19.1789, Qs: Hindi Causatives

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LINGUIST List: Vol-19-1789. Wed Jun 04 2008. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 19.1789, Qs: Hindi Causatives

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1)
Date: 02-Jun-2008
From: Gavin Austin < gaustin2 at une.edu.au >
Subject: Hindi Causatives

 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:47:33
From: Gavin Austin [gaustin2 at une.edu.au]
Subject: Hindi Causatives
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Dear all,

I have a quick question about causatives in Hindi. I hope a native Hindi
speaker can help.

(1)   raam-nee    khaanaa  khaa-yaa.
     Ram-AGENT   food     eat-PAST
     'Ram ate dinner.'

(2)   mal-nee  raam-koo/*see  khaanaa  khil-aa-yaa.
     I-AGENT  Ram-DAT/ACC    food     eat-CAUS-PAST
     'I fed Ram.'

(3)   raam-nee nahaa-yaa.
     Ram-AGENT bathe-PAST
     'Ram bathed.

(4)   mal-nee raam-kool*see nahal-aa-yaa.
     I-AGENT Ram-DAT/ACC bathe-CAUS-PAST
    'I bathed Ram.'

Is the following correct? In (2), Ram cannot perform the action of eating
without assistance: perhaps he is a small child or an invalid. In (4),
however, there is no obligatory implication that Ram needs help. Perhaps he
does, or perhaps he doesn't.

Basically I'm interested in whether causatives in Hindi take obligatorily
assisted causees when the verb is ingestive (e.g. 2), but not otherwise.
Sinhala is like this, for example.

Best,

Gavin Austin
U of New England
(examples from Saksena 1980) 

Linguistic Field(s): Syntax

Subject Language(s): Hindi (hin)






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