the denotation of the nominal element so that: 1) it specifies that there are more than one. In this English example below, plural is shown by both the noun and the verb in (2): 2) additionally, but not necessarily, pluralNumber may be assigned on the basis of formal properties (e.g. pluralia tantum, or measles / *measle). 3) if pluralNumber functions as generalNumber, it may specify a lack of commitment with regard to quantification (Corbett2000:17 notes this system does not exist in pure form, that is, no language employs it as the normal case). In some Cushitic languages, generalNumber can be the same as singularNumber for some nouns, but the same as pluralNumber for other nouns. For example, in Arbore (arv), generalNumber may contrast with the singular in the absence of a distinct plural form: The meaning of pluralNumber naturally varies according to the system in which it is embedded. It can potentially mean 'more than two' or 'more than three' in languages where a dualNumber, trialNumber, paucalNumber, or other value is also present in the number system. No distinction among these narrower meanings is made within GOLD. On terminology: the concept plural is occasionally called 'multiple' in descriptions of languages which have a paucalNumber, e.g. Fijian. On terminology: Under a minimal/augmented and minimal/unit-augmented systems, the label 'augmented' will map to the concept pluralNumber. A note on minimal/augmented systems (and also minimal/unit-augmented/augmented). In some languages which have an inclusive/exclusive distinction in the first person, the firstPersonInclusive may use the morphology which otherwise expresses singularNumber, even though the semantics of firstPersonInclusive entail that it cannot be singular. There is an analysis of this in which the morphology is seen as representing the minimal number associated with the particular person value. Under such a system, the label 'minimal' can be mapped onto the concept singularNumber, except if one is dealing with firstPersonInclusive minimal, which would be mapped onto the concept dualNumber. There is an important theoretical question about whether minimal/unit-augmented/augmented should be considered separate concepts in the GOLD ontology. The main argument for this is that under such systems, the number values dual and trial are expressed only on the firstPersonInclusive by using the morphology otherwise associated with singular and dual respectively. However, as it is possible to specify a mapping from one system onto the other, we allow for a COPE to deal with this substantive issue while ensuring interoperability. generalNumber specifies a lack of commitment with regard to quantification. There is a theoretical issue whether generalNumber is a value of numberFeature, or whether it is outside the numberSystem and specifies that the numberFeature is not realized. A value of numberFeature. Greater Plural expresses (a) the fact that there is an excessive number of events or entities denoted by the noun or nominal element, or (b) the fact that the noun or nominal denotes all possible instances. On terminology: greaterPlural expressing excessive number is sometimes called the 'plural of abundance'; greaterPlural expressing all possible instances is sometimes called the 'global plural'. The value greaterPlural is only found in languages which also have the value pluralNumber. A value of numberFeature. Singular quantifies the denotation of the nominal element so that: 1) it specifies that there is exactly one. In this English example below, singularNumber is shown by both the noun and the verb in (1): 2) additionally, but not necessarily, this value may be assigned on the basis of formal properties (e.g. singularia tantum), or (health / *healths) 3) if singularNumber functions as generalNumber, it may specify a lack of commitment with regard to quantification. In this Japanese (jpn) example below, 'inu' (dog) is not specified for number: On terminology: the term 'singulative' is sometimes used for the concept singularNumber, especially when singularNumber is overtly expressed. 'Singulative' has been used sometimes for singularNumber in systems where singularNumber is distinct from to generalNumber. It is worth bearing in mind that the expression of number can differ cross-linguistically according to the animacy hierarchy. See numberAssignmentSystem. A note on minimal/augmented systems (and also minimal/unit-augmented/augmented). In some languages which have an inclusive/exclusive distinction in the first person, the firstPersonInclusive may use the morphology which otherwise expresses singularNumber, even though the semantics of firstPersonInclusive entail that it cannot be singular. There is an analysis of this in which the morphology is seen as representing the minimal number associated with the particular person value. Under such a system, the label 'minimal' can be mapped onto the concept singularNumber, except if one is dealing with firstPersonInclusive minimal, which would be mapped onto the concept dualNumber. There is an important theoretical question about whether minimal/unit-augmented/augmented should be considered separate concepts in the GOLD ontology. The main argument for this is that under such systems, the number values dual and trial are expressed only on the firstPersonInclusive by using the morphology otherwise associated with singular and dual respectively. However, as it is possible to specify a mapping from one system onto the other, we allow for a COPE to deal with this substantive issue while ensuring interoperability. A value of numberFeature. Dual Number quantifies the denotation of the nominal element so that: 1) it specifies that there are exactly two. In this example from Upper Sorbian (hsb), 'hrodaj' specifies two: 2) additionally, but not necessarily, this value may be assigned on the basis of formal properties (e.g. dualia tantum). For example, 'mangautek' (scissors) in the Yukon dialect of Central Yup'ik (esu). The use of Dual Number varies across languages. For some languages, dual may be used to refer to any two entities; however, for some, dual must refer to a natural pair such as eyes, and for some it must refer to two items unless they are a natural pair. A note on minimal/augmented systems (and also minimal/unit-augmented/augmented). Under such systems, the label 'minimal', when used with First Person Inclusive will be