[Lingtyp] Split in copulas co-occurring with nominals?
Juergen Bohnemeyer
jb77 at buffalo.edu
Fri Sep 5 19:24:08 UTC 2025
Dear Abby – Splits between ascriptive (i.e., class-inclusion) predication and equative (or identificational) predication are discussed in Stassen (2003: 100-120) (as already mentioned by Bill Croft).
And, since Alex Francois brings up omnipredicativity, there is a very interesting quirk in several languages that have been described as omnipredicative, including Classical Nahuatl (Launey 2004), Straits Salish (Jelinek & Demers 1994), and Yucatec Maya (Vapnarsky 2013). In all instances, whereas ascriptive predication is expressed by inflecting the nominal or adjectival predicate with whatever functional machinery the language requires for this purpose, equative predications require a special kind of copula-like expressions – but only if the predicate involves the equivalent of a definite article.
In all instances, the copula-like elements are a class of emphatic pronouns which seem to be specialized specifically on predication. Launay calls these ‘predicates of identification’ and Jelinek & Demers call them ‘deictic predicates.’ I analyze them as a generalization of what Diessel (1999: 4-6, 78-92) calls ‘demonstrative identifiers.’ I think demonstrative identifiers are the third-person instances of these identificational predicators.
Below are a couple of Yucatec examples. You can see in (1a) and (1c) that equative predication requires no copula-like element as long as the predicate doesn’t involve the definite article, as in (2) and (3). In the latter cases, the empathic 3SG pronoun leti’ takes over the role of the predicator.
(1) a. Juan in=k’àaba’.
Juan(B3SG) A1SG=name
‘My name is Juan.’
b. In=k’àaba’=e’, Juan.
A1SG=name=TOP Juan(B3SG)
‘As for my name, it is Juan’
c. Juan-en.
Juan-B1SG
‘I am Juan.’
(2) a. *Le=kisin(=o’)-en.
DEF=devil=D2-B1SG
Intended: ‘I am the devil.’
b. Le=kisin=o’ leti’-en.
DEF=devil=D2 it-B1SG
‘As for the devil, I’m him.’ (Tonhauser ms. p13)
(3) a. *Le=máaystra(=o’) ts’a’ tèech=o’.
DEF=teacher=D2(B3SG) put/give(SUBJ)(B3SG) you=D2
intended: ‘It was the teacher who gave it to you.’
b. Lete=máaystra ts’a’ tèech=o’.
it(B3SG):DEF=teacher put/give(SUBJ)(B3SG) you=D2
‘It was her, the teacher, who gave it to you.’ (Vapnarsky 2013: 77)
HTH! – Juergen
Diessel, H. (1999). Demonstratives: Form, function, and grammaticalization. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Jelinek, E. & R. A. Demers. (1994). Predicates and Pronominal Arguments in Straits Salish Language. Language 70(4): 697-736.
Launey, M. (2004a). The features of omnipredicativity in Classical Nahuatl. STUF - Language Typology and Universals 57(1). 49–69. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1524/stuf.2004.57.1.49/html.
Stassen, L. (20032 [1997]). Intransitive predication. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tonhauser, J. (Ms). The syntax and semantics of Yucatec Mayan focus constructions. Manuscript, University of Stuttgart.
Vapnarsky, V. (2013). Is Yucatec an omnipredicative language? Predication, the copula, and focus constructions. Sprachtypologie und Universalienforschung 66(1): 40-86.
Juergen Bohnemeyer (He/Him)
Professor, Department of Linguistics
University at Buffalo
Office: 642 Baldy Hall, UB North Campus
Mailing address: 609 Baldy Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260
Phone: (716) 645 0127
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Email: jb77 at buffalo.edu<mailto:jb77 at buffalo.edu>
Web: http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~jb77/
Office hours Tu/Th 3:30-4:30pm in 642 Baldy or via Zoom (Meeting ID 585 520 2411; Passcode Hoorheh)
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From: Lingtyp <lingtyp-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org> on behalf of Alex Francois via Lingtyp <lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>
Date: Friday, September 5, 2025 at 14:44
To: Abigail Roberts <asroberts at berkeley.edu>
Cc: lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org <lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>
Subject: Re: [Lingtyp] Split in copulas co-occurring with nominals?
Dear Abby,
Thanks for an interesting query.
The majority of Oceanic (Austronesian) languages are omnipredicative, i.e. they form their predicates without a copula, whether that predicate is headed by an adjective, a locative phrase (as in your prepositional example), or a noun, a pronoun, a numeral...
In that sense, the first two examples you gave for Nukuoro are rather typical of the Oceanic family.
Oceanic languages with a copula for nominal predicates are less frequent, but they do exist: e.g. several languages of Central Vanuatu (Lewo, Nafsan, Lelepa...) have a verbal copula for nouns.
Now Nukuoro is even more original in having two copulas! This is rare in Oceanic languages, but not unknown.
Andrew Pawley has shown that Wayan Fijian (one of the varieties of Fijian) is such a language:
Ascriptive predicates take a copula tia:
(1) ⟨Ei tia qasenivuli⟩ o Tevita.
3sg:NPST be:ASCR teacher PERS (name)
‘Tevita is a teacher.’
