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Typological Studies in Language 111

The Role of
Functions in Syntax
A uniied approach to language
theory, description, and typology

Zygmunt Frajzyngier with Erin Shay

John Benjamins Publishing Company

The Role of Functions in Syntax
Typological Studies in Language (TSL)
issn 0167-7373

A companion series to the journal Studies in Language. Volumes in this

series are functionally and typologically oriented, covering specific topics in
language by collecting together data from a wide variety of languages and
language typologies.
For an overview of all books published in this series, please see
http://benjamins.com/catalog/tsl

Editors
Spike Gildea Fernando Zúñiga
University of Oregon University of Bern

Editorial Board
Balthasar Bickel John Haiman Marianne Mithun
Zurich St Paul Santa Barbara
Bernard Comrie Martin Haspelmath Doris L. Payne
Leipzig / Santa Barbara Jena Eugene, OR
Denis Creissels Bernd Heine Franz Plank
Lyon Köln Konstanz
William Croft Andrej A. Kibrik Dan I. Slobin
Albuquerque Moscow Berkeley
Nicholas Evans František Lichtenberk† Sandra A. Thompson
Canberra Auckland Santa Barbara
Carol Genetti
Santa Barbara

Volume 111
The Role of Functions in Syntax
A unified approach to language theory, description, and typology
by Zygmunt Frajzyngier with Erin Shay
The Role of Functions in Syntax
A unified approach to language theory,
description, and typology

Zygmunt Frajzyngier
with Erin Shay
University of Colorado, Boulder

John Benjamins Publishing Company

Amsterdam / Philadelphia
 TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
8

the American National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence

of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1984.

doi 10.1075/tsl.111
Cataloging-in-Publication Data available from Library of Congress:
lccn 2015049998 (print) / 2016005191 (e-book)
isbn 978 90 272 0692 3 (Hb)
isbn 978 90 272 6728 3 (e-book)

© 2016 – John Benjamins B.V.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any
other means, without written permission from the publisher.
John Benjamins Publishing Company · https://benjamins.com
 Table of contents

Acknowledgments xiii
List of abbreviations xv

chapter 1
The importance of meaning for syntax 1
1. The aim of the book 1
2. A sample of open questions 2
3. Significance of the book 7
4. Content of the present volume 8

chapter 2
Theoretical foundations of the proposed approach 15
1. Introduction 15
2. Semantic structure, functional domain and subdomain 16
3. Languages differ with respect to functional domains, subdomains,
and meanings encoded in the grammatical system 18
4. Progressive aspect in English 19
5. Formal consequences of meaning encoded in the
grammatical system 24
5.1 Consequences of the choice of forms 24
5.2 Constraints on lexical insertion 27
6. Factors affecting the realization of a meaning encoded in the
grammatical system 28
6.1 Choice of lexical items affecting the realization of the
meaning encoded in the grammatical system 29
6.2 Adverbial modification 30
6.3 The meaning of a lexical item and the benefactive predication 30
7. Interaction between two meanings encoded in the
grammatical system 31
8. Principle of functional transparency: Its scope and consequences 32
9. Relationship between meaning encoded in the grammatical system
and the structure of the lexicon 37
9.1 The motivation for lexical categories 37
9.2 Lexicalization of the categories ‘noun’ and ‘verb’ 39
9.3 Adjectives 40
 The role of functions in syntax

10. R elationships among the meaning encoded in the grammatical

system, the lexicon, and co-occurrence with other meanings
encoded in the grammatical system 43
11. Similarities and differences across languages 44
12. Situating the present theory in relationship to other theories 45

chapter 3
Why the meaning encoded in the grammatical system matters 49
1. Introduction 49
2. Locative predication vs. locative expressions 51
3. The evidence 52
3.1 The coding means in locative predications 52
3.2 Inherently locative predicate and inherently locative
complement: Coding through juxtaposition 52
3.3 Inherently locative predicate and non-locative argument:
Predicate prep Noun 53
3.4 Non-locative predicate and inherently locative complement:
Predicate á Noun 55
3.5 Non-locative predicate and non-locative complement:
Predicate pred prep Noun 59
4. Consequences of encoding locative predication in the grammatical
system: Genitive predication in the locative phrase 61
5. Conclusions 65
5.1 Conclusions concerning Mina 65
5.2 Theoretical conclusions 66

chapter 4
Lexical and morphological coding means and their implications 69
1. Introduction 69
2. Lexical categories, subcategories, and derivational morphology 71
2.1 Lexical categories as a coding means 71
2.2 An open question in lexical categories: Ideophones 73
2.3 Motivation for lexical subcategories 75
3. Verbal extensions 78
4. Conclusions 83

chapter 5
Linear orders as coding means 85
1. Introduction 85
2. Linear order in linguistic theory 86
 Table of contents 

3.  inear order as a formal domain 88

L
4. Default position for a lexical or grammatical category 89
5. The SV word order in English as a coding means 90
6. Coding by position 93
7. Coding by position in English 94
8. Position before the auxiliary or verb in French 97
9. Alternations in the default linear coding and the coding
by position 98
10. Relative order as a coding means 100
11. Linear precedence 102
12. Conclusions 105

chapter 6
A methodology for the discovery of meanings encoded in the
grammatical system 107
1. Questions the methodology aims to address 107
2. Discovery of coding means 107
2.1 Discovery of lexical items with grammatical functions 108
2.2 Discovery of structures 110
3. Structural function versus meaning 111
3.1 Retention of the word-final vowel in Wandala 111
3.2 Complementizers ‘that’ in English and że in Polish 113
4. Discovery of meaning 114
4.1 General principles 114
4.2 Reminder of theoretical assumptions 115
4.3 Discovering the domain: Lack of co-occurrence with other
markers 116
4.4 Determining the function of the form: Coordinating conjunctions in
English and Polish 118
4.5 The search for the function of the form doesn’t have to be
haphazard 120
4.6 The test of omission 121
4.7 The study of the distribution of a form 123
5. Search for other structures belonging to the same domain 127
6. The distinctive feature of a function 131
7. Two tools in semantic argumentation: Internal contradiction
and tautology 132
8. A practical matter: The role of questionnaires in the discovery of
forms and functions 134
9. Conclusions 135
 The role of functions in syntax

chapter 7
The distinction between the meaning encoded in the grammatical
system and inferences from utterances 137
1. Aim and scope of the chapter 137
2. ‘Affect’ and ‘affectedness’ in linguistic literature 137
3. Background information about the structure of Mina 140
4. The question: A structure whose function is not obvious 141
5. Discourse function of the structure m V-yi 142
6. The semantic role of the subject and the structure m V-yi 143
6.1 Affectedness with intransitive verbs 144
6.2 Affectedness with inherently transitive verbs 147
7. Affectedness predication and the part-whole relationship 150
8. When the affectedness marking cannot be used 153
9. Conclusions and implications 157

chapter 8
Indirectly affected argument, benefactive, and malefactive 159
1. Introduction 159
2. State of the art 160
3. Indirectly affected argument predication 162
4. The indirectly affected argument predication in Lele 167
5. English recipient/benefactive function 170
6. Relationship between the benefactive and goal functions in English 173
7. Malefactive predication 175
8. Conclusions 176

chapter 9
The clause and the meanings encoded in the grammatical system 179
1. The goal of the chapter 179
2. Clausal structure in linguistic theory 180
3. Functions at the level of the clause 183
4. The category point of view of the subject 184
4.1 Introduction 184
4.2 Arguments against the coreferentiality function 184
4.3 Point of view of the subject and the marker się 188
4.4 Summary of the point of view of the subject in Polish 191
4.5 Point of view of the subject in Hdi 192
5. Goal orientation 195
5.1 Introduction 195
 Table of contents 

