Wa Prefix

[Koontz John E]

On Fri, 13 Nov 1998, Robert L. Rankin wrote:
> Functionally, what John is describing is akin to ANTIPASSIVEs in ergative
> languages, except that in active languages like Siouan, you can't get the
> resultant subject switch to (absolutive).  Nor do we see the object
> demotion (to dative, instrumental, etc.) or its incorporation. What's
> incorporated is just wa-.  

A good point, and one I should have brought up!

>                                      I suppose it could also be compared
> functionally to so-called "applicatives."  I guess what I'm asking here is
> whether anyone has explored how this sort of thing works in "active"
> languages generally?  Someone must have, surely.

I haven't run into anything like this, but, of course, the Siouan locative
particles, *i-, *o-, and *a-, behave very much like applicatives.  I've
been tentatively referring to these in Omaha-Ponca as the applicative,
essive (not sure I like this), and superessive prefixes, just to give them
names. The usage "instrumental" is often encountered for *i-, but that is
awkward given the "real" instrumentals.  It also neglects the rather
directional sense of a number of uses of *i, and perhaps its use with
verbs of thinking and sometimes speaking. *a- can also be more or less
comitative, as in *a-riN 'to have'.
 
The thing about these applicatives, however, is that, as far as I'm aware,
they never really function in partnership with regular transitive verbs to
form patterned syntactic alternative treatments for a single object NP.
They restrict themselves to permitting an alternative or additional
complement.  

For that sort of thing you have to look at the datives, which function to
make the possessor of the object or the goal, etc., salient.  (And there's
no non-salient way to mention these NPs.)  I think the term applicative is
usually reserved, however, for non-dative salience switches, like
instruments as objects, though datives can be called applicatives, I think
in Bantu languages.  I guess applicative is also used sometimes for things
that function to implement antipassives by providing a less salient way to
identify an object.  I don't recall a particular example.  

I wonder if Carolyn Quintero recalls her problem wa examples?  (Right! 
How many hundreds of examples do you have to fish them out of!  Sorry to
put you on the spot, Carolyn.)