HANDBOOK ON
ADVERBIALS
Audra Phillips
Payap University and SIL International
January 2009
Copyright © by Audra Phillips 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Audra Phillips.
Printed in Chiang Mai, Thailand
First printing: 50 copies
CONTENTS
Preface.................................................................................................ix
1 Introduction........................................................................................1
2 Identifying adverbials.........................................................................3
2.1 Characterizing eventualities........................................................3
2.1.1 Types of simple sentences...................................................4
2.1.2 Culminating or holding.......................................................4
2.1.3 Participants..........................................................................5
2.2 Eventualities and adverbial identification..................................7
2.3 Further eventuality characterization practice.............................8
3 Degree...............................................................................................12
3.1 The coding of degree modification in English.........................12
3.2 The coding of degree modification in WCT Pwo....................15
3.3 Summary...................................................................................20
4 Manner..............................................................................................21
4.1 The coding of manner in English.............................................22
4.1.1 Action manner coding.......................................................22
4.1.2 Agent manner coding........................................................24
4.2 The coding of manner in WCT Pwo........................................26
4.2.1 Action manner coding.......................................................26
4.2.2 Agent manner coding........................................................28
4.3 Summary...................................................................................30
5 Locations..........................................................................................32
5.1 Locationals in English..............................................................33
iii
iv
Contents
5.2 Locationals in WCT Pwo.........................................................38
5.2.1 Goal participants................................................................41
5.2.2 Existence locationals.........................................................44
5.2.3 Location adverbials...........................................................47
5.3 Summary...................................................................................48
6 Time..................................................................................................49
6.1 The coding of 'when' time adverbials.......................................49
6.1.1 'When' time adverbials in English.....................................49
6.1.2 'When' time adverbials in WCT Pwo................................51
6.2 The coding of 'after' time adverbials........................................60
6.2.1 'After' time adverbials in English......................................60
6.2.2 'After' time adverbials in WCT Pwo.................................62
6.3 The coding of 'before' adverbials.............................................66
6.3.1 'Before' time adverbials in English...................................66
6.3.2 'Before' time adverbials in WCT Pwo..............................66
6.4 The coding of 'while' time adverbials.......................................68
6.4.1 'While' time adverbials in English....................................68
6.4.2 'While' time adverbials in WCT Pwo................................69
6.5 The coding of duration time adverbials...................................71
6.5.1 Duration time adverbials in English.................................71
6.5.2 Duration time adverbials in WCT Pwo.............................71
6.6 Summary...................................................................................73
7 Aspect...............................................................................................76
7.1 The coding of aspect in English...............................................76
7.1.1 Perfective aspects..............................................................77
7.1.2 Imperfective aspects..........................................................79
7.1.3 Quantificational aspects.....................................................80
7.2 The coding of aspect in WCT Pwo..........................................81
7.2.1 Perfective aspects..............................................................81
Contents
v
7.2.2 Imperfective aspects..........................................................86
7.2.3 Quantificational aspects.....................................................89
7.3 Summary...................................................................................93
8 Clause-event adverbials....................................................................95
8.1 Clause-event adverbials in English..........................................95
8.2 Clause-event adverbials in WCT Pwo......................................97
8.3 Summary...................................................................................98
9 Conclusion........................................................................................99
References........................................................................................101
TABLES
Table 1 Eventuality types and culminating or holding.........................5
Table 2 Participants in eventualities.....................................................6
Table 3 Eventuality analysis of 2.2.......................................................8
Table 4 Eventuality analysis of the sentences in 2.3..........................10
Table 5 Degree modification in English and WCT Pwo....................20
Table 6 Manner coding strategies in English and WCT Pwo............31
Table 7 Comparison of locational functions.......................................33
Table 8 Eventuality analysis with locationals.....................................35
Table 9 WCT Pwo prepositions..........................................................40
Table 10 Time adverbials in English and WCT Pwo.........................74
Table 11 Aspect coding strategies in English and WCT Pwo...........94
vii
PREFACE
In a typical introductory grammar textbook, the treatment of adverbials
is quite limited, generally only a few pages, and yet adverbials are
ubiquitous in language, posing dilemmas for students dealing with
grammatical analysis. Given this situation, the aim of this handbook is
three-fold: 1) to provide a more extended introduction to adverbials, 2)
to compare ways in which English and West-Central Thailand Pwo
Karen (WCT Pwo), an isolating, Southeast Asian language, convey
meanings often handled by adverbials in languages, and 3) to introduce
students to the rich linguistic literature dealing with adverbials.
As background to distinguishing adverbials from other elements in
the clause, the handbook begins with a discussion of the characteristics
of eventualities, including event types, participant types and whether
the eventuality is holding or culminating. Then English degree,
manner, location, time, aspectual and clause-event adverbials are
presented followed by an account of how WCT Pwo conveys similar
meanings handled by adverbials in English. Finally, the conclusion
includes suggestions for further study.
The English data for this handbook comes from examples in Givón
(2001), the text of Kroeger (2005) and my own native speaker
intuition. The WCT Pwo data primarily comes from three WCT Pwo
Karen folktales collected in the course of a research project in
Plainasuan village, Nasuan sub-district, Srisawat district, Kanchanaburi
province, Thailand, during 2000-2001. There has been no opportunity
for elicitation in addition to the folktales, which necessarily limits the
scope of this handbook. However, within the limits of the available
data, it is possible to see some of the WCT Pwo coding strategies.
An endeavour of this type does not happen without the assistance
and input of others. First, I would like to express thanks to the Pwo
Karen of Plainasuan village, Srisawat District, Kanchanaburi,
ix
x
Preface
Thailand, who provided the Pwo Karen texts used for this handbook.
As well, the National Research Council of Thailand, sponsored the
language research, January 2000 – October 2001. In the course of
writing, the input of Larin Adams, George Bedell and Tom Tehan was
key, introducing me to trends in adverbial research and challenging me
to greater clarity in my analysis and writing. Melinda Lyons and Tom
Tehan copy-edited and Martin Hosken gave input on the final format.
My collegues are a great blessing. Thank you Larin, George, Tom,
Melinda and Martin. Finally, I extend my sincere thanks to Payap
University, the Payap Linguistics Department and the Mainland
Southeast Asia Group of SIL International for their facilitation and
support of continuing Pwo Karen research.
This handbook is a beginning in two senses. First, as a handbook, it
is intended only as an introduction to adverbial behaviour. Readers are
urged to explore beyond the material presented in this book. Second,
this handbook is very much a work in progress. Any comments for
improvements are gratefully received.
Chiang Mai, Thailand
January 2009
Audra Phillips
audra_phillips@sil.org
1
Introduction
In this handbook, the primary focus will be on the identification and
characterization of adverbials. This will be accomplished through a
comparison of the coding of adverbials in English with methods of
coding similar information in West-Central Thailand Pwo Karen
(WCT Pwo). WCT Pwo is a Karenic language of the Tibeto-Burman
language family and is spoken in Mainland Southeast Asia. As is the
case with many Mainland Southeast Asian languages, WCT Pwo is an
isolating language with a limited amount of morphology. Verbs and
nouns have single forms, with no morphological marking for such
things as number and gender, in the case of nouns, and tense and/or
aspect in the case of verbs. As well, WCT Pwo depends heavily on the
pragmatic context to provide the information needed to understand
communications, due to the lack of overt marking on nouns and verbs.
Adverbs can be challenging to identify due to the variety of forms
they take. Webster’s Dictionary (Guralnik 1984) defines adverbs as
“…any of a class of words used generally to modify a verb, an
adjective, another adverb, a phrase or a clause, by expressing time,
location, manner, degree, cause, etc.” This definition is echoed, to
some extent, by Schachter and Shopen (2007, 20), who simply define
adverbs as “…modifiers of constituents other than nouns.” Crystal
(2003, 13) provides a more specific definition of adverbs as “…a
heterogeneous group of items whose most frequent function is to
specify the mode of action of the verb.” Givón (2001, 87-88),
similarly, describes the class of adverbs as “…the least homogenous,
semantically, morphologically and syntactically…” also “…the least
universal cross-linguistically.” He goes on to comment that “…the
same adverbial meaning may be coded as a bound grammatical
1
2
Handbook on adverbials
morpheme in one language, an independent word in another, or a
whole syntactic construction—phrases or even clauses—in another.”1
A more general term that encompasses 'adverbs' regardless of their
structure is adverbial. Trask (1992, 10) defines an adverbial as “Any
category with a distribution and function similar to that of a lexical
adverb…regardless of its surface syntactic realization…” This is the
term that we will be using throughout the book.
So, how does the researcher identify adverbials, since, crosslinguistically, there is no one form that they take and they serve a
number of functions? One possibility is to not limit oneself to the
concept of adverbs as a part-of-speech. Rather, think in terms of an
overarching category that conceives of adverbs as a functional
category. Then, once adverbials are identified based on their function,
their forms and the positions they take can be described for the
particular language under study.
However, before discussing different types of adverbials, it is
necessary to be able to distinguish adverbials from other elements in
the clause. This is the topic of Chapter 2. Then different types of
adverbials are presented in the remainder of the handbook. Chapter 3
presents degree adverbials, Chapter 4 presents manner adverbials,
Chapter 5 presents location adverbials, Chapter 6 time adverbials,
Chapter 7 aspectual adverbials and Chapter 8 clause-event adverbials.
The conclusion, in Chapter 9, includes suggestions for further study.
1
The analysis of English adverbials is serving as the basis for the analysis of
similar meanings in WCT Pwo. However, the analyst should be aware that a
meaning coded by an adverbial in English is not necessarily coded by an
adverbial in WCT Pwo. This is especially true of meanings that can be coded
by aspectual adverbials in English. In WCT Pwo, these meanings are coded by
such elements as particles and devices such as reduplication, none of which
would be classified as adverbials.
2
Identifying adverbials
As mentioned in Chapter 1, identifying adverbials can be challenging
due to the various forms they take, which are often borrowed from
other structures. For example, in English, the adjective fast, as in the
car is fast or the fast car, can also function as an adverb without any
change in form, as in he fell fast. Since, cross-linguistically, adverbials
are coded by different structures, it is fruitful to identify adverbials
semantically first, before describing the structures by which they are
coded in a particular language. In order to do this, the analyst must
consider the components of a simple sentence.
2.1
Characterizing eventualities
Parsons' (1990) theory of underlying events provides a useful
framework for characterizing the semantic components of a simple
sentence. In the linguistic literature, a number of different sentence
types have been identified. These sentence types are referred to as
eventualities. Eventuality is a cover term, coined by Bach (1981), for
the various sentence types: events, states, processes, etc. The
classification of verbs into states, achievements, accomplishments and
activities was first presented in Vendler (1967) and has been further
expanded upon by others, including Dowty (1991) and Smith (1997).2
The distinction between states and events is especially important for
the characterization of concepts such as aspect and the behaviour of
adverbials.
In addition to eventuality types, underlying event theory is also
concerned with the concepts of culminating and holding and
participant types. The discussion will begin with eventuality types.
2
Role and Reference Grammar (Van Valin 2005) also makes use of these verb
class distinctions.
3
4
Handbook on adverbials
2.1.1
Types of simple sentences
For the purposes of underlying event theory, simple sentences can,
semantically, be divided into three types: events, processes and states.
Examples of these sentence types are presented in (2.1); a) provides
two event examples, b) provides an example of a process sentence and
c) provides an example of a state sentence. All of these sentence types
are referred to as eventualities.
(2.1) a) The farmer killed the chicken./The bomb exploded.
b) Mary paints pictures.
c) The dress is red.
Events can be subdivided into accomplishments and achievements.
Accomplishments may or may not take place over a period of time.
However, it makes sense to ask how long an accomplishment took.
One can also ask whether an accomplishment 'finished'. On the other
hand, achievements are, by definition, instantaneous, so it does not
make sense to ask how long an achievement took. Processes are
'happenings' like events; however, they have no inherent/natural
endpoint. Finally, states hold for a period of time. It does not make
sense to ask if a state 'finished' or how long the state took. However,
one can ask how long the state held or whether the state is still
holding.
For our purposes, the distinction between accomplishments and
achievements is not necessary, so both of these will often be identified
simply as events in the analyses to follow.
2.1.2
Culminating or holding
Eventualities can culminate (come to completion) or hold (as in a
“holding pattern”). An accomplishment-event has a development
portion and a culmination; during the development portion the
eventuality is holding and at culmination it is culminating.
Achievement-events have only a culmination since they are
instantaneous. As for process-events, they are conceptualized as a
series of events, so they hold. Finally, a state holds for a given amount
Identifying adverbials
5
of time. The way in which culminating or holding comes into play for
each eventuality type is summarized and illustrated in Table 1.
Table 1 Eventuality types and culminating or holding
Eventuality type
Accomplishment-event
Sub-parts
Examples
Development portion -
Susie sewed curtains,
holding
but never finished them.
Culmination
(Development without
culmination)
The bridge was built last
year. (Development and
culmination)
Achievement-event
Culmination as it
The bomb exploded.
'happens'
Process-event
A series of events -
Joan runs on Tuesdays
holding
States
Holds or does not hold
The house is green.
No culmination
2.1.3
Participants
Participants, semantic roles or thematic roles are all terms referring to
the parts that entities play in an eventuality. The list of participants
presented here is only one possible list; linguists have worked with
different participant/thematic role lists and have even used thematic
role labels differently.3 Participants or thematic roles are generally
coded by noun phrases, adpositional phrases, and any other
expressions that refer to entities. The list of participants that we will be
using includes seven participant roles: Agent, Theme, Goal, Source,
Benefactive, Instrument and Experiencer.4 These participants are listed,
with a definition and examples, in Table 2, with the role being
3
See Van Valin (2005) and Kroeger (2005)
6
Handbook on adverbials
illustrated in each example in italics. Note that a change in participants
results in a different eventuality.
Table 2 Participants in eventualities
Participant
Definition
Examples
role
Agent
The intentional, animate
John killed the chicken.
doer of the action.
Experiencer
Theme
Instrument
The sentient receiver in the Mary saw the movie.
eventuality.
I have a dream.
Entities acted upon,
John killed the chicken.
experienced, moved,
Mary saw the movie.
stationary, etc.
John ran behind the house.
Mother stayed behind.
The thing with which an
Mary broke the glass with a
action is done, with or
the instrument.
hammer. (agent)
The hammer broke the glass.
(no agent)
The tornado destroyed the
town. (no agent)
The endpoint of the event.
John gave Mary the book.
without an agent wielding
Goal
Mary drove to the store.
Mary went home.
Source
4
The point where an event
The dog came in from the
starts.
backyard.
George Bedell alerted me to the need for a Source participant in my list of
thematic roles. The Source participant is not included in Parsons' (1990) list of
thematic roles.
Identifying adverbials
Participant
Definition
7
Examples
role
Benefactive
The entity for whom an
John baked Mary a cake.
action is done.
John baked a cake for Mary
There is one case where an entity can have two participant roles.
This is illustrated with the sentence Joey ran. The fact that Joey is
moving makes him a Theme participant, however, Joey is also the
intentional doer of the running, so he is also an Agent.
2.2
Eventualities and adverbial identification
So, why is it necessary to consider the semantic structure of
eventualities in relation to adverbial identification? As mentioned
before, adverbials “borrow” structures, such as adpositional phrases,
noun phrases and clauses, so they cannot be identified by their
structural behaviour, alone. In other words, noun phrases, adpositional
phrases or clauses are not always what they seem. Because of this, all
the elements in a clause must be identified according to the way in
which they are functioning. For example, compare the two sentences in
(2.2).
(2.2) a) Mary ran in the park.
b) Mary ran to the store.
Both sentences in (2.2) contain prepositional phrases which provide
information about location. However, only one of the prepositional
phrases is a location adverbial while the other is a goal participant.
Analyzing these two clauses, the first step is to determine the type
of eventuality that each clause is describing. Both clauses have the
predicate ran which is a process eventuality. The next question is
whether the eventuality is culminating or holding. Looking at a) the
eventuality of running in the park has no required sense of
culmination, which is typical of a process eventuality. However, in b),
the running came to an end (culminated) when Mary reached the store.
The prepositional phrase to the store is coding the culmination of the
8
Handbook on adverbials
event, whereas the prepositional phrase, in the park, tells where the
running took place.
The next step is to identify the participants in each eventuality. In
both eventualities, Mary has the participant roles of Theme and Agent.
