An intra-sentence grammar of Ungarinjin, north-western Australia / 0858832720
510 108 10MB
English Pages xii, 179, 19 p. : [192] Year 1982.
Polecaj historie
Table of contents :
An intra-sentence grammar of Ungarinjin, north-western Australia
Contents iii
Introduction vii
Acknowledgments x
List of Abbreviations and Symbols xi
List of Illustrations xii
CHAPTER ONE: Phonetics and Phonology 1
1.1. Phonetics and Low-Level Segmental Phonology 1
1.1.1. Phonemic Inventory 1
1.1.2. Phonetic Realisation 2
1.1.2.1. Phonation Types 2
1.1.2.2. Articulation 3
1.1.2.2.1. Stops and Nasals 3
1.1.2.2.1.1. Bi-labials 3
1.1.2.2.1.2. The Lamino-pre-palatals 3
1.1.2.2.1.3. The Apico-alveolars 4
1.1.2.2.1.4. The Apico-pre-palatals 4
1.1.2.2.1.5. The Dorso-velars 4
1.1.2.2.2. Laterals 5
1.1.2.2.3. Rhotics 5
1.1.2.2.4. Glides 6
1.1.2.3. The Vowels 6
1.1.2.3.1. The High Vowels 6
1.1.2.3.1.1. /i/ 6
1.1.2.3.1.2. /u/ 8
1.1.2.3.2. /a/ 9
1.1.2.3.3. Long /a/ 10
1.1.2.3.4. /e/ 12
1.1.2.3.5. /o/ 13
1.1.2.4. Some Additional Phonetic Diphthongs 13
1.1.3. Phonemic Distributional Restrictions 14
1.2. Morphophonemics 16
1.2.1. Morphophonemic Inventory 16
1.2.2. The Sonorance Hierarchy 17
1.2.2.1. First Degree Strengthening 17
1.2.2.2. Second Degree Strengthening 23
1.2.3. Some Additional (Morpho) Phonological Rules Affecting Consonants 24
1.2.3.1. Elision 24
1.2.3.2. Nasal Assimilation 24
1.2.3.3. De-retroflexion 25
1.2.4. Vowel Alternations 25
1.2.4.1. /a/ Assimilation 25
1.2.4.2. Vowel Coalescence 28
1.2.4.3. Vowel Syncope 29
CHAPTER TWO: Morphology 31
2.1. Nominal Morphology 31
2.1.1. Free-standing Personal Pronouns 31
2.1.2. Gender-bearing Pronouns 31
2.1.2.1. Anaphors 32
2.1.2.2. Demonstratives 32
2.1.2.3. 'Ambiphoric' Pronouns 33
2.1.3. Interrogative Pronouns 34
2.1.4. What-cha-ma-call-it? 36
2.1.5. Lexical Nouns 37
2.1.5.1. The Semantics of Gender 37
2.1.5.1.1. Masculine, Feminine, and b-class 37
2.1.5.1.2. m-class Neuter 39
2.1.5.1.3. w2-class Neuter 40
2.1.5.2. Possessive Inflection 41
2.1.5.2.1. Prefixation 41
2.1.5.2.2. Suffixation 46
2.1.5.2.3. Independent Possessive Pronouns 51
2.1.5.2.4. Adjectives 53
2.1.5.3. Personal Names 55
2.1.5.4. Post-nominal Elements 57
2.1.5.4.1. On the Terms 'Suffix' and 'Postposition' 57
2.1.5.4.2. Number Suffixation 59
2.1.5.4.3. Case Postpositions 60
2.1.5.4.3.1. Locative 62
2.1.5.4.3.2. Adessive 63
2.1.5.4.3.3. Allative 63
2.1.5.4.3.4. Lative-Translative 64
2.1.5.4.3.5. Dative 67
2.1.5.4.3.6. Genitive 69
2.1.5.4.3.7. Instrumental 73
2.1.5.4.3.8. Comitative 73
2.1.5.4.3.9. Vocative 74
2.2. The Verb 74
2.2.1. Order Classes 9 and 11: Roots and Their Conjugation Classes 79
2.2.2. Order Classes 4 and 5: Pronominal Prefixes 80
2.2.2.1. Indicative Intransitive 83
2.2.2.2. Indicative Transitive 84
2.2.3. Order Classes 6 and 11: Future Tense 87
2.2.4. Order Classes 5 and 7: Irrealis Mode 89
2.2.4.1. Irrealis Intransitive 90
2.2.4.2. Irrealis Transitive 92
2.2.5. Order Classes 7 and 11: Optative Mode 95
2.2.6. Order Class 3: Imperative Mode 96
2.2.6.1. Transitive Verbs 98
2.2.6.2. Negative Imperative 100
2.2.7. Order Class 10: Reflexive-Reciprocal Voice 102
2.2.8. Order Class 8: Coreference Status 105
2.2.9. Order Class 12: Dual/Paucal Number 106
2.2.10. Order Class 13: Continuative Aspect 109
2.2.11. Order Class 14: Proximad vs. Distad 110
2.2.12. Order Classes 15 and 16: Dative-Benefactive Cross Reference 113
2.2.13. Order Classes 1 and 9: Simple vs. Compound Verbs 115
2.2.14. Order Class 2: Aspect of Compound Verbs 121
2.3. Adverbs 122
2.4. Mode Particles 122
2.5. Interjections 122
2.6. Derivational Suffixes 123
2.6.1. Nominal Derivation 123
2.6.1.1. baa 123
2.6.1.2. -mar 123
2.6.1.3. -moya (~-maya) 124
2.6.1.4. -mai 125
2.6.2. Adjectival Derivatives in -gadjin 125
2.6.3. Adverbial Derivatives in -wa 126
2.6.4. Pan-Class Suffixation 127
2.6.4.1. -yali 127
2.6.4.2. -a 127
2.6.4.3. -ga 128
2.6.4.4. -wini (~-bini) 129
2.6.4.5. -dje 130
2.6.4.6. -/walu/ ~ -wula 132
2.6.4.7. -ala 132
2.6.4.8. -ari 133
CHAPTER THREE: Sentence Syntax and Semantics 135
3.1. Phrase Types 135
3.1.1. Verb Phrases? 135
3.1.2. The Noun Phrase 135
3.1.3. The Syntax of Nominal Postposition 140
3.1.4. Abbreviated Head-Attribute Constructions 141
3.2. The Simple Sentence 142
3.2.1. Linear Order of Major Sentence Constituents 144
3.2.2. The 'Oblique II' Adjunct 145
3.3. Complex Sentences 146
3.3.1. Subordinate Clauses 146
3.3.1.1. The -ari Clause 146
3.3.1.1.1. Nominal and Adnominal Uses 147
3.3.1.1.2. Adverbial Uses 151
3.3.1.1.2.1. Locative 151
3.3.1.1.2.2. Temporal 151
3.3.1.1.2.3. Causal Clause 153
3.3.1.1.2.4. The -ari Clause in Conditional Sentences 154
3.3.1.2. The -gu Clause 155
3.3.1.3. The ma Complement Clause 157
3.3.1.4. Higher Order Mode Predication 166
3.3.1.4.1. wa 167
3.3.1.4.2. buray 168
3.3.1.4.3. gadjinga 168
3.3.1.4.4. biyara 169
3.3.1.4.5. biya 171
3.3.1.4.6. menja 171
3.3.1.4.7. yagu 172
Bibliography 177
Citation preview
r
PACIFIC LINGUISTICS Series B
-
No. 86
AN INTRA-SENTENCE GRAMMAR OF UNGARINJIN NORTH-WESTERN AUSTRALIA by Alan Rumsey
Department of Linguistics Research School of Pacific Studies THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Rumsey, A. An intra-sentence grammar of Ungarinjin, north-western Australia. B-86, xii + 191 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1982. DOI:10.15144/PL-B86.cover ©1982 Pacific Linguistics and/or the author(s). Online edition licensed 2015 CC BY-SA 4.0, with permission of PL. A sealang.net/CRCL initiative.
PACIFIC LINGUISTICS is issued through the Linguistic Circle of Canberra and consists of four series: SERIES A - Occasional Papers SERIES B - Monographs SERIES C - Books SERIES D - Special Publications
EDITOR: S.A. Wurm ASSOCIATE EDITORS: D.C. Laycock, C.L. Voorhoeve, D.T. Tryon, T.E. Dutton EDITORIAL ADVISERS: B.W. Bender
John Lynch
University of Hawaii
University of Papua New Guinea K.A. McElhanon
David Bradley La Trobe University
University of Texas H.P. McKaughan
A. Capell University of Sydney
University of Hawaii
Michael G. Clyne
P. MOhlhiiusler
Monash University
Linacre College, Oxford G.N. O'Grady
S.H. Elbert University of Hawaii
University of Victoria, B.C.
K.J. Franklin
A.K. Pawley
Summer Institute of Linguistics W.W. Glover
University of Auckland K.L. Pike
Summer Institute of Linguistics G.W. Grace
University of Michigan;
Summer Institute of LingUistics E.C. Polome University of Texas Gillian Sankoff
University of Hawaii M.A.K. Halliday University of Sydney A. Healey Summer Institute of Linguistics
University of Pennsylvania W.A.L. Stokhof National Center for Language Development, Jakarta; University of Leiden
L.A. Hercus Australian National University
E.M. Uhlenbeck
University of Hawaii
University of Leiden J.W. M. Verhaar
Nguy� n B�ng Liem
Gonzaga University, Spokane All correspondence concerning PACIFIC LINGUISTICS, including orders and subscriptions, should be addressed to: The Secretary PACIFIC LINGUISTICS Department of Linguistics Research School of Pacific Studies
Copyright
0
The Australian National University Canberra, A.C.T. 2600 Australla. The Author
First Published 1982 Typeset in the Department of Linguistics
Printed by A.N.U. Printing Service
Covers by Patria Printers
Bound by Adriatic Bookbinders Pty. Ltd.
The editors are indebted to the Australian National University for assistance in the production of this series. This publication was made possible by an initial grant from the Hunter Douglas Fund. National Library of Australia Card Number 'lnd ISBN 0 85883 272 0
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Int roduc t i on
vii
Ac knowle dgment s
x
Li s t o f Abb reviat i ons and Symb o l s Li st o f I l lu s t r at i ons CHAPTER O N E :
xi xii
P h o n e t i c s a n d P h o n ology
1 .1 .
Phone t i c s and Low-Le vel S e gment al Phonology
1
1 .1 .1 .
Phonemic Invent ory
1
1 .1 .2.
Phone t i c Re a l i s at ion
2
1 .1 .2.1 .
Phona t i on Type s
2
1
Art i c ulat ion
3
1.1.2.2.1 .
Stops and Nas als
3
1.1 .2.2.1.1 .
Bi-lab i a l s
3
•
1 .2.2.
1 .1 .2.2.1 .2.
T h e Lamino-pre-palat a l s
3
1 . 1 .2.2. 1 .3.
T h e Api c o-alve o lars
4
1 .1 .2.2.1 .4.
The Api c o -pre-palat a l s
4
1 . 1 .2.2. 1 . 5.
T h e Dorso-ve l ars
4
1 .1 .2.2.2.
Lat erals
5
1 .1 .2.2.3.
Rhot i c s
5
1 . 1 .2.2.4.
Glides
6
1 . 1 .2.3.
T h e Vowe l s
6
1 . 1 .2.3. 1 .
The H i gh Vowe l s
6
1 . 1 .2.3. 1 . 1 .
/il
6
1 . 1 . 2 . 3. 1 . 2 .
lui
8
1 .1 .2.3.2.
lal
1 .1 .2.3.3.
Long l a l
10
1 .1 .2. 3.4.
lei
12
1 . 1 .2.3.5.
101
13
1
Some Addit ional Phone t i c Diphthongs
13
Phonemi c Di st ribut ional Re s t r i c t ions
14
•
1 .2.4.
1 .1 .3.
9
iii
iv
1 .2.
Morphophone mi c s
16
1 .2.1 .
Morphophone mi c Invent ory
16
1 .2.2.
The Sonorance H i e rarchy
17
1 .2.2.1 .
First De gree S t rengthening
17
1 .2.2.2.
S e c ond Degree St rengthening
23
1 . 2 . 3.
S o me Addit ional ( Morpho ) Phono l o gi c a l Rul e s Affe c t ing Cons onants
24
E l i s i on
24
1 .2.3.2.
Nas a l As s i mi lat i on
24
1 .2.3.3.
De -retro flexion
25
1 .2.4.
Vo we l Alternat ions
25 25
1.2.4.2.
/ a 2 / As s i mi lat ion
Vo we l Coal e s cence
28
1 . 2 . 4 . 3.
Vo we l Syncope
29
1 . 2 . 3. 1
1 .2.4.1
•
•
C H A P T E R T W O : M o rp h olo gy 2.1 .
N o minal Morphology
31
2.1 . 1 .
Fre e - s t anding Personal Pronouns
31
2 .1 .2.
Gende r-b earing Pronouns
31
2.1 .2.1 .
Anaphors
32
2.1 .2.2.
De monstrat i ve s
32
2.1 .2.3.
' Amb iphori c ' Pronouns
33
2. 1 .3.
Int e rrogat ive Pronouns
34
2. 1 .4.
What -cha-ma- c a l l -it ?
36
2.1 .5.
Le x i c a l Nouns
37
2. 1 . 5. 1 .
The Se mant i c s of Gender
37
2. 1 . 5 . 1 . 1 .
Mas culine , F e minine , and b - c lass
37
2.1 .5.1 .2.
m - c l a s s Ne ut e r
39
2 . 1 .5. 1 . 3.
40
2.1 .5.2.
w - c l a s s Neuter 2 Pos s e s s i ve Inflec t i on
41
2.1 .5.2. 1 .
Pre fi xat ion
41
2.1 .5.2.2.
Suffixat i o n
46
2. 1 . 5.2.3.
Inde pendent Po s s e s s i ve Pronouns
51
2.1 .5.2.4.
Adj e c t i ve s
53
2.1 .5.3.
Personal Names
2. 1 . 5 . 4 .
55
Post -no minal Ele me n t s
57
2.1 .5.4. 1 .
O n the Te rms ' Suffix ' a n d ' Po s t po s i t i on '
57
2.1 .5.4.2.
Nu mb e r Suffi xat i on
59 60
2.1 .5.4.3.
Case P o s t p o s i t ions
2.1 .5.4.3. 1 .
Locat ive
62
2.1 .5.4.3.2.
Ade s s i ve
63
v
2.1 .5.4.3.3.
A l l at i ve
63
2.1.5.4.3.4.
Lat i ve -Trans lat ive
64
2. 1 .5.4.3.5.
Dat i ve
67
2.1 .5.4.3.6.
Genit ive
69
2.1 .5.4.3.7.
Instrument al
73
2.1 .5.4.3.8.
C o mitat ive
73
2.1 .5.4.3.9.
Vo cat i ve
74
2.2.
The Verb
74
2.2.1 .
Order Clas s e s 9 and 1 1 : Roo t s and The i r Conj ugat i on C l as s e s
79
2.2.2.
Order Clas s e s 4 and 5 : Prono mi nal Pre fixes
80
2.2.2.1 .
Indi c at i ve Intrans i t ive
83
2.2.2.2.
Indi c at i ve Tran s i t ive
84
2.2.3.
Orde r C l a s s e s 6 and 1 1 : Future Tens e
87
2.2.4.
Ord e r C l a s s e s 5 and 7 : Irre a l i s Mode
89
2.2.4.1 .
Irre a l i s Intran s it ive
90
2.2.4.2.
Irre a l i s Tran s i t ive
92
2.2.5.
Order C l as se s 7 and 1 1 : Opt at i ve Mode
95
2.2.6.
Order C l a s s 3 : I mperat i ve Mode
96
2.2.6.1 .
Tran s i t i ve Verb s
98
2.2.6.2.
Negat i ve I mperat i ve
100
2.2. 7.
Order C l a s s
102
2.2.8.
Orde r C l a s s 8 : Coreference Status
105
2.2.9.
Order C l a s s 1 2 : Dua l/Paucal Numb e r
106
2.2.10.
Order C l a s s 1 3 : Cont inuat ive Aspect
109
2.2.11 .
Order C l a s s 1 4 : Prox i mad vs . Di s t ad
110
2.2.12.
Orde r C l as s e s 1 5 and 1 6 : Dat ive -Bene fac t i ve Cro s s Reference
113
2.2.13.
Order C l as s e s 1 and 9 : S i mp l e vs . C o mp ound Verb s
115
2.2. 14.
Order C l a s s 2 : A s p e c t o f C o mp ound Verb s Adverb s
121
2.3. 2.4.
Mode Part i c l e s
122
2.5.
I nt e rj e c t ions
12 2
2.6.
Der i vat ional Suffix e s
123
2.6.1 .
No minal De rivat ion
123
2.6.1 .1 .
ba�a
123
2.6. 1 .2.
- m a ro
123
2.6. 1 .3.
-moya ("'-maya)
124
2.6.1 .4.
-ma� i
125
2.6.2.
Adj e c t ival De rivat ives in - g a d j i n
125
2.6.3.
Adverbi a - l De rivat ive s in - w a l
126
10 :
Re f l e x i ve-Re c ipro c a l Voi c e
122
vi
2.6.4.
Pan - C l a s s Suffi xat i on
127
2.6.4. 1 .
-Y2a1i
127
2 . 6.4.2.
-I)a
127
2.6.4.3.
-ga
128
2.6.4.4.
-w ini ('V-bini) 1 -dje
129 132
2.6.4.7.
-/w1 a1u/ 'V -wu\a -I)ala
2.6.4.8.
-I)a ri
133
2.6.4.5. 2.6.4.6.
CHAPTER TH RE E :
1 30 132
S e n t e n c e S y n t a x a n d S e ma n t i c s
3. 1 .
Phras e Type s
135
3. 1 . 1 .
Verb Phras e s ?
1 35
3.1 .2.
The Noun Phrase
135
3.1 .3.
The Syntax o f No minal P o s t p o s i t ion
140
3.1 .4.
Abbrevi at e d Head-At tribute Construc t ions
141
3.2.
The S i mp l e Sentence
142
3.2.1 .
Linear Order of Maj o r Sentence C on s t ituents
144
3.2.2.
The ' Ob l i que I I ' Adj unct
145
3.3.
C o mp l e x Sentences
146
3.3.1 .
Subordinate Clauses
146
3.3. 1 . 1 .
The -I)ari C l au s e
146
3.3.1 . 1 .1 .
No minal and Adno mina1 U s e s
147
3.3.1 .1 .2.
Adverbi a l Us e s
151
3.3. 1 . 1 .2.1 .
Lo cative
151
3.3. 1 .1 .2.2.
Te mporal
151
3. 3. 1 . 1 .2.3.
Causal C l ause
153
3.3.1 .1 .2.4.
The -I)a ri Clause in Condit ional Sentenc e s
154
3.3.1 .2.
The -gu C l ause
155
3.3.1 .3.
The ;rna C o mp le ment Clause
157
3.3. 1 .4.
H i gher Order Mode Predi c at ion
166
3.3. 1 .4. 1 .
wa
167
3. 3. 1 . 4 . 2 .
bu ray
168
3. 3. 1 .4.3.
gadjinga
168
3. 3.1 .4.4.
biya ra
169
3. 3. 1 .4.5.
biya
171
3.3.1 .4.6.
menja
171
3. 3.1 .4.7.
yagu
172
Bib l i o graphy
177
I N T RO D U C T I O N O b j ec t o f t h e I n v e s t i ga t i o n
The obj e c t o f t he pre sent a c c ount i s a group o f Austra l i an Abori ginal d i a l e c t s broadly c la s s i fi e d b y those who s peak t he m a s l Figure 1
Nga�inj in ( [ Q K�inj InJ) , or U Qa�inj i n ( [ ( w ) u Q K�inj I n J) .
gives a rough idea o f the l o cat i o n and e x t e nt o f the t e r r i t o ry with whi c h U Qarinj in i s t radi t i o na l l y a s s o c i at e d .
The i n s e t s hows where
thi s area is wit hin Austral ia . A l l o f the fie ldwork on which t hi s st udy i s b a s e d was done at Mowanj u m C o mmun it y , whe re b y far t he l arge s t concent rat i o n o f U Qarinj i n speakers i s c urrent l y t o b e found .
A s can b e s e en fro m
Fi gure 1, Mowanj u m l i e s s o me di s t ance away fro m the tradit ional U Qarinj in-speaking area .
Part l y be cause it l i e s c lo s e r to t he
s outhern and w e s t e rn port i ons o f that region , and p art l y for o t he r h i s t oric reasons ( di s c u s s e d i n McKen z i e 1 96 9 ) , Mowanj u m numb e r s , among i t s Ngarinj i n re sident s , far more p e o p l e t rad i t i onal l y a s s o c iated w i t h t h o s e port i ons o f t he Ngarinj i n region than w i t h the e a s t e rn . For t he s a me reason s , the fo rm o f spoken U Q arinj i n whi c h predo minat e s a t Mowanj u m i s mo s t nearly that o f t he s outhern and east ern regions .
I say ' mo st nearl y ' b e cause it is probab l y not
i dent i c a l to any pre-c ont a c t for m o f the language , b ut repres ent s a new pan-di a l e c t a l nor m whi c h has a r i s e n in recent t i me s wit hin a part i c ular s e t o f h i s t or i c c ir c u ms t anc e s ( ib i d . ) . IThere has been some confusion about these terms in the literature, both linguistic and anthropological. There is no difference whatever between the groups of dialects, or people, included by the two terms. Rather, /QS{injin/ is a bare root form of the appellation, while /uQarinjin/ includes a gender prefix (w)u- (see pp. 53-55 ) , which specifies 'w-class neut�r', the gender of the word for Language (wu!an). The unprefixed form is used indifferently to mean either 'the Ngarinjin language' or 'Nga�injin people' (not all of whom speak the language any more). The prefixed form means onl y 'the Nga�injin language'. In this work, I refer to the language uniformly as UQarinjin, saving the potentially ambiguous Nga�injin to refer unambiguously to· 'the Nga�injin people'.
vii
viii
Wunambal
Gidja Ul)arinjin
Warwa •
Njul-Njul
Mowanjum Community
Bunaba
Figure 1 U �a�inj in Territory
That such a norm e xi s t s i s indi c at e d b y the fact that the s pe akers of t he e as t e rl y ' Guwidj ' o r ' O +a ' dialect o f U � a�inj in who r e s i de at Mowanj u m regularly sub st i t ut e s outhe rn/we s t e rn lexical i t e ms and verb morphology for ' equivalent ' e a s t e rn for ms whe n in the pre s e n c e o f s outhern and we s t e rn Nga�inj in people , but not vice vers a . Having said t his much , I can s pe c i fy the ob j e c t o f this ac count with s o mewhat mo re p re c i s ion .
Although I have c o l le c t e d consi derab l e
dat a on the max i ma l l y divergent Guwidj diale c t , and rather l e s s on the nort h-eas t e rn Waladj a dial e c t , I shall not at t e mpt t o cover the s e forms o f U � a�inj in here , b u t shall c onfine mys e l f t o t he s outhe rn/ w e s t e rn form wh ich p redo minat e s at Mowanj u m . The pre sent acc ount deals with phone t i c s , phono l ogy , morphology , syntax , and with their funct ions at and b e l ow t he level o f the s i n g le s e nt e nc e .
It is a re vised ver s i o n o f the first t hree chapters o f my
( 1 9 7 8 ) Unive r s i t y o f Chic ago Ph . D . D i s s e rtat ion .
The organi s at i on o f
ix
U Qarinj in dis c ours e , and t he r e l at ionship b e t we e n U Q arinj in t e x t s and t he ir cultural cont e xt s , will be treated in a fut ure s t udy .
For a
s izab le U Q arinj in t e xt in an orthography s imilar t o the one u s e d here , s e e H . H . J . Coat e :
' The Rai and the Third Eye ' , O c e a n i a 37:93-123.
The spe aker is David Mo wa+dj i y a l i, one o f my main informant s for the present s tudy .
For a U Q arinj in-En g l i s h d i c t ionary , on wh ich
Mo wa+dj iyali also worked ext ens ive l y , s e e C o at e and Elkin 1974. i s the l arge s t Aus tral ian l anguage d ic t ionary yet pub l i s he d .
Th is
A CKNO WLE D G M E N T S
The fie l d work on wh ich thi s gra mmar i s based was support e d b y t he Nati onal Sc ience Foundat ion and by the Austral ian Ins t itute o f Aboriginal Studi e s . Chicago .
The wri t e -up was s upport e d b y t he Univer s i t y o f
I grat e fu l l y ac kno wl edge t h e he lp o f the s e t hree b enefact ors .
I wi sh a l s o to thank my t eache r s at the Univer s i t y o f C h i c ago , e s p e c i a l l y Michael Si lve r s t e in , Paul Frie dri c h , Eric Hamp , and Mar sha l l Sahlins .
Thanks a l s o to Ho ward Coat e , who has generous l y
shared wi t h me t he kno wledge o f U �arinj in whi c h he h a s gained over a period of fort y -five years as a medical mi s s ionary and de vot e d amateur l inguist . Fina l l y , I wi sh t o thank my t e ache r s and h o s t s at the Mo wanj u m C o mmuni t y .
The ir genero si t y , pat ienc e , and perseveranc e wit h me are
the b edro ck on wh ich t h i s edi fi c e is built .
x
L I S T O F A B B R E V I A T I O N S A N D S Y M B O LS
all .
allat ive
ma s c .
mas c u l ine
com .
c omi t a t i ve
N
noun
c ont .
c ont inuat ive
NP
noun phra s e
d. b .
dat ive/be n e fact ive
ob .
obj e c t
dat .
dative
opt .
optat ive
di s .
di stad
pauc .
paucal
du o
dual
pI .
p lural
e x.
e xc lu s ive
po s s .
p o s s e s s ive
fern .
feminine
pre s .
pre sent
fut .
fut ure
pro x .
pro ximad
ge n .
gen i t i ve
punc .
punc t ual
imp .
impe rat i ve
re f .
r e f l e xi c e /rec iproc al
inc .
i n c l u s i ve
re I .
re lat i ve c lause
inst .
i n strumental
S
sentence
int o
interrogat ive
sg.
singular
irr .
irrea l i s
sub .
subj e ct
iter .
i t e rative
t rans .
t ran s lat i ve
lat .
lative
voc .
vocat ive
loc o
l o c at ive
/
I
underlying phono l ogical form
[
]
phone t i c form
...
b e c ome s
I
in t he environment a /w / which unde rgoe s s e c o nd de gree st rengthening 2 ( a s per s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 2 . 2 ) verb root
#
word boundary
xi
L I S T OF I L L U S T R A T I O N S
1.
U � a�inj in Territory
2.
Order Clas s e s o f t he U �a�inj in Verb
xi i Rumsey, A. An intra-sentence grammar of Ungarinjin, north-western Australia. B-86, xii + 191 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1982. DOI:10.15144/PL-B86.cover ©1982 Pacific Linguistics and/or the author(s). Online edition licensed 2015 CC BY-SA 4.0, with permission of PL. A sealang.net/CRCL initiative.
CHAPTER ONE PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY
1 . 1 .
P h o n e t i c s a n d L o w - L e v el S e gm e n t a l P h o n ology
1 . 1 . 1 .
P ho n em i c I n v e n t o r y
The phonemic invent ory of U �a�inj in is s hown in Tab l e 1 . Tab l e 1 U �a�inj in Phoneme s
Cons onant s and Semi-Vowe l s
Bi -lab ial
Laminopre -palatal
Ap i c o alveolar
Stop
b
dj
d
Nasal
m
nj
n
Rhot i c G l ide
c}
I)
1j
Lat e ral
r
r
y
w
Vowe l s Front
C entral
Mid
Back
u
High
0
e
Low
a ( a: )
1 Rumsey, A. An intra-sentence grammar of Ungarinjin, north-western Australia. B-86, xii + 191 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1982. DOI:10.15144/PL-B86.1 ©1982 Pacific Linguistics and/or the author(s). Online edition licensed 2015 CC BY-SA 4.0, with permission of PL. A sealang.net/CRCL initiative.
Api c o pre-palat al
Dor s o velar
9 �
2
Thi s phonemic level repre sentation i s u s e ful primar i l y as a pra c t i c a l orthography .
My orthography di ffe rs from that o f Coate and
Oat e s in that I write the lamino-pre-palatal gl ide a s y rather than j . Th i s minor change i n the s y stem has b e en made i n response t o a c o n sensus among those U Darinj in spe akers who are l i t erate in their own language , a l l o f whom are a l s o l i t e rat e in Engl i s h and mo st of whom there fore find y l e s s confusing as a repre sentation of this sound t han j, whi c h s t ands for a di fferent sound in Engl i s h .
( For the
que s t ion of / a :/ , see s e c t ion 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 3. ) 1 .1 .2.
Ph o n e t i c R e a l i s a ti o n
1 .1 .2.1 .
Phona t i on Types
There e x i s t s a s t yle o f U D a rinj in speech in which laryngeali s at ion ( ' c re aky vo i c e ' ) and ingres sive whisper are o ft e n employe d .
Thi s
s t y l e seems t o b e l ong almo s t e x c lusively to adult wome n , and was t radit ional l y pre s cribed for use by widow s . Except within that special , s t y l i s t i c a l l y marked form o f the l anguage , a l l U Darinj in nasal s , lat e ral s , glide s , vowe l s , and t he rho t i c continuant /r/ are always ful l y voic e d , with ( pulmoni c ) e gres sive airstream .
The api c o -alveolar t r i l l / flap/r/ i s s ometimes
part i a l l y o r ful l y devo iced ( fo r which , s e e p . 5 ) . Note that the phonemic invent o ry inc l udes only one stop s e rie s , as is t rue o f many Austral ian Ab original l anguage s .
Along with C o at e ,
I fo l l ow the general Austral ian co nvent ion o f writ ing the se a s ' vo i c e d ' s t op s , b ut t hi s i s a s omewhat mi s l eading convent ion , b e ing grounded more in Engl ish-based s ound percept ion than in uni versal phonet i c s .
That i s , what Engl ish s p eake rs are re sponding t o when
they hear t h es e as ' vo i c e d ' s t o p s i s not ' vo i c ing ' lack o f aspirat i on .
so much as t he
In the product ion o f t rue vo iced s t ops , there i s ,
b y definit ion , some vo c a l - c ord vibrat ion during the int erval o f oral occ lusion .
Th is i s cons i s t ent l y t rue of these UD arinj in stops only l
whe n they fo l low nasals within word-int ernal consonant c l usters .
In a l l other posit ion s , t h e s e s e gment s are o ften real i se d a s t rue voi c e l e s s s t o p s of the French varie t y , where vo ice onset and o ffset are s imult ane ous with oral release and c lo s ure r e s p e c t i ve l y .
Inde e d ,
l This is true of stops in many languages, both Australian and non-Australian. For another Australian example, see Hercus (1969, p. 16ff). Non-Australian examples include Modern Greek and several other languages of Southeastern Europe (Hamp, personal communication).
3
in the c a s e of word-final s t o p s , voice offset o ft e n c ome s b e fo r e oral c l o sure , causing what s ounds like an e l i s i on of the final s t op , o r i t s replac ement b y a glot t a l stop . For in st ance !adag bo!, s i t down ! w w w can be rea l i s e d a s [ada bo ] or [ada? bo ] as w e l l a s [adag bo ]. There seems to be no thorough l y s y stemat i c al lophony with regard to t he se vo i c ing charac t e ri s t i c s , b ut there is a general t endenc y for t he t rue voice l e s s variant s to o c c ur e sp ec i a l l y frequently in c areful spee ch . I n a l l spee c h , t he lamino -palatal s e gment !dj! i s reali s e d a s voic e l e s s mor e o ft en t han a r e the other s t op s . 1.1. 2 . 2 . A rt i c u l a t i o n 1.1. 2 . 2 .1.
Stops and Nasal s
Note that for each stop , t h ere i s a corre sponding nas a l . ' c o rre spondenc e ' i s not mer e l y an ab s t ract phonemic one .
Thi s
The
r e s p e c t i ve p l ac e s of art i culation of a l l of the pairs of al l ophone s are ident i c a l .
Th erefore a s ingle des cript ion o f each o f t h o s e
plac e s w i l l suffi c e f o r s t op a n d nasal . 1 . 1 . 2 . 2 .1 . 1 .
Bi -l abial s
A l l a l l ophone s o f t h e s e two phoneme s invo l ve t rue b i labial oc c l u s ion .
Be fore the back rounded vowe l !u!, thi s o c c l u s ion is
a c c ompani e d b y not i c e ab l e rounding . I n other envi ronment s , t he 1 c lo s e d l ip s show a neutral degree o f l at e ra l spread . 1 . 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 . 2 . T h e La m i n o - p r e - p a l a t a l s
For anyone fami l i ar with the s ounds o f Aus tral ian language s , ' lamino -pre-palat al ' w i l l s erve a s an appropriat e ' imit a t i on l ab e l , for t h i s pair o f s ound s .
2
For anyone who lacks such fami l i arit y , no
such b r i e f formula can adequat e l y des cribe their art i c ulat ion . The t ongue i s latera l l y quite wi d e l y s pread , with t he t i p t ouching the back o f t he lower t e e t h .
The b lade c o nt ac t s t he alveolar ri dge
and a r e l at i ve l y sma l l port ion of the adj acent palatal region . Some t ime s t he b lade a l s o contac t s t he back o f t he upper t e e t h .
l
As per figure b , Jones 1966 : 1 7 .
2
Pike 1 94 3 : 16ff .
4
Whi l e t he oral art i culat i on for ! n j ! and ! d j ! is i dent i c a l , one a s p e c t of t he l a t t e r c a l l s for spe c ial c omment .
Imme diat e l y fo l lowing
t he release o f ! d j !, there is a brief inte rval o f aud i b l e t urbul enc e . In other words , t he s t op is a s l i ght l y affricated one .
For t he
corresponding nasal there i s , o f c our s e , no appreciab le b u i ld-up o f air pre s s ure during oral o c c l us ion , and hence n o audi b l e t urbulence upon oral r e lease . 1 . 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 . 3 . T h e A p i c o -alveo l a r s
The a c t i ve art iculator for t he se cons onant s i s j u st the t i p o f the t ongue , whi ch c ontac t s the alveolar ri dge in a po s i t i on wh i c h i s pra c t i c a l l y ident i c a l t o that wh i c h i s spe c i fi e d b y Daniel Jones for ' c ardinal alveolar t '
( J ones 1969:46).
1 . 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 . 4 . T h e Ap i c o - p r e - pa l a t a l s
Lad e foge d h a s o b s e rved that ' in s ome S outh A s ian language s t he retro f l e x consonant s invo lve only the t ip o f the t ongue and t he back of the alveolar ridge , whe reas in others t here i s contact b e t ween a l arge part o f t he underside o f t he t ongue t ip and much o f t he forward part o f the hard palat e '
( Lade foged 1971:39-40).
There is a similar
range o f variat ion among the many Austral ian language s having ' re t ro fle x ' cons onant s . , act ively invo lved .
Some t ime s the underside o f t he t ongue i s
Th i s i s t rue , for instance , o f Wemba Wemba
( Hercus 1969:18), and Pit j antj atj ara ( Douglas 1964:15).
In U � a finj in ,
on t he o t h er han d , it i s j u st the ape x which make s contact .
The point
o f c o ntact is in t he pre-palatal region , such that the apex i s l
point ing ' st raight up ' rather than ' bent back , . 1 .1 . 2 . 2 . 1 . 5 . T h e Do r s o - v e l a r s
A l l al l ophone s o f t he se consonant s are within t he velar o r uvular range .
Be fore t he front vowe l s Ii! and Ie!, contact is re lat i ve l y
far forward : almo s t , b ut not quit e , i n t h e palatal region .
In t he
environment o f s t re s se d fa!, c ontact i s post -ve lar or uvul ar . E l sewhere it i s velar .
l These are precisely the terms in wh ich the articulat ion of these consonants has been des cribed by U�arinj in speakers , several of whom show a remarkably high degree of art iculatory phonetic awareness .
5
1.1. 2 . 2 . 2 .
Lateral s
A l l lateral s e gment s in UQa�inj in are vo i c e d b i l a t e ral appro ximant s wit hout audible fri c t ion . For t he t wo apical l at e ra l s ,
1 and I , t he t ip o f t he t o ngue i s i n
t he same p o s i t ion a s f o r t he c orresponding apical s t o p s a n d nasal s ( se e above , pp .
3-4 ) .
The p o s i t ioning o f the r e s t o f t he t o ngue for
t he s e s e gment s ( and henc e t he i r relat ive ' c l e arne s s ' v s .
' da rkne s s ' )
depends ma i n l y on t he qual i t y o f t he p rec e ding and/or fo l l owing vowe l . Both are relat ive l y ' c l ear ' in the environment o f front vowe l s , and re l at ive l y ' dark '
( t hough never as dark as t he Rus s ian 1, or t he
S c o t c h Engl i s h one ) in the envi ronment o f b a c k vowe l s . For t he ' lamino -pre -palat al ' s e gment Ilj/, t he t i p and b lade o f t he t o ngue a r e in t he s ame p o s i t ion a s f o r t he c orre s ponding s t o p and nasal ( se e above , p .
3) .
Unl ike t he apical lateral s , t h i s s e gment
d o e s not vary gre a t l y in re sonance un der t he influence of adj acent vowe l s .
Rat he r , t he middle p art o f t he t ongue i s always he ld c l o s e
t o t he palat e , s o a s t o g i ve t hi s s e gment i t s own c harac t eri s t i c ' c le a r ' re s onanc e . 1. 1. 2 . 2 . 3 .
Rhot i c s
' Ap i c o -alveolar ' Irl has s everal al l ophone s , a l l o f whi c h invo l ve contact b et ween t he t ip o f t he t ongue and t he alve o lar ridge , or a p o s i t i o n furt he r back in t he ' po st alveolar ' regi on . i t i s alway s a ful l y voi c e d t r i l l [rJ or flap [rJ .
Word-medial ly , Word-fina l l y , i t
i s a voiced flap or a part i a l l y -t o -ful l y devo iced t r i l l .
U s ua l l y ,
vo ic ing e xt ends t hrough a t l ea s t t he first t ap o f t he t r i l l , t he n t ra i l s off .
Some t i me s , during t he devo i c e d portions o f t he se wo rd
final t r i ll s , t here is a weakening o f art i c ulat i o n such t hat t he t ongue fai l s t o make c ontact and t h e t r i l l d i s s o lve s i n t o a fricat ive
[�J.
Thu s , t he word IQur/, t o h i t , may b e pronounced in any of t he
fo l lowing way s :
[QUr],
[QUr],
[QUrrJ,
[QUrr],
[QUr�J,
[QUr�],
[QUrr�J ,
[QUrr�J·
' Ap i c o -pre -pa lat a l ' Irl t hough placed with � , Q, and 1
( and w i t h r)
on grounds of patt ern c ongru it y , differs from a l l o f t hem in an e s sent i a l way .
I t i s produc e d wit hout any c ontact b etween t he t ongue
and t he roof of t he mout h .
Rat he r , t he ape x is pointed s t rai ght up
in t he direct ion o f t he pre-palatal area , as if i t s t arget were t he same a s t ha t o f t he o t he r apic o -pre-palat al s , but is never b rought c l o s e enough e ve n to cause audib l e fr ic t ion . a voc oid :
[�J
The s ound is phone t i c a l l y
J u s t a s w i t h I and l , t he p o s i t ion o f t he m i d and b a c k
6
part of t he t ongue for I r l depends on t he adj a c ent vowe l s ,
so that i t s
a l l ophone s inc lude ' r- c o loure d ' ver s ions o f a l l t h e vowe l s di s c u s s ed be l o w . 1 . 1 .2.2.4.
Gli d e s
Iwl i s a l ways a vo i c e d b i -labial fric t ionl e s s c ont inuant .
Be fore
101 and lui, it s art iculation inc l ude s not i c e ab l e l i p -rounding . Be fore o t her vowe l s , the l i p s are normal l y not v i s i b l y rounde d .
But
under heavy empha s i s , Iwl in a l l e nviro nment s may be art i c ul a t e d w i t h obvious l ip rounding and protrus ion .
Unde r a l l c ondit ions , there i s
o ft e n a n o t i c e a b l e degree o f velari sat ion . Phonet i c a l l y , t he ' lamino -pre-palat al ' glide Iyl b ears t h e same re lat ion to d j , n j , and l j as r bears to � , �, and ! .
That i s , it i s
a voiced vo c o id who s e art iculatory t arget i s t he same a s t hat o f d j ,
n j , and l j .
The t ongue i s latera l l y quite wide l y spread , with the
t ip po int ing toward ( or even cont ac t ing ) t he l ower t e et h .
For the
art i c ulat i on o f y , t he b l ade and mid-t ongue are brought quit e c l o s e t o t he palat e : c l o s e r t han f o r canon ical U �arinj in I i i ( which i s [ 1 J ) , b ut not c l o s e e nough t o cause any audi b l e fri c t ion .
The nat ure o f
t he movement t o and from thi s p o s i t ion depends o n wh ich sounds c ome b e fore and after it . 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 . T h e Vowel s 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 1 . Th e H i g h V owe l s
The ' unmarke d ' or ' e l sewhere ' re a l i sation o f the high vowe l s III and lui i s [ 1 J and [ U J re spe c t i ve l y .
That i s , they are not t he
maximal l y high , t en se , front vowe l s o f French ' p ipe ' and ' poudre ' , but s omewhat lowe r , l a xe r , and centered , approximat e l y a s in Eng l i s h ' p ip ' and ' book ' . 1 .1 .2.3.1 .1 .
/il
I i i i s rea l i s e d a s [ i J in t hree environment s : 1)
when fo ll owed b y Iyl, e . g . ,
I b i ya l ought
+
[ b i yA J
/ b u d n i y a � a r i l b e a u t ifu Z p e o p Z e 2)
+
[ b U d n ry A � A r i J
when fo l lowed b y Id j l or In j l in doub l y c l o sed s y l lable s ( t h o s e o f shape C VC ) , e xc ep t whe n C i s I b l or Iw/, in whi ch c a s e 1 2 l
I i i retains t he [ 1 J pronun c i at ion , e . g . ,
7
I r l d j l to p u L L
+
[ r l dj J
I g l d j a l t h e Gidj a t r i b e 11 I nj I to L o o k
+
+
[ g l d j AJ
[ 1 I nj J
I m l n d l n j a l o ve r t h e r e
+
[ m l n d fn j AJ
[ w Id j l n J I b l d j i n l t o c o n n e c t + [ b Id j l n J Iw l d j l n l o p e n Bore
but :
+
Iw l n j a � u n l t h e Sy no t t Ran g e 3)
+
[wln j A9un J
when o c c urring word-fina l l y o r b e fore a ' l o o s e j un c t ure '
( se e
b e l ow , 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 1 ) , e . g. ,
[ d j i r i J him
�
+
[ d jl r l J
[ g a n 9 l J un c L e ( MB , et al . ) [ d l - g u J fo r t h a t , t h e r e fore
[gA�� i J
+ +
[ d fguJ
Since [ I J do e s not c ontrast with [ l y J in word- final p o s i t i on , one could a c c o unt for c ondit ioning of t ype 3 ab o ve b y p o s i t ing underlying
I . . l y #1 for a l l i n s t anc e s o f final I I I .
The maxima l l y high qual i t y
o f the s e vowe l s would t he n b e t aken care o f b y the t y p e 1 rule .
I
have no argument s against s u c h a propo sal , b ut s ince I prefer t o make the phono lo gy no mo re ab s t ract than nec e s sary , I shall c ontinue t o repre s ent final [ I J a s I . . . 1 1 a n d ret a in t he t ype 3 e xplanat ion given above . There are , how e ver , s ome ins tanc e s o f I, whi c h I w i l l a c c o unt for b y p o s it ing underly ing I l y/ .
The s e o c c ur i n envi ronment s where ,
a c c o rding t o t he rul e s given ab ove , one would e xpect [ IJ .
The re i s ,
for i n s t anc e , a suffix meaning ' in the direc t ion o f ' which i s pronoun c e d - [b l n j J .
Rat he r than p o s i t ing a s eparate I I I phoneme
( di s t in c t from III ) j us t to account for t he relatively few e xcept ions of t hi s k ind , I will repre s ent t he s e i n s tanc e s of [ I J as I l y/ .
Thi s
suffi x , t he n , w i l l be s p e l l e d - b l y n j . A phono logical so lut ion o f t hi s kind a l s o s e ems to be the b e st way o f a c c ount ing for t he limi t e d i n s tanc e s of phone t i c long vowe l s in U �arinj in .
Note t hat my phonemic inventory for t he language did not
inc lude vowel l ength a s d i s t inct i ve , e xcept , pos s i b l y for l a / . U �arinj in di ffers st rongl y in t hi s respect from Worora , a fairly c l o s e l y related language , mo s t of who s e speakers also s peak U � arinj in ( o ft en with ' foreign s ounding ' long vowe l s in words having l ong-vowe l Worora c o gnat e s !) .
In Worora , l ong vowe l s o c c ur with appro ximate ly
t he s ame freque n c y as short ones and mu st be regarded as d i s t inct phonemic unit s .
I n U�arinj i n , on the o t h er hand , phone t i c l ong
vowe l s are very infrequent . are single phoneme s .
Thi s alone make s it unl i k e l y t hat they
8
But there i s more s o l i d e vidence wh ich point s t o t he same For every U Qarinj in word s howing a phone t i c [ I : ] , whe n
c o nc l usion .
the word is pronounced s l ow l y and care ful l y by nat ive speake rs , the
[ I : ] has a ' c ircumfl e x ' pitch c ont our .
That is , o ver the duration of
the vowe l , t here i s a s l i ght rise in pit ch , fo l l owed b y a s l i ght fall . Furthermore , where thi s long I
is not fo l l owed b y Iyl , Id j / , o r
In j / , the re i s , for many speaker s , a c hange in vowe l qua l i t y such '-./
t hat what one h ears is a dipht hong l i I/ .
Th erefore , e ven at t he
phon e t i c l e ve l , t here are good reasons to regard t he s e long s e gment s as l i y i / .
Thi s a c c ount s for the maximal l y high qua l i t y o f
t he first part o f t hi s s e gment ( t yp e 1 condit ioni n g ) and for i t s phonet i c length . Phonologi c a l l y , t h i s so lut i o n ac c ounts both for t he relat ive infreque n c y o f [ I : ] , and for t he fact that i t never contrasts wi t h
Il y l / .
The latter , t hat i s , is a s equenc e which d o e s n o t otherwi se
o c c ur . 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 1 .2.
l ui
As noted above , the usual real i sa t i on o f t h i s vowe l is [ U ].
It is
r e a l i s e d a s [ u ] in two envi ronment s :
1)
when fo l l owed b y Ib l or Im/ , e . g . ,
d u b u l a red 2)
+
[d ub U I A ] g u m u � - g u m u � q u i e t
+
[ g u mU � g u m U � ]
when o c c urring word -fina l l y or be fore a l oo s e j un c t ure , e . g. ,
b u to b Lo w
+
[bu]
b u b u + Q a r l cigare t t e
+
[ b ub u Q A r l ]
(see s e c t ion 2 . 6 . 4 . 8 ) I t wi l l b e n o t e d t hat t h e s e t wo rul e s may readi l y b e c omb ined with the first two rul e s for I I I given on pp . 6-7. of rul e 1)
The more general form
says that a high vowe l , whe n fol lowed b y a ' c orre sponding '
stop or nasal , i s ma ximal l y high , maximal ly periphera l , and maxima l l y t e n se .
In order to c apt ure t he ' c orre spondenc e ' wh i c h i s
invo l ved here , one mu st a s s i gn s ome c o mmon feature spec i ficat ion t o 1 ) l a b i a l s and l ui, and 2) palat a l s and /11 ( c f . s e c .
1 . 2 . 4 . 1 b e low ) .
Whe n l u i i s foll owed b y Iw/ , i t s phone t i c reali sation depends on which vowe l follows the Iw/ . When l u i o c curs b e fore Iwa / , it is lowere d , by varying de grees . In c ar e ful ' e l i c i t at i on speech ' , it is s t i l l ident i fiable as l u i , b ut in normal c onversat i onal s t y l e , it i s lowered to [ 0 ] , where it i s
9
phone t i c a l l y ind i s t ingui s hab le from one o f the al l ophones o f /0/ ( which caus e s no c onfus ion b e c a us e /0/ in thi s envi ronment i s real i s e d as [ o J , f o r which , s e e s e c t i o n 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 5 ) . For e xamp l e :
/ d uw a / an k t e
[ d �wA]
�
/ - ! uw a / to fe ar
- [ ! �w A J -
�
Whe n / u/ o c c ur s b e fore / w u / , the phone t i c reali s a t i on o f t h i s / u w u / s e q ue n c e i s analogo us t o t hat o f / i y i / , d i s c us se d above ( p . 8 ) . '-"
i s , it eme rges a s a long vowel [ u : J , o r mild diphthong [ u U J .
That
Solid
evidence f o r the ' p sycho lo g i c a l realit y ' o f / u w u / a s t he unde rlying re pre sent a t i o n for [ u : J in U Q ar inj in wa s provided b y one o f my informant s , David Mowa � dj i yali , who , b e fore I s usp e c t e d t hat the r e w e r e no unde rl ying l ong vowe l s in U�a�inj in , pre sent ed m e w i t h a manus c r ipt in which he had wri t t e n the word [ b u: r u J , n o r t h as b uw u r u . Other e xample s are :
/ d uw u / t o ftoat
[du : J
�
/ d j u w u n b i/ fibu t a 1.1.2.3.2.
�
/ d ju: n b i /
/a/
The / a / phoneme i s b y far t he mo st frequent l y o c c urring vowe l i n t he language and s hows a w i d e r range o f a l l o phonic var iat ion t ha n any o t h er vowe l . It i s maxima l l y open when it o c c ur s in mono s y l l ab i c word s , and i � s omewhat l onger i n d urat ion i n t h i s environment t han e l s ewhere , e . g . ,
/ a / he g o e s
[a· J
�
/ b a / t o arrive / w a / no t
�
�
[ b a' ]
[ wa · J
/ q a r / to s tand / g a � / t o s in g
�
�
[qa' r ] [ga'�]
/ rna g / m e s s age s t ic k When carrying p rimary s t re s s
l
�
[ rna·g J
in p o l y s y l l a b i c words , / a / i s h i gher
and shorter than the above [ a ' J , b y a degree wh ich depends on which cons onant fol lows it . The mo s t c e n t e red a l l ophone ,
[ A J , o c c ur s b e fore r ( b ut s e e se c t i on
1 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 3 b e l ow ) .
1
For an account of UQarinj in st ress, see Coate and Oates 1970:7-8 .
10
For e xamp l e :
[b A r a b A r a J / y a r i d j / to go down [ YAr i d j J / b a r a b a r a / story
+
+
/ ma r i Q i / my (po t e n t ia L ) wife
,
+
[m1\r I Q i J
Before w , / a / is real i sed a s a l ow , somewhat fronted vowe l , about halfway b etween [ a J and [ re J in qua l it y , wh ich I t ranscribe as [ a � J . For e xamp l e :
/ m a w i Q g i / c o L d s ea s o n / g a wa d / c h i t d i s h ne s s l a w a i open
+
+ +
[ ma>wIQ g i J ' [ k a >w 1\ d J
/ �:w1\/
The ' e l sewhere ' r e a l i sat i on of / a / under primary s t re s s is as a low vow e l somewhe re b e t ween [ n J and [1\ J .
Under sec ondary stre s s in
a l l e nvironment s , / a / i s regularly re a l i s e d a s [ 1\ J .
Tert iary- s t re s sed
( i . e . , unst r e s s e d ) / a / i s reduc e d t o [ a J . 1. 1. 2 . 3 . 3 .
Long /a/
Comparat ive evidence from Worora s ugge s t s that the pro t o - l anguage from wh i c h U � a rinj in is de s c ended showed phonemic di s t inct ions b e t ween l ong and short a,
i , and
u.
Compare , for e xample , the Worora and
U Q a rinj in forms in Tab l e 2 . Tab l e 2 Long and Short Vowe l s in Worora and U Q a rinj in
Worora
a : w a o p e n e d up
a wa open
a w a he i : d j a man
i d j a my fa t h e r , FB , FFBS , FFFBSS , e t a l .
Q u r u : turn around
Q u r u t urn one ' s back
Q u r u right here A s I have d i s c u s s e d , U Q a rinj in do e s e xhibit a few instance s of phonet i c [ i : J and [ u : J, whi ch can b e e xp lained as ari s ing from / i y i / and / uw u / r e s p e c t i ve l y .
A s Tab l e 2 i l lustrat e s , one doe s not find
[ i : J and [ u : J as reflexe s of Prot o -Kimb e r l e y * / i : / and * / u : / , b ut rather t he ir ' short ' count e rpart s , for which l e ngth is not d i s t inct ive . Likewise , there are a few instanc e s o f phone t i c [n : J in U Q a rinj in a l l
11
o f whi ch probab l y ari s e from s ourc e s other t han unde r ly ing ( or hi storic ) la:/. Of t he s e , t he e a s i e s t to a c c ount for are t ho se whi ch c ome from a+a in e xte rnal sandhi . For e xamp l e :
/ba
aQ 9 a 1 u /
arrive
+
h e aame
[ ba: Q9A 1 u J he aame
he arri v e d awa n �
+
[ n j a: wAnJ he i s born
he fa L L s
This c ontract ion o f a+a t o a: t ake s p la c e ma inly in t he spe c ific morph o l o g i ca l environment e xemp l i fi e d above , that i s , at the j un c t ure b e t ween verbal part i c l e and c onj ugat e d auxi l iary ( s ee s e c t ion 2 . 2 ) . But t h i s morpho l ogical spe c i fi c i t y may b e an ac c i dental re sult o f t he fact t hat a: ari s e s in e xt ernal sandhi o n l y from t wo s t r e s s e d vowe l s , a requirement whic h i s se ldom met e l s ewhe re .
In any c a s e , the rule
i s an opt i onal one , and s e ldom app l i e s in t h e mo st care fu l spee c h . There is another p o s i t ion w i t h i n t he c onj ugat e d auxi l i ary verb where [n:J o c c ur s ( al b e i t sporad i c a l l y ) in the speech of mo st U Qa rinj in speake r s .
I s ha l l argue b e l ow ( s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 4 ) t hat t h i s
[ n : J ari se s from a + w 2 a 2 , where w 2 i s a morphophoneme which i s d i s t inct from WI in that it a l t e rnat e s with 191 rather t han Ib /. Then t he re i s a t iny but t roub l e some r e s i due o f unana l y sab l e mono morphemi c words whi c h s how interna l [ n : J vowe l s , e . g . ,
[ y n : r A J (ma L e ) h i L L kangaroo [ma : Q 9 A r A J a L an t e rri tory o f m o t h e r ' s b r o t h e r In order t o a c c o unt f o r s u c h forms , it may b e nec e s sary t o p o s i t a s e parate In:1 phoneme for U oarinj in .
Th i s phoneme , i f it e xi s t s , may
be a rec ent importation due t o l e xi c a l b o rrowing , o r , on t he other hand , may b e t he l a s t ve st ige o f an earlier system in which vowel length was d i s t inct ive for III, lui, and la/.
Eithe r way , t he
pre sence o f t h i s d i s t inc t io n j us t for lal in pre sent -day U oarinj in would a c c ord with general princ i p l e s o f markedne s s , lal b e ing t he l e a st marked memb e r o f the vowe l s y s t e m , and , henc e , mo st l ike l y t o b e uni que l y sub -di fferent iated a l ong a nother dimens ion s u c h a s lengt h . Ano t her , more e l e gant e xp lanat ion i s indicated by t he verb -internal morphophonemi c fa ct s c i ted above .
That i s , one c ould p o s i t underlying
law2al for al l ins t anc e s o f otherwi se une xp l ained [n:J .
A s we have
seen ( se c t io n 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 1 ) , [ I : J and [ u : J arise from I y l and u w u
12
( mo rphophonemic u Wl u ) r e s p e c t i ve ly . I n t he operat ion o f thi s , and other ( se e s e c t i on 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 1 . 2 ) phonological rules , i and y ( p lus a l s o dj and n j ) form a ' natural c l a s s ' a s do U and w l ( along with b and rn ) .
In t he operat ion o f the word-internal l a +w 2 a l
+
En : ] rule ,
w 2 and a form another natural c l a s s ( which a l s o includes 9 and � ) . I t i s t hus p o s s ib le t o a c count for a l l d i s t inct ive word-internal U �a�inj in ' long vowe l s ' b y a s ingle phono logical rule which operat e s o n the s e quence
{�}
+ c orre sponding glide +
{�}.
Th i s s o lut i on
b o t h s imp l i fi e s t he e nvironment o f t h i s rule and regular i s e s the U �a�inj in vo c a l i c inventory b y obviating t he need for a length oppos it i on at j us t one p o s i t i on .
But despite i t s e l e ganc e , I am s ome
what s u s p i c ious of this s o lution b e cause t he re i s no morph o l o g i c a l e v i d e n c e f o r p o s i t ing unde rlying l a w 2 a l outs ide the r e a l m o f verbal morph o logy , a realm in which there e xi s t s everal phono l ogical s e quence In any c as e , w 2 ( unlike y )
r e s t r i c t ions which do not app ly e l s ewhere .
i s s t r i c t l y an ab s tract mor phophonemic uni t , whi ch never surfac e s a s phone t i c a l l y d i s t inc t from wl , s o in m y phonemic orthography , I w i l l f o l l ow Coat e and Elkin b y wri t ing En : ] as a : i n t h o s e rare instances where it o c curs , not ing the morphophonemi c prin c i p l e s where app l i c ab le in verb s . 1 . 1. 2 . 3 . 4 .
lei
The ' e l s ewhere ' re a l i s at ion o f l e i i s a s a short front vowe l which appro ximat e s the [e] of Engli s h ' s et ' . Whe n followed b y y . d j . or n J l e i i s r e a l i s e d as a s omewhat higher vowe l , almo s t , b ut not qui t e , as h i gh a s the mid front c ardinal vowe l
[e ] , e . g . , Inedj l
urinate
+
I rne n j a l s h o u l d no t
[� eVd j ] [rne Vn j A]
+
I y e y a d l lungs, b r e a t h
+
[y eVy A d ]
l e i h a s t h i s s ame nearly-c ardinal [e ] quali t y when it o c c ur s a s t h e final s e gment in a mono s y l lab i c word , b ut i s s omewhat longer in durat i on in t h i s environment than e l s ewhere , e . g . ,
I � e l I am
+
[�ev . ]
I rne l v e g e tab l e fo od
+
[rne v ,]
13
1. 1 . 2 . 3 . 5 .
/0/
In nearly a l l enviro nment s , 101 i s re al i s e d as a mid-t o -low back rounded vowe l somewhere b e t we en cardinal [ o J and [ oJ.
It is rai s ed
and rounded t o a p o s i t ion c l o s e l y approximat ing ( b ut n ot quite as high as ) [ o J when fo l l owed b y w , e .g . ,
d j owa d to j ump
+
[ d j 6VwA d J
r o w a Q a r i wh i t e
+
[ r oVw A Q h r l J
1. 1. 2 . 4 . Some Add i t i o n a l
P h o n et i c D i p h t h o n g s
A s seen above , t h e s e quence V + glide + V i s o ft e n rea l i se d a s a phone t i c long vowe l or dipht hong .
