(Linguistics); Uncommonly Taught Languages

The structure of the noun phrase (NP) in Alsea, an extinct language of the Oregon coast, is examined with particular attention to the behavior of a clitic occurring in second position within the NP. A presentation of the basic facts includes the following: referential(s) and the deictics, possessive pronouns, third-person po3sessive, the ergative, modifiers, and the dative morpheme. A formal analysis is then provided, although because it isbased on incomplete data limited by the contents of the available texts, certail ' issues cannot be resolved definitively. The analysis covers Klavens ' parameters, the basic structtlre of the noun phrase, and the clitics. It is concluded that dative is lexically marked sothat the preposition is forced to move to the end of the clitic group. Contains 11 references. (LB) *******0*************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document