Difference between revisions of "Verbal Elements"
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### extraction of any kind (questions, relative clauses); | ### extraction of any kind (questions, relative clauses); | ||
## it is in complementary distribution with another marker, mV. | ## it is in complementary distribution with another marker, mV. | ||
== Complete situation == | |||
The morpheme fV has a perfective meaning and is used to decribe complete situations. It | |||
cannot be used to describe ongoing or habitual situations. | |||
'''(3)''' | |||
{| {{table}} | |||
| ù || f(i) || òdʒ(e) || àba̋tʃà || hì || (mɛ̄) | |||
|- | |||
| 1SG || PERF1 || morsel || cassava || cook || (already) | |||
|- | |||
| 'I have cooked mashed cassava.' | |||
|- | |||
| *I cooked mashed cassava just now. | |||
|- | |||
| *I cooked mashed cassava (habitual). | |||
|- | |||
| *I am cooking mashed cassava. | |||
|} | |||
== Word order with fV == | |||
One of the most recognizable properties of fV is its influence on word order. The surface | |||
word order in Igala is SVO, including with the progressive and the imperfective markers. | |||
However, in the presence of fV, this is modified. This morpheme appears to surface in the | |||
usual verb slot, while the matrix verb appears sentence-finally. | |||
'''(4)''' | |||
'''(4a)''' | |||
{| {{table}} | |||
| ù || hʲ || òdʒ(e) || à↑ba̋tʃà | |||
|- | |||
| 1SG || cook || morsel || cassava | |||
|- | |||
| I cooked mashed cassava.' | |||
|} | |||
'''(4b)''' | |||
{| {{table}} | |||
| ù || f(i) || òdʒ(e) || àba̋tʃà || '''hì''' | |||
|- | |||
| 1SG|| PERF1 || morsel || cassava || '''cook''' | |||
|- | |||
| 'I have cooked mashed cassava.' | |||
|} | |||
'''(5)''' | |||
'''(5a)''' | |||
{| {{table}} | |||
| ú || lʲ || ǒhìmìnì | |||
|- | |||
| 1SG || see || ocean | |||
|- | |||
| 'I saw the ocean' | |||
|} | |||
'''(5b)''' | |||
{| {{table}} | |||
| ù || f(i) || òhìmìnì || '''lí''' | |||
|- | |||
| 1SG || PERF1 || ocean || '''see''' | |||
|- | |||
| 'I have seen the ocean' | |||
|} | |||
=tʃɛ/tʃe= | =tʃɛ/tʃe= |
Revision as of 20:20, 27 January 2022
Cognate Objects
COs are true arguments of their predicate
This is shown by runing tests on the distinction between adjuncts and arguments. One of these tests is the ’do so test’ It shows that in an example like (1), the noun ’dance’ is an argument of the verb ’dance’ because ’do so’ functions as a proform for V’: “when do so is used as a substitute, it must stand for the verb and all its arguments”, (Macfarland 1995:104).
- Examples
(1)
(1a)
ū | t(a) | ídō | (u)jɔ̀ | ókō | úbī | mī | ǒchálà | ŋʷɔ̀ | tʃ(e) | ǎlɛ̄ | gɛ |
1SG | dance(V) | dance(N) | cheerful | farm | back | my | Ochala | and | do | so/same | again |
'I danced a cheerful dance in my garden and Ochala did so too.' |
(1b)
*u | t(a) | ído | (u)jɔ | oko | ubi | mi | Ochala | ŋʷɔ | tʃ(e) | alɛ | ɛdo | dudu/ɛdo | ɛkpabjɛ |
1SG | dance(V) | dance(N) | cheerful | farm | back | my | Ochala | and | do | so/same | sad | ||
Intended: I danced a cheerful dance in the garden and Ochala did so a sad dance. |
COs can be modified, including in relative clauses
(2)
u | t(a) | ido | k(i) | a | tʃ(e) | ujɔ |
1SG | dance(V) | dance(N) | C | IMPF | COP1 | cheerful/joy |
‘I danced a cheerful dance’ |
COs in Igala only occur with unergative verbs, and not with unaccusatives
fV marker
- it shows up only with transitive verbs;
- it has a meaning similar to perfective;
- it is incompatible with negation;
- it is incompatible with A′
- extraction of any kind (questions, relative clauses);
- it is in complementary distribution with another marker, mV.
Complete situation
The morpheme fV has a perfective meaning and is used to decribe complete situations. It cannot be used to describe ongoing or habitual situations.
(3)
ù | f(i) | òdʒ(e) | àba̋tʃà | hì | (mɛ̄) |
1SG | PERF1 | morsel | cassava | cook | (already) |
'I have cooked mashed cassava.' | |||||
*I cooked mashed cassava just now. | |||||
*I cooked mashed cassava (habitual). | |||||
*I am cooking mashed cassava. |
Word order with fV
One of the most recognizable properties of fV is its influence on word order. The surface word order in Igala is SVO, including with the progressive and the imperfective markers. However, in the presence of fV, this is modified. This morpheme appears to surface in the usual verb slot, while the matrix verb appears sentence-finally.
(4)
(4a)
ù | hʲ | òdʒ(e) | à↑ba̋tʃà |
1SG | cook | morsel | cassava |
I cooked mashed cassava.' |
(4b)
ù | f(i) | òdʒ(e) | àba̋tʃà | hì |
1SG | PERF1 | morsel | cassava | cook |
'I have cooked mashed cassava.' |
(5)
(5a)
ú | lʲ | ǒhìmìnì |
1SG | see | ocean |
'I saw the ocean' |
(5b)
ù | f(i) | òhìmìnì | lí |
1SG | PERF1 | ocean | see |
'I have seen the ocean' |
tʃɛ/tʃe
The morphemes tʃɛ and tʃe appear as verbal elements in Igala. tʃɛ adds the meaning that something has already been done to a sentence.
ū | gbɔ̋ | kàkīnī | ɛ̀ | tʃɛ̀ | wā | mɛ̂ |
1SG | hear | C | 2SG | already | come | now |
‘I heard that you have already come' (D:225). |
The morpheme tʃe is a copular element translated as do/does.
ido | e | ta | tʃe | ɛŋʷu | ɔla | mi |
dance(N) | NMLZ | dance(V) | do | thing | body | 1SG.OBJ |
‘Dancing is my favorite thing (to do)' (D:193). |
In certain cases tʃ(e) seems to note additional emphasis in a situation.
i | tʃe | uwɛ | dʒɛ | ɔda | lɛ | i | n | : |
3SG.NEG | do.EMPH | 2SG.STR | eat | pear | DEF.DIST | EMPH | NEG.SFP | ? |
‘Are you not the one who ate the pear?’(D:?). |