Kjell Magne Yri

• Yri, Kjell Magne (2021). Stages on an eventful road – from the history of the Sidaama Bible. In Edzard, Lutz (Eds.), Bible Translations – Linguistic and Cultural Issues. Proceedings of the Erlangen Workshop on October 5 and 6, 2018. Harrassowitz Verlag. ISSN 9783447116558. p. 63–80. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2016). School Grammars with Everyday Vocabulary. Oslo Studies in Language (OSLa). 8(1), p. 319–338. Full text in Research Archive
• Mitike, Nigussie Meshesha & Yri, Kjell Magne (2016). Socio-political discourse and communication in Sidaama folk media. Oslo Studies in Language (OSLa). 8(1), p. 339–357. doi: 10.5617/osla.4431. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2016). School grammars with everyday vocabulary : suggestion for a culture specific approach, with Sidaamu Afoo as an example. Oslo Studies in Language (OSLa). 8(1), p. 319–338. doi: 10.5617/osla.4430. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2015). Amharic and NSM (Natural Semantic Metalanguage). In Edzard, Lutz (Eds.), Arabic and Semitic Linguistics Contextualized. Harrassowitz Verlag. ISSN 9783447104227. p. 569–576. doi: 10.2307/j.ctvc2rmgq.34. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2014). Cliff Goddard: Semantic Analysis. Oxford University Press 2011. Functions of language. ISSN 0929-998X. 21(1), p. 127–137. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2013). The phonology of "Sidaamu Afii Jirte": Implications for the Orthography of Sidaama. Journal of Ethiopian Studies. ISSN 0304-2243. 44, p. 149–161. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2013). A peculiarity of copula and case marking in Sidaamu Afoo: Signalling modified/unmodified head, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Cushitic and Omotic Languages, Paris, 16-18 April 2008. Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. ISSN 9783896454881. p. 157–164. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2012). Klaus Wedekind/Charlotte Wedekind/Abuzeinab Musa: A learner's Grammar of Beja (East Sudan). Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag 2007. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft. ISSN 0341-0137. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2012). Sidaama. In Edzard, Lutz (Eds.), Semitic and Afroasiatic: Challenges and Opportunities. Harrassowitz Verlag. ISSN 9783447066952. p. 262–277. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2011). The Singulative in Sidaamu Afó. Folia Orientalia. ISSN 0015-5675. 47(2), p. 117–136. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2009). Amharic - the Relative and the Genitive: Are they related semantically? In Watson, Janet Constance E & Retsö, Jan (Ed.), Relative Clauses and Genitive Constructions in Semitic. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780199575497. p. 217–228. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2007). Nouns and adjectives in Sidaamu Afó. In Amha, Azeb & Marten, Mous (Ed.), Omotic and Cushitic Language Studies. Papers from the Fourth Cushitic Omotic Conference, Leiden 10-12 April 2003. Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. ISSN 9783896454829. p. 261–268. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2006). Decategorialization of Nouns as Postpositions in Sidaamu Afo and Amharic, Current Issues in the Analysis of Semitic Grammar and Lexicon II. Harrassowitz Verlag. ISSN 9783447054416. p. 116–131. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2005). Bokomtale av Patrik Bye, Trond Trosterud, Øystein Vangsnes: Språk og språkvitskap. Ei innføring i lingvistikk. Oslo 2003. NLT - Norsk lingvistisk tidsskrift. ISSN 0800-3076. 23(1), p. 135–140. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2005). Cleft sentences in Amharic with special reference to reference, Current Issues in the Analysis of Semitic Grammar and Lexicon I. Harrassowitz Verlag. ISSN 9783447052689. p. 41–58. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  It is suggested to classify the cleft sentences according to the reference of the nominalized subject clause. Type one, it refers to the subject of its verb; type two: it refers to the object of its verb, type three; it refers to the state of affairs described by the subject clause. In type one and two the following predicative is a nominal expression, in type three is is an adverbial expression.

• Yri, Kjell Magne (2004). Orthography and Phonology in Sidaamu Afoo (Sidamo). Journal of Ethiopian Studies. ISSN 0304-2243. 37(1), p. 41–56. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The article presents an analysis of the phonology of Sidaamu Afoo, and compares it with the orthographic solutions chosen to represent the phonemes. Among others, the solutions for long and short glottal stop, long and short implosive, long and short /b/, and the inconsistent use of diacritics are heavily criticized, and two alternative, presumeably better, orthographies are suggested, illustrated by text examples.

