Chapter 9. Egophoricity and argument structure in Cha’palaa
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Simeon Floyd
Abstract
The Cha’palaa language of Ecuador (Barbacoan) features verbal morphology for marking knowledge-based categories that, in usage, show a variant of the cross-linguistically recurrent pattern of ‘egophoric distribution': specific forms associate with speakers in contrast to others in statements and with addressees in contrast to others in questions. These are not person markers, but rather are used by speakers to portray their involvement in states of affairs as active, agentive participants (ego) versus other types of involvement (non-ego). They interact with person and argument structure, but through pragmatic ‘person sensitivities’ rather than through grammatical agreement. Not only does this pattern appear in verbal morphology, it also can be observed in alternations of predicate construction types and case alignment, helping to show how egophoric marking is a pervasive element of Cha'palaa's linguistic system. This chapter gives a first account of egophoricity in Cha’palaa, beginning with a discussion of person sensitivity, egophoric distribution, and issues of flexibility of marking with respect to degree of volition or control. It then focuses on a set of intransitive experiencer (or ‘endopathic') predicates that refer to internal states which mark egophoric values for the undergoer role, not the actor role, showing ‘quirky’ accusative marking instead of nominative case. It concludes with a summary of how egophoricity in Cha'palaa interacts with issues of argument structure in comparison to a language with person agreement, here represented by examples from Cha’palaa’s neighbor Ecuadorian Highland Quechua.
Abstract
The Cha’palaa language of Ecuador (Barbacoan) features verbal morphology for marking knowledge-based categories that, in usage, show a variant of the cross-linguistically recurrent pattern of ‘egophoric distribution': specific forms associate with speakers in contrast to others in statements and with addressees in contrast to others in questions. These are not person markers, but rather are used by speakers to portray their involvement in states of affairs as active, agentive participants (ego) versus other types of involvement (non-ego). They interact with person and argument structure, but through pragmatic ‘person sensitivities’ rather than through grammatical agreement. Not only does this pattern appear in verbal morphology, it also can be observed in alternations of predicate construction types and case alignment, helping to show how egophoric marking is a pervasive element of Cha'palaa's linguistic system. This chapter gives a first account of egophoricity in Cha’palaa, beginning with a discussion of person sensitivity, egophoric distribution, and issues of flexibility of marking with respect to degree of volition or control. It then focuses on a set of intransitive experiencer (or ‘endopathic') predicates that refer to internal states which mark egophoric values for the undergoer role, not the actor role, showing ‘quirky’ accusative marking instead of nominative case. It concludes with a summary of how egophoricity in Cha'palaa interacts with issues of argument structure in comparison to a language with person agreement, here represented by examples from Cha’palaa’s neighbor Ecuadorian Highland Quechua.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- 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
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- 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