Now t hat I have d e s c r i b e d a l l five
underlying vowe l s , there are some further di phthongs which c an b e a c c o unted f o r in t h i s way .
'-"" �
First , there i s a fal l ing front diphthong i ' a ' of ' man ' in Chic ago Engl i sh .
the
word ' shame ' wh ich i s pronounc e d [ d j �· n J . Eng l i s h D i c t i on a r y ,
d j i ya n ) .
wh ich s o unds l ike
It o c c ur s , for i n stanc e , in the In their Ng a r i n j i n
Coate and E lkin spe l l t hi s word d j i j a n ( read
But t here are many U Qarinj in words c ontaining t he sequenc e
iy a in which t hi s s e que nce i s not r ea l i sed a s a diphthong , b ut a s b i s y l labic [ . . i yA . . J ( for e xamp l e s see p . ---�
an i
l i ya/.
6 ) , and no w o r d s showing
sound for which we have inde pe ndent e videnc e for unde r l ying Rather , b ot h the phone t i c and t h e d i s t ri but ional evide n c e
po int t o unde rlying l i y e/.
Phonet i c a l l y , t he initial and t e rminal
l o c i o f this diphth ong are within t he range of I i i and lei r e s p e c t i v e l y
( t he init i a l l y maximal l y high qua l i t y b e ing c ondit ioned b y the pre sence of fol l owing Iy/ , a s per p . 6) , while the t e rminal l oc u s i s not within the range o f t he unde rl ying l a l a s sumed by Coate and E lk i n . D i st r i b ut i onal l y , one may note t hat , whi l e there are p lenty o f o c c urrenc e s o f b i s y l lab i c [ . . i y A . . . J , there are n o e xamp l e s o f non dipht h ongi sed [ . . I y e . . . J . phono logi c a l rule l i y e l
+
The re fore , we may s a f e l y a s s ume a low-level
[ �J .
'--'
There is another phone t i c dipht hong which i s pronoun c ed [ e U J or
[ � J , depending on what fo l l ows .
Since i t s initial and t e rminal l o c i
a r e wit hin t he range o f l e i and l u i r e s p e c t i ve l y , and since there are , a s far as I know , no independent instance s o f b i s y l labic - ew u - , I wi l l a s sume unde r l y ing l ew u l for t he se dipht hongs .
14
Examp l e s are :
dew u ( onoma t o po e ic word repres ent ing t he sound ma de by the umb r e l l a l i zard, C h l am y do s a u r u s k i ng i i)
� ew u � ew u n ma s ke d o w Z 1 . 1 . 3 . P h o n em i c D i s t r i b u t i on a l
Re s t r i c t i o n s
Any o f t he five vowe l s may oc c ur word-ini t i al l y , me dial ly , or fina l l y .
In init ial p o s i t ion ,
y i - and w u - r e s pe c t i ve l y .
i - and u - merge phono logically with
Somet ime s t he init ial gli de s are phone t
c a l l y pre sent ; s omet ime s not .
The di ffere nc e i s never di s t in c t i ve .
A l l o f t he cons onant s may o c c ur word-ini t i a l l y e xcept r and l j . Any cons onant may o c c ur wor d-finally e xc ept l j , b, m, or r.
When
o c c urring final l y , d j and g t e n d to be e l i de d .
Init ial c onsonant c lusters are t e xt ua l l y rather infrequent , an d are l imit e d to the following : br, 9r, mr,
gr,
b r , br r
Wor d me dia l , intervocalic c lu s t e r s o f two consonant s are quite c ommon .
Table 3 shows which c omb inat ions o c c ur .
Some comb inat i ons
wh i c h do not oc cur within t he word a s suc h are found where a c o n sonant -init ial suffi x or p o s t p o s i t ion follows a consonant - final stem.
These are in stanc e s o f what I have c a l l e d ' l o o s e j uncture '
( s e e s ec t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 1 ) .
Where s ome part i c ular s e quenc e o c c ur s o n l y
at a l o o s e j uncture , this fact is indi c at e d b y an L in the c e l l for t hat c omb ination on t h e chart .
Comb ina t ions wh ich o c c ur within the
w o r d a s such are indi c at e d b y an X. I t i s p o s s i b l e t hat t he re e xi st some U�a�inj in words s howing internal c lu s t e r s not not e d on Tab le 3 .
But the numb er o f such
c a s e s must b e small , for t hi s t abulat ion i s b a s e d on a thorough search through my ent i re c orpus of some 1 , 0 0 0 page s , and a crit i cal review o f the Coate and Elkin Nga r i n j i n-Eng l i s h D i c t i on a r y , whi c h contains about 7 , 5 0 0 words .
Mo st o f t he c lu s t e r s n o t e d on t he c hart
are at t e st e d by over t went y e xamp l e s in t he s e comb i n e d t e xt s . Looking at t he c hart , one can draw s everal generali sations wh ich s h e d light on t he operat ion o f certain morphophonemic rules t o b e di s c u s s e d below ( se c t ion 1 . 2 ) . First , note t hat where a nasal c onsonant O c c ur s as t he first member o f one o f t he se c lust e r s , t he sec ond memb er can only b e a na sal or a s t op .
15
Tab l e 3 Wo rd-Int e rnal Int e rvo c a l i c Bic o n s onant a l C lu s t e r s
b
dj
d
�
9
m
nj
n
I)
I)
Ij
r
b
r
w
x
dj d
X X
L X
9
m
.p Cf)
H ori IL.
X
X
X X
X X X
X X
L
I)
X
L
I)
L
X X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X X
Ij X
L
X
X
L
L
L
w
y
X
X
X
n
r
X
L
nj H Q) .0 E Q) ::0:
L
X
X
L
L
L
L
X
X
y
16
A s e c ond important general i sat i on involve s j us t t h e l amino pre-palatals d j , n j ,
l j , y, t he ap i c o -alveolars d , n , 1,
a p i c o -pre -palat a l s 9 , � ,
1,
r.
r,
and the
Because of the way they fit into the
five -place art i c ulatory scale o f U Qarinj in consonant s , let u s l ab e l t h e s e lamino -pre -pa lat al , api c o -alveolar , and api c o -pre-palatal p o s it ions 2 , 3 , and 4 respect ivel y .
The generali sation we can make
is t hat whe n b o t h c o n sonant s o f a word -int ernal c luster are drawn from the s e t {2, 3 . 4}, t he memb ers of t he pair may not di ffer b y one. There are , for instanc e , 4-2 pairs suc h a s �dj and ! d j , and 4 -4 pairs such a s nd and �r, b ut no 4- 3 pairs or 3 - 2 pairs .
Of c o ur s e , not a l l
c omb inat i ons wh ich do not v i o l a t e t h i s const raint do in fac t o c c ur . The po int i s rather that t here o c cur none which do violate it . Note fina l ly t hat 9 doe s not o c c ur a s t he s e c o nd memb er o f any c l u s t e r in whic h t he first member is not also an ap i c o -pre-palat al . Word -int ernal t r i -c on sonant se quenc e s are limit ed t o t he fo l l owing :
l ng
1mb
l �g
1 mb
Note t hat t he se sequenc e s , whi c h fit into a p l easingly regular p a t t e rn , follow t he same {2 , 3 , 4} constraint which was found to hold among t he two-consonant c lu s t e r s d i s c u s s e d above . 1 . 2 . Mo r p h o p h o n e m i c s
Morphophonemi c s a s s ume s a morpho logy , b ut t he morpho logy c annot b e repre sented wit hout morphophoneme s .
Thu s , t here i s no ent irely
sat i s fact ory way o f ordering one of the se two grammati cal domains with r e s p e c t t o t he o t h er in a present a t i on such a s t hi s .
Here I shall
fo l l ow the t radi t ional b ut arb itrary pra c t i c e o f pre senting t he morphophonemi c s first , then t he morpho logy , but w i l l try t o minimi se the problem o f mutual impl i c a t i on t hrough t he u s e o f e xt en s ive c ro s s re ferencing b e t ween t he t wo s e c t i on s . 1 . 2 . 1 . Mo r p h o p h o n e m i c I n v e n t o ry
The unit s wh ich ent er into morphophonemic alternations in U ryarinjin
are shown i n Tab l e 4. 1 I
For reasons which will become clear in sect ions 1. 2 . 2 .1 and 1. 2 . 4 , Hamp (personal communicat ion ) has suggested that the two units l isted on table 4 as w2 and a 2 be identified as /y/ and /A/ respect ively . Although I find this suggest ion in some ways an attractive one , I have resisted adopt ing it here , mainly out of a const itut ional dislike on my part of invest ing morpho phonemes with phonetic values which do not directly corres pond to any of their surface manifestations . I prefer to keep them patently abstract by using numerical sub s cript s .
17
Tab l e 4 U �a�inj in Morphophoneme s
mb b
�g
dj
d
9
9
Y1
Y2
r
w2
u
e
0
a1
a2
1 . 2 . 2 . T h e So n o r a n c e H i e r a rc h y The first t hree rows o f t a b l e 4 form what may b e c a l l e d a ' sonor ance hierarchy ' .
By a pro c e s s whic h I will call ' c ons onant s t rengthen
ing ' , each o f t he c ont inuant s in row 3 i s , in c e rtain environment s , replaced by the c orre sponding s t op given above it in row 2 ( ' fi r s t degree strengthening ' ) or b y t he na sal + homorganic s t o p comb i nat ion given above it in row 1 ( ' s e c ond degree strengthening ' ) . 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 . Fir s t D e g r e e S t re n g t h e n i n g Among t he environment s which condi t ion t he s e s t rengthenings , b y far the e a s i e r one s t o spe c i fy are t ho s e which give r i s e to s t rengthening of t he first degre e .
In genera l , t he s e environment s are pre d i c t ab l e
from the c o n sonant c luster r e s t r i c t ions given above ( se c t ion 1 . 1 . 3 ) . One o f t he general i s at ions r eached t here was t hat where a nasal i s the first memb e r o f a c lust e r , t he sec ond memb er can only be a nasal or a s t op .
A c c ordingl y , whe never one o f the morphophonemic c ont inuant s in
row t hree o c c ur s after a nasal , it i s replaced b y its corresponding st op .
Be cause no U �a�inj in words or morpheme s end in m , and none
e xc e pt a few ' verbal part ic le s '
( se c t i on 2 . 2) ends in � , this pro c e s s
i s atte sted mai nly for n j - , and n - , and �- among t h e nas a l s . The fol lowing forms e xemp l i fy this pro c e s s for each o f the continuant s in row 3 :
nJ i n
- n - 1W:a 1
2sg.
- fa LL-pre s .
( fo r rwa.
see s ec t i on 2 . 2 . 1 )
+
[njIn bAnJ y o u fa U
18
+
ga ren ( pl a c e c al l e d ) Garen
from Garen
from
-
[ g a r e: n b A l u ]
( fo r - w a l u , see se c t i on 2 . 6 . 4 . 6 )
1
+
wa
I i nj
( fo r - w a see s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 4 )
( for n J + m , see s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 3 . 2 )
+
wa
g a l)
[ l fmb A ] t o peer a t
t o Z o o k a t -iter .
to sing iter .
[ g a l) b a ] to s i n g
-
( se e s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 4 )
Y2 nj i n
IY;T
2 sg.
be
( for
IY;T
+
�
[ n j� n d i ] you are
see section 2 . 2 . 1 )
w u! a n
Y2a I i
word
ind eed
,
[wU!A ndA l i ] word inde e d
( fo r Y 2 a l i , see s e c t ion 2 . 6 . 4 . 1 )
wa rma ! a
b i ynj
de s e r t
all .
+ indeed
[wa r m A ! A b i y n d a l i ] de s e r t -wards i n de e d
( for nj+ n , see s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 3 . 2 )
( fo r b i y n j , s e e s e c t i on 2 . 1 . 5. 4 . 3. 3)
Yl
IJ a n 1 sg. ( for
'"
-
3sg .
�,
yudug
+
n pre s .
b o w do wn 2 s g .
ly1 i n d e fa Z Z
,
he ho Z ds me
( for n+nj , see s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 3 . 2 )
s e e s e c t ion 2. 2 . 1 )
nji n
�
[I)A njdjI l A n ]
n
+
pre s .
�
[ nj l n j d j l n d e n J y o u bow down
( fo r l y i n d e see s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 )
1
ganda
b i ynJ
t he r e
all .
y1 u
+
lat .
[ g A n d a b i y nj d ju ] over to there
( for - y 1 u see s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 4 )
um b ul) wh a t - aha -ma-aa Z Z - i t
( fo r u m b u l) , see s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 4 )
t o wha t - aha-ma - aa Z Z -i t
19
0
I) a n lsg .
3sg.
( for
I"\rla ,
rra
IJ
come
pre s .
ra
Wyndham
loc o 2
�
[ I) A n d a IJ J he come s to me
( fo r � + d , s ee s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 3 . 3 )
see s e c t i on 2 . 2 . 1 )
Wyndham l -
" b i l labong,,
r +
+ ( se e s e c t ion 2 . 1 .5.4 . 3. 1 )
,
[wfndamdAJ a t Wy ndham
ra
�
,
+
[ b I l a b :l l) d A J
+
[ u m bUIJ � A J
loc o
u m b u lJ
ra
wha t - c ha -ma -ca l l - i t
loc o
Iw l u
w2a2
I) a n l sg .
irr .
3sg.
( se e s e c t i on 2.2.4)
,
+
[ I) An g:l J
hit
some t im e
fir st - s y l lab l e -redup l ic a t e d form :
w a l) - w 2 a l) - g u n
+
any t ime
Alt hough first -de gree strengt hening is not att e st e d for every c ont inuant after e ve ry nasa l , e very morphophonemic c ontinuant ( i . e . , each o f t he uni t s in row three o f the c hart ) which does o c c ur aft e r a na s a l i s s t r engthened .
The fac t t hat e xamp l e s do not e x i s t for every
p o s s i b l e c omb inat ion i s , I submit , an a c c i dent of t h e mo rpho l o gy rat her t han a fact about t he morphophonemi c s . Out side o f the ' po s t -nasal ' p o s i t ion , the e nvi ronment s for firs t degree st rengt hening are s omewhat l e s s regular , and di ffer depending on whi ch c ont inuant is at i s s ue .
The general t enden c y is for al l
c ont inuant s t o strengthen fo l lowing any con s onant ( i n c luding , o f c o ur s e , t he nasa l s , a ft e r whi c h s t rengt he ning app l i e s without e x c e p t i on ) .
1
m does not occur as the final segment of any nat ive Ul)arinj in words . This word , which is the name of a town in the eastern Kimberley is a ' foreign ' Engl ish word . But consonant-strengthening applies as expect ed even following m , as in th is rare example . 2
This noun , which has an ' impermissable ' final - I) , is a borrowing b y way o f English. Here again , strengthening operat es in the expected manner .
20
This f o l l ows a general pro s c r ipt ion against s equenc e s o f c o n s onant c ont inuant , whi c h i s evident from an inspect ion o f table 3 ( p . 1 5 ) . But where the first c o n sonant o f the pair is not a nasal , t h i s pro s c r iption does n o t apply ' acro s s -t he -board ' . First , note that W may o c c ur a ft e r 1 , morphophonemic w e.g. ,
1
Imadj a l - w a l ul 1
...
from
gra s s
] , or r .
A c c ordingl y ,
does not undergo strengthening i n t he s e p o s i t ions ,
[ ma ' d j a ' l wA l u ] from t h e g ra s s
( see s e c t ion 2 . 6.4 . 6 ) ...
l�ol it e r .
b ur s t
( see s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 4 ) ...
w1a l ul
I l) u ] a r
from
north
,
[ l) u l A rwA l u ] from t h e n o r t h
- IW l a
I l) a r we ( inc l . )
pre s .
fa n
we fa l l
( for Iw 1 a , see s e c t ion 2.2.1 ) A f t e r a l l ot her c onsonant s , w i s s trengthened t o b . N o t e t hat 1 d j b and g b are forb idden c lu s t e r s . Whe n t he s e s e quence s are pre sent unde rlyingly , they are r e a l i s e d a s yb and b re spec t i ve l y .
The
phono l ogical rule which e ffe c t s t he l at t e r , i . e . , 9 ... �/ __b ( or perhap s 9 ... w /
b , as per s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 3 . 1 ) mu st b e ordered after first
__
degree st renght ening t o a c c o unt for the fac t t hat morphophonemic
.
.
. VG-w l v
.
.
.
i s real i s e d as VbV .
The f o l l ow ing forms e xemplify first degre e strengt hening o f w l in environment s o t h er t han 1 - ,
d j ... yl
] - , and r - , and the rul e s 9
�I
...
b: did
...
iter .
to a u t
r u 1 ug
-
t o s hift
b u r ga yd j to quest ion
( see s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 4 ) ,
w1 a
,
...
[ r U 1 UbA ]
...
[ b u r gAybA]
it e r .
- w1 a it e r .
wo wa l a d t o a l ear a p i e a e o f l an d
w1 a
iter .
...
,
[ w Dw a l A d b A ]
b and
21
A l l o f t h e other morphophonemic c ont inuant s undergo first degree strengt hening fo l l owing any c ons onant .
This generali sation i s not
supported b y e xamp l e s for e very p o s s i b l e c o n sonant -cont inuant pair , again , I submit , b e c au s e o f a c c ident s o f morpho logy .
It mus t b e
borne i n mind t hat the numb er o f morpheme s involved i s quite l imi t ed . Furthe rmore , for s e veral strengt he ning c omb inat ion s , the only available e xamp l e s are found at t he j un c t ure between word and p o s t p o s it ion .
Since U Q arinj in words may not end in
r ,
l j , b , or m ,
( se e s e c t ion 1 . 1 . 3 ) st rengt hening for mo s t c ont inuant s i s not a t t e s t e d fo l l owing t he s e c onsonant s . p . 19 ) .
( But see t he m - e xamp l e on
But s in c e there is no count e r -evidenc e , there is no harm in
stat ing t he rule a s genera l l y a s pos s i b l e , vi z . : a l l morphophonemic c ont inuant s ( i . e . , t he uni t s in row t hree of tab le 4 on p . 1 7 ) e xc e pt
w l strengthen f o l l owing any c o n sonant .
For Y l ' Y 2 ' and w 2 ( a s for wl above ) , t h e s e s trengt henings fo l low
c on s onant c lu s t e r re stri c t ions which are e vident from t ab l e 4 . Curious l y , t h i s i s not t rue o f r .
A l t e rnat ing morphophonemi c r o c c ur s
One o f t hem is one o f t wo a l l omorphs o f the
on only t wo morpheme s . t ran s it ive verb root f a
� I r a , go t o , aome t o .
The o n l y c ons onant
it ever fol lows is n , in whi c h c a s e it s t rengthens to 9 ( + d ) , as i l lustrated by t he e xampl e on page 19 above .
The only other morpheme
showing a l t e rnating r is the l o c a t i ve p o s t p o s i t i on - r a .
Not e that
within t he word , r is permi t t e d in several p o s t - c ons onant a l p o s i t ions , inc luding
r- ,
g - and g - .
Nonethe l e s s , the r o f thi s l o c at i ve p o s t
p o s i t ion s t rengthens fol l owing a n y c o nsonant , i n c l uding t h e s e thre e . S t rengthening o f t hi s r aft er nasals ha s al ready b e e n i l lust ra t e d on page 1 9 .
St rengt hening after other c onsonant s is i l lust rat ed b y the
fo l lowing exampl e s :
ma ' g
ra
+
o n t h e me s s ag e s t i a k
m e s s a g e s ti a k
wa n d l w ug
[ ma ' g d A ]
ra
+
[ w aA n d IwUg g A ]
+
[ b aA g I d d A ]
kangaroo ,
bag i d poaket
( bo rrowing from Engl ish )
Qurul
ra
+
ra
+
tree
bun d u l t h e b us h
�
,
[ b Un d U ! g A ]
22
o l) a r
[ 5 I) A r d A ]
....
h i s bone
The c luster r e s t r i c t ions governing the b ehaviour o f /w 2 / ( that i s , t he w whi c h alt e rnat e s with 9 rather t han b ) are hard t o spe c i fy in detail b e c ause , out s i de of a few redup l i cat ing forms such a s " w a � g u n " ( se e e xample on p . 1 9 ) w 2 o c c ur s i n only two pla c e s . One o f them i s Its ' irreal i s ' morpheme / - w 2 a 2 / ( for which s e e s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 4 ) .
on t he
b ehaviour t here i s n o t pre d i c t ab l e from t he c luster r e s t r i c t ions o f s e c t ion 1 . 1 . 3 . A s noted above ( p . 2 0 ) , /w l / may o c c ur fol l owing any of s e veral non-na sal consonant s , inc l uding r , as indicated for w on table 3 .
/w 2 / on t he other hand , may not o c c ur as w a ft e r is strengthened to 9 in this p o s it i o n , e . g . ,
/b -
a r - w2a2
-
....
IW l u /
3pI . -1 p I . inc I . - irr e a l i s This r
-
hit
r ,
b ut
[ b A r g :> ] w e m ig h t a c t u p o n t h e m
p o s i t ion ( for further e xamp l e s o f whi c h , see pp . 9 4 , 1 0 2 )
is the only post -non-na s a l -cons onant al p o s i t i o n in whi c h w 2 i s at t e st e d . The other p o s i t ion in which w 2 can b e said to o c c ur i s wordinit ial l y , on t he w 2 c l a s s demonstratives g a n d a , g u n o , g a n d i n j a ( s e e t a b l e 7 , p . 3 3 ) , where it is strengthened to g . Th i s part i c ular s t r engthening seems impo s s i b l e t o spe c i fy in phono logi c a l t erms , s in c e w 2 a l so o c c ur s in unst rengthened form in the same phono l o gi c a l ( C ompare , for e xamp l e , t he w 2 -c l a s s -prefixed verb fo rm environment .
� i t wen t . )
Rat he r , this strengthe ning s ho uld b e s ee n as a
morpho logi c a l l y s p e c i fi c one , l ike the s e c o nd-degree s t rengthenings di s c u s s e d b e l ow ( s e c t i on 1 . 2 . 2 . 2 ) . An examinat ion o f t ab l e 3 reveals that the phoneme y may not o c c ur fo l l owing any c onsonant .
A c c ordingly both o f t he morphophonemes
/Y l / and / Y 2 / undergo first -de gre e st rengthening when fo l lowing a l l c on sonant s a f t e r whi ch t he y a r e at t e st ed .
Thi s has already b een
i l lust rated for the p o s t -nasal posit ions .
The fol lowing forms s how
s t r engthening aft e r other c o n s onant s : / Y 2/
/ya na r Z i t t Z e twigs
Y2a 1 i / indeed
/mi yu l
Y2a 1 i /
muZe
inde e d
....
[ y a" n A r d !. 1 i ]
....
[ m f yU l d A l i ]
23
Iy11 Igu l a !
+
Yl u l
[gu l A ! dj u J
lat .
bamboo
l o � ma l
[ 5 � mA l d j u ]
y1 u l
wh i te o c h r e
I d a yd j
,
+
y1 ul
[daydj d j u ]
dus t ( Engl ish b orrowings )
1 .2.2.2.
Second D e g ree S t r en g t h en i n g
The environment s for s e c ond-de gre e strengthening , unl ike t he above , are probabl y impo s s i b l e to spe c i fy in s t ri c t l y phono lo g i c a l t e rms . Rathe r , s e c ond-degree s t r engthening takes p l a c e only in c e rtain m o rpho l o gi ca l l y spe c i fi c environment s .
I t i s unamb i guously at t e s t e d
o n l y f o r /w 1 / , fb i , and /w 2 / . For e x amp l e :
/w 1 a
Iw u w - c l a s s sub .
fa H
+
nl
[ (w ) umbAn ]
pre s .
i t fa H s
+
nl
m-c l a s s - 3 s g . sub . - be ignoran t o f ob .
+
pres .
[ m u m b a ' wA n ] he i8 ignorant o f i t ( m- c la s s )
( for a 2 + U , see s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 4 . 1 )
Ibl /y i b U I 1 imp .
- ma sc . ob .
+ t h ro w i t
t hrow
( for b a 2 - , see s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 6 . 1 )
+
Ima2 m - c l a s s sub .
irr .
be
i t might b e
( for a 2 + y 1 l + e , s e e s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 4 . 2 )
a
w 2a 2
1
sg . mas c . ob .
3sg . s ub .
irr .
-
/w l u hit
+
[ ii ' l) g o ] h e m ig h t a c t u p o n h i m
24
There i s a general t enden c y for sec ond-degree s t rengthening t o o c c ur in p o s i t ions where it s e rve s t o b r eak up sequenc e s o f V + glide + V + gl ide + V wh ich would otherw i s e coale s c e int o a singl e , morph o Thi s i s t rue , f o r instance , o f t he two
phonemi c a l l y amb i guous vowe l .
But s e c ond-degree st rengthening i s e xamp l e s given unde r ' w 2 ' above . b y n o means automat i c i n such environment s , nor does i t always serve t h i s funct i on when it doe s o c c ur , a s i l l u s t rated b y t he other e xamp l e s above . 1 .2 . 3.
S o m e A d d i t i o n a l ( Mo r p h o ) P h o n o l o g i c a l R u l e s Affec t i n g C o n s o n a n t s
Seve ral othe r phono logical proc e s se s b e side s consonant strengthen ing have been silen t l y introduc e d int o the above d i s c u s s ion o f that phenomenon . 1 . 2 . 3 . 1 . El i s i on On page 2 0 , I introduced two e l i si on rul e s g+0 /_b and d j + y / _b , whi c h were adequate l y described and e xemp l i fied t here .
Both rule s
could b e sub sumed under a more general rule b y wh ich d j and 9 are
{ }
weakened t o corres ponding continuant s b e fore b .
That i s ,
d j +y
g+w 2
1 . 2 . 3 . 2 . N a s al As s i m i l a t i o n I n the e xamp l e s o f s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 , I b rought in t he fo l lowing nasal - st op a s s imilat ions :
nj
+
m
/
b
nj
+
n /
d
n
+
nj/
dj
__
The s e rul e s answer t o c l uster r e s t r i c t ions noted above ( s e c t i o n 1 .1 .3) .
Obviou s l y t he s e pro c e s s e s are amenab l e to a more general
fo rmulation , wh ich could b e done with alpha rul e s operating on what ever feat ure s are u s ed t o spe c i fy the relevant plac e s of art i c ulation . Here I w i l l only make t wo general ob se rvat ions about t he s e a s s imi lat i ons . First note t hat the a s s imi lat i on s are a l l ret rogre s s ive : s ound s a s s imilat e t o t ho se which fol l o w t hem .
Th i s is a general princ iple
o f U Qarinj in phono logy , whi ch holds for a l l a s s imi lations I have found in t he l anguage ( s e e pp . 25-29 ) .
25
The s e c ond point I w i s h to make about t h e s e a s s imi l ati ons has t o do w i t h t h e i r relationship t o o n e o f t he phonet ic int erpretat i on rul e s d i s c u s s e d earl i e r ( se ct ion 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 1 . 1 ) .
The rule I re fer t o
i s t he o n e whi c h s a y s t hat / i / b e fore /n j / i s rea l i s e d a s [ i J ( rather t han [ I J , whi c h i s it s ' e l sewhere ' value ) .
I t i s apparent
t hat t h i s rule w i l l interact with t he nasal a s simi lat ions d i s c u s s e d above , b e c au s e a l l tho s e a s s imilat ions e ither c re at e o r remove an instance of n j .
Conside r the out put of derivat ions where both rule s
appl y :
1 1 i nj wa t c h
/ nj i n 2 sg.
w a/ l
+
[ l lmbAJ
+
[nj Inj dj I 1 An J
iter . "
-
�
3 sg.
�
n/ pre s .
ho Z d
h e ho Zds you
From such e xamp l e s we can conc lude t hat t he vow e l a s s imilat i on rule whi c h det e rmine s t he phone t i c rea l i sat ion of / i / must pre c e d e t he n a s a l a s s imi lat ion rul e s d i sc u s sed above .
I f t he order were
reverse d , the above forms would b e r e a l i s e d a s [ l Im b A J and
[ n j fn j dj I 1 An J .
The fact t hat t he rule s are ordered in t h i s way w i l l
have import ant c o n se quenc e s f o r t he morpho logical d e s c ript ion b elow ( se e p .
86 ) .
1 . 2 . 3 . 3 . D e - r e t ro f l e x i o n Note from the examp l e s o f s e c t i o n 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 t hat r a ft e r first degree strengt hening almo st a lway s ends up a s d rat her t han � .
It is
rea l i s e d a s � only whe n fo l l owing a nother o n e o f the apic o -pre palat a l s � , � , or ! .
Th i s agr e e s with the r e s t r ic t io n , d i s c u s s e d
above ( sect ion 1 . 1 . 3 ) whereby � doe s n o t o c c ur fo l low ing any c on sonant except ano ther apico -pre-palat a l .
Prec i s e l y how the indicated
' de -retrofle xing ' rule i s t o b e wri t t en will depend on t he feature s y s t e m by whi ch the phonology is anal ys e d . feature
Us ing for now the ad-hoc
' RETRO . ' , we c an wr it e t he rule as fo l l ows : �
+
d
/ [
+CONS J -RETRO
1 . 2 . 4 . V o we l A l t e rn a t i o n s 1 . 2 . 4 . 1 . /a2 / A s s i m i l a t i on Note t hat t he mo rphophonemic invent ory given above in t ab l e 4 inc l ud e s t wo d i st inct /a/ ' s whi c h I l ab e l / a l / and /a 2 / '
26
/a 2 / i s a s t r i c t l y abstract unit whic h , unl ike / a / , never emerges a s surface r a J . When fo l l owed by a consonant ( e xcept in one of the forbidde n se quenc e s / a 2 + y i / , / a 2 + w l u / , or / a 2 + w 2 a ( 2 / ' / a 2 / ) i or u dep ending on which consonant fo l lows .
b e c ome s a high vowe l ;
In order to d e s c ribe these ( V ) ( c ) a s s imi lat ions in a s y s t emat i c and e c onomi cal way , w e need a cro s s -cutting c la s s i fi c a t i on wh i c h group s c e rt ain c o n s onant s with c e rtain vowe l s .
The d i st inct ive
feat ure whic h al lows us to do this in t he mo st nat ural way is one wh ich was part o f t he ori ginal Jakob sonian System ( Jakob son , Fant , and Hal l e 1 9 5 2 : 2 9 - 30 ) , b ut was later rej e c t e d by C homsky and Halle ( 1 9 6 8 : 3 0 3f f . ) ; t hat i s the feat ure grave/acut e , or +/- grave . Wit h r e s p e c t t o t h i s feature , t he unit s wh ich t ake part in t h i s a s simi lat i on may b e grouped a s in Tab le 5 . Tab l e 5 Gravity Spe c i fi c at ions o f S ome U �arinj in Segment s
+ Grave
- Grave
u
Vowe l s Consonant s
Given t h i s c la s s i fi c a t i on , we may des cribe a 2 a s s imilat ion a s fo l lows : [
+ high l ", grave
/
+
[ + cons ' l '" grave
That i s , /a 2 / ' when fo l l owed by a morpheme boundary which i s fol l owed b y a consonant , b e c ome s a high vowel which agr e e s with that cons onant in gravit y .
( Ac t ua l l y , one could j us t as we l l l eave the
morpheme boundary s p e c i ficat ion out of t h i s rule , b e c ause /a 2 / o c curs only morpheme - fina l l y , or , more p re c i s e ly , is d i s t inguishab le from
f a l l only b y i t s behavi our at morpheme b oundari e s . a morpheme b o undary specification,
I have inc luded
+ , in the rule j ust s o t hat one
does not l o s e s i ght of that fact . ) The fo l lowing are s ome e xamp l e s o f t h i s pro c e s s .
A l l o f t hem are
t aken from U �arinj in verbal morpho logy , b e cause it i s t he only domain When c i t ing ' c ompound in whi c h /a 2 / is d i s t ingui shab l e from fa l l . verb ' forms ( s e e s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 3 ) , I have omi t t e d the phone t i c form o f t he verbal p art i c le , since i t i s not relevant i n any o f the e xamp le s .
27
For an account o f t he mo rpheme s invo l ve d , s e e s e c t ion 2 . 2 .
a2 /ada sit
lal 3 sg . ma sc . ob .
ba2
+
....
Im a l do
- l) a 2
Im a 1 i ma
sit!
�al
he
I g u n d a2
....
I s p e a r e d h im
2 p I . ob . give he gives to you
wa
Iban
not
3 p l . ob .
,
�
nl
....
[ g Un d U I)U ! Un ]
pre s .
1 sg . sub . i rr . give I don ' t give t o them
u l _w I
....
I) a r w a
Inja2
fa n
3 s g . fern .
we d j
Iba2
s l.e e p
-I)
u/
Il) u ! u -
�
[ a A l) u m a l l mA r a ]
....
pas t
spear
a2 andu
[ b u mA ]
....
imp .
1 sg. sub
m
ul
Iw l a - n i l
[ n j uw a n i ]
fa n past s h e fe n
wl a l l
....
( for :> c ond i t ioning see p . 1 3 )
fa n g o t o s l. e ep
imp.
a2
[ b 6wA ]
....
u l _* w 2
Iwu
na2
w2a 2 -
!wl u I
w-c las s ob .
2 p I . sub .
irr .
act on
a2
....
iI
[ w u n u l) g :> ]
....
y
-
la
l) a 2
In a
nil
3 sg . mas c .
1 sg.
argue w i t h I argue w i t h him
past
andu
I I) a r a 2
he
1 p I . inc .
�
IY I O
fo n ow he fo nows us
nl pre s .
....
....
[ a l) i y A n i ]
[ I) a r i y :> n ]
28
fa l l differs from /a 2 / only in that i t doe s not undergo t hi s ' gravity a s s imilat ion ' when f o l lowed b y a consonant , b ut remains a s a . For example :
lal
/mal
[amA]
+
do
3 sg . m a sc .
la
ra
3 s g . mas c .
3 sg.
fI) U!U
1 sg .
1 .2.4.2.
V owe l
+
[ a I)U!U n ]
pre s . give he g i v e s t o him
fw l a fa n
nl
nl p re s .
fa n
Coal escence
We have seen above ( s e c t i o n 1 . 1 . 3 ) t hat t here are s ome c ons onant s e quen c e s which are a llowed at the j unc t ure between word and p o s t C onver s e l y , t here are s ome
p o s i t i o n , b u t n o t within the word .
seque n c e s whi c h are d i s a l l o wed j us t at c e rtain kinds of morpheme boundar i e s within t he word , b ut are permi t t e d e l s ewhere . The morpheme b o undary at which spe c i a l r e s t ri c t ions app l y i s t he b oundary b e t we e n pronominal pre fix or prefix c omb ination ( s e e s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 2 ) and whatever f o l l ows .
A s I have discussed above in c onne c t ion
with phone t i c l ong vowe l s ( pp . 1 1 - 12 ) , t here i s a prohib it ion o n the s e quence ( v l ) - ( c orre sponding glide ) - ( v l ) ' i . e . , i y i , uW l u , a W 2 a . At t he j un c t ure between prefix and f o l lowing e l ement , t here i s a further r e s t r i c t ion against a + ( glide )
( homorganic vowe l ) .
That i s , / y i / ,
/w l u / , or /w 2 a 2 / may not be r e a l i s e d as y i , W U , or wa respe c t iv e l y l
when f o l l owing a .
When the s equence a + ( gl i de )
( homorganic vowe l ) i s pres ent
under ly ingly , t he three s egment s c o a l e s c e t o form a s ingle s urface vowe l , as f o l l ows :
la + y i l
+
e
For e xamp le ,
lal 3 sg . mas c .
be
he i s
l Where I have omitted the sub script s o n a an d y , this mean s that fa l l and /a 2 / behave identi cally ; likewise , /Yl / and /Y 2 / . a and y then are ' phonemic level ' cover terms for these respect ive pair s of morphophonemic unit s.
29
la1
l) a 2
3 sg . mas c . ob .
1 sg . sub .
/Y2f1
Iwa 2 w - c la s s s ub .
0
3 s g . ma s c . ob .
3 sg. sub .
nl
ho 'ld
pre s .
+
[ A l) e l An J I h o 'l d him
[we · J
+
it is
be
la
/Y"liTa
n/
ly 1 i b u
[ E bUn J
+
pre s .
t hrow
/ a - wl u /
+
h e ( o r s h e ) t hrows him
( There are no e x amp l e s of a + w2 u )
0
For e xamp l e ,
lal
0
3 s g . mas c . ob .
3 sg. sub .
l al
l) a 2
3 s g . mas c . ob .
1 sg. sub .
nl
�u
+
pre s .
hit
IW l u
he h i t s him
nl
+
p re s .
hit
[onJ
[ A l)o n J I h i t him
For examp le ,
Il) u ! u /
/ l) a d a 2 3 sg. sub .
1 p l . inc . ob .
irr .
give to
he might g i v e t o us
/g u n d a 2 3 sg . sub .
2 pl . ob .
irr .
hit
he m i g h t h i t y o u
1 . 2 . 4 . 3 . V owe l S y n c o p e
a 2 , when f o l l owed b y another vowe l , i s droppe d , l e aving t h e other vow e l unaffe c te d . For e x amp l e ,
/a1 3 sg . mas c .
n/ put
pre s .
30
/ba2
a n j a2 1
imp .
fern . ob .
Im a � a /
+
[ b A n j (j m a � a J
take
Thi s c omp l e t e s the di s c u s s ion o f general morphophonemi c pro c e s s e s i n U Q a�inj in .
More spe c ific proce s s e s - t ho s e c harac t e r i s ing the
b e haviour o f s ingle morpheme s - will b e incorporat e d int o the ' Morphology ' s e c t i on b e l ow .
CHAPTER TWO MORPHO LOGY
2 . 1 . Nom i n a l M o r p h o l ogy 2.1 . 1 .
Free- stand i ng Personal
Pronouns
The fre e - s t anding pers onal pronouns o f U 8arinj in are s hown in Tab le 6 . Tab le 6 Personal Pronouns
Singular
Non - s i ngular Inc lus ive : 8a r u n
1 s t person 2nd person
n j a 8a n
Exclus ive : n j a r u n
nurun
The non- s ingular pronouns may b e suffixed for more pre c i s e numbe r spe c i ficat i on w i t h dual s u f f i x - n j i r i or paucal s u f f i x - n j i n a . Any o f t h e s e pronouns may t ake any o f the nominal suffi xe s and/or p o s t p o s i t l ons d e s c ribed b e l ow ( s e c t i on 2 , 1 . 5 . 4 ) .
Where an opt i onal
numb e r suffix i s pre sent on one of the non-s ingular forms , the numb er suffix pre c e de s a l l other s .
n u run
,
- nj i r i - gu
2nd per . - dual non- sg .
+
- dat ive - o n 'ly
,
,
[ n U r Un j I r i g u 8 A ] o n 'ly for y o u two
2 . 1 . 2 . G e n d e r - b ea r i n g P ro n o u n s ' Gender ' i n U 8arinj i n , a s i n mo s t languages which have i t , i s c on fi ned t o ' non-par t i c ipant ' noun s .
( tradit iona lly c a l le d ' t hird p e r s on ' )
In U 8arinj i n , gender i s not indicated on l e x i c a l nouns ( a s it
31
32
is in the related language , Worora ) .
It i s , however , indicated on
third person pronouns . 2 . 1 . 2 . 1 . Ana phors The anaphoric pronouns are a s f o l l ows :
dj i r i
mas c u line
nj i n d i
feminine
m i nd i
m - c las s neuter
di
w 2 - c l as s neuter
bi ri
neuter c o lle c t i ve &nd human p l ural
The semant i c s of t hi s c l a s s i fi c at i on w i l l b e d i s c u s s e d b e low ( s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 1 ) . Morpho logic ally , t he s e gende r-b earing anaphoric forms may b e ana l y s e d a s c o n s i s t ing o f a n anaphor i c b a s e - r i
( c f . the ' de finite
subj e c t ' verb prefix - i r i - , s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 8 ) , with gender p r e f i x d j i - ,
n j i n - , m i n - , 0 , or b i - .
The - r o f this base - r i b e c ome s - d b y first
degree strengthening ( s e e s e c t i on 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 ) .
For # 0 + r i + d i , we
can posit a rule # r + d , a rule whi c h i s supported b y the fact t hat r does not oc cur word initially , while d doe s . 2.1 .2.2.
D e mo n s t r a tiv e s
The anaphoric forms d i s c u s s e d above are used primari ly for point ing b a c k to something which has been pre s ent in t he flow of s p e e c h in which they o c c ur .
There i s another s e t o f gender-b earing pronoun s
which are used primari l y f o r p oint ing t o s omething which i s pre s e nt in the s i t uat ional context o f the utteranc e .
The s e d em on s t r a t i ve
pronouns , whi ch infl e c t for d i s t ance a long a ' prox imity t o speake r ' a x i s a s w e l l a s for gender , are shown i n Tab le 7 . The s e forms may b e anal y s e d a s demon st rat ive b a s e + p o s i t i onal suffix .
The demons trat ive base s , wh ich vary for gender , are d j i n - ,
nj i n- , m i n- � mun- , gan-
�
g u n - ( i . e . , w 2 a n - � w 2 u n - , with word
i n i t i a l c on s onant s trengt hening ) , and b u n - .
Note t hat two o f the s e
( n j i n - and m i n - ) a r e forma l l y ident i c a l t o their c ount e rpart s in t he anaphoric s e r i e s d i s c u s s e d in s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 2 . 1 , and t he re s t are quite s imi lar .
33
Tab le 7 Demonst rat ive Pronouns
here
o v e r t h e re
way o v e r t he r e ( us ua l l y out o f s ight )
mas c u l i ne
dj i nd a
dj i no
dj i nd i nj a
feminine
nj i nd a
n j i no
nj i nd i nj a
m - c l a s s neuter
munda
muno
m i nd i nj a
w 2 - c la s s neuter
ganda
g uno
g a n d i nj a
neut e r c o l l e c t ive and human p lura �
b unda
buno
bund i nj a
The p o s i t i onal suffixes are : proximal : distal : hyperdi s t a l : 2.1 .2.3.
' Am b i p h o r i c '
- d a ( or r a ? ) -0
- d i n j a ( or r l - n j a ? )
Prono u n s
There i s a third serie s o f gender-bearing pronouns whi c h are inherent l y ne ither anaphoric nor demons trat i ve .
None the l e s s they are
func t i ona l l y more c l o s e l y re lat e d to t h e anaphoric set t han to the demonstrative b e cause their u s e is c ondit i oned b y factors in the l ingui s t i c cont e xt rather than i n t he c ont ext o f s it uat i on . Spe c i fi c a ll y , t h e s e pronouns are used t o int roduce a new t op i c . The se amb iphoric , t op i c i nt roducing pronouns are as f o l l ows :
andu njandu
ma s c u li ne feminine
mandu
m-c l a s s neut e r
wandu
w 2 - c l a s s neut e r
bandu
neut e r c o l l e c t ive and human p l ural
Forma l l y , t h e s e pronouns seem t o b e built on an ' amb iphoric ' b a s e
- a n d u , w i t h gender pre f i x e s � - , n j - , m - ,
W- ,
and b - .
( Or perhaps a - ,
n j a 2 - ' m a 2 - , w u - , b a 2 - with e l i de d vowe l s a s per s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 3 . 1 ) . Alt hough t h e s e pronouns are funct iona l l y amb ip hori c , t h e y usually c ombine phra s a l l y with a c orre s p onding demo n s t rat i ve when used t o re fe r t o something pre sent i n the c ont e x t o f s i t uat ion , i . e . ,
a n d u d j i n d a , t h i s one (man ) here , b a n d u b u n o , t h o s e p e op Z e o v e r t h e re .
2.1 .3.
I nt e r r o g a t i ve Pron o u n s
The mo st commonly-occurring int errogat i ve pronoun s are n j a Q g i and
a n j d j a , whi ch t rans late fairly pre c i s e ly a s who and wha t .
The s e
pronoun s d o n o t de c l i ne f o r gender , nor does t he a n j d j a - n j a Q g i d i s t i nc t ion bear any s y st emat i c re lat i on to t he gender s y s t em .
The
word n j a Q g i , for i n s t ance , i s used only for humans , words for which are general l y of the mas c uline o r feminine gende r .
But , as we shall
s e e ( s e ct i on 2 . 1 . 5 . 1 ) , many non-human and even i nanimate things are repre sented by words of the s e same genders . rat her t han n j a Q g i .
The s e words t ake a n j d j a
S imi l arly , nouns o f t he b - c la s s t ake n j a Q g i when
human ( p lural ) and a n j d j a when not . It would b e mi s t aken to re gard a n j d j a as o n l y t he non-human equivalent o f n j a Q g i . d i f fe re nt .
I t s synt a c t i c d i s trib ut ion i s a l s o s omewhat
Both n j a Q g i and a n j d j a may fun c t i on a s head nouns , e . g . ,
n j a Qg i
biri
anj dja
di
n j a Qg i
dar
a n j dj a
ma r a
who they Who are t h e y ? what it Wha t i s i t ? s tand who Who s to o d up ?
ama ra
h e di d
won i
what see i t he did Wha t did he s e e ?
But only a n j d j a may fun c t i on attributive ly , and it i s used t h i s way w i t h both human and non-human head noun s , e . g . ,
anJ dja
Qa l a
anjd la
wO Q a y
nj i nd i 1
what meat it Wha t m e a t i s t ha t ?
ma ra
n j i nj d j on i
what woman s e e her y o u did Wha t woman did y o u s e e ?
In t h i s re s p e c t , the d i s t ribut i on of a n j d J a relative to t hat o f
n j a Q g i parall e l s that o f English ' what ' / ' wh i c h ' in re lat i on t o ' who ' . In b o t h language s , t he opp o s i t i on human/non-human i s ne ut r a l i s e d among i nt e rrogative pronouns when they are att ribut ive , and in both language s non-human emerge s as t he unmarked t e rm .
35
There i s another s e t o f int e rrogat ive pronouns whi c h does d e c l ine for gende r .
They are built o n a base - i r l y a , with gender prefixes � ,
n j , m , w2 , b , i . e . , i r i ya
mas c uli ne
n j i r i ya -
feminine
m i r i ya
m - c la s s neut e r
w i r i ya
w-c las s neuter
b i r i ya
neut e r c o l l e c t ive and human p lura l
Coate and Oat e s ( 1 9 70 : 3 2 ) c a l l t he s e ' locat ive i nt errogat ive s ' . Usually · th e y can be tran s l a t e d as where , e . g . , n j i r i y a , where i s s he ? ,
m i r i y a where i s tha t t hing of t he m - a � a s s ?
But t here i s at l e a s t
one , perhaps idiomat i c , use in which t h i s i s n o t t rue : w i r i y a i s the interrogat ive form for asking the name of s ome t hing , e . g . ,
a l l) u n
w l r l ya
h i s name What is h i s name ?
A s t h e s e examp l e s sugge st , the - l r i y a interrogat ives are u s e d only in c opulat ive c o n s t ruct i on s , i . e . , t h o s e which t rans late into Engl i s h as where i s . . . . ?
The re i s another l o c a t i ve interrogat ive , g u n j a l ,
which is used adverb i a l l y .
It does not d e c l ine for gende r .
For examp l e ,
gunj a l nj i nay i r i
Where are y o u g o i n g ?
y o u are g o ing
gunj a l
ada
ama r a
Where did h e s i t down ?
he s a t down
There is an apparent l y related word g u n j a , wha t , whi c h funct ions more l ike German ' was ' t han Engl i s h ' what ' i n s o far as i t i s never used (Cf. anjdj a , p . 34 ) .
attributive l y .
Alt hough t e x t ua l ly quit e freq ue nt ,
g u n j a is s e vere l y l imi t e d in d i s t ribut ion .
It s e ems t o o c c ur only with
the verb ;rna, d o , say ( wh i c h i s one o f the mo s t frequent l y o c curring verbs in the language ) . For example ,
gunja
b u d me r i
[g u n j a
[ [ I) i m a ]
t h e y are s a y i ng /doing Wha t are they s ay i ng/do i ng ?
n j i nme r i ]
]
I wi � � do y o u are doing Wha t do y o u wan t t o do ?
( s e e s e c t ion 3 . 3 . 1 . 3 for t h i s s y nt a c t i c c o n s t ruct i on type )
36
2 . 1 . 4 . W h a t - c h a - ma - c a l l - i t ?
There is a s e t o f gender-b e aring interrogative pronouns whi c h are u s ed only a s ' he s i t at i on ' forms , like Engl ish ' what -c ha-ma-c a l l - i t ' or ' what ' s hi s /her name ' .
The s e are formed on a b a s e - a n d i m i , which
is prefixed for gende r :
and i m i
mas culine
njand i m i -
feminine
wa n d i m i
w - c l a s s neut e r
mand i m i
m - c l a s s neuter
band i m i
neuter c o l l e c t ive and human p lural
I t i s int erest ing that even the s e h e s i t at i on forms should de c l ine for gender .
U Q arinj in speakers apparent l y c an o ft en r e c a l l the gender
of a word even whe n the word i t s e l f e s cape s t hem . alway s be the c a s e .
But t h i s may not
For o ft e n t he word w a n d i m i i s used re gard le s s o f
the gender o f the word t he speaker i s t ry ing t o recal l .
Thi s i s
probab l y b e cause words for word , name , e t c . are o f the w-c l a s s neut e r gender ( se e s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 1 ) .
So w a n d i m i c an mean Wha t ' s t h e w o r d ?
Thi s hypothe s i s i s b orne out b y the fact t hat there are a t l e a s t t hr e e other he s it at ion pronouns whi ch s e ldom or never de c l ine for gende r , all o f whic h seem t o b e ' frozen ' w - c l a s s forms .
They are :
umbuQ umb a r u uQunj dja My t e x t s inc lude exampl e s o f gender inflect ion only for t he first t wo o f t h e s e three , and t here is only one examp le in each c a s e . t he m - c l a s s form m u m b u Q and the masculine form a m b a r u .
The s e are
E l sewhere
t h e s e words always appear in the w - c l a s s forms given above , re gard l e s s o f t h e gender o f t h e ant ec edent . O ft e n , however , t he gender i s made e x p l i c i t by t he pairing o f one of the s e he s itation forms with a gender-b earing anaphoric or demons t rative pronoun , e . g . ,
umbun
dj i r i
mas c . anaphor wha t ' s - h i s - name
uQunj dja what ' s - i t s
muna
m - c l a s s demons t rat ive ( m - c l a s s ) - name
Thus , alt hough the w - c l a s s forms are often used t o evade the i s sue of gender , one cannot conc lude t hat they are a l wa y s used for t hat reason .
37
2 . 1 . 5 . Lex i ca l Nouns A s indicated above , l e x i c a l nouns are o f five c la s s e s o r ' genders ' , whi ch are overt l y s igna l l e d b y agreement with t he various pronominal e lemen t s wh ich s t and for t hem .
The form o f the nouns t hems e l v e s
s e ldom provide s a n y c lue o f t h e ir gender .
One e x c ept ion , noted b y
Cap e l l and Elkin ( 1 9 3 7 : 2 2 9 ) i s t hat a high proport ion o f t h e nouns which end in - n are of the w 2 c las s ; about 9 0 perc ent of them , I Of nouns ending in - a n , an even higher percent age are
would gue s s . of t h i s c las s .
But there are e x c ept ions in b ot h c a s e s , mo st of which
are mot ivat e d b y overriding s eman t i c c on s iderat ions .
Words for
' p lac e s ' for i n s t ance are l i k e l y t o b e c o n s idered ' m- c l a s s ' even i f t hey end i n - n o
A very frequen t l y o c curring examp le i s the word
d a m b u n camp, c l an te rri t o ry , whi c h i s m - c l a s s ( for other such e xamp l e s see p .
39) .
Other words s omet ime s fluctuat e in gender depending o n
s u c h c ons iderat ions .
There are , for i n s t anc e , many kinds o f b irds
which have ( spec i e s ) name s ending in - n , which are usually treated as w - c l as s ; e . g . , d j u w i b a n gre a t e r bower b i rd , d j i r i n g u n ow l e t -n i g h tjar . But when t h e s e b irds b e c ome ' personali sed ' as c harac t er s in myt h s , they t end t o b e t re at e d as grammat i c a l l y masculine or feminine . Another genera l i s at i on put forth b y Cap e l l i s t hat in
- r
are C l a s s IV ( m- c l a s s ) '
( ib id . ) .
' U Q a�inj in nouns
But t h i s rule has s o many
e xc ept ions t hat I find it unt enab l e even as a ' perc ent rule ' . 2 . 1 . 5 . 1 . The Semant i c s of Gender I n general , gender i n U Qa�inj in has l e s s t o d o with s emant i c s t han with d i s c ourse r e ference maint enan c e , which i s i t s primary func t ion ( c f . Heath 1 9 7 5 ) .
There are , however , some general correlations which
t e n d t o hold b e t ween grammat i c a l gender and various s emant i c feature s .
2 . 1 . 5 . 1 . 1 . M a s c u l in e . F e m i n i n e . a n d b - c l a s s Virt ual l y a l l nouns re ferring t o humans are mas c u l ine , feminine , or b - c l a s s ( p lural ) .
Mal e s are masculine .
Fema l e s are feminine .
Inde e d , one o f t h e s emant i c fun c t ions whi c h t he gender s y s t em s omet ime s serves is t o a l l ow for the der ivat ion o f human nouns from non-human ( us ual l y non-animat e ) one s . There i s a word w u l u n , for i n s t an c e , who s e primary meaning i s paperbark t r e e o r b a s k e t made from i t s b ar k .
t h i s word is o f the - w 2 c la s s , e . g . , w u l u n d i .
When u s e d in t h i s s e n s e , But s omet ime s w u l u n i s
treated a s a feminine c la s s word , e . g . , w u l u n n j i n d i . it always means , not bark b a s k e t , b ut woman .
In t h e s e c a se s ,
The s eman t i c re lat i on
38
underlying t h i s derivat i on i s a me tonymi c one , b ark b a s ke t s having t radit ionally been women ' s ge ar par e x c e l lence . For s ome other s imilarly d i s t ingui shed animate/inanimate pairs it i s d i fficult t o a s s i gn der ivat ional priority t o e i t her memb e r o f the pair . For e xamp l e ,
b aQman magic
dl
baQman
dj l r l
w 2 c l a s s neuter magician
dl
rambad barrier, s cr e e n
++
++
mas culine
n J I nd I
rambad
w 2 - c l a s s neut e r
( p o t e n t i a l ) m o t h e r - i n - law feminine
If pre s s ed to a s s ign derivat ional priority in such c a se s , I would t reat t he human nouns as ' b a h u v r l h l - ' like zero derivat ive s on the inanimat e one s , as in the w u l u n exampl e above . Alt hough a l l nouns re ferring t o humans are o f the mas culine o r feminine gende r , n o t a l l nouns o f t h e s e genders refer t o humans . For examp l e :
!) a r a
nj I nd i
m a r a !) i
nj I nd I
gaQ g i
dj I r I
aQ9 a r i
dj I r I
ho n e y found i n t r e e s
feminine
feminine
sun
masculine
moon
mas cu l ine
opo s s um
Some nouns re ferring to humans are not inherent ly mas cu l ine or feminine , but alt ernate b e t ween t he two depending on the sex of the p e r s o n r e ferred t o . For examp l e : y
i 1a
chi l d l i t t l e b oy
ma r u l
dj I r I
mas c u line
dj l r l
grey h a i r e d mas cu l ine grey h a i r e d o ld man
y
i 1a
chi l d l i t t le girl
ma r u l
nj l nd l
feminine
nj l n d !
grey haired feminine grey h a i r e d o ld woman
Among nouns referring to human s , none is inherent l y of b - c l a s s . Rather , human nouns are p lura l i sed b y b e ing t rans fe rred t o t h i s c l as s .
39
For e x amp l e :
wO Q a y
woman
nj i nd i
wO Q a y
feminine
wiyi Ia
y o ung man
women
dj I r I
mas cul ine
birl wiyi Ia
y o ung men
bIri
Thus , among the human nouns , the b - c l a s s func t i ons as a numb e r c a t e gory rat her t han as a gende r . Thi s i s almo s t , but not qui t e t rue o f i t s u s e among non-human nouns as we l l .
The re it is used not as a p lurali s e r , b ut as a kind
of ' c o l le ct i viser ' , giving a s e n s e s omething like ' a mas s o f ' . For examp l e :
Qa l a
meat
nj i nd i
Qa l a bi ri some m e a t , a mass of m e a t
feminine
me
v e g e tab � e foo d
m i nd l
bi ri me mass of v e g e tab � e foo d
The s e non-human ' c o l l e c t i ve s ' a r e s yntac t i cally d i s t ingu i s hab l e from human ' p lural s ' in t hat the latt e r c an c o n t r o l dual a n d paucal numb er agreement on the verb ( s e e s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 9 ) whi l e the latter c anno t . 2 . 1 . 5 . 1 . 2 . m-c l as s Neuter
The only generalisation I can make about m - c l a s s nouns whi c h i s , as far as I know , expect i onl e s s , is that t h e y never re fer to human b e ings .
There are , on the other hand , s everal s eman t i c domains with
whi c h this class i s c haract e r i s t i c al l y as s o c i at e d . One o f t h e s e domains is t hat o f ' place ' . p u t it ,
As one o f my informan t s
' That "mindi " , that ' s a l i t t l e b i t on the "plac e " s ide ' .
Almo s t a l l proper t oponyms are o f t he m - c l a s s , e . g . ,
ganberar
a
p �aae
mindi
near Graa e ' s Kno b , on Mt . H o u s e S t a t i o n
g a ry d a n
mindi
m a ry u Q g u
mindi
b a ry g a r a m b a n
m i nd i
Womera
Cre e k
range o f h i � � s around, and ina � uding, Mt .
Barne t t
a a e r t a i n aro s s i n g o n t h e Charn � e y R i v e r
N o t o n l y proper t oponyms , but a l s o mo st nouns f o r k i n d s o f p l a c e s a r e o f the m - c l as s , e . g . ,
40
waw i
mi nd i
dambun
m i nd l
barudu
m i nd i
may a r a
mindi
p L ain camp
wa r - g r o und house
Another s emant i c domain a s s o c i at e d with the m - c l a s s is plant s , e s p e c i a l l y e d i b l e one s , e . g . ,
g a l) m a r) g u
m i nd l
u r) g a l u
mindl
wanj d j a
m i nd i
madj a l
m i nd i
y am
a wi i d b e e t - L i ke t ub e r a c e r t a i n y am - L i ke t u b e r w i t h L e t t u ce - L i k e L e a v e s , grows i n o p e n p La c e s gra s s
Nouns for quite a few b ody part s are o f t h i s c la s s , t hough perhaps equa l l y many are of the w 2 c l as s . 2 . 1 . 5 . 1 . 3 . w2- c l a s s Neuter
A s i n t he c a s e o f m - c l a s s , t he only exc ept ionl e s s gene r a l i s a t i o n about the w 2 c l a s s i s t hat no nouns o f t h i s c l a s s r e f e r t o human b e i ngs .
Agai n , though , the c l a s s has charac t e r i s t i c a s s o c iations .
I f - m - i s t he gender o f ' place ' , w 2 i s the gender o f t ime .