mapped onto the concept Dual Number (when it would otherwise be mapped onto the concept Singular Number for other person values). For systems which also involve unit-augmented, this label will be mapped onto the concept DualNumber, except if one is dealing with First Person Inclusive unit-augmented, which would be mapped onto the concept Trial Number. There is an important theoretical question about whether minimal/unit-augmented/augmented should be considered separate concepts in the GOLD ontology. The main argument for this is that under such systems, the number values dual and trial are expressed only on the firstPersonInclusive by using the morphology otherwise associated with singular and dual respectively. However, as it is possible to specify a mapping from one system onto the other, we allow for a COPE to deal with this substantive issue while ensuring interoperability. A value of numberFeature. Trial quantifies the denotation of the nominal element so that it specifies that there are exactly three. In this example from Larike (alo), trialNumber is expressed on the pronoun:: A note on minimal/augmented systems (and also minimal/unit-augmented/augmented). In some languages which have an inclusive/exclusive distinction in the first person, the firstPersonInclusive may use the morphology which otherwise expresses trialNumber, even though the semantics of firstPersonInclusive entail that it cannot be trial. There is an analysis of this in which the morphology is seen as representing the minimal number associated with the particular person value. Under such a system, the label 'minimal' can be mapped onto the concept trialNumber, except if one is dealing with firstPersonInclusive minimal, which would be mapped onto the concept pluralNumber. There is an important theoretical question about whether minimal/unit-augmented/augmented should be considered separate concepts in the GOLD ontology. The main argument for this is that under such systems, the number values dual and trial are expressed only on the firstPersonInclusive by using the morphology otherwise associated with singular and dual respectively. However, as it is possible to specify a mapping from one system onto the other, we allow for a COPE to deal with this substantive issue while ensuring interoperability. A value of numberFeature. paucalNumber quantifies the denotation of the nominal element so that it specifies that there are a small number of distinct entities, (so the semantics are similar to that of the English quantifier, 'a few'). There is no specific upper bound in terms of numerosity that can be put on its use, while its lower bound depends on whether there is a dualNumber and trialNumber in the system. In languages which make a further distinction within this category, the values have been referred to as paucalNumber and greaterPaucalNumber. On terminology: What some terminological systems might call 'quadral' should be classified in GOLD under paucalNumber or greaterPaucalNumber. A true quadral would be defined in GOLD as 'quantifying the denotation of the nominal element so that it specifies exactly four'; however, as a so-defined number value is unattested even amongst languages with a five-valued number category, 'quadral' is not defined as a separate value here and instead is subsumed under paucalNumber or greaterPaucalNumber. A value of numberFeature. greaterPaucalNumber quantifies the denotation of the nominal element so that it specifies that there are a small number of distinct entities, greater than paucalNumber but less than pluralNumber (so semantically similar to 'several' in English). On terminology: What some terminological systems might call 'quadral' should be classified in GOLD under paucalNumber or greaterPaucalNumber. A true quadral would be defined in GOLD as 'quantifying the denotation of the nominal element so that it specifies exactly four'; however, as a so-defined number value is unattested even amongst languages with a five-valued number category, 'quadral' is not defined as a separate value here and instead is subsumed under paucalNumber or greaterPaucalNumber. The value greaterPaucalNumber is only found in languages which also have the value paucalNumber. personSystem personFeature is a deictic category, interpreted relative to the speaker, encoding the participants in a speech situation. Usually a three-way contrast is found: firstPerson (speaker), secondPerson (addressee), and thirdPerson (neither speaker nor addressee). Other distinctions within this feature include: inclusive/exclusive and proximative/obviative. Often, the paradigm of person marking is analyzed as one collapsed dimension, treating person and number together. Some linguists, however, do not give the combination person-number special status, but treat person as an individual attribute, separate from number. According to this view, the paradigm of person includes: 1) 'speaker' 2) 'addressee' 3) 'other' (non-participant) and based on these distinctions, groups of participants can be formed. Groups of participants consist of more than one participant and are thus necessarily semantically plural. The biggest analytical problem arises when the speaker (1) is involved in the participant group. The most common distinction within the range of possibilities is first person inclusive which is understood as speaker and addressee (1+2). Under such a system the first person exclusive is understood as including the speaker but excluding the addressee. Other possible combinations of participants may involve the issue of how one interprets number marking for such groups. Furthermore, number values can additionally impose restrictions ('two', 'three', 'small number') on the number of participants in the groups, and in this way the number paradigm can cross-cut the person paradigm. Crosslinguistically, there are many different patterns of syncretism between the values of the full person paradigm, especially when considered jointly with the cross-cutting number paradigm. No grammatical form has been attested for the following (although the uses are attested): a) 1+1 ('choral we') b) 2+2 ('only present audience'). A note on terminology: It is worth considering the possibility that the inclusive/exclusive - proximative/obviative and other distinctions could be treated as separate concepts which intersect with person marking. For example the proximative/obviative distinction is