5.2 I mplications of the coding of source/subject orientation and

goal in Hdi 198
6. Thetic predication 1 in Polish 198
7. Thetic predication in Wandala: Nominal subject as adjunct 200
8. Constraining the scope of the event: Absence of a goal 203
9. Conclusions 205

chapter 10
Clausal predications in English 207
1. The coding means of English 207
2. The existential predications 208
3. Equational predications 210
4. Attributive predication 211
5. The intransitive predications 212
6. Transitive predication 212
7. Passive predication in English 213
8. Benefactive predication 217
9. Thetic predication 218
10. Conclusions 219

chapter 11
Clausal predications in Polish 221
1. Introduction: The formal means of coding 221
2. Equational predication 222
3. Identificational predication 223
4. Thetic predication 2 224
5. Intransitive dynamic predication 225
6. Goal and non-goal predication 227
7. Indirectly affected argument predication 233
8. Passive predication 234
9. Conclusions about Polish 235

chapter 12
Clausal predications in Wandala 237
1. The formal means of Wandala 237
2. Affirmative existential predication 238
3. Negative existential predication 239
4. Possessive predication 239
5. Locative predication 241
 The role of functions in syntax

6. Equational predication 242

7. Presentative predication 243
8. Grammatical roles of nouns following constituents other than
the verb 244
9. Semantic relations of nouns following the verb 245
9.1 The form of the verb 245
9.2 Transitive events under subject control 247
9.3 Non-affected subject non-affected object predication 249
9.4 Affected-subject predication 250
10. The goal marker á and verbal predications 252
11. Indirectly affected argument predication 254
12. The point of view predication 256
13. Conclusions about clausal predication in Wandala 261

chapter 13
Towards a non-aprioristic typology of functional categories 263
1. Various uses of typological research 263
2. The object of typology with respect to grammatical categories 264
3. ‘Conceptual’ or ‘cognitive’ categories 265
3.1 The basic assumptions 265
3.2 Sources of ‘cognitive/conceptual’ or ‘comparative’ categories 266
4. A typology without ‘comparative concepts’ 269
5. How to determine whether forms in different languages code the
same or different functions 270
5.1 The simplest case 271
5.2 The importance of functional domain 271
5.3 The defining feature and properties of the predication 272
5.4 A major issue: How to choose among several features 274
6. What will a typology of functional categories will look like? 276
7. Typology of clausal predications in the three languages 277
8. Discussion and conclusions 279

chapter 14
Conclusions, implications, and open questions 281
1. Introduction 281
2. Coding means versus functions 281
3. Semantic structure of individual languages 283
4. Discovery of meaning 284
5. Realization of meaning and the role of syntax 285
 Table of contents 

6.  few questions and the proposed answers 286

A
7. Cross-linguistic similarities and differences 288
8. Open questions 289

References 291

Subject Index 303

Language Index 305

Name Index 307

 Acknowledgments

Grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the
Humanities, the University of Colorado, and, most recently, from the Agence
National de Recherche through the CorTypo project, allowed me to conduct field-
work in Nigeria and Cameroon over a period of many years. Erin Shay’s editorial
work on this volume was supported by the CorTypo project and by the D ­ epartment
of Linguistics, University of Colorado.
Erin Shay has read at least two versions of this work, challenged several of
the proposed analyses, pointed out flaws in argumentation, contributed insightful
questions, and sometimes offered a more felicitous phrasing, which I have happily
accepted. Her contributions, acknowledged throughout the book, were particu-
larly important in Chapter 6 (Methodology), of which she is the co-author. She has
also edited this work, hence the authorship ‘Zygmunt Frajzyngier with Erin Shay’.
A few elements in the present book stem from my work as a Visiting Fellow at
the Research Center for Linguistic Typology at La Trobe University in the fall of
2003. I am most grateful to Bob Dixon and Sasha Aikhenvald for providing me the
opportunity to devote the time to research and writing.
Some elements of the monograph have been presented at the Leipzig ­Congress
of the Association of Linguistic Typology, to the members of the CorTypo project
and, most recently, at lectures on Empirical Foundations of Linguistics within the
LABEX program in Paris (2014). Most elements of this work were presented at a
syntax seminar at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Comments and ques-
tions from participants in all of those venues were most useful in tightening up the
argumentation in various chapters.
Some of the research incorporated in the chapter on methodology was con-
ducted while I held the Pays de la Loire Chaire Régionale de Chercheur Étranger.
The work on Wandala was supported by NSF Grant No. 0439940. The ­Humboldt
Foundation Research Award allowed me to collaborate with Mohammed Munkaila,
at the University of Bayreuth, on a number of issues in the grammar of Hausa. The
fieldwork on issues discussed in Chapter 12 was supported by the ­University of
Colorado Graduate Committee on the Arts and Humanities (GCAH), the Kayden
Committee, and the Committee on Research and Teaching in Social Sciences
(CARTSS). I am grateful to Zygmunt Saloni for access to the Sources to the Polish
Frequentative Dictionary.
 The role of functions in syntax

Without the assistance of speakers of Gidar, Mupun, Pero, Hdi, Lele, Mina,
Wandala, and Kafa over a period of many years, this study would not have been
possible. Numerous colleagues have shared with me their knowledge, their data,
their insights, and their time. In particular I would like to mention Philip Bour-
din, Denis Creissels, Antoine Guillaume, Shlomo Izre’el, Il-il Malibert, Amina
­Mettouchi, Jan Mycielski, Saeko Ogihara, Graziano Savá, and Erin Shay. Com-
ments from Claude Hagège and Lionel Galand were helpful for the write-up of the
final version of Chapter 5. I am also grateful to Amina Mettouchi for her comments
and suggestions concerning Chapters 5 and 6. I am grateful to Gilbert Lazard for
providing important bibliographical information and, although the solutions pro-
posed in this work differ from his, I am indebted to him for making explicit some
of the questions in linguistic typology. Critical readings by Sean Allison and Erin
Shay prevented me from taking a wrong path with respect to the analysis of one
phenomenon in English. I am most grateful to the anonymous reader of this work
and to the series co-editor, Spike Gildea. Their critical and constructive comments
allowed me to clarify those elements of the work that may engender readers’ mis-
understandings, to eliminate some infelicities in terminology, and to clarify the
relationship of the proposed approach to other approaches in current use. Spike
Gildea also suggested important changes to the title of this work.
None of the people from whom I have benefited so much is in any way respon-
sible for any errors of fact or interpretation.
 List of abbreviations