For e xamp l e :
wana ran
dI
l ew a r a n
di
La t e afternoon
mid- day
ugu 1 i
morning,
di
tomorrow
! a ! an d i , mu rumay d i , wund l r d i
a l l words for dream t i me
Another charac t e ri s t i c a s s o c i at ion o f the w 2 c l a s s i s with rocks and mineral s , e . g . ,
41
ra rg i
di
gayungun d i
}
manj d j a n d i b a l) a r u n
di
g a ramb a n d i
All generic t erms for s to n e now a l s o used to mean money s ands tone c lay
Alt hough mo st plant s are m - c l as s , tree s , wood , and obj e c t s made from it are predominant l y of the w 2 c l as s , e . g . ,
I) u r u l
di
d j u l) u l a n
di
boab t r e e
wu ran
di
wood
w i n j d j a l) u n d i
tree
fi rewood
wu l un
di
pape r - b ark t r e e
w u l u mu n d u
di
digging s ti c k
01'
b as k e t made t h e r e from
One fact about the w 2 c l a s s which i s o f great imp ortance f o r t h e s t udy o f U l)arinj in syntax and d i s c ourse s t ructure ( c f . pp . 1 5 0 - 1 5 1 ) i s that it contains words re ferring t o language i t s e l f . For examp l e ,
2.1 .5.2.
wu ! an
di
languag e , wo rd, 0 1' a s tr e t c h o f s p e e c h o f any s i z e
bara bara
di
a talk
l"I u l l) u n
di
i t s name ( se e s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 1 gender infle ct ion )
for
Pos s e s s i ve I n fl ect i on
U l)arinj in morpholo gy inc lude s four d i s t in c t means o f indicat ing p o s s e s s ion , the c h o i c e among which i s c ondi t i oned part l y by the nature of t he thing p o s s e s s e d and part l y by phono t ac t i c c o n s i de rat ions . ( Se e p . 6 9 for the fourth morphological means o f ind i c at ing p o s s e s s i o n , and pp . 1 3 9 - 1 4 0 for a fift h , synt a c t i c means . ) 2.1 .5.2.1 .
Prefi xati on
There i s o n e kind o f p o s s e s s ive infle c t ion , vi z . : pre fixat ion , whi c h , among p o s s e s s e d nouns , i s used only for body part s .
( But s e e
s e c t i on 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 4 b e low f o r anot he r , s yntac t i c a l l y d i s t inct func t ion s e rved b y t he s ame morpho l o gy . ) Curi o us l y , not a l l words for body part s t ake t h e s e p o s s e s s i ve pre fixe s .
For s ome body part s , p o s s e s s ion i s s hown b y the s ame method
des c r i b ed b e low ( s e c t i on 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 3 ) for ' ali eniab ly p o s s e s s e d ' i t ems .
42
One i s t empt e d t o look for some s emant i c di fferent i a a s a controll ing fac t o r here .
It would b e p l e as ing t o di s c over an
imp l i c i t b i furcation of the anat omi c field into one s e t o f part s wh ich were ' h ighly inalienable ' , e . g . , bone s , mouth , back , e t c . , and one s e t whi c h were rather more alienab l e , e . g . , hai r , fore skin , t e et h , e t c .
But , as c an be s e en from the examp l e s b e l ow , no such
factor i s at work . The s o l e d i f ferent ia i s inst e ad a phonological one , for the d i s c overy o f whi c h we are inde b t e d t o
A.
Cape l l ( 1 9 7 2 ) .
The
princ i p l e he adduc e s to e xplain the s e dat a i s ' no pre f i xat ion without init ial vowe l ' , the ( non-s emant i c ) spirit of whi c h is certainly corre c t , and the letter of whi ch i s more or l e s s correct depending on how one de c ides t o s e gment the prefixed body-part word s . Since I am not sure o f ' God ' s trut h ' in this mat t e r , I think it b e s t t hat I pre sent enough dat a t o allow the reader t o b e able t o choo s e for hims e l f from among c ompet ing variet i e s o f ' ho c u s -pocus ' . More indisputab l y t rue t han Cap e l l ' s prin c ip l e i s i t s c onvers e : ' no init i al vowel witho ut pre fixat i on ' .
I n other words , t here are
no body-part words with init i al vowe l whi ch indicate p o s s e s s ion b y any means exc ept pre fixat ion .
I know o f only o n e p o s s ib l e e xc e pt ion :
i l m b i , s t e rnum a vowe l -initial word which does not t ake p r e f i xe s . But , as explained above ( p . 1 4 ) , there is no d i s t in c t i on b e tween word initial # i - and # y i , so one c an j u st as we l l r e s cue our princ iple from exc e pt ions b y spel ling t h i s word y i l m b i . The problem with Cap e l l ' s s t at ement as it s t ands i s that there may be s ome prefi xab le b ody-part s t erns which do not b e gin with vowe l s . Consider t he paradi gms l i s t e d in Tab l e 8 .
Whether or not one
is to regard all t h e s e b ody -part s t ems as vowe l -initial will depend on where one makes the c ut between prefix and s t ern .
Cap e l l ' s cho i c e ,
which is a l s o fo l lowed b y Coat e and Oat e s , i s to regard a l l the pre fixe s e xcept 1 . sg. a s consonant -final , i . e . , � i - n j u n - , � - , n j - ,
m- ,
W- ,
� a r - , n j a r - , g u r - , and b u r - , and t o a s s ign any f o l l owing
vowe l t o the s t ern . The main problem with this s o lution i s the one pre sented b y forms l ike 1 . f and 3 . f-j b e l ow .
The s t erns here would have to be - u Q a r
- m u ! a r , whereas e l s ewhere they would b e - o Q a r and - a m u ! a r . C ap e l l nor Coate -Oat e s deals with t h i s prob lem . in which they might handle it .
Ne ither
I c an s e e t wo way s
First , they could s impl y s e t up
supp l e t i ve s t erns for t h e s e and the many other b ody-part words which b ehave like them.
Thi s would add t o t he comp l e x i t y o f the l e x i c o n ,
e s p e c i a l l y s ince the supp l e t i ve pattern di ffers for di fferent s t erns ,
43
Tab le 8 Body-Part Prefi xat ion Paradigm 1 l.
a.
I) i y o l) a r
my
l.
b.
n j u l) o l) a r
y o u r ( sg . )
"
l.
c.
o l) a r
his
"
l.
d.
n j o l) a r
her
"
l.
e.
mO l) a r
its
( m c las s )
"
l.
f.
w U l) a r
i ts ( w c l as s )
"
l.
g.
I) a r o l) a r
our ( inc . )
"
l.
h.
n j a r o l) a r
our ( ex c l . )
"
l.
1.
g u ron a r
y o ur ( p l . )
"
l.
j.
b u r o l) a r
their (pl . )
"
bone ( s )
Paradigm 2 2.
a.
I) i y e m b u l a r u
my
2.
b.
n j u l) e m b u l a r u
y o ur ( s g . )
"
2.
c.
emb u l a r u
his
"
2.
d.
nj embu l a r u
her
"
2.
e.
mem b u l a r u
its
fo o t ( fe e t )
( m c las s )
"
2.
f.
wemb u l a r u
i ts ( w c l as s )
"
2.
g.
I) a r e m b u l a r u
our ( in c l . )
"
2.
h.
nj a remb u l a r u
our ( e xc l . )
"
2.
1.
g u remb u l a r u
y o ur ( p l . )
"
2.
j.
b u remb u l a r u
their
"
Paradigm 3 for e h e a d
3.
a.
l) i y a m u J a r
my
3.
b.
n j u l) a m u J a r
y o ur ( sg . )
"
3.
c.
amu J a r
his
"
3.
d.
n j amu J a r
her
"
3.
e.
mamu J a r
i t s ( m c l as s )
"
3.
f.
wumu ! a r
i ts
( w c l as s )
"
3.
g.
l) a r u m u J a r
our ( in c l . )
"
3.
h.
n j a rumu J a r
our ( e x c l . )
"
3.
1.
g u rumu l a r
your ( p l . )
"
3.
j.
b u r u m u l a r '" b u ra�u l a r
their
"
44
a s i s i l l us t rat e d b y the fact t hat none o f the three paradi gms b e l ow agre e s with any other in t h i s regard . A s e c ond p o s s i b l e s o l u t i on under the ' c ons onant -final pre fi x ' hypothe s i s would b e t o s et up a s ingle b a s i c form for each body-part s t em and to acc ount for alternating i n i t i a l vowe l s by means o f morphophono logical a s s imi lat ion rule s . c a s e s such a s l . f . and 3 . f . , V of rule .
+
u /w
__
Thi s would b e e a s y enough for b e ing a fairly ' natural ' s ort
On the other hand , the rule required for c a s e s such a s
3 . g . -j . , o n e wh ich c onverts a ( but no o t h e r vowel ) t o u aft e r r , s eems quite b i z arre .
Both o f the s e rules would have t o b e morpho
l o gi c a l l y s p e c i fied as app l ying only to prefi xed p o s s e s s ive forms , as they are not only unne c e s sary , but frequen t l y violated e l s ewhere . Thu s , t h i s s o lution is suspect on grounds o f ad-ho c ne s s as we l l a s b i z arrene s s .
Another v e r y serious p r o b l e m with it i s t h a t it p o s i t s
p r o g r e s s i ve a s s imi l at i on , whereas a l l othe r a s s imi l at ions i n
U Q a�inj in are ret rogre s s ive ( se e p . 2 4 ) . What I think i s a more a c c eptable s o lution s t ar t s with the p o s i t ing of an underlying set of pronominal pre fixes which all inc lude final vowe l s , a s in Tab le 9 . Tab le 9 Body-Part Pre fi x e s
l.
sg.
Q i ya1-
1 p l . inc l .
Qa ra2-
2.
sg.
n j U I) a 1 -
1 p l . e xc l .
n j a ra2-
3.
s g . mas c .
a2-
2 pl .
g u ra2-
3.
s g . fern .
n j a1
3 pl .
b u r a2-
m
c las s
w class
b u ral-
malwu-
Now let us a s s ume t hat each o f t he three paradigms o f Tab l e 8 ( p . 4 3 ) i s built on a s ingle stem , and that t he s t ems are - w u Q a r ,
- y i m b u l a r u , and - m u ! a r r e s p e c t ive l y . A l l b ut one o f the forms in the repre s ent at ive paradi gms above c an then be accounted for by rule s a lre ady developed in the phono l o gy abo ve ( s e c t i on 1 . 2 . 4 ) , a l l o f which are independent l y mot ivat e d within the realm o f verb al morpho l o gy ( s ee s e c t ion 2 . 2 b e l ow ) .
45
Conside r parad igm 1 .
wu + w U ':l a r . a1
+
Form 1 . f . , w lI ':l a r , ari s e s from underlying
A l l the other forms show an
0
vow e l which ari s e s from
w u or a 2 + W U , as per page 2 9 .
Consider paradi gm 2 .
from a 1 + y i o r a 2
+
yi .
more general ver s ion o f a
The
-e-
For 2 . +
yi
+
i n e very form e xc e pt 2 . f . ari s e s f . w e c an posit a rule which i s a
e , name l y V + y i
+
e.
Or one c ould
dispense with the rule and s imp l y mark t h i s and re lat e d forms as e x cept ions due to analogic l e ve l ling . Paradigm 3 i s where t he di s t in c t ion between a l and a 2 does i t s work .
Re c a l l that a 2 di ffers from a 1 o n l y in that i t a s s imi l at e s t o
a fol lowing consonant , whereas a l d o e s not ( se ct i on 1 . 2 . 4 . 1 ) .
Thi s
a c c o un t s for t he pre fix-final - u - vowe l s in forms 3 . g . - 3 . j .
The
pre f i x final - u -
of 3 . f . i s , by this s o lu t i on , pres ent underlyingly ,
and s o need not b e e xplained b y any phonol o g i c a l rul e . Whi l e I prop o s e t h i s s olut i on as a l e s s defect ive one t han the other s olution out lined above , it too is not without its defect s . First , note that , i n order t o a ll ow for forms such a s 2 . f . , we had e i ther to add a s omewhat ad-ho c rule to t he phonol o gy o r mark t hem as e x c e p t ions .
S e c ond , although this s o lut ion a c c ount s for the u
vo c a l i sm o f forms such a s 1 . f . , it l e ad s u s t o e x p e c t a phone t i c
[ u : l ( a s p e r s e c t ion 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 1 . 2 ) .
What o c c urs i n s t e ad i s [ u l .
The third problem with t h i s s olut ion i s one which brings us b a c k t o the que s t i on whi c h l e d t o t h i s d i s c u s s ion o f s egment ation in the first place , vi z . :
What are t h e criteria for d i s t i ngu i shing b e tween
s tems wh i c h t ake p o s s e s s ive prefixes and t h o s e which do net ?
Cape l l ' s
s e gment a t i on , whatever i t s prob l ems , ha s the merit o f providing a c le ar and s impl e answer t o t h i s q ue s t ion , t o wit : without init i a l vowe l ' .
' No pre fixat ion
I f one s e gmen t s t he prefixed forms i n the
way I have prop o s e d above , this principle w i l l not s t and , for it as sume s c o n s onant - final pre fixe s .
Where Cape l l , b a s e d on this
a s s umpt ion , would i s o l at e s tems - o � a r , - e m b u l a r u , - a m u ! a r , I would posit underlying - w u � a r , - y i mb u l a r u , - m u ! a r .
S t ems b e ginning with
gl ide + homorganic vowe l , such a s - w u � a r and - y i m b u l a r u are , under my s e gment at ion , s t i l l d i s t ingui shab le as pure l y phono l o g i c a l criteria .
' prefi x-taking ' a c c ording t o
For n o non-pre fixing s t em b e gins with
glide + homorgani c vowe l , e ve n though t here are many whi c h b e gin with g l ide s .
S t ems b e ginning with r o r any s t o p cons onant are l i ke wi s e
d i s t ingu i s hab l e as non-pre fixing under thi s s e gment a t i on .
The problem
c ome s when we c o n s i der s t ems wh i c h b e gin with 1, I , o r any nasal consonant .
Some o f them t ake prefixes and s ome do not .
given in Tab l e 1 0 .
Examp l e s are
46
Tab le 1 0 Some Pre fixing and Non-Pre fixing Body-Part S t ems Non-Pr e fi xing
Pre fixing
l a rad
- l a Qg a
tai L
- j a Qg u n
head
l aQgan
trache a
- ma Q u l
che e k
ma j amb a r
armp i t
- Qama l a
hand
nUQgu
upp e r arm
- n a Qa l
wri s t
n j umb a Q b a Q
b r i dg e a t n o s e
Qunj d j u Qunj d j u
whiskers
- Qu j u
penis
s o Le
There i s no apparent s emant i c c r i t e rion for t h i s formal di fferen t iat ion : it woul d b e surpri s ing i f t he re were s ince it i s c le ar t hat only phono t a c t i c cons iderat ions are rele vant in t he c a s e of vowe l i n i t i al and s t op-initial st ems . s t e m b e ginning with 1 ,
One i s forc e d , then , t o mark each
j , o r a nasal a s a ' pre fixing ' o r a ' non
prefixing ' s t em unde r the s e gment ation propo s e d here .
The ne c e s s it y
for t h i s l e x i c al marking o f s ome s t ems i s c le arly a maj o r drawb ack t o t h i s proposed s e gment ation .
( But c f . s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 2 b e l ow , where
l e x i c a l marking i s c l e arly required e l s ewhere in the po s s e s s ive morphology . ) But , given the drawbacks o f t he Cape l l -Coate -Oat e s s o lu t i on pointed out above , I cons ider t h i s one , on b alanc e , t o b e l e s s de fe c t ive than that . 2.1 .5.2.2.
Suffi xat i on
There is a spe c i fi c means o f indicating p o s s e s s ion j us t for c a s e s where the t hing ' po s s e s s ed ' i s a person who s t ands in a cert ain s p e c i fied re lat i onship t o the ' po s s e s s or ' .
Thi s qua s i -po s s e s s ive
r e l at ionship is indi c at e d b y pronominal s u ff i x e s whi c h at tach to s t ems s p e c i fying which relationship is at s t ake .
Giving Engl i s h glo s s e s
for t h e s e r e l at ionship t e rms i s e xt reme l y di fficult , and invo lves us in s ome hot l y cont e s t e d que s t ions in ant hro p o l ogical t heory whi c h are b eyond t he s c ope of the pre sent inve st i gat ion ( but see Rumse y 1 9 8 1 ) . Here I w i l l s i d e s t e p the que s t i on by giving as glo s s e s Engli s h words with whi c h the Nga�inj in t hems e l ve s translate t he s e re lat i onship t e rms when speaking Engl i sh .
47
Some e xamp l e s o f suffixed s t ems o f t h i s type are :
gay i
-
f)
i
my granny
i ra - n i
( granny b e Z onga me )
y o ur ( s g . ) fa t h e r . y o u r s o n h i s m o t h e r (mo t h e r b e Zonga i m )
m a r a - n j u r um b u
our ( e x c l . ) w i v e s ( b i g m o b wayb b e Z onga me b e Z a )
m a r g o r um b u r u
t h e i r b r o t he rs . t h e i r c o u s i n b r o t he rs ( b i g mob b r o t h e r b e Zonga t h a t mob ) my hus bands
( b i g mob h u s band b e Z o nga me )
y o ur ( pl . ) b o s s ( i . e marriage a u t h o ri t y . t h a t i s . p o t e n ti a Z wife ' s b r o t h e r o r fa th e r ) ( b o s s b e Z onga y o u mob )
w a (ya ) - n ud n a
.
A s c an b e seen from the s e e xamp le s , t he
•
' po s s e s s i ve ' suffixes for
human re lat i onship s t ems are c omp l e x , spe c i fying the p e r s on and numbe r o f the ' po s s e s sor '
( i . e . , person or people s t anding in the
given r e l at i onship ) and the numb er o f t he
' po s s e s s ed '
( i . e . , person
o r people t o whom one s t ands i n t he given relat ionship ) .
The numb er
s y st e m here i s a relatively c o l lapsed one , c ompris ing only two c at e go ri e s : s ingular and non-s ingular . The c omp l e t e inventory o f comp l e x suffixes i s given in Tab l e 11 . Tab l e 1 1 Human Re lationship Suffixes Po s se s s e d
Pos s e s s or
S ingular
Non-S ingular
1 sg.
- f) i
- f) i r i
2 sg.
-n i
-ni r i
3 sg.
- n a f) g a
- n a f) g a r i
1 p l . inc .
- f) a r u n a
- f) a r u m b u
1 pl . ex .
-njaruna
- n j a r umb u
2 pl .
-nudna
- n u r umb u
3 pl .
-y i duga
- (w u r ) um b u r u
I t i s evident t hat s ome or a l l o f the s e s emant i ca l l y comp l e x suffi x e s a r e a l s o morpho l o g i c a l l y c omp l e x and c an b e redu c e d t o c omponent morpheme s whi ch vary inde pendent l y for : 1 ) numb er o f p o s s e s sed ; 2 ) per s on o f p o s s e s s o r ; and 3 ) number o f p o s s e s s o r .
48
Consider first the suffix s equenc e s which inc orporate marking for s ingular po s s e s s o r .
Here the s e gment at ion is e sp e c i a l l y c le ar .
There are first , s e c ond , and t h ird person s ingular p o s s e s s o r morphemes - Q i - , - n i - , and - n a Q g a - r e s p e c t ively , fol lowed b y p o s s e s s e d numb e r morpheme s - 0 or - r i f o r s ingular vs . non-s ingular re s p e c t i ve l y . The s e gment at ion o f s u f f i x s e quen c e s inc luding non-s ingular p o s s e s s or marking is s omewhat l e s s c le ar-cut .
For the s i n gular
p o s s e s sed forms , one has the choice of re garding the na � ga ending a s e i ther a non-zero s i ngular p o s s e s s e d marker , or as a part of the po s s e s so r morpheme .
I pre fer the latt er , b e c aus e - n a o c c urs e l s ewhere
( se e s e c t i o n 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 2 and s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 9 ) as a non-s ingular marker . We may there fore regard it as an addit ional , redundant marker o f non s ingularity o f p o s s e s s o r , and as sume a zero marker for s ingular posses sed .
The - g a a l l ophone cannot be related t o anything e l s e i n
U Qarinj in morpho l o gy , as far as I know .
For non-singul ar p o s s e s s e d ,
we c an s e gment a non-s ingular morpheme m b u , whi c h may b e regarded a s a s e c ond-degree st rengthened form ( se e s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 2 . 2 ) o f the non singular morpheme which o c c ur s e l s ewhere ( s ee s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 2 ) as
bu � b i .
In the 3 p l . + non- s i ngular suffix - ( w u r } u m b u r u , t h i s - m b u
e lement i s augment ed b y anot her , re dundant non-singular marker - r u ( c f . - r i above , and s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 9 . and s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 2 ) . I have not e d i n the prev i ous paragraph that , with the e x c ep t i on o f - g a , a l l o f the non-s ingular morphemes used i n t h e s e c ompound suffixe s ,
vi z . : - r i , - r u , - n a , and m b u , c an b e related t o non- singular markers o c c urring e l s ewhere in U Qa�inj in morpho l o gy .
But my use o f the t erm
' no n - s ingu lar ' conceals c ertain d i s s imilari t ie s .
For - r i and - n a are
used e l s ewhere for dual and paucal numb ers respe c t ive l y .
The numb er
s y s t em i n whi ch they p art i c ipate here i s , a s I have not e d , a s emant i c a l l y ' c o l laps ed ' one , c ompr i s ing only two categories rather than four .
It i s int erest ing to n o t e t hat , under t h e s e condit ions ,
they l o s e their s emant i c d i s t inct ivene s s and fall t ogether with - m b u a s mere al l omorphs imp lemen t i ng a genera l i s e d ' non-s ingular ' category . A l l o f the ' pe r s on '
( or pers on-numb e r ) markers for p o s s e s s o r a l s o
have c l ear affi l i at ions e l s ewhere i n the morpho logy .
As e l s ewhe re
( c f . s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 2 ) 3rd person , or ' non-part ic ipant ' is marked by a zero des inenc e .
The 3 s g . form - n a Q g a i s actually 0
+
n a Q g a where
- n a Q g a is a general ' po s s e s s ive ' marker ( c f . s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 6 ) .
- QV- , as e l s ewhere ( c f . s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 2 ) marks ' first person ' , or
[ + e go ] -nV- , a s e l s ewhere ( c f . s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 2 ) marks s e c ond person , or [ + t u ] .
- n j a - , as e l s ewhere ( c f . s e c t i on 2 . 2 . 2 ) i s a s p e c i a l
' e x c l u s i ve ' f i r s t p e r s o n marker , spe c i fy ing [ + ego l ,
[ -t u l .
49
' Plural i t y ' o r ' non-s ingular ' i s marked b y r � d added t o the p e r s on marke rs . Of the suffix s e que nces give n above in Tab le 1 1 ( page 4 7 ) , a l l o f t h e cons onant -initial one s e xcept - n i c omb ine with t h e human relati on No s andhi
ship s t ems in a phono l o gi c a l l y s t rai ght forward manner .
rul e s app l y ( e xcept on the s t em m a r a - , for whi c h s e e p . 5 0 ) . The s ame i s t rue o f - n l e xcept when i t i s s uffixed t o a s t em ending in - a ; in' which cas e the - a s omet ime s change s t o - i b y what may be a Pre c i s e l y wh i ch s t ems
kind o f l e x i c a l l y c ondit ioned vowe l harmony .
undergo t h i s change and which do not appears imp o s s i b l e to s p e c i fy b y phono l o gi cal , s emant i c , or any other s ort o f general c r i t e ri a , and s o mus t b e entered i n t h e l ex i c o n a s i n Tab l e 1 2 . Tab le 1 2 A s s imi lating vs . Non-as s imi lating - A St ems
A s s imi l at ing
gaya
- granny
ma ra
-
waya
- boss
Non-a s s imi lating
ma r i y a ma l a
w i fe
-
( no Engl i s h g l o s s in c ommon u s e )
- daug h t e r (women
speaking)
m a r g a - b r o t h e r , cous i n brother
mama
-
I) o l a
- b r o t h e r , cous i n -
1a 1a
- s i s te r
unc Z. e brother
Two o t h e r - a s t ems ,
i r a - , fa t h e r , s on a n d I) a r a - , m o t h e r have b e e n
omi t t e d from Tab l e 1 2 b e c au s e they are n e i t h e r a s s imi l a t i ng n o r non as s imi lating with r e s p e c t to the - n i suffix .
Rather , they show
s p e c i a l s uppl e t ive s t em forms j ust for first person ( s ingular or non - s i ngular ) p o s s e s s o r , and s how a zero d e s inence in place o f the e xp e c t e d - n i for the fi r s t person s ingu l ar p o s s e s s o r + s ingu lar p o s s e s s ed .
The forms based on t he s e s p e c i a l first person supplet ive
s t em forms are shown in Tab le 13 .
50
Tab l e 1 3 Supp l e t i ve S t em Forms for Mo t h e r and F a t h e r
Pos se s s ed Pos s e s s o r
Singular 1
1 sg.
1 p l . inc .
1 pl . e x .
Non-s ingular
dj a
i dj a r l
f) a d j l
f) a d j I r I
I d J a f) a r u n a
i d j a f) a r u m b u
f) a d J l f) a r u n a
f) a d j i f) a r u m b u
I dJ anJa runa
I d j a n j a r um b u
f) a d J l n j a r u n a
f) a d j l n J a r u m b u
The s t em m a r a - { p o te n ti a l } w i fe shows an irregulari t y which c an b e e xp lained b y a phono logical rule which i s l e x i c al l y c ondit ioned i n t hat it doe s n o t apply t o o t h e r human re lat ionship s t ems o f s imi l ar phono logical shape .
Be fore any c ompound suffix b eginning with
n ,
t he final a o f m a r a i s dropped and t he r i s st rengthened t o d . For e x ample :
Ima r a w i fe
Ima ra w i fe
nil
...
ma d n l y our ( s g . ) w i fe
y o ur one
n a f) g a l
...
his
m a d n a f) g a h i s w i fe
but :
Ima ! a
nil
daug h t e r {woman ego }
I f) o l a o lder b r o t h e r , aou s i n b r o t he r
I f) a r a mother
l i ra fa t h e r
...
y o ur
ma ! a n l y o u r dau g h t e r
n a f) g a l
f) o l a n a f) g a
his
h i s o l der { a o us i n } - br o t h e r
n u r umb u l
...
your ( p l . ) s e v e ra l
nI rII
f) a r a n u r u m b u y our ( p l . ) mo thers
...
your ( sg . ) s e v era l
1 ran 1 r I y o ur ( s g . ) fa t h e r s
When t he s u ffixe s - y l d u g a and - w u r u m b u r u c omb ine with s t ems ending in a , the a c o al e s c e s with the foll owing - l o r - u to y i e l d r e s p e c t i ve l y , as per s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 4 . 2 .
e
or
0
51
For e xamp l e :
y i duga/
l i ra fa t h e r ,
son
/Qa ra
2.1 .5.2.3.
o u r one
w u r u mb u r u /
mother
+
i reduga our fa t h e r , s o n
+
their several
Q a r o r um b u r u their mothers
I ndependent Pos sess i ve Pronouns
For b ody -part word s which are ine l igible for pre fixat i on under the c r i t eria developed ab ove ( s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 1 ) and words for a l l other p o s s e s s e d things e xc e pt human relatives ( fo r wh i c h see s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 2 above ) , p o s s e s s ion i s indicated b y a gen i t i ve p o s t p o s i t i o n
on the p o s s e s s o r NP ( for wh ich s e e s e c t i on 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 6 ) and/or b y comp l e x fre e - form p o s s e s s i ve pronouns which dec l ine f o r t h e person , numb e r , and gender o f the p o s s e s s o r , and t he numbe r o f the t hing p o s s e s s ed . Some e xamp l e s o f the latt e r are :
raQgu
Q l naQga my s g .
heart my h e a r t
dambun
budaga
c o u n t ry
their s g . t h e i r coun try
wOQ a y
njadadaga r i
women
our ( du . e x . ) p l .
t h e s e vera l wi v e s b e longing to
uS
y i nda
a n a n a Qga
spear ( s )
h i s pl .
two
h i s sp e ars
Qamun
n j a n a Qga r i
breas t
h e r two h e r two breas t s
The s e comp l e x pronominal forms are b a s e d on i n i t i a l p e r s o n-numbe r e lement s which a r e s imi l ar or ident i c a l t o t h o s e u s e d f o r pre fixed po s s e s s iv e s ( s e e section 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 1 ) and intrans i t i ve verb s ( s e e s e c t i on 2 . 2 . 2 . 1 ) .
The s e init i a l e lemen t s are given i n Tab l e 1 4 .
52
Tab le 1 4 Ini t i a l Eleme n t s o f Independent Pos s e s s ive Pronouns
l.
sg.
I)
2.
sg.
3.
sg.
i-
l . p l . inc .
I) a d -
n j u l) a -
l . p l . exc .
njad-
a-
2 . pl .
nud-
nj a -
3 . pl .
bud-
wama-
The s e e lemen t s spe c i fy t he person , numb er ( s ingu l ar vs . non s�ar)
and gender of t he p o s s e s so r .
They are suffixed with e l ement s
whi ch c arry further informat ion about the numb e r o f t he p o s s e s s o r , and a l s o s pe c i fy the number o f the p o s se s s e d .
The s e s u ffixes are
given in Tab l e 1 5 . Like the human-rel at i onship s u ffix e s ana l y s e d above ( s e c t i o n 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 2 ) , t h e s e suffixes a r e morpho logi c a l l y c omp le x , but h e r e t h e
numb e r-marking works di fferent l y .
The ful l s e t o f four numb e r
c at e go r i e s i s maintained for p o s s e s s o r throughout and for p o s s e s s e d j ust in c a s e the p o s s e s sor i s s ingular .
Where t he p o s s e s s o r i s non
s ingular , t he numb e r s y s t em for p o s s e s sed c o l lap s e s in a mo s t une x p e c t e d way .
The four-t e rm s y s t em b e c ome s a two-t erm one , b u t
inst ead o f t h e syncret i sm among t he non-s ingular terms which w e find e l sewhere , here there i s a syncre t i sm among the non-pl u r a l t e rms , s o t hat singu lar , dua l , and paucal c ompri s e a c ommon c at e gory which i s o p p o s e d t o p l ural . Tab le 1 5 Compound Suffi x e s o f Independent Po s s e s s ive Pronouns
Numbe r o f Pos s e s s o r
Numb er of Pos s e s s e d Singular
Dua l
Paucal
Plural
sg.
- n a l) g a
- n a l) g a r i
- n a l) g a n a
- n a n a l) g a
du o
-aga r i
- a ga r i
-aga r i
- a d ag a r i
pauc .
-agana
-agana
-agana
- a d agana
pl .
-aga
- ag a
-aga
-adaga
53
Note t h at here , unl i ke among the human-re l at ionship suffixe s , - n a and - ri retain the i r usual me anings : pauc a l and dual respe c t i ve l y . But the final p o s i t ion in which t he y o c c ur on t h e s e suffixe s i s as s o c i at e d w i t h t wo di fferent func t i on s , b e tween whi ch i t alt e rnat e s a c c ording t o whether t h e p o s s e s s o r i s s i ngular o r non-s i ngu lar .
When
the p o s s e s s o r i s s i ngular , the - r i and - n a s i gnal dual or paucal p o s s e s s e d.
What t h i s a l t e rnat ion does is to t ake advantage o f certain
redundanc i e s i n t he s y s t em whi c h a l low a s i ngle order - c l a s s to s erve two di fferent func t i ons .
Where t he first e l ement of the suffix i s
- n a � g a - , t he p o s s e s s o r c an only b e s i ngul ar ( already a re dundant mark , s ince ' s i ngular p o s s e s s or ' i s inherent in t he init i a l e lement t o which - n a � g a - i s suffixed ) .
The final p o s i t i o n i s then free t o s erve
another func t ion : numbe r marking for ' po s s e s s e d ' .
But where the
first e lement o f the suffix is - a g a , only ' non-singul ar i t y ' of p o s s e s s o r i s s i gnal l e d , i n whi c h c a s e further marking is required if the d i s t in c t i o n b e t ween p lura l , pauc a l , and dual p o s s e s s o r is t o b e s i gnalled o vert ly .
I n t h i s c a s e the four-way d i s t inct ion among
numb e r of p o s s e s s e d is dispensed with and t h e final p o s i t i o n i s i n s t e ad used for t hi s further spe c i fi c at ion o f numb e r o f pos s e s s o r , b y means o f the s ame morpheme s - ri and - n a . P lura l i t y o f p o s s e s s e d i s indicat e d b y - n a - b e fore the - n a Q g a when p o s s e s s or is s ingular and by - a d - b e fore the - a g a - when p o s s e s s or i s non- s ingular .
The - n a whi ch o c c urs b e fore - n a Q g a may b e t h e s ame
' non-s ingular '
- n a morpheme which o c c ur s e l sewhere in t h i s paradigm
with i t s more h i ghly s p e c i fied meaning ' paucal ' .
A l t e rnat i ve l y ,
- n a Q a Q g a may b e a redup l i c at e d form o f - n a Q g a , redupl i c at i on b e ing a regular means o f s i gnal ling plura l i t y i n the l anguage ( c f . s e c t i o n 2. 1 . 5.4.2. ) .
Likewi s e , - a d - may b e r e l a t e d t o the p lural morpheme
- r - � - rV- , o r , on the other hand , may be the r e s ult of redup l i c at ions o f the form : Q a d a g a
�
Qadadaga , budaga
�
b u d a d a g a , et c .
2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 4 . Adj ec t i v e s
Morpho logical ly , adj e c t ives r e s emb l e b o dy-part words ( s e e s e c t i o n 2. 1 . 5.2.1 ) .
Some o f t hem t ake pronominal pre fixes and s ome d o not .
The adj e c t ives which do t ake prefixes agree in p e r s on , numbe r and gender w i t h the noun which they modi fy , as e xemp l i fi e d in Tab l e 1 6 .
Tab l e 1 6 Adj e c t ive Pre fixat ion
I) i y a l) e r
great
n j u l) a l) e r
1 sg. 2 sg. 3 s g . mas c . 3 s g . fern .
m class w class I) a r a l) e r
1 p l . inc l .
n j a r a l} e r
1 p l . e xc l .
g u r a l} e r
2 pl .
b u r a l) e r ( o ft e n i n
3 p l . and b c la s s
r e du p l i c at e d form :
b u r a l) e l) e r )
I) i y o n g a r a
fi rs t - b orn, e Lde r
1 sg.
n j u l) o n g a r a
2 sg.
ongara
3 s g . mas c .
nj onga ra
3 s g . fern .
mon g a ra
m class
wungara
w c la s s
I) a r o n g a r a
1 p l . inc l .
n j a ro n g a r a
1 p l . e xc l .
g u ro n g a r a
2 pl .
b u r o n g a r a (o f t e n i n
3 p l . and b class
r e d up l i cat e d form :
b u ro n g o n g a r a )
I) i y e r i
one
1 sg.
n j u l) e r i
2 sg.
eri
3 s g . mas c .
nj e r i
3 s g . fern .
mer i
m c la s s
we r i
w c la s s
I) a r e r i
( i . e . , we are one p e op Z e )
1 p l . inc .
nj a re r i
1 p l . e xc l .
9u
re r i
2 pl .
b u re r i
3 pl .
55
Examp l e s o f non-prefixing adj e c t i ve s are :
bu�u
s ma l l
d ub a l a
red, y e l low
dj e�an
s tr a i g h t
ga 1 i
-
ga! i dj
aroo k e d
medj e r i
two
n i ma
h e avy
nj i 1 nj i 1
so lid
w i dj e
diffe r e n t
yo ! u ! u
aoo l
rowa
wh i t e
A s i s evident from the paradigms o f Tab l e 1 6 and t h e non-prefixing e xamp l e s above , b oth the princ iple which d i s t ingu i s h e s prefixing adj e c t i v e s from the non-pre fixing one s and the forms of the , pr e f i x e s thems e l ve s a r e ident i c a l t o t ho s e s e t out above ( s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 1 ) for body-part words ( t h e s e paradi gms , for e xamp l e , b e ing deri vab l e from t ho s e s ame prefi xe s plus roo t s a � e r , w 1 u n g a r a , and y 1 i r i The entire morphology i s ident i c a l , s o the analy s i s re s pe c t ively ) . need not b e repeat ed here . The formal di fferen c e which does a l l ow us t o d i s t i ngui s h b ody-part words from adj e c t ive s i s not morpho l o gi c al , but syntact i c : the former control gender agreement , while the l a t t e r do not .
Each b ody-part
word , whe ther or not it c arrie s a pre fix c r o s s -re ferenc ing the p o s s e s sor , b ears its own gende r , independent of that o f the p o s s e s s or , whi c h i s r e f l e c t e d by gender agreement on the pronominal e leme n t s w i t h wh i c h the b ody-p art word enters int o app o s i t ional relat i ons . adj e c t i ve
on
The
the other hand does not bear gender inhere nt ly , but only
s e c ondari l y , b y agreement with the ( o ft e n only imp l i c it ) noun whi c h it modi fie s .
Compare , for e x amp l e , the t wo s e t s of noun phras e s given
in Tab l e 1 7 . Being o f the w - c l as s , the word for e y e takes the w - c l a s s pronoun
d i , regardl e s s of the gend e r of the p o s s e s s or noun .
The word for
grea t , on the other hand , does not b e ar gender ; the pronoun inst e ad
shows the gender o f t he head noun , as d o e s the adj e c t ive .
( For more
on the s yntax involved here , see s e c t ion 3 . 1 . 2 . ) 2.1 .5.3.
Persona l
Names
Of t h e many alt ernate me ans o f ' naming ' among t h e Nga � inj in , two , name l y met ronymy and patronymy require s ome d i s c u s s i o n here b e c au s e they make u s e o f morphology wh i c h h a s no o t h e r func t i on in t he language .
56
TABLE 1 7 The Syntax o f Body-Part Words vs . Adj e c t i ve s
..,
H III p. I » '1j 0 �
Qj >
..... ..,
arI
dj l nda
amb u l
man
t h a t mas c . that man ' s e y e
his eye
i t (w-c l ass )
w O l) a y
nj l nd a
n j amb u l
dI
woman
that fem . t h a t woman ' s e y e
her e y e
wumb u l
g u l u rogan
ganda
p e aaefu Z do v e
i t s eye t h a t w - c l as s t h a t p e a a e fu Z do ve ' s e y e
.,..,
it (w-c lass )
dI i t (w-c l ass )
dI
d u rama ! a
munda
b Z aak a o a k a t o o
i ts eye t h a t w - c l as s t h a t b Zaak a o a k a t o o ' s e y e
arl
dj l nda
a l) e r
dj I r I
man
t h a t mas c .
g r e a t ( mas c . )
he ( masc . )
w O l) a y
nj l nd a
n j a l) e r
woman
t h a t f e rn . t h a t g r e a t woman
great ( fem . )
nj I n d I she
g u l u ro g a n
ganda
w U l) e r
dI
that g r e a t man
() • Qj '1j «
mamb u l
dI
g re a t ( w - c l as s )
p e aaefu Z do v e
that w - c l as s t h a t g r e a t p e a a e fu Z dove
d u r ama ! a
munda
b Zaak aoakatoo
t h a t m - c l as s great ( m- c la s s ) that g r e a t b Z aak a o a k a t o o
m a l) e r
i t (w-c l ass )
i t (w-c l ass )
m l nd l i t ( m-c lass )
A metronym may b e formed from any l e x i c a l noun or adj e c t ive ( with imp l i c it head noun ) , as long a s t hat noun i s understood t o b e c apab l e o f definite re ference t o a unique female individual , b y t h e addit ion of the suffix - y a l l � - a l l .
The - y a l I a l l omorph o c curs aft e r words
ending in vowe l s ; - a I I o c curs e l s ewhere . For e xamp l e :
M ow a n b a r a y a l l
the son
0 1'
dau g h t e r o f Mowanbara
M e mb l n a l l
the son
0 1'
dau g h t e r o f Memb i n
An l we r a l i
the son
0 1'
daugh t e r o f A n i w e r
57
Patronyms are l ikewi s e formed b y t h e add i t i on o f - w a l o . r e l uc t ant t o c a l l t h i s e lement a suffi x , for two reasons .
I am First , t he
- w does not undergo the e xp e c t e d s t rengt hening aft e r consonant s ( s e e s e c t i on 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 ) .
The s e c ond reason , which i s probab l y related t o
the firs t , i s t hat w a l o a l s o o c c ur s as an independent word , meaning o ffspring .
One s hould , there fore , perhaps t hink o f - w a l o pat ronyms
as c ompound s .
Examp l e s are :
Wadj awa l o
s o n o r daugh t e r o f Wadja
D j u Q u l a nw a l o
s o n o r daugh t e r o f Dj u Qu Lan
N j a m b a rw a l o
s o n o r daugh t e r o f Nj ambar
Doub l e ( e . g . , patronymic + me tronymi c ) , and perhaps mul t i p l e derivations a r e p o s s i b l e , e . g . ,
2.1 . 5.4.
N u rg uwa l oy a l I
the o ffs p r i n g o f Nurgu ' s dau g h t e r
D a n b i wa l o y a l i
t h e offs p r i ng o f Danbi ' s daugh t e r
P o s t - n om i n a l
E l e me n t s
I n addi t ion t o the suffixes which o c c ur only o n demons trat ive and/ o r anaphoric pronouns ( s e e s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 2 ) , and t h o s e whi c h are used only t o form pers onal name s , t he re are a numb e r of �u ffixes and p o s t p o s i t i ons with more general inflect ional and deri vat i onal funct ions , which may b e u s ed on any o f t he above -di s c u s s e d c la s s e s o f nominal word s , vi z . : pronouns , l e x i c a l noun s , and adj e c t ives .
Many of t h e s e
s u f f i x e s and p o s t p o s i t i ons a r e n o t s t r i c t l y p o s t -nominal e lement s , but a l s o o c c ur on finite verb s and/or verb a l part i c le s .
There are yet
other s u ffi x e s whi c h are used t o derive nouns from verb s .
In
general , I w i l l p o s t p one t h e d i s c u s s ion o f t he s e l a t t e r two ( i . e . , nominal -verbal , and de verb a l -nomi na l ) types o f suffix/ p o s t p o s i t i o n unt i l a ft e r I have laid out the morphology o f the U Q a�inj in verb .
But I wi l l depart from t h i s p o l i c y i n s o far as it i s
c onvenient t o give s p e c ial treatment here t o e lement s whi c h , t hough they o c c ur on b oth nouns and verb s , func t ion s omewhat d i fferent ly on each . 2.1 .5.4.1 .
O n t h e T e rms
' S u ff i x '
and
' Po s t p o s i t i o n '
Some prel iminary remarks are i n order on the d i s t inct ion b e t ween suffixes and p o s t p o s it i ons .
Both suffixe s and p o s t p o s i t ions are
equally ' b ound ' forms , but they d i ffer in t hat whi l e t he former are word-bound , the l a t t e r are phra s e - or c laus e -bound .
Acc ordingly ,
wh i l e a suffix a lways o c c ur s on the word with which it is in synt a c t i c
58
const i t uenc y , regard l e s s o f t he p o s i t ion o f that word with the phrase or c l au se , a phra s e -b ound p o s t p o s i t ion charac t eris t i c a l l y o c curs on the l a s t word o f the ph r a s e in which it i s in c o n s t i t ue ncy .
Compare ,
for e xample , the b ehavi our o f the t wo p o s t -nominal e l ement s shown in Tab l e 1 8 . Tab l e 1 8 Po s t p o s i t ion vs . Suffix
b udaga
d ambun camp
da
dambun
l o c at ive postposition
camp at t h e i r camp
ri
yi 1a chi l d
ra l o c at ive p o s t p o s it ion
their at t h e i r camp
budaga their
l
budaga
their dual suffix t h e i r two chi ldren
yi 1a
b udaga
-ri
chi ld the i r t h e i r two chi ldren
l This word orde r , i . e . , possessed-possessive pronoun , is the preferred one , but the reverse order , as in the next example , also occurs occasionally ( c f . section 3 . 1 . 2 ) .
C lause-bound p o s t p o s i t ions o c c ur e ithe r : aft e r the first word o f t he c lause ( e . g . , - g a , s e c t ion 2 . 6 . 4 . 3 ) , o r i n s ome other synt a c t i c a l ly s pe c i fiab l e p o s i t ion ( e . g . , - � a r i , s e c t ion 3 . 3 . 1 . 1 ) . There i s anot her formal mani fe s t at ion o f the s p l i t b etween suffixes and p o s t p o s i t i ons wh ich , though induc ed b y di fferenc e s in their s yntac t i c s c ope , i s de t e c t ab le at t he word leve l .
Thi s is that , when
b ot h suffixes and p o s t p o s i t i ons are pre s ent in a given word , the suffixes usually precede the p o s t p o s i t ions . For e xamp l e :
Ma�u l an
dambun
camp
Ma�u l an i r i yu
al i
yu
ri
lat ive dual metronymic postpo s i t ion suffix suffix to the two o ffspring of Ma �u lan
da
l o c at i ve p o s t p o s it ion i n the camp ?
ga
int errogat ive suffix
59
C orre sponding more o r l e s s c lo se l y t o t h i s di stribut ionally-based d i s t in c t ion b e t ween suffixe s and p o s t p o s i t ions i s a phono l o gi c a l l y based di s t in c t ion b e t ween what w e c an c a l l ' t i ght ly j o ine d ' and ' lo o s e l y j oined ' word e l ement s .
Between a l o o s e ly j oined e l ement and
what e ver prec e d e s it th ere e x i s t s what I have c al l e d a ' lo o s e j uncture ' .
One o f t h e criteria f o r d i s t inguish ing t h e l o o s e j unc ture
i s that some cons onant c lu s t e rs o c c ur there which are not permi t t e d w i t h i n a s ingle morpheme ( se e s e c t ion 1 . 1 . 3 ) .
Another i s that the
vowe l s I i i and l u i show a l lophone s b e fore a l o o s e j un ct ure which are othe rw i s e r e se rved for word- final p o s i t ion ( s e ct ion 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 1 ) .
A
third crit erion i s that l o o s e l y j o ined e lement s are s t re s s ed independent l y o f t he e lement s t o which they are att ached , one o f the s y l lab l e s o f the p o s t p o s i t ion always b e aring s e c ond degree stre s s (cf.
Coat e and Oat e s 1 9 7 0 : 7 8 ) , while t ight ly j o ined e lement s are
s t re s s e d a s part of the word in wh ich they o c c ur , hence o ft e n r e c e i ving o n l y t e r t i ary s t re s s . I have said t hat the d i s t in c t i on b e tween t i gh t l y j o ined and l o o s e l y j o ined word e lement s c orre spond s ' more o r l e s s c lo s e l y ' t o t hat between suffixes and p o s t po s it ion s .
More prec i s e ly , a l l t ight ly
j o ined e l ement s are s uffixe s , b ut not a l l suffixes are t i gh t l y j oi ned ; s ome suffixe s , and a l l p o s t p o s i t ions , are l o o s e l y j oi ne d .
I n other
word s , a c ro s s -cutt ing c la s s i fi c a t i on b y d i s t ribut i onal and phono l o gi c al criteria yie lds only t hree of four p o s s i b l e t ype s : l o o s e ly j oined suffixe s , t ight ly-j oined suffixe s , and l o o s e ly-j o ined p o s t p o s i t i ons . 2.1 .5.4.2.
Tigh t l y -j oined p o s t p o s i t ions do n o t o c cur . N u m b e r S u ff i xa t i on
A word o f any o f the nominal c l a s s e s d i s c u s s e d ab ove may b e suffixed for dual o r paucal numb e r .
For pronouns wh i c h have d i s t inct
s t ems for s ingular vs . non-s i ngular , the dual and paucal suffixes are at t ached to the non-singular s t ems . The suffixes are s hown in Tab l e 1 9 . Tab le 1 9 Dual and Paucal Nominal Numbe r Suffixes Dual
Paucal
Aft e r vowe l s and g l i d e s
- y i r i '\, - r i
- y i na
E l s ewhere
- nJ i r i
- nj i na
'\,
-
na
60
I am unab le t o give a s y s t emat i c e xplanation for the y i � S variat i on in the post -vo c a l i c a l l omorphs .
There i s s ome t endency for
speake r s tradit iona l l y a s s o c iated with the southwe s t e rn part o f U o a � i nj in territory t o favour t h e - y i r i , - y i n a variant s , whi le more e as t e r l y s peakers t end to favour - r i , - n a .
But I have e ven he ard
variations within t he speech of a s ingle speake r .
Thi s variation may
be chara c t e ri s e d as c ompet ition between weakly-j oined and t i ght l y j o ined variant s o f the post -vo c a l i c a l l omorph : whi le - r i and - n a are t i ght ly-j oine d , - y i r i and - y i n a are l o o s e l y j o ined , as are ' e l s ewhere ' a l l omorphs , - n j i r i and - n j i n a . I t w i l l b e o b s e rved that there i s no overt ' p lura l ' s u f fi x . pronouns ,
For
' pl ural ' is s i gnal l e d b y a zero suffix on t he non-s ingu lar
s t em form .
Correspondingly ,
' p lural ' is fun c t i onal l y t he least marked
of the non-s ingular numb er c a t e gorie s : p lural forms are s o me t i mes used even when t he re ferent i s semant i c a l l y dual or paucal , but dual o r paucal forms are never used when the re ferent i s mul t i t udino u s . On l e x i c al nouns , whi c h have no s eparate non-s ingular s t em forms , ' p lural ' i s s i gna l l e d , i f at a l l , b y redup l i cation .
Int e r e s t ingl y ,
redupl i c a t e d l e x i c a l nouns are u s e d with s emant i c a l l y dual or paucal re ferent s far l e s s frequent ly t han are p lural - form pronouns .
Unlike
the zero suffix on non- s i ngular pronouns , nominal redup l i c a t i o n s eems to c onvey a de finite meaning of mul t i p l i c it y . I t bears remarking here t hat , alt hough the s e numb er suffixes m a y b e u s e d o n any o f the nominal t ype s d i s c u s s e d ab ove , dual suffixes actually o c c ur very infrequent l y , and pauc a l e ve n less frequent ly , on any nominal s exc ept personal pronouns .
The s i gna l l ing o f p lura l i t y
b y redup l i c at i on i s a l s o quite infrequent , though perhaps l e s s s o than nominal number suffixat ion .
The unredup l i c at e d , unsuffixed form of a
l e x i c a l noun or non-pre fixing adj e c t ive , whi c h i s b y far t he most c ommon form , carri e s no i n format ion at all about number . may re fe r to one , t wo , three , or any number of t hings .
Such forms Within the
U Q a�inj in numb er s y s t em , they can only b e chara c t e r i s e d as non-non s ingu l ar .
For such forms , number i s s igna l l e d only b y c onc ord with
various pronominal e lement s e x t e rnal t o the noun or adj e c t ive i t s e l f . Among prefixing adj e c t i ve s , a certain amount o f numb e r i n format ion ( s ingu l ar vs . non-singu lar ) i s c arried b y the pre f i x ( s ee s e c t i on 2.1 . 5.2.4) . 2. 1 . 5.4.3.
Case Postpo s i t i ons
The d i s t inct ion b e t ween grammat i c a l and non-grammat i c a l c a s e s ( for whi c h s e e Rums ey 1 9 8 0 : 1- 5 ) in U oa�inj in i s r e f l e c t e d dire c t l y at
61
the morph o l o g i c a l l e ve l : grammat i c al c a s e re lations are s i gnal le d only b y c ro s s -r e ference on the verb ( wi t h o n e p o s s i b l e e xc ep t i on , for wh i c h s e e 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 4) , and non-gramma t i c a l c as e s are s i gnalled mainly b y the nominal p o s t p o s i t i ons t reated immediat e ly b e l ow . The name s I have given t o these non-gramma t i c a l c a s e s should b e t aken with a grain o f s alt .
The range o f func t ions c arried o u t b y
s ome part i c ular , forma l ly d i s t inct c a s e in any l anguage depends o n i t s r e l a t i ons o f paradigmat i c oppo s i t ion t o other c a s e s in t hat language , so t here i s never a p re c i s e c r o s s -lingu i s t i c equivalen c e b e tween t w o c a s e s from d i fferent l anguage s .
The U � a�inj in
' in s t rument a l ' c a s e , for i n s t anc e , i s d i f fe rent from the Sanskrit inst rument al c as e part l y b e cause U � a�inj in has a s e parat e ' c omitat ive ' c a s e , whi le Sanskrit does not .
The Sanskrit instrument a l covers many
o f the fun c t i ons of the U �a�inj in c omitative in add i t i on to t h o s e o f t h e U �arinj in inst rument al . But i f one cons ider s not j us t the s truct ure o f fun c t i onal di fferenc e s among forma l l y d i s t inct c a s e s , but a l s o t he s truct ure o f di fferen c e s among funct ions s erved b y the s ame c as e , a c ertain c ro s s -l ingu i s t i c c omparab i l i t y emerge s .
For among t he fun c t ions s e rved b y a given c as e ,
s ome are more central or ' b a s i c ' than others , and the s e are s imi l ar from language t o l anguage , e ven i f the r e s p e c t ive ranges o f peripheral or ' de rive d ' funct ions are not . Many language s , fo r instanc e , have a b a s i c a l l y adnomi na li s ing c a s e whi c h , minima l l y , c an b e u s e d t o i n d i c a t e s ome k i n d s o f ' po s s e s s i on ' . Any such c as e in any language ( or , where s e veral o c c ur , t he l e a s t s p e c i a l i sed one ) may j us t i fiably b e c a l l e d a ' genit ive ' , regard l e s s o f what other idio s yncrat i c fun c t ions i t may s e rve in s ome l anguage . Thus I have no qualms ab out c a l ling the U � arinj i n p o s t p o s i t ion - n a � g a a ' genit ive ' c a s e marker even t hough it a l s o o c c a s i onally serves other , adverb i a l funct i ons ( s e e s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 6 ) whi c h do not figure in the c ro s s -l ingui s t i c defini t ion of t he ' genit ive ' . Some o f the t radi t i onal c as e d e s i gnat i ons may e ven b e more appropriate for U �a�inj in c a s e s t han for s ome cas e s whi c h go by t h o s e same name s in s ome more w e l l -known language s .
The U � arinj in
' in s t rumental ' , for i n s t anc e , can b e s e e n from the di s c u s s ion above ( and b e low , s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 7 ) to b e , at h eart , a more pure l y ' in s t rument al ' c as e t han i s i t s Sanskrit c ount erpart ( wh i c h l at t e r , I s ubmi t , c ould more appropriat e l y b e c a l l e d a ' c omit a t i ve ' c as e , that b e ing i t s more b a s i c func t ion , from wh i c h the t e xt u a l l y frequent ' in s t rument a l ' one i s s e c ondar i l y derived ) .
62
2.1 .5.4.3.1 .
Loc a t i ve
The l o c at ive p o s t p o s i t ion i s I - r a / , whi c h strengthens regularly t o
- � a ( + d a ) a s per s e c t i on 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 . It s range o f meaning c overs mo st o f the s e n s e s o f Eng l i s h ' at ' , ' on ' ,
' in ' , French ' c he z ' and German ' b e i ' .
For examp l e :
bi l i lu
muna
raft
t h a t ( t hos e ) s a l twater-loc o padd l e w e are g o i n g We a r e padd l ing t ho s e rafts i n t h e s a Z tw a t e r
won d u - r a
g a r i wa
Qa r i wa y l r i
wu ! a n
wun i ya Qa r i
words
p u t ( imp . ) paper loc o b e a u t i fu Z Pu t b e a u t i fu Z wo rds down on pap e r !
ada
b udma r a
sit
t h e y di d camp They s a t down at my camp
wul un-da
w i n i Qa
-
dambun
m i ndj a l Qa r i nj i
Q i n i nga-ra
Mow a ! d j i y a l i
my l o c o
- ra loc o
we were We a t e che z Mowa ? dj i y a Z i
eat
The l o cative p o s t p o s i t ion c an a l s o b e u s e d t o mean i n t h e t ime o f , e.g. ,
ma ! ma ! - d a
di
gunj a
Qa
wh i te loc o then what onZy Wha t (happ e n s ) i n the era o f the whi t eman ?
ama� die
i nj i
a l waQa r i
h e has o ld man Now the o Z d man has d i e d
ga�aQgan-da now
loc o
The - r a p o s t p o s i t ion is n o t used with an ' in s t rument a l ' or ' agent i ve ' meani ng .
I point t hi s out b e c au s e Coat e and Oat e s , at the
t ime whe n they wro t e their G r a mmar of N ga r i n j i n were under the impre s s ion t hat there were t wo d i s t inct cases marked b y r a , a l o c at i ve and an instrument al agent ive , t he l att e r o c c urring only on pronouns and proper nouns ( Coate and Oat e s : 2 5 - 2 7 ) .
But much checking w i t h
informant s has c onvinced m e that ins trument al -agent ive s i n - r a d o not exist .
Mr Coat e hims e l f , I b e l i e ve , now agree s with me on t h i s po int
( pe r sonal c ommunicat ion ) .
Most l i ke ly , this mirage aros e out o f
att empt s t o t r ans l at e Engl i s h pass ive sentences whi ch inc luded expr e s s i o n of the agent .
U Q arinj in , in c ommon with many other l anguage s
o f the world , s imp l y has no regular grammat i c a l means for doing s o .
63
2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 2 . Ade s s ; v e
There i s a very infrequent ly used c a s e s igna l l e d b y t he p o s t p o s i t ion - � u n d a whi c h means i n t h e v i a i n i ty o f , which , fo l l owing Hj e lm s l e v ' s t ermino l o gy ( H j e lm s l e v 1 9 3 5 : 1 5 1 ) , I c a l l ' ade s s i ve ' . For e xamp l e :
g a ry m a n j a - � u n d a around
Kunmunja (mi s s i on )
d i �ga J
�ar
m i nd i .
ama - �a r i
Kangaro o ' s l e g b one
s tand
b u ra J an - �unda
it doe s - w h e re
t h e (p l ac e ) Bura l a n ade s s ive
w h e re t h e kangaro o ' s l e g b o n e s tands up , i n the v i a i n i ty of Bura lan (jun c t i o n of P l a i n Cre e k and Is de l l R i v e r )
Perhaps t he r e a s o n this c a s e i s s o s e ldom u s e d i s that i t i s r e a l l y a s p e c i a l i s e d form o f t h e l oc at i ve c a s e .
The l o c at ive c a n b e used t o
mean i n t h e v i c i n i ty o f ( se e t he fourth r a e xamp le above ) , b ut u s ua l ly means a t .
- � u n d a i s c a l led into u s e when the s pe aker wishes
c learly to s pe c i fy that s omet hing i s n o t a t, b u t i n t h e v i c i n i ty of. Given t h i s c l o se s eman t i c relat ionship b etween l o c at ive and ade s s ive , it is t empt ing a l s o to s e e a formal c onne c t ion b etween - r a and - � u n d a , t he l a t t e r b e ing the e xp e c t e d result ( s e e s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 ) o f the c omb inat ion : I - � u n
+
ra/ .
Thi s t emptat ion i s strengthened b y
the fact t hat s e quenc e s o f more t han o n e p o s t p o s i t ion do o c cur ( se e p . 6 9 ) .