about the degree of remoteness from the speaker when talking about non-participants. Equally, the inclusive/exclusive distinction is about inclusion of the addressee, a participant which is proximate to the speaker. Furthermore, the terms inclusive and exclusive have been used in relation to the second person in Abkhaz (abk) where there is a distinction between 'you-excluding-them' and 'you-including-them'. Given the standard definition of inclusive/exclusive as either involving the addressee or not, the extension of this concept to the second person would involve a logical contradiction. However, there is another possibility, namely that there is a general concept involving degree of remoteness relative to a speech act participant. The firstPersonInclusive/firstPersonExclusive could be understood as the intersection of the firstPerson with this generalized concept. Examples of the type found in Abkhaz (abk) could be understood as the intersection of the secondPerson and this general concept. And finally, the proximative/obviative could be understood as the intersection of the thirdPerson with this general concept. Refers minimally to the speaker. It may also refer to the speaker combined with either the addressee or the non-participant or both, allowing for the following subdivisions: a) first person b) first person inclusive c) first person exclusive 'Inclusivity' expresses the inclusion of the addressee, so firstPersonInclusive refers minimally to the speaker and the addressee. In a language, there has to be a firstPersonInclusive for there to be a firstPersonExclusive but, theoretically at least, the opposite need not hold. firstPersonExclusive expresses the exclusion of the addressee, so firstPersonExclusive refers minimally to the speaker. In a language, there has to be a firstPersonInclusive for there to be a firstPersonExclusive but, theoretically at least, the opposite need not hold. secondPerson refers minimally to the addressee. Refers to the non-participant (other than the speaker and the addressee). The best evidence for a thirdPerson distinction is most likely to come from paradigmatic opposition, in particular in the singular. In the plural it becomes difficult to distinguish a group containing thirdPerson from the plural number. It is also a practice to discuss the semantics of person using combinations of the Arabic numerals '1','2' and '3'. It needs to be borne in mind that the semantics of the third person are based on the contrast with first and second person. Potentially, this means that the reading of '+3' is '-1 and -2'. This issue can create problems when one tries to interpret representations of the meaning of a person value with combinations such as '1+2+3', and the issue is further complicated by the interaction with number. This representation can be convenient as long as one is aware of its limitations. thirdPersonObviative refers to one or more non-participants that are in some way further removed from the speaker than other non-particpants. Contrasts with thirdPersonProximative. Proximative refers to one or more non-participants that are in some way distinct/closer to the speaker than other non-particpants. Contrasts with thirdPersonObviative. On terminology: Often called 'Third Person Proximative' or '4th person'. CaseSystem Case expresses a relationship of the dependent noun to its head. Haspelmath defines three broad categories of case, which he calls abstract, concrete spatial and concrete non-spatial. [...] we find considerable overlap between adpositions and case inflection. Normally adpositions are considered to be separate words, whereas case inflections are thought to be expressed by morphological means. Case in Kayardild might not be case, by virtue of not marking head-dependant relationship. But in general, linguists opt for descriptive case labels, just as with most other inflectional category-systems (an exception being person, where numbering of the individual categories has been prevalent since antiquity). Especially the labels of the peripheral cases are quite close to semantic roles, so they can be used for the semantic roles also when these are not expressed by cases. Thus, we can say that in some languages, "the comitative relation" is expressed by a serial verb construction, or that "an instrumental applicative" is used where other languages would have an instrumental case or adposition. When talking about Latin, an expression like "the dative case" has to be interpreted as "the Latin dative case" Cases in the Abstract Case category encode information about core syntactic roles/relations such as the roles traditionally called subject and object. On terminology: also known as 'grammatical case', 'relational case', 'core case', 'abstract case' Cases in the Spatial Case category express combinations of location, goal, source and path. Concrete NonspatialCase is a "very heterogeneous group [...] for expository convenience." It is best understood in contrast with Abstract Case and Spatial Case Causal Case "indicates what is to be feared or avoided." On terminology: The case labels 'evitative' and 'aversive', 'motivative', 'consequential', 'aversive' and 'negative causative' are essentially the same as Causal Case. "Some languages have a case whose only use is with (certain) adpositions. Since such cases have no meaning, they can be called simply prepositive/ prepositional (the best-known example is Russian)." Comparative Case expresses the standard of comparison. It has the meaning '... than x'. Abessive Case expresses the lack or absence of the referent of the noun it marks. It has the meaning of the English preposition 'without'. On terminology: Also known as 'privative case'. similativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is similar to another referent in some respect. It means 'X is similar to Y'. ablativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location from which another referent is moving. It has the meaning 'from'. Absolutive Case in ergative-absolutive languages mark referents that would generally be the subjects of intransitive verbs or the objects of transitive verbs in the translational equivalents of nominative-accusative languages. "In languages with ergative alignment of case-marking, the citation form of the noun almost always occurs both as S and as P (most patient-like argument of transitive clause), and this case is now mostly called