@phdthesis{76836,
  address               = {Minnesota},
  author                = {Custis, Tonya},
  pages                 = {181},
  publisher             = {University of Minnesota},
  school                = {University of Minnesota},
  title                 = {Word Order Variation in Tongan: A Syntactic Analysis},
  type                  = {(Doctoral dissertation)},
  year                  = {2004},
  abstract              = {The research objective of this Ph.D. thesis is to syntactically account for word order variation in Tongan. The analysis proposed in this thesis reflects the syntactic and the pragmatic facts of Tongan word order variation. Further, it is a unified theory in which each possible word order (VSO, VOS, SVO, OVS) is derived from the same underlying syntactic configuration, and in which the derivation of each word order complements (i.e., doesn't contradict) the derivations of the other word orders. Each chapter of this thesis deals with a particular piece of the puzzle of Tongan syntax: Chapter 2 outlines the pragmatic motivations for Tongan word order variation. Chapter 3 provides a general syntactic account of verb-initial constructions in Tongan, in which verb-raising is adopted over predicate-raising. Chapter 4 dives a bit deeper into verb-initial syntax in Tongan, showing that negative constructions and SCL constructions in Tongan are best accounted for in a syntax where the tense marker is treated as a complementizer. Chapter 5 discusses the morpheme <italic>ko</italic> and its dual nature, functioning both as topic-marker and predicate-nominal complementizer. All of these topics have proven to be interrelated&mdash;the analysis of each supports the analyses of all the others. Taken together, the individual analyses from each chapter make up a consistent theory for pragmatically-motivated word order variation in Tongan. This thesis provides a systematic look at the interactions of cognitive status, topicality, and word order variation in Tongan. Contributions made by this thesis to Minimalist syntax include illustrating that movement to a higher specifier within the same projection should be disallowed, and showing that Chomsky's (1993) Extension Condition is a necessary one in Tongan syntax (the derivation of VOS provides an especially good example). In addition, this thesis contributes to verb-initial syntax, by showing that, pragmatically and syntactically, it makes most sense for VSO languages to be verb-raising languages (and, perhaps, that conversely, it makes pragmatic sense for VOS to be predicate-raising languages).},
  adviser               = {Stenson, Nancy J.},
  bestfn                = {papua\custis_tongan2004_o.pdf},
  besttxt               = {ptxt2\papua\custis_tongan2004_o.txt},
  cfn                   = {papua\custis_tongan2004_o.pdf},
  citekeys              = {cldf4:typ_Custis_Tongan},
  class_loc             = {PL6531},
  degree                = {PhD},
  delivered             = {papua\custis_tongan2004_o.pdf},
  digital_formats       = {PDF 5.60Mb image-only PDF},
  document_type         = {B},
  fn                    = {papua\custis_tongan2004_o.pdf, papua\custis_tongan2004.pdf, papua/custis_tongan2004_o.pdf},
  guldemann_location    = {MPI-EVA Leipzig PL 6531 CUS 2007},
  hhtype                = {specific_feature},
  inlg                  = {English [eng]},
  isbn                  = {9780496145249},
  isreferencedby        = {cldf4},
  lgcode                = {Tonga (Tonga Islands) [ton]},
  macro_area            = {Papunesia},
  mpi_eva_library_shelf = {PL 6531 CUS 2007},
  mpifn                 = {tongan_custis2004_o.pdf},
  source                = {DAI-A 65/11, p. 4174, May 2005},
  src                   = {cldf, glossa, guldemann, hh, langsci, mpieva},
  subject               = {LANGUAGE, LINGUISTICS (0290)},
  subject_headings      = {Tongan language, Tongan language},
  umi_id                = {3154036}
}