Algonquian verb structure: Plains Cree

Aarhus University, Denmark., 2001. - 26 p. In this paper I discuss some aspects of verbs in Plains Cree, an Algonquian language of Canada. I will focus on the structure of stems, and on the order of affixes in the Cree verb. First, I will try and construct a descriptively adequate morpheme template for Cree, and then investigate a number of theoretical models to account for that. Most literature on Cree verbal morphology discusses inflection and paradigmatic relations. My attention will go to stem formation (primary and secondary derivation) and the linear combinability of elements in the verb. I will provide a descriptively adequate morpheme template for Cree, and point out some implications for cross-linguistic models of affix ordering. First, I will sketch briefly the place of Plains Cree within the Algonquian family (§2). Then I will discuss Cree word classes (§3) after which I will focus on verbal semantic distinctions in §4 and stem structure in § 5. In §6, I survey approaches to Algonquian/Cree affix order, ultimately presenting a description of verbal affixation. In §7 I will discuss these facts in the light of crosslinguistic approaches to affix order, and some implications of this are discussed in §8 and conclusions drawn in the final section.