But such an argument would have to b e b a s e d on
c omparat i ve -hi s t o r i c a l e videnc e : - � u n d o e s not o c cur a s a p o s t p o s i t i o n in pre s ent -day U � a�inj in . 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 3 . Al l a t i ve
There i s a p o s t po s i t ion - b i y n j whi c h tran s lat e s very n i c e l y into Engl i s h a s - ward ( -wards ) , toward,
towards .
Like its Engli s h c ount er
part s , it usually s i gna l s mo t i on in s ome part i c ular dire c t i on , but s ometime s not .
S omet ime s there i s only the more general s e n s e o f
' orientat i on ' i n a p art i c ular dire c t ion . For e x ample :
ba J a J a
u mb a n i
wu ! an
di
spread out
i t fe l Z
language
u �a r i n j i n .
g a n d i n j a� , g a n d a�
i t U �a � i n j i n w - c las s hyp . -a l l . w - c la s s prox . all .
The U �a�inj i n l anguage s p r e a d o u t , way o v e r t h a t w a y , and i n t h i s direa t i on .
64
ba l j a fZee
ama ra .
b i ynj
w a r i l) a r i
eas tern r e g i o n - a l l . he did He f l e d e a s tward .
2. 1 . 5.4.3.4.
L a t i v e - T r an s 1 a t i ve
The re i s a p o s t p o s i t ion I - Y l u / , rea l i s e d as - y u or - d j u as per s e c t i on 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 , whos e range o f u s e s i s one o f the most int e r e s t ing features of U l)arinj i n grammar .
Thi s range b reaks c leanly into two
d i s t inct kinds of func t ions , whic h may appe ar so di fferent as t o raise doub t s ab out whether t h i s p o s t p o s t i i o n really doe s s t and for a s i ngle , s emant i c a l l y uni fied c a s e . First , there are the ' c oncret e ' fun c t i ons : those having to do with As a local c a s e , - Yl u s i gnals m o t i o n up t o , o r as
s pat i a l relat i ons . far as .
For e xamp l e :
ba
aIu
y uw e n o l j e n l) a r i
-yu
come h e do e s t o h e r e l at . He comes up h e re to Yuwen o l j e n l)ari .
ya r i dj
d i nda
muwa n
mon d uma - y u
Ha rada
mindi
r i g h t t h e re go down i t fa l ls s a l tw a t e r-lat . Is de l l it Righ t t h e re the Is de l l R i V e r g o e s down to the s a l tw a t e r (ocean) .
di
W i y i d l) U
a n d u m a l)
We r a - y u
then (man ' s nam e ) h e takes them (man ' s name ) T h e n Wiy i d l)u takes t h e m to We �a .
lat .
A s d i s c u s s e d in Rumsey 1 9 8 0 : l l ff . , nominal postpo s i t i ons i n U l)arinj i n do n o t norma l l y indi cate gramma t i c a l c a s e re lat ions . Convers e l y , noun phra s e s whi ch are c ro s s -r e feren c e d on the verb do not ordinar i l y b e ar case postpo s i t i ons .
Thi s is t rue i n a l l of the
- Y l u examp l e s above , and o f a l l o f the other p o s t po s i t i ons d i s c u s s e d i n t h i s s e c t ion .
But t he re are othe r , non-lative u s e s o f - Y l u whi c h
flagrant l y v i o l a t e t h i s principle . For e xample :
I) a b u n
�
�o !
b urs t for t h water The w a t e r burs t for t h .
abun
d u !wu r
harp o o n break The harp o o n bro k e .
w a l) g a i t went
a l) g a i t went
65
� i yamad
ba r i dj
dj u
rise my k i dney ( Idiom f o r I ' m happy )
�a l a
wi i t is
d j uw a r a
�
b i r i nJ I
a nima Z s popped o u t t h e y did The anima Z s popped o u t ( o f t h e s tomach o f a w h i t e egret who had eaten t o o many , cau s i n g h i m to burs t ) .
w i nj dj a �un
�
gu� l nba
cover fi rewood L e t ' s c o v e r t h e fi rewo o d .
wad i n i �anj a Z e t ' s do to i t
I n a l l t he s e i n s t anc e s where one o f the noun phras e s cro s s r e ferenced o n t h e verb takes a - Y l u p o s t p o s i t ion , t h e me aning c onvey e d b y - Y l u s eems t o b e quite di fferent from the c oncrete ' lat ive ' s e n s e d i s cu s s e d above .
How are such e xamp l e s t o be int e rpret e d ?
The first t hing t o n o t e i s t hat - Y l u adj unc t s are n o t j us t randomly paired wit h all manner of U � arinj i n verb s , but t end t o o c cur with verb s with p art i c ul ar s emant i c propert i e s , t o wh i c h verb s they bear c e rt ain spe c i fi c adj unct re lat i ons .
Typ i c a l l y they are , as in the
first four e xamp l e s above , intrans i t i ve verb s whi c h pred i c at e ( o f t h e ir
- d j u - suffixed s ub j e c t s ) t he unde rgoi ng o f s ome ' emergenc e ' or other ( o ften v i o l e nt ) a c t i on o ver which the s ub j e c t usually has no contro l . Muc h l e s s o ft e n a - Y l u adj unct , as in the last e xampl e above , o c c urs with a trans i t i ve verb , in wh i c h case t h e - Y l u adj unct is usual l y the o b j e c t NP ,
' agent ' NP .
or s emant i c ' pat i ent ' , not the t rans it ive ' s ubj e c t ' o r Thi s agr e e s with the f a c t t hat - Y 1 u adj unc t s , when s erving
as intrans i t i ve s ub j e c t s , usually refer t o e nt it i e s which undergo s ome act ion which i s b e yond their c ont ro l .
For the ' agent ' in a tran s i t i ve
c o n s t ruct ion i s usually in c o nt r o l o f the act ion , whi l e the patient i s not ( c f . Dixon 1 9 7 9 ) . But none o f these generali s at ions i s e x c ept ionle s s .
The verb in
the fi fth e xamp le ab ove , for i n s t anc e , i s not a verb of ' emergenc e ' or ' vio lent a c t i on ' .
Nor does this u s e of - Y l u a l wa y s s i gnal a lack
o f ' c ontro l ' on t he part of t he re ferent of the NP thus marked ( s e e the s e cond e xamp le on p . 6 6 ) . The only e x c ept i onle s s generali s a t i on I c an make ab out t h e s e - Y l u adj unc t s and the verb s with which t he y are paired is that the a c t i on o f t he verb i s one which invo lves a ' c hange o f s t a t e ' in the e nt i t y re ferred t o b y t he - Y l u adj unc t . far t oo general .
Thi s charac t e r i s at i o n is probab l y
There a r e probab l y o t h e r much more spe c i fi c
criteria whi c h govern such pairings .
But unt i l I am ab le t o d e s c r i b e
them more pre c i s e ly than I have above , I w i l l t reat the ' c hange o f s t at e '
66
c r i t e rion a s b a s i c , and hence l ab e l t h i s part icular use o f - Y l u i t s ' t rans l at i ve ' func t ion , as opp o s e d t o t h e concrete ' lat ive ' funct ion d i s c u s s e d earl ier .
Alt hough - Y l u has this t rans lat ive meaning when
ever it o c curs on a cros s -re ferenced adj unct NP , not e ve ry tran s l at i ve
- Y l u o c c ur s on a cro s s -referenced adj unct . One type o f non-c r o s s -r e feren c e d NP which regu larly t ake s tran s l a t i ve
- Y l u i s the c la s s o f fac t i ve c omplement s , e . g . , nj i nd i
ama ! a r
gu! i n
n j o Q a r - dj u
ama - �a r i
waQ� i dj
n j u rw a n
b i r t h he d o e s re I . t rans . make h e r t h e y do she She t o whom a man o f the a m a ! a r moi e ty g i v e s b i r t h , t h e y make i n t o a woman o f the o Q a r m o i e t y ( i . e . , the rule o f moi e t y e xogomy i s not respe c t e d any more : such a woman actually b e l ongs to the a m a ! a r mo i e t y ) . -
�a l a
Ylu
wa Q � i d j
i r i w i �ga
t rans . make he did to hims e lf b i rd He made h i ms e l f i n to a b i r d . Likewi s e , in intran s i t i ve c laus e s o f ' b e coming ' , w i t h verb
IY;T.
the N P re ferring t o t hat which t he s ub j e c t has b e c ome t akes - Y l u . e .g. ,
y i 1 an
� i nj i
g a ra
chi ld t rans . supp o s e I was Supp o s e I had b e come a c h i l d .
b u rad i
ma l wa
m l nj i
t h e i r l i vers bad trans . T h e i r l i ve rs b e came ups e t .
m - c l a s s -b e -pas t
In addit ion t o i t s funct ions in fac t ive and ' b e c oming ' c laus e s , tran s l a t i ve - y u is used on s ome othe r non-cro s s -re ferenced NPs whose r e l at i onship to the verb is looser and more difficult to s p e c i fy . Oft e n , such t rans l at ive NPs s e em to do the work o f an independent c l aus e , though lacking a verb , e . g . ,
amu l u
�
g u ra
�
de b a r
a �g a
wa l k a b o u t he w e n t we l l H a v i n g go t t e n we l l , h e w e n t on w a l k ab o u t .
yedj
laugh t rans . die He d i e d laug h i n g .
ma Q � u
bedja
a�ga h e went
djo�a r i
-
Y.;!..
�a l a
gu�e
buri
ama ra
s tomach a lready b i g - t rans . mea t c om . s tupo r he did H i s s tomach h a v i n g b e come huge wi th m e a t , he fe l l i n to a s tup o r . -
Such u s e s o f t h e t rans l at ive c a s e I w i l l c a l l ' t rans lat ive ab s o l ut e ' c o n s t ruct ions .
It may b e , though , that the s e ab s o lute
67
c o n s t ruct i ons o c cur not o n l y with - Y l u i n i t s trans lative s e n s e , but wi th the mo re concrete lat ive meaning as we l l .
Thi s depends on how
one choo s e s t o i nt e rpret such rare examp l e s a s :
b rum
- dj u
ada
Qama ra
( town a a Z Z e d ) Broome s i t I did Hav i n g reaah e d Broome , I s a t down ( s toppe d ) ?
In t he d i s c u s s i o n so far I have treated l at i ve - Y l u and tran s l at ive
- Y 1 u a lmo s t as if t he y were t wo t ot a l l y d i s t inct c as e s ; as if t he ir
morph o l o gi c a l ident i t y were mere a c c ident .
Such a treatment appe ar s
j us t i fiab l e n o t only on s emant i c grounds , but on synt a c t i c one s a s we l l : l at ive Y 1 u i s c on fined t o non- c ro s s -referenced ( i . e . , non sub j e c t/ob j e c t ) NPs , while translat ive - Y l u o c curs regularly on c ro s s r e ferenced NPs , and on c omplement s in fac t ive and ' be c oming ' c laus e s , i . e . , in c o n s t ru c t i on with the verb
fY2T
( s ee s e c t ion 2 . 2 ) .
The
' ab s olute ' c o n s t ruc t ion , unlike t h e s e othe rs , is di fficult to de fine in pure l y synt a c t i c t e rms , and t he b oundari e s around it are s omewhat vague , but if it e x i s t s , it may provide e vidence a ga i n s t a s t r i c t s eparation o f l at ive and translat ive - Y l u . Nonethe l e s s , in order t o make my int e r l inear tran s l at ions e a s i e r t o under s t and , I wi l l lab e l each i n s t ance o f - Y l u a s e i t h e r ' lative ' or ' t ran s l at i ve '
( lat . )
( t rans . ) , rather t han us ing t he more cumb e r s ome
' lative-tran s lative ' .
Thi s s hould n o t be t aken to imp l y that the
morph o l ogical ident i t y b e t ween the two i s pure ly a c c ident a l .
On the
c ont rary , it r e f l e c t s a c lo s e s emant i c r e l at ionship which i s e s p e c i a l l y c lear in the c a s e o f fac t ive and ' be c oming ' c omp l ement s .
The proc e s s
o f ' be coming ' s omething di fferent from what was i s e a s i l y thought o f a s a ' movement '
t o that new s t a t e ,
and thus t he concre t e , lat ive meaning
of - Y 1 u may re adi ly serve as a metaphor for the more ab s t ract t rans lati ve meaning . Alt e rnat i ve ly , s in c e a l l movement invo lves a change o f s t a t e , the lative meaning may b e t hought o f as mere ly a s p e c i a l c a s e o f the more general tran s l at ive meaning . g lo s s e s l at .
Thus , the
and t rans . should b e t aken as l ab e l s for two d i s t inc t
b ut re lat e d c a s e f u n c t i on s rather t han as l ab e l s for di fferent c as e s . 2.1 .5.4.3.5.
Dat i ve
There i s a p o s t p o s i t ion - g u which serves s ome o f the fun c t ions a s s o c iated with the dat ive case in s ome Indo -European l anguage s . ( Mo s t o f them are s e rved b y dat i ve-benefact ive suffixes on t h e verb , for whi c h s e e s e c t i on 2 . 2 . 1 2 . ) Engl ish ' fo r ' , e . g . ,
Usually - g u c an be t rans l at e d b y
68
wana l i r i
d j od - ba
nj a r i nj i
Wa d i - gu
danae w e did (man ' s name ) dat . We dana e d t h e Wana l i ri aorro b oree for Wa t i .
djol i
njar i nj i
warg
r e t urn we did work We re t urned for work .
�
dat .
Sec ondari ly , and far l e s s frequent ly , - g u s erve s a purely ' lo c a l ' func t io n , marking an NP which i s the ' goal ' o f a t rans i t ive o r i ntran s i t i ve verb , e . g . ,
bura
djol i
r) a y
mawa n j d j ama
gu
s h o u l d r e turn I g o Mowanjum I ' d b e t te r re t urn to Mowanjam .
b a l) � i d j a n foo d I t o o k i t Pan tijan I t o o k foo d to Pan t i jan .
dat .
gu dat .
In s ome instances - g u is amb i guous b etween this l o c a l fun c t ion and t h e othe r , purpo s i ve -b e n e fact ive sense .
This is t rue in t he l a t t e r
e xamp l e immediat e l y ab ove , where b a � � i d j a n - g u c an a l s o mean for ( t h e p e op l e a t ) Pan t ijan , and in t he fol lowing e xamp l e , whi ch I have
d i s c u s s e d with informants re garding j ust this po int :
di
W l y i d r) u
a n d u m a l)
gu
We r a
t h e n (man ' s name ) h e t a k e s them (man ' s name ) T h e n Wiy i dr)u t a k e s them to/for We �a .
dat .
In formant s agreed t hat both the to and t he for trans lat ions o f t h i s s e n t e n c e w e r e p o s s i b l e , b ut r u l e o u t the p o s s i b i l i t y that Wi y i d r)u could b e t aking the t hings t o s ome one b e s ide s We�a , for We�a ' s s ake . ( Such a meaning would b e c onveyed inst ead b y using a b ene fac t ive suffix on the verb , for which , see s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 2 . )
Thus the local meaning
mus t remain , but a b e ne fact ive sense i s adde d t o i t a s w e l l . It w i l l be noted that the l o c al meaning of - g u i s very s imilar t o that o f l at i ve - y 1 u d i s c u s s e d above ( s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 4 ) .
Previous
works on U r)a�inj in ( Coate and Oat e s 1 9 7 0 : 2 6 , Coate and Elkin 1 9 7 4 : 1 9 5 , 2 4 6 , 3 0 2 ) have d i s t inguished the two by s ay ing that - g u means t o , and
- Y l u ( their j u � d j u ) means as far as .
Whi le I w i l l not deny t h i s
c laim, I w a s unab le t o e li c i t a n y s u c h di fference from informant s , o r t o d i s c over any minimal p a i r s w h i c h w o u l d s ugge st any d i fference in l o c al meaning b e t ween t he two .
Rather , the di fference wh ich s eems
mo s t s a l i ent to informant s is the one which r e s u l t s from the admi xture of non-local meanin g , d i s c u s s e d ab ove .
For i n s t anc e , when asked to
c omment on any p o s s ib l e d i fference b et we e n the fourth examp l e sentence
69
in the middle o f page 6 4 and t h e last e xampl e sentence given o n page 6 8 , which di ffer only b y the pre s e n c e o f - Y l u vs . - g u , in formant s agree d t hat the forme r , with W e r a - y u c ould mean that We�a was given the obj e c t s with the int ent ion t hat he in t urn s hould pass them on to s omeone e l s e , whi l e t he l a t t e r , with W e r a - g u , could only mean that the obj e c t s were given to We�a for him to ke e p . That - Y l u and - g u are very s imi l ar i f not ident i c a l in their l o c a l meanings i s indicated b y t h e fact that o n e i s often added t o the other , a lways in t he order - g u - y u , with no apparent change in meaning from that c onveyed b y either of t hem alone , e . g . ,
am i n i
dj o l i
b i r i nj e r i ,
a L to g e t h e r re turn t h e two did
bedj a
I) a y a r i
now
we two go
d am b u - g u camp
dat .
- yu ,
Th o s e two wen t a L L the way b a c k to the camp , g o b a c k to the camp . 2.1 .5.4.3.6.
gu
d am b u
a l l . camp
dat .
( s o ) now we two
Gen i t i ve
Po s s e s s i on i s indicated main l y by means o f the free - s t anding p o s s e s s i ve pronouns d i s c u s s e d above ( s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 3 ) .
One of the
morpheme s whi c h enters int o that s y s tem of comp l e x pronouns is - n a l) g a , which c omb in e s with person-numb e r pre fixes as a general s ingular po s se s s ive morpheme . But - n a l) g a a l s o o c c urs a s a p o s t p o s i t ion on l e x i c a l noun phras e s , in which p o s i t ion it may b e l o o s e l y d e s c r i b e d as a gen i t i ve c a s e marker . Thi s ' genit ive ' p o s t p o s i t i o n fi l l s a wide range o f func t ions , one of them b e ing t he ind i c at i o n of p o s s e s s ion .
In t h i s role i t mi ght
s e em to be in compet i t ion with the p o s s e s s ive pronouns , b ut actually t h i s i s not t he c as e . Inst ead t he re are hierarc h i c a l l y c ondi t i oned a l i gnmen t s b etween one o r the other means of indicat ing p o s s e s s ion and c ertain range s o f N P t y pe s , c orre sponding t o d i ffere n c e s i n the natural ne s s ( markedne s s ) o f various NP t yp e s for s erving as p o s s e s s o r .
Thi s p o s s e s s or
hierarchy i s ident i c a l t o S i lvers t e i n ' s ( 1 9 7 6 : 1 2 2 )
' agent h i erarchy ' ,
whi ch i s not s urpri s ing , c o n s i de ri ng the unive r s a l l y c lo s e c onne c t ion b e t ween t rans i t ivity and po s s e s s ion ( s e e , e . g . , Allen 1 9 6 4 , and Wat kins 1 9 6 7 ) . NPs at t he t op o f the hierarc hy , the mo s t natural p o s s e s s or s , s how p o s s e s s i on by means of p o s s e s s i ve pronouns ; NPs at the b o t t om by means
70
o f the genit ive p o s t p o s ition .
The c l o ser the N P i s t o the t op o r the
b o t t om of the hierarchy , the more t horoughly i s this alignment maint ained . Thus , among the pers onal pronoun s , whi ch are the t opmo s t NPs on t he hierarchy , the genit ive p o s t p o s i t ion does not o c c ur at a l l . Po s s e s s ion i s indicated only b y t he p o s s e s s i ve pronouns ( mo s t o f whi c h are n o t forma l l y ident i c a l t o free s t anding pronoun + genit ive p o s t po s it i o n ) and the other funct i ons of the genit ive are f i l l e d out in other ways . Personal name s , whi ch o c cupy an intermediat e p o s i t io n on the hierarchy - b e low the personal pronouns , b ut above a l l other l e x i c a l nouns - a r e ' i nt ermediat e ' in their genitive -po s s e s s i ve c a s e -marking as we l l .
The geni t i ve p o s t p o s it ion does o c c ur on them o c c a s i onal l y ,
b ut when it does , it s eems never t o s erve a ' po s s e s s ive ' func t ion . ( Se e p . 7 2 b e l ow for s ome funct ions it does s erve on proper name s . ) That funct ion i s instead c arried out b y the p o s s e s s i ve pronouns , whi ch , howe ve r , often behave more l ike p o s t p o s i t ions than free pronouns i n such i n s t anc e s .
That i s , they o c cur aft e r a ful l ( po s s e s s or ) noun
phra s e , t o gether with t he last ( grammat ical ) word of whi ch, they form a s ingle phono logical word . s e e Dixon 1 9 7 7 : 8 8 -9 8 . )
( Fo r grammat i c a l vs . phono l o g i c a l word ,
The most heavi ly s t re s s e d s y l lab l e o f the
p o s s e s s i ve pronoun receives s e c ondary s t re s s in re lat i on t o the primary s t re s s of the preceding grammat i c a l word , e . g . ,
D a �a l
ana�ga
his sg. Da �a L ' s (wife )
Gadbu�u
ana�ga
d am b u n
his sg. coun try Gadb u �u ' s c o u n t ry
em i his sg. what ' s i t ? his sg. Ted Fe rre L whose ( ca t t L e s ta t i o n ) ? Ted F e rr e L ' s
It i s p o s s ib l e that this p art ic u lar p o s s e s s i ve pronoun , a n a n g a , h i s s g . obj . , whi c h is t he l ea s t marked o f the s e t , i s in the proc e s s
o f b e ing reint e rpre t e d b y U �a�inj in s peakers a s a s impl e p o s s e s s ive p o s t po s i t ion , devoid o f all numb e r and gende r s p e c i fi c at i on . this is so is sugge s t e d by e xamp l e s such as t he fo l lowing :
njandu
n j aw a n
ana�ga
balja
n j u ma l u
s h e comes to h e r e Nj awan s u b s e c t i o n f L e e she She who b e Longs t o Njawan s ub s e c t i on f L e e s to h e r e .
That
71
The word nj a w a n i s o f the feminine gender , s o the fol lowing form would be nj a n agga ' fern . s g . p o s s e s s or -s g . p o s s e s s e d ' i f it were funct ioning a s a fre e - s t anding p o s s e s s i ve pronoun .
That it i s a n a9ga
sugge s t s t hat the only informa t i on it is int ended t o c onvey here is the c at e gory ' po s s e s s i ve ' . To ret urn now t o the hierarc h i c a l s p l i t in ways o f ind i c at ing p o s s e s s ion , it i s int e r e s t i ng t o note t hat s ome NPs which might s e em hardl y to b e pers onal name s nonethe l e s s b ehave l i k e t hem in ' death taboo ' s i t ua t i on s . For e xamp l e :
b oy
ded
a n a gg a
may a ra
dead man his s g . h o us e The dead man ' s h o us e .
The man re ferred t o here was a deceased non-Ab ori ginal ( which i s perhap s t he reason for the Engl ish expre s s i on ' de ad b oy ' ) who s e ident i t y w a s c l ear from t h e l i ngui s t i c context , but who s e name the s pe ake r was avoiding in keeping with the ' death t ab oo ' 4.4) .
( se e s e c t ion
Nonethe l e s s , the s e e mingly vague expr e s s ion ' dead b oy ' , i t s
unique re ference b e ing c lear , i s treated as a ' personal name ' ins o far a s it takes a n a g g a i n s t e ad of - n a g g a . Be low personal name s on t h e hie rarchy , a l l NP t ype s s how p o s s e s s ion b y me ans o f the genit i ve p o s t p o s i t ion . Thi s i s t rue e ven of word s for human b e ings whe n t h e ir re ference i s n o t definit e , e . g . ,
nagga
brru
d j uw u n b a
co rrobo r e e de p i c ti n g a tradi t i o na l s to ry gen . Aborigina ls The A b o r i g i na l s ' Djunba corrobore e .
mo d a g a
bo 1 i d j ma n
m o t o r car p o l i ceman gen . A p o l i ceman ' s m o torca r .
The s ame i s t rue o f non-human anima l s :
geren
di 1a
p i l l ow dog gen . A dog ' s p i l l o w .
ya 1 i
n a gg a
kangaroo gen . radius A kangaro o ' s radi us .
(b one )
It i s a l s o t rue o f inanimate NP ' s i n s o far as they ever fun c t ion a s ' po s s e s s or ' :
72
b a l) a r a n
n a l) g a
mo d a g a
(name o f a Zepros ari um ) Ba l)a�an ' s mot o rcar .
gen .
m o t o r car
ama l g u n i
n a l) g a
b i I i b O I)
gen . Zouse b i H a b o ng The Z o u s e from t h e b i Z Zabong . Note that this split among p o s s e s s or NPs has nothing to do with the gramma t i c a l category o f gender .
Nouns o f any gender o r numbe r c an
show pos s e s s i on in e it he r o f the s e two way s , depending on other fac t or s . Nor i s even a s t r i c t l y ' s emant i c ' c las s i fi c at ion adequat e .
Rat her the
s p l i t i s c ondi t ioned dire c t ly b y cult ural rules governing the re feren t ial funct ion of language . The indi cation o f p o s s e s s i on i s , as I have alre ady remarked , not the only use of the genit ive postpo s i t ion . S omet ime s it s erve s a l o c al func t ion , in whi ch case it is the ab lative-elat i ve c ount e rpart t o lative - Y l u . thing like :
That i s , it means s ome
' mo t i on away from , or originating at ' , e . g . ,
n a l) g a
d u rg u n d uma
ba r i
I) a d i
n j u l) g u l u d m a
(p Z a c e nam e ) go up w e d o gen . (p Z a c e nam e ) We go up from Durgunduma to Nj u l)gu Z udma .
gag r i d
n a l) g a
I) u n d u m a l) a l u
waraydj
t h e y b r o u g h t me b r i ng back gen . Damon S t a t i o n T h e y b r o u g h t m e back from Damon S t a t io n .
Although - n a l) g a never o c c urs a s a p o s s e s s ive marker o n personal name s , it does o c c ur on them with this l o c a l meaning , e . g . ,
Oj abman
ma�u
n a l) g a
I) a r l
ma
m a l l) a n a
cre e k re l . i t goes go gen . Chapman Th e cre e k t h a t g o e s from Chapman ' s p Z ace .
mi nd i it
Then there are use s o f - n a l) g a whi c h c ould b e d e s c r i b e d as ' part it ive ' , e . g . ,
n a l) g a
b l eng
a l) u l) u ! u n i n J a
fZank s te a k I gave t o him gen . I gave him s ome o f t h e fZank s te a k .
- n a l) g a i s regularly used with t ime e xpre s s ions t o mean b e Z o n g i n g to or associated with
du!
b i r um a r a
( th a t t i me ) , e . g . ,
wund i r
n a l) g a
t h e y did o Z den days s tomp Tho s e o f o Z den day s u s e d t o s tomp .
bi ri they
73
�a l a
dj i ri
g a ! um u n
n a �ga gen .
l ong ago anima l he A b e a s t o f l ong ago .
Genitive - n a � g a de viat e s from i t s usual t emporal s e n s e when it o c c ur s on t he word d i , that,
t he n .
The s u ffixed form d i - n a � g a often
pronounce d [ d f n e n g e ] ) , me an s , not a s s o c i a t e d with t h a t but aft e r t h a t , a meaning whi c h i s c l o s e r t o the e lat ive -ab lat i ve use o f - n a � g a t han the pos s e s s i ve u s e which i s the b a s i s for i t s usual t emporal meaning . Final l y , there are quas i -de rivat i onal u s e s o f - n a � g a , where it me ans s omet hing like c o n c e rn e d w i t h , o ft e n s ubj e c t t o various idiomat i c s p e c i a l i sat ions in sense ( as in the s e c ond e x amp l e b e l ow ) . For e xamp l e :
barudu
na�ga
gen . b u s h war one concerned w i t h , o r a v e te ran o f,
n a �g a
�abun
the b u s h wars
dj i r i
gen . ( a l co h o l i c ) he p o s s e s s e d b y a l c o h o l , i . e . , a drunkard 2.1 .5.4.3.7.
I n s trumenta l
The inst rume nt al p o s t p o s i t ion is - n j i n e � n j i n e � g a .
I have b e e n
unab l e t o d i s c o ve r any diale c t a l , phonologi c a l , o r s emant i c b as i s for the a l t e rnat i on b e tween t h e s e t wo al lomorphs , and so mus t tentatively regard it a s a mat t e r of free variat ion . The p o s t po s i t ion o c curs only on ' inanimat e ' NPs and a lways means by means o f .
F o r e xamp l e :
nj i ne
y i nda
wund i dj
�and i l an i r i
spear inst . a s s au l t the t w o did to me Th o s e two a s s a u l te d me with s p e ars .
d i nda
b uma r a
o l) m a l
p a i n t do to me p i p e c lay Pai n t me wi th p ip e c l ay . 2. 1 . 5.4.3.8.
nj i ne�ga inst .
Comi tati ve
The c omit a t i ve p o s t p o s i t ion i s - g u � e .
I t appears on a l l t y p e s o f
NPs , inc luding pers onal pronoun s , and means i n c l uding, accompan i e d b y o r h a v i n g ( n . b . : U �a�inJ in has n o verb have ) .
74
For e xampl e :
y ow a � a
dj i 1 i m i nd i
gu�e
mara
on i
horse h o r s e s h oe c om . see he did He s aw a hors e wi th hors e s h o e s o n .
wana
b i ya l u
me
g u �e
when they aome h e re v e g e tab Z e fo o d com . Wh e n they aome h e r e w i t h v e g e tab Z e foo d .
bed j a
n j a l) g a l u
wad i
gude
then we aame (man ' s name ) T h e n we aame wi th Wa t i .
ada
I) i m a
n j a l) a n
s i t I wi Z Z do 2 sg. I ' Z Z s i t down wi t h y ou . 2.1 . 5.4.3.9.
com .
g u�e c om .
Vocati ve
The ' vocat ive ' p o s t p o s i t ion i s - a y , whi c h c arri e s a heavier s t re s s than the word it o c c urs on .
I t i s usual ly used o n human re lat i onship
t e rms and pers onal name s . For e xample :
g G r:t � i
a'y
hus band voc . Hey h u s b a n d !
M ow a ! d j i y a l i
ay
(man ' s name ) voc . Hey Mowa ? dj iy a Z i !
But i t c an a l s o b e used o n other kinds o f NPs a s a way o f making a s t rong reque s t .
For ins t ance , whi le s i t t ing with s ome Ngarinj in men
around an e arth oven from wh ich a fre shly cooked kangaroo had j us t been l i ft e d , I heard o n e man ye l l :
' r a n g u - a y ! ' , ' I ' ve go t dib s o n
the h e ar t ! ' .
Thi s ' vo c at ive ' p o s t p o s i t ion i s a l s o frequent ly used
in ut t e ranc e s
whi ch are shouted over l ong d i s t ance s , in whi ch c as e s i t often s e ems not to b e in c ons t ituency with a s ingle phra s e o r e ven a s ingle c l ause o r s e nt e n c e , but rathe r with the who le ut t e ranc e , c arrying the s e n s e � i s t e n t o thi s ! ' . 2 . 2 . The Verb
U l) a�inj in verb s are o f t wo kinds : s imp le and c ompound .
A s imp l e
ve rb cons i s t s o f a s i ngle finit e -verbal word ( fo r e xamp l e s s e e s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 3 ) .
A c ompound verb cons i s t s o f o n e s u c h fini t e verbal
75
word , preceded b y another , non-fi n i t e verb a l word ( which I c a l l the Example s o c cur i n mos t o f the U �arinj i n s e n t e nc e s
' verbal part i c le ' ) .
wh ich have s o far b e e n pre s e nt e d . The morphol ogy o f the fin i t e verbal word i s the s ame whe ther i t s t ands b y i t s e l f a s a s imp le verb or goe s t o gether with a verbal part i c le to c ompri s e a c ompound verb ( in which case we wi l l r e fe r t o the finite verbal word a s t he ' auxi l i ary ' verb ) . Thus i t i s p o s s i b l e t o give a s ingle s c hema t i c repre sentat i on whi ch w i l l provide an o verview o f t he s t ru c t ure o f order-c las s e s for both the s impl e and c ompound verb . Figure 2 :
Order Clas s e s o f the U �a�inj in Verb r '"
( VP+A)
1
IMP+OB+SUB+Fl1l'+IRR+DS+ _ I _
1 2
3
'"
4
Thi s is given in Figure 2 .
1
ROOl'+REF'-fl'/M
_-'-----1_________--11
5
non-finite verbal word
6
7
8
9
10
+NBR+CONI'+DIR+D/B+D/B N
11
12
13
14
15
16
finite verbal word
The abbrevi at ions are to b e read a s fo l lows : VP
verbal particle
A
particle aspect suffix
REF'
reflexive/reciprocal suffix
IMP
imperative prefix
'lM
tense/mode suffix
OB
object pronominal prefix
NBR
dual/paucal number suffix
SUB
subject pronominal prefix
CONI'
continuative aspect suffix
FVI'
future prefix
DIR
directional suffix
IRR
irrealis prefix
D/B
dative-benefactive suffix
DS
definite subject prefix
D/B N
dative benefactive number suffix
The c onne c t ing lines and c omp lement ary d i s t ribut ion s i gns ab ove and b e low the abbreviat ions are meant to i nd i c at e t hat when pos it ion 3 i s o c c up i e d b y a non-zero e lement , no non-zero e l ement c an o c cur at p o s i t ion 5 , 6 , or 1 1 , and that the s ame i s t rue o f p o s i t ion 6 with re s p e c t t o 7 and 1 1 . Tab l e 2 0 shows the gramma t i c a l c at e gori e s whi ch are expre s s e d i n t he verb , a n d mat ches t hem t o t he o rder c las s e s i n w h i c h they are e xp re s s e d .
The numb ers i n t he ' order c las s ' c o lumn correspond t o
t h o s e given i n F i gure 2 .
In the t hird c o lumn are numb ers o f t he
s e c t i on s i n whi ch one may find a d i s c u s s i o n o f t he form c l a s s e s as s o c iated with each o f t h e s e gramma t i c a l c a t e gory/orde r - c l a s s c omb inat ions .
The reason the form c la s s e s are indexed by c a t e gory/
c l a s s c omb i nat ion rather than j us t b y c a t e gory or by c las s is that
Tab le 2 0 Gramma t i c a l Categor i e s Imp lement ed in the U� a�inj in Verb Grammat i c a l Cat e gory
Order Class
S e c t i on ( s )
Tense Pre sent ( in indicative mode onl y )
2.2.1.
Future ( in indicat ive mode only )
2.2.3. 2.2.3.
Past ( in indicat ive and irre a l i s mode s )
2.2.1 . , 2.2.4.1, 2.2.4.2.
Non Past ( in irre a l i s mode only )
2.2.4.1.
Aspe c t 13
2.2.10.
Punctual
2
2.2.14.
Iterative
2
2.2.14.
Cont inuat ive
Iterative Cont inuat ive Unmarked
[In } en }
2.2.14. 2.2.14.
Mode Indicative
2.2.1. 2.2.2.2. 2.2.2.
Opt a t i ve
2.2.5. , 2. 2. 6.
Tab le 20 - Cont i nued Grammat i c al Category Irre a l i s
Order Class
S e c t i on ( s )
}
(4)
(5) ( ll )
Imperat ive
2.2.4. 2.2.1 . , 2.2.4.1 . , 2.2.4.2.
3 (4) ( ll )
2.2.6. 2.2.6. 1 . 2.2.6. 1 .
Person Of s ubj e c t
2.2.2. , 2.2.4.
Of obj e c t Of dat ive -benefac t i ve c o n s t i t uent
2.2.12.
15
Number S ingular vs . Non-s ingular Of subj ect
5
Of ob j e ct
4
Of dat i ve -bene fac t i ve cons t i t uent
}
2.2.2. , 2.2.4.
15
2.2.12.
Of sub j ect or obj e c t ( s ee for c ondit ioning )
12
2.2.9.
Of dat ive-bene fac t ive cons t i t uent
16
2.2.12.
Dual vs . Paucal ( within non-s ingular )
Gender Of subj ect ( o f i ntrans i t i ve verb only )
5
2.2.2.1 . , 2.2.4.1 .
Of obj e c t
4
2.2.2.2. , 2.2.4.2.
--..l --..l
Tab le 20 Grammat i c al Cat e gory Vo i c e Tran s i t i ve vs . Intran s i t ive
-
Cont inued
Order Class
LiJ } } (4) (5)
Active vs . Re flexive/Re c i procal
S e c t i on ( s )
2.2.1 . 2.2.2.
10
2.2.7.
( ll )
2.2.l .
,
Dire c t i on o f Mot ion Re lat i ve t o Sp eaker Pro ximad vs . D i s t ad vs . Unspe c i fi e d
14
2.2.1l .
Core ference S t atus o f Sub j e c t Definite vs . Unspe c i fi e d
8
2 . 2 .8.
2.2.4.
79
mul t i p l e form- and order-c l a s s e s s omet imes e xpre s s t he s ame category ( e . g . , irre a l i s mode ) and , on t he other hand , two alt ernat ing c at e gor i e s are s omet ime s e xpre s s ed within a s i ngle form c la s s ( e . g . , at p o s i t ion # 1 1 ) . Some o f the c at e gories are e xpre s s e d only b y the s imul t aneous pre sence of c e r t ain formal feat ure s within more than one order c l a s s . The optat ive mode , for i n s t anc e , i s s i gnalled by a zero in p o s i t ion 7 c omb ined with the pre sence o f an otherwi s e i rre a l i s past morpheme in p o s i t i on 1 1 .
Neither o f t h e s e features b y i t s e l f s i gnals optat ive
mode ; indeed each of t hem b y i t s e l f i s u s ua l l y a s s o c iated with a non-optative mode .
But the comb inat ion o f t he t wo at once doe s
unique l y s i gnal ' op t at i ve ' .
Comb inat ory r e l at i onships o f t h i s k i nd
are indicated on the t ab l e b y r e c t angular brackets around the form c l a s s e s in c o l umn 2 which go t ogether in t h i s way to mark the cor r e s p onding category indi c at e d in c o lumn 1 . In other c a se s , s ome cate gory whi c h i s unique ly s i gnalled within one form c la s s , o r c omb inat ion o f form c l as s e s ( as ab o ve ) i s s ome t ime s a l s o re dundan t l y marked within other form c l a s s e s as we l l .
Irre a l i s
mode , f o r i n s t anc e , i s always s i gna l l e d b y the pre s ence o f a n irre a l i s morpheme in p o s i t ion 7 .
Depending on t e n s e and pers on/numb e r , certain
features a s s o c i at e d with p o s i t i on 1 1 , and 4 and 5 respe c t i ve ly may , redundan t l y , s i gnal irrea l i s mode a s we l l .
Po s i t ion 7 in t h i s case i s
c learly t h e pri ma r y l o c us o f irre a l i s marking , and p o s i t ions 4 , 5 , and 1 1 t he s e c ondary l o c i for the s i gna lling o f this category . ' Se c ondary ' a s s o c i at ions o f t h i s kind are indi cated on the t ab l e b y parent he s e s around the form c las s e s i n c o lumn 2 whi c h bear thi s kind of relat i onship t o the categori e s with which they are mat ched in c o lumn l . In t he fo l lowing s e c t ion I deal s equent i a l l y with t he form c la s s e s a s s o c i at e d with e a c h o f t he orde r c la s s p o s i t i ons in figure 2 ( p . 7 5 ) , and t o s ome ext ent , with their grammat i c a l func t ions .
( More o n the s e
may be found in c hapt e r 3 b e l ow . ) 2 . 2. 1 . Order C l a sses 9 and 1 1 : Roots and T h e i r Co n j u g a t i o n C l a s s e s
The phono l o gi c a l s hape o f t he verb root i s governed b y the s ame r e s t r i c t ions wh i c h apply to the word ( pp . 1 4 - 1 6 ) , p lus one more r e s t ri c t i o n : no verb root b e gins in a s t o p cons onant . The numb e r o f d i s t inct root s in the l e x i c o n o f U Q a�inj in is fair l y large ( over 1 , 0 0 0 I w o u l d gue s s ) b ut mo s t o f t h e m are t e xtual l y very infrequent .
By far the maj ority o f U Qa�inj in verb s b ot h b y t e xt c ount
80
and b y d i c t i onary c ount ,
are o f the ' c ompound ' type , c o n s i s t ing o f
�on-finite verbal word + finite ' auxiliary ' verb as in the ful l form The set o f roots on which a l l c ompound
repre sented b y Figure 2 .
verb s are based ( i . e . , tho se who se infle c t e d forms can serve as auxi l i ary verb s ) , is c lo sed and quite smal l , numbe ring fourteen .
Of
t he se fourt e en , a l l b ut two , IW 1 U and IY l i n d e l ( s ee table 2 1 , p . 8 1 ) s omet ime s a l s o o c cur
in
i s o lation a s ' s imp le verb s ' .
Thus the ent ire set of root s may be b roken down as fo l lows : Used exc lusively in c ompound verb s : 2 U s e d b o t h a s s i m p le v e r b s a n d i n co m p o u n d s :
12
Used e x clus ive ly as s imp le verb s :
thousand
over a
Each of the s e r o o t s o c c ur s only with c ertain a l l omorph s o f each o f the t hree t e n s e -mode morpheme s a s s o c i at e d with posit ion 1 1 , i . e . , those whi ch mark : 1.
present indi c at ive
2.
past indi c at i ve
3.
past irrea l i s � optat i ve ( as per s e c . 2 . 2 . 5 )
Depending on wh ich al lomorphs they o c c ur with , t he root s may be seen as b e l onging t o s even di fferent ' c onj ugat ion ' c la s s e s , a s laid out b e low in Tab le 2 1 .
The roots given on this t ab le are those which
b e l ong t o the first two of the t hree c at e gories men t i oned above , i . e . , those who s e c onj ugated forms c an or mus t s erve as auxi l i ary verb s . Thi s i s suffic ient t o c harac terise the o c c urring a l l omorphy among a l l root s , inc luding t he many wh ich do n o t fun c t i on as auxi l i ari e s , b e cause each of them seems t o b e long to one o f the s ame c la s s e s which are found among t he auxi liary root s . 2 . 2 . 2 . Order Cl as ses 4 a n d 5 :
Pronomi nal
P re f i x e s
Every U �a�inj in verb i s rigidly spec i fi e d a s ei ther tran s i t i ve o r int rans i t i ve .
Int rans itive roots t ake one pronominal prefix which
c ro s s -referenc e s a sub j ect noun phrase ; tran s it ive roots t ake two , the first o f which cro s s -refe renc e s an obj e c t ( pat i ent ) NP and the s e c ond of which c ro s s -re ferenc e s a sub j e c t ( agent ) NP .
The tran s i t ive ob j e c t
and s ub j e c t prefixes are o f c la s s 4 and 5 respe c t i ve l y .
Since only
one of these t wo p o s i t i ons i s ever f i l l e d when the root i s int rans i t i ve , the o rder c la s s for intransit ive sub j e c t pronominal prefixes might conceivab l y be lab e l le d c la s s 4 , were it not for the fact that the tran s i t ive ' agent ' adj unct is the one which is ident i fied with intran s i t i ve ' s ubj e c t ' for purp o s e s of ' de finite subj e c t ' marking , as
Tab l e
21
Root Conj ugat ion C l a s s e s Present Ind i c at i ve Suffix
Class
1
�
a c t on
IV l l b u
t h row
"
fYlTTa
hoLd
"
Iiii"Tnd"a
l
-V i
"
"
"
wa i t for
"
"
give to
"
"
1"fIiTi)a 3
put
" "
" "
" "
-g
- ra
-g
- vl i
- I) g a
- 'l i
be
-g
-nj i
- 1) 1
( t rans 1t ive ) t a k e or b r i n g ( depending on d i re c t i onal s u ff i x )
-�
- 'l a
-V i l
-�
-n l
-v
-n
- 'l g a
- I) i
IWla" Iii1a
3
ra
4
IY2T
7
-n i
Il) u ! u 2
2
6
Opt a t i ve Past Irreal i s Suffix
"
take or bring ( depending on d i r e c t ional s u f fi x )
Im i n d j a l a
5
-n
Past Indi c at i ve Suffix
fa Z Z ( intrans i t i ve )
do
( int ran s 1 t i ve ) come or go ( depending on d i r e c t ional s u f fi x )
. /ma( r a ) 4
I\rJa
( t rans 1 t i ve )
IV l i n d e 5
go
to o r come t o
fa Z Z
and a l l r e f l e x i ve -r e c i p ro c a l verb s
"
l
i
IThis verb occurs in isolation as a s imple verb far more often than as an auxiliary verb . In the latter capacity it oc curs , as far as I know , with only one verbal particle , ada , to sit , the compound verb phrase meaning to sit waiting for. 2This verb i s usual l y conj ugated as a class 1 verb , but one occasionally hears an alternate past indicative form : -I)u! al)ara , the tense suffix of which seems to be a compounding of the class 5 and class 2 past indicative allomorphs . Given what we know about the way analogy usually works ( Kuryiowic z 1966 : 158ff . ) , it is likely that this verb previously belonged to one of those classes (or perhaps another , now-extinct clas s ) and has only recently been trans ferred to class 1 . Occasionally the past indicative �is verb has probably only recently been trans ferred t o class 1 . form - I n l 'la ra is heard , suggesting a class 2 origin. It may even be that the - 'la- of this root is by origin a class 5 tense marker which has been reinterpreted as part of the root , or that there was another - I)a ra clas s , to which I- I)u ! u may also have belonged . 4This root appears as
Iiiia in the indicative mode and as 1ma ra :· n all the other modes .
transcription, I always write it as
;marrar
In morphophonemic
so as to insure that it will not be confused with the root
which is rather remote from this root i n · meaning , syntax (being intransitive as opposed to trans itive and morphology (belonging to , or rather comprising, a different conj ugation class ) .
Iiiia , Ima(ra) ) ,
5 This root never occurs as a simple verb , so it is difficult to isolate its meaning. For those verbal particles which may occur either with this auxiliary or with �, the � phrase c arries a sense of the ' falling ' action being clumsier and/or less controlled. Wh!re the su�ject of the IVl l nde phrase is Indeed , non-singular (as it usually is) there i s a reflexive-reciprocal sense of ' falling together ' . this root may be charact erised formally as inherently reflexive-reciprocal , its morphology being identical to that which would result from the reflexivisation of a root IVl l nda . But no such root exists in present-day Ul)a,inj in.
co
83
per s ec t ion 2 . 2 . 8
But that e vidence j us t i fi e s c a l l ing it c la s s 5
( c f . Rums e y 1 9 8 0 : 1 7 - 1 8 ) . The tran s i t ive -intran s i t i ve s p l i t i s part l y consi s t ent with t he s y stem o f conj uga t i on c l as s e s ( s e e s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 ) , and partly inconsistent with it .
Among the aux i l i ary roo t s on Tab le 2 1 , for instanc e , a l l
c la s s 1 roo t s e xcept IW l a and a l l roo t s o f c l a s s e s 2 , i n transitive, and
3 , 4 and 7 are
all roo t s of other c l a s s e s , along with IW l a from
class 1 are transitive.
Among both the t rans i t ive and the int rans i t i ve sub j e c t pre fixe s , the forms o f s ome o f the pronominal pre fixes are s omewhat d i f fe rent for indic at ive vs . irre a l i s mode . 2.2.2. 1 .
I ndi cati ve I ntrans i t i ve
The indicative intran s i t i ve s ub j e c t pre fi xe s , whi ch c lo s e l y re s emb l e s ome whi c h we have a lre ady s e e n ( se c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 1 ) , are s hown in Tab l e 2 2 . Tab l e 2 2 Intran s i t i ve Indi cat ive Verb Pre fixes
I) a r -
sg.
I) a l -
1 pI . inc l .
2.
sg.
nj i n-
1 p I . e xc I .
njar-
3.
s g . mas c .
al-
2 pI .
9ur-
3 pI .
bur-
I.
s g . fem .
n j a2 -
w -c l a s s
wI u -
m-class
ma2-
As per s ec t ion 1 . 2 . 4 . 2 , b o t h - a l and - a 2 merge with a fo l l owing - y l t o give e , e . g .
I l) a l
+
1 sg.
I l) a rw a fa n
I d j oy great
Im i n d j a l eat
;y;r
I
+
I am
be
al
I) e ,
+
Iy l i n d e
+
n I
+
3 s g . mas c . fa n pre s .
ma
+
IY;f I
fem .
enden
h e fa n s +
d j oy
me
i s great
m - c la s s
n j a2
I) a r w a
+
IY;f
I
+
m i ndj a l she
nje
eats
84
The final - r o f a l l the non-s ingu lar prefixes s t rengthens t o d b e fore t he m o f ;rna
/Qar
;rna /
+
,
e.g. -+-
1 p I . i n c ! . do
/bur
w e do
;rna /
+
3 pI.
Qadma
-+-
b udma t h ey d o
do
Be fore the root la ,
t he final r o f a l l t he non-s ingular p r e fi x e s
c hange s t o y , e . g .
/nj a r
+
I pI . e x .
/b u r 3 pI .
+
.ra/
-+-
go
we go
ra-/ go
nj aya
-+-
b uy a t h e y go
I have no regular phono l o gi c a l explanat ion for t h i s change , and s o mus t regard t he - y pre fixes a s root -spe c i fi c al lomorphs . 2.2.2.2.
I n d i ca t i ve T ra n s i t i ve
Tran s i t i ve verb s t ake a s ub j e c t pronominal pre fix in p o s i t ion 5 and an obj e c t pronominal pre fix in p o s i t ion 4 .
For s ome o f the r e s ult ing
obj e c t -pre fix-sub j e c t pre fix s equenc e s , it is not obvious where to make t he ' c ut ' be tween the two e l ement s .
Since my s e gment a t i on is not the
only conceivab le one , I shall pre s ent an unana l y s e d s e t of obj e c t e l ement + subj e c t e l ement p a i r s first , when introduc ing b o t h t h e indi c at i ve and the i rre a l i s prefixe s . The s e t o f indicative pairs i s given in Tab le 2 3 . t he s e compound
Almo s t a l l o f
pre fixes are c le arly s e gmentab l e into s e quen c e s o f
d i s crete obj e c t + s ubj ect e lement s .
( The only one s for wh i c h t h i s may
b e doub t e d are t he 1 s g . obj . - 2 s g . sub . compound d j a n - , and the 3 p l . obj . - 3 s g . sub . c ompound a n d a 2 - ' but c ompari s on with e l ement s e l s ewhere in t he morpho l o gy l sugge s t s that t he s e c ompounds have zero - form o b j e c t and s ub j e c t markers re s pe c t i ve l y . )
But s uch a s e gment at ion requir e s
o n e t o s e t up , for c e rtain pers on/numb er c at e go ri e s , a l lomorphs , t he c ho i c e among whi c h depends on what other e l ement s they are paired with . In other words t he s ys t em is a part ly ' global ' one , o f the k ind d i s c u s s e d in S i lver s t e i n 1 9 7 6 : l 3 4 f f . ) . l For dj an- , cf. the 2 sg. sub . allomorph dJ a Z given in Table 2 4 . the plural imperative obj ect marker -anda2- ( section 2 . 2 . 6 . 1 ) .
For anda2- , c f .
Tab le 2 3 Tran s i t i ve Indicative Verb Pre fixes
Obj ec t Subject
1 sg.
1 sg. 2 sg.
djan-
3 sg.
I)an-
2 sg.
Masc .
Fern.
w-class
m-class
nj un-
al)a 2-
nj ul)a 2-
wUl)a 2-
mUl)a 2-
anj d j a2
nj i n j d j a2 -
w i nj dj a 2-
m i n j d j a2-
a 1
n j a2
a2-
ma2 -
ar-
nj ar-
war-
ma r-
anj i r-
nj anj i r-
wanj i r-
manj i r-
i na 2-
nj una 2 -
wuna 2-
muna 2 -
i r-
nj i r-
wur-
mur-
nj un-
1 PI. Inc . l PI.
nj i nda 2-
Ex .
2 Pl o 3 Pl o
l)anda 2l)anda2-
.
nj i nda 2 -
1 PI . Inc .
1 PI . Ex .
2 PI .
3 PI .
gunda 2-
b Ul)a 2b i nj dj a 2-
njada 2l)ada2 -
nj ada 2-
gunda 2 -
anda 2 bar-
gunda 2-
buna2 -
nj ada 2 l)ada 2 -
njada 2 -
b anj i r-
gunda 2-
bunda 2 -
0:> V1
86
The s e subj e c t and obj e c t e lement s are given i n Tab l e 2 4 .
The r o f
p lural s ub j e c t all omorph I r a 2 1 always emerges phone t i c a l l y a s d , and so could be wri t t e n as unde rlying I d / , b ut I pre fer to write it a s
Irl (+ d I n
__
) s o that it may b e ident i fied w i t h the non-s ingular
marker r whi ch o c curs e l s ewhere in the morpho l o gy ( c f . s e c t ion 2.1 .5.2.2) .
Tab le 2 4 Tran s i t i ve Indi c at ive Sub j e c t and Obj e c t Pronominal Pre fixes
Obj e c t
Sub j e c t
1 sg.
I) a n '" 0
l) a 2 '" (II
2 sg.
n j i n '" n j u n
d j a n '" d j a 2 '" 0
3 s g . mas c .
a 1 '"
3 s g . fern .
n j a 2 '" n j u '" n j i '" n j i n
3 w-class
w a 2 '" w u '" w i '" w i n
3 m-class
m a 2 '" w u '" w i '" m i n
1 p l . inc .
l) a d a 2
ar
1 pl . ex.
nj a d a2
0 '" a n j I r '" r a 2
2 pl .
gunda2
0 '" l) a 2 '" r a 2
3 pl .
b u '" b i '" b i n '" a n d a
0 '"
'" a n
r
'" r a 2
The n o f t he t hird person obj e c t a llomorphs a n , n j l n , w i n , m i n and
b i n , whi c h is always fo l lowed by the - d j of 2 s g . s ubj e c t mark e r - d j a 2 , as s imi l at e s t o n j , as per s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 3 . 2 .
Contra H e a t h 1 9 7 6 :
1 8 2 , it i s i dent i fiable as underlying I n l b y the qua l i t y o f the preceding I I I in the 3 s g . o b j e c t e lement s , whi ch is pronounc ed [ I ] ( as per s e c t i on 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 1 . 2 ab o ve ) .
a 2 ( b ut not a l ) regular l y as s imi lat e s in gravity t o the first consonant o f a fo l lowing root , as e xemp l i fied in s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 4 . 1 . Both a 1 and a 2 c o a l e s c e with fo l l owing - y 1 1 or - w l u t o y i e l d mid vowe l s , a s e xemp l i fied i n s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 4 . 2 . Pre fix - fi nal vowe l s are dropped whe n a fo l lowing root b e ings in a vowe l , a s seen in s e c t ion 1 .2.4.3.
87
2.2.3.
O r d e r C l a s s e s 6 and 1 1 :
Future Tense
U o a�inj in has a gramma t i c a l category whi c h has been referred t o in the l i t e rature ( Coate and Oate s 1 9 7 0 : 4 7 ) a s the ' fut ure t e n s e ' .
As
in many l anguage s , this ' future ' is not a tense category pure and s impl e .
Rat he r , a s we sha l l see b e l ow ( se c t ion 3 . 3 . 1 . 3 ) , it c omb ine s
' t ense ' , t o a c e rtain e xt ent , with int ent ional modali t y , the s i gnal ling of which may even be its primary func t ion . This ' fut ure ' c at e gory i s marked , for root s o f a l l c onj ugat ion c la s s e s , b y a zero e l ement in p o s i t ion 1 1 , c omb i ne d with the presence of a ' future ' morpheme in p o s i t i on 6 . The future morpheme has t hree al l omorphs : � , l y a2 ' and � . The li a l l omorph o c c ur s b e fore t he root fa , and b e fore a l l other intrans i t ive roo t s j us t in case their pronominal prefix ends in a vowe l .
Jus t as prefix-final vowe l s are dropped when the fo l lowing
root begins a vowe l , so they are dropped when - i y intervenes b e tween Examp l e s of future verb forms with the - i y
prefix and root . a l lomorph are :
l oa l
iy
fa I
1 sg.
fut .
go
I wi t t go or I want to go
ada
Inj a2
iy
rma I
sit
fern .
fut .
do
l o a rw a fa n
o i ya
..
she win s i t
ma2
iy
/Wi I
m-class
fut .
go
l oa r 1 p l . inc .
iy
fal
fut .
go
a d a n J i yma
..
..
o a rwa
m i ywa
it w i n fa n
..
oa r i ya Let ' s go !
Be fore a t rans i t i ve root b e ginning with glide + homorganic vowe l , ( i . e . Iw l u
�,
et c . ) pai red with any vowe l - final prefix
c omb inat ion e x c e p t one ending in the 1 s t s g . o r 2nd s g . s ub j e c t al lomorph - o a 2 - , d j a 2 - r e s pe c t i ve ly , the future a l l omorph i s - i y a 2 - · The As b e fore - i y - , prefix final vowe l s are droppe d b e fore - i y a 2 - .
a 2 of - i y a 2 - c o a l e s c e s with fo l lowing - y l i - or w l u - as per s e c t ion 1 .2.4.3.
Examp l e s o f future verb forms with the - l y a 2 - al l omorph are :
Ima r a g u n d a see
p l . ob .
i Va fut .
IW l u I act on
..
ma r a
g u n d i yo
They
wi t t s e e y o u
88
Iw u J a
t a l .k mas c .
Il i
watoh 1 s g . ob . p l . s ub .
fut .
2 p l . s ub . fut .
b un i ye l a
+
Y o u ( p l . ) wi l l h o l d t h e m
IY l i b u I
3 s g . sub . fut .
3 p l . ob .
I) a n d i y e l a
Th e y wi n watoh me
ho l d
i ya 2
landa2
1i
ho ld
�I
i ya2 -
I b u n a2
He w i n speak to him
�/+
i ya2 -
i yo
wu J a
ob . 3 s g . sub . fut . a o t o n
l) a n d a 2
3 p l . ob .
+
IW l u I
i ya 2
a1
and i yebu
+
He wi n throw them
throw
The ' e l sewhere ' a l l omorph o f t he future morpheme , the one found in As expect e d , any pre fix a l l environment s not included above , i s - a 2 - . final vowe l i s dropped b e fore t hi s a 2 ( wh i c h almo s t never has any phone t i c conse quenc e s , s ince the pre fix-final vowe l for every pre fix comb i nat ion except mas c . - 3 s g . is a 2 , whi c h mere l y get s replaced b y Th is a 2 i s dropped b e fore root-initial vowe l s , and t h i s other a 2 ) .
undergo e s ' a 2 as s imi lat i on ' ( s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 4 . 1 ) b e fore root -initial consonant s . Examp l e s of future verb forms showing the - a 2 - a l l omorph are :
a2
;rna I
fut .
do
I l) a r 1 p l . inc .
Inj i n
a2
IW l a I
2 sg.
fut .
fa n
I) a r u m a We w i n d o o r L e t ' s do
n j i n uw a
+
· Yo u w i n fa n
a2 see
+
+
IW l u I
mara
mas c . ob . 1 sg. sub . flit . a o t on
I
Il) u ! u I
Idj a n
watoh
1 s g . ob .
a2 3 o r 1 s g . s ub .
+
-
fut .
3 s g . s ub .
Inj un 2 s g . ob .
You w i l l g i v e t o m e
a2
I) a n
w i n see him
d j a n u l) u ! u
+
1 s g . ob . 2 s g . sub . flit . g i v e t o
Il i
a l) O
-
fut .