acc accusative du dual

addr addressee dub dubitative
adj adjective eof exponent of a function
adv adverb ep epenthetic vowel
aff affected ex existential
all allative excl exclusive
anaph anaphor f. Fula (Fulfulde)
appl applicative f feminine
ar. Arabic fact factitive marker
art article foc focus marker
assc associative Fr. French
aux auxiliary fut future
avp adverbial phrase gen marker indicating
away motion away extension genitive connection
caus causative (not necessarily genitive
c.foc contrastive focus case, although the
col collective genitive case is also
com comment marker marked gen)
comp complementizer go goal
compl completive h. Hausa
conc concern (a grammatical hab habitual
category in Mina) hl human locative
cond conditional hum unspecified human
conj conjunction hyp hypothetical
cop copula imp, imper imperative
d dependent; distal extension impf, imperf imperfective
dat dative in verbal extension coding
dat.or dative orientation inward movement
deb debitive incept inceptive
ded deduced reference marker incl inclusive
def definite indf indefinite
dem demonstrative inf infinitive
d.hab dependent habitual inn verbal extension coding
dimin diminutive inner space
do direct object instr instrumental marker
 The role of functions in syntax

intens intensifier prog progressive

interj interjection proh prohibitive
IO indirect object pst past
k. Kanuri ptcpl participle
l.anaph locative anaphor q question
loc locative quant quantifier
m masculine ref referential
n neuter refl reflexive
neg negative rel relative marker
nom nominative rem remote previous mention
nomnlz nominalizer rep reported
np noun phrase s, s subject; source
O, obj object sbj subject
on extension ‘on’ seq sequential
out verbal extension coding sg singular
outward movement stat stative marker
pl plural sub, subj subjunctive
pm previous mention t target
pnct punctual temp temporal
pol marker of polite request or to destinative preposition
polite address (Polish) top topic marker
pov point of view of the subject tr transitive
poss possessive up verbal extension coding
pred locative predicator upward movement
prep preposition vent ventive
pres presentative 1 First-person
prf perfective 2 Second-person
pro pronoun 3 Third-person
 chapter 1

The importance of meaning for syntax

1. The aim of the book

The main aim of this book is to address one of the fundamental questions in lin-
guistics, namely why languages are similar and why they are different.1 Anticipat-
ing the analyses to come, the study proposes that languages are fundamentally
similar when they encode the same meanings in their grammatical systems and
that languages are different when they encode different meanings. Even if lan-
guages encode the same meaning, they may differ with respect to the formal
means used to code those meanings.
The answer to the question of why languages are similar and why they are dif-
ferent allows us to answer another important question in linguistics, viz. what it is
that speakers know about their languages. This question, posed by Chomsky 1965,
has attracted numerous studies in various disciplines. The answer to this question
is that speakers know the functional domains and subdomains in their languages,
they know a large number of the meanings encoded in the grammatical system
of their language, and they know which formal means are used to encode those
meanings. This renders the main question concerning language acquisition very
straightforward: How do children discover the meanings encoded in surrounding
language(s), and how do they discover the formal means to code those meanings?
The term ‘meaning’ in the present volume is limited to the meanings encoded
in the grammatical system of a given language. Here I accept Meillet’s 1902 con-
dition for a semantic category, as cited in Lazard 2001: 25: ‘Aucune catégorie
sémantique n’a été admise qui ne répondît à un moyen d’expression distinct dans
la langue même.’ (Meillet 1902: 5).2 The term ‘syntax’ is limited to the formation of
utterances in the given language. The main purpose of the book is to demonstrate
that the formation of utterances in natural languages depends on two factors: the

. This aim extends Lazard’s 2012 aim of finding what is common among languages.
. ‘No semantic function has been included unless it had a distinct formal means of expres-
sion in the language under study’ (translation ZF)
 The role of functions in syntax

meanings encoded in the grammatical system of the language and the formal
means of coding available in the language.
Each meaning encoded in the grammatical system of a given language is real-
ized by a unique coding means or set of coding means, i.e., a set of means that is
not used to code any other meaning in the grammatical system of the language.
Coding means include inflectional and derivational morphology, linear orders,
lexical categories (but not individual lexical items), and a host of other means, as
described in Chapters 4 and 5. The importance of the proposed approach is that
it enables us to explain differences across languages that cannot be explained by
alternative approaches. One of the tasks for linguistic theory is to explain, not
merely describe, similarities and differences across languages. An explanation in
linguistic theory consists of the discovery of a cause-effect relationship for simi-
larities and differences across languages.

2. A sample of open questions

One of the interesting questions that should be answered by linguistic theory is

why languages having similar, or even identical, lexical categories and similar
grammatical morphemes use different means to represent the same situation in
the real world. Another question is why expressions describing the same situations
or events have different properties across languages. The nature and importance
of this question is illustrated by examples below comparing English with Mina
(Central Chadic).
In the English translations of the Mina examples below, the expressions
describing movement towards or away from a place or an activity at a place require
a preposition. In Mina, some expressions describing movement toward or from a
place or an activity occurring at a place do not require a preposition:
(1) séy mə̀ ngùl ngùl tìy á tìy-ú wàl tsú zə̀ dámù
so rel husband husband see 3sg see-3sg wife went fact bush
‘So the husband saw that the wife went into the bush.’ (fact – factitive)

Some locative expressions in Mina do require a preposition:

(2) ábə̀ ndə̀ ngə̀n n kílvíɗ-yíì
assc go 3sg prep trash heap-pl
‘She went to the trash heaps.’ (assc – associative)

Two questions emerge from the preceding examples: The first question is why
Mina doesn’t have a preposition in Example (1) but does have a preposition in
Example (2). The second question is why English has prepositions in both clauses
 Chapter 1. The importance of meaning for syntax 

while Mina has a preposition only in Example (2). An answer based on the cause-
effect relationship between available coding means and the meanings encoded in
the grammatical system will be proposed later, in Chapter 3.
Another question is why some languages have structures and constructions
(in the Construction Grammar sense) that other languages do not; for example,
why some languages have passive structures of the type observed in English while
a number of other languages do not. Consider the following pair of examples from
Mina, which on the face of it resemble the contrast between active and passive
sentences in English:

(3) a. sə̀ ɗə́f wírí

1sg boil sauce
‘I am heating the sauce’
(3) b. wír mə̀ ɗə́f-ì zà
sauce rel boil-aff fact
‘the sauce is already heated’ (aff – affected)

In the similar pair below, however, (4) a. is ungrammatical while (4) b. is gram-
matical. The question is why, if (3) a. and b. represent the contrast between active
and passive, this contrast does not apply to (4) a. and b.:

(4) a. *mpày mə̀ tsə̀r-ì zà

tree rel climb-aff fact
for ‘the tree was climbed’
(4) b. à tsə̀r-à mpày
3sg climb-go tree
‘He climbed a tree.’

