Subjunctive as 'Consecutive' marker

Wed Sep 28 17:15:54 UTC 2011

Dear Colleagues,

thank you very much for replying to my query. I will let you know what will
come out of this, once I am further down the road.

Kind regards,

Frank Seidel, Ph.D.
Visiting Post-Doctoral Fellow
University of Florida
Center for African Studies at the University of Florida
427 Grinter Hall - PO Box 115560
Gainesville, FL 32611-5560
Tel: 352.392.2183
Fax: 352.392.2435

On Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at 11:05 PM, Alex Francois <francois at vjf.cnrs.fr>wrote:

>  Dear Frank,
>
>
> > *I am interested, if anybody working on languages outside of Africa has
> ever come across such an overlap between subjunctive and narrative
> functions.*
> Thanks for an interesting query.
>
> What you describe for Nalu and Yeyi is typical of a TAM category which is
> found in other languages of the world. While it has been described under
> various names, there exists a tradition (especially among French-speaking
> linguists) to call it "*Aorist*".
>
> The Aorist essentially signals that the situational (temporal, modal)
> coordinates of a clause are *dependent* on an external anchor point (e.g.
> another clause). Hence its strong affinity with (1)_Sequential,
> (2)_Subjunctive uses.  It is also often found in Generic statements (like
> proverbs), i.e. clauses devoid of any situational anchor.
>
> NB: Somewhat confusingly, the term *Aorist *has also been used in various
> grammatical descriptions (Classical Greek, Bulgarian, Georgian...), to
> describe a verbal aspect which does *not* seem to share this properties of
> [+dependent].
>
>
> Aorist-like categories seem to be common in various parts of Africa  (but
> see below for a non-African example).
> Specialists of Berber described their "Aorist" along lines similar to
> yours:
>
>
>    - Galand, Lionel. 2003. *L'aoriste berbère, l'aspect et les valeurs
>    modales*. In *Mélanges David Cohen*, edited by J. Lentin & A. Lonnet.
>    Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose. Pp.235-246.
>    - Taine-Cheikh, Catherine. 2010. *The role of the Berber deictic and
>    TAM markers in dependent clauses in Zenaga*. In *Clause hierarchy and
>    Clause linking: the Syntax and pragmatics interface*, edited by I.
>    Bril. Studies in Language Companion Series 121. Amsterdam, New York:
>    Benjamins. Pp.355-398.
>
>  Stéphane Robert has described a similar category in Wolof (Senegal). The
> label for the category was *Narrative* in Robert (1991), *Aoriste* in
> Robert (1995) and *Null tense* in Robert (2010) -- [which, incidentally,
> illustrates the terminological conundrum I was talking about]:
>
>
>    - Robert, Stéphane. 1991. *Approche énonciative du système verbal: Le
>    cas du Wolof*. Edited by S. Auroux. Sciences du Langage. Paris: CNRS.
>    - Robert, Stéphane. 1995. *Aoristique et mode subordinatif : liens
>    entre aspect et prédication*. In *Langues et langage. Problèmes et
>    raisonnement en linguistique (Mélanges offerts à Antoine Culioli)*,
>    edited by J. Bouscaren, J.-J. Franckel & S. Robert. Linguistique Nouvelle.
>    Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. Pp.373-389.
>    - Robert, Stéphane. 2010. *Clause chaining and conjugations in Wolof*.
>    In *Clause hierarchy and Clause linking: the Syntax and pragmatics
>    interface*, edited by I. Bril. Studies in Language Companion Series
>    121. Amsterdam, New York: Benjamins. Pp.469-498.
>
>  My analysis of Aorist markers as encoding situational dependency  (or
> "pragmatic subordination")  originates in her work.
>
> Another example would be Coptic, and its verbal category of "Conjunctive":
>
>
>    - Depuydt, Leo. 1993. *Conjunction, Contiguity, Contingency: On
>    Relationships between Events in the Egyptian and Coptic Verbal Systems*.
>    New York: Oxford University Press.
>    - Reintges, Chris. 2010. *Coordination, converbs and clause chaining in
>    Coptic Egyptian typology and structural analysis*, In *Clause hierarchy
>    and Clause linking: the Syntax and pragmatics interface*, edited by I.
>    Bril. Studies in Language Companion Series 121. Amsterdam, New York:
>    Benjamins. Pp.203-266.
>
>
> Outside Africa, I have described a similar TAM category ("Aorist") in an
> Oceanic language called Mwotlap, spoken in northern Vanuatu:
>
>
>    - François, Alexandre. 2003. *La sémantique du prédicat en mwotlap
>    (Vanuatu)*. Collection Linguistique de la Société de Linguistique de
>    Paris, 84. Paris, Louvain: Peeters.  [pp.165-198]  [link<http://alex.francois.free.fr/AFpub_books_e.htm>
>    ]
>
> Some languages around Mwotlap (though not all of them) share the same
> semantic category. Below is a study I did of historical morphology in the
> region, with a brief semantic introduction:
>
>
>    - François, Alexandre. 2009. *Verbal aspect and personal pronouns: The
>    history of aorist markers in north Vanuatu*. In *Austronesian
>    historical linguistics and culture history: A festschrift for Bob Blust
