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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">Dear Abby – Splits between ascriptive (i.e., class-inclusion) predication and equative (or identificational) predication are discussed in Stassen (2003: 100-120) (as already mentioned by Bill Croft).
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">And, since Alex Francois brings up omnipredicativity, there is a very interesting quirk in several languages that have been described as omnipredicative, including Classical Nahuatl (Launey 2004), Straits
Salish (Jelinek & Demers 1994), and Yucatec Maya (Vapnarsky 2013). In all instances, whereas ascriptive predication is expressed by inflecting the nominal or adjectival predicate with whatever functional machinery the language requires for this purpose, equative
predications require a special kind of copula-like expressions – but only if the predicate involves the equivalent of a definite article.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">In all instances, the copula-like elements are a class of emphatic pronouns which seem to be specialized specifically on predication. Launay calls these ‘predicates of identification’ and Jelinek &
Demers call them ‘deictic predicates.’ I analyze them as a generalization of what Diessel (1999: 4-6, 78-92) calls ‘demonstrative identifiers.’ I think demonstrative identifiers are the third-person instances of these identificational predicators.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">Below are a couple of Yucatec examples. You can see in (1a) and (1c) that equative predication requires no copula-like element as long as the predicate doesn’t involve the definite article, as in (2)
and (3). In the latter cases, the empathic 3SG pronoun <i>leti’</i> takes over the role of the predicator.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">(1) a. Juan in=k’àaba’.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> Juan(B3SG) A1SG=name<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> ‘My name is Juan.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> b. In=k’àaba’=e’, Juan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> A1SG=name=TOP Juan(B3SG)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> ‘As for my name, it is Juan’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> c. Juan-en.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> Juan-B1SG<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> ‘I am Juan.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ES-US" style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">(2) a. *Le=kisin(=o’)-en.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ES-US" style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">
</span><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">DEF=devil=D2-B1SG<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> Intended: ‘I am the devil.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> </span><span lang="ES-US" style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">b. Le=kisin=o’
<b>leti’</b>-en.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ES-US" style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">
</span><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">DEF=devil=D2 <b>it</b>-B1SG<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> ‘As for the devil, I’m him.’ (Tonhauser ms. p13)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">(3) a. *Le=máaystra(=o’) ts’a’ tèech=o’.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> DEF=teacher=D2(B3SG) put/give(SUBJ)(B3SG) you=D2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> intended: ‘It was the teacher who gave it to you.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> b. <b>
Lete</b>=máaystra ts’a’ tèech=o’.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> <b>
it(B3SG):DEF</b>=teacher put/give(SUBJ)(B3SG) you=D2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""> ‘It was her, the teacher, who gave it to you.’ (Vapnarsky 2013: 77)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">HTH! – Juergen<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">Diessel, H. (1999). <i>
Demonstratives: Form, function, and grammaticalization.</i> Amsterdam: Benjamins.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="DE" style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">Jelinek, E. & R. A. Demers.
</span><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">(1994). Predicates and Pronominal Arguments in Straits Salish Language.
<i>Language 70</i>(4): 697-736. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">Launey, M. (2004a). The features of omnipredicativity in Classical Nahuatl.
<i>STUF - Language Typology and Universals</i> 57(1). 49–69. </span><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1524/stuf.2004.57.1.49/html">https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1524/stuf.2004.57.1.49/html</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">Stassen, L. (2003<sup>2</sup> [1997]).
<i>Intransitive predication. </i>Oxford: Oxford University Press.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">Tonhauser, J. (Ms). The syntax and semantics of Yucatec Mayan focus constructions. Manuscript, University of Stuttgart.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif"">Vapnarsky, V. (2013). Is Yucatec an omnipredicative language? Predication, the copula, and focus constructions.