�I
+
take
i I) a n e l a
He w i n watoh me
ho l d
Im a ( r a);
1
+
n j u n uma He
(or I) w i n take you
89
/ g u t;l i n
b i nj d j a
c o v e r 3 pl . ob . 2 s g .
a2 sub . fut .
Ifni-;ja / put
+
g u r:li n b i n j d j i n i l) a Y o u wi t t c o v e r i t
Note that , for t rans it ive verb r o o t s b e ginning i n consonant s ( e xcept w l u - and y 1 i - root s ) , such as Il) u ! u and Im a { r a) above , pre fi x e s + future a l l omorph + root i s forma l l y ind i s t inguishab l e from pre fi xe s + root when the pre fix c omb ination ends in a 2 , s in c e
When the p r e f i x t h i s a 2 i s j us t ' replaced ' b y t he future a l l omorph . comb i nat i on e n d s in a consonant , ' future ' forms a r e d i s t ingui s he d b y t h e pre sence o f a fo l lowing a s s imi lat ing vowe l , as in t h e e x amp l e s above . �
When t he r o o t b e gins in a vowe l , however , pre fixes + future
+ root is never forma l l y d i s t inguishab le from pre fixes + root ,
b e cause the future - a 2 - al lomorph i s a lway s re placed b y the root i n i t i a l vowe l .
None t he l e s s , for a l l t he s e kinds o f t rans i t i ve root s ,
when one cons iders the c onj ugat e d verb form a s a whol e ,
' future ' i s
always forma l l y d i s t i nc t , whether o r not it i s unamb i guously marked in p o s i t ion 6 .
Thi s is t rue b e cause for a l l tran s i t i ve verb s ( and
tran s i t i ve forms are the only ones on wh ich the future al l omorph i s s omet ime s phonet i c a l l y unreali s ed ) ,
' pres ent ind i c at i ve ' i s always
marked b y a non-zero post -root e l ement n � t;I .
' Future ' , the n , i s
a lways i de nt i fi ab l e b y the ab sence o f any p o s i t i ve marking in p o s i t ion 1 1 , c omb ined with the ab sence o f irre a l i s marking in pos i t ion 7 . 2 . 2 . 4 . Order C l asses 5 and 7 :
I rr ea l i s Mode
One o f t h e non-ind i c at i ve verb mod e s in U l) a:r;-inj in i s one which , in the l i t erat ure on the Kimb e r l e y language s , has b e e n c a l le d ' irre a li s ' , a name w h i c h I shall r e t a i n here , l e s s f o r i t s ac curacy than in t he int er e s t of termino logical s t andardi s a t i on . The b a s i c meaning o f t hi s mode , whi ch is s ub j e c t t o further s p e c i fi ca t i on b y t he various mode part i c l e s ( s e c t ion 3 . 3 . 1 . 4 ) i s that the prop o s i t ion of which the irre a l i s verb e xpre s s e s the predicate i s one whi c h , in t he s p e aker ' s e st imat ion , may not b e t rue . As we s h a l l s e e b e low ( s e c t i on 3 . 3 . 1 . 4 ) each ' mo de part i c le ' o c curs only with verb s of s ome spec i fied mode ( s ) .
One such mode part i c l e i s
w a , n o t , whi c h , a s o n e should e xp e c t from t he previous paragraph , o c c ur s only with verb s in the i rrea l i s mode .
I ment ion it here both
b e c ause it w i l l b e re l e vant in the ana l y s i s o f t he irre a l i s morphology be low , and be cause I s h a l l use it in all the fo l lowing e xamp l e s o f i rreal i s verb forms ( it be ing very di fficult t o g l o s s any
90
non-cont e xtual i s e d ' irreali s ' verb form n o t a c c ompanied b y s ome mode part i c le ) . 2.2.4.1 .
I rreal i s I n tra n s i t i ve
The prefixal e lement s for intran s i t i ve i rre a l i s verb s are l i s t e d i n Tab l e 2 5 . Tab le 2 5 Intransit ive Irre a l i s Verb Pre fixes
I sg.
l) a n g a 2 -
I p I . inc .
l) a r g a 2 -
2 sg.
nj i nga2-
I pI . ex .
n j a rga 2-
3 s g . mas c .
a l) g a 2 -
2 pI .
g u rg a2-
3 s g . fern .
n j a l) g a 2 -
3 pI .
b u rga2-
3
w -c l a s s
w a l) g a 2 -
3
m-class
m a l) g a 2 -
As usual , the a 2 whi c h o c c urs on a l l t h e s e prefixes as s imi l at e s t o fo l l owing cons onant s , coale s c e s with fo l lowing glide vowe l , and is l o s t b e fore a fo l l owing vowe l .
+
homorganic
The s e pro c e s s e s ne e d
n o t b e e xemp l i fied again here . There are no s e p arat e ' future ' forms which t ake the s e irre a l i s p r e fixe s .
The future forms wh i c h o c c ur with otherw i s e ' indi c at i ve '
prefixes are , it might b e argued , s emant i c a l l y c lo se r t o t h i s irre a l i s mode than t o t h e indicat ive mode , s ince t he ' future ' i s , i p s o fa c t o , unreali s e d .
There i s , on the other hand , a s eparate past t ense in the i rre a l i s mode , whi ch i s marked b y y 1 i or I) i depending on c onj ugat ion c l a s s a s When the - y 1 i al lomorph fo l lows a root ending in a , the s equence y i e l d s e as usua l , e . g . indi c at e d in Tab le 2 1 ( p . 8 1 ) .
wa
wu ] a
/ l) a n g a 2
not taLk 1 s g . i rr . I don ' t ta L k .
wa
I) a r w a
/ a l) g a 2
n o t fa n mas c . irr . He doe 8 n ' t fa L L
.riii""a
y1 i /
I) a n g u m e
...
irr . past
do
IW l a fa n
y1 i / irr . past
...
a l) g uwe
91
Thus far I have b e e n treating t h e s e i rre a l i s verb pre fixe s a s i f they were unit ary ' portmant e au morpheme s ' , each s i gn a l l ing the gramma t i c a l c a t e gory ' irreal i s ' plus p e r s on and numb er in formation in a s ingle , unana l y s ab l e bund l e .
E s p e c i a l l y for the intran s i t i ve s e r i e s
introduced above , it i s q u i t e evident t hat t h i s i s not t he c as e .
All
o f them e n d in - g a 2 - , and for a l l e x c e p t 3 s g . , the phono logical
s ub s t ance that pre c e d e s t h i s - g a 2 i s ident i c a l to the corresponding indicative intran s i t ive verb prefix ( s ee s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 2 . 1 ) .
This
e lement - g a 2 - , then , could b e i s o l at e d a s the i rre a l i s marke r .
Then
one need not p o s i t any d i s t inct irre a l i s i ntran s i t ive pronominal pre fixes e xc e pt for 3 s g . , whi c h c ou l d e i t h e r b e a � - , n j a � - , w a � - , and m a � - ; or alt ernat ive ly a I - ( s ame as indicat ive ) , n j a l - , w a l - , m a l - , with s p e c i a l 3 s g . irreal i s al l omorph ( or 2nd degree s t rengthened form ) - � g a 2 . But note t hat the form o f the i rrea l i s marker could J us t a s w e l l b e s i nc e , among intrans it ive verb s , it always fo llows a nasal o r whi ch p o s i t ions w 2 i s s trengthened t o 9 ( s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 ) . That - w 2 a 2 - , not - g a 2 , i s the correct underlying form o f the The b e st irre a l i s marker i s , inde e d , t h e p o s i t ion I w i l l adopt here . evidence for doing s o c omes from the form o f the tran s i t i ve irre a l i s prefixe s , and s o mu st w a i t unt i l t he y are int roduc e d b e low , but t here i s another argument whi ch c an b e given here . The - w 2 a 2 - morpheme is b y origin , I submi t , ident i c a l t o t he ne gat ive mode part i c le w a , and date s from a t ime when the pronominal e l ement s pre c eding the verb root were l e s s c lo s e ly bound to it than t he y are now .
Just as mode part i c le s in pre s e n t -day U � a�inJ in c ome
j ust b e fore the infle c t e d verb , or non-fini t e verbal part i c l e ( i f there i s one ) , they could earlier have c ome j us t b e fore a verb form whi c h wa s i n f l e c t e d only for t e n s e , a s yet s howing no person/numb e r agreement b y fu s e d pronominal e l ement s .
The part i c le w a , then as now ,
meant no t , so that the pre s e nt irre a l i s verb developed from an origina l l y nega t i ve verb phras e .
Even now , irr e a l i s forms without any
a c c ompanyi ng mode p art i c le are o c c as i ona l l y used with a pure ly negat i ve meaning , b ut usually t h i s sense requires a ' re inforcing ' free - form ne gat i ve part i c le w a . If - w 2 a 2 - c omes from # wa # , then the w - o f t he lat t e r mu st b e w 2 ' not WI ( i . e . mus t alt e rnat e with g , not b ) . That t h i s i s indeed the c a s e i s s ugge s t e d b y two kinds o f independent e videnc e .
92
First , there i s anothe r , negat i ve/int e rrogative e l ement - g a , ( t reated b e l o w , s e c t ion 2 . 6 . 4 . 3 ) whi c h , one strongly suspect s , i s nothing b ut a p o s t po s i t i onal variant o f # w a # . S e c ond , t here i s evidence t hat t he w o f # w a # i s actually the w o f w - c l a s s pronominal prefix W U - , which a l t e rnat e s with 9 rather than
b ( c f . for examp l e , the w -c las s demonstrat i ve g a n d a , e t c . of s e c t i o n 2 . 1 . 2 . 2) .
T h i s i dent i fi c at i on i s sugge s t e d b y the f a c t t hat , for
many speaker s , the ne gat i ve mode p art i c l e ( or at l e ast an alt e rnat e , fun c t i onally i dent i c a l form o f i t ) i s not w a , but w a y , whi ch i s the w -c la s s -pre fixed form of an adj e c t ive root laY, whi c h means no ( ne ) . The w - c l a s s form , the n , means none of t h a t t h i ng of the w - c Z as s . The w - c l a s s ' thing ' i nt ended when way i s used in t h i s way i s , as any U Q arinj in speaker w i l l t e l l you , t ha t w u ! a n , a w - c l a s s word me aning s p e e c h , word, wo rds , o r Zanguage ( s ee s e c t i o n 3 . 3 . 1 . 1 . 1 b e l ow ) .
But t h i s s e c ond p i e c e o f e vidence i s s omewhat equivo c a l .
It may
we l l be t hat the mode p art i c le wa and the prefixed form w a y were originally quite d i s t inct , but t hat their c lo s e s imilarity i n form and meaning has led to t he ir b e ing ident i fi e d in the minds o f U Qarinj in speakers t o the e xt ent t hat t h e latter h a s b e c ome sub st it ut ab l e for the former ( but not v i c e vers a , s i n c e w a y i s s t i l l a p art o f a ' li ve ' paradi gm o f laY forms ) . In support o f my a s s e r t i on t hat - w 2 a 2 - ' not - g a 2 - i s the correct unde r ly ing form o f the i rreal i s marker , I have c laimed t hat t hat marker is by origin i dent i ca l t o the negat ive mode -part i c l e # wa # . In s upport o f that c laim , I pre s e nt e d two argument s t hat the w o f But even i f it were p o s i t ively e s t ab l i shed # w a # i s w 2 ' not W I ' t hat # w a # i s b y o r i g i n ident i c a l t o the i rre a l i s marke r , thi s would not b y i t s e l f prove t hat the unde rlying form o f the lat t e r i n a s ynchronic acc ount must be - w 2 a 2 - rathe r than - g a 2 - : morphophonem i c s doe s not , i n princ i p le , r e c ap i t ulate d iac hrony , even i f i t d o e s usua l l y t urn out t hat way i n pract i c e .
Rathe r , I s e e thi s h i s t or i c a l
argument as providing anc i l l ary support f o r the s ynchronic one pre sented in the next s e c t ion . 2.2.4.2.
I rrea1 i s Trans i t i ve
I need not burden the reader with another ful l chart
of tran s i t ive
verb pre fixes for the i rre a l i s mode , for , with b ut few e x c e p t ions , they may b e derived from the corresponding i nd i c at i ve prefixes ( s ee Tab le 2 3 , p . 8 5 ) b y t he app l i c at ion o f two s imp le morpho logi c a l rule s .
93
First , the e x c ept ions . subj e c t i s 1 s g . , 3 s g .
When t he ob j e c t i s third person and the
( e x c e pt with 3 p l . obj e c t ) , or 2 p l . , the
( unexp e c t e d ) irrea l i s pre fi x c omb inat i ons are as s hown in Tab l e 2 6 . Tab le 2 6 ' Irregular ' Irre a l i s Pre fi x Comb inat ions
Sub j e c t Obj e c t
1 sg.
3 sg.
3 s g . mas c .
anga2-
a rj g a 2 -
i n u rj g a 2 -
3 s g . fern .
n j a n g a 2-
n j a rj g a 2 -
n j u n u rj g a 2 -
2 pI .
3
w-class
wanga2-
w a rj g a 2 -
w u n u rj g a 2 -
3
m - c l as s
manga2-
m a rj g a 2 -
m u m u rj g a 2 -
3 pI.
( b - c la s s )
banga2-
( r egular ,
a n d a2- )
1.e.
b u n u rj g a 2 -
Ob viously t he s e pre fix c ombinat ions b y them s e l v e s fit into a perfe c t ly regular agglut inat i ve paradi gm .
But s ome o f i t s feature s ,
though regular , di ffer from t h o s e o f the c o rre s ponding ind i c at ive forms .
In part i cular , the 1 s g . indi c at i ve sub j e c t a l l omorph - rj a 2
i s replaced here b y - a rj - , and t he 3 s g . s ub j e c t a l lomorph 0 i s
replaced b y - a n - ( o r , i f one prefers , - a - with 2nd degree s t rengthened irre a l i s a l lomorph - rj g a 2 - ) .
The 2 p l . s ub j e c t a l l omorph - n a 2 - is
e ither replaced b y - n U rj - ( or - n a 2 rj - ) o r remains - n a 2 - , with the irre a l i s a l l omorph s t rengthened t o - rj g a 2 - . Now the rule s .
For al l the pers on-numb er c omb inat ions not inc luded in the c hart o f e xc e p t i on s above , t he i rre a l i s prefix c omb inat ion may be derived from the c orre sponding indi cative one ( fo r whi c h , see s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 2 . 2 ) a s fo l lows : 1)
I f the ind i c at ive p re fix c omb inat ion e nds in a c o n s onant ( the o c c urring one s b e ing n and r ) , add - g a 2 -
2)
I f the ind i c at ive pre fix c omb inat ion ends in a 2 , replace t he a 2 b y a non-as s imi lating [ a · ] .
Some e xamp l e s o f result ing irre a l i s forms with various roots ( s e e p.
8 3 ) are :
94
Inj un 2 sg. ob .
-g } Sg · sg.
Il) u ! u I
ga2 SUb .
ga2 -
Idj an 1 s g . ob . -
n j u n g u l) u ] u
-+-
Ifi1Ti)a I
-+-
d j a n g i n i l) a
2 s g . s ub .
�I
a'
I I) a d a 2
I) a d e l a n
-+-
1 p l . inc . ob .
a'
landa2
Im a ( r a) I
-+-
a n d a ' ma ra
3 p l . ob . - 3 s g . sub .
Igunda2
a'
rrrra I
gun da ' ra
2 p l . ob .
Ima r
ma r g um i n d a
m - c l a s s ob . - 1 p l . inc . s ub . In my formulat i on o f the s e c ond morpho logical rule above , and in the above e xamp l e s , I have ' mi xe d ' des criptive leve l s : a 2 is a s t r i c t l y morphophonemi c unit , [ a ' ] a more or l e s s phone t i c one , and the rest of the orthography in t he example s is phonemi c .
What one
needs in order to straighten out this c onfusion i s the phono logi c a l apparatus developed in s e c t ion 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 .
Re c a l l that the conc lusion
reached t here was t hat there were no i n s t anc e s of unde rlying long
i o r u ( nor
e
nor
0
for that mat t e r ) , but t hat all i n s t anc e s o f
phonet i c [ i ' ] and [ u · ] ari s e from underlying i y i and u w u r e s p e c t i ve ly . Mo s t ly on grounds o f pat t e rn c ongrui t y , it was then argued that a l l i n s t anc e s o f phone t i c [ a ' ] might b e derived from unde rl ying l a w 2 a / . To t hat argument from pat tern c ongru i t y we may now add one b a s e d on morphological s impl i c it y .
That i s , deriving [ a ' ] nrom l a w 2 a l would
a l low us t o replace the two morpho logical ru l e s for irrea l i s marking given above with a s ingle rule .
Moreover , that one morphological
rule i s s imp ler t han either o f the t wo i t rep l a c e s b e cause it need not s pe c i fy any environment s c ondit ioning the alt e rnat ion of a l lomorphs .
That is t aken c are o f by the morphophonemi c rules o f
c o n sonant s trengthening ( s e c t i on 1 . 2 . 2 ) whi c h are needed e l s ewhere in the morphology anyway .
The rule i s :
To t he indicat ive prefix c omb inat ion , add Iw 2 a 2 / .
95
A s with a l l t he i ntran s i t i ve irreal i s prefixe s , the w 2 o f - w 2 a 2 -
strengthens t o 9 when fol lowing a c on s onant ( se e the firs t , s e c ond , and s i xth examp le ab ove ) .
Whe n - w 2 a 2 - fol lows a 2 , whi c h i s the only
vowe l it e ver fo l l ows , this a 2 w 2 a 2 s e quence res ult s in phonet i c [ a · ] ( fo r whi c h , s e e t he remaining e xamp l e s ab ove ) .
Often in non-c are ful
speech t h i s [ a · ] i s shortened t o the l ength of a normal , s t re s s ed / a / . A l l t r an s i t i ve root s , e xcept when reflexivi s e d , mark irre a l i s p a s t t e n s e with - y i , whi c h a l s o o c c ur s with s ome intran s i t i ve r o o t s ( s e e The phone t i c mani festation o f this - v i a ft e r root
s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 4 . 1 ) .
final - a has a lready been d i s c u s s e d ( p . 9 0 ) .
When t h i s - v i fo l lows a
root ending in - u , t he / u y i / s e quence emerge s as i , e . g .
wa
ma r a
/ r) a n
w2a 2-
-
I s g . 3 s g . -irr .
no t s e e
IW I u
yi/
-+-
r) a n g uw i
irr . past
act on
He di dn ' t s e e m e
wa
waydj
not
s en d
/b i nj d j a2 3 pI .
2 sg.
- irr .
irr . past
throw
You didn ' t s e nd them 2 . 2 . 5 . Order Cl a s s e s 7 and 1 1 : Opta t i ve Mode
There i s a d i s t in c t ' optat ive ' form o f the verb among b oth tran s i t i ve s and intran s it ive s in a l l persons and numb ers ( and tran s i t i ve pairs of t hem ) .
I t s morpho logy is very e a s y to d e s c rib e ,
for it i s nothing but a r e c ombi nat ion o f format ives u s e d e l s ewhere . Optat ive forms t ake ' indi c at ive ' pronominal prefi xes ( se e s e c t io n 2 . 2 . 2 ) , and t he s ame suffix u s e d t o mark p a s t t en s e on i rre a l i s verb s
( L e . y i or r) i depending on the c o nj ugat ion c la s s ) .
The morpho
phonemi c s of root + Yl are , of c o ur s e , the s ame as I have d e s c r i b e d for - V i when u s e d a s a n irre a l i s past t en s e marker ( pp . 9 0 , 9 5 above ) . Examp l e s o f optat ive verb s are : 1
i nj
/ba r -
watch
I p l . inc . 3 pl . Le t ' s watch t h e m
ba l j a
/i r
go t o
mas c . 3 p l . - go g o L e t t h e m go t o h i m
-
� 1 -
yi/
a c t on
irr . past
yil - opt . /irr . past
b a rw i
-+-
-+-
i de
96
b i l l y c a n /w u
fa ( intr . )
w - c las s
lu /
+ w a l) i l u
opt . /irr . past - prox .
come
L e t the b i Z Zy c an come h e re ( a p o l i t e way o f s ay ing , Pas s me t h e b i Z Zy can )
m i nj dj a l eat
/ a1
IY;i
mas c .
+
1) i 1 opt . /irr . past
be
Le t h i m e a t
I n their treatment o f U l)arinj in morpho l o gy , Coate and Oat e s have conflated t he paradigm of this optat ive mode with that of the imp erat ive mode ( t reat ed b e low , s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 6 ) , l i s t ing imperative forms j us t where the subj e c t is 2 s g . and optative forms for a l l other persons and numbers .
Thi s was an e a s y mi s t ake t o make , b e c au s e
t h e meanings o f t he two mode s a r e quite s imilar ( t hough their formal rea l i s at ion is not ) .
Furthermore , t he re are no imperat ive forms with
anything b ut ( imp l i c i t ) s e c ond person s ub j e c t s ( and , among tran s i t i ve s , t hird-person obj e c t s ) , so it i s t empt ing to wit h optatives for non-2 s g . sub j ec t s .
' fi l l out ' their paradi gm
What prevent s us from doing
s o is the fac t t hat optat ive s t oo o c c ur with 2 s g . s ub j e c t s , e . g .
a � a l) a r i y a l i
b a d a / a n j d j a 2-
many
k i Z Z mas c . 2 s g .
kangaroo
,;;:-u 1 -
yi/
+
a n j d j uw i
a c t o n opt . /irr . past
May y o u k i Z Z many kangaroo
I) a r w a
/nj i n 2 sg. -
IW I a fa Z Z
yi/
+
nj i nb i
opt . /irr . past
May y o u fa Z Z
2.2.6.
Order C l as s 3 :
I mperat i v e Mode
Intran s i t ive imp e rative verb s for which t h e imp l i c it s ub j e c t ( i . e . t he addre s se e who i s b e ing ' ordered ' ) i s s i ngular t ake an imperat ive marker b a 2 - in p o s i t ion 3 . B e c ause o f t he way b a 2 - i s used on t rans i t i ve imperat ives ( se e b e low , s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 6 . 1 ) , it c annot b e regard e d a s a s p e c i a l imp e rat ive form o f the 2 s g . s ub j e c t morpheme , but mus t i n s t e ad be thought o f as one o f t he a l l omorphs o f an imperat i ve mood morpheme , b a 2 � 0 , whi ch i n t h i s c a s e i s fo l l owed b y a zero subj e c t marker f o r 2 s g .
91
Examp l e s o f intran s i t i ve 2 s g . imperat ive s are :
ada sit
+
IW l a I
Iba2 imp .
b uw a
fa l l
s i t down !
awa
Iba
open
imp .
be
� I be
B e open ( 1 . e . o p e n u p a n d t a l k )
wu ! a taZk
Iba2
;rna I
imp .
do
+
b u rna
Spe a k !
Iba2 imp .
ra-
I
go
prox .
+
u I
bal u
Come h e re !
Iy I n d e I
Iba2
yudug
imp .
b o w down
+
bende
fa l l
Bow down !
Intran s i t i ve imperat ive verb s for which the imp l i c i t s emant i c ' subj e c t ' i s p lural a r e ident i c a l t o the corres ponding pre s e nt indi cat i ve forms e xcept that they do not b e ar a t e n s e suffix .
Since
pre sent ind i c at i ve t ak e s a zero s u ffix within c onj ugat ion c l a s s e s 2 , 3 , and 4 , 2 p l . imperat ive s o f t h e s e c la s s e s are not forma l l y d i s t inguished i n a n y w a y from the corresponding ind i c at i ve s . Examp l e s o f 2 p l . imperat ive s are :
Igu r
wedj
2 pI .
Z i e down
+
IW l a I
g u rwa
fa l l
You p e op Z e H e down !
b a ra b a ra
rma
Igu r 2 pI .
s tory
r:' � u I
+
gudmandu
3 p I . dat .
do
You p e op Z e t e l l t he m a s tory !
rn a d u wa l k
Igu r 2 pI.
fa
ri
njal
go
du o
dis .
You two go away !
+
guya r i nj a
( fo r r + y , s e e p . 8 5 )
98
rv;t
/gur
g a lJ b a
2 pl .
s in g
na /
gud i na
....
pauc .
be
You handfu l, of p e op l,e s i n g !
b u n b u l wa
ly 1 i n d e /
/gur 2 pl.
p e rs i s t
gudj i nde
....
fa n
You p e op l, e k e ep i t up ! 2 . 2 . 6 . 1 . Trans i t i ve Verbs
Dist inc t imperat i ve forms o f the tran s i t i ve verb e xi s t only for c omb inat ions of s e c ond person ( s ingular or plural )
' s ubj e c t ' and
t hird person ( s ingular or p lural ) obj e c t . When t he ( s ec ond person ) imperat ive ' subj e c t ' is s ingular , and t he ( t hird person ) obj e c t is mas c u l ine , feminine , or b - c l a s s ( p lural ) , the verb t ake s the s ame init i a l imp erat ive marker b a 2 - whi c h o c c ur s w i t h intran s i t ive 2 s g . imperatives ( s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 6 above ) . Thi s imperat i ve morpheme i s fol lowed b y a n obj e c t marker a s fo l lows : - 11 -
mas c u line : feminine : b -c las s :
Note t hat thi s b -c l a s s o b j e c t marker is ident ical to t he b - c l a s s obj e c t a l l omorph which o c curs in t he indicat ive mode j us t when t he sub j e c t i s 3 s g .
( p . 96 ) .
The feminine obj ect marker i s a l s o
i dent i c a l e xcept for t he init ial a 1 . Examp l e s o f transit i ve imp erat i ve verb forms prefixed with are :
IW l u / spear
make
imp .
....
bo
mas c . ob . a a t on
Ma k e a s p e a r !
1 i watch
/ba2 imp .
a1n j a2 fern . ob .
IYfTi3
/
....
banj e l a
ho l, d
Wa tch h e r !
I) a l a meat
/ba2 imp .
a n .::l a 2 b -c la s s ob .
B r i n g the mea t !
Im a { r a) bring
....
b a n d uma r a
ba2-
99
Where the imp l i c i t ' s ubj e c t ' i s 2 s g . and t h e obj e c t i s w - c l a s s o r m -c las s , t here i s no overt imp erat ive marke r . '
Imperat ive forms
cons i s t of an obj e c t marke r , m a 2 - or w a 2 - ( ident i c a l to the indicat ive one s given in Tab l e 1 8 ) , fo l l owed b y the verb root . For e xamp l e ,
g U l) i n
+
/wa2 w-c las s ob .
cover
w i n i rj a
put
Co v e r i t ( w - c l a s s )
IYfbU
wa ! a y
/ma2
turn
m - c l a s s ob .
/
+
mebu
throw
Turn i t ( m- c l as s )
The s e s ingular ' subj e c t ' imperat ives with w - c l a s s and m - c l a s s obj e c t s , whi c h have t h e s imp l e s t morphology o f any verb forms in t he l anguage , c lo s e ly r e s emb l e pre s ent i nd i c at ive forms with 3 s g . But they are always d i s t ingu i s hab l e from them b y t he fact
subj e c t s .
t hat , like all imperative verb s � they lack a t e n s e marker a ft e r t he root . Plural ' subj e c t ' t r an s i t i ve imperat i ve verb s , like their intrans i t ive c o unt e rpart s ( s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 6 ) lack an overt imperative marke r .
The y
a r e ident i c a l t o t h e corresponding pre sent indicat ive forms minus t h e t e n s e marker a ft er t he root .
That i s , they cons i s t o f a ( t hird pers on )
ob j e c t marker 1 - , n j u - , w u - , m u - , or b u - , fo l l owed b y the 2 p l . sub j e c t marker - n a 2 , fo l l owed b y the root , e . g . 1
IW I u /
/i
i
mas c . ob .
look at
2 p l . s ub .
+
i no
act on
You p e o p l e l o o k a t h i m !
fern . ob .
+
Irj u ! u /
na2
/nj u
2 p l . s ub .
n j u n u rj u ! u
give to
Yo u p e op l e g i v e t o h e r !
n a2
/w u w - c l a s s ob .
+
Im i n d a /
w u n um i n d a
2 p l . s ub . b r i n g
You p e o p l e b r i n g i t ( w- c l as s ) !
/ r i dj pu l l
/mu- na 2 m - c l a s s ob .
+
2 p l . s ub .
take
You p e op l e p u l r it ( m - c l a s s ) !
mun uma ra
100
I\rJa /
/bu 3 p l . ob .
2 p l . s ub .
bunura
go t o
Y o u p e op Z e go to t h e m !
Note that a l l o f t he s e t rans it ive imperat ive forms , whether the imp l i c i t ' s ubj e c t ' b e s ingular or p lural , o c cur with thi rd person obj e c t s only .
When the obj e c t i s s e c ond person , t he imperat ive is
re fle xive ( se c t i on 2 . 2 . 7 ) and t here fore intrans i t i ve .
When t he obj e c t
i s fir s t person , t h e s t ronge s t ava i l ab le ' c ommand ' form o f t he verb i s t he optat ive form d i s c u s s e d above , e . g .
d j a n T) u ! i
/dj an
T) a b u n
1 s g . ob .
2 s g . s ub .
g i v e to
opt . /i rr . past
Give me wate r !
n j a d um i ndj a l e
Im i n d j a l a
/njada2 1 pl . e x .
wai t for
opt . /irr . past
Wa i t for us !
As a look at Tab le 2 3 w i l l reveal , when the first p e r s on ob j ec t i s p l ural , a s in t he l a t t e r e xamp l e above , t he subj e c t i s n o t spec i fied on the verb form at a l l : i t could b e 2 s g . , 2 p l . , 3 s g . , or 3 p l . Such formal amb iguity can always b e reso lved b y the u s e o f a free s t anding pers onal pronoun ( p . 3 1 ) for t he s e c ond p e r s o n sub j e c t , o r a n anaphor , demonstrat i ve , o r l e x i c a l noun-phrase f o r the third p e r s on subj e c t . 2.2.6.2.
N e g a t i ve I mp e ra t i ve
Coat e and Oat e s ( 1 9 7 0 : 5 1 , 5 2 , 9 8 , 9 9 ) notwi t h s t anding , there e x i s t s no s eparate ' imperat ive irreal i s ' form o f the U T)a�inj in verb . and ' irre a l i s ' are d i s t inct , mut ua l l y e x c lusive mode s .
' Impe rat ive '
Re c a l l , howeve r ,
that one o f the u s e s o f the latter ( us ua l l y with a s p e c i a l i s e d mode part i c le ) is ne gat ion : it is impos s ib l e to negate an U T)a�inj in verb wit hout put t ing it into the i re a l i s mode .
How , then , does one order
s omeone not t o do s omet hing in this l anguage ?
I n s t e ad of us ing an
imperat i ve form t o do s o , one uses a non-past 1rre a l i s form ( 2 . 2 . 4 ) with a s e c ond person subj e c t .
Interest ingly , when i rre a l i s forms are
used in this way ( t o i s sue negative c ommands ) , they are not a c c ompanied b y a ne gat ive ( or any othe r ) mode part i c le .
I have tried to check t h i s
point w i t h U T)a�inj 1n speakers b y making up negat ive commands ( us ing irrealis forms ) whi c h inc luded a negative mode part i c l e ( w a , w a y , or
b u r a y ) , s omet ime s asking them whe the r I was t alking good U T)a�inj in in
101
doing s o , but I have s o far b e e n unab l e t o get people t o correct m e or t o t e l l me that I p o s i t ively c ould n o t say it t hat way ( as they h a ve done on many other po int s o f grammar and pronunc iat ion ) .
On the other
hand , I have never heard a nat ive spe aker i s suing a negat ive c ommand using a mode p art i c l e , nor do my t e x t s inc lude any i n s t anc e s of such a c o n s t ruc t ion . The area o f ' negative imperat i ve s '
is one in which t here i s a
curious interact ion b e t ween mode , t e n s e and aspect : e ve n i f the s t a t e o r a c t i on b e ing enj o ined against w i t h the irre a l i s verb i s o n e which is not yet und e r way at the t ime of utt eranc e , the verb is regularly
marked for c ontinuat ive aspect l ( se e s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 0 ) .
Coat e and Oat e s
( 1 9 7 0 : 5 1 ) glo s s t h i s a s don ' t c o n t inue t o , whi c h s e ems inadequate
Perhaps i n such c as e s
i n s o far as the a c t i o n may not have even s t art e d .
the s e n s e i s rather c o n t inue n o t t o , with a ' lowering ' o f cont inuative a s p e c t marking ( and perhaps imperat ive marking ) ont o the verb from an imp l i c i t higher ne gat ive mode p re d i c at e ( c f . s e c t ion 3 . 3 . 1 . 4 ) . Examp l e s o f s e c ond person i rre a l i s forms used as ne gat i ve c ommands are :
b a cj a
w2a 2
lanj d j a2 mas c .
kH Z
2 s g . i rr .
IW I u
yI ri I
a c t on
c ont .
anj dj a ·w i r i
...
Don ' t y o u ( s g . ) kH Z h i m !
Inj una2 fern .
yi ri I 2 p l . i rr .
n j u n U l) g u l) u ! e r i
...
c ont .
g i v e to
Don ' t y o u (p Z . ) g i v e to h e r !
dj i yan s hame
Iw i n j d j a 2
yi ri I
w -c la s s 2 s g . irr .
I) a r w a
Inj i n 2 sg.
w2a2 irr .
IW I a
w i nj dj am a re r i
c ont .
take
Don ' t y o u ( s g . ) t a k e s hame
...
( b e as hamed) !
I
...
n j i n g uwa
fa Z Z
Don ' t y o u ( s g . ) fa Z Z !
I
InterestinglY , this pattern seems to influence some varieties of pidgin English spoken in the area. Continuative aspect is realised by -ing forms of the verb , with zero copula , e . g . dube l a ambag i ng dje l b, two peopZe are humbugging (i . e . taunting, making fun of. joking, deceiving. 'putting on ' ) each other. Negative imperatives are marked with don , which is Standard English ' don ' t ' . A commonly heard form of negative imperative in the pidgin , just as in Ul)arinj in is the cont inuative form : don ambag i n , don ' t keep humbugging!
102
wu ! a
I
2 pI .
ta L k
g u r g ume r i
yiri I
gur do
c ont .
Don ' t y o u (p L . ) ta L k ! 2 . 2 . 7 . Order C l as s 1 0 :
Refl e x i v e - Re c i p r o c a l
Voice
Within the U Qa�inj in verbal s y s t em , there i s a re flexive-rec ipro c a l c at e gory whi c h i s o p p o s e d t o the norma l , a c t i ve vo i c e o f the verb e xemp l i fied in al l the d i s c u s s ion ab ove . The re flexive-reciprocal ( or , more s impl y ,
' re fl e xive ' ) form o f
the verb s igna l s that the act ion d e s c r i b e d b y that verb ( whether it b e transit ive or intran s i t ive whe n not reflexivi se d ) i s one which invo lves a s emant i c ' patient ' and that pat i e nt , who may or may not a l s o b e an ' agent ' , i s the same a s the re ferent o f t he sub j e c t NP . Whe re the subj e c t is grammat i c a l l y plural , the r e f l e xi ve form a s s e r t s o n l y that a l l agents and patients a r e re ferred t o b y the s ame nominal form , witho ut any c l aim b e ing made about the dist inc t agent vs . pat ient s t atus o f any o f t hem .
From a formal po int o f view , this i s
t o s a y t h at U Qa�inj in , i n common with many language s , knows no grammat i c al d i s t i n c t i on b e tween reflexive and rec ipro c a l . l Compare , for ins t anc e , the two p o s s i b l e t rans lat ions for each o f the p lural e xamp l e s b e l ow . The re flexive marker for verb s of a l l c l a s s e s i s I y l i / , wh ich o c curs in order class 1 0 .
I t s morphophonemi c s need not b e d i s c u s s e d
here , for t h e y are ent irely regu lar , and , furthermore , ident i c a l t o what I have already d e s c ribed f o r t he homophonous irre a l i s past/ optative a l l omorph y l i
( se c t i on 2 . 2 . 4 ) .
l
The non-distinctness of reciprocal and reflexive is another feature of UQa�inj in grammar (and that of other Aboriginal languages spoken in the area) whi ch has its analogue in the local pidgin English . The reflexive-reciprocal pronoun , whi ch does not vary for person , number , or gender , is dj e l b « English ' self ' ) . Where the sub j e ct /obj ect is non-singular , dj e l b can be reciprocal or reflexive in meaning , e . g .
B i g mob
o l g uman
plural
women
ben past
waydj am wash
dje l b ref.
The women washed each other or The women washed themse Lves There is a redupli cated form of thi s pronoun , dj e l b-dje l b , whi ch seems to be exclusively reciprocal in meaning . But its use ( in place of the reduplicated form) is not obligatory when the sense is reciprocal . Dje l b thus realises a relat ively unmarked reflexive-reciprocal category , to whi ch the exclusively reciprocal d j e l b-dj e l b category stands in a relation of privative opposition .
103
When a root i s ' re fl e xivi s e d ' b y the addi t ion o f - y 1 i - , i t b e c ome s morphologically ( as w e l l as s y nt a c t i c o - s emant i c al l y ) int ran s i t ive , t ak ing the appropriate intran s i t ive pronominal pre fix ( Tab l e s 22 and 2 5 ) for the grammat i c a l c l a s s of i t s s ub j e c t /obj e c t .
Regardle s s o f
what c onj ugat ion c l a s s t he act i ve root b e longs t o , when r e f lexivi s ed it goe s into ( i . e . as sume s the t e n s e infle c t ion o f ) c la s s 7 .
A
refle xive verb c an b e o f any mode , i . e . ind i c at i ve , i rreal i s , o p t at i ve or imperat ive . Examp l e s o f re flexive-re c iprocal forms are :
n /
mara /bu r 3 pl.
see
b u rw i n
pre s .
a c t on
They s e e e a c h o t h e r or They s e e thems e Z v e s
dj i l i bu r
/a
c Z o s e up
3
I) g a /
Im a ( r a) take s
sg.
(as i n a mirror o r a poo Z J -+-
past
He c Z o s e d h i ms e Z f u p
IY;T
ma2
/
baydj
m-c las s
ra i s e
ref.
be
men
n /
y1 i
pre s .
It rai s e s i ts e Zf
dambun coun try
m i nd i
wa
dj unbaydj /
those
not
j o i n up
ma2
m - class
w* 2a 2 irr .
IW l a fa Z Z -+-
Th o s e c Zan coun t r i e s d o n o t adj o i n e a c h o th e r
me
/bur
foo d
3 pl .
Il) u ! u
-
y1 i re f .
give to
I) i /
-+-
t urn
i /
m U l) g uwe
b u r l) u ! i l) i
or
L e t t h em b e
beb i
/ba2 imp .
Yl
ref.
opt . /irr . past
Le t t h e m g i v e foo d t o e a c h o t h e r/thems e Z v e s g i v e n fo o d
wa 1 adj
-
throw
Turn y o urs e Zf around !
There are a few ver b s whi ch b e have s omewhat idios yncrat i c a l l y with re gard t o refle xivi sation , c al ling for s ome c omment . The root /rna when s erving as an aux i l iary for verb s o f saying , or as a framing verb for report e d speech ( s e e s e c t ion 3 . 3 . 1 . 3 ) , does not o c c ur in re flexive form .
The re fle xive verb whi c h replac e s it in
b o t h o f the s e fun c t i ons is formed from the root � . wh i c h , as a
104
s imp le act ive verb means t o p u t ( and i s never u s e d i n the act ive vo i c e in e it her of the se two funct ions ) . For e xample :
/bur-
ba ra-bara
;rna
ra /
do
past
3 pI .
ta Z k - t a l k
budmara
Th ey c h a t t e d
but
IfnTQa
/bur-
b a ra - b a r a
3 pl .
y1 i
ref .
put
b u r i n i rJ a y i rJ g a
rJ g a / .... past
They cha t t e d ( t o ) e a c h o th e r
yaw
/rna / ....
/ 1 p I . inc .
yes
We say
rJ a d m a
do
'yes '
but
yaw
n /
/ 1 p I . inc . We s a y
Note t hat
put
....
rJ a r i n i rJ a y i n
pre s .
' y e s ' to e a c h o th e r
- 1fnTQa
+
Yl '
-
- i n i rJ e - as it would i f t h e a operating normal ly .
+
in the s e e xamp l e s doe s not y i e l d
y i .... e r u l e ( s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 4 . 2 ) were
As c an b e seen in s e veral o f the e xamp l e s above ,
that rule does operate as expected whe n other roots with final a are fo l lowed by the re flexive mark e r .
Of all the a - final roots wh ich can
s erve as auxi l i ar i e s ( Tab le 2 0 ) , and all the non-aux i l iary one s I have checked out as w e l l , ITnTQa alone ( in a l l i t s refle xive us e s , not mer e l y the ' verb o f s aying ' one s ) i s e x c eptional in thi s regard , and it is appare ntly t o be conside red l e x i c a l l y as s uc h .
( Se e
s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 0 f o r a para l l e l c a s e involving a different a -root and
- y i s u ffix . ) Another irregu l arity in reflexive morpho logy involves the /rna root .
As I have no ted ab ove , this root does not o c c ur in r e f l e xive
form in i t s otherwis e frequent role as a verb o f s aying ( or as an aux i l i ary in a c ompound one ) .
But it ( or a root r e s emb l i ng it ) c an
o c c ur in reflexive form when paired with any o f the othe r , non- ' saying ' verb al part i c l e s t o whi c h it s erves as an auxi liary in t he active voi c e .
105
But the form of the root for purpos e s of reflexivisation in a l l c ompound verb s in whi c h it appears ( not j us t in verba d i c e n d i ) i s
Im a r a rather t han rma, e . g . / a
bu b Low
rma
mas c .
'do
� / pre s .
He b Lows
/ a
bu
but
Ima r a
mas c . He b Lows
ama
+
yl
re f .
do
n /
i
amaren
+
p re s .
( o n ) h i ms e L f
Not e that the form t aken b y the ;rna int rans it ive root here i s ident i c a l t o that t ake n b y t rans i t ive Im a ( � a) in the refle xive vo i c e , as in the e x amp le on p . 1 0 3 , and in the act ive vo i c e in a l l the non ind i c at i ve mod e s ( s e e p .
8 1 , note 4 ) .
I t is there fore p o s s i b l e to
regard this a s ano t her c a s e of s upplet ion , whereby non-verbum d i c e n d i
Ima i s replaced b y the tran s i t ive r o o t Im a ( r a) in the refle xive
vo i c e , j u st a s verb u m d i c e n d i Ima is replaced b y the t rans i t i ve root
�.
Alt e rnat i ve l y , t hi s Im a r a c an b e thought o f a s mere ly a
voi c e - s pe c i fi c a l lomorph o f an intrans i t i ve root Im a ( r a) , whi ch shows the same t wo a l lomorphs as the tran s i t ive root Im a ( r a) , but under d i fferent grammat i c a l c ondit ions .
I see no c ompe l l ing reason for
favouring e ither of t he se t wo s o lu t i ons over the o t he r , b ut w i l l adopt the l at t er out of a c o ns t i tu t i onal pre ference for a l lomorphy over l e x i c a l supple t ion . 2. 2.8.
O r d e r C l a s s 8 : C o r e fe r e n c e S t a t u s
For every verb i n e very ( c omb inat ion o f ) person , numb e r , and gende r , and in every moo d , t en s e , and voice , the re e x i s t s , a longside the ' normal ' form treated thus far , an alt ernate form wh i c h
Coate a n d
Oat e s , fo l lowing Cape l l , c a l l t h e ' long form ' . The funct i on o f the ' long form ' in U � a�inj in di s c ourse w i l l b e treated a t some l e ngth i n a fut ure monograph . t h a t t h e p r e s e n c e o f a ' l o n g fo r m ' s i g n a l s t h a t t h e
Suffi c e it t o s ay h�re
s u b j e c t of t h e v e r b
s o marked i s an NP whi c h i s core ferent i a l t o o ne which has o c c urred i n previous d i s c ours e ( usually i n the immediat e l y preceding c laus e or sentenc e ) and who s e re ference has been de fini t e l y e s t ab li shed . l I w i l l hereafter c a l l it the d . s . o r ' de finite sub j e c t " form . l
Hence
The use of the term ' definit e ' here should not be taken to imply that this category funct ions exactly like that of ' definiteness ' in English . There are important differences , as we shall see .
106
The d . s . form i s dist ingui shed b y t h e presence o f a d . s . morpheme , - i w a 2 - � - l r a 2 - ' in posit ion 8 .
The l at t e r a l l omorph , - i r a 2 - i s t he unre s t r i c t e d one . I t appears in all d . s . verb s except those with an r in the s y l lab le immediat e l y preceding the p re fi x , in wh ich c a s e the d . s . prefix appears as - i w a 2 - . This c an b e e xp lained as a d i s s imi l at ion , s erving t o prevent the o c c urrence o f an
r
in two succe s s ive s y l l ab le s .
The - a 2 - of b oth
the s e al lomorphs unde rgo e s the usual proc e s s e s o f a s s imi lation , c o a l e s cence , or s yncope depending on what fo l l ows ( as per s e c t ion 1 .2.4).
The - i - o f the - i r a 2 - a l lomorph ( but not the - i - o f - i w a - ) ,
b e c ome s u when t he re i s a back vowe l in the fol lowing s y l l ab l e , regardle s s o f whe ther that back vowe l is underly ing or derived ( from -a2
+
w2 u ) .
Thus t hi s rule o f vowe l harmony must fo l low the vowel
c o a l e s cence rul e . Examp l e s o f d . s . verb forms and their c orre sponding unmarked forms are given on the fo l lowing page . 2 . 2 . 9 . Order Cl ass 1 2 :
D u a l / P a u c a l N umber
Any verb form whi ch inc ludes a t least one pronominal prefix c ro s s r e ferencing an agent o r pat ient whi c h i s not e x p l i c i t l y s ingular i n numb er ( i . e . , not 1 s g . o r 2 s g . ) may t ake , i n p o s i t ion 1 2 , one numb e r suffix spe c i fying ' dual ' or ' pauc a l ' o f one prefixally c ro s s -re ferenced NP .
But whi c h one ?
With verb s wh ich t ake only one pronominal pre fix
( inc l uding reflexivi s e d t ransit ive s ) the answer to this que s t ion i s obvious , s in c e there i s only one cro s s -referenced NP .
With t h o s e which
t ake two pronominal pre fixe s , t he answer is equa l l y obvious when only o ne of the two c ro s s -r e feren c e s an NP which i s not e xp l i c i t l y s i ngular . But what i f t he re are t wo prefixa l l y c ro s s -re ferenced NPs , neither o f whi ch i s e xp l i c i t l y s ingular?
A n answer t o t h a t que s t ion i s , I s u s pe c t ,
not a lways p o s s ib l e e ve n to nat ive speakers e x c ept by recourse t o certain d i s c ourse - c onte xtual one s .
I have not b e e n ab le to inve s t i gate
this mat t e r very thoroughly b e cause my t e xt s c ontain almo s t no e x amp l e s o f this kind o f c omb inat ion ,
and
natura l l y - o c c urring , c o nt e xtua l i s e d
e xamp l e s a r e far more valuab l e and re l i ab le than art i fi c iallye l i c it e d one s for a que st ion o f this kind .
The data I did e l i c i t on
the que s t ion , however , do sugge s t certain regularit i e s , whi c h are not without interest for a t he ory of univers a l grammar .
The general
t endency i s for the number -suffixed NP t o b e· the one which is higher on a 2-1-3
' pe r s on hierarchy ' .
That i s , a first person ( non-s ingu l ar )
adj unct is more l i k e l y to b e the one s pe c i fied b y a numb e r suffix t han i s a t hird person one , and a s e c ond person one is more likely to
Long Form
Normal Form
mas c .
/ma 2
/ma2 3 sg. take
m - c la s s
-
irr .
/ l) a 1
-
i ra2 -
1 p l . inc .
1 sg.
I l) a r
/
....
imp .
/gur 2 pl.
/ l) a 1 1 sg.
irr .
m u r u m a l) a
rma /
....
b u r g u r u ma
IWU /
....
ma rg u ro
d.s.
act on
i ra2
I) e
;y;r
I
;y;r
/
I) i r e
....
d.s.
be
IY;T
1 p l . inc . b e
/ba2 -
....
d.s.
do
/ma r - w2a 2 - i ra 2 -
- IY;T
I) a /
d.s.
past
/ma r m - c la s s
u ruma ra
....
Im a { r a} -
i ra 2
/ b u r-w2a 2 3 pl .
ra/
d. s .
past
do
rma
i ra2
/a1
ama ra
ra/
Y
come
� ho Ld
iy fut .
....
opt . /irr . 1
ra-
i /
u /
....
I) a d i
i wa 2
past
d.s.
i ra2
ba l u
I) g a /
y1 i
....
g u d j i l e l) g a
/ g u r - i wa 2 -
u /
....
b i ra 1 u
....
I) i y m a
�
-
y1 i
-
I) g a /
....
g u r i w e l e l) g a
d.s.
past
re f .
do
1
d.s.
pro x .
;rna /
ra- -
I) a r i w e
....
/ l) a 2 -
iy d. s.
- i r a2
-
;rna I
....
I) i r u m a
f--' 0 -.l
108
b e i t than either a first o r a third person one ( c f . the dat a on p o s s e s s ive morphol ogy , s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 6 ) . Forma l l y , t he s e verbal numb er suffi x e s are very s imi lar t o t he c orre sponding nominal one s given in Tab le 1 9 , but s omewhat s imp ler in a ll omorphy .
The verbal suffixes are given in Tab le 2 7 b e low . Tab l e 2 7 Dual and Pauc al Verbal Numb er Suffi xes
Dual
Paucal
Aft e r Vow e l s
-ri -
-na-
E l s ewhere
-nj i r i -
-nj i na-
Some e xamp l e s o f numb e r-suffixed verb forms are :
ri /
/nj a r 1 pl . e x .
du o
go
We two go
nj aya r i
( fo r r + y , s e e s e ct ion 2 . 2 . 2 . 1 )
wund i dj
/ l) a n d a 2
s p e ar
1 sg.
�
ni
h o Zd
past
pl .
r i / + I) a n d e i a n i r i
-
du o
The two speared me
ba r i dj
/bur
r i s e up
/'\T)"a
n
- yi
3 pl .
ref.
nj i r i /
+
b u d ay i nj i r i
du o
pre s .
The two r i s e up agai n s t o n e ano t h e r
andu /gunda2
i r a 2 - Im a { r a)
2 p l . obj .
he
d.s.
�
n j i r i / + g u n d u r um a � n j i r i
pre s .
du o
He t a k e s you two
ga�ba
/gur
s i ng
2 pl .
na be
/
+
gud i na
pauc .
Yo u handfu l. o f p e op l. e s i n g
wa
mara / ban
not see
3 pl .
1 sg.
( irr . )
w 2a 2 -
IW l u
irr .
a c t on
I didn ' t s e e t h a t handfu l. of p e op l. e
- y i - n a t + b a n g uw i n a 1 past
109
dj i yan
-
ga
w-class 2 pl .
int o
s hame
Im a { r a)
/ wuna2
take
':I
- nj i na /
pres .
pauc .
...
w u n u m a ':l n j i n a
A r e y o u handfu l o f p e op l e as ham e d ?
ada
/
1 p l . inc .
sit
n
IW I a
I) a r
nj i na /
pre s .
fa Z Z
...
I) a rw a n j i n a
pauc .
We handfu l o f p e op l e s i t down 2 . 2 . 1 0 . Order Cl a s s 1 3 : Con t i nuat i ve Aspect
Cont inuat i ve ( as opposed t o unmarked ) aspe c t , i s marked b y a suffix
y i r i � n j i r i in p o s i t ion 1 3 .
The y i r i a l lomorph o c c ur s aft e r vowe l s ,
- n j i r i - a ft e r n or � ( wh i c h are t he only consonant s which t h i s morpheme e ve r fo l lows ) .
- nj - .
The c omb inat i on of - n
+
n j - here , as ab ove , y i e lds
When the - y i r i a ll omorph fo l lows - u , the result i s - i r i - .
When
it fo l lows - i - , t he result ing i - y i s e quence does not y i e l d the e xpe c t e d [ i ' J ( se c t i o n 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 1 . 1 ) , but i s inst ead pronoun c e d [ i y I J . One way t o a c c ount for t h i s would b e t o c laim t hat the y o f - y i r i - is the morphophoneme / Y 2 / and that the i y i ... [ i ' J rule only app l i e s to the s e quence / i y 1 i / .
On the other hand this i rregularity might j us t
a s we l l b e c o n s i dered a p e c u l i ari t y o f t hi s p art i c u l ar suffi x , s ince its b ehavi our is i rregular in another , s imi l ar way .
- y i - o f - y i r i - , when it fo l lows t he root fa or
�,
That i s that the does not
coale s c e with it t o give - e - a s e xpe c t e d , but i n s t e ad give s - a y i - . Th i s irregularity c l e arly c an n o t b e acc ounted for b y drawing on the
d i s t inct ion b e t we e n / Y l / and / Y 2 / ' b e cause both of the s e morphophonemes part i c ipate in ay i ... e mergers e l s ewhere in the morphology ( c f . , e . g . pp . 8 3 , 9 0 ) .
Furt he rmore , as c an b e s e e n in t he e xamp l e s b e low ,
- y i r i i t s e l f part i c ipat e s in such a merger whenever it fo l lows any - a exc ept t hat o f t h o s e t wo p art i c u l ar root s , who s e formal ident i t y , b e cause they c o n s i s t only o f a and i , i s unique l y threatened b y such a merger . Ano ther p e c ul i ar i t y o f - y i r i - is that whe n it fo l lows one o f the past ind i c at ive al l omorphs - n i - or - n j i - , t he result is - n e r i / - n j e r i instead o f the e xp e c t e d - n i y i r i / - n j i y l r i .
Thi s a s s imi l at e s t he
ind i c at ive past c ont inuat ive forms o f c la s s e s 1 , 4 , and 6 to t h o s e o f a l l the other c la s se s , a l l o f which inc lude - e r i , ari s ing from - a
+
yi ri . For s ome e x amp l e s o f non-past irre a l i s c ont inuat ive fo rms ( us e d a s ' ne gative imperat ive s ' ) , s e e p . 1 0 1 . other t e n s e -mood c omb inations are :
Some addit ional e xamp l e s in
110
/ a f) a 2
Im i n d a
ni
yi ri/
t h i n k mas c . 1 s g .
take
past
c ont .
ni
-+-
a f) u m i n d a n e r i
I was t h i n k i ng about h i m
ma d u
tal
.fa
yi ri/
go
c ont .
mas c .
wa Z k
ay i r i
-+-
He i s wa l k i ng
iy
;rna
fut .
do
/ f) a 2
wu ! a
1 sg.
talk
yi ri /
f) i me r i
-+-
c ont .
I wi Z l be t a l k ing
wa
w 2 * a 2 - .fa
dj a r i dj tal
abu ! an
n o t q u i e t Zy
irr .
mas c .
run
go
f) i past
yi ri/
-+-
a f) g a f) i y l r l
cont .
He was n o t runni n g qui e t ly
gan-ba
fern .
sing
yi ri /
,;y-;T
/nja
-+-
n j ey i r i
cont .
be
She i s s i n g i n g
f) a r w a
IW l a
/ma 2 m-class
fa Z Z
fa Z Z
nj i r i /
n
-+-
m uw a n j i r i
c ont .
pre s .
It is fa Z Z ing
nj i r i /
/wu
djarug gather together
w - c la s s
3 s g . t a k e pre s .
-+-
wuma� n j i r i
c ont .
He i s g a t h e ring i t toge t h e r 2 . 2 . 1 1 . Order C l ass 1 4 :
P ro x i ma d v s .
D i s ta d
I n order c la s s 1 4 , the verb may include one o f two ' di re c t i onal ' suffixe s s pe c i fying that t he act ion described invo lves movement t oward o r away from the s peaker ( b ut s e e s e c t ion 3 . 3 . 1 . 3 for s ome comp l i c at i ons re garding the notion ' spe aker ' ) . The d i s t ad ( movement away from speaker ) suffix i s - n j a ( c f . t he hyperd i s t al demonst rat i ve suffi x , Tab le 7 ) . For e xample :
nja /
/ba2 imp .
go
Go away !
dis .
banj a
111
- yi ri
ba l j a /nj a fern .
c ont .
past
do
nja /
+
n j uma re r i n j a
dis .
She was f L e e i n g from h e r e
Im a ( r a )
w i n j d j a f) u n /w u r a 2 w-c las s 3 s g .
firewood
take
I)
nja/
p re s .
dis .
+
w u r u ma n n j a
They take firewo o d away from h e r e
The proximad ( movement t oward s peaker ) s u f f i x appears in three al l omorphs : / - w l a l u / , - a l u , and - l u .
The first o f the s e , / - w l a l u / , o c c ur s after n and � ( whi ch are the
only cDnsonant s t h i s or any other verbal suffix ever fo l l ows ) in t he e xp e c t e d s t r engthened form - b a l u . For e xamp l e :
/ bunda2
ba r i dj
r i s e up (agains t ) 3 pI ob
3 pI sub go t o
pre s .
prox .
They ri s e up aga i n s t t h e s e p e o p L e h e r e
+
n mas c .
arri v e
fa B
awanb a l u
pre s .
He arri v e s here
The / - w 1 a l u / a l l omorph appears ( a s - w a l u ) whe n t h i s suffix fo l lows
the s y l lable - r i - . For e xamp l e :
gadj i nga
/ g u r - w a 2 - fa
ri
wa l u / +
can ' t
2 pl .
du o
pro x .
irr .
come/go
g u r ga r i wa l u
You two c an ' t come
gudu
n
/anda2
c h a s e 3 p l . ob .
3 sg.
a c t on
pre s .
nj i na - y i r i c ont .
pauc .
+
wa l u / prox .
a ndonj i ne r i wa l u
He ' s c h a s i n g a handfu L o f them i n t h i s d i re c t i on
As t h e s e two e xamp l e s i l l u s t r at e , the - r i environment mu st b e phono logi c a l l y , rat her than morpho logi c a l l y , spe c i fied , b e c ause the e ffe c t ( i . e . the s e l e c t ion of the - w 1 a l u a l lomorph ) i s t he s ame
re gard l e s s o f whi c h morpheme the - r i - b e l ongs t o .
The - a l u al lomorph o c c ur s aft e r - n i or - n j i , where i t s � replac e s
t h e i vowe l a s e x p e c t e d ( s e c t i on 1 . 2 . 4 . 3 ) .
112
F o r e xamp l e :
f) a r w a
/ma 2 m - c lass
fa U
rwa
a l u/
nl
prox .
past
fa U
m uw a n a l u
....
It fe U t h i s way
f) a b u n b a wa d - b a / w a 2 wa t e r c ome o u t
IY;T
nj i
be
past
w - c la s s
a l u/
-+-
wenj a l u
The water came out this way
In t h i s c a s e it is hard to t e l l whe ther the allomorphy is phono l o g For the only instance o f - n i
i c a l l y or morpho l ogi c a l l y c ondi t i one d .
and - n j i which this s uffi x ever fo l lows are in t he two ind i c at i ve ( Compare the s imi lar , c learly
past t e n s e al lomorphs e xemp l i fied above .
morpho logi c a ll y -based i rregularit y d i s c u s s e d on p . 1 0 9 , invo l ving t he s e same t wo past t en s e al lomorphs . ) The ' e l sewhere ' a l l omorph , whi c h o c curs aft e r i in s y l lab le s other t han the ones s pe c i fied above , and a ft e r a l l other vowe l s , i s - l u . For e xamp l e :
lu imp .
