[Algonquiana] ata- and âta 'although' in Cree

[Richard RHODES]

Guillaume,
     I think it's a mistake to think of *āta* as a subordinator. That's
getting trapped by its usual translation. It's just an adverb, like *doch*
in German, which is cognate with *though* in English but differs in that it
is NOT a subordinator, and, by the way, has a similar meaning/function to
*āta*. Once you recognize that--that *āta* is a simple adverb
syntactically--then it all becomes simple. Incorporation as part of a
preverb is not unexpected. That it can appear in non-subordinate clauses
becomes trivial. The questions then become all semantic-pragmatic. What
presuppositions/inferences does *āta* suspend? etc.

Rich Rhodes


On Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 2:29 PM, Bill Jancewicz <bill_jancewicz at sil.org>
wrote:

> Dear Guillaume,
>
> In Naskapi (northern Quebec) the âta- is realized as âti-, and is in a
> class of "modal" preverbs that can also occur outside the preverb string
> (discontinuous to the verb) but commonly occur just after the tense marking
> preverb (and before the verb), as you have in your Cree text.
>
> But it is not unusual to find such forms outside the verbal complex, even
> with other words intervening between âti and the verbal complex.
>
> Bill Jancewicz
>
> On Oct 20, 2015, at 10:54 AM, Guillaume Jacques wrote:
>
> Dear Arok and Kees,
>
> Thank you so much for your input; in most of Kees' examples, âta appears
> as the first element of the verbal complex, before the personal prefixes
> and the e=, but in his first example, âta appears between e and the verb
> stem; my knowledge of Cree is really minimal, so would something like (1)
> be a correct analysis for the first verb?
> (1) e=âta=macitwâ-yek
>      conjunct=concessive=act_in_an_evil_way(VAI)-2pl(conjunct_order)
>
> If this is the case, the same text attests examples of both e=âta=V and
> âta=e=V.
>
> Guillaume
>
>
>
>
>
> 2015-10-19 20:58 GMT+02:00 Wolvengrey, Arok <
> awolvengrey at firstnationsuniversity.ca>:
>
>> I have no evidence of ata-, though âta- (with the long vowel and thus the
>> same as the free concessive) has been recorded.  I suspect, however, that
>> this may have come from <an> instance<s> of intrusive material occurring
>> within the preverb string, such that this might be a fairly rare
>> occurrence.  Sorry I can't at this time comment further on whether there is
>> any real difference between the two.
>>
>> *ᐋᐧᐱ ᑭᐦᐃᐤ*
>>
>> *Arok Wolvengrey*
>>
>> Professor, Algonquian Languages and Linguistics and
>>
>> Department Head of Indigenous Languages, Arts and Cultures
>>
>> First Nations University of Canada
>>
>> 1 First Nations Way
>>
>> Regina, SK   S4S 7K2
>>
>>
>> phone:  (306) 790-5950 ext. 3310
>>
>> fax:      (306) 790-5995
>>
>> e-mail:  awolvengrey at fnuniv.ca
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* Algonquiana [algonquiana-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org] on
>> behalf of Guillaume Jacques [rgyalrongskad at gmail.com]
>> *Sent:* October 19, 2015 8:25 AM
>> *To:* Algonquian Conference List
>> *Subject:* [Algonquiana] ata- and âta 'although' in Cree
>>
>> Dear Algonquianists,
>>
>> I am looking for information on the use of the subordinator concessive
>> prefix *ata*- in Cree (derived from *âta *'although'). I tried to find
>> examples in several text collections by Ahenakew and Wolfart, but could
>> only find examples of the free word *âta*. If any of you has references
>> on the use of this prefix (in particular, the difference with the free
>> word), and examples sentences from any variety of Cree, I would be very
>> grateful.
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Guillaume
>> --
>> Guillaume Jacques
>> CNRS (CRLAO) - INALCO
>> http://cnrs.academia.edu/GuillaumeJacques
>> http://himalco.hypotheses.org/
>> http://panchr.hypotheses.org/
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Guillaume Jacques
> CNRS (CRLAO) - INALCO
> http://cnrs.academia.edu/GuillaumeJacques
> http://himalco.hypotheses.org/
> http://panchr.hypotheses.org/
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-- 

Richard A. Rhodes
Associate Dean, Undergraduate Division
College of Letters and Science
206 Evans #2924
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720
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