John Benjamins Publishing Company
Chapter 14. Learning how to know
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Abstract
Languages with egophoric systems require their users to pay special attention to who knows what in the speech situation, providing formal marking of whether the speaker or addressee has personal knowledge of the event being discussed. Such systems have only recently come to be studied in cross-linguistic perspective. This chapter has two aims in regard to contributing to our understanding of egophoric marking. Firstly, it presents relevant data from a relatively under-described and endangered language, Kaluli (aka Bosavi), spoken in Papua New Guinea. Unusually, Kaluli tense inflections appear to show a mix of both egophoric and first vs non-first person-marking features, as well as other contrasts that are broadly relevant to a typology of egophoricity, such as special constructions for the expression of involuntary experience. Secondly, the chapter makes a preliminary foray into issues concerning egophoric marking and child language, drawing on a naturalistic corpus of child-caregiver interactions. Questions for future investigation raised by the Kaluli data concern, for example, the potentially challenging nature of mastering inflections that are sensitive to both person and speech act type, the possible role of question-answer pairs in children’s acquisition of egophoric morphology, and whether there are special features of epistemic access and authority that relate particularly to child-adult interactions.
Abstract
Languages with egophoric systems require their users to pay special attention to who knows what in the speech situation, providing formal marking of whether the speaker or addressee has personal knowledge of the event being discussed. Such systems have only recently come to be studied in cross-linguistic perspective. This chapter has two aims in regard to contributing to our understanding of egophoric marking. Firstly, it presents relevant data from a relatively under-described and endangered language, Kaluli (aka Bosavi), spoken in Papua New Guinea. Unusually, Kaluli tense inflections appear to show a mix of both egophoric and first vs non-first person-marking features, as well as other contrasts that are broadly relevant to a typology of egophoricity, such as special constructions for the expression of involuntary experience. Secondly, the chapter makes a preliminary foray into issues concerning egophoric marking and child language, drawing on a naturalistic corpus of child-caregiver interactions. Questions for future investigation raised by the Kaluli data concern, for example, the potentially challenging nature of mastering inflections that are sensitive to both person and speech act type, the possible role of question-answer pairs in children’s acquisition of egophoric morphology, and whether there are special features of epistemic access and authority that relate particularly to child-adult interactions.
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