- /
ba l u
....
prox .
come/go
Come h e r e !
d j a rug
- Im a { r a )
p u s h back 3 pI ob 1 s g sub
1u
- f) el past
take
/
-+-
a n d u m a f) a l u
prox .
He p u s h e d t h e m back this way
r u 1 u g /ma 2 s h i ft
lu /
m - c las s
come/go
....
ma f) i l u
opt . /i rr . past prox .
Le t i t be s h ifted in t h i s d i r e c t i o n
wa raydj s coop
/ba2
u ra 2 -
mas c . imp .
d.s.
IW l u
1u
....
b u ro l u
prox .
act on
Scoop him (a kangaroo carcas s ) o v e r t h i s way
waydj
/ba2 -
s e nd
imp .
anda2 3 p I . ob .
Send t h e m t h i s way
1u th row
pro x .
/
-+-
bandeb u l u
113
2 . 2 . 1 2 . Order C l asses 1 5 and 1 6 : C ro s s Refere n c e
D a t i v e - B e n e fa c t i v e
I n a s lot fo l lowing the one for t he direct i onal suffix , any verb may t ake on a pronominal suffix c r o s s -re ferencing another NP b e s i des the one o r t wo whi c h are c ro s s -re ferenced b y pronominal pre fixes ( as per s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 2 ) .
Whi l e a c ert ain pattern o r pronominal
prefixation ( e ither ' t rans i t i ve ' o r ' intran s i t i ve ' ) i s rigidly prescribed for every verb root , t here are , on t he other hand , no roo t s whi ch re q u i r e a pronominal suffix .
That alone i s t h e mo s t import ant
func t i onal di fference b et we e n t h e s e t wo kinds o f pronominal e lement s . By contrast , the s eman t i c d i fference b e tween the adj unc t t yp e s c ro s s r e ferenced in t h e s e two d i fferent ways i s s ometime s sma l l o r non e x i s t ent . There are , for ins t anc e , many ' intrans i t i ve '
( i . e . s ingle -pre fi xing )
auxi l i ary verbs whi ch p ar t i c ipate in c ompound verb phra s e s t aking an adj unct whi c h seems s emant i c a l l y t o b e j u st as muc h a ' pat i ent ' as are t he ' ob j e c t s ' of s ome t rans i t ive verbs ( s e e s e c t ion 3 . 2 ) . The N P whi ch i s c ro s s -r e ferenced b y the pronominal suffix on a tran s i t i ve verb usually s t ands in a ' b ene fac t i ve ' r e l at i onship t o the act ion de s c r i b e d b y i t .
I use t he t erm wi th s ome d i s c omfort , b e c au s e
the act ion i s n o t a lway s ' for the g o o d o f ' , b ut c an b e mere l y ' for the sake o f ' .
Inde e d it i s somet imes ' t o the chagrin o f ' .
The only
. invariant meanin g , then , i s probab l y ' having an e ffect on ' . The s e pronomina l suffixe s , which vary for person and numb e r , are given in Tab l e 2 8 . Tab le 2 8 Dat ive /Bene fac t ive Suffi xes
1 sg.
- ra � g a ra
1 p l . inc .
- Qa ru g u -
2 sg.
-nu
1 pl . e x .
- nj a rugu-
3 sg.
- n a Qg a
2 pl .
-nurugu-
3 pl .
-��u-
Any o f the non-s ingular s uffixe s may i t s e l f b e suffixed in p o s i t i o n 1 6 , f o r more pre c i s e ( dual o r pauc a l ) numbe r spe c i fi c a t i on .
The dual
spec i fier is - d i r i a ft e r the suffixes ending in -gu - and - i r i a ft e r
- � 9 u - , y i e l ding - � � i r i - ( as per s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 4 . 3 ) .
The pauc a l spec i fier
114
i s - a n a aft e r the su ffi xe s ending in g u - , yie lding - g a n a ( s e e s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 4 . 3 ) and - n a aft e r - � 9 u - .
When the - g u suffixes are s uffixed with
paucal n a - , the l u i ' s o f the prec eding e leme nt s , i . e . n a r�- , n j a r�- , and n�r�, are , for reasons t ot a l l y ob s c ure t o me , pronounced [ I ] in a l l b ut the mo s t careful spee ch . The 1 s g . al lomorph - g a r a appears a ft e r cons onant s ( n and � ) ; r a e l s ewhere . Ex cept for the 1 s g . and 3 p l . morpheme s , a l l o f the s e pronominal s uffixes ( or , in s ome case s , the e lement s of whi ch they are c ompo s e d ) are r e c o gnisably s imi l ar or ident i c a l t o e lement s o c c urring e l s ewhere In part i c ular , they are
in the morpho logy with s imilar func t ions .
quite s imi lar to the p o s s e s s i ve suffixes de s c ribed in s e c t ion ( In l i ght o f wh ich , s e e p . 4 8 for s ome c omments on t he
2.1 .5.2.2.
morphological c ompo sit ion and affiliat ions o f those suffixe s . ) S ome examp l e s o f verb forms inc luding pronominal suffixes are :
a n d u I) u r he
iy
rma
fut .
do
I I) a 2
s tr i ke 1 s g .
n a l) g a I
I) i y m a n a l) g a
....
3 sg. d . b .
I wi l l s t r i k e h i m
mu ! � b un I
wa2
troub l e
w - c la s s
iy
IYT
fut .
be
Troub l e wi l l b e to me ( i . e .
di
bada
1 sg. d . b .
n 3 sg sub
w i y i ra
....
I ' l l g e t i n t o tro ub l e )
Inja2
t h e n ki I I fern ob
ra I
ga ra I
pre s .
a a t on
1 sg.
....
njongara
d.b.
So t h e n h e k i l l s her o n me
wO l) a y g a r a I
bur
b u r g um a n u
nu I
woman m i g h t b e 3 p l .
do
2 sg. d . b .
They m i g h t aa l l you a woman
Iba
l u - I) a r u g u d i r l l .... b u m i n d a l u l) a r u g u d i r i
mas c .
imp .
tak e/bring prox . 1 du o inc . d . b .
Bring h i m to us two
l a rga r i
dj i l i bu r
boab t r e e a l o s e up
Im a ( r a } - y i - I) g a mas c .
take
ref.
past
....
�9una I 3 pauc . d . b .
a m a r e l) g a � 9 u n a
The boab t r e e a l o s e d h i m s e lf up around t h a t handfu l o f p e op l e
115
g a l) b a / n j a r s i ng
1 pI . ex .
IY;f be
- nj I
- ri
past
du o
nurugu/
-
....
nJ a r l nj i r i n u r u g u
2 pI . d . b .
We two s ang fo r y o u p e op l. e 2.2. 1 3.
Order C l a s s es 1
a nd 9 : S i mp l e v s .
Compound Verbs
A l l ) f the verb roo t s treated above ( s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 ) and e xemp l i fied t hu s far are ones whi c h , in infl e c t e d form c an s erve a s aux i liaries in compound verb s ( se e p . 7 4 f f . ) .
Alt hough the maj ority o f U � a�inj in
verb s ( b y both dict ionary c o unt and t e xt c ount ) are o f t h i s ' c ompound ' varie t y , t here are , as men t i oned on p . 8 0 , many roo t s whi c h never s e rve as aux i l i ari e s , b ut i n s t e ad
form only ' s imp l e verb s ' .
Each of
the s e e xc lus ive l y ' s imple verb ' root s b e longs t o one o f the c onj ugat ion c l as s e s into whi ch t he aux i l i ary root s are divided up in Tab l e 2 1 . But not al l o f t ho s e c la s se s , i t s e ems , include any non-aux i l i ary root s .
The vast maj ority o f t hem b e long t o c l a s s 1 .
A few b e long t o
c l a s s 2 , and - r a - , the c l a s s 2 past indicat ive al lomorph , o c c a s i onally s ub s t itut e s for - n i on s ome c las s 1 non-au x i l i ary roots ( c f . note 2 , p . 81) .
As far a s I have b e e n ab le t o d i s c over , none o f t h e s e
e x c lus ive ly inde pendent roo t s b e longs t o c la s s 3 , 4 , 5 , o r 6 .
1
Of the few which are Furthermore , almo s t a l l o f them are tran s i t i ve . 2 not , a l l the ones I know o f b e l ong t o c la s s 7 and are probab l y r e f l e x i ve forms b y origin ( c f . n o t e 5 , p . 8 1 ) although t h e y lack act i ve c ount e rpart s in pre s e n t -day U � a�inj in .
( Any non- c l a s s 7 a c t i ve
independent verb , o f c ours e , c a n b e r e fl e xivised and hence t ransp o s e d t o c la s s 7 , j us t a s aux i l i ary verb s c an b e [ s e c t i o n 2 . 2 . 7 ] . )
All of
the infl e c t ional affixes whi c h d o n o t vary b y c onj ugat ion c la s s are , o f c ours e , c ommon t o a l l independent verb s ( not j us t aux i l i arie s ) .
l
Coate and Elkin (1974 : 462) list at least one root ( - um l l j a ) which they cite as taking the past indicative allomorph - �a , whi ch would place it in my class 5 . On the other hand , they cite some present indicat ive forms , supposedly built on the same root , which end in - um i l j a�an . This suggests to me that their putat ive past indicative forms in - um i l j a - �a are actually future (hence suffixles s ) forms on a root Im i l j a �a , which takes the present indicative allomorph -n , and so is probably of class 1 . Unfortunately , I did not notice this listing until after I left the field , and this root does not occur in any of my texts , so posit ive clarification of the matter will have to await further fieldwork . 2
There are a few forms listed in Coate and Elkin 1974 , which would appear to be except ions , but all of them are strange to me , and will have to be checked out in the field.
1 16
A few s entenc e s inc luding s ome o f the more c ommon e x c lu s ively indepe ndent verbs are : Class 2 or Class I
bag i I rock wa Z Z aby mas c . ob . I s g . sub . I wi Z Z
C la s s 7
IWTT]""a
fut .
s p e ar
I
a l) uw i l j a
-+-
(wa n t t o ) s p e ar a rock wa Z Z aby
b a n j d j a mu n a - r a this
cave
I) g a I
loc o mas c . b e come a p a i n t ing
In t h i s cave he
Class I
-
a2
-+-
o d e l) g a
past
(a w a n d j u � a ) b e came a p a i n t i n g
Iw 1 u d i d j i 1 a
landa2 3 p l . ob . 3 s g . s ub .
ni I
a ndod i dj i l a n i
-+-
past
wa i t for
He wai t e d for them
Class 1
Iban 2 p l . ob .
I sg.
s ub .
irr .
row w i th
I m i g h t have a row wi t h them
Clas s I
a n j d j a - gu I d J a n I sg.
why
nl
-+
djanbawan
ob . 2 s g . s ub . not recognise pres .
Why don ' t y o u recogni s e me ?
Class 1
Iw u r -
w u r u m i y a l) g a
w - c l a s s ob .
3 p l . sub . fut .
unde rs tand
They wi Z Z unde rs tand i t
Class I
I) a d j i l) a r u m b u / l) a d a 2 our m o t h e rs
I pl.
ni I inc . ob . s how
I) a d u m i m b i n i
-+
past
Our mo t he rs s howed ( i t t o ) us
Clas s 2
ya · ra
Im a l i m a -
h i Z Z kangaroo mas c . ob .
3 s g . sub . s p e ar
ral
-+
ama l l ma r a
past
He speared a h i Z Z kangaroo
Clas s I
I) i n I n j i n I
2 s g . ob . I s g . s ub .
ni te s t
- yiril
-+
nj i na rgune r l
past
I was t e s t i n g you
Class I
andu Igunda2 he
2 p l . ob . 3 s g . sub . He knows you p e op Z e
Il) i l J aw a know
n I pre s .
-+
g u n d u l) l l j a w a n
117
The maj ority o f U Qa�inj in verb s , as noted ab ove , are o f the c ompound type , whi c h i s abundant l y represented among the e xamp l e s given so far i n t hi s chapter . Each c ompound verb , a s shown in Figure 2 ( p . 7 5 ) , c o ns i s t s o f t wo word s : a non-finite verbal part i c le fo l l owed b y one o f the fourt e e n aux i l i ary verb s , whi c h i s always infle c t e d for person , numb e r , gende r , t en s e , mode , and voi c e , and may a l s o b e i n f l e c t e d for any or a l l o f t h e fol lowing : core ferenc e s t atus o f o n e adj unct , dire c t ion o f mot ion with respect t o s p e ake r , c ont inuat ive a s p e c t , and person-numb er o f ' bene fac t ive ' NP .
The auxi l iary , i t i s c lear , carr i e s most o f t he
grammat i c a l we i ght o f the c ompound verb .
I t s c ontribut ion t o the
s p e c ific l e x i c a l i s e d meaning t h at emerges in glo s s e s i s , b y contras t , Alt hough my interl inear translat ions o f s e nt e nc e s with
quite smal l .
c ompound verb s inc lude a glo s s for each auxil iary root , b a s e d on the meaning whi c h t hat root b e ars when o c c urring a s a s impl e verb , it i s obvious from mo st o f m y free tran s lat ions that that i s o lated meaning l is of l i t t l e r e levance for the meaning of t he b ipart i t e c ompound . Do the auxi l i ary root s , one wonde rs , make any contrib u t i o n t o meaning at all when o c c urring in such c ompound s ? I submit t hat they do , but that t he i r meanings are a lmo s t ent i re l y ' se l e c t i onal ' . What the auxi l i ar i e s do i s t o c l a s s i f y the verbal part i c l e s with whi c h they o c cur , muc h a s U Q a�inj in lexical nouns are c la s s i fied by the various gender-b earing pronominal e l ement s with which they enter into app o s i t i onal re lat ions ( c f . Dixon 1 9 7 2 ) .
Re c a l l that each noun
takes pronominals of a part i c ul ar gende r , the result ing c las s i fi c at i on b e ing part l y arb i trary and p art l y s eman t i c a l l y mot i vat e d , by such feat ure s a s +/- male , +/- arborea l , +/- liquid , e t c .
S im i l arly ,
verbal part i c l e s c haract eri s t i c a l l y o c cur with c ertain aux i l i ary verb s , the result ing c l as s i fi c a t i on b e ing part ly arb it rary , and part l y s Y $ t emat i c , depending on c e rt a i n b a s i c s emant i c features o f the part i c le s .
I n s o far as the c la s s i ficat ion is semant i c a l l y c o n s i s t ent ,
t he c la s s e s are roughly as shown in Tab l e 2 9 .
l
This is perhaps not true only in the case of the class 1 transit ive root � Which gloss as act on. But the exception proves the rule : � alone among the transit ive auxiliaries never occurs in isolat ion as a s imple verb , so I can afford to give it a gloss which is so general that it hardly could be incompat ible with the meaning of any part icular transit ive compound verb . On the other hand , . 1WiU need not be present at all to carry this meaning , s ince all transit ive verbs are ' act ive ' , and the compound is spe cified as trans it ive by the presence of transit ive-series pronominal prefixes . I
ll8
Tab le 2 9 Semant i c s o f Aux i l i ary Root C l as s e s
Root
Semant ic Charact erisat ion o f Part ic le invo lve s a c t i o n as opposed t o state invo lves s t at e or upward motion invo lves mot ion within a hori zontal p lane
Intran s it i ve
invo lve s downward mot ion involves c lumsy or unc ont r o l l ed downward mot ion l
2
�
involves a c t i o n b y A
Im a ( r a)
involves a c t i o n b y A caus ing mot ion i n P
Im i n d a
invo lve s a c t i on b y A c aus ing mot i on in P
on p
involves act ion b y A causing c hange o f l o c at i on o r s t at e i n P involves a c t i on b y A caus ing P t o move within t he horizontal
Tran s i t ive
involve s act ion b y A c ausing X 3 t o move to P invo lves a c t i o n b y A on P whi c h does not cau s e movement on P involve s movement o f A t o P
Im i n d j a J a
I
2
A
agent
p
p at i e n t
3X
involves act ion b y A in t he presence o f P
n o n a ge n t - o r - pat i e n t
It wi l l be noted that not a l l t h e s e characteri s at i ons are mut u a l l y e x c lusive .
In t hat r e s p e c t t h i s s y s t em d i ffers from the gender s y s tem .
Whi l e a l l the t e rms o f that s y stem st and t o each other in r e l at ions o f mu l t i lateral equi p o l l ent oppo s i t i on , many o f t he re lat i ons within t h i s s y s tem are privat ive oppos it ions .
Some o f the aux i l ia�y c la s s e s , it
fo l lows , are more basic than others .
Among the intrans it ive c las s e s
119
o n e can s e e t hat the ;rna c la s s i s s p e c i fied s o a s t o inc lude a l l t he othe r s , e x c e p t for the stat ive subset o f the
/Y2T
c las s .
At t he
d e Yin7 oppo s i t e end o f the inc lus i on hierarchy for intrans i t i ve s , the I� 17 c l a s s inc lude s noth ing b ut a s ub s e t o f t he IW l a c l as s .
Among the
tran s i t ive c l as s e s , the Iw 1 u c la s s i s the b a s i c one , inc luding a l l the o t hers ( with the p o s s i b l e except i ons o f � and Im i n d j a l a ) . The s e r e l at i ons o f markedne s s in the underlying ideal s emant i c s y s t em are s upport e d by the surface d i s t ribut i onal evidenc e : ;rna and IW l u are b y far t h e mo s t c ommonl y o c c urring and unpre d i c t ab l y paired intran s i t ive and transit ive r oo t s r e s p e c t i ve l y .
By c ontrast Iy i n d e
i s very infrequent and o c curs with only a sma l l s e t o f part i c le s . I f t he aux i l iary s y s t em di ffers from the gender s y st em in the nat ure of its opp o s i t ions , it is s imi l ar i n t he degree to which it lacks s emant i c cons i s t enc y .
Just a s gender c la s s i fi c at i on i s only pa r t l y
s emant i c a l l y mot ivat e d , s o the t e nt at ive s c heme I have given above for the semant i c s of aux i l iary c la s s i fi c at i on i s only indire c t l y r e f l e c t e d b y t he actual a s s i gnment o f aux i l i ar i e s t o the t ot a l s e t o f verbal part i c l e s in t he l e x i c on .
Whi l e a look at s ome o f t h e pairings
shown in numerous e xamp l e s throughout t h i s work w i l l , I hope , reveal enough c on s i s t ency t o s upport a s c heme s omet hing l i ke the one given here , i t w i l l a l s o reveal a r e s idue of e x c ept ions of the kind whi c h always charac t e ri s e s the relat ionship b etween overt s e gment ab le forms and underlying s emant i c c at e gorisations ( c f . Whorf 1 9 5 6 : 8 0 ff . ) . As w i t h gender c l as s i fi c at ion , t he s emant i c princ i p l e s underly ing t he c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of verbal part i c l e s by aux i l i ary c o - o c currence are e sp e c i a l l y c le ar in c a s e s where one l e x i c a l i t em ( or , if you wi l l , mul t ip l e , homophonous l e x i c a l it ems with re l at e d mean i ngs ) o c c ur s in more t han one c l as s .
Among verbal part i c l e s , unlike among l e x i c a l
nouns , mul t ip l e c la s s memb e rship i s the � u l e rather t han t he e x c ept ion . Many part i c l e s o c c ur , in r e l a t e d meanings , with one t rans it ive and one intran s i t i ve aux i l iary .
Almo st as o ft e n there are alt e rnate
p o s s i b i l i t i e s among t he t rans i t ive and/or intrans i t i ve auxi l iaries t he part i c l e c an t ake .
In a l l t he s e cas e s , the aux i l i ary serves t o
sub c at egor i s e t h e me aning o f t he p art i c le , muc h a s s ome l e x i c al nouns are s ub c at e go r i s e d by a l t e rnat ing gender-conc ord morpheme s s e c t i on 2 . 1 . 5 . 1 ) .
( see
J u s t a s s emant i c feat ure s s u c h a s + male , + fema l e ,
and - human c ome to t he fore where t here i s gender s ub c at e go r i s a t i on , so t he s emant i c di ffe rent iae among aux i l iary c la s s e s given ab o ve fi gure e sp e c i a l l y s t rongly i n the sub c at e gorisation o f verbal part i c le s . Examp l e s o f the latter are given in Tab le 3 0 .
120
30
Table Examp l e s
1 i nj
Look
ba r l dj
rise, raise
ba 1 j a
fLee
waydj
throw
debar
die
dar
s tand
dj a r i
Leave
{ {
j {
j
i
t
be s i t ting
( s ta t e )
+
rma
(ac t i on )
+
rw;.;
(action by A on
+
�
( a c t i o n by A n o t caus ing mo t i o n i n P )
+
IY;T
+
�
+
IY;T
(upward mo t i o n )
+
Im l n d a
( a c t i on b y A caus ing mo t i o n i n P )
+
!rna
(action)
+
�
(moveme n t o f A t o P)
+
Im l n d a
( a c t i o n b y A cau s i ng mo t i o n i n P )
+
�
(downward mo t i o n )
+
Iy i b u I
( a c t i o n by A caus i n g mo t i on in P)
+
fa
( h o r i z o n t a L mo t i on )
+
+
ada
Class
IY;T �
+
sit
o f Subcat e gori sat ion b y Aux i l i ary
(downward m o t i o n )
(state)
s i t down
=
ta k e a s i t t i n g p o s i t i on
=
p) 1
s i t on
=
s i t with
Look
=
(ac t i on by A n o t c a u s i n g mo t i on i n P ) =
Look at
rise rai se
fLee
=
=
=
fLee
to =
f L e e w i th
p L op on e s e L f down =
t h row
die
IY2f
(state)
+
�
( a c t ion b y A on P )
+
rma
( a c t i on )
+
I�
( a c t i o n by A caus i ng change of L o c a t i o n or s ta t e i n P) cause t o s tand
+
fa
(hori zontaL motion)
+
�
( a c t i o n by A on P )
agent ;
P
p at i e n t
=
b e dead
=
extinguish
=
ta k e a s tanding p 0 8 i t i on
=
=
g o away abandon
121
2.2.14.
Order C l a s s 2 : A s p e c t o f Comp o u n d V e r b s
A s d i s c u s s e d abo ve ( s e c t i on 2 . 2 . 1 0 ) , any finite verbal word may t ake , in po s it ion 1 3 , a suffix indicating c ont inuat i ve aspect .
In
c ompound verb s , the verbal p art i c l e ( order c la s s 1 ) may a l s o b e suffi xed for aspe c t , t aking o n e o f two alt ernate aspect markers which o c c ur in pos ition 2 . By far t h e mo s t c ommonly o c curring o f t he s e i s an i t e r a t i ve m a r k e r
- w l a , which s trengt hens in t he expected environment s ( se e s e c t ion 1 . 2 . 2 ) to - b a .
The presence of this suffix indi c at e s t hat t he act ion
b e ing des cribed is one which t ak e s place a s a s e r i e s o f d i s c r et e , repeat ed s ub-ac t ions . For e xamp l e :
gandj a l
/ i l) g a r - w 1 a / + i l) g a r b a / n j a d a 2
- Im a { r; a } - I) a / + n j a d u m a l) a
p i c k up it e r . 1 p l . e x . ob . t a k e a i rp L an e ( l it . eag L e hawk ) The a i rp Lane p i c k e d us up one by o n e
I) i / not breathe
iter .
1 p l . e x . irr .
be
past
+
n j a r g i l) i
past
We couLd not breathe (where b r e a t h i n g i s p i c tured as the ac tua L r e p e t i t i v e m o v e m e n t s of the ch e s t )
There are s ome part i c l e s which o c c ur with the - w 1 a suffix more o ft e n
t han not , pre s umab ly b e c ause act ivit i e s they des cribe a r e inherent l y it e rat ive . o n e such .
The word I) o y d j t o b r e a t h e in t he s e c ond examp l e above , i s Anot her i s g a � to s i ng , U l) a�inj in s ongs c o n s i s t ing o f short
s t r o p e s whi c h are always run t hrough more t han one repet it i on at a s inging . Part i c l e s marked for iterativi t y , it is worth not ing , may ent e r into c ompounds w i t h aux i l iarie s wh i c h are marked for c ont inuat ive aspe c t , permi t t ing a kind o f ' c ompound aspect ' , the it erat ive c ontinuat i ve , which means s omething l ike ' t o do it erat i v e l y at length ' , e.g.
/ b u r g a y d j - w1 a iter . 1 s g .
ask
� 1 -
ni
fa H
past
I k e p t a s k i n g around ( i . e .
y l r i / + b u r g a yw a I) aw a n e r i c ont .
a s k in g diffe r e n t p e op L e )
Alt e rnat i ve l y , t he verbal part i c le may b e marked for ' p u n c t u a l ' a s p e c t with t he suffix - w l i n i
( �- b i n i ) .
The pre sence .of t h i s suffix
s p e c i f i e s t hat t he a c t i o n des cribed i s a s ingle , d i s cret e , very rap i d one , e . g .
122
I) a l a /w u r a y d j meat
-
w ini 1
punc . b - c l a s s
dump
L e t the m e a t b e
I) u r hit
-
bur
IY;T be
w u r a y b i n i b u d j l l) i
opt . /irr . past
( q u ic k Zy ) dump e d
w 1 i n i / n j a 2 - rma - r a
n a l) g a /
punc .
3 sg. d . b .
fern .
+
I) i /
do
past
+
n j u m a r a n a l) g a
She de a l t him a s udde n b Z ow
My t e xt s include no e xamp l e s o f part ic le s suffixed for pun c t u a l i t y c omb ined in c ompounds with aux i l iarie s marked w i t h t he c ont inuat ive suffix ( which is not surprising in view o f the apparent inc ompat i b i l i t y o f t he s e t wo categorie s ) . 2 . 3 . Adverbs
There i s l i t t l e t o s ay here ab out t he c la s s o f primary adverb s in U l) a�inj in , for t here is nothing d i s t inct ive ab out their morpho l o gy . There i s a suffi x for de riving adverb s from words o f other c la s s e s ( s e e s e c t ion 2 . 6 . 3 ) , but pri m a r y adverb s are not ident ifiable a s s uc h b y t h e ir morpho logy . I f t here are grounds for i s o lat ing such a c la s s , they are negative ones : adverb s are words whi ch do not inflect for p er s o n , numb e r , or gender ( di s t ingui shing them from verb s , nouns , and adj e c t ive s ) , whi c h do not regularly appear as i s o lated ut t eranc e s ( di s t ingui shing t hem from interj e c t i ons ) , and which can appe ar in c o n s t ruct ion with a verb of any mode ( di s t ingui shing t hem from mode part i c l e s ) .
For e xamp l e s
o f s e nt ences whi c h include adverb s , s e e p . 1 2 7 and p . 1 4 6 . 2 . 4 . Mode Part i c l es
The c l a s s o f ' mode part i c l e s ' can b e de fined b y a s ingle d i s t ribu t io nal criterion : a mode part i c le i s a word whi c h a lways appears in cons truc t i on with a verb , each part i c l e o c c urring only with verb s o f part i cular mode s .
Like adverb s , mode part i c l e s show n o c l as s - s p e c i fi c
morphological charact eri s t i c s , s o t here i s l it t le t o say ab out t hem here .
The entire set of t hem i s quite sma l l and w i l l be treated under
' s entence grammar ' b e l ow . 2.5.
I n t e rj ec t i on s
I de fine ' interj e c t ions ' a s t he c l a s s o f words which regularly appear in i so lat ion a s single-word utteranc e s . s e e Coate and Oat e s 1 9 7 0 : 6 3 , s e c . 1 0 . a . 4 .
For a list o f them ,
123
2.6.
Deri vat i on a l
S u ff i xe s
Having at l east ment i oned a l l o f t he word c l a s s e s o f U Darinj in , inc luding t he various s ub - c l a s s e s o f t he nominal and verbal s y s t ems , I turn now to a c o n s i derat ion o f the means b y whi c h words o f one c las s are derived from t h o s e o f ano t he r .
A l l such deri vat ions involve the
u s e o f suffixe s , whi c h are t reated b e low in order o f the c las s o f words they form . 2.6.1 .
Nomi nal
2.6. 1 . 1 .
De r i v a t i o n
ba9a
Thi s suffix i s u s ed t o derive human ( or higher animat e ) nouns o f a part i c ular kind from other nouns or from verbal part i c le s .
The mean
ing of - b a 9 a in such derived forms c an be g l o s s e d roughly as one who regu L a r L y l do e s , o r i s concerned wi t h . Some e xamp l e s are :
yedj
o n e w h o smi L e s a L o t
t o smi L e
! i nd i dj
a n a ccomp L i s he d p re s s ure ! L a k e r
to p r e s s u r e !Lake
go i d j
o n e who d r i n k s too much
to dri n k
mi 1 i
a man who is o bs e s s ed wi th s e x
v a g i na
Da ! aynj
ba9a
s i ng a n e v i L s p e L L
yaw
o n e w h o h a s t h e power t o cas t e v i L s p e L L s by s i n g i n g
o n e who i n s u L t s p e o p L e a L o t
to insu Lt 2.6.1 .2.
- ma ra
Thi s suffix , though apparent ly s omewhat archai c and l e s s produc t i ve , i s s imi l ar i n di s t r i b ut ion and func t ion t o - b a 9 a , d i s c u s s e d above . l
Thus , insofar as these forms are ' agent ives ' , they are of the -ter (as opposed to -tor ) variety in Benveniste ' s well-known typology ( Benveniste 1948 : 62 ) .
124
- m a r o , that i s , o c c ur s on nouns and verb a l part i c le s t o form a kind o f ' agentive ' noun .
But whereas a noun in - b a � a c arri e s t he meaning that
the ' agent ' is one who regularly , hab i t ua l l y , or ' b y nature ' does or is concerned with the thing ind i c at ed , a noun in - m a r a does not . l Most forms in - m a r o that I have c ome acro s s re fer to Wanj dj u�as ( s e e Cap e l l 1 9 3 9 ) or o t h e r b e ings o f t he mythic p a s t who a r e d e s c ribed a s having done or b e e n c oncerned with the t hing indicated in the - m a r o form , within the context o f a part i c ul ar s t ory whi c h i s t o l d about By as s o c iat ion the - m a r o word i s t hen o ft e n used a l s o to r e fer 2 t o t he place at which the e vent o c curre d .
t hem .
Examp l e s o f - m a r a forms are :
ra 1 i dj
ma ra
The o n e who s h o n e
mara
The o n e who v om i t e d
to s h i n e
y ug v omi t 2.6. 1 . 3.
- mo y a ( "'- m a y a )
Thi s suffix t o o is used on nouns and verbal part i c l e s to derive human o r higher animat e nouns .
I am unab le to a c c ount for the a / o
alt ernat ion in this morpheme on e ither phono logical or s emant i c grounds .
Regardle s s o f t hi s alternat ion , the meaning o f the s u f f i x
i s something like : one w h o h a s b e e n p e rman e n t ly affe c te d ( u s ua l ly adv e rs e ly ) by an i n c i d e n t cruci a l ly invo l v i n g . . . .
For e xample :
b a ':l a n
moya
a you t h w h o h a s r e a c h e d marri a g ea b l e age
to reach marriageab l e age
w i 1 med
maya
o n e who s u s t a i n e d inj ury i n a n i n c i d e n t i n v o l v i n g w i re
moya
one who s u s t a i n e d inj ury i n an i n c i d e n t i n v o l v ing a boab t r e e
wire
d j u l) u r i boab
l
These . then, are agent ives of Benveniste ' s ( 1948 : 6 2 ) -tor type .
2
See sect ion 3 . 3 . 1 . 1 . 1 below for an alternate means of carrying out both of these fun ct ions , whi ch has largely replaced the -ma ro derivat ion in present-day Ul)arinj i n .
125
Unlike - b a � a , t h e suffix - m a y a � - m o y a i s mos t o ft e n u s e d t o form Mo st - ma y a � - mo y a derivat i ve s , that is to say , are
pers onal name s .
underst ood to have definite r e ference to unique individua l s , rather than b e ing app l i c ab le t o c la s s e s of individua l s .
Thi s is true , for
i n s t ance , of t he last two of the three e xamp l e s above ( t hough d e c i d e l y untrue o f the firs t one ) .
Wi lmed-maya , a l s o c a l led Waya-maya ( i . e .
wire - m a y a ) i s a part i c ular individual at Mowanj um who i s known t o have
s uffered an a c c ident in whi c h h e got wrapped up in a t angle of b arb ed wire .
Dj uQu�i-moya i s another man from Mowanj um whos e unlikely fate
it once was to have a boab tree fal l over on top of him .
Intere s t ingl y ,
j ust where s uch incidents are the b a s i s for pers onal name s of t h i s kind , the suffix - m a y a � - mo y a i s o ft e n omi t t e d .
The t w o m e n j us t
ment ioned , for i n s t anc e , a r e mo s t c ommonly c al l e d Wi lme d and Dj u Qu�i . 2.6. 1 .4.
- ma � i
Thi s suffix i s used on nouns and verbal p ar t i c l e s t o derive nouns fo r whi ch the suffix c an be glo s s e d p Z ace of.
The s e are usually
proper t oponyms , wh ich are unde r s t o od t o r e fe r t o o ne part i c ular p la c e mee t ing t hat des cript ion , e . g .
w i nj dj a
ma� i
P Za c e where bamboo grows
ma� i
Ea t ing p Z ace
ma� i
Wi Z d me Z on p Z ac e
ma� i
Wha t - ch a -ma aa Z Z i t p Zace
bamboo
m i nj dj a l to e a t
Qarud wi Z d m e Z o n
wand i m i
wha t - ch a -ma ca Z Z i t 2 . 6 . 2 . Adj e c t i v a l
De r i va t i ve s i n - g a d j i n
Thi s suffix i s used t o derive , from nouns , adj e c t iv e s meaning ' re s emb ling , o r s imi lar t o ' the t hing r e fe rred t o by the noun .
The s e
derived adj e c t ive s , regard l e s s o f t h e ir phono l o gi c a l shape , never t ake pronominal prefixes ( c f . s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 4 ) . Some e xamp l e s are :
wOQay woman
gadj i n
( Z o o k s ) Z i k e a woman ( s a i d o f wi th Z o n g hai r )
a
man
126
mayga
gadj i n
( ta s t e s ) Z i k e crus h e d a n t s ( s a i d o f Zemon jui c e )
gadj i n
(fZake s ) Z i k e ins u Za to r g Za s s ( s a i d o f a c e r ta i n red o r y e Z Zow co Z o ur e d s to n e )
cru s h e d a n t s
d j i mb i l a -
ins u Za t o r g Za s s 2 . 6 . 3.
Adverb i a l
D e r i v a t i v e s i n - w1 a
The suffix w l a ( � b a l appears on adj e c t ive s and nouns , turning Mo st o f the de nominal one s are rather di ffi cult
them into adverb s .
t o trans late into Engl ish b e cause we have no regular means o f deriving adverb s from nouns ( e xcept for t hat pedant ' s b ane , t he -wi s e derivat ion, whi c h i s , however , more limi t e d t han - b a in its app l i c at i on s , even by the mo st unre s t rained users ) . Examp l e s o f derived adverb s in - w l a are :
ada
uma r i
sit
the 2 do
medj e r i
wa
two
The two (demons - turned- t o - s tone ) s i t t h e r e , dua Z Z y
be l en
- ba
rear
ma 9 u
aQga
wa Z k
he w e n t
He w e n t a Z o n g b e h i nd
ganda
- ir
d a ! ag
w i nj i
p e n e t ra t e
i t (bamb o o ) d i d
- wa
this
The s e - tw o - p Zace s -wi s e i t p e n e t r a t e d ( s a i d o f a bamboo s p e a r w h i ch p i er c e d t h e f Z e s h i n o n e p Za c e , a n d pas s e d through, and p r o t ruded o u t through ano t h e r )
nambad
b u dmen
t h e y do t o come toge t h e r e a c h o t h e r
wa l g u woman
- wa
wa h u s b and
They come t o g e t h e r as h u s b an d and w i fe
The form o f this adverb i a l i s ing s uffix , i t may have been not i c e d , i s ident i c a l t o that o f t h e it e rat i ve suffix whi c h appears on verbal part i c le s .
The t wo - w l a s u f fi x e s have such d i f ferent fun c t i ons that
their formal i dent i t y in pre sent -day U Qa�inj in s eems pure l y a c c i de nt a l . What the h i s t o r i c re lat ion s hip may have been is an interest ing que s t ion who s e inve s t i gat ion awai t s firm c omparat ive e vidence .
127
2.6.4.
P a n - C l a s s S u ff i xa t i on
A l l o f the suffixes treated immediat e l y above ( s e ct ions 2 . 6 . 1 - 2 . 6 . 3 ) are one s wh ich c an b e suffixed t o words o f only one , o r at mo st two d i f fe rent c la s s e s .
The suffixes treated i n this s e c t ion are t h o s e
whi c h a r e n o t s o limi t e d in d i s tribut ion .
Mo st o f them , inde e d , can
o c c ur on a word o f any c las s . The other thing t hat s e t s t h e s e suffixe s apart from t h o s e i s t hat , with the pos s ib l e e xcept ion o f the last two , - � a l a and - � a r i , they are not deri vat i onal suffixe s .
That i s , they do not change the
grammat i c a l c la s s o f the words to whi ch they are suffixe d . 2.6.4. 1 .
- Y2a 1 i
Thi s s uffi x , whi ch s t rengthens t o - d a l i in the e x p e c t e d environment s ( 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 ) , can b e affixed to a word o f any c l as s .
emphat i c .
i s a f fi xe d , this i n de e d . 2.6.4.2.
I t s meaning i s
It says , o f t he t hing re ferred to b y t he word t o whi ch it For s ome e x amp l e s , s e e p . 1 8 .
-�a
Thi s suffix t o o c an b e affixed t o a word o f any c las s .
It has a
func t ion in d i s c o urse whi c h i s c omp l ementary to that o f - Y 2 a 1 i
( ab ove ) .
It t o o i s empha t i c in meaning , b ut with a s omewhat di fferent forc e : whi le - Y 2 a 1 i s imp ly a ffirms , - � a emphas i s e s b y imp l i e d c ompari son . The l at t e r , that i s , always c ar�ie s with it the idea that there are o t he r ( at l e ast conce ivab l e )
' things ' from among whi ch this one in
part i c u l ar is s ingled out for emphas i s .
I f - Y 2 a 1 i c an b e g l o s s e d
i n de e d , - � a mus t b e glo s s e d e s p e c i a L Ly , j u s t , a L o n e o r o n Ly .
For e xamp l e :
a b u ! an - �a
r i dj
wa rma�a
ge n t L e
puLL
w e took i t
We p u L L e d i t e s p e c i a L Ly
you (s g . )
( v ery ) g e n t L y
�a l a
nj i nd i
sick
y o u are
You a Lo n e are s i c k
�a ! a sick You ' re just
nj i nd i y o u are ( o r e s p e c i a L Ly ) s i c k
128
I) a
ni think
m u dm i n d a n i
m a l) a r i
m i nd i
they took i t
foo d
that
They o n l y t h o u g h t a b o u t t h a t fo o d 2.6.4.3.
-ga
This e lement appe ars on word s o f e very c las s .
I t s b a s i c func t ion
i s ne gat ion , one whic h it s hare s with the ne gat ive mode part i c l e w a But whereas w a negat e s who le propos i t i ons , - g a
( se c t i on 3 . 3 . 1 . 4 . 1 ) .
negat e s s i ngle words o r phrase s .
The negat e d c o n s t i t uent usua l l y
appears in sentence -ini t ial ' fo c u s s ed ' posit ion and t h e verb i s marked for irre a l i s mode , j ust a s it would be if wa were doing the negat ing . For e xamp l e :
- ga l a 1 - *w 2 a 2
a n i l) g e n
- lu I
masc . -irr .
for h i ms e lf
past
(lome/go
a l) g a l) i
+
prox .
N o t for h i m s e lf h a s he (lome h ere
dj andu
IY;T
- g a l a 1 - *w 2 a 2 mas c . -irr .
ordi nary
1) 1 1
-
past
be
He was no o rdi nary man
dj i ga l
- ga
I l) a r
yiril
1 pl . ex .
lie
(lome /go
+
I) a r g a y l r i
c ont .
L y i n g we are n o t
Iwu
a b u ! a n - g a dj a r i g e n t ly
*w 2 a 2
-
w - c la s s 3 s g . irr .
move
He didn ' t take i t
+ IiiiTiida - y i - y I r I I wUl)gum .l n d ey .l r .l
take past
c ont .
(a b o a t ) i n gen t ly
Nega t i ve - g a a l s o app ears in c opulat ive c laus e s which have no overt verb , in which case there i s , of c ours e , no overt irre a l i s marking . For e xample :
Ima
2
m - c la s s
- yiri
gal
m - c las s : i t
one
I t i s no t u n i q u e
n U l) g u ! a
me r l g a m l n d l
+
- ga
(i . e .
- g uge
fa t i g u e He i s tire less
com .
t h e re i s more t han one )
- ga
dj l na mas c : h e
129
As t h e l a t t e r e xamp le i l l u s t rat e s , negat i ve - g a c an b e used ' di st ribut ive l y ' .
A ' doub l e negat ive ' , t hat i s , i s negat ive rather
than p o s i t i ve in meaning . In add i t i on to ( and , as I s e e it , deriving s e c ondar i l y from ) the negative func t ion j u st d e s c rib e d , t he e lement - g a per forms anot her r e l at e d , but synt ac t i c a l l y d i s t inct funct ion : i t serves as an interrogat ive marke r . Like i t s nega t i ve c ounte rpart , int errogat i ve - g a usua l l y appears enc l i t i c to t he first word of t he sentenc e .
But int errogat ive - g a i s
d i s t inguishable from ne gat ive - g a in t hat , whi l e the lat t e r appears in c o n s t ruct ion with irrea l i s verb s , the former appears in c o n s t ruc t i on with ind i c at ive ones . For e xample :
-ga
manj d j a n
landa
Im a ( r a)
2
b - c las s 3 s g .
money
l ui
-
->-
a n d um a r a l u
prox .
take/b r i n g
Is h e g o i ng to b r i n g money?
bad
-
ga
I bunda2
Im a ( r a)
b - c la s s
grea s e
3 pI .
Qal
take/b r i n g
->-
b u n d um a Q a
past
D i d t h e y ilre a s e i t ?
dj i na - ga
waQd i dj
he
make
Iwu
n i - Q a r i / + wo n i Q a r i
2
w - class
3 sg.
act on
past
re I .
Is h e t h e o n e w ho made i t ?
Qi n-ga I Who, 2. 6.4.4.
me ?
- w1 i n i
('" - b i n i )
Thi s s u ffix has already b e e n d i s c u s s e d ( s e c t i on 2 . 2 . 1 4 ) with r e s p e c t to i t s o c c urrence on verbal part i c l e s a s a punc t ual aspect marker .
I t a l s o o c c urs on words o f other c la s s e s with a c l o s e ly
r e l at ed func t ion .
Thi s happen s s o s e l dom that I c annot yet say with
cert aint y what c la s s r e s t r i c t i ons t here are ( i f any ) o n i t s o c c urrenc e . The meaning o f - w 1 i n i in s u c h c a s e s i s hard to g l o s s uni formly , but t here is defini t e l y an invariant e lement involved , and it is one whi c h t h e s e other u s e s o f - w 1 i n i have in c ommon w i t h i t s u s e a s an a s p e c t
marke r .
130
C o n s i der , for i n s t anc e , the fo l lowing c as e .
There i s a t emporal
adverb g a Q a Q g a n , which i s the usual word for now .
But t h i s word
is not one whi ch reckons the present as an infini t e s imal point moving along a t ime l ine .
Rather , if the image of the l i ne is appropriate
at a l l , g a Q a Q g a n mus t b e thought of a s a s e gment a long the l ine , who s e l e n g t h vari e s a c c ording t o c ontextual fac tors .
I t i s usua l l y s horter
than a day and i t s end p o i n t s acc ordingly are usua l l y s omewhere between l as t night and tonight . word for today . )
( g a Q a Q g a n i s , in fac t , the usual
What i s o f int e r e s t here i s t hat , in order t o c onvey
the idea of a punctual
' now ' - one wh ich doe s re ckon t he pre sent a s a
point - t he word g a Q a Q g a n is suffixed with - w i n i , j us t as verb a l part i c l e s are s uffixed with - b i n i in order t o port ray a n a c t i on as an i n s t ant aneous one . Thi s c ontrast c an be seen in the fol lowing s tret ch o f t e xt :
g a Q a Qgan
ba� i
aQan i . . .
t o day
c ome to
I have come to h i m
bini
gaQaQgan now
budj u
a Qo n j i r i
fi n i s h
I am do ing him
I h a v e come t o him today fini s h i n g u p w i t h h i m
(now) . . . (and) righ t now I ' m
In a l l o f t h e s e c a s e s in which - w l i n i appears on other words b e s id e s verbal part i c le s , there s eems to be s omething of this ' punc t ua l ' sens e .
Where the suffixed word i s not a t emporal o ne , the
me aning i s s omething l ike pre ci s e ly or exac t ly . For e xamp l e :
wini
anj dja wha t ?
go i dj
nj i nd i nJ i
drink
you were
Exa c t ly wha t ( or how much) did you dri n k ?
wini
Q i y a n ama l a my hand ( fi n g e r )
wa r i
m i nj i
burn
i t did
I g o t burned r i g h t o n t h e fi nger ( N . B . There i s no s eparate word for fi nger . ) 2.6.4. 5.
-dje
Thi s suffix appears on verbal part i c le s , whe re i t s meaning c an b e g l o s sed agai n .
I t a l s o appe ar s on finite verb s with t he s ame meaning .
131
For e xamp l e s :
dje
b u r Qu ! i Qga
They gave t o e a c h o th e r again ( o r w h e re g i v e n t o a g a i n )
ba l u
dje
Come h e r e again
- dj e
/da ! i dj ca l l t h e name o f
nj i nj dj a
- w 2 a 2 - Im a { r. a) /
+
d a l. i d j e n j i n j d j a · m a r a
again fern . 2 s g . irr .
Don ' t ca l l h e r name again !
ma l Q a n a m i n d i
wud
- dje
m - c l a s s swim
cre e k
again
/ Qan
- w 2 a 2 - Ia - y l r i - n j a / + Q a n g a y i r i n j a
1 s g . irr .
go c ont . d i s .
I m i g h t b e s wi mm i n g away o v e r t h a t cre e k again
A s t he s e e x amp l e s s ugge s t , t h i s suffix s e ems t o b e a l l owed t o o c c ur on the fini t e verb j u st when it is not paired with a verbal part i c l e . Compound verb s , on the other hand , t ake the suffix on the part i c l e . But - d j e a l s o o c curs on words whi c h are out s i de the verbal s y stem altogethe r , in which c a s e it func t ions s omewhat different l y .
The
meaning is s t i l l agai n , b ut now t he imp l i e d repe t i t ion is s omething whi c h is a s s e rt e d , not ab out t he a c t i on des crib e d , but rather about t he act o f d e s crib ing .
I f - d j e on verb al words me ans j u s t as happ e n e d
b efor e , i t s meaning on non-verbal o n e s ( and , s omet ime s , amb i guo u s l y ,
on verbal ones as we l l ) i s : j u s t a s I s a i d b e fore .
This t he n is the
again whi c h in Engli s h i s s e t off b y a s p e c i a l int onat i o n pattern -
one whi c h , in wri t t e n Engl i s h , is repre sented b y s e t t ing the word o f f b y c omma s , as in t h e sec ond e xamp l e b e l o w .
Examp l e s o f - d j e on non
verbal words are :
b a l) m a n
dje
dJ i r i he
mag i ci an
T o s p e a k a g a i n o f mag�c�ans, ano t h e r magi c ian )
gunj a what
dje
n j i n me r i y o u are do i ng
Wha t , a g a i n , ape y o u d o i n g ?
h e i s one ( or , s imp l y H e i s
132
2.6.4.6.
- /w 1 a l u / � - w u l a
Thi s suffix appe ars on nouns , adj ect ives and pronouns , where it has a funct ion s imi l ar t o the ab lat ive-e lat ive use of the c a s e p o s t p o s i t ion But - w 1 a l u � - w u l a c annot b e c o n s i dered a c as e marker Whi l e ab lat ive -elative - Q a n g a means b e cause i t s meaning is de i c t i c .
- n a Qg a ( p . 7 2 ) .
m o t i o n away from, o r o r i g i na t i n g a t , - w l a l u � - w u l a means m o t i o n
Thus , alt hough c a s e
towards s p e aker, away from, or o r i g i n a t i ng a t .
l i ke in o n e way , it i s in another way c lo s e r in funct ion t o t h e proximad verbal suffix ( s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 1 ) w i t h whi c h it h a s the - w 1 a l u ( b a l u ) a l l omorph in c ommon . I am unab l e to a c c ount c omp l e t e l y for the alternat ion b e t ween the
/w 1 a l u / and - w u l a al lomorphs o f this suffi x .
A l l I c an s ay i s t hat in
environment s in wh i c h w unde rgo e s strengthening ( i . e . , aft er s t o p s and na s a l s ) , t he - w u l a ( + b u l a � - g u l a ) a l l omorph never o c c ur s .
That a lone
i s sufficient t o guarant e e that - w u l a is an a l l omorph o f /w 1 a l u / , and
not s ome d i s t inct su ffi x with a s l i gh t l y di fferent me aning .
But in
non-s trengt hening environment s t here i s an alt ernat ion b e twe e n - w u l a and - w a l u for whi c h I have been unab le t o d i s c over any s ort o f regular c ondit ioning factors . Some e xamp l e s o f this suffix are :
wa l u
muno o v e r t h e re
g a ra
ay i r i wa l u
may b e
h e i s aoming
Mayb e he i s aoming h ere from over t h a t way
bal u
g a ren Gra a i e ' s k n o b
maqu
a Qg a
wa l k
he aame
He wa l k e d h er e from Graa i e ' s knob
wu l a
gunj a l
he
w h e re Wh ere i s he
n o r t he a s t
2.6.4.7.
(here) fro m ?
wa l u
Qul a r He ' s
dj i n a
dj i na he
( h e r e ) from the n o r t h e a s t
- Qa l a
Thi s suffix o c curs on nouns , pronouns , adj e c t i ve s , and interj e c t ions . Coat e and Oat e s ( 1 9 7 0 : 3 5 ) notwithst anding , it appear s not to s erve any part i cular grammat i c a l funct ion , nor does it affe c t meaning very muc h .
133
I t i s perhaps a weaker vers ion o f - Q a , d i s c u s s e d above ( s e ct i o n 2 . 6 . 4 . 2 . ) in that what it s e ems t o d o i s t o add what may b e d e s c r i b e d
a s a weak ' part i c ulari s ing ' force . For e xamp l e :
nurun
I) a l a
y o u (p L ) you peop Z e
andu
bodj
he
Qa l a boss
He ' s t h e b o s s man
andu
wudj a
he
diffe r e n t
I) a l a
He ' s a diffe r e n t o n e
wa 1 i
I) a l a
wai t/s ti Z Z Not y e t !
buray
Qa l a
b u ray , wa l i !
no t/no/n o t h i n g No !
Wai t !
It i s p o s s ib le that - Q a l a should b e interpre t e d a s a nominal i s ing suffi x .
But e xamp l e s such a s the last one above c a s t s ome doubt upon
t h i s i nt erpret at i on . 2.6.4.8.
- I) a r i
This suffix appears on nouns , adj e c t i ve s , adverb s , and fini t e verbal words .
I t s func t i on when appearing on verb s i s a d i s t inct ( and
ve ry important ) synt a c t i c one , whi c h wi l l be treated at l ength in the next chapt e r ( se c t ion 3 . 3 . 1 . 1 ) .
When suffixed t o words of other
c l a s s e s , - Q a r i has a func t ion s imi l ar t o t hat o f - Q a l a ( b oth suffixes p o s s i b l y b e ing at l e ast h i s t or i c a l l y r e l at e d t o the - Q a suffix ( s e c t i on 2 . 6 . 4 . 2 ) .
When s uffixed t o nouns o r adj e c t i ve s , - Q a r i
usual l y ( b ut not alway s ) s eems t o have the e ffe c t o f turning them into nouns meaning one p e r s o n / t h i n g charac t e r i s e d b y Examp l e s o f - I) a r i on non-verbal words are :
b u ro l i
Qa r i
hair hairy o n e ( idiom for dog )
____
.
134
ba l u come
mu�a-mu�a-�a r i qui c k ly
Come q u i c k ly
d ub a ! a
�a r i
r e d/y e l low red-y e l l ow c o l o u r e d person ( i . e . person of mixed [ A b o r i g i na l n o n - A b o r i g i na l ] de s c e n t , o r a r e d - y e l low t h i n g )
CHAPTER THREE SENTENCE SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS
3.1 .
P h r a s e Ty p e s
3. 1 . 1 .
Verb Phrases?
There is no c o n s t i t uent t yp e in U � arinj in whi c h corre sponds t o the t radi t ional n o t i o n ' ve rb phra s e ' . Be cause the verb i t s e l f always incorp orat e s pronominal e l emen t s c r o s s -re feren c i ng i t s maj o r gramma t i c a l adj unc t s , i t c an more appropriat e ly be t hought of a s pronominali s e d ' re p l i c a ' of the sentence t han a s a sent ence const ituent b e longing t o the s ame o rd e r o f s t ruc t ure a s does the n o u n phrase ( c f . s e ct ion 3 . 2 ) . 3 . 1 . 2 . T h e N o u n P h ra s e
An U �a�inj in noun phrase may b e o f any o f the s t ruct ural t yp e s shown in Tab l e 3 1 . Type I , in which the NP takes the form o f a s ingle l e x i c a l noun or p e rsonal pronoun , need not conc ern u s here s i nce it doe s not invo lve any NP-int e rnal syntax ( s ee , i n s t e ad , s e c t ion 2 . 1 ) . Type I I , s ince it i s a c l a u s a l NP const i t uent t ype , i s treated in a l at e r s e c t i o n ( 3 . 3 . 1 . 1 . 1 ) . Type I I I , the c oordinate NP , c a l l s for s ome c omment here . Firs t , n o t e t hat each o f t he coordinat e d const ituents i s i t s e l f an NP and hence may b e ' rewrit t e n ' in any o f the five ways c o rresponding to each o f t he other NP t y pe s . C oordinat ion i t s e l f i s e ff e c t e d in t wo way s : 1)
By s imp l e j ux t apo s i t io n , c omb ined with the ope rat ion o f
numb e r/gender concord , e . g .
135
Tab l e 31 NP S t ruc t ural Typ e s
NP
I.
II.
I
N ( where N III .
{
+
l e Xi c a l noun personal pronoun
})
/ 1 '" NP
NP IVb .
NP
IVa .
/ ""-DET
N
( where DET
IVc .
+
{
' AnaPhor ' Demonst rat i ve
}
/ \Adj .
w u l. u m a r a '
l
-
tur t t e
b i r i - Qa
buna
[NP
]
d j aya fi s h
wanj dj i
b - c las s anaphor
co t t e c t a t o t
[
NP
/ \Po s s e s s o r
NP
djebara turkey b u s tard
buna
]
c oordinate NP -
andon i r i b - c l as s - 3 s g .
He had b e e n t a y i n g up a s upp L y o f emu,
2)
NP
N
emu c o l le c t ive pro ximal Coordinat e NP
�p
1 \S
IVd .
NP
ga�a Q i nj d j a
NP
NP
NP
NP
I
S
NP
NP
[[
NP
turkey,
-
Iw u 1 -pas t - c ont .
t ur t t e , and fi s h .
By the u s e o f a s p e c i a l ' c o ordinat ing ' p o s t p o s i t ion : - v a aft er
vowe l s , -a aft e r cons onant s . Unlike Greek
-TE
and Sanskrit - c a ( o f which it i s ot herwi s e
remini s c ent ) a � y a se rve s t o c onj o i n t h e NP on which it o c c ur s t o the o n e whi c h fol l ows it ( rat her t han t o the o n e which precedes i t , as in t he Gre ek-Sanskrit c a s e ) .
137
For e xamp l e :
wada
b u rw i n
Z i ke
3 pl .
- /w u -re f . -pres . 1
bunda
b rru
3 p l . pro ximal
peop Z e
w l yow i l a
m U l) u n a l) g a
p ub e 8 a e n t b O y 8
p ub e 8 a e n t g i r Z 8
(i . e . A bo r i g i n e 8 )
T h e 8 e A bo r i g i n e 8 - p u b e 8 a e n t b O y 8 and g i r Z 8 - t h e y Z i k e e a a h o th e r .
There appears t o b e n o di fferen c e in meaning between t h e s e two fo rmal means o f coordinat ion .
In a s e n s e the - y a � - a p o s t po s i t i on
mere l y reinfo r c e s a ' c ocrdinat ing ' e ffect whi c h i s alre ady there by virtue of j uxtap o s it i on c omb ined with gender/numb e r concord . Whe t he r or not they make u s e o f - y a � - a , c o o rdinat e N P s are s ub j e c t t o a c e r t a i n r e s t r i c t ion whi c h s e e m s t o ari s e from the nat ure o f t h e gende r/numb e r s y s t em , vi z . : No c oordinate noun phras e whi c h inc lude s , a s one o f i t s immediate const ituent s , a non-plura l i s ab l e noun ( s e e 2 . 1 . 5 . 1 . 1 ) may s t and in app o s i t ion to a pronominal e l ement unl e s s all of i t s other immediate c o n s t ituents are nouns of t he s ame gender . The mo s t import ant cons e quence o f t h i s r e s t r i c t ion i s t hat n o such noun phra s e may s e rve a s a c r o s s -re feren c e d grammat i ca l adj unct . Thus , whi l e human nouns , whi c h are mas culine , feminine , or non s i n gular , may all b e c oordinated wi thin a s ingle adj unct -NP whi ch g e t s c ro s s -re ferenc e d in the ' b c l a s s ' , other ( inanimat e , e t c . ) nouns may not , unle s s they are a l l o f t he s ame gende r , in which c a s e t h e ent i re NP may b e c r o s s -re ferenced b y an e l ement o f that gender . Inst e ad , t o p re d i c a t e t he s ame t hi ng o f s e veral argument s , words for whi c h are of var i o us genders , one us e s s e veral s hort s e n t e nc e s with like verb s , i n s t e ad of a s ingle one invo l v i ng a c o -ordinate NP .
Each
verb is infle c t e d for the c la s s of i t s p art i c u l ar adj unct noun ( s ) , e . g .
u l) g a ! u a b e e t - Z i ke tuber
m - c l a s s ob . 8he put
angar i
I n i I) a n I
a y am - Z i k e tuber
mas c . ob . 8he put
banimbun
wi n i I) a n i
a aarro t - Z i k e tuber
w - c la s s ob . 8he put
S h e p u t down u n g a ! u , b a n i m b u n , and a n g a r i ( t hree plant s , as yet unident i fied b y me , b ut whos e names are a l l o f di fferent genders )
138
Noun phrase t y p e s IVa , IVb , IVc , and IVd ( o f Tab l e 3 1 ) may a l l b e s ub s umed under a mo re ab stract t yp e : the head-attribute c o n s t ruc t ion . Here again , the prin c i p l e s o f gender-numb e r c oncord and l inear j uxtapo s i t ion both p lay a p art , but for t h i s construct ion the o r d e r in which e leme n t s are j uxt apo s e d a l s o b e c omes a s i gn i fi c ant fact o r . The gene ral princ iple , whi c h i s evident i n t he designat ion ab ove , i s t hat the attribute c omes immediat e l y a f t e r the head .
