[Lingtyp] ‘Ostensive’ use of a goal case

[Joanna Bialek]

You'll find further examples in:

Beyer, Stephan V. 1993. The Classical Tibetan Language. Delhi: Sri 
Satguru Publications, pp. 278-9

Schwieger, Peter. 2006. Handbuch zur Grammatik der klassischen 
tibetischen Schriftsprache. Halle: IITBS, International Institute for 
Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, pp. 310-1.

Best,

Joanna

On 2022-03-01 09:32, zemp marius wrote:
>
> Dear Riccardo, dear others,
>
> thanks for your valuable input. It allows me to specify what I’m 
> interested in<#_msocom_1>. In the Written Tibetan examples presented 
> in my previous email, as well as in the following example from modern 
> Central Tibetan,
>
> /sem kjo-wa-laa/
>
> mindsad-nlzr-ost
>
> ‘How sad!’
>
> -/la(a)/ points to a clear manifestation or a great example of the 
> property denoted by the nominalized verb.
>
> Which is why I think ‘ostensive’ might be a good label – While in 
> ostensive definitions, one defines something by pointing to a good 
> example, Tibetan -/la/ points to a good or even great example of what 
> one is talking about.<#_msocom_2>
>
> What distinguishes the ‘ostensive’ use of Tibetan -/la/ from most of 
> the uses of goal cases you mentioned is that this -/la/ here could be 
> analyzed as finite, as it completes a sentence. While pointing to a 
> state of affairs exemplifying the property denoted by the nominalized 
> verb, -/la/ also implies that this state of affairs currently applies, 
> or is at least currently experienced.
>
> Come to think of it, you could also analyze this use of the Tibetan 
> goal case as an instance of insubordination. For instance, you could 
> assume that someone using it in this way actually means ‘look at (the 
> property denoted by the nominalized verb)!’ However, even if we can 
> think of such a matrix sentence<#_msocom_3>(‘look at [VN-/la/]!’, or 
> perhaps also ‘feel [VN-/la/]!’ or ‘consider [VN-/la/]!’) as being 
> elided here, I would not assume that the meaning of the ostensive 
> construction /equals/ that facilitated by any of these matrix sentences.
>
> In short, I’m actually looking for cross-linguistic parallels for the 
> /finite/ or /predicative/ use of a goal case.
>
> Best,
>
> Marius
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Dr. Joanna Bialek
Zentralasien-Seminar
Institut für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
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