• Yri, Kjell Magne (2003). Recreating Religion. The translation of central religious terms in the light of a cognitive approach to semantics. In Feyaerts, Kurt (Eds.), The Bible through Metaphor and Translation. A Cognitive Semantic Perspective. Peter Lang Publishing Group. ISSN 9783906769820. p. 187–204. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Kjell Magne Yri: Recreating religion - central religious terms in the light of structuralist and cognitive approaches to semantics. All approaches to semantics aim at describing meaning in principle, what it is, how it is structured, how it changes. The propagation of religion both within and across culture borders implies planned and conscious attempts to change the meanings of words in such a way that the religious message can be optimally formulated by the propagators, and understood by the new listeners and readers. Thus the result of a pioneer Bible translation, which contains numerous planned semantic changes, is often the beginning of what is referred to as religious language. This paper is an investigation into the ways in which different approaches to semantics have implications for the understanding and description of such a process. An attempt is made to compare the merits of different approaches, giving attention especially to structuralist and cognitively oriented theories. With or without explicit semantic theorizing, pioneer Bible translators always initiated certain religious usages which became conventional. Even today some translator, working in some remote language, is struggling with the problem of what words to select for such theologically central terms as "salvation, perdition, God, sin" etc. in the New Testament. Her choices are likely to be conventionalized as part of the religious language for a long time. Snce this is process with farreaching linguistic consequences, it is well worth looking into whether it matters at all what the translators think about semantics. In structuralist thinking the weight is on translating the terms, assuming they have a meaning in the original, which can be found and described after an adequate study, and then translated. Translation then is a matter of finding some term in the target culture which means the same as in the original, or which is close enough to serve its purpose. It is suggested here that a cognitively oriented method of translation permits the translator to be more conscious in guiding the interpretative possibilities of the reader, understanding the role of cognitive domains in her search for "equivalents". It will permit the translator to be more creative, insomuch as the weight is on recreating or replicating the metaphorization process found in the original language in an analogous way, rather than finding the equivalent. This is quite an audacious program, which certainly has its limitations. An attempt is made to justify it, using examples from the Cushitic language Sidaamu Afo of Ethiopia and the Amerindian language Mapudungun of Chile among others.

• Yri, Kjell Magne (2003). La producción de alfabetos como guerra de liberacón. In Hodge, Bob (Eds.), Discurso, Sociedad y Lenguaje. Lincom Europa. ISSN 9783895863684. p. 506–531. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  La contribución describe el desarrollo de la manera de escribir el mapudungun desde el siglo 16 hasta el alfabeto unificado (AU)en 1986. Muestra que la oposición contra le AU se basaba en el sentido de opreción política mas que en argumentos lingüísticos. Definir su alfabeto el lograr un sentido de libertad frente a los conquistadores, representados por las universidades, que ya han robado la tierra, que no roben tambien la lengua.

• Yri, Kjell Magne (1999). Nombres divinos y la Sem¿ntica cognitiva. Pentukun. 9, p. 77–94. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  When Bible translators choose divine names in the target language, they follow principles which allow them to use existing names from the target culture and redefine them by subtracting indigenous cul¿tural attributes and adding biblical attributes. In this article it is suggested to leave the indigenous religion alone, and, adopting principles inspired by cognitive semantics, borrow names from some relevant concrete domain, and trust the cognitive metaphorization capabilities of the readers to form a new concept of e.g. the Christian God. The present practice, as exemplified with data from Sidamo and Mapuzugun, leads to the distortion of historical and cultural information in that important concepts are changed.

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• Yri, Kjell Magne (1998). My father taught me how to cry, but now I have forgotten. The semantics of religious concepts with an emphasis on meaning, interpretation, and translatability. Universitetsforlaget. ISBN 9788200128533. 205 p. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This is an investigation into the mechanisms which create religious meanings of words when sacred writings, in this case the Bible, are translated for new cultures. It arrives at a general pattern in which the translator exerts an immense power, but without being aware of it. According to her understanding, she selects a domain for the word to be translated, for example the domain of HEALING to translate the Greek concept of saviour, and comes up with the translational equivalent medicine in the African language Sidaamu Afo. As that usage spreads, the word medicine obviously gets its meaning extended with a religious part, covering also what Christians refer to with the word saviour. The investigation, which builds on material from six languages, leads up to controversial ideas about language, translation, and the nature of linguistic meaning.