The ' modi fier ' ,
that i s , fo l lows t he ' modified ' . The degree o f regularity with whi c h t h i s order i s maintained var i e s among the d i f ferent sub-types a-d . The mo st rigidly ordered o f the he ad-at tribute construct i ons i s t ype a , whi ch c o ns i s t s o f a l e x i c al noun plus one from among t h e two s e t s of gende r -b e aring pronouns given i n 2 . 1 . 2 . 1 - 2 .
When the pronoun
is one o f the first of those two s e t s ( the ' anaphori c ' s e r ie s ) the order N -De t . is a b s o l ut e l y regular and invi o l ab l e .
When the pronoun
is a demonst rat ive , that order is very o c c a s iona l l y revers ed . H e ad attribute c onstruc t ion t ype IVb , since it invo lves a c l aus a l c o n s t i t uent , w i l l b e d i s c u s s ed in a l a t e r s e c t ion ( s e c t i on 3 . 3 . 1 . 1 . 1 ) . I t may b e noted here , however , t hat the regu l ari t y o f the ordering head-at tribute for this NP t ype ( in whi c h the at tribute is a c l au s e ) i s quite high - s e c ond only t o that o f type IVa . Phrase type IVc , in which t he at tribute is an adj e c t ive , i s rather more flexib le in its ordering .
Usually t he order is noun-adj e c t i ve ,
b ut t hi s i s quite o ft e n rever se d . Examp l e s o f t ype IVc NPs are :
g a �ma �gu
d j oma l i
yam
big
b i g yam
�abun
wun i ya �a r i
water
w - c l a s s + good
good water
b u� u
ya1 i
s ma l l
kangaroo
sma l l kangaroo
A s seen above ( 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 . 4 ) , words for numbers in U � a:r;' inj in b e l ong to the l arger c la s s o f adj e c t i ve s . s p e c i a l propert i e s .
But within t hat c l as s , they have s ome
A numb er greater than one c an o c c ur in what looks
l i ke a head -at t ribut e construction with a head noun whi ch refers t o a
1 39
unique individual .
When t hat happens , the meaning is a group of t h i a
numb e r o f i n di v i dua l a o n e o f w hom i a [ N ] .
For e xamp l e :
me d j e r i
O j u l) u r i Boab Tre e
(man ' a n i aknam e )
two
two p e o p l e , o n e o f whom i a Dj u l) u�i
What is of intere s t ab o ut this part i cular c o n s t ruc t i on is t hat it s hows a s t rengthened ordering r e s t r i c t ion .
As adj e c t ives , numb e r words
are usually permi t t e d opt iona l l y to precede t he i r head noun , even t hough they more o ft e n fo l low it , e . g .
medj e r i -ya two
medj e r i two
and
WO l) a y woman
fo ur women
or :
w O l) a y
m e d j e r i - y a me d j e r i
But when numb ers are u s ed in the s p e c i a l s omewhat i di omat i c way d i s c u s s e d ab ove , t h i s opt ional permutab i l i t y di s appears : the numb e r word c an o n l y fol low the noun . Thus , for instanc e , me d j e r i d j u l) u r i
( c f . O j u l) u r i m e d j e r i , above )
cannot o c c ur e xc ept with t he meaning two boab tre e a .
To mean
Dj u l) u�i and one o th e r p e r a o n , it mu st b e : O j u l) u r i m e d j e r i .
Noun phras e t ype IVd , in which the at tribut e i s a ' po s s e s s o r ' noun phrase is t he type for which the head-at t ribute ordering is l e a s t s trongly spe c i fi e d .
The e xtent t o whi c h t hat order is pre ferred
varie s dep ending on what kind o f p o s s e s s o r NP comp r i s e s t he attribut e . ( Inde e d , for one kind o f attribut e , the reve r s e order i s the normal one , as we shall see b e l ow . ) A p o s s e s s o r noun or noun phrase may indicate p o s s e s s i on in any o f five di fferent way s , four o f wh ich , vi z . : prefixat ion , suffi xat ion , independent p o s s e s s i ve pronoun , and genit i ve p o s t po s it i o n , have already been d i s c u s s e d and exemp li fied above ( 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 , 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 6 ) .
It will
suffice t o p o i nt out here th at , a s c an b e s e e n i n e x amp l e s given ab o ve for each type , the p o s s e s s o r noun or NP more o ft e n than not c ome s immediat e l y a f t e r the noun for the t hing p o s s e s s e d . The reverse is t rue o f t he fifth means o f i nd i c at ing p o s s e s s i on . That means i s one whi c h was not d i s c u s s e d along with t h e others in the morpho l o gy chapt e r b e c au s e it i s entirely syntac t i c , vi z . : s imp l e j ux t apo s it ion .
Thi s c o n s t ruc t i on actually s erve s as a n alt e rnat i ve
p o s s e s s ive phra s e for one other t ype o f p o s s e s s i ve , name l y t he ' human relat ionship ' kind whi ch i s usua l l y s i gnalled by means o f suffixat i o n ,
140
a s per . s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 2 .
For the s e t o f ' human re lat i onshi p ' t erms ,
it is the otherwi s e ' vo c a t i ve ' stem form which ent ers int o such p o s s e s s i ve j uxtapo s i t i o n .
Other , non-suffixing words re ferring t o
s imi lar s o r t s o f re lationships may a l s o b e j uxtapo s e d , a s in the last two e xamp l e s b e low , giving s omewhat b roader po s s ib i l i t i e s for t h i s kind of ' po s s e s s ion ' than e x i s t for suffixat ion . Thi s j uxtap o s i t i onal p o s s e s s ive c o n s t ru c t ion has invariab le o rder p o s s e s s o r NP - p o s s e s s e d noun , i . e . the revers e o f that which preva i l s f o r a l l o f the o t h e r p o s s e s s i ve c o n s t ruc t ions , and o t h e r kinds o f head-at tribute c o n s t ruct ions as wel l . For example :
dj i nda
ma r u l
ramb a r
grey - ha i r e d one mas c . proximal ( a t a s s i fi aa to ry ) mo t h e r - i n - taw Thi s o td g r e y - h a i r e d man ' s mo t h e r - i n - t aw
n j a l) a n
g a l) � i
you ( s g . )
una t e ( MS , MFF , MSS S , et a l . )
y o u r una t e
Memb i na l i
gaw i 1 a
(woman ' s name )
t i t t te one
Memb i na t i ' s a h i t d
and e ven :
ya 1 i
gaw i 1 a
k angaroo
t i t t t e one
t h e kangaro o ' s joey 3 . 1 . 3 . T h e Sy n t a x of N o m ; na 1
P o s t p o s ; t; or;
As e xplained in s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 1 , nominal p o s t p o s i t ions are in s y nt a c t i c const ituency with noun phr a s e s , o c c urring on the last word o f t he phrase whi ch they ' mo d i fy ' . t y p e s d i s c u s s e d above . 1.
I) i n
Examp l e s for each type are :
gu dat .
I
to/for me
Mawa n j d j ama
ra
Mowanjam
loc o
at Mowanjum
Thi s is t rue o f a l l o f the NP
141
[[ -
II .
n j on
ma r a
J
s -
- s
see
III .
r) a r i NP
[[
MOWa ! d j i y a l i
[ [:
IVc .
[
[
a
J
,mb " "
- Nj e ra
J
J
l-
� J m""o
yu
]
- DET m-c las s -di s t al -
lat .
wa l u prox .
h i t h e r from yon aamp
[: ' I J r
w o r) a y
nj i nd l
n j u m a r) a
-s
J
fem . -anaphor he t o o k h e r man woman NP t o t h e man who t o o k t h a t woman
[[
m" "
:J
hous e
-dj oma l i
I
-
big
ADJ NP
at the b i g h o u s e
IVd .
dat .
for the purp o s e of h i s s e e ing h e r ( c f . s e c t ion 3 . 3 . 1 . 2 )
NP aamp
IVb .
gu
h e aat o n h e r
- (man ' s name ) NP t o Mowa ? dj iya Z i and Nje r:a
IVa .
l
I
-d a m b u n -
]
N
]
- yu
rel . NP
lat .
- ra
]
]I
- r) i n a r) g a
- 1 s g . P o s s e s s ive Pronoun NP a t my aamp
aamp
0' ' ;
loc o
l
ra loc o
3 . 1 . 4 . A b b re v i a ted H e a d - At t r i b u t e Con s t r u c t i o n s
One t hing which all the type IV or ' head at tribut e ' constructi ons have in c ommon is t hat t he head noun i s s ometimes only an ' impl i c i t ' one .
Thus , under certain c ondi t i on s each o f t he last four NPs given
imme diat e l y above can appe ar , in e xa c t l y the s ame me aning , with ' de l e t e d ' head noun , a s fo l lows :
muno
wa l u
w O r) a y n j i n d i n j u m a r) a - r) a r i - y u d j o ma l i - r a r) i n i r) g a - r a
142
I t might b e argued that t he s e latter NPs are r e a l l y o f t yp e s I and I I ; that we needn ' t invoke the idea of ' de l e t i on ' or ' e l l i ps i s ' o r c laim that t hey involve any ' imp l i c i t ' h e a d nouns , b ut s h o u l d i n s t e ad s impl y say that they invo lve const it uent s whi ch , though not primary nouns , are used a s nouns i n t he s e part i c ular construct ions .
The
pro b l em wi t h such an approach is that i t provides no way of a c c ount ing for the fact t hat every such ' abbreviat e d ' NP is of a c e rtain grammat i c al gende r , whi c h i s not a lway s predi c t ab l e from the o vert form o r semant i c c ontent of what appears o ve rt l y as t he NP i t s e l f . The l a s t t hree NPs above , for i n s t ance ( provided their meanings are t ho s e of t he i r r e s p e c t ive c ounterpart s on pp . 1 4 0 - 1 4 1 ) are of the mas c uline , m - c l as s , and m-class gende rs r e s p e c t i ve l y , a fact wh i c h would u s u a l l y b e r e f l e c t e d in their c laus e -level re l at i ons o f pronominal concord , b ut whic h i s not pre d i c t ab le e xcept b y r e c ourse t o the d e l e t e d head nouns on p . 1 4 1 , who s e gender they share . G i ven t h i s e vi de nc e , I wi l l a s s ume t hat a l l such NPs ari s e from the ' de le t i on ' or ' e l l i p s i s ' of a he ad noun , whi ch remains as ' impl i c it ' o r , i f one pre fer s :
' pres ent in underlying structure ' .
3 . 2 . T h e S i mp l e S e n t e n c e Having laid out the o rde r-c l a s s s t r u c t ure o f t he U � a� inj i n verb i n t he last chapter ( s e c t ion 2 . 2 ) , I have already laid out a microcosm of the U � a�inj i n s imp l e s entenc e .
For , a s we have s ee n , the finite
verbal word contains pronominal e lement s wh ich cro s s -re ference a l l of the maj o r gramma t i c a l adj unct NPs whi c h , t ogether with that verb , c ompri s e a s imple sentenc e . The adj unct types t hems e l ve s and their charac t e r i s t i c s emant i c r e l a t ionships t o the verb c a l l for s ome comment here . The o c c urring cro s s -refere nc e d adj unct configurat ions may b e divided into two t yp e s , t h e s e l e c t i on between t hem being det e rmined by the c h o i c e of verb root . In t he first configurat i on , whi ch o c curs w i t h ' intran s i t ive ' root s , t here i s one o b l i gatory adj unct , t he ' sub j e c t ' , whi ch i s c ro s s r e ferenced i n order c la s s 5 , and ano t he r , opt i onal ' ob l ique ' adj unct which i s cro s s -referenced i n o rd e r c l a s s e s 1 5 and 1 6 . Semant i c a l l y , t he r e l at ionships whi ch may hold b et ween t he verb and e ach of the se adj unct s may vary c o n s i derab l y . 2 . 2 . 1 3 , the subj e c t may b e s t a t i ve o r act ive .
As d i s c u s s e d i n
Within the lat t e r
c las s , the s ub j e c t may even b e a s emant i c agent , in whi c h c a s e the opt i onal o b l i que adj unct , i f pre sent , i s a patj ent , e . g .
14 3
g u � � i - n a f) g a
f) u r n j u m a r a n a f) g a
hus band-3 s g . p os s . h i t fem . s ub .
w O f) a y
- lmi-p a s t - 3 s g . d . b . woman
The woman h i t h e r hus band
For intran s i t ive verb s , the s ub j e c t may even b e a s eman t i c pat ient , e . g.
bag i d bucke t
di w - class
w a f) g a
yora fi n
w - c la s s s ub .
- fa
-
past
T h a t b u ck e t was fi Z Z e d
Although the s emant i c re lat ionship o f adj unc t t o verb i s quit e variab l e , t h e ' ranking ' o f o n e adj unct with re s p e c t t o t he other remains c o n s t ant .
That i s , the o b l ique adj unc t is always in a more
' pe riphera l ' relat i onship t o t he verb than is the subj e c t .
Thus , in
t he n e x t - t o - l a s t e xample ab ove , t he s ub j e c t i s an agent and the o b l i que adj unct a pat i ent .
But in t he last examp l e , s ince the s u b j e c t is a
pat ient , the o b l ique adj unct , i f t here were one , could not b e a pat ient ( and c e rtainly not an agent ) , but would inst ead b e a ' b e n e fa c t i ve ' NP , re ferring t o s omeone on who s e b e h a l f the bucket was fi l l e d . The s e c ond o f the two c ro s s -re ferenced adj unct confi gurat ions i s t he one which o c c ur s with ' t ran s i t i ve ' root s .
I n this configurat ion ,
t here are two ob l i gatory adj unct s : a sub j e c t NP whi ch is cro s s r e ferenced in order c l a s s 5 , and a n obj e c t NP whi ch i s cro s s -re ferenced in order class 4 .
I n addi t ion , t here may b e another o b l ique adj unct ,
whi c h is c ro s s -re ference d in ord e r c la s s e s 15 and 1 6 , j us t as in the intran s i t i ve c o n fi gurat ion . Probab l y j ust b e cause t he re are more gramma t i c a l adj unct p o s i t ions avai l ab l e within t h i s t r an s i t ive configurat ion , the s emant i c r e l at i ons b etween the verb and each o f t hem are more narrowly c i rcums cribed than was s e e n t o b e the c as e for t he ' intran s it ive ' configurat ion des c r i b e d ab ove . The sub j e c t NP in t hi s c o n fi gurat ion i s a lways act i ve ( as oppo s e d t o s t at ive o r patient ) and almo st a lways a n agent .
The only maj or
c l a s s of t rans it ive verb s for which the s ub j e c t i s non-age nt i ve cons i s t s o f the s imp le t r ans i t i ve verb ;rrra to go to , t o gether with mo s t o f the compound verb s whi c h t ake t hi s root a s an aux i l iary ( s e e examp l e i n Tab le 3 0 ) . The o b l i gatory o b j e c t adj unc t in this c onfigura t i on i s usually a semant i c patient .
The ali gnment b e tween transit ive o b j e c t and
seman t i c pat i ent i s , however , s ometimes overridden by another kind o f a l i gnment whi c h t ends t o b e maintained i n U f)a�inj in .
144
The other kind o f alignment i s one which ari s e s from a general t e ndency t o favour , for verbal c ro s s -r e ference , NPs whi ch are highly ranked on the hierarchy o f NP t ype s which was e xemp l i fied above ( s e e s e c t i on 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 6 ) .
This i s t rue o f a l l o f t h e adj unct p o s i t ions o f the
t rans i t i ve configurat i on , inc luding the o b l igatory obj e c t adj unct . What thi s means i s t hat s ome verb s whi ch we might expect t o b e three place pred i c at e s , such a s t he rough e quivalent s o f Engl i s h ' gi ve ' and ' show ' , whi l e they do t ake an agent NP in t he s ub j e c t p o s ition , do n o t t ake a patient N P in t he obj e c t p o s i t ion , s ince t h e pat ients o f such verb s are typically inanimate obj e c t s , whi c h c ome at t he b o t t om o f the hie rarchy .
Such verb s i n s t e ad t ake , in the ob j e ct p o s i t ion , an
adj unct NP re ferring t o the e n t i t y t o whom s omething is given or shown , whi ch i s much more likely t o b e a hierarchi c al l y high-ranking , human noun .
The NP re ferring t o t he t hing given or s hown ( i f one i s pres ent ) ,
i s not c r o s s -referen ce d , but occupies t he ' Ob l ique I I ' p o s i t ion ( fo r whi ch , s e e b e l ow , s e c t ion 3 . 2 . 2 ) . For e x amp l e s o f g i v e sentenc e s o f t h i s kind ( for whi ch t he root i s
IQ u ! u , whi ch i s b e s t g l o s s e d a s g i v e t o ) , see pp . 1 5 2 , 1 7 1 . An e xamp l e involving the s how root , Im i y i m b u ( which i s b e s t g l o s s e d s ho w t o ) i s :
wOQay
nj um i y i mbunj i r i
g a ra g i
woman
fem . - 3 s g . - s how t o - pre s . cont .
bark b u c k e t
He i s s howing the b a r k b uc k e t to the woman
The t hird , opt ional adj unct in t h i s t rans it ive confi guration i s c ro s s -r e ferenced with the s ame form and order c l a s s e s a s used for t he s e cond , opt ional adj unct in t he intran s i t ive con figurat ion .
But
within t he tran s i t ive configurat ion , this third , suffi x a l ly c ro s s r e ferenced adj unct i s never a pati ent , but inst ead i s usually a ' b e n e fact i ve ' NP o f the kind d i s c u s s e d in s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 1 2 . 3.2.1 .
L i n e a r O r d e r of M a j o r S e n t e n c e Co n s t i t ue n t s
Grammat i c a l adj unct re lat i ons i n U Q a�inj in are s i gnal led mainly b y means o f pronominal cross -re ference wit hin t he s ys t em o f order c la s s e s d i s c u s s e d in t h e l a s t chapt e r .
But t h e ordering o f t he N P c o n s t i t uent s
t hems e lves does seem to be governe d , albeit very l o o s e l y , b y certai n norms having t o d o wit h adj unct r e l at i ons , s o that word order h a s a kind o f s e c ondary re inforc ing e ffect on t he s y s t em o f verb -int ernal order c l a s s e s .
145
The reason why word order can only p l ay a s e c ondary p art i n the s i gnal ling o f t h e s e relat ions ( which i s also the reason why i t would b e di ffi c u l t to undert ake a s t at i s t i c a l inve s t igat ion into the que s t ion ) is that in the vas t maj o r i t y o f nat ura l l y o c c urring U � a�inj i n s e nt e nc e s , one or more of the NPs cros s -re ferenc ed in the verb i s not overt l y pre s ent within that sentence e xc ept in the form of i t s pronominal man i f e s t a t i o n within the verb .
It i s obvious why
t hi s s hould be so in the c a s e of t h e personal pronominal catego ri e s : the verbal ' c ros s -re ferenc ing ' e lements c arry j u s t as muc h l e x i c a l s p e c i f i c i t y a s the corresponding fre e - s t anding pronouns ( s e c t ion 2. 1 . 1 )
For non-part i c ipant o r ' th'ird person ' NPs , the e lab orat e
•
d i f ferent iat ion o f form c las s e s b y gende r ' and numb e r gre atly fac i l i t a t e s t h e maint e nance o f pronominal r e ference over mult i -sentence s t r e t c he s o f di s c our s e , obviat ing the need for rep e t i t ion o f the NPs t hems e lve s ( e ven in ' abb reviat e d ' form ) w i t hin s u c c e s s i ve sentences ( c f . Heath 1 9 7 5 , and Rums e y , 1 9 8 0 : 2 2 -2 3 ) . As far as I have been ab l e t o det ermine , the ordering norms , i n order o f s t rength are as fol lows : 1)
In the tran s i t ive configurat ion , the ob j e c t NP precedes the verb .
2)
In the intran s i t i ve configurat ion the s ubj e c t NP p r e c e d e s the verb .
3)
In the t rans i t i ve c onfigurat i on , the s ubj e c t NP fol l ows the verb .
I f t here is any norm governing the l inear placement o f t he opt ional dative-benefac t i ve c on s t i t uent which is c r o s s -re ferenced b y pronominal s u ff i xe s , I have n o t b ee n ab l e t o d i s c e rn i t . 3 . 2 . 2 . The
' Ob l i q ue I I ' Adj u n c t
I n add i t i o n t o the verb a l ly cro s s -re ferenced adj unct t yp e s d i s c u s s e d above , t h e r e i s ano t he r , s omewhat neb ulous type w h i c h i s forma l l y i dent i fiable mainly on ne gat ive grounds : it i s a n N P whi c h i s neither c ro s s -r e fe renc e d on the verb nor marked b y a p o s t p o s i t i o n for any k i n d o f ' adverb ial ' func t ion .
S u c h N P s are u s u a l l y o f l o w
rank on t h e nominal hierarchy ( pp . 69-73 ) .
Semant i c a l l y , t h e y s e em
u s u a l l y t o b e patient s or t o b e ar a kind o f qua s i - i n s t rumental relat i on s hip to t h e verb . We have a lready s e e n one i n s t ance o f t h i s t ype of adj unc t , in the ' s h ow ' example on p .
pat ient .
1 4 4 , where the t hing s hown i s an ob l i que II
' Th i ngs g i v e n ' , whi ch are o b l i que I I adj unc t s within the
146
IQ u ! u ( g i v e ) c laus e , are perhaps s eman t i c a l l y int ermediate b etween patient s and inst rument s , IQ u ! u b e ing g l o s s a b l e as t v b e g ift b y means o f·
For the more c ommon kind of tran s i t ive verb whi ch cro s s -re ferenc e s inanimate N P s in the ob j e ct p o s i t ion , the o b l ique I I adj unct i s u s u a l l y more s t raight forwardly ' in s t rument al ' ; e . g . Ob l i que I I
C;; i n j d J a Q u nl
Ob j e c t
wog
andon
c o o k c o l l e c t ive - 3 s g . -pre s .
fi re
meat
t h a t ( b - c l as s )
He c o o k s t h a t m e a t wi t h a fire
When t he verb i s int rans i t i ve , the o b l ique I I adj unct i s usually a seman t i c patient , e . g .
me
wog
foo d
cook
ba imperat i ve
- ra
now
Co o k B ome fo od now !
m i n j d j a l b u dma ra eat
3 p l . ;;a - pas t
g ow a n a
nj i nd i
go anna
t h a t ( fern . )
They a te t h a t goanna
A s menti oned ab ove , t here is a t endency to favour for c ro s s re ference , i n a l l order c la s s e s , NPs which are relatively highly ranked on the l e x i c a l hi erarchy .
Thu s , although the s eman t i c pat ient
of an i nt ran s i t i ve verb i s usually cro s s -referenced b y a pronominal s u ffix if the patient is human ( as in the e xample on p . 1 4 3 ) , lower ranking pat ients are u s ually non- c r o s s -re ferenced ' ob l ique I I ' adj unc t s , a s in these last t wo e xamp le s . 3.3.
Comp l ex S e n t ences
3.3. 1 .
S u bo rd i na t e C l a u s e s
3 . 3 . 1 . 1 . The - Qa r i
Cl ause
In a p o s i t io n immediat e l y fo l lowing o�der c l a s s 1 6 , any fini t e verb e x c ept a n imperative o n e may t ake t he s u f f i x - Q a r i .
An import ant
di fference b e t ween the way - Q a r i is used on fini t e verbs and the way it is u s e d e l s ewhere ( as per s e c t i on 2 . 6 . 4 . 8 ) is t hat j us t on fini t e verb s , the s u f f i x i s in const i tuency not j us t w i t h the word on which i t o c c ur s , b ut with a l arger s truct ural unit o f whi c h that word is a part : - Q a r i , when s u ffixed t o a fini t e verb , marks that verb , together with a l l the words with which it would othe rwi s e c omprise a s e nt e nc e , as a s ub ordinate c laus e .
147
The range o f func t i ons s e rved b y the - o a r i c lause i s ( from an Angl o -c ent ric point of view anyway ) e x t reme l y b road and divers e . P o s s i b l e s yntac t i c / s emant i c fun c t ions o f a sub ordinate - o a r i c lause in s ome mat r i x sentence ( or s ome part o f it ) are l i s t e d in Tab l e 3 2 . Alt hough the form o f the s ub ordinat e c laus e i t s e l f ( or , in Chomski an t e rms , t he ' s t ru c t ural change ' b y which it i s derive d ) i s ident i c a l f o r a l l the s e funct ions , i t s p o s i t ioning w i t h r e s p e c t t o other e lement s o f t he mat r i x sentence var i e s i n fair l y c l o s e ac cord with its s ynt act i c -semant i c funct ion .
The s e o rdering norms are
d e t a i l e d immediat e l y b e l ow Tab le 3 2 , along with examp l e s of each of the various func t i ons s erved by the - o a r i c lause ( in s t anc e s of which are set o f f in the e xamp l e s b y b racket s ) . Tab le 3 2
- o a r i Clause Types Adverb i a l
Nominal and Adnominal 1)
2)
Re lative C laus e :
1)
l o c at ive c lause
a . with overt head noun
2)
t emporal c l ause
b . without overt head noun
3)
causal c lause
- o a r i c lause as s e nt e n t i a l
4)
ant e c e dent c laus e o f c ondit i onal sentence
3.3. 1 . 1 . 1 .
adj unct o f mat r i x verb
Nom i n a l
a n d Adnom i n a l
Uses
I l ab e l ' re l at i ve ' t h o s e ins t anc e s o f the - o a r i c lau s e i n which it funct ions as an adnominal mod i fi e r , forming a t yp e IVb head-at tribute NP ( p . 1 3 6 ) .
Whe n it o c c ur s i n t h i s fun c t ion , the - o a r i c lause
usually c omes r i ght aft e r t he mat r i x -l e ve l nominal c o n s t ituent which it modifi e s , e . g .
bi ri
[ n j a r u n l i n j b a n j i rw u n i - � we
h a � f way p e op � e t h o s e
w U l) a n ]
� o o k we a c t e d o n t h em-re l .
bed j a
b u dj u
b u r i nj i
a �r e ady
fin i s h e d
they have b e e n
Thos e ha �fway p e op � e to w hom we � o o k e d in the w U l) a n ( i . e . from whom we r e g u � a r � y r e c e i v e d s acred o b j e c t s ) h a v e a � ready b e c ome e x t i nc t 2 ) b a d m i y a l) g a r a we r e c o gn i s e d
b una these
We r e c o gn i s e d t h e s e t h e y t o temi s e
[9i t o temi s e
b u n don -�] t h e y a c t o n t h e m -re l .
(p � a n t s , anima � s , o bj e c ts ,
e tc . ) which
148
3) a r i
dj i nda
man
[ a l) u l) u ! a i) a r a
that
-�
I gave to h im-re l .
bedj a ba 1 j a
dj ubago
biri ]
tobacco
it
ama r a
Zeave
he did
Tha t man to w hom I gave tobacco has Z e ft
4 ) g u n j a ama what
h e do wh i te man
ch i Zdr e n
[ w a l) a ! a a l) g a
he
gad
dj i ri [ y i l a l a he
dj i r i
m a 1 1) a r i
I) a r i ]
h e wen t - re l .
crazy
a n don i
- I) a r i ]
h e a c t e d o n them - re l .
abandon
Wha t i s the w h i t e man do i n g who w e n t crazy and abando n e d his c h i Z dren ?
5 ) dj 0 1 i
ey a l u
come back
[ dj eb a r a emu
b e l ew a l u
i t i s -pro x .
n j a rw i l j a n i
back -prox
- na
we s p eared h e r
pauc .
w u n d u m a l) g u .
(name o f ho Ze in cre e k )
I) a r i ] rel .
It come s back h e re t o Wundumangu. w h e r e we speared an emu
6) brru
[ w u ! a n w u d i l) a n j i r i
(Ab origi na L ) men
word
- I) a r i ]
t h e y are p u t t i n g i t -re l .
wu rgo
mu ! i mu 1 i
t h e y m i g h t do to i t
pap e r
mara
gara
fi nd
may b e
loc o
The (A b o r i g i na � ) m e n are s e t t i n g down words m i gh t find t hem o n pap e r
( o n tap e )
One t hing demonstrat ed here ( in t h e fourth example ) i s that more t han one - I) a r i c lause may modi fy t he s ame noun . Note a l s o t hat ' re lat ivi s at i on ' b y means o f - I) a r i i s not s e n s i t ive t o the synt a c t i c func t i on of the r e l at ivised NP in the mat r i x s entenc e , nor t o that o f i t s c ore ferent ial c ount erpart in the - I) a r i c laus e , nor to the re l at ionship b et ween the two .
In 1 ) and 3 ) , the noun c ommon to
the mat r i x sentence and the - I) a r i c lause is one whi c h func t i ons as an intransit i ve sub j e c t in t he former and as a t rans i t ive ob j e c t in the lat t e r .
In 2 ) , it is a transit ive obj e c t in both .
In 4 ) , it is an
int rans it i ve sub j e c t in the mat r i x sentence and in t he first - I) a r i c laus e , and tran s i t i ve subj e c t in t he s e c ond .
In 5 ) , i t i s an o b l i que
II ( non-cro s s -re ferenc e d ) obj e c t in the mat r i x and a direct obj e c t in the - I) a r i c lause and in 6 ) , it i s a t rans i t i ve sub j e c t in b oth .
I
point a l l o f t h i s out b e c au s e U l) a�inj in di ffers sharp l y in this re gard
149
from othe r Austral ian l anguage s , such a s Dyirbal ( Dixon 1 9 7 2 : 9 9 ff . ) , Yidinj
( Dixon 1 9 7 7 : 3 8 5 ff . ) , and Ngayami l ( S cheb e c k 1 9 7 6 : 5 2 3 ff . ) ,
whi c h r e s t r i c t r e l at i v i s a t i on t o NPs in c ert ain ( derived ) c a s e func t ions .
( Fo r examp l e , b o t h mu s t b e in ab s o lutive c a s e , e t c . )
Henc e , unl ike in t h o s e l anguage s the pat t ern o f re lat ive c lause format ion i n U �a�inj in does not charac t er i s e its s yntax a s ' erga t i ve ' or ' ac c us a t i ve ' .
( But s e e Rums e y 1 9 8 0 : 1 7 - 1 8 for another kind o f
argument o n t h i s quest ion . ) The one r e s t r i c t ion which does app l y i s that the c ore ferent NP in t he sub ordinat e c lause mu st be one wh i c h is c r o s s -re ferenced on the verb in t hat c l aus e ( t hough not ne c e s s ari l y on the verb i n the highe r c laus e ) .
This fact does n o t support any c laim regarding ' e rgat ivi t y '
or ' ac cu s at ivity ' , but it d o e s t e s t i fy t o the s y nt a c t i c c entra l i t y o f j us t t h o s e adj unct t yp e s which a r e cro s s -r e ferenced on t h e verb ( c f . Ke enan and Comrie 1 9 7 7 ) . Oft en the - � a r i c lause o ccurs wit hout an a c c ompanylng head noun . Mo s t such non-adnominal - � a r i c laus e s are what I c a l l ' adverb ia l ' c lause s ( se e s e c t i on 3 . 3 . 1 . 1 . 2 ) .
But s ome o f t hem inst e ad func t i on a s
' abbreviat e d ' n o u n phra s e s ( c f . pp . 1 4 1 -1 4 2 ) in the matr i x s entenc e , e . g.
be d j a
a �g a
a Z re a dy
h e went
�a r i ]
[ a � u l ow a n i
re l .
I fea r e d h i m
T h e o n e w hom I fe ared h a s a Z ready g o n e
bar i dj
nj ade�ga
yangu
ri s e
we d i d -re f .
wate r - Z i Zy
[ we i t is
- �ar i ] -
re l .
- ra - loc o
We ro s e up agains t e a c h o th e r ( a t t h e p Zace ) w h e re t h e water Z i Z i e s are
In t h e fi rst o f t he s e t w o examp le s , the - � a r i c l aus e fun c t ions a s a mas c ul ine noun , which , a s the s ub j e c t o f t he verb , i s c ro s s re ferenc ed w i t h a pronominal e l ement s howing i t s gende r .
One might ,
then , c laim t ha t the - � a r i c lause here , i f it lacks an overt head noun , does have an overt ' head ' in t he form o f that pronominal e lement . But the s e c ond e xamp l e shows t hat it is not always s o .
There the
- � a r i c laus e fun c t ions a s a noun which t ake s the l o c at ive p o s t p o s i t ion - r a , s pe c i fying the l o c at ion where the act ion des cribed b y the main verb t o ok p l a c e , but without even a pronominal e lement on the verb t o s erve a s i t s overt ' head ' .
Nonet he l e s s , I would i n s i s t , for the
reasons gi ven in s e c t ion 3 . 1 . 4 , that the s e are s t i l l ' re l at ive ' c laus e s , and c an mo st e a s i l y be acc ounted for by a s s uming an ' imp l i c i t ' head noun .
150
But there are other nominal u s e s o f the - f) a r i c lause in whi ch there i s no imp l i c i t head noun out side o f the c laus e i t s e l f .
The s e are
i n s t anc e s in which the who le prop o s it ion c onveyed by the - f) a r i c laus e s erve s as one o f t h e argument s o f the matrix-level pre d i c at e .
In
t he s e i n s t anc e s the - f) a r i c l au s e really does funct ion a s a c omp l e t e nominal c o n s t i t uent o f t h e mat rix sentence ( i n ' deep ' as we l l a s ' surfa c e ' st ructure ) .
Eviden c e f o r t h i s as sertion i s provided b y the
fact t hat t he - f) a r i c laus e in t h i s fun c t i on does not vary in gender to agree with t hat of s ome d e l e t e d head noun , but i n s t e ad b e ar s gender inherent l y : all - f) a r i c laus e s of t hi s k ind b ehave as ' t hings ' of the w - c l a s s neut e r gende r . For examp l e :
wa
wu ! a 1
no t
nice
[ f) a b u n
w U f) g e ( w - c l as s ) i t i s n ' t
a l coho l
g oy d j
f) a y a
drink
we go
f) a r i ]
For u s t o drink grog i s no t n i c e
or It ' s not nice for us t o dri nk grog
w i dj i ga
wa�a w l n j d j onj i r i
i s i t the cas e ?
like
[wana if
nj i ngebu
y o u ac ting on i t ( w - c l a s s )
f) a r i ]
I w i l l s end y o u Do y o u l i ke
( t h e i d e a o f) m y s e nding y o u ?
Grammat i c a l orthodoxy would d i c t a t e t hat the w - c l a s s pronominal e l ement whi c h appears on the s e verb s be interpreted a s a ' dummy ' e lement , like t he Engl ish word ' it ' in my g l o s s for the first o f t h e s e t w o e xamp l e s ( c f . , f o r ins t anc e , H e a t h 1 9 7 5 : 1 0 0 ) .
B u t such an
interpr e t at ion would not be c on s i s t ent with the Nga�inj in ideology o f lingu i s t i c ( inter ) action .
F o r t he t radit ional U f)a�inj in speake r ,
words do not mere l y repres ent t hings , they a r e things . spe c i fi c al l y , they are t hings of the w -c la s s ( c f . p . 4 1 ) .
More So when one
skips t o the meta-l ingui s t i c leve l , as one must in order to p o int to propo s it ions , one enters one o f t he s emant i c domains o f the w - c l as s . As means o f re ferring to s t r e t c h e s o f d i s cours e , the w -c l a s s pronominal e lement s are no empt i e r s eman t i c a l l y than are gender-b e aring demonst rat i ve pronouns in their app l i c at ion t o the non-l ingu i s t i c c on t e xt o f t h e s p e e c h act .
M y s u s p i c i on i s that U f) a�inj in i s not
r e a l l y very unusual in this regard .
Many of the s o - c a l l e d ' dummy '
e l emen t s o f o t he r languages t o o w i l l probab ly b e gin t o speak in interest ing and une xpe c t e d ways once we develop a the ory of language
151
whi ch al lows t h e grammarian t o s h i ft b a c k and forth b etween language and meta-language as e a s i l y as the nat ive s peakers do . 3 . 3 . 1 . 1 . 2 . A d v e rb i a l 3.3. 1 .1 .2.1 .
Uses
Loca t i ve
I am s omewhat h e s i t ant ab out inc luding ' lo c a t i ve ' as a d i s t inct adverbial u s e o f t he - o a r i c laus e b e c au s e it may b e b e t t e r to cons ider all apparent i n s t ance s o f this t yp e as , i n s t e ad , headl e s s relative c lause s whi ch are adnominal to an imp l i c i t ( d e l e t e d ) noun or pronoun
of p l ace ( e . g . m u n d a , 2 . 1 . 2 . 2 , 2 . 1 . 5 . 1 . 2 ) . The reason I am not c ertain
of this i s that s emant i c a l l y l o c at i ve - o a r i c l aus e s o ft e n o c c ur with out case p o s t p o s i t i ons ( r a , Y l u , g u et c . ) in p o s i t ions where a noun phras e would demand one .
Thi s s ugge s t s to me t hat such c laus e s are
int erpre t e d , on the mod e l provided b y the uses d i s c u s s e d b e low , as inhe rent l y ' adverb ial ' and t here fore not in need of any adverb i a l c a s e p o s t p o s i t ion t o mark them a s s uc h . Examp l e s o f - o a r i c l aus e s u s e d i n this way are :
L a r ry
med j e r i
banj i dm i n da n i
two
we t o o k t he m
[ dj aoa ! aoa ! a
e - oa r i ]
(man ' s nam e ) he i s
We p i a k e d up Larry and ano t h e r man a t t h e p Z aae where Dja o a f a oa fa died
ada
b u rw a n i
sit
t h e y did
[ d owa r break
waoga
oa r i ]
i t went
They s a t down ( a t t h e p Z aae ) where i t ( t he mai Z p Zane ) b r o k e down
A noun phrase o c c urring in p la c e of either of t he s e - o a r i c laus e s
( e ven a noun phrase o f t yp e I Vb or i t s ' abbreviat e d ' c o unterpart ) would require the l o c at ive p o s t p o s i t ion - r a . 3 . 3 . 1 . 1 . 2 . 2 . Temporal
Moving now t o i t s more properly adverb ial ( or perhaps ad- s entent ial ) u s e s , we may i s o l at e one kind o f - o a r i c lause who s e r e l at ionship t o t he mat r i x s e nt ence i s one o f t emporal s p e c i f i c at ion .
A s far a s I
have b e e n ab l e t o d i s c over , Hale ' s general i s at i o n for Austral ian languages ( Hale 1 9 7 6 : 7 9 ) , t hat this
' t emporal inte rpre t at ion ' is
p o s s i b l e when the main and s ub ordinate c laus e ' make ident i c a l t ime re ference ' , holds t rue for U o a�inj in , l
l
but only after a c ert ain
Hale does not make it clear whether this is an ' if and only if ' condition or only I n Uoatinj in , it seems t o be the former .
an ' if ' one .
152
adj u s tment .
The phrase ' make ident i c a l t ime r e ference ' mus t b e
replaced by :
' c ontain verb s w h i c h a r e marked f o r the s ame t en s e , w i t h
imp erat ive mode to b e t aken as imp l ying pre s ent t en s e ' .
�his
alt erat ion i s n e c e s s ary b e cause t emporal - Q a r i c l ause s , a l t hough they mat ch the main c l au s e in grammat i c a l tense , do not always ' make ident i c a l t ime re ference ' . o t herwi s e .
The re are two ways in which they b ehave
The first is one whi ch a l s o s eems to b e t rue o f t he Walb iri
data whi c h Hale pre sents in s upport o f his genera l i s at ion ( op . c i t . p . 7 9 ff . ) , whi c h means that s ome re finement s are in order even with respect t o Walbiri .
The prob lem , it s eems , i s t hat adequate a c c o unt
was not t aken of t he e ffe c t of aspect on ' t ime r e ferenc e ' .
In s ome
of Hale ' s examp le s , as in my last examp le b e l ow ( p . 1 5 3 ) , the t emporal c l ause r e fers t o an ongoing a c t i on who s e duration include s the b e gin ning and endpo int o f the act ion des cribed in the main c l ause , but ext ends beyond it in one or b ot h dire c t ions .
Such pairs o f verb s may
be of the same t en s e , but cert ainly do not make ' i dent i c a l t ime re feren c e ' . The s e c ond way in which U Q a�inj in t emporal c lauses violate Hale ' s formulation i s t ha t , e ven where the tense and aspect o f the s ub ordinate and main c l au s e s are b oth ident i c a l , the t e mporal relati onship b e t ween t he t wo may b e one o f s equent iality rather than s imultane � t y .
When
the - Q a r i c lause c arri e s t hi s p art i cu l ar sense , i t is usually ac c ompanied b y d i
then o r d i - y u after t h a t o c curring as a t emporal
spe c i fi e r in t he main c laus e , a s in the first three e xamp l e s b e l ow . Examp l e s o f the ' t emporal ' - Q a r i c lause o c cur in the fo l lowing sentence s :
fi n i s h
di
�] ,
ama
[ budj u
ba l u
yu
aft e r tha t
h e do e s
come h e re
Come h e r e w h e n he has fi n i s hed
[ ga ragi
yora
waQg a - Qa r i ]
d i - yu
banj i rQ u l i n i
buc k e t
fi Z Z
i t went
after t h a t
we gave t o t h e m
Whe n t h e b u c k e t h ad b e e n fi Z Z ed, we gave i t to t h em
[ y i l l dj rainy w e a t h e r
ay
e
none
i t is
�]
di
dj a r i
a Qon
then
'l e a v e
I act on him
I ' Z Z 'l e a v e him when the r a i n y w e a t h e r has ended
[ andu dj i na he
that one
Qu l an
Qa dma - �] Q u l a n
mo ve
we do
Wh e n w e mo v e , he m o v e s too
move
ama
nje le
he do e s
a Zs o
153
[ ma l g a dance
nj a dmara
-�] ,
w e did
Wh i Z e we dan c e d,
m l nd j a l
b i r i nj i
eat
t h e y did
t h e y ate
[ b u rw i l j e l) g e r i
�]
d e l1 a r die
t h e y w e r e s p e aring each o th e r
a l) g a he wen t
He d i e d during t h e c o u r s e o f t h e i r throwing s p e ars at one another 3.3. 1 . 1 . 2 . 3.
Causal
Cl ause
Some t ime s the r e l at i onship b etween the s t at ement made b y - I) a r i c l ause and t hat o f i t s mat rix sentence i s t o b e understood a s one o f c ause and e ffe ct .
' Causal ' - I) a r i c laus e s r e s emb le t emporal one s i n
that t he y a lmo s t always o c c ur b e fore t h e matrix-level verb , and in that the l a t t e r is often a c c ompani e d by the word d i .
I n instances
where the cau s a l c lause share s the other chara c t e ri s t i c diagn o s t i c of t emporal c laus e s , i . e . t hat the tense o f i t s verb mat ches t hat o f the mat r i x verb , both the t e mporal and the causal readings are usual ly possible .
Inde e d , it may be unrea l i s t i c e ve n t o d i s t inguish two
readings , the princ i p le :
' Po s t hoc , e rg0 propter hoc ' b e ing fal la c i o u s l y
as sumed v a l i d b y U l) arinj in speakers as c ft e n as it i s b y the rest o f us . Not a l l causal c laus e s are amb i guous in t h i s way , b e c au s e not a l l o f t hem mat ch their mat rix s e n t e n c e s in verb tense . Examp l e s o f sentenc e s inc luding - I) a r i c laus e s whi c h c an or mus t b e int erpret e d as causal are :
�] ,
[ w a st a n j o n i
di
Z i k e he a c t e d on h e r
bedj a
I) a y a n j a
ama ra
a Z Z ri g h t ,
Z e t t s go
he said
B e c a u s e h e Z i k e d h e r h e agre e d t o g o
[ d u rama l a b Za c k c o c k a t o o B e c au s e
[ I)a 1 a meat
b a l j a a � a l u - I) a r i ]
yaydj i
awa n i
come
happy
h e fe Z Z
(or when)
s h e came to h i m
the b Za c k c o c k a t o o came to h i m , h e was happy
b una
b udj u
t h a t ( b -c l as s )
fin i s h
a n don i -
� a n i l) g e n - I) a ]
he a c t e d o n i t h ims e Zf o n Z y
b unda that
I) a l a
m i ndj a l mad i
( b - c las s ) m e a t
I) a d i
e a t a Z s o w e do
Because he fi n i s h e d that meat a Z Z by h i m s e Zf, w e eat meat too
154
3 . 3 . 1 . 1 . 2 . 4 . T h e - I) a r i
C l ause i n Con d i t i on a l
Sentences
The U l)arinj in condit ional constru c t i on c a l l s for a - I) a r i c laus e as the ant e c e dent , wh ich precedes the main c laus e , whi ch in this c a s e c arr i e s t h e cons equent o f t h e c ondi t i ona l .
Often t h e - I) a r i c lause when
u s e d with this fun c t i on t ake s on a c lause-initial part i c l e w a n a or b u d j u . Between t h e s e t wo p art i c l e s , I have been ab le t o dis c over no di fference in meaning ( wh i c h i s not to s ay t h at there i s none ) .
The lat te r , b u d j u ,
may b e h i s t o r i c a l l y r e l at e d t o a homophonous verb al part i c l e which means ' finish '
( which o c c urs in the last examp le ab ove ) , and/or a b orrowing
from Pidgin/Cre o l e Engli s h b u j u «
' s upp o s e ' ) , which me ans ' i f ' .
Counter-fact ual c ondi t ional sentence s , as one might e xpect , have an irre a l i s verb in the ant e c e dent c l aus e , as in the last e x amp le b e low . Examp l e s o f c ondi t i onal sentenc e s inc luding - I) a r i c laus e s are :
[ yaw ama �a
�]
dI
dJ a r i
a l) o n - d a l l
t ea v e
I a a t on h i m - inde e d then
y e s he s ay s to me
I f h e s a y s yes t o m e , I ' t t sure t y teave him
uma -�]
[ b u d j u mo d u g a � a r if
aar
s tand i t do e s
balJa
I) i m a
go
I wi t t do
If t h e aar i s re ady , I wi t t go
[ budj u wa�a if
tike
w i l) d j o n -� ]
m a w i l) g l
yawun
di
ba l u
y o u a a t on i t
a o t d w e a t h e r - time t h e n aome
Come during the a o t d s e a s o n i f you t i k e
[ wana
g a y i l a n u m u ! u w l r a - �] ,
i f/wh e n
baak
we t t
ba l u
I) u m a n u
aome
I s ay t o you
i t wi t t be to me
di-
yal i
then
inde e d
If and w h e n my baak g e ts b e t t e r , I ' t t t e t t y o u to aome
[ w a n a g u r a � I) a r g uw a r i - I)a r i if
aro s s we 2 fa t t
d j oy
e
proper
he i s
y aw u r e ] ,
wanj dj u�a m i nd l - ya l i
B o i m i e Cre e k
If y o u and I aro s s B o i m i e Cre e k , Wandju�a r i g h t there
there
inde e d
t h e re w i l l b e a proper
155
[ g a l amb i
m i n d j a l - I) a
w h i t e egre t
eat
i l) g i l) i - � J . a m i n j d j e n
o n l y h e didn ' t
awa r a y
I l) g i l) i
one i s lao k i ng
h e wou ld h a v e b e e n
h i s anus
I f o n ly t h e w h i te e g r e t hadn ' t e a te n , h e wou l dn ' t h a v e an anus
Some t ime s the idea c onvey e d b y c o u n t e r fa c t u a l condit ional sentenc e s s u c h a s t h e l a s t e xamp le ab ove i s c onve yed wit hout t he u s e o f a - I) a r i c l au s e , b y a s imp le ' paratact i c ' s e quence o f irre a l i s c laus e s , ant e c edent fo l lowed by cons equent , e . g .
da
w i n j d j a l) u n g a n d a I) a b u n that
fi r e
u l) g u r e l) i
bura a l j i muna
b u rama ! a r
- ya l i
- l o c o i t had b e e n
water
people of ama ! a r moity
b u r g i l) i
ya I i
down t h e re t h e y wou l d have b e en
If fire had r e a l ly b e e n under w a t e r , p e o p l e of t h e ama lar mo i e ty wou l d i nd e e d h a v e b e e n down the re 3 . 3 . 1 . 2 . The -gu Cl ause
The e lement - g u i s one whi c h o c curs as a nominal p o s t p o s i t ion meaning to, for, for the purp o s e of, a s per s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 5 . Unlike the other nominal p o s t p o s i t i ons , - g u ( or a homophonous suffix with a very s imi l ar meaning ) c an also o c c ur on verb a l part i c le s , forming a re lat ive ly impoverished s ort o f int e n t i onal c laus e . For e x amp l e :
ada
ama ra
sit
he did
[ go i dj
gu ]
dri n k
He s a t down t o dri n k
g a n d a r a r g i w u n i y a - I) a r i
di
that
it
rook
good
one
[ I i nd i dj -gu ] pre s s u r e - fl a k e
Tha t ' s a g o o d r o o k f o r p r e s s ure f l a k i n g
m a l) a m a l) a l) a r i
b i : l) g a l u
q u i o k ly
t h e y oame
[ I i - gu ] watoh
They oame q u i o k ly in o rde r t o watoh
The s e - g u c laus e s , if they c an b e c al l e d c laus e s , are ' impoveri shed ' one s i n s o far as they c ontain none o f the s pe c i fi c a t i on o f a finite verb , nor any o f the other t rappi ngs of a ful l U l) arinj in sentenc e . The - g u c lause contras t s strikingly in t h i s re gard with t he - I) a r i c laus e ( ab ove , s e c t ion 3 . 3 . 1 . 1 ) , and the /rna c omp l ement c lause
156
( s e c t ion 3 . 3 . 1 . 3 ) , b o t h o f which c ontain e verything a ful l sentence doe s .
I n a t rans format ional a c count t h i s c ontrast would probab l y be
regarded as a mat ter o f sur fa c e structure , with t he - g u c laus e s b e ing derived , j u st a s the other kinds , from unde rlying sentences c ontaining a subj e c t , a verb , and sometimes an obj e c t .
Such a derivat ion would
have to b e r e s t r i c t e d so a s to b e p o s s ib l e only when the sub j e c t o f the matrix c lause i s coreferent ial with t he sub j e c t o r obj e c t o f t he s e n t e nc e unde rlying the - g u c lause .
A l s o required is a r e s t r i c t ion
t o t he e ffec t t hat the sentence under ly ing the - g u c laus e must contain a c ompound verb as opp o s e d t o a s imp le one .
The only part o f the
c ompound verb whi c h i s pres ent in s ur face st ructure i s , o f c ours e , the verbal part i c le ( s omet imes s uffixed with the i t e rative aspect marker
- wl a ) .
Since most verbal part i c l e s may o c c ur with any o f s e veral
aux i l iari e s , the ab sence of an aux i l i ary in surface s t ructure decreases s p e c i f i c i t y with r e s p e c t not only t o sub j e c t and obj e c t , b ut also re garding t he semant i c sub c at e gori s at i on o f the verb i t s e l f ( as per p . 117 ff. ) . Both o f these kinds o f amb i gu i t y can b e c i rc umvented b y the u s e o f a s omewhat di fferent purp o s ive c o n s truct ion whi c h , as far as I know , i s a permi s s i b l e alternat i ve t o t he - g u c lause in every c ont e xt in Thi s alt ernat i ve construct ion a l s o invo lves
whi c h the l a t t e r o c c urs .
the u s e o f the morpheme - g u , b ut not on the verbal part i c le .
I n s t e ad ,
it is added to a finite verb which has first b e en s uffixed with - Q a r i , turning the whole sentence wi t h whi ch it appears into a nomina l i s e d c lau s e .
Thi s c l ause w i t h - Q a r l ] - g u ] s uffixed t o i t s finite verb
serves the s ame adverb ial , purpo s ive funct ion as t he [ verbal part i c le +
g u ] c laus e , but include s a l l t he informat ion o f a ful l s e nt e n c e . For e xamp l e :
bora
aQga
l o n g way
h e we n t
[m
[ a ra see
Qa r i ]
n j on he a c: t on h e r
He w e n t a l o n g way i n order t o s e e h e r
djo1 i
eQi 1 u
re turn let h i m b e
I[ -
wu! a
Qadon -
talk
he act on us
J
gu
Qa r i ]
L e t h i m c:ome bac:k so he c:an t e l l u s
Quru
bi
l i s te n
b e ( imp . )
Listen
80
[[ l a Y b u r u -
know
nj 1 n d I you be
Qa r i ]
J
gu
t h a t y o u may know
I put doub l e bracke t s around these c laus e s , indicating an emb e dding of a - Q a r i c o n s t i t uent in the - g u c o n s t i t uent , b e cau s e I re gard this
157
- g u as t he nominal p o s t p o s i t i o n - g u ( s e c t ion 2 . 1 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 5 )
The s e - Q a r i
c laus e s then , are not in t hems e lves o f the adverb ial sort , but rather are t ype II nominal c onst i t uent s which here are rendered adverb ial by the use o f an adverb ial case p o s t p o s i t ion .
There i s nothing very
s urpri sing ab out t h i s , as the - Q a r i c laus e often fun c t i ons exac t l y l i k e a noun , in whi c h fun c t i on it may t ake any o f t he o t h e r nomi nal c as e p o s t p o s i t i on s a s we l l .
What may at first s e em s urpr i s ing , given
t he inc rement in s p e c i f i c i t y of the - Q a r i ]
+
g u ] c lause over the - g u
c lause i s that the former i s actually far l e s s c ommonly u s e d than the l at t e r .
But t h i s b e c ome s more unde r s t andab le when one reali s e s that
the - g u c l aus e , alt hough p o t e nt i a l l y amb i guous regarding s ub j e c t and obj e c t , i s , in vi vo , s e ldom amb iguous in t h i s re gard , part ly b e cause o f the e ffe c t o f its a s s o c i at e d r e s t ri c t ions on s ub j e c t -obj e c t coreference ( as p e r p .
1 5 6 ) , act ing i n c omb inat ion w i t h universal
princ i p l e s of lexical hierarchy . 3.3. 1 . 3.
T h e ;rna C o m p l e m e n t C l a u s e
The ;rna c omp lement c lause i s a ub iquitous cons truct ion t yp e in U Qatinj in - one which , l i ke t he - Q a r i c laus e , s e rve s a wide range o f func t ions , s ome , b ut n o t a l l o f whi c h , c an b e d i s t inguished from each other on synt a c t i c grounds . The d i s t inguishing charac t er i s t i c whi c h is c ommon to the ;rna c ompl ement c lause in a l l i t s funct ions is that it is
' framed ' b y the
pre sence , in its mat r i x sentenc e , o f s ome form o f the verb ;rna , which always c omes imme d i at e l y a ft e r t he c laus e in que s t ion . The verb ;rna, l e t u s r e c a l l ( Tab l e s 2 1 , 2 9 ) is a morphologi c a l l y intran s i t i ve o n e w h i c h means s omet hing l i k e do .
In t he ideal s emant i c
s y s t em w h i c h I have c laime d l i e s b ehind the pairing o f auxi l i ar i e s w i t h verbal part i c le s , ;rna i s t h e l e a s t marked o f the intran s i t i ve aux i l i arie s , spe c i fying only ' act ive ' as opposed t o s t at ive .
One o f
the kinds o f verbal p art i c l e s with whi ch i t i s charact e ri s t i c a l l y p a i r e d i s t he c l a s s o f v e r b a d i c e n d i .
The fo l l owing part i c le s , for
instance , all form c ompound verb s with ;rna as their most c ommon auxi l i ary : w u ! a , to t a l k , b a r a , to d i s c o u rs e , b u r g a y d j , to q u e s t i o n ,
Q a y a g , to r e q ue s t , y e r o l , to y e l l .
But none o f t he r e s u l t ing c ompound
verb s e ve r s e rves a s a framing verb for a c lause repre s enting that whi ch i s , was , o r wi l l b e s ai d . the verb ;rna b y i t s e l f .
The only verb which e ve r doe s so i s
But ;rna , o ut s i de o f i t s u s e in t h i s
const ruct ion , never o c curs without a n a c c ompany ing verbal part i c l e . It i s there fore t empt ing t o t hink o f the [ report e d s p e e c h
+
;rna verb ]
c o n s t ru c t i on a s a s p e c i a l kind o f c ompound verb , with ;rna func t i oning
158
a s an aux i l iary rather than a s a s imp l e verb .
The choice of ;rna as
the part i c u l ar aux i l i ary wh ich i s used in t h e s e ' c ompounds ' i s mot i vated b y i t s a s s o c iat ion with verb s o f s ay ing .
It c an b e argued
in s upport o f this c ompound verb analogy that the ' report ed spee c h ' c l au s e b ehave s more like a verb a l part i c l e than l ike an adj unct ( e . g . , obj e c t ) t o the framing verb : unlike s ome kinds of - o a r i c l au s e ( pp . 1 4 9 - 1 5 0 ) , the report e d s p e e c h c l ause i s never cro s s -re ferenc e d . But t h i s should not b e pushed too far .
Aft e r al l , the report ed
speech c l au s e i s a fo r t i o r i , a c laus e , however muc h i t may b e have like an e l ement o f a compound verb . In order to unde r s t and what k i n d o f c lause it i s , one must b e ar in mind the fol lowing fac t : there i s no formal d i s t i n c t i o n i n U o a�inj in b e tween direct and indire ct di s c ours e ; b e tween ' orat i o rec t a ' and ' orat i o o b liqua ' .
( Indeed , t he formal means by whi ch b ot h of t h e s e
funct ions a r e [ ident i c a l l y ] exe cuted a r e u s e d f o r o t h e r fun c t ions a s w e l l , b u t f o r n o w I l imi t t he d i s c u s s ion t o ' report ed s p e e ch ' . )
When
s p e e c h is report e d ( or ' report e d on ' ) , it is report ed dir e c t l y as
t h o u gh it were b e ing quot e d .
A l l t he inde x i c al cat e gori e s : person ,
t e n s e , spatial d e i x i s and s o on , are implement ed exact ly as they were , or would be , within the s p e e c h s i t uat ion o f the report e d ut t e ranc e , j ust a s i s t rue o f direct di s c ourse in languages whi ch d i s t ingu i s h it from indir e c t d i s course .
But it would b e a mi s t ake to s ay that
U o a�inj in ' has direct d i s c o ur s e and lacks indire c t ' . l a c k s i s a d i s t i nc t ion b e t ween the two .
Rathe r , what i t
In l anguage s which d o make
such a d i s t i n c t i on , the use o f direct di s c ourse ent a i l s that t he utt e rance inc l uded within the quotat ion frame c orre sponds word-for word with t he u t t e rance b e i ng report ed . l But t he use of the ' report ed spee c h ' ;rna c omplement c l au s e i n U oa�inj in carrie s no such imp l i c at i on . There fore it is neither direct nor indirect d i s cours e , but s omething d i f fe rent from e ithe r : di fferent b e cause there i s no other t e rm t o wh i c h it i s opposed . Examp l e s o f sentenc e s inc l uding ' report ed s p ee c h '
;rna c omp lement
c laus e s are :
l See Partee 1974 for some ways in which this fact causes problems for the traditional extensionist , truth-functionally based approach to semant i c representation ; problems which , as far a s I can see , d o not arise in dealing with languages , such as Uoarinj in , which do not distinguish between direct and indirect dis cours e .