The answer to questions concerning the different grammaticality constraints

applying to (3) and (4) provides a clue as to why some languages have passive con-
structions, i.e. specific form-function correlations, and others do not. The answer
to this question is provided in Chapter 3.
The need to analyze the meaning encoded in the grammatical system is illus-
trated by the contrast among sentences (5) a. (grammatical), (5) b. (ungrammati-
cal), and (5) c. (grammatical). The question is why 5 b. is ungrammatical in Mina
while the English translations of 5 b. and 5 c. are equally grammatical:

(5) a. à pə̀ŋ ngàz tə́ nkwà

3sg cut leg gen goat
‘he cut off the leg of the goat’

A clause with ngàz tə́ nkù ‘the leg of the goat’ as the subject and the verb m pə̀ŋ-ì
is ungrammatical:
 The role of functions in syntax

b. *ngàz tə́ nkù m pə̀ŋ-ì zà/kà

leg gen goat rel cut-aff fact/conc
for ‘the leg of the goat is cut’ or any other meaning

The clause with the noun nkwà ‘goat’ as the subject and the same verb m pə̀ŋ-ì is
grammatical:
c. nkwà m pə̀ŋ-ì zà/kà
goat rel cut-aff fact/conc
‘the goat is quartered’

The differences in grammaticality constraints on (5) a., b., and c. are not idiosyn-
cratic at all, but follow from the fact that Mina has encoded in its grammatical
system a specific function that English has not, as shown in Chapter 3.
A linguistic theory should explain why certain structures are possible within
the same language and others are not. Consider the puzzle involving the passive
form of intransitive verbs in English. One can say:
(6) a. He is gone.
He is come.

But one cannot say:

(6) b. *He is ran.
*He is jumped. (where ‘he’ is the person who did the jumping and not
the person on whom somebody has jumped)

Rather than treating the ungrammaticality of (6) b. as an unexplained property of

the verbs ‘run’ and ‘jump’, one can explain these facts by analyzing the function of
the form ‘BE’ Passive Participle in English, as is done in Chapter 10.
Consider now the question of the differences between many Indo-European
languages and English with respect to the dative/benefactive (‘R argument’, in
some typological studies). In French, dative pronouns are one of the coding means
used in indirectly affected argument, ‘indirect object’ functions (see Chapter 8).
With the verb ‘to give’, the dative pronoun (lui in the next example) marks the
recipient of the thing given:
(7) c’est Kermitt et euh il a il lui a
dem:be Kermitt and uh 3sg:nom aux 3sg:nom 3sg:dat aux
donné le le surnom de Tonton…
give:ptcpl def def name gen Tonton
‘It’s Kermitt and, uh, he has given him the nickname “Tonton.” ’
(Kate Beeching, 〈https://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/mb/80〉)
 Chapter 1. The importance of meaning for syntax 

This structure has a direct equivalent in the English structure S V NP NP, as illus-
trated by the translation of (7).
In French, the same pronoun may represent the complement of an intransi-
tive verb. In Example (8), the pronoun lui represents the person who is missing
something:
(8) a. je certainement je lui ai manqué
1sg certainly 1sg 3sg:dat prf lack:ptcpl
‘As for me, for sure, he missed me.’ (lit. ‘I certainly, I to him was
­missing’)

Unlike (7), the English structure S V NP NP cannot serve as the equivalent of (8):
(8) b. *I certainly him lacked.

The French pronoun lui can also be used in malefactive expressions, i.e. expres-
sions describing events detrimental to a participant:
(9) a. si tu ne le fais pas, mon père te mettra à
if 2sg neg 3sg make:2sg neg my father 2sg put:fut prep
la porte, il lui fait des menaces
def:f door 3sg:m 3sg:dat make:3sg art:pl threats
‘“If you don’t do it, my father will fire you,” he threatens him.’

The English structure S V NP NP can be used, only with the singular ‘threat’, but it
does not have the same meaning:
(9) b. ‘he made him a threat’ (he caused him to become a threat)

Examples (7–9) thus demonstrate that the English structure S V NP NP is not, and
cannot be, the equivalent of the French structure represented in these examples.
These examples illustrate the function often termed ‘indirect object’ in traditional
grammars of many Indo-European languages, e.g., Matthews 1997, where the indi-
rect object is described as ‘An object whose semantic role is characteristically that
of a recipient’ (Matthews 1997: 175). For a French description of indirect object see
Grevisse (1991: 268–298). Use of the same term for the English structure S V NP
NP constitutes the projection of a grammatical category of a particular language
onto linguistic theory.
Consider now the present perfect aspect in English:
(10) a. I have eaten

The crucial question here is why the present perfect cannot be used with specific
time reference, such as:
(10) b. *I have eaten yesterday/at 8PM
 The role of functions in syntax

The equivalent utterances in French (and German, not illustrated) can occur with
precise time reference. In French, this is true of verbs with the auxiliary avoir and
verbs with the auxiliary être:
(11) J’ai su ça après
1sg:have know dem afterwards
‘I knew it afterwards’
not *I have/had known it afterwards.
Et puis alors le soir ils sont partis donc à
conj then therefore def evening 3pl be:3pl go therefore at
11 heures
11 hours
‘And then, in the evening they left at 11 p.m.’
not *they had left at 11 p.m. (Kate Beeching, Corpus of Spoken French,
 〈https://www.llas.ac.uk/resourcedownloads/80/mb016corpus.pdf 〉)

What this illustrates is that English has encoded in its grammatical system a func-
tion, most likely aspectual, that is different from the aspect coded in French, even
though the structures coding the two aspects use the same auxiliary verb. The
differences in meanings encoded in the grammatical systems of the two languages
account for which forms are allowed and which forms are disallowed in individual
languages. Most important, the knowledge of the functions encoded allows one to
explain why certain forms are allowed and others are not.
The illustration of differences among the properties of structures describing
the same situation/event is provided by the following contrast between genitive
structures in English and Mina. The problem is that Mina has two distinct struc-
tures, one with the genitive marker tə́ and the other without the marker, while
the English equivalents of these structures have a single marker, ‘s’. One genitive
structure in Mina has the form NP tə́ NP:
(12) a. kə́ nzlà dúwə̀ŋ tə́ mə̀dìngwə̀rzé (zà)
inf cure back gen donkey (fact)
‘he cured the donkey’s back’ (omission of the genitive marker in Mina
is disallowed)

The other structure has the form NP[head] NP [modifier], i.e., it does not have the
genitive marker tə́:
(12) b. kə̀ ɗí dúwə̀n mə̀dìrngwə̀rzé
inf put back donkey
‘he put it on the donkey’s back’ (insertion of the genitive marker in
Mina is disallowed)

