Incorporated Adjunct Classifiers in Anindilyakwa: An Empirical Challenge to LFG

Verbal classifiers, or incorporation into the verb of a generic nominal that is in apposition with an external specific nominal, is a common feature in northern Australian languages. The incorporated generic is typically in S or O function. Nordlinger and Sadler (this volume) analyze the classifier as a member of a SUBJ or OBJ set, the other member being the co-referential external specific nominal. In Anindilyakwa incorporated apposition is also very common. However, classifiers in this language are not always in S or O function, but they can be associated with an adjunct too. These adjunct classifiers not only defy the typological generalization of the grammatical function of verbal classifiers, but they also pose a challenge to LFG. This is because the incorporated generic can be ambiguous in its grammatical function, so it is unclear what the lexical entry of a verb with an incorporated classifier, should look like.