Tag. ay

[Paz B. Naylor]

AY has been viewed first as a copula like the verb "to be" (that was what we
were taught in school - that Tagalog basic sentence structure was like
English and Spanish:  Subject + AY + Predicate!). Then it has come to be
known as an "inversion marker" and Jean-Paul's "anteposer" seems to mean the
same thing.  But while AY appears to function as an inversion marker, AY is
more of a RELATION-MARKER (conceivably a predicative relation marker).
After all, AY is used when "inversion" does not take place:  e.g., MABUTI PA
AY UMALIS TAYO NANG MAAGA; SABI NGA AY "...(quotation)...." (and other
quotatives).  I am sure there are other constructions in which AY is used
but no "inversion" occurs. (I cannot dig them up at this moment because I am
about to leave for a long trip to Athens, Istanbul,  Bucharest, and Rome
tomorrow. Perhaps An-LANGers out there can provide other examples.)

All the best, Paz

----- Original Message -----
From: "potetjp" <potetjp at wanadoo.fr>
To: " AUSTRONESIAN LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS" <AN-LANG at anu.edu.au>
Sent: Sunday, November 26, 2000 11:58 AM
Subject: Tag. ay


> In Tagalog, any in-focus item can be fronted. If such is the case it is
> followed by the anteposer _ay_.
>
> e.g. Binilí niyá ang báhay niná Huwán dáhil sa .... > Ang báhay niná Huwán
> ay binilí niyá dáhil sa ...
> /bought/he/the (IN-FOCUS particle)/house/of-pers.-pl./Juan/because of .../
>
> /the/house/ ...
> "He has bought the house of John and his family because of ..."
>
> Are there other Austronesian languages in which this particle or a similar
> one exists?
>
> Jean-Paul G. POTET