<i>Sprachtypologie und Universalienforschung 66</i>(1): 40-86.</span><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black">Juergen Bohnemeyer (He/Him)<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">-- <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="DE" style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="DE" style="font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="color:black">From: </span></b><span style="color:black">Lingtyp <lingtyp-bounces@listserv.linguistlist.org> on behalf of Alex Francois via Lingtyp <lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org><br>
<b>Date: </b>Friday, September 5, 2025 at 14:44<br>
<b>To: </b>Abigail Roberts <asroberts@berkeley.edu><br>
<b>Cc: </b>lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org <lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org><br>
<b>Subject: </b>Re: [Lingtyp] Split in copulas co-occurring with nominals?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Dear Abby,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Thanks for an interesting query.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">The majority of Oceanic (Austronesian) languages are omnipredicative, i.e. they form their predicates without a copula, whether that predicate is headed by an adjective,
a locative phrase (as in your prepositional example), or a noun, a pronoun, a numeral...<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">In that sense, the first two examples you gave for Nukuoro are rather typical of the Oceanic family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Oceanic languages with a copula for nominal predicates are less frequent, but they do exist: e.g. several languages of Central Vanuatu (Lewo, Nafsan, Lelepa...) have
a verbal copula for nouns.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Now Nukuoro is even more original in having two copulas! This is rare in Oceanic languages, but not unknown. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Andrew Pawley has shown that
<b>Wayan Fijian</b> (one of the varieties of Fijian) is such a language:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Ascriptive predicates take a copula
<i>tia</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">(1)
</span><span style="font-family:"Cambria Math",serif">⟨</span><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Ei
<b>tia </b>qasenivuli</span><span style="font-family:"Cambria Math",serif">⟩</span><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> o Tevita.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow",sans-serif">3sg:NPST <b>be:ASCR</b> teacher PERS (name)</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">‘Tevita is a teacher.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Equative predicates take the copula
<i>ni‑</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">(2)
</span><span style="font-family:"Cambria Math",serif">⟨</span><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Ei
<b>ni</b>‑a na qasenivuli</span><span style="font-family:"Cambria Math",serif">⟩</span><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> o Tevita.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
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</blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow",sans-serif">3sg</span>:<span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow",sans-serif">NPST</span> <span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow",sans-serif"> <b>be:EQUAT‑</b>3sg ART teacher
PERS (name)</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">‘Tevita is the teacher.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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</blockquote>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">I believe the two copulas of Wayan Fijian match closely what you find in Nukuoro. Indeed, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">what you called "indefinite nominal predicates" correspond to what are sometimes called <i>ascriptive predicates</i> <br>
- where the subject is ascribed a (nominal) property [e.g. 'X is a teacher']. <br>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">what you labelled "definite or referential nominals" are also known as
<i>equative</i> <i>predicates <br>
</i>- where the subject is equated with a pre-identified referent [e.g. 'X is the teacher'].<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">The examples I cited for Wayan Fijian come from Pawley (2000: 312) -- see ref below. I cited them in an upcoming paper of mine (François f/c) on non-verbal predicates
in Oceanic languages, where I used the categories "ascriptive" and "equative".<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Closer to Nukuoro,
<b>Tahitian </b>uses <i>e</i> for ascriptive predicates, but <i>'o</i> for equatives (see discussion in my paper). These examples are from Lazard & Peltzer (1991):<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">(3) < <b>e</b> faehau> tera ta'ata.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow",sans-serif">ASCR soldier that person</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">'That man <is a soldier>.' [ASCRIPTIVE]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">(4) < <b>'o</b> tera ta'ata> tō matou paoti.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow",sans-serif"> EQUAT that person ART:Poss 1exc:Pl boss</span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left:30.0pt;margin-right:0in">
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">'Our boss <is that man>.' [EQUATIVE]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">The particles
<i>e</i> and <i>'o</i> of Tahitian are cognate with Nukuoro <i>se</i> and <i>go</i>, respectively (PPN *se, *ko). A similar system can be found in other Polynesian languages.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">______<br>
References:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif">François, Alexandre. (f/c) Non-verbal predicates in Oceanic languages. In Pier Marco Bertinetto, Luca Ciucci, & Denis Creissels (eds), <i>Non-verbal predication in the world’s languages:
A typological survey</i>. (Comparative Handbooks of Linguistics 9.) Berlin: DeGruyter.<span class="gmaildefault"> [<a href="https://marama.huma-num.fr/data/AlexFrancois_2024_Non-verbal-predication_Oceanic_preprint.pdf" target="_blank">preprint</a>]</span></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span class="gmaildefault"><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif">Lazard, Gilbert & Louise Peltzer. 1991.
<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3623158.pdf?casa_token=Cw-1YjfaWZEAAAAA:BO2F-Wg3Ca9cFJcUIgejMsfcXocUHHevozObMz4-0xV5rgC4FK7TWpsZsLrC0MfM_gpNPzDYVI0HdC4Jbk4Ler-TwlcX4w7hqhlhjEx2JGF5CQpf9Kc">
Predicates in Tahitian</a>. <i>Oceanic Linguistics</i> 30(1). 1</span></span><span class="gmaildefault"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">‒</span></span><span class="gmaildefault"><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif">31.</span></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span class="gmaildefault"><span style="font-family:"Georgia",serif">Pawley, Andrew. 2000.