Looking at the two prepositional phrases, in the park does not have a
participant role; it is providing information on the location of the
eventuality, thus it is a location adverbial. However, to the park has the
participant role of Goal, so it is not a location adverbial. A summary of
the analysis of the sentences in (2.2) is presented in Table 3.
Table 3 Eventuality analysis of 2.2
Mary ran in the Mary ran to the
park.
store.
Eventuality type
Process
Process
Culmination/Holding
Holding
Culmination
Agent-Theme
Agent, Goal
Participants
2.3
Further eventuality characterization
practice
Some additional sentences for practice in applying the concepts
presented in this chapter are provided in (2.3). The sentences are
followed by a discussion of each sentence and a summary of my
analysis of the sentences in Table 4.
(2.3) a) The man killed the mosquito with a newspaper.
b) The window shattered loudly.
c) The child angrily threw the ball into the river.
d) John gave flowers to his wife for her birthday.
e) The rock dented the car fender.
f) The girl left her doll underneath the bench in the garden.
Identifying adverbials
9
g) Tomorrow, I have a dental appointment at Dentaland.
h) I still sing in the choir at church.
i) Please say that again.
j) The teacher made cookies for her students yesterday.
k) The flowers arrived from the florist.
The sentence in a) is an event eventuality which culminates, with
three participants: an Agent (man), a Theme (mosquito) and an
Instrument (newspaper). No adverbials occur. As for b), this event
eventuality also culminates and has a Theme participant ( window). In
addition, loudly is an adverbial. The culminating event eventuality in
c) has three participants: an Agent (child), a Theme (ball) and a Goal
(into the river). Angrily is an adverbial. Sentence d) is similar to
sentence c) in being an event eventuality with three participants:
Agent, Theme and Goal. However, it also has a reason adverbial for
her birthday. Note that both the goal participant to his wife and the
adverbial are prepositional phrases. Then, in e), the culminating event
eventuality has two participants: Instrument and Theme, with no
adverbials.
The culminating event eventuality in f) has two participants, an
Agent and a Theme, with one adverbial underneath the bench in the
garden.5 The state eventuality in g) has two participants: an
Experiencer and a Theme. It also has one adverbial, tomorrow.6 The
process eventuality in h) has an agent participant along with two
adverbials: still and in the choir at church.7 The achievement-event
eventuality in i) has eventual culmination with a single participant, the
Agent, which is unexpressed. It also includes the adverbial again and
the request marker please. In j), the culminated event eventuality has
three participants: Agent, Theme and Benefactive, with the adverbial
yesterday. Finally, in k), the culminated event eventuality has two
participants: a Theme, the flowers, and a Source, from the florist.
5
In the garden is modifying the noun head bench, so it is not an adverbial.
At Dentaland is modifying the noun head appointment, so it is not an
adverbial.
7
At church is modifying the noun head choir, so it is not an adverbial.
6
10
Handbook on adverbials
Table 4 Eventuality analysis of the sentences in 2.3
Clause Eventuality
a)
Culmination or
type
Holding
Event
Culmination
Participants
Other
elements
Agent,
None
Theme,
Instrument
b)
Event
Culmination
Theme
loudly
c)
Event
Culmination
Agent,
angrily
Theme, Goal
d)
e)
Event
Event
Culmination
Culmination
Agent,
for her
Theme, Goal
birthday
Instrument,
None
Theme
f)
Event
Culmination
Agent,
underneath
Theme
the bench in
the garden
g)
State
Holding
Experiencer,
tomorrow
Theme
h)
Process
Holding
Agent
still,
in the choir
at church
i)
Event
Culmination
Agent (not
please, again
expressed)
j)
Event
Culmination
Agent,
Theme,
Benefactive
yesterday
Identifying adverbials
Clause Eventuality
k)
Culmination or
type
Holding
Event
Culmination
Participants
11
Other
elements
Theme,
None
Source
As covered in this chapter, the analyst begins by identifying the
sentence types and the participants, as well as determining whether the
eventuality is holding or culminating. After that, it is likely that most
of the other elements are adverbials. For example, looking at Table 4,
with the exception of the request marker please, all of the other
elements in the sentences are adverbials.
So, how does the analyst distinguish adverbials from nonadverbials? And once adverbials have been identified, how should they
be characterized? As with the participants of eventualities, adverbials
are characterized by their function, including the constituent they are
modifying and the scope of their modification. This, in turn, will likely
be related to the position the adverbial occupies in the clause, of which
four have been identified for English (Jackendoff 1972). However, the
analyst should be aware that these positions and the types of adverbials
that occur in them do not always show the same effects. Adverbials
and their interaction with elements in the clause can be subtle and
complex. Nevertheless, for our purposes, we will look at different
types of adverbials in English and how WCT Pwo Karen codes similar
meanings. From there the analyst can explore the complexities further.
The adverbial “types” to be covered in the remainder of this handbook
are as follows: Chapter 3 presents degree adverbials, Chapter 4
presents manner adverbials, Chapter 5 presents location adverbials,
Chapter 6 presents time adverbials, Chapter 7 aspectual adverbials and
Chapter 8 clause-event adverbials.
3
Degree
Degree adverbials or degree modifiers are defined by Trask (1992,
74) as elements that “…typically function as modifiers of an adjective
or adverb and express the degree to which the quality expressed by
that item is present.” However, in both the English and WCT Pwo
data, degree modifiers also modify other syntactic categories such as
verbs and prepositions. This necessitates a change in the definition of
degree modifiers to, simply, modifiers that “express the degree to
which the quality expressed by that item is present.” We will begin
with degree modifier coding in English.
3.1
The coding of degree modification in
English
English codes degree or extent in the form of degree adverbials
modifying a variety of syntactic categories, including adverbials,
adjectives, verbs and prepositions. English examples of degree
adverbials modifying adverbials of various types are presented in (3.1).
a) is an example of the manner adverbial fast modified by the degree
adverbial really. The manner adverbial slowly is modified by the
degree adverbial extremely in b). The speaker-attitude adverbial likely
is modified by the degree adverbial very in c). The same degree
adverbial, very, modifies the manner adverbial lightly in d).
(3.1) a) He runs really fast.
b) The highway was built extremely slowly.
c) A native speaker of English will very likely feel
differently.
d) Your hypothesis must be held very lightly, at first.
Examples of degree adverbials with adjectives are presented in
(3.2), some of which are from Givón (2001, 94). Note that a), b), and
12
Degree
13
c) are predicate adjective constructions, with b) and c) indicating a low
degree of illness and craziness, respectively, and a) indicating a high
degree of stupidity. These three examples show that degree modifiers,
while they often intensify, do not always do so. Noun phrases
containing modifying adjectives are presented in d) and e). Finally, f)
is an example of a noun phrase object of a preposition in a
prepositional phrase.
(3.2) a) It was quite stupid.
b) Jean was marginally ill.
c) She was slightly crazy.
d) an incredibly naive suggestion
e) a rather unfortunate accident
f) in a very preliminary way
More than one degree adverbial can modify an item, as in (3.3).
Note, however, that there are some restrictions on the occurrence of
some degree adverbials with certain items, as shown by c). Finally, d)
illustrates multiplication of the degree adverbial much which increases
the intensity beyond a single occurrence of much.
(3.3) a) This map is more interesting.
b) This map is much more interesting.
c) *This map is much interesting.
d) Amanda is much happier.
Amanda is much much much happier.
In order to accurately identify degree adverbials, one must first
identify the function of other elements in the clause, especially the
item that the possible degree adverbial appears to be modifying.
Consider the sentences in (3.4), taken from Kroeger (2005).
(3.4) a) Jack is pretty reliable, but Bill I don’t trust.
b) Because it is so very recent…
Because it is so recent…
Because it is very recent…
14
Handbook on adverbials
c) The linking verb contributes very little to the meaning…
The linking verb contributes very little information to the
meaning…
d) The meaning of the equative clause is very much like that
of an attributive clause.
The meaning of the equative clause is much like that of
an attributive clause.
?The meaning of the equative clause is very like that of
an attributive clause.
In a), the degree adverbial, pretty is modifying the adjective reliable
which is part of the adjectival predicate is pretty reliable. The degree
adverbial pair, so very in b) are also part of the adjectival predicate is
so very recent. Note that both so and very can also modify recent on
their own.
The eventuality represented by c) is an event, contributes, with an
Instrument participant, the linking verb, and a Goal participant, the
meaning, which is marked with the preposition to. However,
contribute is a transitive verb, which requires a Theme participant,
whether expressed or not. Knowing that the noun representing the
thing that is contributed is not expressed helps us to identify very little
as a combination of a degree adverbial and an adjective, which, if there
were a noun would be modifying the noun. In the absence of the noun
head, they are representing the thing contributed.8
The sentence in d) is in the form of a locational predicate clause
with a prepositional phrase like that of an attributive clause making up
the locational predicate with the copula is. It is the preposition like that
is being modified by very much. Note that while much can modify
like on its own, very directly modifying like is not as acceptable. In
(3.5b), really, which was identified as a degree adverbial modifying an
adjective in (3.1a), is modifying the verb understand.
8
See the second sentence in (3.4d) for an example of an overt noun head in the
Theme participant.
Degree
15
Givón (2001, 94) discusses an adverbial category which he calls
emphatic adverbs. Emphatic adverbs are forms that serve to code
emphasis and contrast which, Givón admits, are difficult to classify.
Some of these adverbs, as identified by Givón (2001, 94), are
illustrated in (3.5).
(3.5) a) I just know she's right.
b) We really understand.
c) I only came because I thought you needed me.
d) They absolutely abhor violence.
e) She did exactly that.
In the examples in a), c) and e), the italicized forms seem to serve a
contrastive purpose. However, in b) and d), the italicized forms, really
and absolutely, are behaving as degree adverbials.
3.2
The coding of degree modification in WCT
Pwo
In WCT Pwo, forms which would be coded by adjectives in English
are actually a subset of verbs: attributive verbs. Like English, WCT
Pwo has a number of single-word degree markers that modify these
attributive verbs. The first of these is kɨU³⁴. In (3.6) the attributive verb
du⁴⁵ 'big' is modified by kɨU³⁴ in an attributive clause.
(3.6)
Mueng Nong Nwe 80
de³⁴ θẽⁱ⁴⁵mɨŋ⁴⁵ xuŋ⁴⁵
we⁵¹ da⁴⁵ ʔəpo²¹ du⁴⁵
with firewood burn; cremate ?
?
pile
big
kɨU³⁴
INTENS
Concerning the firewood, the pile was very big.
Another degree modifier, kəneʔ²¹, is modifying the attributive verb
ʔwi⁴⁵ 'tasty' in (3.7).
16
Handbook on adverbials
(3.7)
Taokhe 27.
tɕʰə³⁴ mi²¹
xãⁱ⁵¹ kja²¹ de³⁴ ko²¹ta²¹ θᶤĩ⁴⁵ jo²¹
thing cooked_rice dry mix with sugar Boy! this
ʔwᶤĩ⁴⁵ kəneʔ²¹
tasty INTENS
This dry roasted rice mixed with sugar, Boy! (it) is really
tasty.
ʔwi⁴⁵ is modified by the degree modifier, na²¹ 'surely, so' in (3.8).
Additional examples of attributive verbs modified by na²¹ are found in
(3.8) - (3.10).
(3.8)
Taokhe 31.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ ju³⁴
ʔwᶤĩ⁴⁵ na²¹
?
finish that monk
eat look_at tasty surely
taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ nə²¹ tɕʰə³⁴ jo²¹
Taokhe
2s thing this
So the abbot tried it (and said), "Taokhe, your stuff is really
tasty.
(3.9)
Taokhe 103.
ʔa²¹ maᶤʔ⁴⁵
na²¹ taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ ha³⁴
EXCL sweet-sounding so Taokhe
EXCL
"Ah! (That) is so beautiful, Taokhe.
(3.10) Taokhe 104.
taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ ʔa²¹li²¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ ʔo⁴⁵ tʰo⁵¹
na²¹
Taokhe
Oh!
up
exist long; tall; high so
"Wow! Taokhe! (You) are up really high!
A final degree adverbial that appears in the WCT Pwo texts is
bo⁴⁵lɨŋ²¹ which is modifying the attributive verb xəU⁵¹ 'heavy' in (3.11).
Degree
17
(3.11) Tiger Skin 45.
ʔa⁴⁵ nə²¹ ɕẽⁱ²¹ɕɔŋ⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵ xəU⁵¹ bo⁴⁵lɨŋ²¹ laⁱʔ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵
Oh! 2s shirt
that heavy INTENS hawk that
lo²¹
speak
"Boy, your shirt is really heavy," said the hawk.
In examples (3.6) - (3.11), the degree adverbial directly follows the
attributive verb that it is modifying. However, (3.12) shows that the
degree adverbial and attributive verb can be separated by the negator
ʔeʔ⁴⁵.
(3.12) Taokhe 45.
ʔa⁴⁵ ʔwᶤĩ⁴⁵ ʔeʔ⁴⁵ na²¹ taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹
Oh! tasty NEG so Taokhe
"It is really not tasty, Taokhe.
Another way in which WCT Pwo degree modification is coded is by
combining words of similar meaning in order to increase or reduce the
intensity of the state coded by the attributive verb. This is
accomplished in (3.13) with the nominalized form tɕʰəkʰaⁱʔ²¹ 'darkness'
and ji⁵¹ 'dark'.
(3.13) Taokhe 69.
tɕʰəkʰaⁱʔ²¹ ji⁵¹
darkness dark
It was very dark.(Lit. The darkness was dark.)
In English, in addition to degree modification of adjectives in
attributive clauses, it is also possible for degree modifiers to modify
adjectives within a noun phrase by inserting the degree adverbial
directly preceding the adjective. This may not be the case in WCT
Pwo. Throughout the three texts, not a single example of degree
modification within a noun phrase is found. However, there is one
example that does not follow the pattern of degree modification of
attributive verbs in (3.6) - (3.12). It is possible that (3.14) shows how
18
Handbook on adverbials
WCT Pwo handles degree modification within a noun phrase. In (3.14)
a topic and comment approach is used where the entity (a pumpkin) is
referred to using a topicalized construction ʔe⁴⁵jo²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ which has a
translation something like 'as for this one'. This is followed by the
comment pʰaⁱʔ⁴⁵ na²¹ 'very glossy' with the same format as the
previous degree modification examples.
(3.14) Taokhe 83.
ʔe⁴⁵jo²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ pʰaⁱʔ⁴⁵ na²¹ kẽⁱ³⁴ nɔ⁴⁵ naᶤʔ⁴⁵ wa⁴⁵
this one that glossy so pick that enter NEG
As for this one that was very glossy, when (she attempted
to) pick (it) (she could) not puncture (it).
In WCT Pwo, some degree adverbials can also serve as emphasis
markers with non-attributive verbs. This can be seen in (3.15) where
the emphasis pair tɕʰa⁵¹ kɨU³⁴ are emphasizing the transitive verb plãⁱ²¹.
Note that the emphasis markers occur at the end of the clause with the
object pronoun jə²¹ '1s' intervening.
(3.15) Taokhe 86.
ʔa²¹li²¹li²¹li²¹ taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ plãⁱ²¹ jə²¹ tɕʰa⁵¹ kɨU³⁴
Oh!
Taokhe
tease 1s EMPH EMPH
"Oho! Taokhe has really teased me."
Emphasis markers remain at the end of the clause, even with the
addition of other material, such at the aspectual form kjɔŋ²¹ 'used to'
which occurs between the object argument and the clause-final
emphasis marker in (3.16).
(3.16) Taokhe 5.
ɰəpʰloŋ²¹ lo²¹tʰãⁱ²¹ taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵ plãⁱ²¹ kjaⁱʔ²¹ kjɔŋ²¹
person
tell
Taokhe
that tease monk used to
kɨU³⁴
EMPH
People say that Taokhe really used to tease the monks a lot.
Degree
19
In (3.17), the emphasis markers are emphasizing, not the main verb,
but the postverbal element ba⁴⁵θaʔ²¹ 'desire'.
(3.17) Taokhe 113.
ʔa⁴⁵ jə²¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ ba⁴⁵θaʔ²¹ tɕʰa⁵¹ kɨU³⁴
Oh! 1s ascend desire
EMPH EMPH
"Yes, I want to ascend very much.
The degree adverbial na²¹ also serves as a marker of emphasis. In
(3.18) the modal element ni³⁴ 'able', modified by the negator ʔeʔ⁴⁵ is
emphasized with na²¹.