Linguistic theory should be able to explain why the genitive function in Mina is
realized by two different structures while in English the same structure is used in
 Chapter 1. The importance of meaning for syntax 

both sentences. An explanation that reveals a cause-effect relationship is prefer-

able to one that appeals to idiosyncratic properties of Mina or English. The dem-
onstration of the cause-effect relationship is to be found in Chapter 3.
One of the open issues in linguistic theory is the relationship between the
availability of the coding means and the functions coded in the language. In Pol-
ish, the second argument of a clause can be marked by the accusative case or by the
genitive case, with the two cases coding different functions. The accusative case on
the noun indicates that the noun is the goal of the event. The genitive case on the
noun indicates that the noun is not the goal of the event, and that there is another
goal in the event:
(13) a. weź ten kij
take:imper dem:acc stick:acc
‘take this stick!’ (the stick is the goal of the event)
(13) b. weź tego kija
take:imper dem:gen stick:gen
‘take this stick!’ (the stick is not the goal of the event; see Chapter 11 for
the explanation)

In English, the second argument (object) is marked in the same way in all types
of transitive clauses and in negative and affirmative predications, evidence that
English and Polish have different meanings encoded in the grammatical system.
There are two questions linked with this example: (1) What is the difference in
meaning between the two structures in Polish, and (2) Why does Polish have two
functions while English has only one? The present volume not only answers these
questions but also shows that the meaning encoded in (13) a. in Polish actually dif-
fers from its English translation, even though the real-world situation to which the
Polish original and the English translation refer, namely that of somebody order-
ing somebody else to take a stick, are identical.
For all of the cross-linguistic differences illustrated above there is one overall
explanation: Differences across languages in the forms used to code identical situ-
ations/events in the real world stem from the fact that languages have encoded
different meanings in their grammatical systems. The consequences of encoding
different meanings include the presence of specific lexical categories or grammati-
cal morphemes dedicated to the coding of specific meanings.

3. Significance of the book

The significance of the book is that it offers a theoretical approach and a meth-
odology capable of explaining phenomena that have not yet been explained in
linguistic theory. The methodology is based on the notion that differences across
 The role of functions in syntax

languages lie not only in the formal means of coding available in various lan-
guages but, more importantly, in the kinds of meanings encoded in the gram-
matical systems in various languages. Thus, languages having identical formal
coding means may differ greatly in the forms of utterances they encode. Recog-
nizing the existence of grammatical meaning contributes to the explanation of
the fundamental question in linguistic theory, viz. why languages are similar and
why they are different.
The analysis of grammatical meaning is fundamental to the study of syntax,
viz. the study of the formation of utterances. The book demonstrates that there is
no place in syntactic theory for the notions of ‘prototypical’ or ‘canonical’ clauses,
and no place for ‘prototypical’ or ‘canonical’ grammatical or semantic relations.
The book provides evidence that, contrary to widespread assumptions (with the
exception of Construction Grammar; see Goldberg 1995), verbs do not ­determine
the number and types of arguments with which they occur.
An outcome of the proposed approach is the need for a new approach to
the typology of functional categories that does not stem from selected functions
encoded in Indo-European languages, skeletal notions (Lazard 2004) or identi-
cal ‘comparative concepts’ (Haspelmath 2010), or any other types of aprioristic
categories. The last part of the book provides an example of the application of
the theoretical approach and methodology to the study of the functional domain
‘clause’ in three languages, and the typology that results from this approach.
The book demonstrates why some structures are possible in some languages
but impossible in others, something that cannot be explained within any of the
existing theories.

4. Content of the present volume

The main issues dealt with in the present volume are: the discovery of and evi-
dence for meanings encoded in the grammatical system; the importance of the
grammatical meaning for the form of the utterance; the connection between the
grammatical meaning and the formal means used to express it; and the connec-
tion between lexical categories and subcategories and the meanings encoded in
the grammatical system.
The book consists of three parts. Part I deals with the theoretical and method-
ological foundations of the approach. Part II contains case studies demonstrating
the application of the approach to a variety of phenomena. Part III contains three
studies of clausal predications and a demonstration of what a typology of a given
domain might look like within the proposed approach.
 Chapter 1. The importance of meaning for syntax 

Most of the discussion throughout the book is informed by first-hand research

on a variety of languages. Whenever possible, the data come from n
­ atural-language
recordings rather than from elicitation. Though they are sometimes more difficult
to read, natural-language data avoid the trap of analyzing data that are merely
translations of English or French sentences. The data were obtained with the aim
of discovering the forms and functions in individual languages rather than the aim
of testing a particular linguistic theory.

Part I: Theoretical and methodological foundations of the approach

Chapter 2. ‘Theoretical foundations of the proposed approach’
This chapter lays out the theoretical foundations for the proposed approach and
provides evidence that different languages have encoded different meanings in
their grammars. The chapter introduces the difference between meaning encoded
in the grammatical system and inferences about the real world or conceptual sys-
tem; the consequences of encoding the meaning in the grammatical system with
respect to the choice of forms; constraints on the deployment of lexical catego-
ries and lexical items; and factors that potentially affect the realization of mean-
ing encoded in the grammatical system. The chapter makes the claim that every
language has a semantic structure composed of functional domains, subdomains,
and individual meanings encoded in the grammatical system. This chapter also
contains definitions of terms used throughout the book.

Chapter 3. Why the meaning encoded in the grammatical system matters

This chapter demonstrates why it is important to discover the meanings encoded
in the grammatical system: It allows us to explain why structures have the form
they do. The discovery of meaning encoded in the grammatical system does not
rely on the situation to which the expression refers but rather on the contrast with
other meanings encoded in the language. The reason why the situation is not the
basis for the discovery of meanings encoded in the grammatical system is that
the same situation (no matter how defined) can be described by different means
across languages and within an individual language. By the same token, different
expressions across languages may be interpreted as referring to the same situation.
The domain in which this demonstration is conducted is the encoding of loca-
tive predication. Issues emerging from the discussion of locative predication are
a topic of interest in generative studies (Cinque 2010) and numerous functional
studies (e.g. Talmy’s work, starting with his 1975 study).
The chapter also demonstrates how the coding of one functional domain
may affect the coding of another functional domain. In the case of Mina (Central
 The role of functions in syntax

Chadic), for example, the form coding the genitive function depends on whether
or not it is part of a locative predication.

Chapter 4, ‘Lexical and morphological coding means and their implications’

Recognizing the existence of coding means and their properties is the fundamental
prerequisite for discovering the functions encoded in a language. Coding means
include all of the forms and combinations of forms allowed in the grammatical
system of a given language. In principle, a given coding means is not bound with
the coding of some specific function, and the same coding means, e.g. the posi-
tion of one constituent with respect to another or the inflectional marking on the
noun, can be used to code a variety of unrelated functions across languages. The
chapter focuses on coding means that are less known or whose properties are not
well understood. The chapter provides an expanded discussion of the importance
of lexical categories and subcategories and inflectional markers on the verb that
are often referred to as ‘verbal extensions.’