absolutive." Accusative Case in nominative-accusative languages marks certain syntactic functions, usually direct objects. "The case of the P in accusative alignment". "Where the intransitive S is split into agent-like SA (coded like A) and patientlike SP (coded like P), the case for SA/A is best called agentive [...] Agentive case is also used for the case of the demoted passive agent". "Where the intransitive S is split into agent-like SA (coded like A) and patientlike SP (coded like P), [...] the case for SP/P is best called patientive". Adessive Case expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location near/at which another referent exists. It has the meaning of 'at' or 'near'. Allative Case expresses motion to or toward the referent of the noun it marks. Benefactive Case expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is positively affected in the clause. It is the opposite of Malefactive Case. Comitative Case expresses accompaniment. It carries the meaning 'with', 'together with' or 'accompanied by'. Similar to Proprietive Case. Also known as sociative, associative or accompanitive. " 'with, having', common especially in Australian languages." Similar to comitativeCase. Contablative Case expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location from near which another referent is moving. It has the meaning 'from near'. Contallative Case expresses that something is moving toward the vicinity of the referent of the noun it marks. It has the meaning 'towards the vicinity of'. Conterminative Case expresses the notion of something moving into the vicinity of the referent of the noun it marks, but not through that region. It has the meaning 'moving into the vicinity of'. Contlative Case expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location in the vicinity of which another referent is moving. It has the meaning 'in the vicinity of'. DativeCase marks 1) indirect objects (for languages in which they are held to exist) or 2) nouns having the role of recipient (as of things given), beneficiary of an action, or possessor of an item. "[...The] case of the indirect object (i.e. the recipient argument that is marked differently from the monotransitive P" Delative Case expresses motion downward from the referent of the noun it marks. When the recipient (or R) of a ditransitive construction is coded like the monotransitive P, we are dealing with a "primary object", and the corresponding case could be called primative case. Where there is a special case for the ditransitive theme (the "secondary object"), this could be called secundative case (though primative and secundative cases are rare; secundativity is mostly found in indexing patterns). Destinative Case expresses that something is intended for someone/something. It has the meaning 'intended for X'. "A special case for experiencers is called affective in Daghestanian linguistics" elativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location out of which another referent is moving. It has the meaning 'out of'. ergativeCase in ergative-absolutive languages generally identifies the subject of transitive verbs in the translation equivalents of nominative-accusative languages such as English. "[T]he case of the A in ergative alignment". "For 'ergative', other terms are still used in some traditions (relative case in Eskimo linguistics, narrative case in Kartvelian linguistics)." essiveCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location at which another referent exists. A special case for predicative nominals. mutativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is undergoing change. "Some languages have [a special case] [...] for predicate nominals of verbs of change ('become something, turn into something'). genitiveCase is used to mark the noun whose referent is the possessor of the referent of another noun. "The term genitive for the case of the possessor is relatively unproblematic, and there seems to be no strong reason to rename it possessive case [...] However, it should be borne in mind that in typological studies, genitive is also often used to refer to the possessor in possessed NPs, regardless of whether it is expressed by a case". illativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location into which another referent is moving. It has the meaning 'into'. inablativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location from within which another referent is moving. It has the meaning 'from within'. inallativeCase expresses that something is moving toward the region that is inside the referent of the noun it marks. It has the meaning 'towards in(side)'. inessiveCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location within which another referent exists. It has the meaning of 'within' or 'inside' (X in Y). instrumentalCase indicates that the referent of the noun it marks is the means of the accomplishment of the action expressed by the clause. ('with, using') interablativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location from between which another referent is moving. It has the meaning 'from inbetween'. interallativeCase expresses that something is moving toward the region that is in the middle of the referent of the noun it marks. It has the meaning 'towards the middle of'. interessiveCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location between which another referent exists. It has the meaning of 'between'. interlativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location between which another referent is moving. It has the meaning 'to the middle of'. 