(3.18) Tiger Skin 37.
klaʔ²¹ prɨŋ⁴⁵
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ ʔə²¹ taʔ⁴⁵
juŋ²¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵
crow carry_in_arms up
3
At_that_time fly up
ni³⁴ ʔə²¹ ni³⁴ ʔeʔ⁴⁵ na²¹
get 3
able NEG so
The crow picked her up, but really could not fly with her!
na²¹, in (3.19) and (3.20), seems to be emphasizing the predicate,
although this would need to be investigated further, especially with
complex predicates as in (3.20).
(3.19) Taokhe 68.
θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ ju³⁴
mwe³⁴ tɕʰi⁴⁵ na²¹
monk
ascend look_at to be so also so
The monk went up to look (and said), "It is so."
(3.20) Taokhe 75.
tɕʰəmɨŋ⁴⁵ɕa³⁴ ləɰa²¹
nɔ⁴⁵ nɔŋ⁴⁵θaʔ²¹ kʰlu⁴⁵kʰlaʔ⁴⁵
old woman one person that awaken
be_startled
na²¹
so
An old woman woke up with a start.
20
Handbook on adverbials
Finally, in its emphasis-marking role, na²¹ often occurs with the
form pʰo³⁴ to code emphasis as in (3.21).
(3.21) Mueng Nong Nwe 65.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ ɰe⁵¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ pʰo³⁴ na²¹
?
finish time that come up
?
so
Then the eel came up!
3.3
Summary
Examining degree adverbial behaviour in English and WCT Pwo, we
have seen that degree adverbials can modify forms in a variety of
categories, including other adverbials, adjectives, verbs and
prepositions. In WCT Pwo, some degree modifiers can also be used to
code emphasis, something accomplished in English with intonation and
indicated in written English with an exclamation mark. A comparison
of degree modification strategies for English and WCT Pwo is
presented in Table 5.
Table 5 Degree modification in English and WCT Pwo
English
WCT
Pwo
Degree modification in
Yes
Yes
Yes
??
Yes
??
??
Yes
attributive clauses
Degree modification of
attributive elements within
the noun phrase
Degree modification of
adverbials
Some degree modifiers also
used to signal emphasis
4
Manner
Jackendoff (1972, 58) notes that manner adverbials, in English, show
subtle differences in orientation. Prototypical manner adverbials give
information about the action itself, while “subject-oriented” manner
adverbials code information about the manner of the agent of the
action.9 This is illustrated, in (4.1), with sentence triplets from
Jackendoff (1972, 47 & 58). In a) and d) the manner adverbials,
slowly and clumsily, in final position, comment on the action, itself,
while in b) and e) the fronted manner adverbials are more subjectoriented, commenting on the manner of the agent. Finally, c) and f) are
ambiguous as to whether the manner of the agent or the manner of the
action is being commented on.
(4.1) a) John opened the door slowly.
b) Slowly John opened the door.
c) John slowly opened the door.
d) John dropped his cup of coffee clumsily.
e) Clumsily, John dropped his cup of coffee.
f) John clumsily dropped his cup of coffee.
While the examples, in (4.1), showing a distinction between subjectoriented and action manner adverbials, are reasonably clear, the analyst
should be aware that subject-oriented and action manner adverbials are
9
With the possibility of different positions for adverbials, subtle meaning
differences are also possible. In order to accurately describe and account for
language behaviour, it is important to be aware of even subtle differences in
meaning, as is the case with subject-oriented and action-oriented adverbials.
For example, in (4.1a), when slowly is clause-initial it is possible that John
could have tiptoed slowly to the door to open it. When slowly is clause-final,
John could not have tiptoed slowly to open the door. Rather, the sense is that
John is at the door and opening it slowly. The concept of subject-oriented
adverbials is also discussed in Parsons (1990) and Cinque (1999).
21
22
Handbook on adverbials
not always easily distinguished, depending on the adverbial; its
meaning and the form it takes. As always, the analyst should pay
attention to meaning difference regardless of the structure.
In this chapter, we will explore and compare the ways in which
English and WCT Pwo Karen code manner information about the
action and/or the agent.
4.1
The coding of manner in English
In English, action manner adverbials can be coded by single-words,
phrases, and clauses, while subject-oriented adverbials can be coded by
single-word, phrasal and adjectival predicate adverbials.
4.1.1
Action manner coding
Givón (2001) lists examples of English action manner adverbials, some
of which are reproduced in (4.2). a) and b) show that the action
manner adverbials hard and fast can only occur at the end of the
clause. As observed in (4.1), action manner adverbials typically occur
clause-finally in English. This is also seen with the initial sentences in
c) and d) where action manner adverbials occur clause-finally. The
italicized forms in the second sentences of c) and d) are subjectoriented adverbials and the italicized forms in the third sentences are
ambiguous between subject orientation and action orientation.
(4.2) a) They fought hard.
*Hard they fought.
*They hard fought.
b) He ran fast.
*Fast he ran.
*He fast ran.
Manner
23
c) She whistled the song softly.
Softly she whistled the song.
She softly whistled the song.
d) She patted the puppy gently.
Gently she patted the puppy.
She gently patted the puppy.
With phrasal adverbials, in (4.3), the distinction between subjectoriented and action-oriented adverbials seems to be maintained, with
the action-oriented adverbial in the final position and the subjectoriented adverbial in initial position. Note, also, that in none of the
sentences in (4.3) is it possible for the adverbial to intervene between
the subject and the rest of the clause.
(4.3) a) She sang like an angel.
Like an angel she sang.
*She, like an angel, sang.
b) She stood at ease.
At ease she stood.
*She at ease stood.
c) She made her clothing by hand.
?By hand, she made her clothing.
*She by hand made her clothing.
d) They attacked him without thinking about it.
Without thinking about it they attacked him.
*They without thinking about it attacked him.
Complex phrasal adverbials are also possible with both noun
phrases and prepositional phrases, as in (4.4). In a), the manner
adverbial is headed by the the noun way, which is modified by the
relative clause that her mother sings. The example in b) illustrates a
manner adverbial in the form of a prepositional phrase with a complex
NP object that is composed of the noun head manner and a relative
clause her mother laughs along with the subordinator that.
24
Handbook on adverbials
(4.4) a) Ellen laughs in the manner that her mother laughs.
?In the manner that her mother laughs, Ellen laughs.
b) Amanda sings the way that her mother sings.
*The way that her mother sings, Amanda sings.
Action manner adverbials can also be coded by adverbial clauses as
shown in (4.5). Both a) and b) illustrate an adverbial clause introduced
with the subordinator like, where the main and subordinate clauses
have an equative relationship.
(4.5) a) Ellen laughs like her mother laughs.
*Like her mother laughs Ellen laughs.
b) Amanda sounds like she is in a wind tunnel.
*Like she is in a wind tunnel Amanda sounds.
Concerning subject-oriented adverbials, it is only in final position
that the adverbial clauses, in (4.5), can occur. Given this data, it is
possible that subject-oriented adverbials cannot be coded by adverbial
clauses.
4.1.2
Agent manner coding
Single-word, subject-oriented manner adverbials are presented in (4.6).
As with the examples in (4.2), initial-position adverbials are subjectoriented, while final-position adverbials tend to focus more on the
manner of the action. Adverbials occurring after the subject are
ambiguous as to orientation. Note, however, that the distinction
between subject and action-orientation may not be as clear with
adverbials that refer to an agent's thinking as in a), which seem to
always be subject-oriented regardless of their position.
(4.6) a) Thoughtlessly, she drove over the lawn.
She thoughtlessly drove over the lawn.
She drove over the lawn thoughtlessly.
Manner
25
b) Quickly, she laid the baby in the crib.
She quickly laid the baby in the crib.
She laid the baby in the crib quickly.
c) Harshly, the judge pronounced sentence.
The judge harshly pronounced sentence.
The judge pronounced sentence harshly.
d) Together, they prepared dinner.
They together prepared dinner.
They prepared dinner together.
Phrasal agent manner adverbials are presented in (4.7). As already
commented on with phrasal action manner adverbials, the subjectoriented adverbials occur in initial position and the phrasal action
manner adverbials occur in final position. It is not possible to insert a
phrasal adverbial between the subject and the predicate.
(4.7) a) She left her phone at home on purpose.
On purpose, she left her phone at home.
*She, on purpose left her phone at home.
b) He went there by mistake.
By mistake, he went there.
*He by mistake went there.
c) He installed the computer component with care.
With care, he installed the computer component.
*He with care installed the computer component.
d) The boys teased her without mercy.
Without mercy, the boys teased her.
*The boys without mercy teased her.
As we saw in the discussion of clausal action manner adverbials, it
is, apparently, not possible to code subject-oriented adverbials with
clauses. However, subject-oriented manner adverbials can be coded by
adjectival predicates which provide information about the internal state
26
Handbook on adverbials
of the agent, as shown in (4.8). These adjectival predicates can occur
both initially and finally.
(4.8) a) Sally turned her back, angry at her husband
Angry at her husband, Sally turned her back.
b) Jake stood there hesitant to do anything.
Hesitant to do anything, Jake stood there.
c) She walked to class deep in thought.
Deep in thought, she walked to class.
4.2
The coding of manner in WCT Pwo
WCT Pwo does not seem to have positions that can be associated with
subject-oriented manner adverbials as opposed to action-oriented
manner adverbials. In the data, action manner coding takes the form of
an additional verb in a complex predicate, a single-word adverbial, a
prepositional phrase, or an ideophone. Subject-oriented (agent manner)
coding takes the form of an additional verb in a complex predicate, a
possible single-word adverbial, or a verb preceded by the particle ʔe⁴⁵.
4.2.1
Action manner coding
In a complex predicate containing action manner information, the head
is the first verb followed by the verb coding action manner
information. In (4.9), the head verb nɔŋ⁴⁵θaʔ²¹ 'awaken' is modified by
kʰlu⁴⁵kʰlaʔ⁴⁵ 'be startled'.
(4.9)
Taokhe 75.
tɕʰəmɨŋ⁴⁵ɕa³⁴ ləɰa²¹
nɔ⁴⁵ nɔŋ⁴⁵θaʔ²¹ kʰlu⁴⁵kʰlaʔ⁴⁵
old woman one person that awaken
be_startled
na²¹
so
An old woman woke up with a startǃ
(4.10) is an example a reduplicated single-word adverb where the
head verb li²¹ 'go' is modified by taⁱʔ²¹ taⁱʔ²¹ 'all over'.
Manner
27
(4.10) Mueng Nong Nwe 96.
ʔa⁴⁵ li²¹ taⁱʔ²¹ taⁱʔ²¹ lo⁵¹ ʔəpʰu⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ lo²¹
Oh! go all over all over !! child that speak
"I will go around," the child said.
Another way of coding action manner is through the use of
onomatopoeic ideophones. Ideophones often occur at the end of the
clause and may be repeated. In (4.11), the ideophone is coding the
heavy sound of the elder sibling's walking. In (4.12) and (4.13), the
ideophone represents the sound of the hawk's call while flying.
(4.11) Tiger Skin 17.
tɕʰəmɨŋ⁴⁵ ʔəwe³⁴
ɰa²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ li²¹ we⁵¹ li²¹ tɕʰuŋ³⁴
girl
elder sibling person that go ?
go follow
pjaʔ⁴⁵ kʰi⁵¹ɕa²¹ kʰãⁱ⁵¹ daᶤʔ²¹ daᶤʔ²¹
follow tiger
back "sound" "sound"
The elder sister went. She followed the tiger's back “clump,
clump.”
(4.12) Taokhe 102.
ʔe⁴⁵ɰuŋ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵ ju³⁴
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ laⁱʔ⁴⁵ tʰəU²¹
then
that monk
that look_at up
hawk fly
luʔ⁴⁵ ʔu²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ kru⁵¹ kru⁵¹ kru⁵¹
to
yonder that "sound" "sound" "sound"
When the monk looked up, he saw a hawk flying "Kru!
Kru! Kru!"
(4.13) Taokhe 107.
he⁴⁵ mɨŋ³⁴kjaⁱʔ²¹ hu⁵¹ maᶤʔ⁴⁵
ha⁵¹ nə²¹ ju³⁴
EXCL abbot
EXCL enjoyable QUES 2s look_at
jə²¹ juŋ²¹ kru⁵¹ kru⁵¹
1s fly "sound" "sound"
"Hey abbot! Did you enjoy watching me fly? Kru! Kru!"
28
Handbook on adverbials
Ideophones can also occur adjacent to a prepositional phrase that is
coding action manner. In (4.14), the prepositional phrase refers to the
loud sounds that the eel made as it came up the stairs and the
ideophone provides the sound effects with phonological patterning.
(4.14) Mueng Nong Nwe 36.
ʔə²¹ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵ ɰe⁵¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ xɔŋ⁵¹ loŋ²¹
de³⁴
3
?
?
come up
stairs on_in_the_middle with
xwe²¹θuŋ⁴⁵ xwe²¹θa⁴⁵ maʔ⁴⁵ kʰlᶤĩ²¹ kʰluŋ²¹ kʰlɔŋ²¹
sound
sound
loud "crash" "crash" "bang"
He came up to the top of the ladder with a loud sound,
crashing and banging.
4.2.2
Agent manner coding
A complex predicate containing a verb conveying subject-oriented
manner information is illustrated with (4.15) where the verb head ju³⁴
'look' is combined with the verb ɰuŋ⁴⁵ 'hide, conceal' which provides
information about the nature of the agent's looking.
(4.15) Tiger Skin 11.
ju³⁴
ɰuŋ⁴⁵
de³⁴ tɕʰə³⁴ pʰiʔ⁴⁵
nɔŋ⁴⁵
look_at surreptitiously with thing weed:hoe grass
kʰo⁵¹
kʰo⁵¹
section:part section:part
Surreptitiously, (she) examined the one cutting the grass.
(4.16) has a similar structure, where tɕʰuŋ⁵¹na³⁴ 'listen' heads the
predicate with xe³⁴ 'quiet' providing information about the agent's
stance while listening.
(4.16) Mueng Nong Nwe 26.
tɕʰuŋ⁵¹na³⁴ xe³⁴ lo⁵¹
listen
quiet !!
Quietly, she listened.
Manner
29
In (4.17), the form conveying the subject-oriented manner
information kəruŋ⁵¹ 'hurry' precedes the verb head ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹.
Unfortunately, this is the only example in the data, so it is not possible
to investigate this phenomenon further.
(4.17) Mueng Nong Nwe 102.
da⁴⁵ wa⁴⁵ dɔʔ²¹ kəruŋ⁵¹ ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ miʔ⁴⁵θa⁴⁵ ju³⁴
see NEG more hurry return
eye
look_at
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ le⁴⁵ θẽⁱ⁴⁵ kʰᶤĩ⁵¹ ʔəkʰɔŋ⁴⁵ kʰo⁵¹
up
at tree on
foot
section:part
They saw nothing further, and hurrying back, (they) looked
up at the top of a tree.
Two forms with the meaning 'together' occur following the verb in
two examples in the data. In (4.18), luʔ⁴⁵θaʔ²¹ occurs in a process
eventuality that is holding with animate participants. In (4.19), dẽⁱ²¹
occurs in an event eventuality that has culminated with inanimate
participants.
(4.18) Tiger Skin 3.
ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ mi²¹
tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ mi²¹
return
eat cooked_rice time that eat cooked_rice
θe²¹ ɰuŋ²¹ ʔə²¹ tɕaⁱʔ²¹ luʔ⁴⁵θaʔ²¹ tʰəpʰɨŋ³⁴we³⁴ nᶤĩ²¹
?
finish 3
tell
together sibling
two
ɰa²¹
person
At the time they went back to eat, the two siblings talked
together.
(4.19) Taokhe 16.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵wiʔ⁴⁵ tʰãⁱ²¹ ko²¹ta²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ kja²¹ dẽⁱ²¹
?
finish roast
to
sugar that mix together
Then (he) mixed the roasted (rice) and sugar together.
30
Handbook on adverbials
Another structural device for conveying subject-oriented manner
information is a verb in combination with the particle ʔe⁴⁵. In (4.20)
the agent promises to look after things 'in a good manner'.
(4.20) Taokhe 13.
kjaⁱʔ²¹ jə²¹ mə³⁴ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵kʰuʔ²¹ ju³⁴
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰi²¹
monk 1s IRR wait
look_at ?
good
"Sir. I will look after things well.
4.3
Summary
This chapter began with an account of the subtle meaning difference
between manner information about the agent (subject-oriented) as
opposed to manner information about the action itself. Often, in
English, subject-oriented manner information occurs clause-initially,
while action-oriented manner information occurs clause-finally.
