query: grammaticalization go/be.in > negation

[Everett, Daniel]

In Pirahã, David, the relevant construction is:
 hi-ab-áo-b-á
it-negative-completive-perfective-remote (out of control of speaker)

hi-ab-a (without aspectual morphology) is used for 'no' or 'didn't'

The former has the sense of 'to have run out' but is very similar in many contexts to 'allgone.'

-- Dan


On Jan 31, 2013, at 6:53 AM, Hewitt, Stephen wrote:

> Hello David,
> 
> In Breton, yes.
> 
> Aed	eo	toud
> Gone	is3sg	all
> "it's all gone"
> With the same meaning as in English. In French you have to use the verb "partir" = leave, not "aller" = go.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Steve
> 
> 
> Steve Hewitt
> 30 rue Charles Baudelaire
> 75012 PARIS
> France
> s.hewitt at unesco.org
> +33/-0 1.45.68.06.08 work
> +33/-0 6.32.13.79.42 mobile
> +33/-0 1.46.28.89.16 home
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion List for ALT [mailto:LINGTYP at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG] On Behalf Of David Gil
> Sent: 31 January 2013 05:30
> To: LINGTYP at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
> Subject: query: grammaticalization go/be.in > negation
> 
> Dear all,
> 
> In English motherese, the expression 'allgone' is often used to express a negative concept involving the disappearance or absence of an entity previously present.
> 
> I am interested in ascertaining how common or rare it is, cross-linguistically, for a verb of motion (eg. 'go') or location (eg. 
> 'be in') to undergo extension of meaning, or grammaticalization, to express various negative concepts, as in the above 'allgone' example.
> 
> The reason behind this query is as follows.  In Roon (an Austronesian language of West Papua), the same verb has a range of meanings which includes 'be in' and 'disappear'.  (The logic behind this would seem to be that if something goes or is located somewhere else, then it is no 
> longer here.)   In addition, the stem on which this verb is based is 
> also used to form negative imperatives.  I am currently trying to figure out whether to analyze this in terms of macrofunctionality, polysemy, or accidental homophony, so whether similar patterns are attested cross-linguistically would be of relevance to the choice of analysis.
> 
> Looking forward to any responses,
> 
> 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/