Chapter 5. ‘Linear order as a coding means’

This chapter is an expanded version of Frajzyngier (2011b), published in French.
The chapter provides a typology of linear orders as coding means and demon-
strates how the possibilities of coding through linear order are richer in languages
that have rich inflectional coding means.

Chapter 6, written with Erin Shay. ‘A methodology for the discovery of meaning
encoded in the grammatical system’
The methodology developed in this chapter is intended to answer the following
questions:

1. How to discover the coding means in a language;

2. How to discover the meanings encoded in the grammatical system;
3. How to describe those meanings;
4. How to discover functional domains and subdomains; and
5. How to discover and describe the functions of lexical categories and
subcategories.

Chapter 7. ‘The distinction between the meaning encoded in the grammar and
inferences about the meaning of individual utterances’
This chapter is a case study within the proposed framework. The aim of the chap-
ter is to demonstrate the existence in Mina of the grammatical coding of affected-
ness, which is different from the type of affectedness that is assumed to exist on the
basis of the analysis of real-world situations. Previous studies in which affectedness
played a role put affectedness within the framework of transitive structures, where
 Chapter 1. The importance of meaning for syntax 

affectedness was a characteristic of the object. In Mina, the coding of affectedness

is unrelated to the intransitive-transitive distinction. The affectedness predica-
tion in Mina can have only one argument, the subject, though it may have several
adjuncts. The predicate in the affectedness predication can be an intransitive or a
transitive verb; therefore, the affectedness predication is not a passive predication.
In addition to coding the semantic role of the subject in the event, the affectedness
predication also has a discourse function, in that it marks the last event in an epi-
sode and contrasts with an end-of-episode clause having a non-affected subject.
The theoretical importance of this study is that it demonstrates that the analysis
of the semantic features encoded in the grammatical system may give different
results than the commonly accepted approaches to the description of meaning.

Part II: Case studies

Chapter 8. ‘Indirect object, dative, benefactive, and malefactive’
This chapter demonstrates that English has the benefactive function encoded
in its grammatical system and also has an incipient malefactive function that
is coded by distinct formal means, while many other Indo-European languages
have the broader category of the indirect object function encoded in their gram-
matical system. Lumping these three distinct functions together into one cat-
egory (e.g. category R; see Haspelmath 2011), i.e. as a component of a ditransitive
construction, results in glossing over the differences in meaning encoded across
languages, differences that have important consequences for the form of utter-
ances. In some contemporary studies (Comrie 1989, Croft 2001, Levin and
­Rappaport Hovav 2005, Dixon 2010–12), the choice of verb is said to determine
the grammatical and semantic relations in the clause. The present study demon-
strates that the choice of verb is just one of several factors that contribute to the
form of the clause. Moreover, the present study explains what specific property of
the verb affects the form of the utterance. This chapter, like others, demonstrates
why some structures and associated functions are possible in some languages but
impossible in others.

Chapter 9. ‘The clause and the meanings encoded in the grammatical system’
This chapter deals with several central issues in contemporary syntactic theory.
Contrary to the widespread (but by no means universal) assumption in typologi-
cal literature that the form of the verbal clause is determined by transitivity prop-
erties of the verb (Comrie 1989 on the distinction between two-argument and
three argument verbs; Dryer 2007; Dixon 2010–12), the chapter proposes instead
that it is the types of meaning encoded in the grammatical system that determine
the form of the clause.
 The role of functions in syntax

The other issue concerns the universality of grammatical and s­emantic

­relations such as S, A, P, T, and R, which are used in numerous approaches (see
also S, A, O and E in Dixon 2010–2012), and the issue of the heuristic value
of the distinction between ‘comparative concepts’ and ‘descriptive concepts’
­(Haspelmath 2011). The chapter presents evidence that each type of verbal
predication has its own set of grammatical and semantic relations and that some
semantic and grammatical relations may be shared by several types of predica-
tions. Hence, there is no basis for talking about universal semantic roles across
languages (e.g. Dowty 1991; Croft 2001; Van Valin 2005; Bickel & Nichols 2009;
Bickel 2011).

Part III: Typology within the proposed approach

The aim of this part of the volume is to show what a typology based on meanings
encoded in the grammatical system might look like rather than to make defini-
tive cross-linguistic claims. This part contains a discussion of clausal predica-
tions in English (Chapter 10), Polish (Chapter 11), and Wandala (Central Chadic;
­Chapter 12). The reason behind this choice is that these languages are typologi-
cally different from one another, in that they employ different types of coding
means. These are also languages for which I have readily available access to natural
language data.
One of the most important findings in these chapters is that a typology of
clauses based on transitivity properties (Dryer 2007; Dixon 2010, v.2: 115–158)
imposes criteria that are not always relevant for the structure of clauses in indi-
vidual languages. Chapter 10 offers new analyses of the passive predication in
English. Chapter 11 offers new analyses of passive predication and a number of
verbless predications in Polish and a new analysis of the distinction between the
accusative and genitive marking of the second argument. Chapter 12 offers a new
analysis of verbal predications in Wandala.
Chapter 13 shows what a typology of verbal predications might look like, given
the fact that even languages belonging to the same family may have encoded differ-
ent types of predications in the grammatical system. The chapter proposes that the
proper object of typologies of functional categories should be the meanings actu-
ally encoded in grammatical systems rather than a fixed set of formal categories
(as proposed in Newmeyer 2007), basic meanings (as proposed in Seiler 1995), or
comparative concepts (as proposed in Lazard 2004 and in Haspelmath 2010 and
2011). The book makes the distinction between language-specific and universal
comparative categories superfluous, as the proposed typology is conducted solely
on categories encoded in natural languages.
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
 He was soon at the head of a large and powerful army. With this
he marched forward, defeated the English troops that advanced to
meet him, and, in three months after his arrival, he took Edinburgh,
the capital of Scotland.—​France now sent him aid, and, with a force
of 7000 men, he marched southward into England, and took the
town of Carlisle. At Preston Pans, he defeated an English army of
4000 strong; and such was his success, that the English
government, under King William, of Orange, trembled for their safety.
They therefore made great efforts, and in April, 1746, they sent a
large army against him, under the Duke of Cumberland. At Culloden,
the two armies met, and a terrible battle followed; Prince Edward
was defeated, and his army entirely dispersed. He was scarce able
to save his life by flight; and, indeed, he wandered about, from place
to place, among the wilds of Scotland, being every day in danger of
being seized and given up to the English government, who offered
$150,000 to anybody who would bring him to them. It seems strange
that so large a bribe could be resisted; but, such was the love that
the Scottish people bore him, and such their fidelity, that no one was
found to betray him, though many people were entrusted with the
secret of his being among them. Even the poor mountaineers
refused to give him up, though offered a sum of money that would
have made them very rich.
At last, a faithful Scottish nobleman, by the name of O’Neil, took
him in charge, and after wandering along the sea-shore in a skiff,
flying from island to island, and experiencing the greatest sufferings
and dangers, he was put on board a French frigate, that had been
sent for his rescue. He was now taken to France, and soon after,
giving up all hopes of seeing his family restored to the throne, he
settled in Italy, where he died in 1788, in the 68th year of his age. He
was the last of the Stuart line, and was called the Pretender, on
account of his pretending to set up claims to the throne of England.
 Winter.