In English, manner adverbials can take the form of single words,
prepositional phrases, adjectival predicates, adverbial clauses with the
subordinator like and prepositional clauses with a complex noun
phrase object with a relative clause modifying the head noun manner
with the subordinator that.
For manner information coding, WCT Pwo makes use of complex
predicates where the second verb, in a pair of verbs, provides manner
information. Ideophones and prepositional phrases are also used. Also,
attributive verbs preceded by the marker ʔe⁴⁵. Finally, it is possible
that WCT Pwo employs single-word adverbials which can be
reduplicated, although this needs to be researched further.
A summary of the structural devices used to convey manner
information in English and WCT Pwo is presented in Table 6.
Manner
Table 6 Manner coding strategies in English and WCT Pwo
English
WCT Pwo
Single-word adverbials
Yes
Maybe
Prepositional phrase adverbials
Yes
Yes
Clausal adverbials
Yes
No data
Predicate adjective adverbials
Yes
No data
Complex predicate
No
Yes
Limited
Yes
No
Yes
Ideophones
ʔe⁴⁵ adverbials
31
5
Locations
In order to identify location adverbials, it is necessary to be able to
distinguish the functions of locationals.10 As we saw in (2.2), with the
sentence pair Mary ran in the park and Mary ran to the park, forms
coding location-in-space information in a language are not always
location adverbials. It depends on their function within the eventuality.
In addition to location adverbials and Goal participants, location
predicates are used to express the locational state of a Theme
participant. An example of a location predicate is provided in (5.1a)
along with a repetition of the location adverbial and Goal participant
pair from (2.2).
(5.1) a) Mary is in the park.
b) Mary ran in the park.
c) Mary ran to the park.
Analysis of each eventuality will provide tools for disambiguating
these locational elements. Comparing a) and b), they differ by
eventuality type and participant type: a) is a state eventuality with a
Theme participant, while b) is a process-event eventuality with an
Agent-Theme participant. Because b) is an event, the location phrase
cannot be a predicate, and it is not a participant because it has no
thematic role. Thus, the prepositional phrase in b) is a location
adverbial providing setting information for the event. Finally, c) is also
an event, however, the culmination of the event is signalled by the
prepositional phrase which is a Goal participant. This is summarized in
Table 7.
10
Locational, in this chapter, is a cover term for any grammatical element that
is communicating something about physical location, regardless of its function.
32
Locations
33
Table 7 Comparison of locational functions
Sentence
Eventuality
Predicate
Participants
Type
Mary is in
Location
Adverbial
State
is in the park
Theme
None
Event
ran
Agent-Theme
in the park
Event
ran
Agent-Theme,
None
the park.
Mary ran in
the park.
Mary ran to
the park.
Goal
Trask (1992, 164) characterizes locations as “…the place in which
something exists or occurs.” This definition can be extended to include
the place where something ends up or the place where something starts
out. Thinking of the ways in which locationals are used in language,
typically, the place in which something exists is coded by a predicate
locative as in a snake is in the house. The place where something
occurs is the setting location information and is typically coded by a
location adverbial as in the maid drank her coffee in the kitchen .
Finally, the place where something ends up is coded by a Goal
participant as in the thief laid his coat on the floor and the place from
which something starts out is a Source participant as in the child came
up from the basement.
5.1
Locationals in English
Even with the demonstration of different functions of locational
elements in the introduction to this chapter, the analyst should be
aware that ambiguities and complexities remain. In (5.2) additional
examples of clauses with locational elements (in italics) are presented.
34
Handbook on adverbials
(5.2) a) The big man caught a large toukay in the house
yesterday.
b) Mandy went home.11
c) In the garden, Matt found a beautiful flower.
d) John worked at the picnic table away from the
mosquitoes.
e) Put that box in the corner.
f) We read the newspaper under the light close to the door.
g) There is a snake in the house.
h) A snake slithered into the house.
i) Hugh forgot his son at the library.
j) There is a post office in the drugstore.
k) Garth walked into the hotel, across the lobby and out
through the staff entrance.
l) Harry walked quietly along the quay.
m) Jesse got up from the floor.
The eventuality analyses for the sentences in (5.2) are presented in
Table 8.
11
In many English grammars and dictionaries home is identified as an
adverbial whereas in this handbook it is identified as a Goal participant. The
reason for this is that eventualities such as Mandy went home and The dog ran
into the kitchen show similar characteristics. They are both culminating
process-event eventualities with Agent-Themes. To call home an adverb and
into the kitchen a Goal participant would be inconsistent, regardless of the
structure, i.e. noun versus prepositional phrase.
Locations
35
Table 8 Eventuality analysis with locationals
Clause
a)
Eventuality
Culmination/
type
Holding
Event
Culmination
Predicate
Participants
caught
Agent, Theme
Adverbials
in the
house,
yesterday
b)
Process
Culmination
went
Agent-Theme,
None
Goal
c)
Event
Culmination
found
Agent, Theme
in the
garden
d)
Process
Holding
worked
Agent
at the picnic
table away
from the
mosquitoes
e)
Event
Culmination
put
Agent
None
(unexpressed),
Theme, Goal
f)
Process
Holding
read
Agent, Theme
under the
light close
to the door
g)
State
Holding
is in the
Theme
None
Agent-Theme,
None
house
h)
Event
Culmination
slithered
Goal
i)
Event
Culmination
forgot
Experiencer,
None
Theme, Goal
i)
Event
Culmination
forgot
Experiencer,
at the
Theme
library
36
Handbook on adverbials
Clause
j)
k)
Eventuality
Culmination/
type
Holding
State
Holding
Process
Holding
Predicate
Participants
Adverbials
None
in the
Theme (a post
drugstore
office)
walked
Agent-Theme
into the
hotel,
across the
lobby, out
through
the staff
entrance
l)
Process
Holding
walked
Agent-Theme
quietly,
along the
quay
m)
Event
Culmination
got up
Agent-Theme,
None
Source
Looking at the results in Table 8, the identification of the function
of the locational elements seems to be straightforward for some of the
sentences. For example, the goal and source participants in the event
eventualities in b), e), h) and m) code the place where another
participant “ends up” or starts from. Then, in g), the locational
expresses where a participant exists in a state eventuality which is
holding. For the remaining sentences, the determination of the type of
locational is more complex or ambiguous, so each sentence will be
discussed in detail.
In a), the catching of the toukay is a culminating event with Agent
and Theme participants. The locational is not a Goal, nor is it a
locational coding the place where something exists (although the
toukay apparently existed in the house before it was caught), so the
Locations
37
locational in this eventuality is a location adverbial providing
information on where the event of catching took place. The analysis is
similar for c) where the garden is the place where the event of finding
occurs.
Sentence d) is more complicated. First, it is a process eventuality
that is holding. The locational (which includes an embedded relative
clause locational, away from the mosquitoes) is not a location
predicate because there is no copula. It also has no thematic role, so it
is interpreted as the setting of the working, which would make it a
location adverbial. Sentence f) is similar to d) in that it is a process
eventuality where the locational is coding the setting for the
eventuality. It is a location adverbial with an embedded relative clause.
Sentence j) is not what it might appear. Removing the place-holding,
dummy subject there from consideration, the Theme participant phrase
is a post office and the existence locational is in the drugstore. With i),
the forgetting is an event which culminates. The locational at the
library can be interpreted as the setting for the event of forgetting
which would make it a location adverbial. On the other hand, at the
library could be the location of the son which would make it a
prepositional phrase modifier of the noun head son. Finally, both k)
and l) have locationals occurring with the process eventuality walked.
In neither sentence is there any culmination, so the locationals cannot
be Goal participants. Nor is there any sense of a participant existing
somewhere. Therefore, in both k) and l), the locationals are location
adverbials. Incidentally, k) highlights the multiple instances of an
event that is characteristic of process eventualities. Each location
adverbial occurs with one of these instances of the process-event.
Up to this point, we have been looking primarily at location
adverbials coded by prepositional phrases. They can also be coded by
location adverbial clauses as presented in (5.3a and b). Note, however,
that the same type of clause can also function as a noun modifier, as
(5.3c), where the noun head park is modified by the clause where the
bands play.
38
Handbook on adverbials
(5.3) a) Where the roses grow, you can find the entrance to the
park.
b) Tim lost his keys where the cars park.
c) Cindy likes to go to the park where the bands play.
Before we leave the discussion of English location adverbials, the
positioning of location adverbials should be examined. In the examples
in (5.2) and (5.3), location adverbials occur preceding the subject and
following the object. Note that positioning the location adverbial
preceding the subject places emphasis on the setting for the
eventuality.
5.2
Locationals in WCT Pwo
As in English, locationals in WCT Pwo serve several purposes. In this
section, the various structures of WCT Pwo locationals will be
presented and discussed, ending with a discussion of the functions of
locationals in WCT Pwo.
WCT Pwo locationals take the form of either a prepositional phrase
or a bare noun phrase. In the data, a noun phrase can include a noun
head, a demonstrative or a possessed noun head. A possessed noun
head is preceded by a possessor or marked with a possession marker.
These possessed noun heads, in locational phrases, comprise a special
class called localizer nouns (LZN) or relator nouns, denoting a location
that, in English, would be coded by a preposition. Some of these
localizer nouns are bound while others are free. This construction is
found in Sino-Tibetan languages (including Mandarin Chinese, Tibetan
and Karenic languages) and Mon-Khmer languages. The WCT Pwo
locational construction is illustrated in (5.4) with the prepositional
phrase luʔ⁴⁵ ta²¹ kʰi⁵¹ ʔu²¹ where luʔ⁴⁵ is the preposition, ta²¹ 'sugar
palm' is the possessor, kʰᶤĩ⁵¹ 'top, on' is the localizer noun head and
ʔu²¹ is the distal demonstrative. The literal translation of this phrase is
'to the sugar palm's top way over there'.
Locations
(5.4)
39
Taokhe 117.
tɕʰəpʰɔŋ²¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ ba⁴⁵ kʰa⁵¹ jaᶤʔ²¹ mɨŋ³⁴kjaⁱʔ²¹ jo²¹
brightness ascend touch time already abbot
this
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ luʔ⁴⁵ ta²¹
kʰᶤĩ⁵¹ ʔu²¹
ascend to
sugar_palm on
yonder
At daybreak, when it was time, the abbot climbed way up to
the top of the sugar palm.
WCT Pwo has a possession prefix ʔə- which sometimes appears on
the localizer noun head, providing evidence that the localizer noun is
possessed. In (5.5), luʔ⁴⁵ is the preposition, the possessor-marked
ʔədɔŋ²¹ 'top' is the localizer noun head and the proper noun θɔŋ⁵¹θᶤĩ⁴⁵
'Song Sing' is the proper noun possessor.
(5.5)
Mueng Nong Nwe 76.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ ʔə²¹ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵ li²¹ dɔʔ²¹ li²¹ li²¹ li²¹ tʰuŋ²¹
?
finish 3
?
?
go again go go go reach
luʔ⁴⁵ θɔŋ⁵¹θᶤĩ⁴⁵ ʔədɔŋ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵
to
Song_Sing top
that
So she walked and walked and reached the very top of Song
Sing (mountain).
Now, compare the locational phrase in (5.5) with the locational
phrase in (5.6), where no possessive marker occurs on the localizer
noun head. Note also, that θɔŋ⁵¹θᶤĩ⁴⁵ 'Song Sing' is now modifying the
noun kʰu⁴⁵luŋ²¹ 'mountain' which, together, serve as the possessor of
the localizer noun head, dɔŋ²¹.
(5.6)
Mueng Nong Nwe 100.
li²¹ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ li²¹ li²¹ li²¹ li²¹ luʔ⁴⁵ kʰu⁴⁵luŋ²¹
go time that go go go go to
mountain
θɔŋ⁵¹θᶤĩ⁴⁵ dɔŋ²¹ ʔu²¹
Song_Sing top yonder
They went on and on to the very top of Song Sing
mountain.
40
Handbook on adverbials
In addition to the preposition luʔ⁴⁵ 'to', WCT Pwo has other
prepositions which are listed in Table 9.
Table 9 WCT Pwo prepositions
WCT Pwo
English
preposition
translation
lə³⁴
'at'
le⁴⁵
'at'
luʔ⁴⁵
'to (far away)'
baᶤʔ²¹
'near'
tʰuŋ²¹
'reach'
A prepositional phrase containing a noun phrase without a localizer
noun is presented in (5.7). The distal preposition luʔ⁴⁵ 'to' is the head
of the prepositional phrase and ka²¹θaʔ²¹ ʔu²¹ 'heaven yonder' is the
noun phrase object of the preposition. In (5.8), the head of the noun
phrase object ʔədɔŋ²¹ ʔu²¹ 'city/country yonder' is marked with the
possessor prefix ʔə- which is referring to the tiger's place.
(5.7)
Taokhe 99
jə²¹ mə³⁴ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ luʔ⁴⁵ ka²¹θaʔ²¹ ʔu²¹
1s IRR ascend to
heaven yonder
I am going up to heaven yonder.
(5.8)
Tiger Skin 84.
tʰãⁱ²¹ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵ luʔ⁴⁵ ʔədɔŋ²¹
ʔu²¹ kʰi⁵¹ɕa²¹ nɔ⁴⁵
go
?
?
to
city, country yonder tiger
that
That tiger went back to its place yonder.
Finally, in (5.9), mɨŋ⁴⁵nɔŋ²¹nwe⁵¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵we³⁴ ni³⁴ jə²¹ 'Mueng Nong
Nwe scooped me up' is a relative clause modifying the localizer noun
Locations
41
head kla²¹ 'middle' and its possessor tʰᶤi⁵¹ 'water'. The possessed noun
phrase containing the relative clause is the object of the preposition
lə³⁴.
(5.9)
Mueng Nong Nwe 45.
jə²¹ ʔo⁴⁵ lə³⁴ tʰᶤĩ⁵¹ kla²¹ mɨŋ⁴⁵nɔŋ²¹nwe⁵¹
1s exist at water middle Mueng_Nong_Nwe
ʔɔŋ⁴⁵we³⁴
ni³⁴ jə²¹ lo²¹ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵
scoop_up_fish get 1s speak ?
?
I live in the middle of the water where Mueng Nong Nwe
scooped me up," he said.
Now that the structural characteristics of locational constructions in
WCT Pwo have been presented, we will turn our attention to the
functions of locational constructions, such as Goal participants,
location predicates and location adverbials. As with English, it is
important to analyze the eventuality in order to accurately identify the
function of a particular locational construction.
5.2.1
Goal participants
The locational in (5.10) is mi⁴⁵ ʔəU²¹ pʰəU²¹ 'fire pile's inside or the
inside of the pile of fire'. The eventuality is a culminated event with
Agent-Theme and Goal participants. Note that the locational is in the
form of nested possessive noun phrases with no preposition, although
it is preceded by the directional verb lɔŋ²¹ 'down'.
(5.10) Mueng Nong Nwe 84.
ʔa⁴⁵ ʔə²¹ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵ pʰɨŋ⁵¹ lɔŋ²¹ mi⁴⁵ ʔəU²¹ pʰəU²¹ pʰo³⁴
Oh! 3
?
?
jump down fire pile inside ?
na²¹
so
Oh! She jumped down into the fire!
(5.11) encompasses three clauses. The first is an event eventuality of
'taking' with two participants, taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ 'Taokhe' and pənaⁱ⁵¹ ləbuŋ²¹
42
Handbook on adverbials
'one candle'. Taokhe is the agent in all three clauses, although not
expressed in the last two clauses. The second and third clauses are in a
parallel relationship where the second clause is composed of a
directional verb tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ 'ascend' plus the main verb tɕuŋ²¹ 'light'. In the
third clause, the main verb is tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ 'ascend' and the Goal participant is
coded by the prepositional phrase luʔ⁴⁵ ta²¹ kʰi⁵¹ 'at the sugar palm's
top way over there'. Then, in (5.12) the second and third clauses of
(5.11) are combined with the result that luʔ⁴⁵ ta²¹ kʰi⁵¹ is no longer
functioning as a Goal participant, rather the place where the lighting
took place, which is an adverbial use which will be discussed further
in 5.2.3.
(5.11) Taokhe 53.
taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ma²¹ni³⁴ pənãⁱ⁵¹ ləbuŋ²¹
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵
Taokhe
take
candle one long thing ascend
tɕuŋ²¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ luʔ⁴⁵ ta²¹
kʰᶤĩ⁵¹
light ascend to
sugar_palm on
Taokhe took a candle and went up to the top of the sugar
palm and lit it.
(5.12) Taokhe 54.