<a href="https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/server/api/core/bitstreams/9ca7fa43-a845-4930-8b77-3008c5966d46/content">
Two be’s or not two be’s? On the copulas of Wayan Fijian</a>. In Bill Palmer & Paul A. Geraghty (eds.), <i>Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics (SICOL), vol. 2, Historical and descriptive studies</i>, 297–314. (Pacific Linguistics
505). Canberra: Australian National University. </span></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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</blockquote>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Just like you, I'd be curious to hear whether there are other parts of the world where such systems can be found, with two nominal copulas, one for equatives vs. one
for ascriptives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span class="gmaildefault"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">regards,</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<div>
<div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Alex</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">
<hr size="1" width="70" style="width:52.5pt" noshade="" style="color:black" align="left">
</div>
<p style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#45818E">Alex François</span><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><a href="http://www.lattice.cnrs.fr/en/alexandre-francois/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:none">LaTTiCe</span></a> — <a href="https://www.cnrs.fr/en" target="_blank" title="ENS"><span style="color:#3366CC;text-decoration:none">CNRS</span></a>
</span><a href="https://www.cnrs.fr/en" target="_blank" title="ENS"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#3366CC;text-decoration:none">—</span></a><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">
<a href="https://www.ens.fr/laboratoire/lattice-langues-textes-traitements-informatiques-et-cognition-umr-8094" target="_blank" title="ENS">
<span style="color:#3366CC;text-decoration:none">ENS</span></a>–<a href="https://www.psl.eu/en" target="_blank" title="ENS"><span style="color:#3366CC;text-decoration:none">PSL</span></a> —
<a href="http://www.sorbonne-nouvelle.fr/lattice-langues-textes-traitements-informatiques-cognition-umr-8094-3458.kjsp" target="_blank" title="ENS">
<span style="color:#3366CC;text-decoration:none">Sorbonne nouvelle</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><a href="https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/persons/alex-francois" target="_blank"><span style="color:#3366CC;text-decoration:none">Australian
National University</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><a href="http://alex.francois.online.fr/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#3366CC;text-decoration:none">Personal homepage</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:7.5pt">_________________________________________</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in">
<o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">---------- Forwarded message ---------<br>
From: <strong><span style="font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Abigail Roberts via Lingtyp</span></strong> <<a href="mailto:lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org" target="_blank">lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a>><br>
Date: Fri, 5 Sept 2025 at 18:53<br>
Subject: [Lingtyp] Split in copulas co-occurring with nominals?<br>
To: <<a href="mailto:lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org" target="_blank">lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a>><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in">
<o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Hello all,<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">I'm wondering if anyone is aware of any languages with a particular distribution of copulas. I'm researching non-verbal clauses in Nukuoro, a Polynesian Outlier language spoken in Micronesia. In Nukuoro, only non-verbal
sentences with two nominals (i.e., predicative clauses with nominal predicates and equative and identificational clauses) include copulas. Sentences with prepositional or adjectival predicates do not:<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Adjectival<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Emily e looloa, gai a Noa e bodobodo. <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Emily ipfv tall, then pn Noa ipfv short<br>
'Emily is tall, but Noa is short.' (Drummond 2023:92)<br>
<br>
Prepositional<br>
D-ogu daina daane i lote hale. <br>
def-1sg.gen.o sibling male loc inside house<br>
'My brother is inside the house.'<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">However, in non-verbal sentences with two nominals, different copulas are used depending on whether the sentence is predicative (generally, indefinite predicates) or not.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Predicative<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Ia <b>se </b>gauligi suguulu.<br>
3sg <a href="http://cop.sg/" target="_blank">cop.sg</a> child school<br>
'S/he is a student.' <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Equative<o:p></o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">De henua naa <b>go </b>Pohnpei.<br>
det island med cop.foc Pohnpei<br>
'That island is Pohnpei.'<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Does anyone know of a language with a similar pattern of copularization- one copula for indefinite nominal predicates/predicative clauses and one for definite or referential nominals? <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Thank you all for your help!<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">All the best,<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Abby Roberts<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">(PhD student, UC Berkeley)<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">_______________________________________________<br>
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