December has come! Winter is here! These are common-place

words, but they mean more, perhaps, than we are apt to consider.
Winter, then, means that the myriad leaves of the forest are
shrivelled and torn from the trees, and scattered in the valley: it
means that the sap of the trees has ceased to flow, and that these
giants of the vegetable world have passed into a state of stupor, in
which they must remain till spring again returns.
Winter means that the myriad races of annual weeds and plants
are dead, to revive again no more; that myriads of blossoms have
faded forever from the view; that the verdure of the forest has
passed away; that the gemmed garment of the meadow is
exchanged for the thin, brown mantle of leanness and poverty; that
the velvet of the lawn has given place to the scanty covering of dried
and faded grass.
Winter means that the minstrelsy of the birds is gone, and that the
field and forest, so lately cheered by a thousand forms and sounds
of happy existence are now silent, or rendered more dreary and
desolate by the moaning winds. It means that the birds are gone to
their southern retreats; that the myriad races of insects are dead;
that the whole generation of butterflies has perished; that the
grasshoppers have sung their last song; that even the pensive
cricket has gone to his long home. It means that death has breathed
on our portion of the world, and that nature herself, as if weary of her
efforts, has fallen into a cold and fearful slumber.
Winter means all these melancholy things; but it also means
something more. It means that the granary of the farmer is full; that
his barn is supplied; that there is good and ample store for the
beasts that look to man for support, and for man himself. It means,
too, that the comfortable fire will be kindled, around which the family
will assemble, and where, secure from the bitter blast without, there
will still be peace, comfort, and content. It means, too, that there is
such a thing as poverty, shivering, without fire, without food—
perhaps, without sufficient shelter; and it means that charity should
seek and save those who are suffering in such a condition.
And winter means something more than all this: it means, by its
examples of decay and death, to teach us that we, too, must pass
away; and that it is well for us to make preparation for the great
event. Winter also brings us to the end of the year, and suggests a
serious self-inquiry, and self-examination. It would ask us if the last
year has been one of profit or loss? Are we better, and wiser, than
when it began? Are we more kind, more just, more patient, more
faithful, more fond of truth?—Summer is the season for the harvest
of the field; winter is the season for the moral harvest of the heart.
Let it not pass with any of us as a barren and unproductive season,
in which we neither sow nor reap the fruits of wisdom and peace.
 The Hand.

Every limb and member of the body is made for some good
purpose.
The eye is made to see with; the ear is made to hear with; the
nose is made to smell with; the mouth is made to eat and speak with.
The feet are made to run and walk with; the hands are made to
work with, to write with, and to do many other things.
But do you think children’s hands were ever made to strike their
brothers, or sisters, or playmates? Were your little hands ever made
to snatch away things from each other?
Who gave you hands? God gave them. Did he give you hands to
steal with? Did God give you hands that you might throw stones at
geese, or dogs, or hens, or cows, or any other innocent animals?
Did God give you hands to injure or wound any of the creatures
he has made?
Take care of your little hands, then, my children! Take care that
the hands God has given, do nothing that God disapproves.
 Nuts to Crack.

The Word “Fast.”—This is as great a contradiction as we have in

the language. The river is fast, because the ice is immoveable; and
then the ice disappears fast for the contrary reason—it is loose. A
clock is called fast when it goes quicker than time; but a man is told
to stand fast, when he is desired to remain stationary. People fast
when they have nothing to eat, and eat fast when opportunity offers.

Military Courtesy.—Gen. Meadows, equally renowned for his

wit and bravery, being on a reconnoitring party, in the Mysore
country, a twenty-four pound shot struck the ground at some
distance from the General, and was passing in such a direction as
would have exposed him to danger had he continued on his route;
quick as lightning he stopped his horse, and, pulling off his hat very
gracefully, as the shot rolled on, good-humoredly said: “I beg you to
proceed, sir; I never dispute precedence with any gentleman of your
family.”

A doctor, in Scotland, was employed by a poor man to attend

his wife, who was dangerously ill. The doctor gave a hint, amounting
to the suspicion that he would not be paid. “I have,” says the man,
“five pounds; and if you kill, or cure her, you shall have it.” The
woman died, under the hands of the doctor, and, after a reasonable
time, he called for his five pounds. The man then said: “Did you kill
my wife?—did you cure her?” “No.” “Then,” said the poor man, “you
have no legal demand,” and turned upon his heel.
 How to shake off Trouble.—Set about doing good to
somebody: put on your hat, and go and visit the sick and poor—
inquire into their wants, and minister to them; seek out the desolate
and oppressed, and tell them of the consolations of religion. I have
often tried this method, and have always found it the best medicine
for a heavy heart.

A Father’s Impulse.—When Lord Erskine made his debut at the

bar, his agitation almost overpowered him, and he was just going to
sit down: “At that moment,” said he, “I thought I felt my little children
tugging at my gown, and the idea roused me to an exertion, of which
I did not think myself capable.”

The Sublime.—Over the stall of a public writer, in Rue de Bac, at

Paris, is the following inscription: “M. Renard, public writer and
compiler—translates the tongues, explains the language of flowers,
and sells fried potatoes.”

Feeling for Another.—A Quaker, once hearing a person tell

how much he felt for a friend who needed his assistance, dryly
observed: “Friend, hast thou ever felt in thy pocket for him?”

“What are you writing such a thundering big hand for, Patrick?”
“Why, do you see, my grandmother is deaf, and I am writing a loud
lether to her.”

A Knotty Case.—Not many years ago, a man appeared in court,

whether as plaintiff, defendant, or witness, tradition does not inform
us. Be this as it may, the following dialogue ensued:—Court—“What
is your name, sir?” “My name is Knott Martin, your honor.” “Well,
what is it?” “It is Knott Martin.” “Not Martin, again! We do not ask you
what your name is not, but what it is. No contempt of court, sir.” “If
your honor will give me leave, I will spell my name.” “Well, spell it.”
“K-n-o-tt, Knott, M-a-r, Mar, t-i-n, tin—Knott Martin.” “O, well, Mr.
Martin, we see through it now; but it is one of the most knotty cases
we have had before us for some time.”

Good.—It was a judicious resolution of a father, as well as a most

pleasing compliment to his wife, when, on being asked by a friend
what he intended to do with his daughters, he replied: “I intend to
apprentice them to their mother, that they may become like her—
good wives, mothers, heads of families, and useful members of
society.”

A Learned Character.—“Give me ‘Venice Preserved,’” said a

gentleman, last week, on going to a celebrated bookseller’s at the
West-end. “We don’t sell preserves,” said an apprentice, newly-
imported from the country; “but you will get them next door, at Mr.
Brown’s, the confectioner.”