'into in(side of)'. interterminativeCase expresses the notion of something moving into the middle of the referent of the noun it marks, but not through it. It has the meaning 'into the middle of'. intertranslativeCase expresses the notion of something moving along a trajectory between the referent of the noun it marks. It has the meaning 'along the in between. intranslativeCase expresses the notion of something moving through the referent of the noun it marks. It has the meaning 'along through'. vocativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is being addressed. Not in paradigmatic opposition to any other case. "[...] it clearly does not fall under the standard definition of case." translativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun, or the quality of the adjective, that it marks is the result of a process of change. terminativeCase expresses the notion of something into but not further than (i.e., not through) the referent of the noun it marks. It has the meaning 'into but not through'. "[A] movement that goes all the way to its endpoint". orientativeCase expresses that the referent of the marked element is moving towards a goal. supertranslativeCase expresses the notion of something moving along a trajectory above the referent of the noun it marks. It has the meaning 'along the region over'. superterminativeCase expresses the notion of something moving into the region over the referent of the noun it marks, but not through that region. It has the meaning 'into the region over'. superlativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location onto which another referent is moving. It has the meaning of 'onto'. Terminology: Unfortunate name clash with 'Superlative' as a property of adjectives. superessiveCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location on which another referent exists. It has the meaning of 'on' or 'upon'. superallativeCase expresses that something is moving toward the region that is above the referent of the noun it marks. It has the meaning 'towards the region that is over'. superablativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location from over which another referent is moving. It has the meaning 'from over'. subtranslativeCase expresses the notion of something moving along a trajectory underneath the referent of the noun it marks. It has the meaning 'along the region underneath'. Unfortunate name clash with 'Superlative' as a feature of adjectives. subterminativeCase expresses the notion of something moving into the region under the referent of the noun it marks, but not through that region. It has the meaning 'into the region under'. sublativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location under which another referent is moving toward. It has the meaning 'towards the underneath of'. subessiveCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location under which another referent exists. It has the meaning of 'under' or 'beneath'. suballativeCase expresses that something is moving toward the region that is under the referent of the noun it marks. It has the meaning 'towards the region that is under'. subablativeCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is the location from under which another referent is moving. It has the meaning 'from under'. possessedCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is possessed by the referent of another noun. It has the meaning 'X is owned by ...'. perlativeCase expresses that something moved 'through','across', or 'along' the referent of the noun that is marked. On terminology: 'prosecutive', 'prolative', 'traversal', 'translative', 'vialis' and 'mediative' are other labels used for this case. partitiveCase expresses the partial nature of the referent of the noun it marks, as opposed to expressing the whole unit or class of which the referent is a part. This case may be found in items such as the following: existential clauses, nouns that are accompanied by numerals or units of measure, or predications of material from which something is made. It often has a meaning similar to the English word 'some' "partitive is used for a very special case (having to do with partial affectedness of an object argument) in Finnish, and for a similar case in Basque, but has apparently not been found useful for other languages." "In Estonian and Finnish the partitive is used for the patient if it represents part of a whole or an indefinite quantity, or if the action is incomplete, or if the polarity of the clause is negative." nominativeCase identifies clause subjects in nominative-accusative languages. It is usually the unmarked case. Nouns used in isolation often have this case. "[...] generally used for the S (single argument of intransitive clause) and A (most agent-like argument of the transitive clause), and in most languages this is also the (zero-coded) citation form of the noun [...]." Maybe say something about absolutive in ergative/absolutive case systems? benefactiveCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is positively affected in the clause. It is the opposite of malefactiveCase. locationalCase expresses that the referent of the noun it marks is a location. lativeCase expresses 'motion up to the location of,' or 'as far as' the referent of the noun it marks. owl:Thing A distributive numeral is a numeral which expresses a group of the number specified An article is a part of speech whose members are used to refer to an entity (or class of entities) which is not capable of specific identification A quantifier is a determiner that expresses a referent's definite or indefinite number or amount A quantifier functions as a modifier of a noun, or a pronoun A ConstructedLanguage is the class of linguistic systems that did not evolve spontaneously within a language community, but rather had its core grammar and vocabulary invented by one or more language experts, often with an aim to produce a more grammatically regular language than any language that has evolved naturally This class includes languages like Esperanto that were created to facilitate international communication EpistemicNecessityModality indicates that the expressed proposition is known to be true Also known as CategoricalModality A ComplexSpecification is a kind of FeatureSpecification whose value must be a FeatureStructure This class gives a feature system its recursive properites A special form of a noun that signals that the object being referred to is small relative to the usual size of such an object In some cases it may be used as a term of endearment EpistemicPossibilityModality indicates that the designated state of affairs is not known not to be true Associated with transitivity, when the action is performed by an agent (subject) on another participant (object), or with intransitivity Refers to the category of underived verb forms associated with the basic diathesis: Diathesis=D0:(X=SUBabs/nom) (Y=DIROBacc) NonPastTense locates the situation in question at or after the moment of utterance, and contrasts with a past tense A multiplicative numeral is a numeral that expresses how many fold or how many times An elementary unit comprising SymbolicStrings A single Character is also defined as a subclass of SymbolicString itself, eg, the