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• Yri, Kjell Magne (2018). Stages on an eventful road - Towards a Bible for the Sidaama in Ethiopia. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2014). Finiteness as manifested by grounding and deixis: Amharic (Semitic) and Sidaama (Cushitic). In Edzard, Lutz & Huehnergard, John (Ed.), Proceedings of the Oslo-Austin Workshop in Semitic Linguistics. Oslo, May 23 and 24, 2013. Harrassowitz Verlag. ISSN 9783447102278. p. 95–126. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2013). Grounding and deixis as finiteness factors in verb inflection - Amharic (Semitic) and Sidaama (Cushitic). Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2012). Categorías lexicales en mapudungun - su descripción en RCG (Radical Construction Grammar). Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2011). Anbessa Teferra/Grover Hudson. Essentials of Amharic. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag 2007. 254 S. (Afrikawissenschaftlivhe Lehrbücher 18). Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft. ISSN 0341-0137. 161(1), p. 158–160. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2008). Amharic - the relative/genitive, comparison with Afaanoromoo and Sidaamu Afo. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2008). A peculiarity of copula/case marking in Sidaamu Afo: Signalling modified/unmodified head. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2006). Elementary school grammars without technical vocabulary. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2006). The Sidaama singulative. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2005). Decategorization of nouns as postpositions in Amharic and Sidaamú Afó. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2005). Sentence as Noun equals sentence as Adjective - on the ha/ta/re-nominalization in Sidaamú Afó. Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2005). Omsetjarproblem i europeiske språk i lys av tilsvarande i mapudungun (Chile) og sidaamú afó (Etiopia). Full text in Research Archive
• Yri, Kjell Magne (2003). Dynamic conceptuelization exemplified with Sidaamú Afó and Amharic. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Dynamic conceptuelization exemplified with Sidaamú Afó and Amharic. Kjell Magne Yri, University of Oslo. The cognitive semantic grammar of Langacker (2000) claims that chains of reference point relations unify many of the central concepts of cognitive grammar. In this paper I will show how that can be exemplified in some constructions found in Sidaamú Afóand Amharic, and certainly in many other languages as well. A reference point chain can for example be (1). (1) In Africa, in Ethiopia, in Addis Ababa, in the Siddist Kilo university campus, in the Linguistics department, in Dr Moges� office. Each element is a reference point to the following expression, which is the Target of attention, and at the same time the Reference point for the following expression, etc. (2) R1 > T1/R2 > T2/R3 > T3/R4 > etc. The unifying concept is called a focus chain, which is a general schema. It can be instantiated e.g. by locative expressions, possessive expressions, and topic expressions. References Langacker, R.W. 2000: Grammar and Conceptualization. Walter de Gruyter. Barlin.

• Yri, Kjell Magne (2003). Nouns and adjectives in Sidaamu Afó. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Nouns and adjectives in Sidaamu Afó Kjell Magne Yri, University of Oslo In the only big dictionary of Sidamo , Gasparini 1983, some words are described as adjectives, bac�e Adj. �dirty�; others are described as nouns and adjectives, like gita m f. (masculine and feminine) Noun and Adj., m. f. �coeval�. Words may be classified only as adjective, but are marked as masculine and/or feminine, that is, they are ascribed class membership , e.g. aja Adj. m.f. = �young, little; youth, young man�. Or they are said to be adjective and noun but with no indication of class membership: giiramo, Adj. and N. = �what has been burned�. Sometimes the word is listed as belonging to a nominal class without being marked as N, just m. f., and with the commentary, �used as an adjective�, e.g. borco m. f. used as an Adj. �one who is a foreigner in a place�. This is enough to demonstrate that it is not straightforward to classify words in Sidaamu Afó as nouns or adjectives. It is not obvious how Gaspirini has gone about the problem, whether he used semantic, syntactic, or morphological criteria, or which combinations of them. This paper is an attempt to contribute towards 1. finding out if it the distinction N/Adj. is relevant in Sidaamu afó; 2. if yes, finding the criteria by which to make the distinction; 3. and finally, use the criteria to find, if applicable, sub-classes of the two categories. This classificatory enterprise is necessary for the lexicographical effort which is taking place in Sidaamu afó, for the content of the grammars which are being written for schools, and not least as a contribution to the description and understanding of the linguistics of Cushitic languages. In this paper it is attempted to start from the classical approach of Dixon (1977), and wind up with a look at how far the basically semantic approach of Langacker (e.g. 2000) can contribute in solving problems of classification, in view of the basic summary, �..a noun designates a thing, [..,] adjectives and adverbs designate various types of atemporal relations� (Langacker 1987:189). References Dixon, R. M. W. (1977): Where have all the adjectives gone? Studies in Language I. Gasparini, A. (1983): Sidamo-English Dictionary. Bologna. Langacker, R. (2000): Grammar and Conceptualization. Mouton de Gruyter. Berlin/New York. Langacker, R. (1987): Foundations of Cognitive Grammar. Volume 1. Stanford.

