Query: Periphrastic Future

[John Myhill]

The closest I can think of to this is that in Southern US English and Black
English it's common to say 'I'm fixin' to go' (commonly contracted to 'I'm
finna go' with a meaning like 'I'm about to go' in other English dialects).
I think that in these dialects it's also possible to say 'I'm fixin' a
cake' with the meaning 'I'm making a cake' (not just 'I'm repairing a
cake). This would be basically the same thing as what you're talking about,
except that I think the meaning is specifically NEAR future, not future in
general. You better check
this with a native speaker of these dialects, though.  John Myhill


>Does anyone out there know of any languages that form a periphrastic future
>tense using the verb "do" (or "make") as an auxiliary (i.e. something like
>"He is DOING to write" meaning "He is going to write").
>
>I have a future tense formation in a Papuan language that seems to be doing
>this (although it's not entirely clear) and I'm wondering if there's a
>precedent.
>
>Thanks!