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ tɕuŋ²¹ luʔ⁴⁵ ta²¹
kʰᶤĩ⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵ ʔə²¹ we⁵¹
ascend light to
sugar_palm on
that 3
?
tʰãⁱ²¹ kuʔ²¹ θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵ na²¹
return call monk
that so
When he had lit the candle on top of the sugar palm, he
went back and called the monk.
WCT Pwo typically does not make use of conjunctions or relative
clause marking. It merely juxtaposes these constructions. In (5.13) the
main clause is li²¹ tʰuŋ²¹ luʔ⁴⁵ pʰəU²¹θaʔ²¹ tʰa³⁴ ' (they) went and
reached the fork of the path/way over there' is a process eventuality
that has culminated, signaled by tʰuŋ²¹ 'reach'. The Agent-Theme
participant is the group that walked to the fork of the path, which is
unexpressed in this sentence, but present in the discourse context. The
Locations
43
other participant is the Goal; the fork in the path. The second clause,
tʰaⁱ²¹ lə³⁴ ʔəɰeⁱ⁴⁵ 'go to their house', is a relative clause modifying the
Goal participant noun phrase '(the) fork of the path'. It provides further
identification of the particular fork in the path and contains yet another
Goal participant lə³⁴ ʔəɰeⁱ⁴⁵ 'to the house' within the relative clause.
(5.13) Tiger Skin 19
li²¹ tʰuŋ²¹ luʔ⁴⁵ pʰəU²¹θaʔ²¹ tʰa³⁴ tʰãⁱ²¹ lə³⁴ ʔəɰẽⁱ⁴⁵
go reach to
path, way fork go
at house
(They) went and reached the fork of the path that went to
the (girls') house.
With Goal participants, in addition to a verb that can take a Goal
participant, there may be the addition of the verb ʔo⁴⁵ 'exist/have'
which communicates the resultant state of the event, as in (5.14),
where the Agent-Theme participant goes to exist at a nook.
(5.14) Taokhe 19.
ʔənɔŋ²¹tɕʰa³⁴ tʰãⁱ²¹ ʔo⁴⁵ luʔ⁴⁵ tɕʰəno⁴⁵kãⁱ⁴⁵ ʔu²¹
self
go
exist to
nook; cranny yonder
ʔɔŋ⁴⁵kʰuʔ²¹ θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹
wait
monk
He had gone to a nook to wait for the monk.
In (5.15), the Goal participant in the process eventuality, with the
verb li²¹ 'go', is composed of the noun head tɕuŋ⁴⁵ 'position', an
attributive verb modifier ba⁴⁵ 'correct', and a classifier phrase nɔŋ⁴⁵
tɕuŋ⁴⁵. Note that the first tɕuŋ⁴⁵ is the noun head and the second tɕuŋ⁴⁵
is the classifier.
(5.15) Taokhe 89.
li²¹ tɕuŋ⁴⁵ ba⁴⁵ nɔŋ⁴⁵ tɕuŋ⁴⁵ deʔ²¹
go position correct just_one position not yet
(I) (could) not yet go to a correct position, even one
position.
44
Handbook on adverbials
The demonstrative jo²¹ 'this, here' is coding the Goal participant in
(5.16).
(5.16) Taokhe 78.
θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ mə³⁴ ɰe⁵¹ jo²¹
monk
IRR come here
The monk is going to come here.
Finally, Goal participants can be topicalized as in (5.17). The Goal
locational luʔ⁴⁵ ka²¹θaʔ²¹ follows the vocative taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ he³⁴ and
precedes the main clause.
(5.17) Taokhe 114.
taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ he³⁴ luʔ⁴⁵ ka²¹θaʔ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ jə²¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵
Taokhe
dear to
heaven that 1s ascend
ba⁴⁵θaʔ²¹ tɕʰa⁵¹
kɨU³⁴
desire
INTENS INTENS
"Taokhe, about heaven, I really want to ascend."
5.2.2
Existence locationals
In WCT Pwo, eventualities asserting the location of a Theme
participant take either the form of intransitive clauses with the verb
ʔo⁴⁵ 'exist/have', or a juxtaposition of the Theme participant and a
locational phrase with no overt verb. Examples (5.18), (5.19) and
(5.20) demonstrate existence locationals with ʔo⁴⁵ 'exist/have'. In
(5.18), the Theme is coded by the pronoun jə²¹ '1s' and the existence
locational is lə³⁴ tʰᶤi⁵¹ kla²¹ 'at the water's middle or the middle of the
water'.
(5.18) Mueng Nong Nwe 34
jə²¹ ʔo⁴⁵ lə³⁴ tʰᶤĩ⁵¹ kla²¹
1s exist at water middle
I live in the middle of the water.
Locations
45
A similar existence construction is found in the second clause of
(5.19) where the Theme participant is ʔəkʰu⁴⁵xwᶤĩ⁴⁵ loŋ⁴⁵koŋ²¹ 'bare
head' and the existence locational is le⁴⁵ tɕʰəɕuʔ⁴⁵ kla²¹ 'at the middle
of the clump'.
(5.19) Taokhe 81.
li²¹ θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ mᶤĩ⁵¹
nɔ⁴⁵ ʔəkʰu⁴⁵xwᶤĩ⁴⁵
go monk
lie_down; sleep that head
loŋ⁴⁵koŋ²¹ ʔo⁴⁵ le⁴⁵ tɕʰəɕuʔ⁴⁵ kla²¹ taʔ⁴⁵
bare
exist at clump
middle right_there
When she got to the monk's sleeping (place), the (monk's)
bald head was right in the middle of the clump.
The medial demonstrative nɔ⁴⁵ serves as the object of the
preposition tʰuŋ²¹ 'reach' locating the unexpressed Theme 'there' in
(5.20).
(5.20) Mueng Nong Nwe 69.
ʔe⁴⁵ɰuŋ²¹ ʔo⁴⁵ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵ tʰuŋ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ lo⁵¹
then
exist ?
?
reach that !!
And it stayed there.
Existence locational constructions without any existence verb are
illustrated in (5.21) and (5.22), where the locative predicate occurs
juxtaposed to the subject noun phrase. In (5.21), the subject phrase,
tɕuŋ²¹ kluŋ²¹ 'summit (lit. top utmost)' occurs with the locative
predicate tʰuŋ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ 'there (lit. reach that). And in (5.22), the subject
θɔŋ⁵¹θᶤi⁴⁵ tɕuŋ²¹ kluŋ²¹ 'summit of Song Sing' is juxtaposed to the
locative predicate luʔ⁴⁵ ja⁵¹ 'further ahead (lit. to front)'.
(5.21) Mueng Nong Nwe 78.
tɕuŋ²¹ kluŋ²¹ tʰuŋ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ tʰu⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ lo²¹ ʔə²¹
top
utmost reach that bird that speak 3
"The summit is there," the bird said to her.
46
Handbook on adverbials
(5.22) Mueng Nong Nwe 75.
θɔŋ⁵¹θᶤĩ⁴⁵ tɕuŋ²¹ kluŋ²¹ luʔ⁴⁵ ja⁵¹ tʰu⁴⁵ ləbẽⁱ⁴⁵
Song_Sing top
utmost to
front bird one flat thing
nɔ⁴⁵ kuʔ²¹ ʔə²¹ lo²¹ ʔə²¹ ne⁴⁵
that call 3
speak 3
OK?
"The summit is further ahead," called a bird.
The final two examples in this section show extended uses of
locationals in state eventualities. In (5.23) is an example of an
inchoative state eventuality with the sense of 'to become stinky'. kʰo⁵¹
pʰja³⁴ 'section of the temple or the temple's section' is the Theme
participant. The locational, lə³⁴ pa³⁴ nɔ⁴⁵ 'in that area' cannot be a Goal
participant since this is a state eventuality that is holding. However, it
is not the existance of a Theme at a location that is being asserted.
Rather, it is the state of stinkiness at the temple that is being asserted.12
(5.23) Taokhe 40.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ kʰo⁵¹
pʰja³⁴ lɔŋ²¹ nəU⁵¹ʔɨŋ⁴⁵ tɕʰə³⁴ lə³⁴
?
finish section:part temple down stink
thing at
pa³⁴ nɔ⁴⁵ ʔə²¹ ʔo⁴⁵ bəU⁴⁵ leʔ²¹
area that 3
exist dare NEG
Then, that part of the temple (became) stinky in that area.
He did not dare to stay.
(5.24) is a presentational clause, at the opening of another story in a
series of stories. The existence verb ʔo⁴⁵ 'exist/have' occurs three
times in this example. The first two clauses with ʔo⁴⁵ are in a parallel
relationship and together represent a single eventuality. The eventuality
is a state eventuality which is holding. The thing that is asserted to
exist is a day which is modified by the locational le⁴⁵ pʰja³⁴ 'at the
temple'. Looking at the entire presentational construction, it is a day at
a particular place where the action to come will occur, which begins in
Taokhe 52.
12
Compare the English sentences John is at the temple and It is stinky at the
temple.
Locations
47
(5.24) Taokhe 51.
ʔo⁴⁵ lənᶤĩ²¹ ʔo⁴⁵ le⁴⁵ pʰja³⁴ nɔ⁴⁵ ʔo⁴⁵ jaᶤʔ²¹
exist one day exist at temple that exist already
There was another day at the temple.
Taokhe 52.
ʔo⁴⁵ lənᶤĩ²¹ θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ma²¹laᶤʔ⁴⁵ taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹
have one day monk
order
Taokhe
ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ lənᶤĩ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ ɕa⁴⁵dõ²¹mɨŋ³⁴ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ luʔ⁴⁵
tomorrow one day that North_Star
ascend to
ta²¹
kʰᶤĩ⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵ kuʔ²¹ jə²¹ ʔɔ⁵¹ tʰuŋ²¹ kʰa⁵¹
sugar_palm on
that call 1s OK reach time
tɕʰəpʰɔŋ²¹tʰɔŋ⁴⁵
nɔ⁴⁵
early_morning_hours that
One day the monk instructed Taokhe, "Tomorrow, when the
North Star is over the sugar palm, call me at dawn."
5.2.3
Location adverbials
Location adverbials, in the WCT Pwo data, occur much less frequently
than Goal participants and existence locationals. To distinguish
location adverbials from both Goal participants and existence
locationals, the analyst must keep in mind that location adverbials
provide the setting for the eventuality.
In (5.25), the main clause is laⁱʔ⁴⁵ tʰəU²¹ luʔ⁴⁵ ʔu²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ 'a hawk was
flying yonder'. Looking at this eventuality, it is a process eventuality,
so it is holding and the hawk is an Agent-Theme participant. The
locational luʔ⁴⁵ ʔu²¹ 'yonder' is not a Goal participant, since there is no
sense of an endpoint to this process eventuality. It is also not an
existence locational since this is a process, not a state eventuality.
Therefore, the locational is providing location adverbial information
about the process-event of flying.
48
Handbook on adverbials
(5.25) Taokhe 102.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵ ju³⁴
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ laⁱʔ⁴⁵
?
finish that monk
that look_at up
hawk
tʰəU²¹ luʔ⁴⁵ ʔu²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ kru⁵¹ kru⁵¹ kru⁵¹
fly to
yonder that "sound" "sound" "sound"
When the monk looked up, a hawk was flying yonder. "Kru!
Kru! Kru!"
5.3
Summary
In order to accurately identify location adverbials it is necessary to be
able to distinguish the various functions of locationals. In this chapter,
three functions of locationals have been presented for both English and
WCT Pwo. These locational functions are Goal participants, existence
locationals and location adverbials. Goal participants occur within
event eventualities that culminate; existence locationals occur within
state eventualities that are holding, coded as predicate locatives; and
location adverbials occur with event eventualities carrying no thematic
role, providing the setting within which the eventuality takes place. As
well, a locational can modify noun heads within noun phrases,
specifying locational information about the noun it is modifying.
As for coding strategies, in English, locationals can be coded as
prepositional phrases, e.g. in the house, noun phrases, e.g. home,
demonstrative pronouns, e.g. here and clauses, e.g. where the children
play. In the WCT Pwo data, locationals are coded as noun phrases or
prepositional phrases with either a noun phrase or a possessive noun
phrase as the object of the preposition. Demonstratives can also serve
as objects of prepositions.
6
Time
Time adverbials provide information about the temporal aspects of an
event, i.e. the temporal setting. More specifically, time expressions
code the sense of 'when', 'after', 'before', simultaneity, and duration in
relation to the eventuality they modify. The discussion will begin with
time adverbial coding for 'when' adverbials in 6.1 followed by 'after'
adverbials in 6.2, 'before' adverbials in 6.3, 'while' adverbials in 6.4
and duration adverbials in 6.5.
6.1
The coding of 'when' time adverbials
'When' time adverbials pinpoint the time at which an eventuality takes
place.
6.1.1
'When' time adverbials in English
'When' time adverbials, in English, take the form of single words,
phrases or clauses. Givón (2001, 92) lists single-word time adverbials
coding the time at which an eventuality occurs. Some of these are
reproduced in (6.1).
(6.1) a) Yesterday, it rained.
It rained yesterday.
*It yesterday rained.
b) Wednesday, she left.
She left Wednesday.
*She Wednesday left.
49
50
Handbook on adverbials
c) Soon, it will be Spring.
It will be Spring soon.
It soon will be Spring.
It will soon be Spring.
The first and second examples in a) – c) show that it is possible for
the time adverbials in (6.1) to occur before and after the clause they
are modifying. However, pre-clausal and post-clausal positions do not
have the same meaning. Time adverbials that precede the clause are in
focus, while time adverbials that follow the clause seem to merely
provide information on the time of the event. Note, also, that except
for the third example in c) it is not possible to insert the time adverbial
after the subject and before the predicate. This seems to be
characteristic of particular adverbs and needs further investigation.
Time adverbials coded by prepositional phrases with a 'when' sense
also occur in English. These are presented in (6.2). As with the singleword time adverbials in (6.1) the adverbial can precede and follow the
clause, but it cannot be inserted between the subject and the predicate.
(6.2) a) We are leaving at daybreak.
At daybreak, we are leaving.
*We at daybreak are leaving.
b) I'll write the paper in the morning.
In the morning, I'll write the paper.
*I'll in the morning write the paper.
c) The train is leaving at 4:00 o'clock.
At 4:00 o'clock the train is leaving.
*The train at 4:00 o'clock is leaving.
'When' time adverbials can also be coded by noun phrases. As with
both single-word and prepositional phrase time adverbials in (6.1) and
(6.2), the two positions in which noun phrase time adverbials can
felicitously occur are before or after the clause.
Time
51
(6.3) a) We saw them the following week.
The following week, we saw them.
*We the following week saw them.
b) They left that night.
That night, they left.
*They that night left.
c) This year, I am reading 'Pride and Prejudice'.
I am reading 'Pride and Prejudice' this year.
*I this year am reading 'Pride and Prejudice'.
*I am this year reading 'Pride and Prejudice'.
d) The election will take place next Tuesday.
Next Tuesday, the election will take place.
*The election next Tuesday will take place.
Finally, time adverbials with a 'when' sense can be coded by
adverbial clauses. Some of the examples in (6.4) are reproduced from
Givón (2001, 92). Time adverbial clauses occur before or after the
main clause. As with other time adverbials, when the time adverbial
precedes the main clause, the focus is on timing of the eventuality; the
focus is on the eventuality when the time adverbial follows the main
clause.
(6.4) a) When my brother comes back, we'll see what we can do.
We'll see what we can do when my brother comes back.
b) Upon her return from the city, she rented a house.
She rented a house upon her return from the city.
c) When she could not keep her eyes open, she went to bed.
She went to bed when she could not keep her eyes open.
6.1.2
'When' time adverbials in WCT Pwo
In WCT Pwo, 'when' time adverbials take the form of single words,
noun phrases, classifier phrases, prepositional phrases and adverbial
clauses. The discussion will begin with single-word time adverbials.
52
Handbook on adverbials
Single-word time adverbials occur preceding the clause in the data,
as illustrated in (6.5), where the time adverbial mɨŋ³⁴tʰəU⁴⁵ 'noon'
precedes the clause ɰe⁵¹tʰaⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ mi²¹ 'return (to) eat rice'.
(6.5)
Tiger Skin 2.
mɨŋ³⁴tʰəU⁴⁵ ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ mi²¹
noon
return
eat cooked_rice
At noon (they) went back to eat.
The pre-clausal time adverbial position can be preceded by a
vocative as shown in (6.6) where the vocative taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ 'Taokhe'
precedes the time adverbial ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ 'tomorrow'.
