Gertrud Schneider-Blum
Biographic Data
| ID | 5890720 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gertrud Schneider-Blum |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gertrud |
| FAMILY NAME | Schneider-Blum |
| SIGNATURE | SCHNEIDER-BLUM G |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Cologne |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2559-3773 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 9 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Differential argument marking and discourse prominence
Many languages exhibit some form of differential argument marking (DAM), where the same generalized argument role can be marked differently. Approaches explaining these phenomena have in common that they assume some form of ranking among linguistic elements of the same kind. While previous approaches emphasize this relative ranking based on semantic features (e.g., animacy, definiteness, transitivity) or information structure (e.g., topicality), …
Why agent prominence persists even under challenging conditions
The agent of an event – the one who is performing the action – plays a central role in human cognition and in linguistic structure. Critically, the privileged role of the agent is argued to be a general phenomenon, relevant for all languages. However, in this paper, we zoom in on typological patterns that deviate from the typologically prevalent way of coding agent prominence. We focus on languages in which agents may not be marked as default and…
An acoustic study of ATR in Tima vowels
Tima has a typologically unusual 12-vowel advanced tongue root (ATR) harmony system, contrasting six [+ATR] vowels /i e ɨ ʌ o u/ with six [−ATR] vowels /ɪ ɛ ɘ a ɔ ʊ/. This harmony system provides a test case for generalisations about ATR systems: for example, that [−ATR] is less compatible with higher vowels; that [+ATR] is less compatible with lower vowels and that central vowels are incompatible with [ATR] systems. After showing that all vowels…
The impact of attentional centering on ergative marking in Tima
One of the languages on the African continent which displays ergative features is Tima, a Niger-Congo language spoken in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. In this contribution, the impact of attentional centering – influenced by factors including the animacy of the participants, the identifiability of the agent, and the givenness of either A or P participant – on the choice of construction between AVO and OV Aerg is investigated. The research brought …
Tima
Tima (ISO 639-3: tms) is a Niger-Congo language spoken by roughly 7,000 people in the Nuba mountains of Sudan, in north-eastern Africa, as well as in smaller communities in the bigger towns of Sudan such as Khartoum and Port Sudan. It is part of the Katla language group which includes the languages Katla and Julut as well as Tima, with Tima being the most distinct of the three. All three languages are regarded as endangered, mainly due to the spr…
On noncausal/causal alternations in Tima (Nuba Mountains, Sudan)
Tima, a language spoken in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, uses three derivation markers (with various allomorphs) to either increase or decrease the valency of the verb. Middle voice and antipassive marking are used to reduce the valency. Causative marking may on the one hand increase the valency of monovalent verbs, while on the other hand it functions as an anticausative/passive marker for erstwhile transitive verbs. The distribution of these der…
Morphological marking of contrast in Tima
Tima (Niger-Congo, Sudan) has two morphological means to express contrast: focus marking and selective marking. We take the distribution of both marking options and their interaction as evidence for a broad approach to contrast, the latter being a gradient phenomenon rather than a categorical one. We show for Tima that exhaustivity and unexpectedness play a role in determining the strength of the contrast, with the selective marker and focus mark…
Roots of Ergativity in Africa (and Beyond)
In the literature, it is often assumed that ergative constructions originate in passive constructions. The present contribution explores the likelihood of such a passive-to-ergative analysis for one language (Tima, Niger-Congo, Sudan), showing that this analysis cannot be substantiated and suggesting an origin in active constructions instead. This study is situated in its areal context (outlining similarities to split case marking systems across …
Reference tracking in Tima and its interplay with split ergative marking
Tima, a Niger-Congo language of the Sudan, shows signs of split ergativity. If its constituent order deviates from the basic AVO order to OVA order, the postverbal agent is formally marked, unlike preverbal agents. A direct object, regardless of its position relative to the verb, is never marked. Research so far has shown that ergative constructions are triggered by certain participant constellations in discourse. In particular, when the speaker …
No prominent works on this page.