Ten To One.—Strict attention to office hours is a duty incumbent

upon every public officer. We heard of a case of an American consul,
in a foreign country, who was not remarkable for his attention to duty.
A gentleman, calling one day, found his office shut, and a label
sticking upon the door, with these words: “In from ten to one.” Having
called again several times within those hours, without finding him, he
wrote at the bottom of the label—“Ten to one he’s not in.”
 To the Black-ey’d and Blue-ey’d Friends of
Robert Merry.

It is now about a twelvemonth since our acquaintance

commenced; and I hope the feeling is such between us, that there is
a mutual desire to continue it. I know that the young, the happy, and
the gay-hearted, are apt to think that we old fellows are sour and sad
—disposed to look with an evil eye upon childhood and its sports;
and more ready to preach than practise charity.
I will not pretend to deny that, now and then, a person gets cross
and crabbed as he grows old, and like cider too long kept, turns to
vinegar: but this is not my case, or, if it be, my ill-humor never
displays itself toward the young. They are to me the buds and
blossoms of life, and their presence ever brings the welcome
feelings that belong to sunshine and summer.
Old age has been often compared to winter—the close of the
year; the season of desolation; the period of storms and tempests;
the funeral-time of the vegetable world; the time when the leaves,
the fruits, and the flowers are laid in their tomb, and covered over
with a winding-sheet of snow. This is a sad picture at first view; and I
believe many a child is led to avoid old people from the habit of
regarding them in this light—from the idea that they are shrivelled,
frost-bitten, bitter, and disagreeable.
Now, I will not deny that there is some resemblance between
winter and old age: an old man has not the warm blood of youth; his
pulses are, perhaps, like the river, chilled and obstructed by ice; his
temper is sometimes capricious and gusty, like the winds of
December; and his head, bald, or covered with a few silvery hairs, is
like the oak, stripped of its covering, and having its boughs
powdered with snow.
 All this may be true enough; but it is not good reason why the old
should be deserted by the young. I remember very well, that, when I
was a boy, there was a fine old walnut-tree, upon a hillside, not far
from where I lived. Now, I never thought or cared about this tree, till
the time when winter approached. Then, when the leaves were
scattered, the nuts were all ripe, then it was that the tree became an
object of interest to me. Then it was that I loved to visit it; to climb its
limbs and give it a shake, and hear the fruit rattle down like hail.
Never, in all my boyhood days, did I meet with anything more
delightful than this!
And let me tell you, my black-ey’d and blue-ey’d friends, that this
old walnut-tree was like many an old person you may meet with. You
will remark that, in this case, it was when winter had come, or was
near at hand, that the fruit was ripe, and ready for those who would
climb up for it and gather it. And let me tell you, that old people, like
this tree, have many a good nut to crack, many a good story to tell,
to those who will climb up in the lap and ask for it.
This is my view of the matter; and I hope that young people,
instead of running away from me, as a crusty, crabbed, one-legged
old chap, will treat me as I did the old walnut-tree—give it a shake,
and see if the nuts don’t rattle down!
I am not fond of making great promises; but, as I am anxious to
have my readers, who have set out on a journey with me, still keep
me company—at least for one year more—I am ready to engage to
do my best to please them. I shall, if I live, tell the rest of my own
story, and bring the history of Brusque to a close. The tale of the
Sable-Hunters, the travels of Thomas Trotter, the stories of the
Indians, will be continued and completed; and a variety of other
things are in store.
I can promise one thing more—and that is, some tales from the
pen of Peter Parley. That pleasant, kind-hearted old man is no more;
but I knew him better than anybody else, and all his papers are in my
hands. Among them are several tales, and I intend to publish them in
my magazine. My young readers, perhaps, do not know how
shabbily poor old Peter was treated. The fact was, that several
people in this country, as well as in others, wrote stories, and put his
name to them; thus pretending that they were actually his! Some of
these were very silly, and some were very improper. This cut Peter to
the heart, and it served greatly to shorten his days. I am sorry that,
even now, people are palming off trumpery works of their own as
Peter Parley’s.
But the tales that I propose to give, are genuine; there is no
mistake. They are by the same hand that wrote the tales about
Europe, Asia, Africa, and America; and I hope they may be as
acceptable as those were.
I return a thousand thanks to my many young friends, who have
written me letters, whether of criticism, advice, or commendation. I
am glad to know that so many of them like Bill Keeler: let them be
assured his whole story will come out in due time. I shall be very
glad to get the bear story, which L. S., of Vermont, offers to tell. The
Indiana legend of the Wolf and the Wild-cat, is received, and will
appear soon. Jane R—— will accept my thanks for—she knows
what! If she were not so many hundred miles off, I should ask her to
let me see whether she is a blue-eyed or black-eyed friend. The
basket of chestnuts were duly received from Alice D——, and were
very welcome. Ralph H—— will see that I have done as he
requested; I have given a portrait of the fine gray squirrel he sent
me, in this number. He is well, and as lively as ever.
Robert Merry.
 WINTER—A SONG.
the words and music composed for
merry’s museum.

“Tell me what does winter mean!”

’Tis a drea-ry change of scene—
When the meadow yields its bloom,
And the blo-soms seek their tomb.
Winter is the time of storms,
When the cloud in angry forms,
O’er the land in terror sweeps,
And the sighing forest weeps.
’Tis the funeral time of flowers,
Withered in their lovely bowers;
While the zephyr sings in grief,
O’er each shrivelled stem and leaf.
’Tis the dreary time of snow,
Falling chill on all below,
As a winding-sheet it weaves
O’er the graves of myriad leaves.

Winter is a time of tears,

For the poor, in youth or years,—
Where the storm drives keenly in,
And the blanket’s brief and thin.
Winter is the time of wreck,
When the billow cleaves the deck,
And the mariners go down
Where the battling surges frown.
 Transcriber’s Note:
This book was written in a period when many words had not
become standardized in their spelling. Words may have multiple
spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in the text. These
have been left unchanged unless indicated below. Obsolete and
alternative spellings were left unchanged. Misspelled words were not
corrected.
One Footnote was moved to the end of the chapter. Obvious
printing errors, such as backwards, upside down, or partially printed
letters and punctuation, were corrected. Final stops missing at the
end of sentences and abbreviations were added. Duplicate letters at
line endings or page breaks were removed. Quotation marks were
adjusted to common usage. Page numbers in the Table of Contents
were corrected to match book pages.
Links to audio files were added for music. The music files are the
music transcriber’s interpretation of the printed notation and are
placed in the public domain. At the time of this writing, music file
links will not work in mobile e-book formats like epub or Kindle/mobi.
Users who are reading the e-book in one of these formats can listen
to the music or download music files in the HTML version. Lyrics to
musical scores are presented as poetry following the illustration of
the music.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROBERT
MERRY'S MUSEUM, VOLUMES I AND II (1841) ***

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