(6.6)
Taokhe 33.
taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ jə²¹ ʔo⁴⁵ tʰãⁱ²¹ pʰja³⁴
Taokhe
tomorrow 1s exist back temple
Taokhe, tomorrow I will stay at the temple."
Two single-word time adverbials occur together in (6.7) where
tɕʰəpʰɔŋ²¹ 'brightness' and ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ 'tomorrow' precede the clause.
(6.7)
Mueng Nong Nwe 92.
tɕʰəpʰɔŋ²¹ ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ li²¹ lo⁵¹
brightness tomorrow go !!
At daybreak, tomorrow, (I) will go!
In some cases, a single-word adverbial occurs with nɔ⁴⁵, which is
the form of the medial demonstrative, as in (6.8). However, it does not
seem to be functioning as a demonstrative in this context. Instead, it
seems to be signaling the topicalization of the time adverbial
ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ 'tomorrow'.
Time
(6.8)
53
Taokhe 32.
ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ ba⁴⁵ tʰãⁱ²¹ nə²¹ li²¹
tomorrow that must go
2s go
duʔ²¹mi²¹
receive_food_offerings
Tomorrow, you must go and receive food offerings.
In (6.9), the vocative mɨŋ³⁴kjaⁱʔ²¹ 'abbot' precedes the time adverbial
ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵, which precedes the clause.
(6.9)
Taokhe 98.
mɨŋ³⁴kjaⁱʔ²¹ ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ ju³⁴ jə²¹ hɔ⁵¹
abbot
tomorrow that watch 1s OK?
"Tomorrow, Eminence, watch me, OK?"
Finally, taʔ⁴⁵ is a morpheme that codes the sense of a point in time;
'at that time', 'just then'. This morpheme is demonstrated in (6.10)
where it indicates the point at which a stove-surface insect comes up
and speaks to the person who has just drained the rice water into the
stove surface in Tiger Skin 30. taʔ⁴⁵ also serves to connect the
appearance of the stove-surface insect in Tiger Skin 31 with the
draining of the water. taʔ⁴⁵ occurs preceding the clause.
(6.10) Tiger Skin 30.
ʔə²¹ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵pʰuŋ⁵¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ mi²¹
nɔ⁴⁵ buŋ²¹
3
?
?
prepare_rice eat cooked_rice that drain
lɔŋ²¹ mi²¹tʰᶤĩ⁵¹ lə³⁴ pʰəU⁵¹kʰla⁴⁵ pʰəU²¹
down rice water at stove_surface inside
She prepared the rice and drained it into the stove.
54
Handbook on adverbials
Tiger Skin 31.
taʔ⁴⁵
pʰəU⁵¹kʰla⁴⁵xa³⁴
ɰe⁵¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ lo²¹
just then stove surface insect come up
speak
"
dɔʔ²¹
kətɕʰa³⁴kloŋ²¹ ʔe⁴⁵ nə²¹ ɰe⁵¹ ʔo⁴⁵
more
god
EXCL 2s come have
ba⁴⁵
touch
ma²¹
do
le²¹ tʰuŋ²¹ jo²¹
QUES reach this
Just then, a stove surface insect came up and said, "For
goodness sake! What are you doing here?"
The pre-clausal position of taʔ⁴⁵ is also illustrated in (6.11) where,
again, taʔ⁴⁵ indicates both a point in time and connects the event of the
crow not being able to fly with the girl in the second clause to picking
up the girl in the first clause.
(6.11) Tiger Skin 37.
klaʔ²¹ prɨŋ⁴⁵
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ ʔə²¹ taʔ⁴⁵
juŋ²¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵
crow carry_in_arms up
3
At_that_time fly up
ni³⁴ ʔə²¹ ni³⁴ ʔeʔ⁴⁵ na²¹
get 3
able NEG so
The crow picked her up, but, at that time, was unable to fly
with her.
(6.12) shows that taʔ⁴⁵ is positioned pre-clausally, but is preceded
by an interjection ʔə⁴⁵. In (6.13), taʔ⁴⁵ is preceded by the conjunction
phrase ʔe⁴⁵ɰuŋ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ 'having finished'. taʔ⁴⁵ is not part of the
conjunction phrase, since a pause occurs between the conjunction
phrase and taʔ⁴⁵. Rather, taʔ⁴⁵ is at the beginning of the the clause,
taʔ⁴⁵ kʰlaᶤʔ⁴⁵ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵…
Time
55
(6.12)Mueng Nong Nwe 74.
ʔə⁴⁵ taʔ⁴⁵
θɔŋ⁵¹θᶤĩ⁴⁵ pʰu⁴⁵ θɔŋ⁵¹θᶤĩ⁴⁵ ʔi⁴⁵ʔəU²¹
EXCL right then Song_Sing little Song_Sing 'filler'
θɔŋ⁵¹θᶤĩ⁴⁵ wo²¹ θɔŋ⁵¹θᶤĩ⁴⁵ wo²¹ tɕuŋ²¹
Song_Sing red Song_Sing red top
"Oh!” Right then, “Little Song Sing, Red Song Sing, Red
Song Sing."
(6.13) Taokhe 119.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ taʔ⁴⁵
kʰlaᶤʔ⁴⁵
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ de³⁴
?
finish that At_that_time cover; put_on up
with
kʰlẽⁱ⁴⁵tɕʰuŋ⁵¹
ʔəmi³⁴ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ de³⁴
rice_mortar_pestle tail
ascend with
tɕʰəmuŋ³⁴θa⁴⁵
rice_mortar_pestle_head
Having finished, right then, (he) attached (the winnowing
tray "wings") to the arm [lit. tail] of the rice mortar and the
pestle head.
WCT Pwo employs several types of phrases to code 'when' time
adverbials. These include noun phrases, classifier phrases and
prepositional phrases. Beginning with noun phrases, in (6.14), the noun
head mɨŋ³⁴ 'day' is modified by the classifier phrase lənᶤi²¹ 'one day'. In
(6.15), is a similarly constructed noun phrase with the noun head
ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ 'tomorrow'.
(6.14) Taokhe 9.
mɨŋ³⁴ lənᶤĩ²¹ θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ mə³⁴ li²¹ duʔ²¹mi²¹
day one day monk
IRR go receive_food_offerings
One day, the monk was going receiving food offerings.
56
Handbook on adverbials
(6.15) Taokhe 96.
ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ lənᶤĩ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ nə²¹ ba⁴⁵
tʰam³³tʰoot⁵¹
tomorrow one day that 2s experience punish
jaᶤʔ²¹
already
Tomorrow, you will be punished already.
Another modifier in a noun phrase is the proximal demonstrative
jo²¹ 'this'. In (6.16), it modifies the noun bəU³⁴ 'moment' to form the
time adverbial bəU³⁴ jo²¹ 'this moment'.
(6.16) Taokhe 57.
jə²¹ mᶤĩ⁵¹
bəU³⁴
jo²¹ lɔ⁵¹
1s lie_down; sleep moment this !!
I've slept this moment."
The most common 'when' time adverbial in the form of a classifier
phrase is (lə) tʰᶤi⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ 'that time/that one time'.13 Its use is
demonstrated in (6.17) where it occurs in the first clause following the
verb ɰe⁵¹ 'come'.
(6.17) Tiger Skin 70.
ɰe⁵¹ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ kʰãⁱ²¹ɕuŋ⁴⁵ ləɰo²¹
nɔ⁴⁵
come time that marry
one morning that
(They) came that time to marry that morning.
In (6.18), tʰᶤi⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ is part of the conjunction phrase ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹
tʰᶤi⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵.
(6.18) Mueng Nong Nwe 65.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ ɰe⁵¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ pʰo³⁴ na²¹
?
finish time that come up
?
so
In the end (lit. having finished that time), the eel came up.
13
About the only time the distal demonstrative nɔ⁴⁵ functions as a
demonstrative is in time classifier phrase adverbials.
Time
57
In (6.19), (lə) tʰᶤi⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ occurs at the end of the two clauses in a
sequenced, parallel relationship.
(6.19) Mueng Nong Nwe 68.
li²¹ dɔŋ⁴⁵ tʰẽⁱ²¹tʰõ²¹ bɔŋ²¹ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ tʰiʔ⁴⁵ θəU²¹ kaᶤʔ²¹
go hack eel
yellow time that break three length
lətʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵
one time that
(He) went and hacked the yellow eel that time (and) broke
(it) into three pieces that one time.
Using the negated and reduplicated classifier phrase, tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ leʔ²¹
'at no time', it is possible to assert that a circumstance always occurs.
In (6.20), Mueng Nong Nwe 14, it would appear that the WCT Pwo is
communicating that there was never a yellow eel in the fishnet;
however, we know that the yellow eel always stuck to the net because
of Mueng Nong Nwe 15.
(6.20) Mueng Nong Nwe 14.
ʔɔŋ⁴⁵we³⁴
tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ leʔ²¹ ju³⁴
lɔŋ²¹ tʰẽⁱ²¹tʰõ²¹
scoop_up_fish time time NEG look_at down eel
bɔŋ²¹ ləbuŋ²¹
nɔ⁴⁵ na²¹
yellow one long thing that so
There was no time when she scooped up fish and looked in
her net, that there was not a yellow eel.
Mueng Nong Nwe 15.
tʰuŋ²¹ ʔə²¹ ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ lətɕʰɔŋ⁵¹ tʰẽⁱ²¹tʰõ²¹ bɔŋ²¹
reach 3
return
one period eel
yellow
ləbuŋ²¹
lo⁵¹ ba⁴⁵
ʔəwẽⁱ²¹
one long thing !! stick_to her fishnet
The entire time, until she returned (home), the yellow eel
stuck to the net.
58
Handbook on adverbials
'When' time adverbials in the form of prepositional phrases also
occur in WCT Pwo. In (6.21), the preposition lə³⁴ 'at' is the head with
its object ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ 'tomorrow'.
(6.21) Taokhe 76.
lə³⁴ ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ mə³⁴ ɰe⁵¹
at tomorrow that monk
IRR come
duʔ²¹mi²¹
receive_food_offerings
"Tomorrow, the monk will come to receive offerings.
In (6.22), the head of the phrase is the preposition tʰuŋ²¹ 'reach'.
tʰuŋ²¹ combines with the noun phrase kʰa⁵¹ tɕʰəpʰɔŋ²¹tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ 'time of
the early morning hours' where the noun head, kʰa⁵¹, is further
specified by the nominalized form tɕʰəpʰɔŋ²¹tʰɔŋ⁴⁵.
(6.22) Taokhe 52.
kuʔ²¹ jə²¹ ʔɔ⁵¹ tʰuŋ²¹ kʰa⁵¹ tɕʰəpʰɔŋ²¹tʰɔŋ⁴⁵
nɔ⁴⁵
call 1s OK reach time early_morning_hours that
“Call me at dawn."
The preposition baᶤʔ²¹ 'near' heads the prepositional phrases in
(6.23) and (6.24). In (6.23), the noun phrase object is mɨŋ³⁴miʔ⁴⁵tʰəŋ⁴⁵
'noon'. In (6.24), the noun phrase object is the nominalized form
tɕʰə³⁴mɨŋ³⁴kʰaⁱʔ²¹ 'evening'
(6.23) Taokhe 100.
baᶤʔ²¹ mɨŋ³⁴miʔ⁴⁵tʰəŋ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ nə²¹ ʔo⁴⁵ pʰja³⁴ nɔ⁴⁵ nə²¹
near noon
that 2s exist temple that 2s
ju³⁴ jə²¹ hɔ⁵¹
watch 1s OK?
Near noon, you will be at the temple, so watch me, OK?"
Time
59
(6.24) Taokhe 106.
taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵ baᶤʔ²¹ tɕʰə³⁴ mɨŋ³⁴ kʰaⁱʔ²¹ ʔə²¹ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵
Taokhe
that near thing day dark 3
?
?
ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹
return
As for Taokhe, near evening, he came back.
Finally, 'when' time adverbials can be coded by adverbial clauses.
These are illustrated in (6.25) and (6.26). In WCT Pwo, 'when'
adverbial clauses do not have a subordinate clause marker. Rather,
temporal sequencing plays a major role in identifying the function of
temporal clauses. In (6.25), the adverbial clause is tɕʰəpʰɔŋ²¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵
'day broke' with the verb tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ 'ascend'. The adverbial clause is
preceded by the sequencing phrase ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ with a meaning
something like 'having finished' which refers back to the previous
clause, Mueng Nong Nwe 96. The linking of the 'going' with
'daybreak' seems to be communicated by such things as the verb tʰɔŋ⁴⁵
and the emphasis marker lo⁵¹, which includes in its meaning a sense of
immediacy, making the adverbial clause more of a 'when' clause than
an 'after' clause.
(6.25) Mueng Nong Nwe 96.
ʔa⁴⁵ li²¹ taⁱʔ²¹ taⁱʔ²¹ lo⁵¹ ʔəpʰu⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ lo²¹
Oh! go around around !! child that speak
"I will go and look around," the child said.
Mueng Nong Nwe 97.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ tɕʰəpʰɔŋ²¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ li²¹ lo⁵¹ de³⁴ pʰu⁴⁵ de³⁴
?
finish brightness up
go !! with child with
pʰa³⁴
father
Then, when day broke, the father and the child went.
Again, in (6.26), the discourse context plays an important part in the
interpretation of the adverbial clause kuʔ²¹ laⁱʔ⁴⁵ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ 'called a
60
Handbook on adverbials
hawk that time'. An unexpressed participant has been told to call a
hawk in Tiger Skin 39. As a result of calling a hawk, the hawk comes
and picks up the participant. The action of the picking up by a hawk is
a direct result of calling the hawk. Therefore, the adverbial clause has
a sense of 'when'. This sense is bolstered through the use of the
temporal adverbial tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ 'that time'.14
(6.26) Tiger Skin 39.
kuʔ²¹ ni³⁴ laⁱʔ⁴⁵ dɔʔ²¹
call get hawk more
"Call a hawk."
Tiger Skin 40.
kuʔ²¹ laⁱʔ⁴⁵ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ laⁱʔ⁴⁵ ɰe⁵¹ prɨŋ⁴⁵
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵
call hawk time that hawk come carry_in_arms up
nɔ⁴⁵
that
When (she) called a hawk that time, (it) came and picked
her up in its arms.
6.2
The coding of 'after' time adverbials
'After' time adverbials code an eventuality that occurs before the
eventuality in the main clause.
6.2.1
'After' time adverbials in English
'When' and 'after' time adverbial clauses are not always distinguishable
from each other. For example, both of the sentences in (6.27) are
grammatical. However, a difference between the senses of 'when' and
14
Tiger Skin 40 could just be two clauses with a free translation something like
'then she called a hawk and it came and picked her up in its arms'; however,
the conjunction which has the sense of 'then' is ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹, which is not present.
As for tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ 'that time', it has more of a punctiliar sense as opposed to a
conjunctive sense which would mitigate against a merely sequential
interpretation of the relationship of the two clauses in Tiger Skin 40.
Time
61
'after' is seen with the sentence pair in (6.28), where the main clause is
progressive past tense. With 'when' (6.28a) is grammatical, however
with 'after', in (6.28b), the progressive past tense clause is
ungrammatical. To make it grammatical, the main clause would have
to be in the simple past, as in after he called, I made cookies.
(6.27) a) When she died, I was bereft.
b) After she died, I was bereft.
(6.28) a) When he called, I was making cookies.
b) *After he called, I was making cookies.
Prepositional phrases can also code 'after' time adverbials. This is
illustrated in (6.29) where the time adverbial occurs, felicitously,
preceding and following the main clause. Note that with c), the
preposition 'after' is not the only preposition that can head an 'after'
adverbial.
(6.29) a) After dark, they left.
They left after dark.
*They, after dark, left.
b) After the show, they went for coffee.
They went for coffee after the show.
*They, after the show, went for coffee.
c) In/After two months we'll let you know.
We'll let you know in/after two months.
*We'll, in/after two months, let you know.
*We'll let in/after two months you know.
Finally, unlike 'after' adverbial clauses where the preceding
eventuality is expressed, single-word adverbials refer to an eventuality
that is not expressed which preceded the eventuality coded by the main
clause. In this sense these adverbials serve as conjunctions. They are
presented in (6.30).
(6.30) a) Afterward, we went home.
We went home afterward.
62
Handbook on adverbials
b) Thereafter, we always remembered to lock the doors.
We always remembered to lock the doors thereafter.