Equative predicates take the copula ni‑:
(2) ⟨Ei ni‑a na qasenivuli⟩ o Tevita.
3sg:NPST be:EQUAT‑3sg ART teacher PERS (name)
‘Tevita is the teacher.’
I believe the two copulas of Wayan Fijian match closely what you find in Nukuoro. Indeed,
· what you called "indefinite nominal predicates" correspond to what are sometimes called ascriptive predicates
- where the subject is ascribed a (nominal) property [e.g. 'X is a teacher'].
· what you labelled "definite or referential nominals" are also known as equative predicates
- where the subject is equated with a pre-identified referent [e.g. 'X is the teacher'].
The examples I cited for Wayan Fijian come from Pawley (2000: 312) -- see ref below. I cited them in an upcoming paper of mine (François f/c) on non-verbal predicates in Oceanic languages, where I used the categories "ascriptive" and "equative".
Closer to Nukuoro, Tahitian uses e for ascriptive predicates, but 'o for equatives (see discussion in my paper). These examples are from Lazard & Peltzer (1991):
(3) < e faehau> tera ta'ata.
ASCR soldier that person
'That man <is a soldier>.' [ASCRIPTIVE]
(4) < 'o tera ta'ata> tō matou paoti.
EQUAT that person ART:Poss 1exc:Pl boss
'Our boss <is that man>.' [EQUATIVE]
The particles e and 'o of Tahitian are cognate with Nukuoro se and go, respectively (PPN *se, *ko). A similar system can be found in other Polynesian languages.
______
References:
· François, Alexandre. (f/c) Non-verbal predicates in Oceanic languages. In Pier Marco Bertinetto, Luca Ciucci, & Denis Creissels (eds), Non-verbal predication in the world’s languages: A typological survey. (Comparative Handbooks of Linguistics 9.) Berlin: DeGruyter. [preprint<https://marama.huma-num.fr/data/AlexFrancois_2024_Non-verbal-predication_Oceanic_preprint.pdf>]
· Lazard, Gilbert & Louise Peltzer. 1991. Predicates in Tahitian<https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3623158.pdf?casa_token=Cw-1YjfaWZEAAAAA:BO2F-Wg3Ca9cFJcUIgejMsfcXocUHHevozObMz4-0xV5rgC4FK7TWpsZsLrC0MfM_gpNPzDYVI0HdC4Jbk4Ler-TwlcX4w7hqhlhjEx2JGF5CQpf9Kc>. Oceanic Linguistics 30(1). 1‒31.
· Pawley, Andrew. 2000. Two be’s or not two be’s? On the copulas of Wayan Fijian<https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/server/api/core/bitstreams/9ca7fa43-a845-4930-8b77-3008c5966d46/content>. In Bill Palmer & Paul A. Geraghty (eds.), Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics (SICOL), vol. 2, Historical and descriptive studies, 297–314. (Pacific Linguistics 505). Canberra: Australian National University.
Just like you, I'd be curious to hear whether there are other parts of the world where such systems can be found, with two nominal copulas, one for equatives vs. one for ascriptives.
regards,
Alex
________________________________
Alex François
LaTTiCe<http://www.lattice.cnrs.fr/en/alexandre-francois/> — CNRS<https://www.cnrs.fr/en> —<https://www.cnrs.fr/en> ENS<https://www.ens.fr/laboratoire/lattice-langues-textes-traitements-informatiques-et-cognition-umr-8094>–PSL<https://www.psl.eu/en> — Sorbonne nouvelle<http://www.sorbonne-nouvelle.fr/lattice-langues-textes-traitements-informatiques-cognition-umr-8094-3458.kjsp>
Australian National University<https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/persons/alex-francois>
Personal homepage<http://alex.francois.online.fr/>
_________________________________________
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Abigail Roberts via Lingtyp <lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org<mailto:lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>>
Date: Fri, 5 Sept 2025 at 18:53
Subject: [Lingtyp] Split in copulas co-occurring with nominals?
To: <lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org<mailto:lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>>
Hello all,
I'm wondering if anyone is aware of any languages with a particular distribution of copulas. I'm researching non-verbal clauses in Nukuoro, a Polynesian Outlier language spoken in Micronesia. In Nukuoro, only non-verbal sentences with two nominals (i.e., predicative clauses with nominal predicates and equative and identificational clauses) include copulas. Sentences with prepositional or adjectival predicates do not:
Adjectival
Emily e looloa, gai a Noa e bodobodo.
Emily ipfv tall, then pn Noa ipfv short
'Emily is tall, but Noa is short.' (Drummond 2023:92)
Prepositional
D-ogu daina daane i lote hale.
def-1sg.gen.o sibling male loc inside house
'My brother is inside the house.'
However, in non-verbal sentences with two nominals, different copulas are used depending on whether the sentence is predicative (generally, indefinite predicates) or not.
Predicative
Ia se gauligi suguulu.
3sg cop.sg<http://cop.sg/> child school
'S/he is a student.'
Equative
De henua naa go Pohnpei.
det island med cop.foc Pohnpei
'That island is Pohnpei.'
Does anyone know of a language with a similar pattern of copularization- one copula for indefinite nominal predicates/predicative clauses and one for definite or referential nominals?
Thank you all for your help!
All the best,
Abby Roberts
(PhD student, UC Berkeley)
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