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Developed within the frame of cognitive and typological linguistics, the present study examines the taxonomical status of the lexemes i and z in Polish. To achieve this aim, the author analyzes the compliance of the two forms with the prototype of coordinate-hood and the structure of their maps of polyfunctionality. The evidence demonstrates that i is a canonical instantiation of the category of coordinate-hood while z is less canonical. Additionally, the two lexemes yield different maps of polyfunctionality (with distinct prototypicality nuclei), which reflects their distinct diachronic and conceptual origin. The map of i radiates from the value of ‘also’ while the map of z radiates from a comitative sense. This article – the last in a series of two – completes the presentation of the empirical evidence and interprets it within the adopted framework. The degrees of canonicity of i and z are determined and the semantic-functional maps of the two lexemes are compared.

Developed within the frame of cognitive and typological linguistics, the present study examines the taxonomical status of the lexemes i and z in Polish. To achieve this aim, the author analyzes the compliance of the two forms with the prototype of coordinate-hood and the structure of their maps of polyfunctionality. The evidence demonstrates that i is a canonical instantiation of the category of coordinate-hood while z is less canonical. Additionally, the two lexemes yield different maps of polyfunctionality (with distinct prototypicality nuclei), which reflects their distinct diachronic and conceptual origin. The map of i radiates from the value of ‘also’ while the map of z radiates from a comitative sense. This article - the first in a series of two - presents the framework underlying the research and introduces the empirical evidence related to the lexeme i.

Purpose: T he present study, divided into a series of two papers, provides a detailed empirical description and cognitive-grammaticalization analysis of the meaning of a Mandinka verbal expression compounded of the non-verbal predicator be ‘be’, a verbal noun expressing a given action and the postposition kaŋ ‘on, at’ (so-called the Nominal KAŊ form). Method: T he author follows the cognitive approach to verbal semantics which consists first of determining the exact range of contextually induced senses and next of unifying such values into a consistent map based upon certain diachronic universals or grammaticalization paths. Results: T he synchronic inventory of senses of the Nominal KAŊ form (i.e. progressive, continuous, progressive-iterative, iterative, habitual and durative values) shows that this construction can be mapped using the imperfective path as a template of chaining. This mapping, hypothesized on the ground of synchronic semantic evidence and typological diachronic laws, is next corroborated by the structural properties of the Nominal KAŊ locution, especially by its locative and nominal character. Conclusion: A ll the evidence enables the author to semantically define the NomKAŊ form as a nonadvanced imperfective-path gram. Part 1: In the second article of the series, the author designs the map of the semantic potential of the Nominal KAŊ locution and corroborates it by analyzing formal properties of this construction

The present study, divided into a series of two papers, provides a detailed empirical description and cognitive-grammaticalization analysis of the meaning of a Mandinka verbal expression compounded of the non-verbal predicator be ‘be’, a verbal noun expressing a given action and the postposition kaŋ ‘on, at’ (so-called the Nominal KAŊ form). Method: The author follows the cognitive approach to verbal semantics which consists first of determining the exact range of contextually induced senses and next of unifying such values into a consistent map based upon certain diachronic universals or grammaticalization paths. Results: The synchronic inventory of senses of the Nominal KAŊ form (i.e. progressive, continuous, progressive-iterative, iterative, habitual and durative values) shows that this construction can be mapped using the imperfective path as a template of chaining. This mapping, hypothesized on the ground of synchronic semantic evidence and typological diachronic laws, is next corroborated by the structural properties of the Nominal KAŊ locution, especially by its locative and nominal character. Conclusion: All the evidence enables the author to semantically define the NomKAŊ form as a nonadvanced imperfective path. Part 1: In the first article of the series, the author deals with methodological issues and with an empirical study where he determines the precise extent of the semantic potential of the Nominal KAŊ form.

Alexander Andrason. The Meaning of the NAATA + Infinitive Construction in Basse Mandinka. Lingua P osnaniensis, vol. L IV (1)/2012. T he P oznań Society for the A dvancement of the A rts and Sciences. PL ISSN 0079-4740, ISBN 978-83-7654-103-7, pp. 7-19. Purpose: T he present paper aims at providing a detailed description of values and uses offered by the NAATA form - an analytic Mandinka construction formed by means of the auxiliary naa ‘come’, employed itself in the so-called ‘TA tense’, and the infinitive of the main “meaning” verb. In that manner, we intend to rectify an important lacuna in grammatical studies of the Mandinka language which have almost entirely ignored the issue of the NAATA locution. Method: A detailed map of the semantic content of the NAATA form will be designed, specifying its temporal, taxis, aspectual and modal implications, as well as certain textual properties. A ll the values will be illustrated by instructive examples provided by ten native Mandinka speakers (i.e. residents of Basse and neighboring villages: Manne K unda, Bassending, Mansajang and K aba K ama) and collected by the author in 2010 and 2011. Results: T he evidence shows that the meaning of the NAATA construction corresponds to a present perfect (resultative, iterative, inclusive, experiential and indefinite), to a past tense (immediate, recent, general and remote) and to a perfective aspect (punctual, terminative and ingressive; less commonly the locution approximates a simple past). A dditionally, the formation expresses certain modal concepts, such as non-intentionality, accidentality or spontaneity of a corresponding perfect or past event. A s far as textual properties are concerned, the NAATA form is found both in discourse and narration, being able in the latter case to introduce events of the narrative foreground. Conclusion: T he author demonstrates that the values displayed by the construction (with an exception of the modal senses) can be connected and a definition, which exceeds a simple inventory of uses, may be provided if one views the locution from a dynamic evolutionary perspective, i.e. as a manifestation of one of the developmental scenarios governing the grammatical evolution of original resultative constructions, namely as a realization of the anterior path. Furthermore, the modal senses of the NAATA form may be related to the anterior trajectory (and to its meanings-stages) if we make use of the evidential path, an evolutionary possibility which links the grammatical life of resultatives with determined modal domains. T his latter proposition, however, needs a more profound analysis and will constitute one of the research activities, conducted by the author in the future.