[Lingtyp] Remind-Me particles across languages

[Stefan Savić]

 Dear Ms Lecavelier,

Interesting question. In BCMS (Bosnian-Croatian-Mobtenevrin-Serbian) an
element with this function is the 3SG imperfect of the verb 'be', i.e. *beše
*in Ekavian and *biješe *in Jekavian dialects (apologies in advance if I
have omitted another form from other dialects).

It's important to note that in most dialects the analytic past (be +
l-participle) functions as the only general/unmarked past, whereas the
synthetic forms, the aorist and the imperfect, are stylistically marked and
exhibit a very limited use. It is not an exaggeration to say that for
speakers of most dialects the imperfect is not a productive part of the
verb paradigm (most speakers learn it only in school, many seem to be
unsure about the conjugation and it often gets confused with the aorist).
Its obsolescence may explain why in a sentence like (1) *beše* co-occurs in
the same sentence as another finite verb (the auxiliary that carries the
finiteness of *zvao se* is ellided when it co-occurs with the reflexive
pronoun *se*) as if it was a particle, implying it is a so-called
remind-me-particle rather than a finite verb.

(1) *Kako se               beše  zvao*?
     how   REFL.ACC beše  be_called.IPFV.PST.M.SG
     "What was his name again?"

My grandparents (born in 1920's and 1930's) who used the aorist (not the
imperfect) more frequently that my parents' generation used another
variant, which I find would be marked for speakers of my generation (born
in 1980's):

(2) *Kako se               zvaše*?
     how   REFL.ACC be_called.IPFV.IMPF.3SG
     "What was her/his name again?"

Best,
Stefan



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------------------------------
*From:* Lingtyp <lingtyp-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org> on behalf of
Jeanne Lecavelier des Etangs-Levallois via Lingtyp <
lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>
*Sent:* Monday, March 31, 2025 11:59:59 AM
*To:* lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org <lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>
*Subject:* [Lingtyp] Remind-Me particles across languages

Dear all,

  I am currently looking at Remind-Me particles (particles which express
that the speaker is asking for an information they used to know but forgot,
like English "again" in "What's your name again?") across languages.
Specifically, I am interested in Remind-Me particles (i) which have another
(canonical) meaning when used in other contexts, and (ii) whose
other/canonical meaning is not "again".

For instance, French Remind-Me particle is "déjà" ("already"): "Comment tu
t'appelles toi déjà ?" (literally "What's your name already?") is
interpreted as "What's your name again? (I forgot)".

If you know of any such particle (which can have a Remind-Me use, and which
does not mean "again") in your native language or the language(s) you're
working on, please write to me :-)

Many thanks for your help!
Best,
Jeanne Lecavelier
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