>    *, edited by A. Pawley & A. Adelaar. Pacific Linguistics, 601.
>    Canberra: Australian National University. Pp.179-195.  [Pdf link<http://alex.francois.free.fr/data/AlexFrancois_2009_Blust-fs_Aorist-pronouns_preprint.pdf>
>    ]
>
>
> best,
> Alex.
>
> --
> Dr Alex FRANÇOIS
>
> LACITO - CNRS, France
>
> 2009-2012:  Visiting Fellow
> 	Dept of Linguistics
> 	School of Culture, History and Language
> 	Australian National University
> 	ACT 0200, Australia
>
> Home address:
> 	31 Ainsworth St, Mawson, ACT 2607, Australia
> 	ph:  [h]   (+61)-2-6166 5569
> 	     [w]   (+61)-2-6125 1664
> 	     [mob] (+61)-4-50 960 042
>
> 	http://alex.francois.free.fr
>
>
> ------------------------------
> Le 18/09/2011 08:00, Frank Seidel a écrit :
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I have worked (or am working) descriptively on two non-related African
> languages (Yeyi, Bantu) and (Nalu, Atlantic) and in both languages I have
> found a marker that works subjunctively, e.g. it appears in subordinate
> sentences expressing purpose, wishes, necessity etc. and it can be used to
> form polite directives or obligatives.
>
> Interestingly to me, the same marker appears in narrative texts used as a
> dependent 'tense' marker, i.e. it orders events consecutively to a (usually
> aforementioned) event. In other words, it appears on predicates that encode
> consecutive events after a baseline time of reference has been established,
> usually by a previous explicitly TAM marked predicate. It basically adds the
> meaning 'and then' to the proposition (see example below).
> I am interested, if anybody working on languages outside of Africa has ever
> come across such an overlap between subjunctive and narrative functions.
> However, comments about other African languages are also highly welcome.
>
> [Please note that the glossing for Nalu is still preliminary, since i have
> just started decoding Nalu grammar.]
>
> [For people who wonder about a marker *ku-* being designated as a
> subjunctive in a Bantu language, please note that Yeyi also features the
> more typically Bantu suffix *-e* to mark the subjunctive. In contrast to
> the 'consecutive tense' *ku-* illustrated below this subjunctive form does
> not appear as a 'consecutive tense'. If *ku-* is used subjunctively it
> bears habitual meaning that is best rendered as 'always' or 'continually' in
> English. I have included a contrast below after the narrative example on
> Yeyi]
>
> Thanks to all of you in advance for your comments.
>
> *NALU:*
>
> möö
>
> b-am
>
> yek-aa
>
> nèè
>
> DEM
>
> PAST-1sg
>
> say-3sg
>
> that
>
> That one said (it) to me that:
>
>
>
> "... Ma-*ti*
>
> koy
>
> nèè
>
> m-ba
>
> ka
>
> m-caama
>
> 3s-*SUBJ*
>
> be(LOC)
>
> that
>
> CL1-thing
>
> POSS
>
> CL1-money
>
> k-aa
>
> rangje-ngah
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> PRES-3s
>
> arrange-?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ... If it is that the thing of money arranges it,
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> mö
>
> bi
>
> k-aa
>
> rangje-ngah
>
> DEM
>
> 1pl
>
> PRES-3s
>
> arrange-?
>
> so we will arrange it.
>
>
>
> Ma-*ti*
>
> koy
>
> nèè
>
> m-ba
>
> naan
>
> k-aa
>
> 3s-*SUBJ?*
>
> be(LOC)
>
> that
>
> CL1-thing
>
> as well
>
> PRES-3s
>
> rangje-ngah
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> arrange-?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> If it is that another thing arranges it,
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> mö
>
> bi
>
> k-aa
>
> rangje-ngah
>
> DEM
>
> 1pl
>
> PRES-3s
>
> arrange-?
>
> so we will arrange it.
>
>
>
> min
>
> *ti*
>
> yek
>
> nèè
>
> "wah
>
> ma-koy"
>
> 1s.PP
>
> *CONS*
>
> say
>
> that
>
> "DEM(manner)
>
> 3s-be(LOC)
>
> And then I said that: "That way, it is."
>   *
> YEYI:*
>
> Ba-ruku-yis-a
>
> zu-luwa,
>
> ba-ku-ti-p-a.
>
> Ta-ku-ly-a.
>
> Ta-ku-ly-a.
>
> 3p-PPst-take-a
>
> 8-food
>
> 3p-*Cons*-3p-give-a
>
> 1p-*Cons*-eat-a
>
> 1p-*Cons*-eat-a
>
> Ta-ku-ly-a.
>
> Ta-ruku-man-a.
>
> Ta-ku-khwam-a.
>
> Ma-ncehumu
>
> ba-ruku-tikya
>
> 1p-Cons-eat-a
>
> 1p-PPast-finsih-a
>
> 1p-Cons-sleep-a
>
> 6-morning
>
> 3p-Past-say
>
> "Tw-end-e,
>
> tu-nu-thwer-e."
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 1p-go-Subj
>
> 1p-2p-show_way-Subj
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> They took the food, and gave it to us. And we ate, and ate, and ate. We
> finished, and then we slept. In the morining they said: "Let's go, let's
> take you (to the workplace)"
>
> *ku-* and *-e *in Yeyi
>
> (933) (Textual example)
>
> U-ku-siy-a
>
> ku-shit-a
>
> akyo'o
>
> ba-nyana.
>
> 2s-Cons-leave-a
>
> Inf-refuse-a
>
> like_that
>
> 2-man
>
> You should not continually refuse men like that.
>
> (Elicited example)
>
> (934)
>
> U-siy-e
>
> ku-shit-a
>
> akyo'o
>
> ba-nyana.
>
>
>
> 2s-leave-Subj
>
> Inf-refuse-a
>
> like_that
>
> 2-man
>
>
>
> You should not refuse men like that.
>
>
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