159
[ bad i
W
i �i
]
b udma
w - c l as s - !Y2T - opt . 3 p l .
ab ando n e d
' L e t i t b e abandone d ' ,
you
o n Zy
' Yo u go away ' ,
[ munda a d a here
g o away
b uma ]
3 p l . - /rna , -pas t - 3 s g . d . b .
or
They t o Z d h i m t o go away
a ma r a
�ame r i , I 'm
They d e a i de to abandon i t
b u dm e � a n g a
imp . - /rna
they t o Z d him
mas c . - /rna - past
s tay · l s g . - /rna - c ont .
H e s ai d,
or
t h e y s ay
ba l j a
�a
[ nj a �an
/rna
s ta y i n g h e re '
or
He s a i d he was s ta y i n g t h e r e
( or h e r e i f the p l a c e o f the report e d s p e e c h i s the s ame a s t he place at wh ich it i s b e ing report e d )
[ �a l a meat
[[
wa 9 a - ga
�amen a�ga
b i nj d j on
Z i k e - int . b - c la s s - 2 s g .
-/w l u - pre s . 1 s g . - liii"a- past 3 s g . d . b .
' Wo u Z d y o u Z i k e s om e m e a t ? ' , I s a i d t o h i m h e wou Z d Z i ke s ome m e a t
g uy i a l u 2 p l . - fa - prox .
n j a d me l) 9 u
]
or
I as k e d h i m i f
ama rera
3 p l . e x . - Iiiia - past - 3 p l . d . b . mas c . - /rna - past 1 s g . d . b .
or He t o l d me t h a t ' "Come ", we s a i d to t h e m ' , h e s a i d to me or He t o l d me t h a t t h e y s a i d t h e y t o Z d them to aome ' ao�e ' t o them or . . . In m y free t r ans lat ions f o r the e xamp l e s above , I have g l o s s e d /rna as s ay s t r i c t l y for the s ake o f us in who s e c ul t ure t here i s a s t r i c t s e parat ion i n princ iple b etween ' saying ' and ' do i ng ' ; b etween ' mere words ' and ' ac t ion ' .
But , given the Nga�inj i n way o f looking at the
mat t e r , t h i s gloss i s overly e x p l i c i t .
For the Nga�inj in , speech is
a form o f a c t i on , perhaps its mo s t s a l i e nt form .
A c c ordingl y , t he
verb Iiiia in a l l i t s u se s , inc luding the framing o f report ed s p e e c h c laus e s d i s c u s s e d above , i s mo s t appropriate ly g l o s s e d do .
There i s
nothing in t he matr i x sentence o f s u c h a c lause which indi c at e s overt l y t hat s p e e c h i s the part i cular form o f a c t i on wh ich i t predicat e s .
Where the t e n s e -mood o f the verb in the c l au s e framed b y
/rna i s anything but future , t he mere f a c t that t he re i s s omething other t han a verbal part i c le o c c urring b e fore Iiiia is enough t o make it c lear that speech i s what i s predicat e d .
But when the c laus e c ontains
a fut ure ve rb , as d i s c u s s e d b e low ( p . 1 6 0 ff . ) , the kind o f action at i s s ue may or may not b e s p ee c h . One can , however , s p e c i fy t hat it i s speech in such c a s e s , or one can spe c i fy what k i n d of s p e e c h i t is ( within the Nga�inj in
160
c la s s i fi c a t i on o f s p e e c h a c t s indi c at e d such t e rms as t h o s e o n p .
1 57 ) .
To do s o , one u s e s a ' parat act i c ' c on s t ruc t i on c on s i s t ing o f two s e parate sentenc e s , one ( us u a l l y t he firs t ) of whi c h s p e c i fi e s the nature of the s p e e c h act and the other of which report s ( on ) it with ;;a a s a framing verb . For e xample :
b u rgaydj
b udma ra
nj a Qa n n j a Qg i budmenaQga
q ue s t i on 3 p l . -;;a- past
who ? 3 p l . - ;;a - pa s t - 3 s g . d . b .
you
' Wh o are y o u ? ' t h e y a s k e d
or
They a s k e d him who he was
w u ! a n j u me r i
d j a g a ! Q i wa ]
ta L k fern .
swim
- ;;a - past -cont .
n j uma r e r i
1 s g . -fut . - 1Wa fern .
She was s a y i n g t h a t s h e wou L d go s wimming ' I wi L L (wan t t o ) go swi mm i n g '
or
;;a- past -c ont .
She was s ay i n g :
Where t he verb in the c l ause framed b y ;;a is a ' future ' one , as in the s e c ond sentence o f the last e xamp l e ab ove , that whi c h i s report e d may b e s omething o t her than s p ee c h , name l y : 1 ) int e nt iona l i t y 2 ) c ausat ion . l
or
In U Qa�inj in 1 ) and 2 ) are predicated in exac t l y the s ame way ( b oth of them re semb ling a form of report e d s p e e c h ) .
I n order t o
unde r s t and h o w t hi s i s done , and h o w the c on s truc t i on b y wh i c h i t i s done s ometimes di ffers from t he report e d s p e e c h c o n s t ruc t i on , it i s ne c e s s ary t o rai s e s ome pOint s regarding c ro s s -c lau s e c or e ference and person agreement . Re c a l l first t hat within a report e d s p e e c h c lau s e , a l l inde x i c a l c a t e go r i e s a r e t r e a t e d as though t he s p e e c h s i tuat ion o f the report e d u t t e ranc e were b e ing re-creat e d , j ust a s i s t rue o f direct quot ation in language s which d i s t ingu i s h i t from indire c t . p e r s o n marking within that c laus e ,
For purp o s e s o f
' e go ' i s t he speaker o f t hat
report e d spee c h , regardle s s o f whe ther or not t hat s ame person is t he one doing the report ing .
Likewise ' t u ' or ' addre s s e e ' i s the
addre s s e e within the report e d speech event , b ut not ne c e s s ar i l y within the reporting event , and 3rd p e r s on or ' non-part i c ipant ' i s only spe c i fied as such for the reported s p e e c h e vent , and m�y i n fact b e a part i c i pant in the reporting event .
There i s , then , no c ro s s -c lause
relat ionship o f c o -re fe rent i a l i t y c arri ed b y the mere presence or ab sence o f ident i c al person feat ure s in the emb edded c laus e and i t s mat r i x s e nt e n c e . l
That i s , ' X made Y do Z ' .
This is not to be confused with the causal nexus of the
- Qa r i claus e ( section 3 . 3 . 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 ) , which instead glosses as ' P because Q ' .
161
But t here are regularit i e s o f c ro s s -c lause c ore feren c e for ;rna c laus e s o f a l l kinds .
The s e e x i s t , not with r e s p e c t to person
feat ures alone , but in the intera c t ion o f person and adj unct s t at us . The rule for reported s p e e c h c laus e s ( c f . Pike and Lowe 1 9 6 9 : 8 7 ff . ) is that t he sub j e c t o f the framing verb has t he s ame r e ference as any ( + e go ) form e s ) o c c urring in the c lause it frame s , and i t s ' ob j e c t ' ( i . e . the adj unct c ro s s -r e ferenced b y i t s pronominal suffi x , i f any o c c ur s ) has the s ame r e ference as any ( + t u ) form e s ) o c c urring in that c l aus e .
( Where such pers onal pronominal forms in the report e d
s p e e c h c lause a r e grammat i c a l l y �on-s i ngular , the re f�renc e o f t h e mat r i x s ub j e c t and obj e c t i s ' inc luded '
( or ' e x c luded ' ) ac c ording t o
t he feat ure s +/- e go and +/- t u r e s p e c t ively ) .
The s e patterns o f
c o r e ference fo llow automat i ca l l y from the e x i s t ence o f a framing verb of s aying whi c h t ake s the s p e aker as it s s ub j e c t ( or ' agent ' ) and addre s s e e as i t s obj e c t ( or ' patient ' ) .
To t he ext ent t hat t he
e xi s tence o f such verb s i s a l i ngui s t i c univer s a l , it fo l lows that the s e pat t e rns are a l s o univer s a l . The reason I have gone into the s e fac t s i s t hat they provide one b as i s for a formal d i s t inc t i on b e t we e n the report e d s p e e c h ;rna c onstruction and the c ausative -intent ional one .
The rule re garding
the s ub j e c t of ;rna is t he s ame for both : among the NPs in the sub ordinate c lause , it c an s hare r e feren c e only with t h o s e whi ch are s pe c i fied as ( + e go ) .
But with r e s p e c t to the obj e c t of ;rna
,
there is
an import ant di fferenc e b e tween t he s e two c onstruc t ions : whi l e the feat ure spe c i fi c at i on wh ich determine s c or e ference with it in reported s p e e c h c lause s i s ( + t u ) , in c ausat ive-int ent ional c laus e s it i s ( - e go ) .
Thus , whi l e ' t hird person ' o r ' non-part i c ip ant ' NPs
in report e d s p e e c h c l auses are e xc luded from c or e ference with the matrix obj e c t , they regularl y enter int o such a re lationship when they o c cur within c au s at ive-intenti onal c lause s .
Inde e d ,
' non
part ic ipant ' noun phra s e s are perhaps the o n l y kind whi c h ever ent e r int o s u c h a relationshi p , f o r there s eems t o b e a prohib i t i on against the o c c urrence o f (+ t u ) forms wi thin the ;rna
-
framed s ub ordinate
c l au s e of a c au s at ive -int ent i onal sentence ( whi c h , given the ident i fi c at ion o f ( + e go ) forms with t he mat rix subj e c t , l e ave s only the ( -e go , -tu ) o r ' third person ' forms a s p o t e nt ia l l y c or e ferent ial with i t s ob j e c t ) .
The s e two int erre lated c harac t eri s t i c s -
c ore ferenc e o f mat rix ob j e c t with sub ordinat e ( - e go ) NPs rather t han ( + t u ) one s , and the non-o c c urrenc e of the l a t t e r - al low us , if we t ake r e feren c e as ' given ' , t o d i s t inguish the causative-intenti onal c onstruc t ion from the report ed s p e e c h ones if an obj e c t i s spe c i fied for ;rna.
162
I now pro c eed t o a n e xemp l i fi c a t i on o f t h e c au s at i ve-intent ional c o n s t ruct ion with e x p l i c i t obj e c t .
Re call that a ne c e s s ary ( though
not suffici ent ) c ondit ion for interpre t i ng a n y c l ause a s a causative int entional c omplement i s t hat its verb b e in the ' future t en s e ' . As a first glos s for e ach o f t h e s e e xample s I give a ' l itera l ' one whi ch , I hope , brings out the underlying sense whi c h a l lows t h i s c o n s t ruct ion t o s e rve a s b ot h a c ausative and a n int ent ional one , and a l s o s hows i t s c l o s e a ffi liat ion with the ' report ed s p ee c h ' c laus e :
[ wu ! an w u r u m i yaQga word
b udma raQa r u g u
2 - c las s - 3 p I . - fut . - /m i y a Q g a 3 p I . - liiia- pas t - l p I . irr . d . b . know
' TheY wi L L know t h i s word ' , i
they did with r e gard to u Si
or
They wanted us to know that word k n o w t h a t word
[ dj i nd a
or
They made u s
m a d n a Q g a me
t h a t one h i s w i fe fo o d
Qame r l n u fem . - 3 s g . -fut . - /Q u ! u l s g . - liiia- c ont . 2sg. d . b .
' He i w i L L g i v e fo o d t o t h i s man ' s wife ' , I am doi n g re y o ui
or
I wan t you t o give fo o d t o t h i s man ' s wife or ( l e s s p l aus i b l y ) I am making y o u g i v e foo d to t h i s man ' s w i fe
[ dambun -gu camp
-ga
n j i n me r i r a
i ya
dat . int . mas c . -fut . - Ia
A r e y o u doing
2 s g . - liiia- c ont . - 1 s g . d . b .
' He i wi L L go t o t h e camp ' wi t h r e s p e c t t o mei ? or
Do you want me t o go t o the camp ? or ( le s s p laus i b l y ) Are y o u ma king me to go t h e camp ?
[ y i n d a w a r;J cj l d j make
spear ' Th e Y
i
i ro r a mas c . -3 P I . - fut . - /w u - l s g . d . b . mas c . - liiia- past l -3 p I . d . b .
wi Z L make a s p e a r for me ' ,
he did wi t h r e s p e c t to t h e mi
or
He wan t e d them to make h i m a s p e ar make h i m a spear
or
He for c e d t h e m t o
Note t hat even t he s e sentenc e s c an only b e b arred from a ' report e d s pe e c h ' reading i f a s I have said , we t ake r e ference a s ' given ' : each o f them i s homophonous with a ' reported s p e e c h ' sentence having di fferent coreference relat i ons .
To get the reported s p e e c h reading ,
163
a l l one has t o d o i s t o change one o f t h e re ferent i a l indi c e s in my first glo s s to ( j ) , indicating that t he non-part i c ipant NP whi c h i s indexed in the s ub ordinat e c lause i s n o t c o r e ferent ial with t he matr i x obj e c t , 1 . e .
' Th e Y wi H k n o w th i s word ' > t h e y s a i d t o US ' e t c . Thus j i the d i s t inct ion b e t ween t h e s e two c o n s t ruct ions c annot be made on
s t r i c t ly formal grounds , b ut requires r e c ourse to informat ion ab out their re ference in a given c o n t e xt . But the grounds for such a d i s t inct i on are lacking when t he ;;a o f the matrix sentence lacks an e xp l i c i t obj e c t .
The rule for sub j e c t
c o re ference i s t h e s ame f o r ;;a c omp lement c laus e s o f a l l kinds : the subj e c t of ;;a i s core ferent i a l with , and only wi t h , a l l first person pronominal e lements in the c omp lement c l aus e .
Hence t he re are ;;a
c omp lement c l aus e s which are amb i guous amon g a l l three readings : report e d spee c h , causat i ve , and intent iona l , e . g .
[ w a rma ! a - y u de s er t -lat .
n j um i n d a
g u d ma ra r i
fem . - 3 s g . -fut . - /m i n d a he wi l l take h e r
2 p l . - ;;a-pa s t -du .
You two s a i d ' He w i l l t a k e h e r t o t h e de s e r t '
or You t w o s a i d t h a t h e wou ld t a k e h e r t o t h e de s e � t
You two wan t e d
You t w o made
{�!�}
{� � } m
her
or t o take her t o the de s e r t
or
t a k e h e r to the de s e r t
Cros s -c l aus e core ference re l at i ons , then , do n o t always provide enough e vi dence for d i s t inguishing b et ween report ed s p e e c h ;;a c omp l ement c laus e s and causative - intent i onal ones .
But that i s not
the only kind of evidence wh i c h is r e levant to t he que s t ion .
Another
di fferenc e , whi c h , when i t appe ar s , does s o independent l y o f any part i c u lar pers on-adj unc t -c o r e ference configurat ion , is t hat c au s at ive intent ional c laus e s , but not report e d s p e e c h one s , are s omet imes ' d i s c ontinuous ' , with part o f the ;;a c laus e o c c urring a f t e r the ;;a verb which frame s i t . That i s , in generat ive-tran s format ional t e rms , c ausat i ve -intent i onal c laus e s are opt ionally s ub j e c t t o s ome kind o f movement rul e ( s ) wh i c h t ransport s ome kinds o f ;rna c ompl ement c o ns t i t uent s out o f t h e c laus e , s o that t h e y end u p t o t h e ri ght o f t h e ;rna verb in s ur fa c e s t ru c t ure .
Alt hough my dat a are i n c omp l e t e on the
que s t i on o f which e l ement s may b e moved in t h i s way , o r exac t ly how
164
' far t o t h e right ' they may b e move d , it i s c le ar that o ne e lement wh i c h c annot be moved is the verb ( whether s impl e or c ompound ) , and t hat the main e ffe c t of these movement s ( their s t y l i s t i c funct ion , as it were ) is to p l a c e the verb of the ;rna c ompl ement immediat e l y b e fore its framing ;rna verb , with the pair of t hem oc·curring as c lo s e as p o s s i b l e t o t he b e gi nning of the who le sentenc e . Again , it is only in c ausat i ve -int ent i onal ;rna c laus e s , never i n ' reported spe e ch ' one s , t hat such movement i s al lowed .
Thus an
alt e rnate ve rsion of t he last e xample i n t h i s c a u s a t i ve - i n t e n t i o n a l r e a d i n g on l y i s :
nj umi nda
g u d ma ra r i
wa rma ! a - y u
fem . - 3 s g . - fut . -/m i n d a
2 p l . - ;rna-past -du
d e s e r t - lat .
You two wan t e d
Y o u t w o made
{��m }
{��m }
to take h er to the d e s e r t
or
t a k e h e r t o t h e de s e r t
where w a r m a ! a - y u has b e e n moved out o f t h e ;rna c omplement , and ends up t o t he r i ght of the framing verb .
Likewi s e , a l l o f the non-ve rb al
mat erial o c curring t o the l e ft o f t he ;rna c omp lement verb i n the e xamples on p . 162 may b e moved o ve r t o the right o f the ;rna verb . The di s t in c t i on b e tween report e d speech c lau s e s and caus ative intentional one s , then , i s one which i s supported b y two quite di fferent s ort s o f evidenc e , one invo lving patterns o f cro s s - c l au s e c o re ferent i a l i t y and the o t h e r having t o do with the ob l igat orily continuous vs . opt iona l l y d i s c ont inuous nature of their ( s urfac e ) s t ruc ture . But t here i s a t hi rd kind o f e vidence whi c h not only support s that di s t inct ion , but a l s o al lows for a part i a l d i s t inct ion on formal ground s b e t we e n two k inds of ;rna c omplement which have hitherto b een treated a s diffe rent only in func t ion , vi z . : the c ausat ive and the int ent i onal . I have c laimed above t hat any first person pronominal e lement s o c curring within a ;rna c omp lement c lause o f a n y type mu st b e core ferent ial w i t h t h e sub j e c t o f ;rna .
But among t h e sentenc e s I
have given t o e xemp l i fy the c au s at ive-intentional c o n s t ruc t ion , t he r e i s n o n e in wh ich a f i r s t p e r s on pronominal oc curs a s the sub j e c t o f t h e ;rna c omp lement c lau s e i t s e l f .
T o have used one would have
confused mat ters by forc ing me premature ly int o another l ine o f argument .
F o r whe n the Ima c omp lement c lause s ub j e c t i s a first
165
person one , w e have a d i fferen t k i n d o f evidence for t h e report ed spee ch/causative intent i onal d i s t inction - one wh i c h has nothing to do with c o re feren c e .
I t t urns out t hat in such cas e s , t he pre s e n c e
o f a n ob j e c t marker on !rna, rather t han d i c t at ing d i s t inct c ro s s c lause c or e ference r e l at i onships for report ed speech vs . c au s a t i ve intent i onal meanings , rul e s out the l a t t e r alt ogethe r .
The fol l owing
s e n t e nc e s , for i n s t ance , j us t b e c au s e they have firs t -p e r s on s ub j e c t s in t h e !rna c omplement c lause c omb ined with t h e ab sence o f overt !rna obj e c t s , have only the ' reported s pe e c h ' re adings , as i nd i c at e d :
[ m i nd i here
f) i w a
] ame r e r a
ya 1 i
ada
i n de e d
s i t 1 s g . -fut . - /w 1 a mas c . - !rna-p a s t - l s g . d . b .
' He r e I w i L L s i t ' , sit there
he t o Ld me
or
He t o L d me he w o u L d
dj ubago b i r i
[ n j a n j i r u f) u ! u
]
g u d m e n a f) g a
fern . 1 p l . e x . - fut . - /f) u l u t o b a c c o b - c las s 2 p l . - !rna-pa s t - 3 s g . d . b . ' We wi L L g i v e h e r tobacco ' , y o u p e o p L e s a i d to him
or You p e o p L e t o Ld him you wou L d g i v e her tobaooo
Here then i s a third piece of e vi dence for the two -way d i s t in c t i on made above .
But what happens whe n first p e r s on !rna c omp lement c l au s e
subj e c t s o c c ur in sentences wherein the !rna verb lacks an overt obj ect ?
Tho s e sentenc e s are spec ial in another way .
Just when they
contain an a c t i ve ( i . e . non-re fle xive ) form of !rna a s the framing verb , the amb iguity b et ween ' report e d speech ' and other readings reappear s .
But now ( i . e . whe n the !rna c omp l ement c lause sub j e c t is
a first p e r s on one ) , another amb i guity - one whi c h has hitherto b ee n t r e a t e d as pervas i ve - i s re s o lve d .
No such s e nt ence has b ot h a
causat i ve reading and an int ent ional one .
Just when the !rna c omp lement
c lause sub j e c t i s fir s t person , the s e n t e nc e i s d i s amb i guat e d a s b etwe e n these t w o readings b y the voice o f the framing !rna verb : i f it i s act ive , the const ruc t ion i s an intent i onal ( or report e d s p ee c h ) one ; i f it i s refl exive the c o n s t ruc t i on i s a c ausat i ve one ( the reported s p e e c h reading in this case b e i ng rul e d out b y the re flexive root s upp l e t ion d i s c u s s e d on pp . 1 0 3 - 1 0 4 above ) . For e xamp l e :
[ ada sit
f) i w a
ama
1 s g . -fut . - 1Wa
mas c . - !rna
or He s a y s he wan ts t o s i t down He s ay s ' I wi L L s i t down ' or He wan t s to s i t down but not * He makes hims e Lf s i t down
166
vs .
[ a d a lJ i w a
amaren mas c . - !rna-re f . -pre s .
He makes h i ms e Z f s i t down and not * He wan t s to s i t down o r * any r e p o r t e d s p e e o h reading
A s a summary , Tab l e 33 b rings t ogether all o f the relevant variab l e s b y whi c h t h e three kinds o f !rna c omp l ement c laus e s may b e d i s t ingu i s hed from one another : Tab le 3 3 Featur e s Dist ingui shing Type s o f !rna Complement Clause Type o f !rna C lause Di agno s t i c Featur e s Tense of main verb in Iriia clause Coreference restrictions
Is discontinuous constituency permitted?
Report ed Spe ech
Caus ati ve
Intentional
Can b e of any tense
Future
Future
Subj ect of framing verb is coreferent to [ +ego ) forms in Iriia complement claus e , and obj ect co referent to [ +tu ) forms
Subj ect of framing verb i s coreferent to [ +ego ) forms in Iriia complement clause , and obj ect coreferent to [ -ego ) forms
no
yes
yes
May the framing verb take an overt obj ect when the rma clause subj ect is [ +ego ) ?
yes
no
no
What i s the voice of the framing verb when the Iriia clause subj ect is [ +ego ) ?
Active
Reflexive
Active
3.3.1 .4.
H i gher Order Mode P red i c a t i on
In t he last chapter ( s e c t i on 2 . 4 ) I ment i oned a s e t o f U lJ a�inj in words which , fo l l owing Coate and Oat e s ( 1 9 7 0 : 5 7 ) I c a l l ed t he ' mode part i c le s ' , c laiming t hat the y c ompri s e d a c la s s wh i c h was i s o l ab l e on synt a c t i c grounds inasmuch a s e a c h o f them o c curs o n l y with verb s o f cert ain o f t he ' ba s i c ' mode categori e s whi c h are o b l i ga t o r i l y indicated on the inflected verb .
( For purp o s e s o f w h i c h definit ion
' future ' mu st be cons idered as one mode , and [ past and present ] indi c at i ve as anothe r . )
What
t he s e
part i c l e s seem t o do semant i c a l l y
i s t o subcatego r i s e t h o s e b as i c mode s , muc h a s the c ho i c e o f aux i l i ary subcat e gori s e s the verbal part i c le for act ion type ( as per s e c t i o n 2 . 2. 1 3) .
In order t o c o n s t rue the mat t e r in thi s way - i n order t o s e e t he s e part i c le s a s a fun c t iona l l y uni fi e d c l a s s imp l ement ing s e c ond order d i s t in c t i o n s of ' mode ' - one ha s t o be open t o t he p o s s i b i l i t y t hat ' moda l ' c a t e go r i e s may s e rve fun c t i ons whi c h , from a n Anglo cent r i c point o f view , one might not e x p e c t t hem t o s erve ( s e e , s e c t ion 3 . 3 . 1 . 4 . 7 ) . On the other hand i t i s U �a�inj in rather than Engl i s h wh ich , i f the gene rat i ve semant i c i s t s ' concept ion o f moda l i t y was o n t he r i ght t rac k , more c lo s e l y re f l e c t s at t he s ur face the unde r l y i n g modal s t ruct ure of natural l anguage s .
For i n s o far as U �a�inj i n imp lement s
i t s modal c at e go r i e s b y means o f t he mode part i c le s d i s c u s s e d here , it does so in a manner whi c h , even at the level o f s ur face s yntax , looks like a form o f higher-o rde r one -place predi cat i o n , much l ike the form of underlying s t ructures which have b e e n prop o s e d to account for moda l i t y e ven i n a l anguage l i ke Engl i s h . Alt hough U � a�inj i n has an e l ab orate s y s tem o f aux i l iary verb s , none of the meanings of any of the roo t s has anything to do with modal i t y . Nor do any o f the infle c t e d independent verb s .
Though the l anguage
is r i c h i n c oncord morpho l o gy , none of i t is drawn upon to c re a t e the k ind o f s ur face s t ruct ure ( c ommon i n many l anguage s ) i n which modal i t y s e ems t o b e pre d i c at e d o f s ome part i cular argument o f the s e nt e n c e i n whi c h i t o c c ur s ( a s , f o r i n s t anc e , i n t he Engl i s h sentenc e : might strike u s ' ) .
' Li ghtning
I n s t e ad t here are the s e mode part i c le s , whi c h o c cur
in c o n s t ruct ion wi t h the who le sentence o r c l au s e with wh i c h they o c cur . 3 . 3 . 1 . 4 . 1 . wa
The mode p art i c le w a i s o n e which was d i s c u s s e d and e xemp l i fi e d qui t e ext en s i ve l y i n t h e last chapt e r ( s e c t ion 2 . 2 . 4 ) i n c onne c t i o n with t he morphol ogy o f the i rrea l i s verb .
The part i c le o c curs onl y
with irre a l i s verb s and serves t o d i s amb i guat e t hem b y s pe c i fy ing definite ne gat i on as opposed t o the mere ly ' po t e nt i a l l y ne gat i ve ' force o f the b are irrealis verb . I t s p o s i t ion w i t hi n the s ent ence i s prob ab ly the l e a s t variab l e ( least influen c e d b y d i s course c o n s i de rat ions ) o f any o f t h e mode part i c le s : it almo s t always c omes j ust b e fore the verb unl e s s there
168
i s a n adverb b e fore t he verb , in which c a s e , t h e adverb usual l y intervene s between w a and the verb . For e xamp l e s o f sent e nc e s inc luding w a , s e e pp . 9 0 , 9 5 . 3.3.1 .4.2.
b u ray
Thi s word i s ( e t ymo l og i c a l l y anyway ) the plural o r ' b - c l as s ' form o f the adj e c t ive - a y , whi c h means n o n e . i s o l at i on to mean no .
The word is a l s o u s e d in
But what i s rele vant here i s
a
third u s e in
which it funct ions j us t like the ne gat ive mode part i c le w a . For e xample :
w i n j d j aw
b u ray
da l u
not
pour o u t w -c la s s - 2 s g . -irr .
Don ' t pour o u t the w a t e r !
I) a b u n Iw 1 u w a t e r
Alt hough b u r a y i s used i n this fun c t i on much l e s s frequen t l y than
w a , it s eems to be an a c c e p t ab le alternate form in e ve ry envi ronment whe re the latter o c curs .
( The c onve r s e o f c ours e , i s not t rue , s i n c e
b u r a y h a s o t h e r funct ions . )
J u s t where i t can sub st itute f o r w a ,
b u r a y may be c o n s i dered a mode p art i c le . 3.3.1 .4.3.
gadj i nga
Thi s part i c le t o o o c curs only with irre a l i s verb s , and has a ne gat ive forc e .
But it s p e c i fi e s t hat t he a c t i on , s t at e , or relat ion
d e s cribed in t he s e nt e nc e in which it o c curs is one whi c h not only did not , doe s not , or w i l l not happen , but also c o u l d not happe n , one which i s not merely a c c i d en t a l l y non-actuali s e d a but n e c e s s a r i l y so under the c ircumst anc e s pres upp o s e d b y the speaker for the purp o s e s o f the utteranc e s .
U l) a�inj in sp eake rs o ften g l o s s t h i s meaning a s
aan ' t , which i s about as c l o s e a n equivalent as o n e c an find i n
Engl i sh , b u t t here a r e s ome important di fferences in the range o f modali t i e s implement ed b y U l)a�inj in g a d j i n g a and s t andard Engli s h ' c an ' t '
( or ' c annot ' ) .
( Though in the various forms o f pidgin Engl ish
s poken b y Nga�inj in people , the word c an ' t i s used in a way which b rings i t muc h c l o s e r t o g a d j i n g a t han t o the c an ' t o f St andard Engl i sh . ) The di ffere n c e b e tween t he latter two has to do with the relat ive s i z e s o f the domain ( ' s c op e ' ) over which they make their predi c t ions . Standard Engl i s h ' c an ' and ' can ' t ' are amb i guous in this regard . one use , whi c h i s perhaps not a ' modal ' u s e at a l l , they p re d i c a t e o f t h e s u b j e c t NP the ab i l i t y or inab i li t y t o perform the a c t i on ;
In
169
o r a s s ume t h e state , d e s c r i b e d b y t h e verb t o wh i c h t h e y s e rve as an auxi l i ary , e . g . Pet e r c an swin . Sam c an ' t p lay cribbage . There i s another u s e o f c an and c annot in which they conform muc h more c lo s e l y. t o the concept ion o f t he underly ing s t ruct ure o f moda l i t y d i s cus s e d abo ve ( pp . 1 6 6 - 1 6 7 ) .
I n t h i s u s e they c omment , not on the
s ub j e c t ' s ab i l i t y , b ut on the p o s s i b i l i t y of imp o s s i b i l i t y o f the state of a ffairs described b y the entire c lause o r sentence in which the word o c c ur s , e . g . It can get very dry here in t he summer . I ' m wondering whe ther she c an b e my l ong l o s t mot he r-in-law . No , that c an ' t be her b e c ause she has a mo le on her n o s e . What makes U Qa�inj in g a d j i n g a d i fferent from St andard Engl i s h 'can ' i s that it funct ions only in the l at t e r o f the s e t wo ways : it never pred i c a t e s ab i l i t y or inab i l i t y of t he sub j e c t only , but include s the ent i re c lause or s e nt ence within its s co p e . For e xamp l e :
wOQay
b U 9 u Qa r i gadj i n ga w u ! a
n j a rgo
woman
� i t t �e
fem . -l p l . e x . -irr . - /w l u
aan ' t
ta�k
It ' s imp o s s i b � e for us t o t a � k t o t h a t y o ung woman
ramba r- Q i
nj i nd i
ya l i
she
i n d e e d m o t h e r - i n - �aw - my
gadj i nga aan ' t
n j ·i Q g i n i fem . -i rr . -
!Y;T-past
She aan ' t have b e e n my m o t h e r - i n - �aw 3 . 3 . 1 . 4 . 4 . b i ya ra
Thi s part i c le , whi c h o c curs only with irre a l i s verb s , is the ' po s it ive ' c ount erpart o f g a d j i n g a .
b i y a r a me ans aan .
If the lat t e r means aanno t , then
But l ike g a d j i n g a , and a l l the other mode part i c le s ,
it o c c ur s only in c o n struct ion with who le c laus e s and s entenc e s , whi c h me ans it cannot be u s ed in t he s a�n1e way as the St andard Engl i s h ' c an ' in the f i r s t t w o e xamp l e s above .
Thi s i s perhaps the reason
why it i s usua l l y glo s s e d b y nat ive s p e akers , not a s aan , but a s m i g h t b e , Engl i s h ' mi ght ' b e ing a n auxi l i ary which , u n l i k e ' c an ' ,
do e s predicate ' po s s ib i l i t y ' o f i t s ent i re c lause or s e n t e nc e .
( No t e
that ' c an ' and ' c anno t ' in the last t hree Engl i s h e xamp l e s above , but not in t he first t wo , c an b e replaced b y ' mi ght ' and ' mi ght not ' wit hout muc h change in me aning , which provide s s upport for my
170
d i s t inct ion between two quite di fferent kinds o f � and c annot . ) Int erest ingl y , in a l l var i e t i e s o f pidgin Engl i sh spoken b y the
«
Ngarinj in , t he word m a y d b l
English ' mi ght b e ' ) i s c lo ser i n i t s
s ynt a c t i c behavi our t o a n U Qarinj in verb a l part i c le t han t o a n Engl i s h auxi l i ary : it i s a n uninflected e lement whi c h , unlike t he verb s o f the Pidgin , oc curs s en t enc e - i ni t i al l y . For e xamp l e :
mayd b i
i m ben
l ud j a m d a t
can
h e pas t L o o s e
o l g um a n
be l oQa i m
t h a t o L d woman po s s .
he
It i s p o s s i b L e t h a t h i s e L de r L y w i fe has d i e d
m a y d b i m i n d u b e l a d j i d a wm
l OQ a d i n a kem
can
loc o dinne r camp
1 du o e x . s i t down
It is p o s s i b L e t h a t he and I wi L L s top for dinner
or Supp o s e he and I s t op for dinner
The u s e o f b l y a r a in U Qarinj in exact ly para l l e l s t hat of m a y d b i in Pidgin ( with the addi t i onal requirement , o f c ours e , t hat the verb be marked for irre a l i s mode , a category for which the verb does not infle c t in Pidgin ) . For e xamp l e :
b i ya ra u Q g um i ya Qga can
wu ! an
di
w - c la s s - 3 s g . sub . -i rr . - /m i y a Q g a word ( s ) w - c las s unde rs tand
It is p o s s i b L e t h a t h e unde r s tands t h a t word
b i yara bed j a can
dj a r i n j a QgaQ f
a L re ady L e a v e fem . -irr . - Ia -pas t
She may a Lre ady h a v e Z e ft
Thi s part i c le plays a part in s ome kinds o f c ount e rfac tual c o nd i t ional sentenc e s ( c f . pp . 1 5 4 - 1 5 5 above ) . For e xamp l e :
[ dj a l i mbaran fea th e r s
gu�e n a Qg l Q I - Qa r i
b l ya ra bodba
c om . 1 s g . -irr . -/YT - subordinat e c lause
QangaQ i
damb un
mowa ! a w a
1 s g . -irr . - Ia - past
terri t o ry
di s ta n t
can
fLy
If I had had fe a t h e r s , it wou L d h a v e been p o s s i b L e for me to h a v e f L own away t o a dis tant Land
171
3 . 3 . 1 . 4 . 5 . b i ya
Thi s i s a part i c l e whic h a l s o o c c urs only with i rre a l i s verb s , and i s very c l o s e in meaning to b i y a r a .
In fact there are s ome sentenc e s
i n which i t ha s o c c urred , for which I have b e e n unab le t o d i s c over , or to e li c it from informant s , any di fference whatever .
In other
sentenc e s however , b i y a , i n addit i o n t o pre d i c at ing ' po s s ib i l i t y ' carr i e s with i t a note o f s pe aker approbat i on : it says not j us t can , but can and s hou l d , e . g .
b i ya nag
I) a r g e
l ew a r a n
l i s te n 1 p I . inc . - i rr .
IYT
-
be
l a te afternoon
We o u g h t t o l i s te n during the l a t e afte rno o n
man i
b i ya
l) a d a ' l) u ! u 1 p I . inc . ob . -irr .
money
-
Il) u ! u give
They o u g h t t o g i v e u s money 3 . 3 . 1 . 4 . 6 . men j a
Thi s part i c le i s i n s ome ways a ' mi rror image ' o f appro b at i ve b i y a , d i s c u s s e d immediat e ly ab ove .
Whi le the lat t er o c curs with irrea l i s
verb s and me ans s omething l i k e Th i s may n o t ( h a v e ) happ e n ( e d ) , b u t i t ough t t o ( have ) , me n j a means t h i s did/do c s happ e n b u t i t o u g h t n o t ( t o hav e ) .
U l)a�inj i n s pe akers g l o s s i t a s t o o bad , whi c h , i n Pidgin
is a s e t phra s e which c ome s c lo se to b e i ng a ' grammat i c a l ' e l ement on the order of m a y d b i . Examp l e s o f sentenc e s inc luding me n J a are :
menj a
�u l ug
nj a r i nj i
t o o bad
s h ift
1 pI . ex . -
d aw n - d j u
IYT
Too bad we s h i ft e d t o town s h i f t e d t o town
me n j a too bad
[ ada
I) i m a
s tay 1 s g . -fut . - ;rna
Too bad s h e i n tends to s tay s h e w i l l s tay
-
past t own
or
lat .
We s ho u l d n e v e r h a v e
n j ume r i fern . - ;rna - c ont . or
Too bad s h e ' s s ay i n g
Sent e n c e s wh ich inc lude me n j a regularly part i c ipat e i n a k ind o f parat a c t i c c o n s t ruc t ion i n which t he m e n j a sentence i s fo l l owe d b y a
non - m e n j a s ent ence with whi c h it i s s emant i c a l l y l inked as cause t o e ffe c t .
172
For e xamp l e :
dj a r i manj i rn i
a m i r:1i
me n j a
too bad a l to g e t h e r l e a v e m - c las s 1 pl . e x .
nj a ra l a
dambun
mu l a l
n j a daga m i nd i
our home terri t ory our
sub .
- Iw u - past
1
bed j a nj ayay i r i 1 pl . ex .
m - c la s s wrong marriage now
- ra - c ont . Too bad we l e ft our home t e rr i to r i e s a l tog e th e r : now we are marry i n g i n t h e wrong way or
Because we unfo r tu na te ly l e ft our home terri tori e s , now we are marr y i n g i n the wrong way Int ere s t ingl y , j ust where it part i c ipat e s in this kind of parat ac t i c c au s a l c on s t ru c t ion , me n j a s omet ime s s eems t o l o s e i t s
' di s approb a t i ve '
meaning in favour of a pure l y causal one , e . g .
me n j a b a Q a
w a r i m i n j i n a l) g a ,
wings burn m - c l a s s -
baQa wings
d uba l a red
;y;T
mu re m - c las s -d . s . t h e y are
g a l) a l) g a n - past - 3 s g . d . b . now
;y;T
B e c a u s e his ( i . e . , the crimson winge d parro t ' s ) w i n g s go t b u r n t , t h o s e wings are r e d now 3 . 3 . 1 . 4 . 7 . yagu This word i s usually glo s s e d b y U l) arinj in speakers a s try , but i t s s yntax i s much d i f ferent , b oth from that o f Engl i s h ' t ry ' and from that o f any kind of U l)a�inj in verb .
It i s not infle c t e d for p e r s on ,
nor d o e s it appe ar in c omb ination with an auxi l iary verb .
Rather , it
o c curs s e n t e n c e in itia lly in c on struc t i on with a s eparat e s imp l e or c ompound verb , or future .
whi ch must b e of a certain mode : imperat ive , optat ive ,
Thus i t s s ur fa c e s yntax i s that o f a mode part i c le .
But c an a word which glo s s e s as try really have anyth i ng t o do with modal i t y ?
Or i s its s imilarity t o the mode part i c le s a s urfac e
struc t ural c o inc idenc e ?
I n order t o answer that que s t ion , i t i s
h e l p ful first t o note one important d i ffer e n c e b etween y a g u and the other ' mode part i c le s ' .
In addit ion t o the expec t e d re s t ri c t ion to
c o -oc currence with c e rtain gramma t i c a l mode s , whi c h in t h i s case are imperat ive , optative , and ' fut ure ' , t here is a further r e s t r i c t i o n regarding the last mode : fut ure verb s c an c o-oc c ur with y a g u only i f the s ubj e c t o f the verb i s a first person one .
173
Now c o n s i de r , a s a c ontra s t i ve c a s e , the s emant i c s o f the Eng l i s h word ' t ry ' .
Two things wh i c h seem t o b e n e c e s sary in order for a n
a c t i on t o qua l i fy a s a t ry are : a ) an int ent ion on the p art of t he agent that a certain r e s u l t , name l y t hat des cribed in the c omplement o f the verb try , b e e ffe c t e d b y means o f that a c t ion ; b ) uncertainly ab out whether t hat � e s ult w i l l , in fac t , c ome l to pas s . Hence t h e s t rangene s s o f the fol lowing s e n t e nc e s :
1 ) Nixon d i dn ' t intend to c over up h i s invo lvement in Wat e rgat e , but he t r i e d to do s o .
2 ) I was certain t hat I ' d s e e you at the masked b a l l and I t r i e d t o do s o . Wit h respe c t to condition b ) , t he que s t ion ari s e s :
In who s e mind
mus t t he unc e rt a i n t y e x i s t - the s p e ake r ' s or that of the person dOing the t rying?
I n my s e cond e xamp l e above , I have c leverly avoided
t h i s q ue s t ion b y making t hem the s ame person . the case
But where t h i s is not
( i . e . when t he s ub j e c t of try is s omet hi ng other than first
person s ingu l a r ) what usually c ount s i s the att i t ude o f the person performing the a c t i on , not that o f the speaker .
Thu s , in the c ontrast
t o e xamp le 2 ) above , the fol lowing s e n t e n c e s e ems l e s s st range : I was certain t h at he ' d s e e you at the masked b a l l and he t r i e d t o �o s o . But things c ome out d i f fe rent l y when t ry appears in t he imperat ive mode rather than the indi c at i ve .
When that happe n s , t he l o c u s o f
re l e vant uncertainty shi ft s from the per former o f the act ion over t o the speaker .
H e n c e the s trangene s s o f the s e c ond o f the fol lowing
t wo e xamp le s , as opposed to the re lat i ve smoothne s s of the first : I ' m not certain you ' l l s e e him at t he mas ked b al l ; try t o do s o . I ' m c e rtain you ' l l s e e him at the ma sked b a l l ; try to do s o . l
See Wittgenstein 1963 : 161 , for a somewhat di fferent condition purporting to do the same thing as thi s one , but couched in terms of ' di fficulty ' of accomplishment rather than uncertainty about a future state of affairs . While his condition fails to account for several of the examples adduced here , the condition given here accounts for his example more easily than his does . This is s o , I think , just beca use my condition implicates more of ' modality ' than his does , the meaning of � being more mode-like than may have been suspected , as this confrontat ion with yagu reveals .
17 4
Thi s di fference in the l o c u s of uncertainty for imp erat ive t ry i s prob ab l y t ied u p w i t h a more b a s i c di fferen c e - in t he l o c u s o f intent ionality .
The first o f m y two c ondit ions o n t ry ab ove p l a c e d
the int ent i on s o l e l y with the agent of t he act ion .
B u t whe n the mood
is imperat i ve , things are actually more c omp l i c at e d t han t hat .
It may
be t hat an int ent ion on the p art of the agent is s t i l l required . Hence the fo llowing s e n t e n c e s e ems more than a b it st range : Try to c over up my invo lvement in Wat e rgate even i f you don ' t int end t o do s o . But over and above ( or perhap s b ehind ) any int ent ion whi ch may b e required on t he agent ' s part , a n intention to bring about t h e r e s u lt d e s c r i b e d in t he c omplement of try i s de fin i t e l y pre s up p o s e d on t he s p e a k e r ' s part .
Henc e the s t range ne s s o f : Try t o c over up my invo lvement i n Wat ergate even though 'I int end for t here t o b e no whitewash at the Whi t e Hous e .
After t h i s apparent digre s s ion into a rather arc ane area of Engl i s h verb a l s emant i c s , w e a r e now in a p o s i t ion t o r e t urn t h e que s t ion o f what a p art i c le which i s gl o s s e d a s t r y c o u l d have t o do w i t h modal it y . Both o f the c ondit ions on try developed above , t he intentionality condition and the uncertainty c ondit ion , invo lve que st ions o f modal i t y , i.e.
of the
' s p e aker ' s c ommitment with respe c t to the fac tual s t at u s
o f what he i s s aying '
( Lyons 1 9 6 8 : 3 0 7 ; c f . a l s o Jakob son 1 9 5 7 )
wheneve r :
1 ) try has a first person s ub j e c t , or 2 ) try o c c urs as an imperat ive verb . Only whe n t he s ub j e c t o f indicat ive try is a non-first -person one d o e s the s p e ake r ' s at t i t ude t oward t he propo s i t ion c arried by i t s c omplement b e c ome i rrelevant .
Then and only then doe s t h e me aning o f
t ry l a c k a modal c omponent . Another thing to not i c e about t h i s Engl i s h verb i s t hat it s ay s t w o t hings ( gi ven in the t w o c ondit ions developed above ) whi c h are logi c a l ly independe nt of each other and could j us t as w e l l b e e xpre s se d s e p arat e ly , the c omb inat ion o f them implement ing t h e s ame s eman t i c c ompl e x as try. Now suppos e there i s a language wh i c h lacks a verb o f t rying of the kind d i s c u s s e d here ( i . e . one which t ake s a sentential or infinit ive c omplement or e qu ivalent ) , but does inc lude among i t s regu l ar gramma t i c al mode s one whi c h means s omething l i l{e :
' I evaluat e
any yet -unre a l i s e d s t at e of affairs whi c h i s proj e c t e d b y t h i s
175
s e n t e n c e a s one whi ch i s not c e r t ain t o c ome ab o ut ' .
Supp o s e furt her
what is l e s s e xo t i c - that the grammar o f t h i s language inc lude s ( t e n s e ) /mode c a t e gori e s whi c h e xpre s s speaker int ent i onal i t y . given t he analy s i s o f try developed above ,
Now ,
it would be p o s s i b l e for
speakers of our try-le s s language t o c on s t ru c t the fun c t ional equivalent o f a t ry s e n t e n c e s o le l y by me ans o f the regular modal c a t e gori e s o therw i s e at her d i s p o s al . U �a�inj in s e ems t o be j us t such a language .
What Engl i s h does with
a h i gher verb , U �a�inj in d o e s by pai ring imperat ive or other intentional forms of the verb with the sentence part i c le y a g u , whi c h means j u st what my a c c o unt above d e s c r i b e s .
( Si n c e t he mi n i ma l gloss o f t h i s
part i c le , given t here , i s q u i t e unwi eldy in i t s l e ngth , I glo s s it s imp l y as unae r ta i n in my i n t e rl i near tran s lat ions in the e xamp l e s b e low .
Th i s s hould b e read a s a n abb reviated form o f that ful ler
glos s in each c a s e . ) Examp l e s o f imp erat ive s e n t e nc e s o f t h i s kind are :
yagu
b a n d um l n d a r a
una e r ta i n
b - c la s s ob . - Im i n d a - 1 s g . d . b . m e a t b - c l a s s Bring i t t o m e
�a l a b i r i
Try t o b r i n g m e s ome m e a t
yagu una e r ta i n
bi
bandug s e t t Z e d down
imp .
-
IY;T
Try to s e t t Z e down Just as wi t h imperative � in Engl i s h , t here is a pre s umpt ion here on
the p a r t o f the s p e a k e r that t he int ended re s ult , t he b r i nging o f
meat , o r the s e t t ling down , i s one which i s not certain t o c ome about , e ither b e c a u s e o f the a c t or ' s i nab i l i t y t o bring it ab out or b e c a u s e o f s ome o t h e r c ir c umstanc e s b eyond h i s c ontro l . The s ame i s t rue o f y a g u a s u s e d with verb s i n the o p t at i ve mode , e . g.
yagu
ba l j a
unae r ta i n g o
wo�ay
i de mas c .
ob .
- 3 pl .
s ub .
-
�
- opt . women
L e t ' s try Z e t ti n g women g o t o him But i t would be a mi s t ake to c o n s i der y a g u b y i t s e l f t o b e t he equivalent o f t ry , for it predi c a t e s o n l y unc ert a int y , and no e lement of the intent ionality inherent i n t ry, the l a t t e r b e ing c arried here s o l e l y b y t he verb i t s e l f . That thi s i s t rue o f y a g u i n general i s c l ear from the person r e s t r i c t ions on t he other kind o f ' intent iona l ' verb s which c o - o c cur with y a g u , namely t he s o - c a l l e d ' fut ure ' verb s .
As ment ioned ab ove
176
(p.
1 7 2 ) , they c an enter into s u c h c o -o c c urre n c e only whe n t he s ub j e c t
o f t h e verb i s a first person one .
This agr e e s w i t h t h e f a c t that ,
alt hough future verb s with first or third person s ub j e c t s may form intent ional c lau s e s when framed by a ;rna verb ( as per p . only the first person forms have ' intent ional ' in a ;rna c o n s t ru c t ion .
160ff. ) ,
for c e when not emb edded
It is b e c au s e y a g u b y i t s e l f does not c arry
any int ent i onal force that it may form try c o n s t ru c t i ons only with t h o s e future forms which do carry s u c h forc e . Examp l e s o f s u c h sentence s are :
yagu
Qa r l ya
b i gdja - gu
u n c e r t a i n 1 p l . inc . - fut . - Ia m o v i e s We ' Z Z try to go to t h e m o v i e 8
or
L e t ' s try to go to t h e m o v i e s
yagu
l i nJ
nj i n i yo
uncertain
Zook at
2 s g . -l s g . - fut .
I ' Z Z try to Z o o k at y o u
or
dat .
-
Iw 1 u
Le t me try to Z o o k at y o u
Not e t hat i f y a g u were n o t l imit e d t o o c c urring w i t h future verb s only when t h e y have first p e rson s ub j e c t s as in t h e s e e xamp l e s , it wou ld e ither : 1 ) not b e a pure ly modal part i c le , or 2 ) not b e forming a try c o n s t ru c t i on . For i f it were forming a t ry c o n s t ru c t i on , the int ent ional i t y whi c h would have t o b e s i gnalled b y the part i c le would b e that o f s omeone other than the s p e aker , which would remove part or all of i t s meaning from the sphere o f modal i t y ( part o f it if the
' uncertaint y ' whi c h
the part i c l e would s t i l l have t o c arry were that o f the s p e aker ; a l l o f it i f it were that o f the a c t o r re ferred t o b y t h e s ub j e c t o f the verb ) . But s i n c e y a g u does n o t o c cur w i t h non-first person fut ure forms , there is no r e a s on for not following the s ugge s t ion provided b y i t s syntac t i c b ehavi our and dec laring i t a fu ll -fledged mode part i c le .
BIBL I OG R A P H Y
ALLEN ,
W. S .
1 9 64
T r a n s i t i v i t y an d p o s s e s s i on .
BENVE N I STE ,
1948
La n g u a ge 4 0 : 3 3 7 - 3 4 3 .
E.
Noms d ' a gen t e t n o ms d ' a c t i o n e n i n d o - e u r o p e e n .
P a r i s : A d r i e n-Mas i o n n e uv e .
BLOOMF I ELD ,
1933
L.
N ew Y o rk : H o l t , R i n eh art , a n d W i n s t o n .
L a n g u a ge .
CAPELL ,
A.
1 9 39
Myt h o l o gy i n N o r t he rn K i mb e r l ey , N o r t h - W e s t Au s t r al i a . Ocea n i a 9 / 4 : 3 8 2 - 4 0 4 .
1 9 72
T h e l an g uage s o f t h e N o r t h e r n K i mb e r l ey , W . A . : s om e s t ru c t ur a l p r i n c i p l e s . Ocea n i a 4 3 : 5 4 - 6 5 .
CAPELL ,
A.
1937 N.
1968
1970
ELKIN
and
M.
Row . H.J.
and
Oc e a n i a
HALLE
T h e s o un d pa t t e r n o f En gl i s h .
1974 COATE ,
A.P.
T h e l a n g u a g e s o f t h e K i mb e r l e y d i v i s i o n . 8 : 216-24 6 .
CHOMSKY ,
COATE ,
and
A.P.
New York : Harper and
ELKIN
N g a r i n j i n - Engl i s h d i c t i o n a r y . Ocea n i a L i n g u i s t i c Mon o gra ph s # 1 6 . S y dn ey : U n i ve r s i t y o f Sydn ey . H.J.
and
L.F.
OATES
A g r a mma r o f N g a r i n j i n , Wes t e rn A u s t r a l i a . A u s t ra l i a n Abori g i n a l St u d i es 2 5 , L1 0 . C anb e r r a : Au s t r al i an
I n s t i t ut e o f A b o r i g i n a l S t u d i e s .
D IXON ,
R . M. W.
1 9 72
Th e D y i rb a l
1977
A gra mma r o f Yi d i p .
1979
E r g at i v it y .
l a n g u a ge o f n o r t h Q u e e n s l a n d .
C amb r i dg e U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s .
Lo n do n :
C a mb r i d g e : C amb r i d ge U n i v e r s i t y
Pres s . L a n g u a ge 5 5 / 1 : 5 9 - 1 3 8 .
177
178
D IXON ,
R . M . W. ,
1976
ed .
G r a mma t i c a l
C anb e r r a : Studi es .
DOUGLAS ,
ca t e gor i e s i n A u s t r a l i a n l a n g u a ge s .
Au s t r al i an I n s t i t ut e o f Abo r i g i n al
W.H .
1964
A n i n t ro d u c t i o n t o t h e We s t e rn D e s e r t l a n g u a g e . Ocean i a L i n g u i s t i c Monograph s 4 ( 1 s t e dn 1 9 5 8 ) .
Sydney : U n i v e r s i t y o f Sydney .
HAL E ,
K.L.
1976 HEAT H ,
' Th e a d j o i n e d r e l a t i v e c l a u s e i n A u s t r al i a ' . I n D i xo n , e d . 1 9 7 6 : 7 8 - 1 0 5 . J.
1975
S o m e fun c t i on a l r e l at i o n s h i p s i n grammar .
L a n g u a ge 5 1 : tl 9 - 1 0 4 .
1976 HERCUS ,
' Sub s t an t i val h i e r a r c h i e s : a d d e n dum t o S i l v e r s t e i n ' . I n D i xo n , e d . 1 9 7 6 : 1 7 2 - 1 9 0 . L .A .
1969
The l a n g u a ges o f V i c t o r i a :
a l a t e s u r ve y .
A u s t r a l i an I n s t i t u t e o f Ab o r i g i n al S t ud i e s .
HJELMSLEV ,
C anb e r r a :
L.
1 9 35
La c at e gor i e d e s c a s : e t u d e de gr amma i r e g e n e r al e . 7:1, 9:2.
Acta Jutlandica
JAKOBSON ,
R.
1957
Sh i f t e rs ,
verba l c a t e go r i e s ,
a n d t h e R u s s i a n verb .
C amb r i d g e : H a rvar d Un i v er s i t y P r e s s .
JAKOBSON,
R. ,
1 9 51
C .G .M.
and
FANT ,
M.
HALLE
Prel i mi n a r i e s to s p e e c h a n a l y s i s : t h e d i s t i n c t i ve C amb r i d g e , M a s s . : fea t u r e s a n d t h e i r c o r r e l a t e s .
M . I . T . Pres s . JONES ,
D.
1966 1969 KEENAN ,
1 9 77
T h e pron u n c i a t i on o f En gl i sh .
Un i v er s i t y P r e s s .
An o u t l i n e o f En gl i s h ph on e t i c s . E.
B.
C amb r i dg e : W . H e f f e r .
COMR I E
N o u n ph r a s e a c c e s s i b i l i t y a n d un i v e r s al gr ammar .
1966
J.
L a n at ur e d e s p r o c e s d i t s ' an al o g i qu e s ' . I n E . H amp , F . H o u s eh o l d e r , a n d R . Aust e r l i t z , e d s R e a d i n gs i n L i n g u i s t i c s II , 1 5 8 - 1 7 4 . C h i c ago : Un i v e r s i t y o f Ch i c ago P r e s s .
LADEFOGED ,
1 9 71
1969
and
L i n g u i s t i c In qu i r y 8 : 6 3 - 9 9 .
KUR�OWIC Z ,
LYONS ,
C a mb r i d g e : C amb r i dg e
P.
Prel i m i n a r i e s
to l i n g u i s t i c pho n e t i c s .
U n i v e r s i t y o f C h i c a go P r e s s .
C h i c a go :
J.
In t r o d u c t i o n t o
theoret i cal
C amb r i d g e U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s .
l inguistics .
C amb r i d g e :
179
McKEN Z I E ,
M.
1969
T h e r o a d t o Mo wa n j u m .
PARTEE ,
B.H.
1973
P IKE ,
I n P . K iparsky Th e s yn t a x an d s emant i c s o f quo t at i o n . a n d S . A n d e r s o n , e ds , A F e s t s c h r i ft f o r Mo r r i s Ha l l e , 410-418 . N e w Y o r k : H o l t , R i n eh a rt , a n d W i n s t o n .
K.L.
194 3 P I KE ,
S y d n e y : Angus an d R o b e rt s o n .
Phone t i c s .
K.L.
and
1969
I .
A n n A r b o r : T h e U n i ve r s it y o f Mi c h i g an P r e s s .
LOWE
P r o n o mi n a l r e f e r en c e i n E n g l i s h c o nv e r s at i on a n d d i s c o u r s e i n a g r o u p t h eo r et i c al t r e at me n t . Fol i a L i n g u i s t i c a 3 : 6 8 - 1 0 6 .
RUMSEY ,
A.
1980
P r o l e go m e n a t o a t h e o ry o f Au s t r al i an gr ammat i c al c a s e s y s t ems . I n B . R i g s b y a n d P . S ut t o n , e ds , P a p e r s in A u s t ra l i a n L i n g u i s t i c s 1 3 . PL , A - 5 9 . C an b e r ra : Pac i f i c L i n g u i s t i c s .
1981
K i n s h i p a n d c o nt e xt amo n g t h e N ga r i ny i n . 5 1 / 3 : 1 8 1 -1 9 2 .
SCHEBECK ,
B.
1976
A r e Au s t ral i an l a ng u a g e s s y n t a c t i c al l y n o m i n at i v e e r gat i ve o r n o m i n at i v e - ac c us at i ve : T h a n g u an d At j n j amat h anh a . I n D i xo n , e d . , 1 9 7 6 : 5 1 6 - 5 5 0 .
S ILVERSTE I N ,
1976
R emar k s o n t h e g e n i t i v e . In To Ho n o u r Roman J a k o b s o n , 2 1 9 1 - 21 9 8 . Th e H a gue : Mout o n . B.L.
L a n g u a ge ,
t h Q u gh t a n d r ea l i t y .
M . I . T . Pres s .
WITTGENSTE IN ,
19 6 3
I n D i xo n , e d .
C.
1967
1956
M.
H i e r a r c h y o f f e at ur e s a n d e r g at i v i t y . 1976 : 112-171 .
WATKINS ,
WHORF ,
Oce a n i a
C amb r i d g e , Ma s s . ,
L.
Ph i l o s o ph i c a l
i n ves t i ga t i o n s .
O x fo r d :
Blackwell .
Rumsey, A. An intra-sentence grammar of Ungarinjin, north-western Australia. B-86, xii + 191 pages. Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1982. DOI:10.15144/PL-B86.1 ©1982 Pacific Linguistics and/or the author(s). Online edition licensed 2015 CC BY-SA 4.0, with permission of PL. A sealang.net/CRCL initiative.