Reference tracking in Tima and its interplay with split ergative marking
Tima, a Niger-Congo language of the Sudan, shows signs of split ergativity. If its constituent order deviates from the basic AVO order to OVA order, the postverbal agent is formally marked, unlike preverbal agents. A direct object, regardless of its position relative to the verb, is never marked. Research so far has shown that ergative constructions are triggered by certain participant constellations in discourse. In particular, when the speaker …
Morphological marking of contrast in Tima
Tima (Niger-Congo, Sudan) has two morphological means to express contrast: focus marking and selective marking. We take the distribution of both marking options and their interaction as evidence for a broad approach to contrast, the latter being a gradient phenomenon rather than a categorical one. We show for Tima that exhaustivity and unexpectedness play a role in determining the strength of the contrast, with the selective marker and focus mark…
Roots of Ergativity in Africa (and Beyond)
In the literature, it is often assumed that ergative constructions originate in passive constructions. The present contribution explores the likelihood of such a passive-to-ergative analysis for one language (Tima, Niger-Congo, Sudan), showing that this analysis cannot be substantiated and suggesting an origin in active constructions instead. This study is situated in its areal context (outlining similarities to split case marking systems across …
On noncausal/causal alternations in Tima (Nuba Mountains, Sudan)
Tima, a language spoken in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, uses three derivation markers (with various allomorphs) to either increase or decrease the valency of the verb. Middle voice and antipassive marking are used to reduce the valency. Causative marking may on the one hand increase the valency of monovalent verbs, while on the other hand it functions as an anticausative/passive marker for erstwhile transitive verbs. The distribution of these der…
The impact of attentional centering on ergative marking in Tima
One of the languages on the African continent which displays ergative features is Tima, a Niger-Congo language spoken in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. In this contribution, the impact of attentional centering – influenced by factors including the animacy of the participants, the identifiability of the agent, and the givenness of either A or P participant – on the choice of construction between AVO and OV Aerg is investigated. The research brought …
Tima
Tima (ISO 639-3: tms) is a Niger-Congo language spoken by roughly 7,000 people in the Nuba mountains of Sudan, in north-eastern Africa, as well as in smaller communities in the bigger towns of Sudan such as Khartoum and Port Sudan. It is part of the Katla language group which includes the languages Katla and Julut as well as Tima, with Tima being the most distinct of the three. All three languages are regarded as endangered, mainly due to the spr…
An acoustic study of ATR in Tima vowels
Tima has a typologically unusual 12-vowel advanced tongue root (ATR) harmony system, contrasting six [+ATR] vowels /i e ɨ ʌ o u/ with six [−ATR] vowels /ɪ ɛ ɘ a ɔ ʊ/. This harmony system provides a test case for generalisations about ATR systems: for example, that [−ATR] is less compatible with higher vowels; that [+ATR] is less compatible with lower vowels and that central vowels are incompatible with [ATR] systems. After showing that all vowels…
Why agent prominence persists even under challenging conditions
The agent of an event – the one who is performing the action – plays a central role in human cognition and in linguistic structure. Critically, the privileged role of the agent is argued to be a general phenomenon, relevant for all languages. However, in this paper, we zoom in on typological patterns that deviate from the typologically prevalent way of coding agent prominence. We focus on languages in which agents may not be marked as default and…
Differential argument marking and discourse prominence
Many languages exhibit some form of differential argument marking (DAM), where the same generalized argument role can be marked differently. Approaches explaining these phenomena have in common that they assume some form of ranking among linguistic elements of the same kind. While previous approaches emphasize this relative ranking based on semantic features (e.g., animacy, definiteness, transitivity) or information structure (e.g., topicality), …
Computer Science (6 works) · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation (6 works) · Linguistics (5 works) · Mathematics (5 works) · Ergative case (4 works) · History (4 works) · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies (4 works) · Philosophy (4 works) · Phonetics and Phonology Research (4 works) · Categorization, perception, and language (3 works)