Chapter 5. Egophoricity and differential access to knowledge in Yongning Na (Mosuo)
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Liberty Lidz
Abstract
Yongning Na, a Tibeto-Burman language close to Lolo-Burmese, is spoken in southwestern China within the Sinitic, Himalayan, and mainland Southeast Asian linguistic areas. Na has a non-canonical egophoric system which differs from other systems in the area, such as those of Tibetan and Newar, with respect to the ways that person patterns within the system; the forms that marking takes; and the way that the system is leveled in the interrogative. Instead of a two-way distinction with respect to person, Na makes a three-way distinction: first person statements can be made unequivocally; second person ‘statements’ are formed as interrogatives; and third person statements are qualified, with the form of qualification dependent upon verbal semantic class: volitional, internal state, or observable state (Lidz 2007). These coding distinctions represent a grammaticalization of the differential access to knowledge in speech interactions among first, second, and third persons. Marking indicates whether the first, second, or third person subject has direct access to knowledge under assertion. In Na, the relevant forms include evidential particles, a future marker, and an interrogative construction, rather than copulas or verbal morphology. Differential access to knowledge and evidentiality are tightly entwined in Na, which is perhaps not surprising as the two encode closely related concepts: differential access to knowledge marks direct versus indirect access to knowledge, while evidentiality marks source of knowledge (Aikhenvald 2004). The Na system does not occur in the interrogative mood, in distinct contrast with attested egophoric systems.
Abstract
Yongning Na, a Tibeto-Burman language close to Lolo-Burmese, is spoken in southwestern China within the Sinitic, Himalayan, and mainland Southeast Asian linguistic areas. Na has a non-canonical egophoric system which differs from other systems in the area, such as those of Tibetan and Newar, with respect to the ways that person patterns within the system; the forms that marking takes; and the way that the system is leveled in the interrogative. Instead of a two-way distinction with respect to person, Na makes a three-way distinction: first person statements can be made unequivocally; second person ‘statements’ are formed as interrogatives; and third person statements are qualified, with the form of qualification dependent upon verbal semantic class: volitional, internal state, or observable state (Lidz 2007). These coding distinctions represent a grammaticalization of the differential access to knowledge in speech interactions among first, second, and third persons. Marking indicates whether the first, second, or third person subject has direct access to knowledge under assertion. In Na, the relevant forms include evidential particles, a future marker, and an interrogative construction, rather than copulas or verbal morphology. Differential access to knowledge and evidentiality are tightly entwined in Na, which is perhaps not surprising as the two encode closely related concepts: differential access to knowledge marks direct versus indirect access to knowledge, while evidentiality marks source of knowledge (Aikhenvald 2004). The Na system does not occur in the interrogative mood, in distinct contrast with attested egophoric systems.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Chapter 1. Egophoricity 1
- Chapter 2. “Am I blue?” 79
- Chapter 3. Mirativity and egophoricity in Kurtöp 109
- Chapter 4. Interactions of speaker knowledge and volitionality in Sherpa 139
- Chapter 5. Egophoricity and differential access to knowledge in Yongning Na (Mosuo) 153
- Chapter 6. Egophoricity in Wutun 173
- Chapter 7. Egophoricity in Mangghuer 197
- Chapter 8. Morphological innovations in Mangghuer and Shirongolic 225
- Chapter 9. Egophoricity and argument structure in Cha’palaa 269
- Chapter 10. Egophoricity and evidentiality in Guambiano (Nam Trik) 305
- Chapter 11. The role of sentence type in Ika (Arwako) egophoric marking 347
- Chapter 12. The evidential nature of conjunct-disjunct terms 377
- Chapter 13. Egophoric patterns in Duna verbal morphology 405
- Chapter 14. Learning how to know 437
- Chapter 15. Self-ascription in conjunct-disjunct systems 473
- Language index 495
- Subject index 499
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Chapter 1. Egophoricity 1
- Chapter 2. “Am I blue?” 79
- Chapter 3. Mirativity and egophoricity in Kurtöp 109
- Chapter 4. Interactions of speaker knowledge and volitionality in Sherpa 139
- Chapter 5. Egophoricity and differential access to knowledge in Yongning Na (Mosuo) 153
- Chapter 6. Egophoricity in Wutun 173
- Chapter 7. Egophoricity in Mangghuer 197
- Chapter 8. Morphological innovations in Mangghuer and Shirongolic 225
- Chapter 9. Egophoricity and argument structure in Cha’palaa 269
- Chapter 10. Egophoricity and evidentiality in Guambiano (Nam Trik) 305
- Chapter 11. The role of sentence type in Ika (Arwako) egophoric marking 347
- Chapter 12. The evidential nature of conjunct-disjunct terms 377
- Chapter 13. Egophoric patterns in Duna verbal morphology 405
- Chapter 14. Learning how to know 437
- Chapter 15. Self-ascription in conjunct-disjunct systems 473
- Language index 495
- Subject index 499