6.2.2
'After' time adverbials in WCT Pwo
WCT Pwo seems to have two types of 'after' adverbial clauses. One
contains the verbal form (ʔe⁴⁵) ɰuŋ²¹ 'finish/to the finish' and another
type that has no overt indication of “finishing”.15 In adverbial clauses
with (ʔe⁴⁵) ɰuŋ²¹, it occurs between the object participant and any
clause-final particles. This is illustrated in (6.31) where the adverbial
clause pʰiʔ⁴⁵ nɔŋ⁴⁵ ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ has a translation something like
'weed the grass so that it is finished'. The use of (ʔe⁴⁵) ɰuŋ²¹
emphasizes the culmination of the first eventuality, coded by the
adverbial clause, before the start of the eventuality coded by the main
clause, which gives the sense of the main clause eventuality occurring
after the adverbial clause.
(6.31) Tiger Skin 5.
pʰiʔ⁴⁵
nɔŋ⁴⁵ ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ paʔ²¹
ke³⁴ wa²¹
weed:hoe grass ?
finish that do; make be husband
θi⁴⁵ ma²¹ lɔ⁵¹ lo²¹ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵
able do !! speak ?
?
After he has finished cutting the grass, I can make him my
husband," (she) said.
In (6.32), only ɰuŋ²¹ occurs in the adverbial clause ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ka²¹ ni³⁴
we⁵¹ da⁴⁵ ʔəpʰaⁱʔ²¹ ɰuŋ²¹ 'finishing skinning the skins'.
15
One means of identifying adverbial clauses, in WCT Pwo, is the tail-head
linkage, whereby, in the initial clause, an eventuality is asserted; then in the
next clause the eventuality is repeated prior to the next independent clause.
This pattern can be seen in (6.33).
Time
63
(6.32) Tiger Skin 75.
ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ka²¹ ni³⁴ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵ ʔəpʰaⁱʔ²¹ ɰuŋ²¹ tɕʰəU²¹
skin
take ?
?
skin
finish dry_in_the_sun
we⁵¹ da⁴⁵ tʰuŋ²¹ ʔəxãⁱ⁵¹
?
?
reach dryness
After (they) finished skinning the tigers, (they) dried the
skins in the sun until (they) were dry.
The remaining examples do not have any overt marking; however,
temporal sequencing plays a role. In (6.33), the adverbial clause, tʰɔŋ⁴⁵
tɕuŋ²¹ luʔ⁴⁵ ta²¹ kʰᶤĩ⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵, in Taokhe 54, is a repeat of the eventuality
of lighting a candle on top of a sugar palm in Taokhe 53. In order for
Taokhe to carry out the next eventuality of calling the monk, he must
come back down from the top of the sugar palm. Thus, the sense of
'after' in relating the adverbial clause to the following main clause in
Taokhe 54.
(6.33) Taokhe 53.
taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ma²¹ni³⁴ pənãⁱ⁵¹ ləbuŋ²¹
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵
Taokhe
take
candle one long thing ascend
tɕuŋ²¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ luʔ⁴⁵ ta²¹
kʰᶤĩ⁵¹
light up
to
sugar_palm on
Taokhe took a candle to the top of the sugar palm and lit it.
Taokhe 54.
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ tɕuŋ²¹ luʔ⁴⁵ ta²¹
kʰᶤĩ⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵ ʔə²¹ we⁵¹
ascend light to
sugar_palm on
that 3
?
tʰãⁱ²¹ kuʔ²¹ θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵ na²¹
return call monk
that so
After he had lit the candle on top of the sugar palm, he went
back and called the monk.
For comparison, look at (6.34), where it is ambiguous as to whether
the eventuality of climbing to the top of the sugar palm, coded by the
64
Handbook on adverbials
adverbial clause, occurs during, before or at the time of the eventuality
of binding up the winnowing trays, coded by the main clause.
(6.34) Taokhe 117.
tɕʰəpʰɔŋ²¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ ba⁴⁵ kʰa⁵¹ jaᶤʔ²¹ mɨŋ³⁴kjaⁱʔ²¹ jo²¹
brightness ascend touch time already abbot
this
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ luʔ⁴⁵ ta²¹
kʰᶤĩ⁵¹ ʔu²¹
ascend to
sugar_palm on
yonder
At daybreak when it was time, the abbot climbed up to the
top of the sugar palm.
Taokhe 118.
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ ta²¹
kʰᶤĩ⁵¹ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ kaʔ²¹
ascend sugar_palm on
time that Taokhe
bind
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ ʔədaⁱʔ²¹ kʰle²¹
kʰo⁵¹
bẽⁱ⁴⁵
up
wing
winnowing_tray section:part flat_things
kʰo⁵¹
bẽⁱ⁴⁵
section:part flat_things
When the abbot climbed the sugar palm that time, Taokhe
made the winnowing trays into wings, one for each side.
Another way in which the sense of 'after' can be conveyed is with
time classifier phrases, following the predicate, which express
duration. In (6.35), the conjoined classifier phrases ləθɔŋ⁵¹ nᶤi²¹ θɔŋ⁵¹
'one or two nights' express the amount of time the husband had been
gone. It was after the husband had been gone one or two nights, as
coded by the adverbial clause, that the female friend invited the wife to
go fishing.
Time
65
(6.35) Mueng Nong Nwe 7.
ʔəwa²¹ li²¹ tʰələU⁵¹ ləθɔŋ⁵¹ nᶤĩ²¹ θɔŋ⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵ ʔə²¹ we⁵¹
husband go gone one night two night that 3
?
da⁴⁵ ʔəwɔŋ²¹pʰɔŋ³⁴ mɨŋ⁴⁵ ləɰa²¹
nɔ⁴⁵ ɰe⁵¹
?
friend(s)
female one person that come
ʔɔŋ⁴⁵tɕaʔ²¹ ʔə²¹ na⁵¹ li²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵we³⁴
ʔɔŋ⁴⁵
invite
3
?
go scoop_up_fish acquire
After the husband had been gone one or two nights, a friend
of the wife came and invited her to go net fish.
Finally, (6.36) provides two examples of adverbials with a sense of
'after'. In Tiger Skin 61, ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ jaⁱʔ⁴⁵ ʔeʔ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵, with the negated
attributive verb, jaⁱʔ⁴⁵ 'long' could be considered to be an adverbial
clause due to the verb; however, there are not really any participants.
This would bring an adverbial clause interpretation into question. So
for now, ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ jaⁱʔ⁴⁵ ʔeʔ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵, with the sense of 'not long after',
will be called an adverbial phrase. Then, in Tiger Skin 62, jaⁱʔ⁴⁵ 'long'
is reduplicated, jaⁱʔ⁴⁵jaⁱʔ⁴⁵, which also has the sense of 'not long after
or momentarily'.
(6.36) Tiger Skin 61.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ jaⁱʔ⁴⁵ ʔeʔ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ kʰi⁵¹ɕa²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ tɕʰuŋ³⁴ tʰãⁱ²¹
?
finish long NEG that tiger
that follow go
ʔə²¹ nɔ⁴⁵
3
that
Not long after, the tiger followed after her.
Tiger Skin 62.
jaⁱʔ⁴⁵jaⁱʔ⁴⁵ da⁴⁵ nᶤĩ⁴⁵ ləkaᶤʔ²¹
da⁴⁵ tʰãⁱ²¹ ɕẽⁱ²¹ɕɔŋ⁵¹
momentarily see patung one length see to
shirt
ləbẽⁱ⁴⁵
one flat thing
After a while, (he) saw a tube skirt and a shirt.
66
Handbook on adverbials
6.3
The coding of 'before' adverbials
'Before' time adverbials highlight an eventuality that occurred after the
eventuality coded by the main clause.
6.3.1
'Before' time adverbials in English
'Before' time adverbials can be coded by prepositional phrases and
adverbial clauses. In (6.37), the preposition by could be replaced with
before as in before nightfall.
(6.37) They'll be back by nightfall.
By nightfall, they'll be back.
*They'll by nightfall be back.
In (6.38), the adverbial clause before I saw the princess can either
precede or follow the main clause. The subordinator is before.
(6.38) Before I saw the princess, I saw the queen.
I saw the queen before I saw the princess.
Another construction that, at first glance, might appear to be an
example of a 'before' time adverbial is presented in (6.39). However,
before seems to be functioning as a 'when' time adverbial, placing the
eventuality of seeing the princess at a point before the time of
speaking. Note that before can only occur felicitously at the end of the
clause. If it precedes the clause, the sentence is ungrammatical on its
own, although as a subordinate clause to a main clause it would work
just fine.
(6.39) I've seen the princess before.
*Before I've seen the princess.
6.3.2
'Before' time adverbials in WCT Pwo
In the data, there are only two possible examples of a 'before' adverbial
clause. The first is presented in (6.39). Again, temporal sequencing
seems to be the only means of identifying the function of the adverbial
clause. In Tiger Skin 25, the tiger's intentions are revealed. Then, in
Tiger Skin 26, a repeat of the tiger's intentions, in a tail-head linkage
Time
67
pattern, precedes the tiger's instructions to the girl to stay at the house.
Since the tiger's instructions to the girl could only occur prior to his
going out to seek herbs, we know that the first clause of Tiger Skin 26
is a 'before' adverbial clause.
(6.39) Tiger Skin 25.
tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ ʔə⁴⁵ kʰi⁵¹ɕa²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ mə³⁴ li²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵xɨU⁵¹
time that EXCL tiger
that IRR go seek
ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ tɕʰə³⁴ nəU²¹məU⁵¹ mə³⁴ ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵pʰuŋ⁵¹
acquire thing fragrant IRR return
prepare_rice
ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ tɕʰəmɨŋ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵
eat girl
that
Oh dear! That time, the tiger was going to look for curry
spices and was going to return to prepare the girl to eat.
Tiger Skin 26.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ li²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵xɨU⁵¹ tɕʰə³⁴ nəU²¹məU⁵¹ nə²¹ ʔo⁴⁵ ɰẽⁱ⁴⁵
?
finish go seek
thing fragrant 2s exist house
nɔ⁴⁵
that
Before he went to find herbs, (he said to the girl), "You stay
at the house.”
The example in (6.40) is similar. The 'before' adverbial clause,
stating the eventuality to come, precedes the clause coding the tiger's
instructions which were given before the returning eventuality in the
adverbial clause.
68
Handbook on adverbials
(6.40) Tiger Skin 15.
ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ li²¹ lɔ⁵¹ li²¹ pjaʔ⁴⁵ jə²¹ kʰãⁱ⁵¹ lo²¹
return
time that go !! go follow 1s back speak
we⁵¹ da⁴⁵
?
?
Before (they) returned that time, (the tiger) said, "Follow
my back."
6.4
The coding of 'while' time adverbials
'While' time adverbials code an eventuality that is occurring at the
same time as the eventuality coded by the main clause. In many cases,
the eventuality described by the adverbial clause serves as the setting
for the eventuality described by the main clause.
6.4.1
'While' time adverbials in English
In English, 'while' adverbials take the form of single words,
prepositional phrases or adverbial clauses.
Single word adverbials signalling simultaneous eventualities are
presented in (6.41).
(6.41) a) They bathed the children and drilled them on their
multiplication tables, concurrently.
?Concurrently, they bathed the children and drilled them
on their multiplication tables.
b) She walked and talked, simultaneously.
Simultaneously, she walked and talked.
Prepositional phrases signaling simultaneous eventualities are
presented in (6.42).
(6.42) a) During the movie, she slept.
She slept during the movie.
Time
69
b) She ate and talked at the same time.
?At the same time, she ate and talked.
Adverbial clauses conveying the sense of simultaneity, can be
marked with the subordinator, while. Examples of 'while' adverbial
clauses are presented in (6.43).
(6.43) a) They danced while the band played.
While the band played, they danced.
b) While they were vacationing, their new house was built.
Their new house was built while they were vacationing.
6.4.2
'While' time adverbials in WCT Pwo
In WCT Pwo, simultaneity can be signaled with the marker kʰɨ⁴⁵
'while', which precedes the adverbial clause occurring following the
main clause. This is illustrated in (6.44) where the adverbial clause is
kʰɨ⁴⁵ mɨŋ⁴⁵nɔŋ²¹nwe⁵¹ ʔəwa²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ mi²¹ 'while Mueng Nong
Nwe's husband was eating rice'.
(6.44) Mueng Nong Nwe 52.
ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ kʰɨ⁴⁵ mɨŋ⁴⁵nɔŋ²¹nwe⁵¹ ʔəwa²¹
return
time that while Mueng_Nong_Nwe husband
nɔ⁴⁵ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ mi²¹
ʔa⁴⁵
that eat cooked_rice Oh!
(The eel) came back that time while Mueng Nong Nwe's
husband was eating rice.
When the subordinator, kʰɨ⁴⁵ 'while', is not used, several other
possible means are used for coding simultaneity. In (6.45), it is
possible that the existential me⁴⁵ is used with the clause θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ li²¹
duʔ²¹mi²¹ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ 'the monk went to receive food offerings that time'
to code the simultaneous activity of the monk with the dry rice
roasting activity of another participant, Taokhe.
70
Handbook on adverbials
(6.45) Taokhe 15.
me⁴⁵ θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ li²¹ duʔ²¹mi²¹
tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵
be monk
go receive_food_offerings time that
taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵wiʔ⁴⁵ daⁱʔ²¹ mi²¹
xãⁱ⁵¹ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵
Taokhe
roast
with cooked_rice dry time that
ʔa⁴⁵
jaᶤʔ²¹
many:much already
While the monk was going to receive food offerings,
Taokhe roasted a lot of dry cooked rice.
In (6.46), in the midst of quickly returning home, the eyes of the
participants look up at the top of a tree. As with (6.45), the eventuality
coded by the adverbial clause preceding the main clause is the
eventuality within which the eventuality of the main clause happens.
(6.46) Mueng Nong Nwe 102.
da⁴⁵ wa⁴⁵ dɔʔ²¹ kəruŋ⁵¹ ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ miʔ⁴⁵θa⁴⁵ ju³⁴
see NEG more quickly return
eye
look_at
tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ le⁴⁵ θẽⁱ⁴⁵ kʰᶤĩ⁵¹
up
at tree on
Having not seen (anything) further, while (they) were
hurrying back, their eyes looked up at the top of a tree.
Finally, in (6.47), a parallel construction with ʔo⁴⁵ 'exist/have' is
used to signal simultaneous eventualities. The adverbial clause, ʔəmu³⁴
ʔəpʰa³⁴ ʔo⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ 'the mother and father were there', is coding the
background eventuality to the state of the machine coded by kʰlẽⁱ⁴⁵
θo⁵¹ ʔo⁴⁵ ʔeʔ⁴⁵ 'the loud machine was not there'.
Time
71
(6.47) Tiger Skin 79.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ waⁱʔ⁴⁵ be²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ waⁱʔ⁴⁵ waⁱʔ⁴⁵ ʔəmu³⁴
?
finish spin cotton that spin spin mother
ʔəpʰa³⁴ ʔo⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ kʰlẽⁱ⁴⁵ θo⁵¹ ʔo⁴⁵ ʔeʔ⁴⁵
father exist that machine loud exist NEG
She spun and spun the cotton. While the mother and the
father were there, there was not a loud machine.
6.5
The coding of duration time adverbials
Duration time adverbials, instead of coding a point in time, provide
information as to the amount of time that an eventuality took.
6.5.1
Duration time adverbials in English
Duration time adverbials, in English, are typically coded by noun
phrases and prepositional phrases. These are demonstrated in (6.48).
(6.48) a) Jenna was gone two days.
Two days, Jenna was gone.
*Jenna, two days, was gone.
b) Andy disappeared for a short time.
For a short time, Andy disappeared.
?Andy, for a short time, disappeared.
c) They traveled overnight.
Overnight, they traveled.
*They overnight traveled.
6.5.2
Duration time adverbials in WCT Pwo
Duration time adverbials, in WCT Pwo, are coded by classifier
phrases. In (6.49), the classifier phrase pair, ləθɔŋ⁵¹ nᶤĩ²¹ θɔŋ⁵¹ 'one or
two nights' code information on the duration of the absence of the
husband.
72
Handbook on adverbials
(6.49) Mueng Nong Nwe 7.
ʔəwa²¹ li²¹ tʰələU⁵¹ ləθɔŋ⁵¹ nᶤĩ²¹ θɔŋ⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵ ʔə²¹ we⁵¹
husband go gone one night two night that 3
?
da⁴⁵ ʔəwɔŋ²¹pʰɔŋ³⁴ mɨŋ⁴⁵ ləɰa²¹
nɔ⁴⁵ ɰe⁵¹
?
friend(s)
female one person that come
ʔɔŋ⁴⁵tɕaʔ²¹ ʔə²¹ na⁵¹ li²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵we³⁴
ʔɔŋ⁴⁵
invite
3
?
go scoop_up_fish acquire
The husband was gone one or two days. A friend of the wife
came and invited her to go net fish.
