[Lingtyp] Clauses without any overt predicative content (and negation)

[Mark Donohue]

Why do we think there's no predicative content here?
Isn't *bado*, or *awo*, a predicate here?

This sort of thing is very common in many aspect-dominated languages.
An Indonesian conversation is frequently, depending on which variety you're
speaking, full of one word sentences of the form *sudah* (which translates
'already', and much else besides).

-Mark


On Fri, 3 Dec 2021 at 22:03, Bastian Persohn <persohn.linguistics at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dear lingtyp members,
>
> Do you know of any good discussion of how clauses without any overt
> predicative content are interpreted, especially in regards to polarity?
>
> I’m thinking of the following type, where *bado* 'still' becomes its
> negative equivalent 'not yet' in the absence of overt predicative content,
> a pattern
> that is attested in many languages around the globe.
>
> (1) *Imerudi kutengenezwa {au bado}?*
> it.has.returned be.fixed or still
> ʻHas it (fan) be fixed again or not yet?ʼ
> (Ashton 1947: 392)
>
> (2) *Kwa sasa maji yametoka mtoni (Malulumo) na kufika Mgera {lakini
> vijiji vingine bado}.*
> For now water it.has.come.from at.river M. and arrive M. but villages
> other still
>  ‘As for now, the water has come from the river (Malulumo) and reached
> Mgera, but not other villages yet.’
> (Helsinki Corpus of Swahili 2.0)
>
> Obviously, in (1, 2) the disjunctive context also plays a role, but cf.
> the Western Dani examples (3, 4).
> Again, variations over the same theme appear to be pretty common.
>
> (3) *Yi awo*
> river still
> ʻThe river has not yet been swelled.ʼ
> (Barclay 2008: 440)
>
> (4) *Nin-ogoba awo*
> our.father still
> ʻOur father, no!ʼ (Barclay 2008: 441)
>
> Thanks a lot!
>
> Best,
> Bastian
>
>
> *References*
>
> Ashton, Ethel O. 1947. *Swahili grammar (including intonation)*. London:
> Longmans, Green and Co
>
> Barclay, Peter. 2008. *A grammar of Western Dani*. Munich: Lincom.
> _______________________________________________
> Lingtyp mailing list
> Lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lingtyp/attachments/20211204/45ae25c3/attachment.htm>