letter 'a', or a Chinese character DeonticModality indicates that an agent has permission or is under an obligation to perform some action HodiernalPastTense locates the situation in question before the moment of utterance within the span culturally defined as 'today' Contrasts with PreHodiernalPastTense RelativePastTense locates the situation in question before that of a contextually determined temporal reference point Also called PastPerfectTense A partitive numeral is a numeral that expresses a fraction A relative pronoun is a pronoun that marks a relative clause, functions grammatically within the relative clause, and is coreferential to the word modified by the relative clause Events which are frequently repeated, differs from habitual in that it can only be based upon the observation of several occurrences of the event concerned, whereas habitual can be based upon the observation of a single occurrence PermissiveModality indicates that an agent has permission to perform the action expressed by the predicate A transitive verb is a verb that takes a direct object, and describes a relation between two participants A set of aspectual distinctions involving relations between a background situation (the reference situation) and a situation located relative to the reference situation (the denoted situation). In English, phasal distinctions are expressed by auxiliary-headed constructions, like the inceptive, progressive, and perfect constructions, whose head verbs express the aspectual class of the denoted situation. The aspectual class of the denoted situation differs from that of the reference situation. An event may have a beginning and an end, a middle portion (continuing or changing), and also an ensuing result or an altered state. These are considered to be the various “phases” of an event. A speaker may talk about an event from the point of view of any of these individual phases, and his language may have inflectional (or other type of) markers for representing these distinctions. Since such markers indicate distinctions in the temporal structure of an event, we may regard them as belonging to the category of aspect It has been suggested that these may be grouped under a subcategory (or “level”) of aspect called “phasal aspect” no documentation yet Referents of plural subject do action to one another If the agent is more topical than the patient, the direct-active clause is used. If norm is reversed and the patient is more topical, the inverse clause is used. A particle is a part of speech whose members do not belong to one of the main classes of words, is invariable, and can have grammatical or semantic significance. FutureInPastTense locates the situation in question in the future, relative to a contextually determined temporal reference point that itself must be located in the past relative to the moment of utterance An ordinal numeral is a numeral belonging to a class whose members designate positions in a sequence LexicalizedConcept is the class of semantic units that are expressed as grammatical atoms in a language A unit of semantic structure, ie, a sememe, which is the abstract meaning component of a linguistic sign Functor is the class of syntactic word whose members are neither relation- nor argument-like non-relational. Typical functors include adpositions, subordinators, and complementizers. VerbPhrase is the class of phrases that have verbs as heads. They can play the role of predicate in a main clause Pending suggested at E-MELD (no documentation yet) no documentation yet SimpleUnit is the class of unanalyzable grammatical units, those with no other grammatical units as constituents Pending LanguageStock is a wide grouping of languages based on genetic affiliation and at a higher level than a LanguageFamily. LanguageStock is defined according to the existence of language families. no documentation yet AbilitativeModality indicates the capacity of an agent to perform some action, regardless of type or condition. This is also known as the abilitive A FeatureStructure is a set of one or more FeatureSpecifications. A FeatureStructure is a kind of information structure, a container or data structure, used to group together qualities or features of some object. In a grammatical feature system, a FeatureStructure holds the grammatical information associated with some linguistic unit. In a typed feature system, a FeatureStructure has an associated type, usually a PartOfSpeech. ImmediateFutureTense, also called 'close future', locates the situation in question shortly after the moment of utterance PoliticalTaxon is the class of taxons whose instances are groupings based on political entities such as states or countries or larger politically defined entities, eg, CameroonianLanguage Locates the situation in question in the future, prior to a reference time in the future Optative indicates that the speaker wishes or hopes that the expressed proposition be the case WrittenLanguge is the class of linguistic systems whose instance are expressed using a written, time-stable form For every written language, there exists an orthographic system in which the language is expressed A substantive is a member of the syntactic class in which the names of physical, concrete, relatively unchanging experiences are most typically found whose members may act as subjects and objects, and most of whose members have inherently determined grammatical gender (in languages which inflect for gender) A complementizer is a connective which marks a complement clause InformationalForce indicates that the hearer is to relate to the informational content of what is expressed Subsumes Declarative, Speculative and Interrogative An expletive (also known as a dummy word) is a part of speech whose members have no meaning, but complete a sentence to make it grammatical AttestedVariety is the class of human language varieties that have been observed by a linguist, and for which there is at least some record and/or data Examples of attested varieties include all of the language varieties mentioned in the Ethnologue Pending ConditionalPhysicalAbilitiveModality indicates ability of an agent to perform some action, requiring the presence of conditions external to the agent The concept of a language is very difficult to define axiomatically Here, we say that a language is a subclass of GeneticTaxon above the level of dialect Language, in this sense, is often defined