• Yri, Kjell Magne (2000). Odins son blei fødd i natt i Hakadal - lokal kultur i bibeloversettelse, ei oversett mulegheit? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Bebeloversettelsane tek oss med til Midtausten. Dei gir oss rare og framande namn på personar og stadar. Slik blir det knytt eit band til ei historisk tid og eit historisk rom. Det fører med seg at rastlause nye lesarar må sette seg inn i ein ensyklopedi av kultur, geografi og historie som dei fleste ikkje har tid til, og Boka blir framand og rar. I dette foredraget blir det vist at tradisjonelle bibeloversettelsar fylgjer eit prinsipp som eg kallar transkulturelt når sentrale ord skal oversettast. Ein tek norske ord som alt er der, men set dei inn i nye samanhengar, og dermed får dei ny betydning. F. eks. sjølve sjefsbegrepet: "gud" er både vanleg substantiv som det alltid har vore, dessutan er det nå særnamn Gud. Eg foreslår ein pedagogisk vri som består i å la Sjefen vise seg for oss nordboarar i Hakadal i staden for Betlehem. Studentane til sonen hans kan få namn som Per, Pål og Hans. Sonen blei hengd opp på ein stokk på Grefsenkollen, ikkje på Golgata. I lys av det som faktisk skjer i meir eksotiske bibeloversettelsar, er ikkje denne tanken så radikal som han ser ut til.

• Yri, Kjell Magne (1998). Noun incorporation in Mapudugun - morphology, syntax, or pure semantics? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This is an investigation into the phenomenon called Noun Incorporation (NI), which is common e.g. in Amerindian languages. It is a contribution towards an understanding which goes beyond a mere description as morphological composition or syntactic movement. It is claimed that NI is a case of the attested flexibility of clauses and phrases to function at lower levels of grammatical organization, that is at word or stem level. This insight simplifies the task of semantic interpretation: the compositum (clause=stem) has a meaning derivable from the meaning of a corresponding clause at a higher level of organization.

• Yri, Kjell Magne (1998). Recreating religion - central religious terms in the light of structuralist and cognitive approaches to semantics. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In this paper it is suggested that a cognitive approach to semantics is superior to the structuralist approaches with regard to: 1) the description and understanding of the process which leads to meaning changes when secular words are used to express religious messages 2) arming the translators with the necessary creativity to explore translational possibilities. As an example, it is shown that translating the word God often the name of an indigenous spirit is chosen, which is called a metonymy process. This is characterized as a cultural robbery, in that the original meaning of the indigenous entity is lost forever. It is suggested that the "radical metaphorization" method would help the translator to find names for God from some everyday domain, and that that approach would leave the indigenous concept unchanged, as useful data for e.g. historians and anthropologists.

• Yri, Kjell Magne (1998). Nyhet for dei fotballfrelste: V¿l-enga er fortapt. Fra dagligtale til religi¿st spr¿k - og omvendt. Kommunikasjon: Humanistiske perspektiver. p. 141–148. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  How are words selected to translate a religious term into a new language? The translator chooses a domain, e.g. HEALTH, to provide the terminology in the target language, and so ends up with e.g. tagicco Òmedicine" in Sidaamu Afo to render the religious term saviour. After som time of use in a culture the new religious meanings of the words thus chosen may again be used in concrete, everyday domains, as e.g. in Norwegian: frelst POLITICS Òliberated" -> frelst RELIGION Òsaved" -> frelst FOOTBALL Òextremely dedicated". The article gives a popular account of how this kind of meaning changes take place within the framework of cognitive semantics.

• Yri, Kjell Magne (1998). Sufijos derivacionales en mapudungun. La evidencia de verbos que incorporan sustantivos. En Bernales M. y Constantino Contreras: Por los caminos del Lenguaje. Ediciones Ufro. Temuco. 1998. Ediciones Universidad de la Frontera. ISSN 9789562361019. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In Mapudugun verbs it is difficult to decide where the stem ends and conjugation begins. According to their meanings, some of the around 100 verb suffixes are suspected to be derivative as they change a noun or adjective root into a verb. This study looks at the position of incorporated nouns in the verbs relative to the verbal affixes. It is argued that the suffixes which occur before the noun are adequately described as derivational and thus forming the verbal stem, while those which do not, should be called inflectional. Of the possible pre-noun affixes, only the cislocative -pa (17) has a lower slot number than 32 in the system of Ineke Smeets.

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