Chapter 7. Egophoricity in Mangghuer
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Robert W. Fried
Abstract
Egophoricity in Mangghuer is a binary distinction expressed in finite verbal morphology and the system of copulas. In declarative contexts, egophoric forms are used with first person subjects (or predicate nominals containing first person possessors) if the subject is perceived to be in control of the action or state; non-egophoric forms are used elsewhere. In interrogative contexts, egophoric forms are used with second person subjects, while non-egophoric forms are used with non-second person subjects. Previous work on Mangghuer has reported on uses of the egophoric distinction that do not conform to this pattern expressing things such as degree of speaker certainty, mirativity, and lack of control. This paper explores further complexities in pragmatic uses of egophoric marking. Of particular interest are situations in which the pragmatically neutral use of speaker perspective is contrary to the basic pattern and situations in which the non-basic use of the speaker perspective has multiple possible meanings. In these situations, the discourse context must be taken into account to correctly interpret the pragmatic function of the egophoric marking. This paper concludes that the common thread underlying the uses of egophoric forms is the degree of “involvement in the event being reported, or in the reporting activity itself” (Slater 2003a: 194–220). While a strictly objective rubric for determining speaker involvement is elusive, this paper examines the use of egophoric marking in a broad range of pragmatic contexts and confirms that egophoric forms consistently indicate a higher degree of speaker involvement while non-egophoric forms indicate a lower degree of speaker involvement.
Abstract
Egophoricity in Mangghuer is a binary distinction expressed in finite verbal morphology and the system of copulas. In declarative contexts, egophoric forms are used with first person subjects (or predicate nominals containing first person possessors) if the subject is perceived to be in control of the action or state; non-egophoric forms are used elsewhere. In interrogative contexts, egophoric forms are used with second person subjects, while non-egophoric forms are used with non-second person subjects. Previous work on Mangghuer has reported on uses of the egophoric distinction that do not conform to this pattern expressing things such as degree of speaker certainty, mirativity, and lack of control. This paper explores further complexities in pragmatic uses of egophoric marking. Of particular interest are situations in which the pragmatically neutral use of speaker perspective is contrary to the basic pattern and situations in which the non-basic use of the speaker perspective has multiple possible meanings. In these situations, the discourse context must be taken into account to correctly interpret the pragmatic function of the egophoric marking. This paper concludes that the common thread underlying the uses of egophoric forms is the degree of “involvement in the event being reported, or in the reporting activity itself” (Slater 2003a: 194–220). While a strictly objective rubric for determining speaker involvement is elusive, this paper examines the use of egophoric marking in a broad range of pragmatic contexts and confirms that egophoric forms consistently indicate a higher degree of speaker involvement while non-egophoric forms indicate a lower degree of speaker involvement.
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