according to mutual intelligibility among its speakers, when the speakers of the language are located in the same general location, the sharing of a common writing system, or the sharing of a common literature An intransitive verb is derived from a basically transitive one with the direct object of the transitive verb corresponding to the subject of the intransitive A numeral is a partOfSpeech whose members function most typically as adjectives or pronouns and express a number, or relation to the number, such as one of the following: quantity, sequence, frequency, fraction SubjunctiveMood indicates that the expression is not believed to be true Pending UnattestedVariety is the class of language varieties that are posited to exist or to have existed Examples include reconstructed languages, such as Proto-Indo-European A Proadjective is a proForm that substitutes for an adjective or adjective phrase An Antipassive in which the P or logical object is overtly downgraded painted the door green FutureInFutureTense locates the situation in question in the future, relative to a temporal reference point that itself is located in the future relative to the moment of utterance An OrthWord is the fundamental unit of an orthography, usually set off by white space GeneticTaxon is the class of all taxons whose members are based on genetic relatedness Derives an intransitive verb from a transitive stem whereby the original agent (only) is cross-referrenced by the absolutive markers on the verb and the original patient, if it appears, is in an oblique phrase RemotePastTense locates the situation in question prior to the present moment, usually more than a few days ago Subsumes notion of PreHesternalPast tense, which locates the situation in question before that of an opposing hesternal past tense OrthPart is the subclass of OrthographicExpression whose members are not orthographically independent, that is, they cannot stand alone as words but compose to form words Note that an OrthPart is not the same as a single character Although, some OrthParts are single characters WeakObligativeModality indicates that an agent is under a moral obligation to perform the action expressed by the predicate An article is a member of a small class of determiners that identify a noun's definite or indefinite reference, and new or given status ActionalForce indicates that the speaker or hearer is to undertake some action Subsumes Imperative, Commissive and Hortatory Compound is the class of complex units whose members are composed of at least two roots Any entity that is relatively time unstable and has other processes as parts ProgressiveAspect, also called the continuative or the durative, encodes a single event as an ongoing process Thus, states cannot generally be encoded with the progressive An exponent of phasal aspect which expresses a stative situation that holds during the time at which an event is occurring (e g, He is fixing the fence) MentalAbilitiveModality indicates that an agent has the capacity to perform some mental action Classifier is a kind of operator used to indicate the syntactic class of some word A possessive pronoun is a pronoun that expresses ownership and relationships like ownership, such as kinship, and other forms of association Pending Text is the class of grammatical units above the level of the clause, that is, at the discourse level EvidentialFeature is the class of features that concern the grammatical encoding of the speaker's belief in what they say It is closely related to mood, some of whose values indicate the strength of the agent's belief GrammarUnit subsumes the grammatical component of the linguistic sign and includes notions such as morpheme, syntactic word, and construction Grammar units are classified according to their mereology (part-whole and complexity), morphosyntactic function, and whether they exist in a bound or free forms DeductiveEvidentiality encodes the fact that the speaker came to believe the content of the expression through a sound inference procedure EndangermentTaxon is a class of taxons based on the robustness of its members Endangerment is based on a number of criteria including the number of speakers, the average age of the native-speaker population, etc AdjectivePhrase is the class of phrases that have adjectives as heads MainClause is the class of clauses that can stand on their own as a full, independent sentence If a sentence contains any embedded clauses, the main clause is understood as the matrix plus the embedded clauses In the sentence 'John thinks that Mary is sick', 'John thinks that Mary is sick' is the main clause Pending Signals that the action proceeds in an ontologically salient way, ie that salience is assigned to nominals based on their referen'ts relative real-world capacities to control situations FreeCompound is the class of compounds that exist on their own Events which involve some duration suggested at E-MELD (no documentation yet) InterrogativeForce indicates that the speaker lacks certain knowledge about what is expressed, and may thereby be seeking information from the hearer In that case, it is equivalent to a type of imperative: "Tell me " ComplexBoundUnit is the class of complex units that cannot exist on their own Subjects perform action to self no documentation yet SpeculativeForce indicates that the speaker considers, or 'entertains', the content of the expression That is, it is in the realm of possibility, though the speaker does not necessarilty believe it NounPhrase is the class of phrases that have nouns as heads They can play the role of subject in a main clause Pending Pending Pending EvaluativeFeature is the class of features that concern the grammatical encoding of judged value These features are associated with nominals that generally indicate that the referent is viewed favorably or unfavorably by the speaker SimpleBoundUnit is the class of unanalyzable units that cannot exist without the addition of another morphological unit A special form of a noun that indicates the speaker regards the person or object being referred to with favor or admiration PhonologicalFeature is the class of linguistic features that pertain to phonological units A correlative connective is either of a pair of coordinating conjunctions (connectives) used in ordered fashion Typically, one is used immediately before each member of a pair of constituents A SimpleSpecification is