The linguistics of giving
By: edited by John Newman.
Contributors: Newman, John, 1948-
Series: Typological studies in language,; v. 36
Publisher: J. Benjamins
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Amsterdam; Philadelphia
Language: eng; mul
Number of pages: 384
Subjects: Semantics, Comparative.; Generosity -- Terminology.; Linguistics.
Description: In this collection of papers twelve linguists explore a range of interesting properties of 'give' verbs. The volume offers an in-depth look at many morphological, syntactic, and semantic properties of 'give' verbs, including both literal and figurative senses, across languages.

Topics include: an apparent zero-morpheme realisation of 'give' in a Papuan language; noun plus causative-like suffix expressing the 'give' concept in Nahuatl; 'give' and other ditransitive constructions in Zulu; the complex verbal morphologies associated with 'give' verbs in Chipewyan, Cora, and Sochiapan Chinantec; the elaborate classificatory system found with 'give' verbs in Chipewyan and Cora; 'give', 'have' and 'take' constructions in Slavic languages; the expression of 'give' in American Sign Language; the origin of the German es gibt construction the extension of 'give' to an adverbial marker in Thai, Khmer, and Vietnamese; the syntax and semantics of Dutch 'give'; first language acquisition of possession terms.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.