query: Where are you going?

[tasaku tsunoda]

Dear Chris,
   Have you received my response?

   It seems that this mailing list is programmed in such a way that the
person who did posting does not receive his/her own posting.

Best wishes,
 
-- 
角田太作


Tasaku Tsunoda

National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics
10-2 Midori-cho, Tachikawa City, Tokyo, 190-8561, Japan

Phone:  +81-42-540-4450 (direct)
Fax:    +81-42-540-4333
E-mail: tsunoda at ninjal.ac.jp






On 11/06/19 13:43, "Christopher P. Wilde" <chris_wilde at SALL.COM> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>A common greeting in Nepali (Indo-Aryan) is:
>
>    खाना खानुभयो?
>    [khana khanubhayo]
>    lit. "Have you eaten?"
>
>-Chris Wilde, Pokhara Nepal
>
>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Discussion List for ALT
>>>[mailto:LINGTYP at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
>>> ] On
>>> Behalf Of David Gil
>>> Sent: 2-Jun-11 9:25 PM
>>> To: LINGTYP at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
>>> Subject: query: Where are you going?
>>>
>>> Dear all,
>>>
>>> One of the most common greetings in many languages of mainland and
>>> insular Southeast Asia is a phrase whose literal meaning is "Where
>>> are
>>> you going?", eg. Thai /pai nai?/, Indonesian /mau ke mana?/
>>> Crucially,
>>> it is not necessarily meant to be taken literally, any more than the
>>> English "How do you do?", and the most appropriate response will
>>> typically be something vague and non-committal, such as "just
>>> walking"
>>>
>>> I am interested in mapping the geographical distribution of the
>>> "Where
>>> are you going?" greeting.  I would thus be grateful for information
>>> from
>>> as many languages as possible, answering the simple question:
>>>
>>> In language(s) that you are familiar with, is "Where are you
>>> going?" (or
>>> an alternative "Where are you coming from?") used as a common
>>> greeting,
>>> without necessarily being meant to be taken literally as an
>>> expression
>>> of interest in the direction of the addressee's movements?
>>>
>>> I am equally interested in negative data, asserting that your
>>> language
>>> does not have such a usage, as I am in data of a positive nature.
>>>
>>> In addition to confirming the presence of this greeting thoughout
>>> mainland and insular Southeast Asia, I am particularly interested in
>>> ascertaining the geographical boundaries of the greeting, to the
>>> west in
>>> the Indian subcontinent, to the north in China and Northeast Asia,
>>> and
>>> to the east and south, in New Guinea and Australia.  I am also
>>> interested to find out whether it occurs in other parts of the
>>> world, or
>>> whether it unique to Southeast Asia.  (A recent trip to Ethiopia
>>> suggests that it might also be found there.)
>>>
>>> Looking forward to your responses,
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> David
>>>
>>> --
>>> David Gil
>>>
>>> Department of Linguistics
>>> Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
>>> Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
>>>
>>> Telephone: 49-341-3550321 Fax: 49-341-3550119
>>> Email: gil at eva.mpg.de
>>> Webpage:  http://www.eva.mpg.de/~gil/