a kind of FeatureSpecification whose value must be a simple linguistic attribute RemoteFutureTense locates the situation in question at a time that is considered relatively distant It is characteristically after the span of time culturally defined as 'tomorrow' An adverbial, or 'adverb', narrowly defined, is a part of speech whose members modify verbs for such categories as time, manner, place, or direction An adverbal, broadly defined, is a part of speech whose members modify any constituent class of words other than nouns, such as verbs, adjectives, adverbs, phrases, clauses, or sentences Under this definition, the possible type of modification depends on the class of the constituent being modified PreHodiernalPastTense locates the situation in question before that of a contrasting HodiernalPastTense According to Bybee, Perkins, Pagliuca 1994: 98 this category must be defined relative to a HodiernalPastTense ContextOfUseTaxon is the class of taxons whose instances classify language varieties according to how they are primarly used A Determiner is a part of speech whose members belong to a class of noun modifiers and express the reference, including quantity, of a noun SpokenLanguage is the class of linguistic systems whose instances are expressed in speech For every spoken language, there exists a phonological system in which the language is expressed DubitiveMood indicates a speaker's doubt or uncertainty about a proposition DirectEvidential, also called sensory, encodes the fact that the speaker came to believe the content of the expression by having direct sensory experience of some situation; this does not include hearing about it from someone else Also referred to as a 'question particle', an interrogative operator is a category whose members signal a yes/no question If the agent outranks the patient on the relevant generic topic hierarchy, the direct-active clause is used If the relevant norm is reversed and the patient outranks the agent on the relevant hierarchy, the inverse clause is used ComplexFreeStem is the class of stems that are made up of at least two grammatical units and that can exist without the addition of other units SymbolicString is a very general category subsuming any entity which is the product writing process Instances are usually symbolic, either part of the orthographic or other conventional system NOTE: there is significant room here for expanding the ontology, that is, to account for different types of orthographies: eg, hieroglyphs, Unicode characters, Chinese characters, Roman alphabetic characters etc Pending Human language variety is the class of all discrete entities (as identified by a linguist) that are considered systems of signs in their own right, emerge gradually as a cultural artifact, and are used by a particular community for communication A type of Verb, eg, 'seem' and 'appear' Signals when actions proceed from ontologically less salient to more salient participants Isolate is the class of human language varieties such that there are no other varieties that are genetically related ProperNoun, also referred to as proper names, is the class of nouns that are used to address particular persons or culturally significant personages or places They refer to specific entities and are not usually with articles, modifiers, possessors A viewpoint aspect which encodes the speaker’s lack of attention to the endpoints of the situation referred to Imperfective aspect is the prototypical mode of presentation for states TimitiveMood encodes that the speaker fears something expressed in what is said A Passive that alters the mapping of a nominal to the Subject relation in a basic intransitive structure Refers to the internal temporal contour of a situation — a repeated situation that occupies a large slice of time Can be based on the observation of a single occurrence A nominal is a partOfSpeech whose members differ grammatically from a substantive but which functions as one SubordinateClause is the class of clauses that cannot stand on their own as sentences A matrix clause combined with a subordinate clause form a main clause In the sentence 'John thinks that Mary is sick', 'Mary is sick' is the subordinate clause ModalityFeature is the class of features that concern the grammatical encoding of possibility and necessity As a grammatical feature, it represents those dimensions in the domains of knowledge (epistemic modality), social relations (deontic modality) and ability (abilitative modality), and possibly others Pending Stem is the class of morphological units that are analyzable into a root and possibly one or more derivational units Stems can occur alone and are the basis for adding inflectional units InceptiveAspect, also called the ingressive, encodes the beginning portion of some event A Passive in which a basic Oblique nominal assumes the Subject relation in a corresponding nonbasic configuration Can include locative passives, benefactive passives and instrumental passives CategoryChanger is a cover class for all derivational units that change the syntactic category of the root to which they are attached SemanticFeature is the class of linguistic features that pertain to semantic units A preposition is an adposition that occurs before its complement IterativeAspect, also called repetitives, encodes a number of events of the same type that are repeated on a particular occasion The time interval which is relevant to the iterative is relatively shorter than in the case of the habitual Portrays events repeated on the same occasion (like the iterative knocking on the door) SimpleFreeStem is the class of unanalyzable stems that can exist without the addition of other units ComplexBoundStem is the class of stems that are made up of at least two grammatical units and that cannot exist without the addition of other units A Passive construction which contains reflexive markings SyntacticConstruction is the class of grammar units that have syntactic structure, ie, consisting of more than one syntactic word or construction in a syntactic configuration A viewpoint aspect which encodes the speaker’s willingness to attend to the endpoints of the situation referred to Perfective aspect is the canonical mode of presentation for events FeatureSystem is the class of grammatical opposition sets relevant for a specific domain (tense, aspect, number, etc) in a given language Results of action occur to subject