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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(Regarding the difficulties with the format of some of my previous messages, I'm working with Yahoo, and I'm not sure if there is a way of getting around html format with Yahoo. I'm now trying to convert my message into txt format -- please let me know if this looks nicer.)</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Here's some more data on Lakota wa-. This time, I'm mainly interested in constructions with multiple wa-, but I'm afraid that the following data complicate, rather than clarify, the situation. Using iyuNg^a 'to ask' for the purpose of demonstration, in Lakota, this verb may take three (seemingly direct) objects:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(1)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>John itowapi ki taku ota iyuNg^a-pi </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>John<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>picture the things many ask-PL</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>'they ask John many things about the picture'</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(2)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>John iyuNg^a-pi</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>'they ask John'</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(3)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>taku ota iyuNg^a-pi</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>'they ask him many things'</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(4)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>itowapi ki iyuNg^a-pi </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>'they ask him about the picture'</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>although there is a tendency to mark the 'about' phrase explicitly by means of a postposition:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(5)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>taku ota John itowapi ki el/etaN/uN/thaNtahaN iyuNg^a-pi</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>'they ask John many things about the picture'</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>With w-iyuNg^a-pi (WA-ask-PL), the acceptability of objects seems to be more restricted. Putting all three objects is ungrammatical:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(6)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>*John itowapi ki taku ota w-iyuNg^a-pi</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>John<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>picture the things many WA-ask-PL</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>'they ask John many things about the picture'</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>In all wiyuNg^api-examples elicited so far, the NP John may appear, which is not surprising since John, as an animate referent, can never be coreferential with wa-, which requires inanimate referents. The same is true for the wa-w-iyuNg^a-pi-examples (WA-WA-ask-PL). But only one of the other two object NPs is admissible. So a possible working hypothesis is that with wiyuNg^api, either the 'about'-phrase or the 'object of the question'-phrase (for lack of a better term) are eliminated by the presence of w-.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>'object of question'-phrase present:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(7)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>John taku ota w-iyuNg^a-pi</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>John things many WA-ask-PL</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>'they ask John many things'</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>However, if the 'about'-phrase is explicitly expressed, it must apparently be coded by means of a postposition:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">(8)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>John itowapi ki thaNtahaN w-iyuNg^a-pi<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>John picture the about WA-ask-PL</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>'they ask John about the picture'</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(9)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>*John itowapi ki wiyuNg^api</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>'they ask John about the picture'</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>One more thing worth checking is if the presence of a postposition such as thaNtahaN in the 'about' phrase would make the triple-object example (6) acceptable. On the basis of the above working hypothesis, we might expect now that with double wa-, both inanimate object NPs, i.e. the 'about'-phrase and the 'object of question'-phrase, will be "banned" from the clause as independent constituents. However, very much to my surprise, the following example is grammatical on several trials:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">(10)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>John itowapi ki <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>taku <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>ota <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>wa-w-iyuNg^a-pi<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>John picture<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>the<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>things<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>many<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>WA-WA-ask-PL</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>'they ask John many things about the picture'</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>At this point, the hypothesis about the object-eliminating function of wa- collapses since, unless the verb iyuNg^a 'to ask' can take some mysterious additional types of semantic object whose exact nature could, so far, not be determined by my elicitation techniques, we have to interpret wa- and w- in (10) as coreferential with the full NPs itowapi ki 'the picture' and taku ota 'many things', respectively. I realize that these data do not really take us in the direction in which they hoped they would take us, since my initial idea was that by putting full object NPs and checking which wa-s would be eliminated by their presence, we'd get some more insight into the semantic reference of the wa-s. In this context, I also experimented with Rory's suggestions about wa-:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(11)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>sapa i'uN<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>'to paint black'<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>is grammatical, and so is</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(12)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>itowapi ki he wi'uN 'to paint that picture'.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>I also elicited</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(13)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>John itowapi ki he zi i'uN</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>'John paints that picture yellow'</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(14)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>John itowapi ki he zi wi'uN</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>'John paints that picture yellow'.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>In other words, again, it does not seem to matter much if the wa-s are there or not, they do certainly not eliminate the full object NPs they should be coreferential with. So, structurally speaking, these wa-s do not really detransitivize verbs, although I agree with Bob saying that in other cases, via "piecemeal grammaticalization", wa- might actually function as a true detransitivizer.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>As for Carolyn's Osage data, in with wa- is glossed by 'repetitive action', I think they are really good examples of something that is in the semantic range of "variety object". So if variety wa- in Lakota indicates diversification of the object in the material world, the Osage version expresses diversification of action in time. I tried to track down this usage in Lakota as well, but I always ended up with examples in which repetitive action is coded by the progressive/continuous/repetitive marker -hAN/-he, rather than by wa-:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>(15)<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>thi-'i-wa-'uN-he </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>house-paint-1SG.AG-paint-REP</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>'I paint the house over and over, I paint and paint the house'</FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Regina</FONT></P><BR>
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