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Chapter 6. To hi or not to hi ?

Nonverbal predication with and without the copula in Kotiria and Wa’ikhana (East Tukano)
  • Kristine Stenzel
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Nonverbal Predication in Amazonian Languages
This chapter is in the book Nonverbal Predication in Amazonian Languages

Abstract

This chapter describes nonverbal predication in the Kotiria-Wa’ikhana sub-branch of the East Tukano family of northwestern Amazonia. It begins with a general overview of use of the copulas hi/ihi in sentences coding the main functional categories of nonverbal predication. Copular sentences with predicate nominals express notions of ‘identity’ and ‘existence’; those with predicate locatives indicate temporary or permanent locational association. ‘Adjectival’ notions – nominalizations derived from stative verb roots or from nouns by means of the attributive suffix -ti – are also expressed in copular sentences. This general profile also highlights the inflectional properties of copular verbs and their productive use as the head roots in derivations of nominals of various types. The second section presents the predicative alternatives to copular constructions, including productively used ‘nonexistence’, possessive, and positional-locative predicates. The final section discusses a second copular form, ni, a clear cognate to the general copula (a)ni found in many other East Tukano languages, synchronically used as an auxiliary in the Kotiria/Wa’ikhana progressive constructions. It briefly explores two hypotheses regarding the retention of ni and origin of the innovative hi/ihi copulas in Kotiria and Wa’ikhana.

Abstract

This chapter describes nonverbal predication in the Kotiria-Wa’ikhana sub-branch of the East Tukano family of northwestern Amazonia. It begins with a general overview of use of the copulas hi/ihi in sentences coding the main functional categories of nonverbal predication. Copular sentences with predicate nominals express notions of ‘identity’ and ‘existence’; those with predicate locatives indicate temporary or permanent locational association. ‘Adjectival’ notions – nominalizations derived from stative verb roots or from nouns by means of the attributive suffix -ti – are also expressed in copular sentences. This general profile also highlights the inflectional properties of copular verbs and their productive use as the head roots in derivations of nominals of various types. The second section presents the predicative alternatives to copular constructions, including productively used ‘nonexistence’, possessive, and positional-locative predicates. The final section discusses a second copular form, ni, a clear cognate to the general copula (a)ni found in many other East Tukano languages, synchronically used as an auxiliary in the Kotiria/Wa’ikhana progressive constructions. It briefly explores two hypotheses regarding the retention of ni and origin of the innovative hi/ihi copulas in Kotiria and Wa’ikhana.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Nonverbal predication in Amazonia 1
  4. Part I. Overviews of nonverbal predication in individual languages
  5. Chapter 2. Nonverbal predication and the nonverbal clause type of Mojeño Trinitario 53
  6. Chapter 3. Nonverbal predication in Paresi-Haliti 85
  7. Chapter 4. Nonverbal predication in Kari’nja (Cariban, Suriname) 103
  8. Chapter 5. Nonverbal predicates and copula constructions in Aguaruna (Chicham) 135
  9. Chapter 6. To hi or not to hi ? 163
  10. Chapter 7. Between verb and noun 193
  11. Chapter 8. Nonverbal predication in Movima 217
  12. Chapter 9. Nonverbal predication in Ninam (northern Brazil) 245
  13. Part II. Exploring specific subtypes of nonverbal predicates
  14. Chapter 10. Locative, existential and possessive predication in the Chaco 263
  15. Chapter 11. Possessive semantic relations and construction types in Kukama-Kukamiria 295
  16. Part III. Diachronic pathways to and from nonverbal predication
  17. Chapter 12. Constructions with has(a) in Wampis 317
  18. Chapter 13. Evidence for the development of action nominals in Awetí towards ergatively-marked predicates 339
  19. Chapter 14. Reconstructing the copulas and nonverbal predicate constructions in Cariban 365
  20. Index 403
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.122.06ste

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Nonverbal predication in Amazonia 1
  4. Part I. Overviews of nonverbal predication in individual languages
  5. Chapter 2. Nonverbal predication and the nonverbal clause type of Mojeño Trinitario 53
  6. Chapter 3. Nonverbal predication in Paresi-Haliti 85
  7. Chapter 4. Nonverbal predication in Kari’nja (Cariban, Suriname) 103
  8. Chapter 5. Nonverbal predicates and copula constructions in Aguaruna (Chicham) 135
  9. Chapter 6. To hi or not to hi ? 163
  10. Chapter 7. Between verb and noun 193
  11. Chapter 8. Nonverbal predication in Movima 217
  12. Chapter 9. Nonverbal predication in Ninam (northern Brazil) 245
  13. Part II. Exploring specific subtypes of nonverbal predicates
  14. Chapter 10. Locative, existential and possessive predication in the Chaco 263
  15. Chapter 11. Possessive semantic relations and construction types in Kukama-Kukamiria 295
  16. Part III. Diachronic pathways to and from nonverbal predication
  17. Chapter 12. Constructions with has(a) in Wampis 317
  18. Chapter 13. Evidence for the development of action nominals in Awetí towards ergatively-marked predicates 339
  19. Chapter 14. Reconstructing the copulas and nonverbal predicate constructions in Cariban 365
  20. Index 403
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