[Lingtyp] Truth markers

[Wesley Kuhron Jones]

In Horokoi (previously known as Wasembo), a Trans-New Guinea language which
I have just started documenting, there is a rich system of demonstratives.
One of these, "khaingu" (that one), is used as a truth marker when uttered
alone. The speakers calque this into their Tok Pisin by saying "Em!" (It!)
to mean "That's right!"

WKJ

On Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 12:18 Peter Austin <pa2 at soas.ac.uk> wrote:

> The Gamilaraay language, traditionally spoken in northern New South Wales,
> has a particle giirr or giirru that appears in sentence-initial position to
> indicate that the proposition expressed by the following words is true,
> e.g. giirr ngaya Gamilaraay guwaaldanha 'I truly/really am speaking
> Gamilaraay'. It can be used by itself as an interjection to express '(That
> is) true.'
>
> If you want references or more examples email me.
>
> Best
> Peter
>
>
> On Thu, 21 Oct 2021, 12:49 Riccardo Giomi, <rgiomi at campus.ul.pt> wrote:
>
>> ...And then of course you have the rhetorical/discourse-marker use of
>> ablative *vero* in Latin to mean 'in particular, specifically, that is',
>> etc.. This survives in the Italian form *ovvero*, which I would assume
>> derives from agglutination of the disjunctive preposition/conjunction *o*
>> ('or') + *vero* ('true').
>>
>> Best,
>> R
>>
>> Carl Whitehead <carlrwhitehead at gmail.com> escreveu no dia quinta,
>> 21/10/2021 à(s) 06:52:
>>
>>> In Menya (Angan sub-family, Trans New Guinea family in Papua New
>>> Guinea), the expression for ‘true’ (often used as a response to a
>>> question or a affirmation of agreement and also as an adjective or noun) is
>>> *naq**ä** qaku**ä*,  where *naq**ä* is ‘big’ and *qaku**ä* is ‘stump,
>>> base of a tree’ or ‘basis, reason’. In church circles, the expression
>>> is also used at the end of prayers as ‘amen.’
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* Lingtyp <lingtyp-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org> *On Behalf
>>> Of *Mira Ariel
>>> *Sent:* October 21, 2021 10:00 AM
>>> *To:* lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org
>>> *Cc:* Shirly Orr <orr.shirly at gmail.com>
>>> *Subject:* [Lingtyp] Truth markers
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> My student, Shirly Orr, and I are interested in truth markers, such as
>>> *true*, *real, right*.
>>>
>>> Are they frequently attested in natural languages?
>>>
>>> We're interested in etymological sources for them, as well as meanings
>>> they evolve to express.
>>>
>>> Any leads on literature we can dig up?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Mira Ariel
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Lingtyp mailing list
>>> Lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org
>>> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Riccardo Giomi, Ph.D.
>> Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa (FLUL)
>> Departamento de Linguística Geral e Românica (DLGR)
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