Also, classifier phrases can, themselves, be modified, as in (6.50),
where the classifier phrase duration adverbial, lətɕʰu³⁴ 'a time', is
modified by the attributive verb pʰu⁴⁵ 'little'.
(6.50) Mueng Nong Nwe 58.
ʔaʔ⁴⁵ mɨŋ⁴⁵nɔŋ²¹nwe⁵¹ lɔŋ²¹ ma²¹
tɕʰuʔ⁴⁵jaʔ⁴⁵
EXCL Mueng_Nong_Nwe down want:take silent
lətɕʰu³⁴ pʰu⁴⁵
a time little
Mueng Nong Nwe was silent for a moment (a short time).
Then, in (6.51), the verb, tʰuŋ²¹ combines with the noun phrase
object ʔə²¹ ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ lətɕʰɔŋ⁵¹ 'her return period' coded with a
possessed noun head ʔə²¹ ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ and a classifier phrase lətɕʰɔŋ⁵¹.
(6.51) Mueng Nong Nwe 15.
tʰuŋ²¹ ʔə²¹ ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ lətɕʰɔŋ⁵¹ tʰẽⁱ²¹tʰõ²¹ bɔŋ²¹
reach 3
return
period eel
yellow
ləbuŋ²¹
lo⁵¹ ba⁴⁵
ʔəwẽⁱ²¹
one long thing !! stick_to her fishnet
The entire time, until she returned (home), the yellow eel
stuck to the net.
Time
6.6
73
Summary
This chapter has presented an overview of English and WCT Pwo time
adverbials. 'When' time adverbials pinpoint a time for an eventuality.
This is the most generic of time adverbial types and can be coded by
all the devices available for conveying timing information. For English
these devices are single words, noun phrases, prepositional phrases and
clauses. For WCT Pwo, these devices are single words, noun phrases,
classifier phrases, prepositional phrases and adverbial clauses.
Other time adverbial types include 'after' time adverbials, 'before'
time adverbials, 'while' time adverbials and duration time adverbials.
All of these types of adverbials show less variety in the possible ways
in which they can be coded. For 'after' time adverbials, English
employs single words, prepositional phrases and adverbial clauses,
while WCT Pwo employs only adverbial clauses within the available
data. For 'before' time adverbials, English employs prepositional
phrases and adverbial clauses while WCT Pwo employs adverbial
clauses. Then for 'while' time adverbials, English employs single
words, prepositional phrases and adverbial clauses while WCT Pwo
employs adverbial clauses which may contain markers of existence
such as me⁴⁵ or ʔo⁴⁵ or the subordinator kʰɨ⁴⁵ 'while' which identifies
the eventuality as a background eventuality within which the
eventuality coded by the main clause takes place. Finally, in English,
duration time adverbials can be coded by noun phrases and
prepositional phrases, while WCT Pwo uses classifier phrases to
encode duration time adverbials. The structural devices used to code
both English and WCT Pwo time adverbials are compared in Table 10.
74
Handbook on adverbials
Table 10 Time adverbials in English and WCT Pwo
English
WCT Pwo
Single words
Yes
Yes
Classifier phrases
No
Yes
Noun phrases
Yes
Yes
Prepositional phrases
Yes
Yes
Adverbial clauses
Yes
Yes
Single words
Yes
No
Prepositional phrases
Yes
No
Adverbial clauses
Yes
No
Prepositional phrases
Yes
No
Adverbial clauses
Yes
Yes
Single words
Yes
No
Prepositional phrases
Yes
No
Adverbial clauses
Yes
Yes
'When' adverbials
'After' adverbials
'Before' adverbials
'While' adverbials
Time
English
WCT Pwo
Noun phrases
Yes
No
Prepositional phrases
Yes
No
Classifier phrases
No
Yes
Duration adverbials
75
7
Aspect
While tense marking codes the point in time of an eventuality in
relation to the time of speaking (absolute tense) or another eventuality
(relative tense), aspect codes particular viewpoints on the internal
temporal makeup of an eventuality (Comrie 1976, 3). The major
opposition of aspectual viewpoints is that between Perfective and
Imperfective. Comrie (1976, 21) characterizes Perfective as a
viewpoint that “…involves lack of explicit reference to the internal
temporal constituency…” of an eventuality. Perfective looks at an
eventuality as a “blob” without the internal temporal details in focus.
On the other hand, Imperfective is concerned with the internal
temporal makeup (structure) of the eventuality. Subtypes of
imperfective include habitual and continuous aspects and progressive
and non-progressive aspects.
So, how does all of this relate to aspectual adverbials? Even though
a language has certain aspectual constructions such as the progressive,
e.g. Doug is making a cake, it is also possible to indicate aspect
through the use of aspectual adverbials. This is especially important
for a language like WCT Pwo where there is no verbal morphology.
However, unlike English, the aspectual system of WCT Pwo has yet to
be investigated so that it will not be possible, at this point, to
distinguish aspectual adverbials from an aspectual construction.
The coding of aspect in English in 7.1 and WCT Pwo in 7.2 is
arranged according to a non-exhaustive list of aspectual distinctions
under the categories of Perfective and Imperfective.
7.1
The coding of aspect in English
According to Comrie (1976, 124), English has two aspectual
oppositions: progressive vs. non-progressive and perfect vs. nonperfect. With stative eventualities a progressive construction can have
76
Aspect
77
either a temporary or permanent meaning. For example, Bill is
standing in the garden is a temporary state (progressive), while The
Statue of Liberty is standing in New York Harbor is a permanent state
(non-progressive). This pair of examples serve to highlight the
aspectual meaning subtleties that occur even though the forms are the
same. We will begin the discussion with examples of eventualities
coded with a perfective viewpoint.
7.1.1
Perfective aspects
Perfective aspect includes completive aspect which focuses on the
endpoint of the eventuality, inchoative aspect which focuses on the
entry into a state and ingressive aspect which focuses on the starting
point of an eventuality. Examples of eventualities with completive
aspect are listed in (7.1). In a), completive meaning is communicated
by an expression in past tense where the emphasis is on the completion
of the house-building. In b), completive aspect is more overtly signaled
by the predicate finished which carries completive aspect as part of the
meaning of the verb itself. Another means of signaling completive
aspect in English is through the use of the verbal particle up as in c).
The use of up conveys the sense that Elsie cleaned her plate, whereas,
without the verbal particle, as in Elsie ate her dinner, the plate was not
necessarily cleaned.
(7.1) a) Stu built a house.
b) The chef finished preparing the dessert.
c) Elsie ate up her dinner.
Elsie ate her dinner up.
d) The snow melted already.
The snow already melted.
?Already, the snow melted.
e) He completely decimated their argument.
He decimated their argument completely.
?Completely he decimated their argument.
78
Handbook on adverbials
The aspectual adverbial means of communicating completive aspect
are illustrated with d) and e). In d), the adverb already can be added to
a past-tense construction, which underscores the emphasis on the
endpoint of the melting. Completely, in e), underscores the
completeness of the decimation of the argument. Note that the adverbs
can either felicitously precede the predicate or follow the object
argument, while the verbal particle up either follows the main verb or
occurs after the object argument.
Inchoative aspect, where the viewpoint is on “the coming about of a
state” (Smith 1997, 35) is illustrated in (7.2). The syntactic means of
communicating inchoative aspect in English is shown in a) and b),
where the copula became forms part of the adjectival predicate with
the adjective ill. Then, in b), the copula become connects two noun
phrases. Unfortunately, an adverbial means of communicating
inchoative aspect in English has not yet come to mind.
(7.2) a) John became ill.
b) Caterpillars become butterflies.
Ingressive aspect can be coded through the use of the verbs start and
begin, as in (7.3). In (7.4), possible adverbial means of coding
ingressive aspect are presented, although they are less clear. For
example, (Comrie 1976, 20) suggests that the adverbial suddenly
focuses attention on the inception of the event, as in a) with the state
verb understand. Cinque (1999, 97) suggests that suddenly could be
included with adverbials such as immediately which signals that an
eventuality is very soon to take place. This is sometimes called
“proximative” aspect or “soon” aspect.
(7.3) Amanda started/began singing.
(7.4) a) She suddenly understood.
She understood suddenly.
Suddenly, she understood.
b) The captain immediately stopped the take-off sequence.
Immediately, the captain stopped the take-off sequence.
The captain stopped the take-off sequence immediately.
Aspect
79
7.1.2
Imperfective aspects
With the Imperfective, the viewpoint is of the internal structure of an
eventuality, as opposed to the “blob” viewpoint of the Perfective.
Among the possible imperfective aspects are the habitual, progressive,
continuous and continuative aspects.
Habituality is “…a characteristic feature of a whole period… .” as
opposed to “…an incidental property of the moment…” (Comrie 1976,
28). Habituality may also include a sense of iterativity, although
iterativity is not a required component of habituality. For example,
Amanda sneezed three times is iterative, but not habitual since the
sneezing is an event that occurred in the moment and is not
characteristic of a period. English habitual aspect examples are
presented in (7.5). Habitual aspect in English can be coded in the past
tense by used to, as in a). Then, b), c) and d) provide examples of
aspectual adverbials that communicate habituality. Finally, in e),
habituality is communicated through the use of the time adverbial
every day.
(7.5) a) The gardener used to come in the morning.
b) James regularly forgets to put the lid back on the
toothpaste.
?Regularly, James forgets to put the lid back on the
toothpaste.
James forgets to put the lid back on the toothpaste,
regularly.
c) Janet usually forgets appointments.
Usually, Janet forgets her appointments.
?Janet forgets her appointments, usually.
d) Lucy always dresses up.
Always, Lucy dresses up.
Lucy dresses up, always.
80
Handbook on adverbials
e) Every day she walks to work.
She walks to work every day.
?She walks every day to work.
Continuous aspect is simply action that is continuing.16 This is
illustrated with the examples in (7.6). The English progressive
construction is presented in a) where the progressive is coded by the
verb to be and a verb with the -ing suffix. In b), continuous aspect is
coded by the verb form kept on. Then, in c), continuous aspect is
signalled by the aspectual adverbial on and on.
(7.6) a) The cat is stalking a bird.
b) The dog kept on crying after the children left.
c) We argued on and on.
On and on we argued.
*We on and on argued.
Continuative aspect, while similar to continuous aspect, in that the
eventuality is continuing, highlights the continuing eventuality that
began before the time of speaking. Continuative aspect is coded in
English by the aspectual adverbial still as illustrated in (7.7).
(7.7) I am still waiting.
I am waiting, still.
7.1.3
Quantificational aspects
Quantificational aspect is concerned with signalling the frequency of
the occurrence of an eventuality (Dik 1997, 236). Concepts such as
repetition and iteration are included under the umbrella of
quantificational aspect. Examples are presented in (7.8). As can be
seen in a), quantificational aspect is related to habitual aspect. Both the
sense of habit and frequency are communicated by the adverbial often.
16
The student should be aware that in the literature there is a range of
treatments of concepts of continuousness and progressiveness. Comrie (1976,
32ff.) distinguishes progressive from continuous with the definition that
progressive is non-stative ongoing action while continuousness is ongoing
action without the sense of habituality.
Aspect
81
Examples b) and c) illustrate iterative aspect with the aspectual
adverbial again. Finally, d) illustrates repetitive aspect with the
adverbial seven times.
(7.8) a) She comes here often
She often comes here.
Often she comes here.
b) Christopher lost his toy car again.
c) The child jumped from the couch again and again.
d) Every morning, Helen normally sneezes seven times.
7.2
The coding of aspect in WCT Pwo
In the absence of a comprehensive account of the aspectual coding
system of WCT Pwo, it is only possible to highlight the ways in which
some aspectual distinctions are coded. Whether these strategies would
be analyzed as aspectual constructions, aspectual adverbials or
something else is a question for future analysis. In fact, it appears that
many WCT Pwo aspectual distinctions in the data are signaled by
various particles and devices such as reduplication, not adverbials. The
aspectual distinctions discovered in the WCT Pwo data include the
perfective aspects, completive and inchoative, the imperfective aspects,
continuous and habitual, and quantificational aspects. The discussion
will begin with perfective aspects.
7.2.1
Perfective aspects
Two markers of types of perfective aspect are found in the data. The
first is completive aspect and the second is inchoative aspect.
Completive aspect is signalled through the use of the verb form ɰuŋ²¹
'finish'.17 In (7.9), ɰuŋ²¹ occurs with the verb ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ 'eat', following the
object mi²¹ 'cooked rice'.
17
The presence of the verbal form ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ , as a marker of completive aspect
is one means of identifying 'after' adverbial clauses. See 6.2.2.
82
Handbook on adverbials
(7.9)
Tiger Skin 3.
ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ mi²¹
tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ mi²¹
return
eat cooked_rice time that eat cooked_rice
θe²¹ ɰuŋ²¹ ʔə²¹ tɕaⁱʔ²¹ luʔ⁴⁵θaʔ²¹ tʰəpʰɨŋ³⁴we³⁴ nᶤĩ²¹
?
finish 3
tell
together sibling
two
ɰa²¹
person
Returning to eat rice that time, after they finished eating
rice, they talked together, the two siblings.
(7.10) Mueng Nong Nwe 21.
ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ mi²¹
return
time that return
eat cooked_rice
ʔɔŋ⁴⁵tʰᶤĩ⁵¹ θe²¹ ɰuŋ²¹ tɕʰəkʰaⁱʔ²¹ lɔŋ²¹
ʔə²¹ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵
bathe
?
finish darkness descend 3
?
?
tʰãⁱ²¹ mᶤĩ⁵¹
go
lie_down; sleep
Returning that time, (she) finished returning, eating dinner
and bathing. When darkness descended, she went to bed.
Another form that behaves similarly to ɰuŋ²¹ to indicate completive
aspect is the verb tʰaᶤʔ²¹ 'stop', which is illustrated in (7.11).
(7.11) Tiger Skin 54.
ʔəmu³⁴ ma²¹ təU²¹
tʰaᶤʔ⁴⁵ ʔə²¹ we⁵¹ tɕuʔ²¹ lɔŋ²¹ tɕʰə³⁴
mother do pursue stop 3
?
peck down thing
dɔʔ²¹
again
The mother stopped pursuing. She began pecking again.
The form ɰuŋ²¹ can occur with the marker jaᶤʔ²¹ 'already' as in
(7.12), both of which follow the main verb juŋ⁵¹ 'hit' and the
unexpressed object argument. Then in (7.13), the jaᶤʔ²¹ occurs with
tʰaᶤʔ⁴⁵ 'stop'.
Aspect
83
(7.12) Taokhe 23.
jə²¹ juŋ⁵¹ ɰuŋ²¹ jaᶤʔ²¹ θᶤĩ⁴⁵ jo²¹
1s hit finish already Boy! this
I've already finished hitting it!"
(7.13) Taokhe 129.
tʰaᶤʔ⁴⁵ jaᶤʔ²¹ mə³⁴
stop already Yes?
(I'm) stopping already, OK?
Given (7.12) and (7.13), it seems possible that jaᶤʔ²¹ could be a
marker of completion. However, in (7.14), jaᶤʔ²¹ occurs in conjunction
with the nominalized form tɕʰəkʰaⁱʔ²¹ 'darkness', indicating that it was
already dark. In eventuality terms, states hold, they don't culminate, so
the jaᶤʔ²¹ could not be signalling completion.18 On the other hand, this
could be an instance of inchoative aspect where the jaᶤʔ²¹ marks the
entry into the state of darkness.
(7.14) Mueng Nong Nwe 86.
tʰuŋ²¹ le⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ ʔəpʰu⁴⁵ ɰa²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ ʔo⁴⁵
reach at finish child person that exist
tʰãⁱ²¹
lɔŋ²¹ kʰãⁱ⁵¹ kʰo⁵¹
tɕʰəkʰaⁱʔ²¹
keep; leave; place; put down back section:part darkness
jaᶤʔ²¹
already
Arriving at the finish, her child was at home (back section).
It was dark already.
A possible inchoative meaning for jaᶤʔ²¹ is further supported by
(7.15) where the event of punishing is projected into the future through
the use of the time adverbial ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ lənᶤi²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ 'tomorrow'. The
jaᶤʔ²¹ seems to be signalling the entry into the state of being in line to
experience punishment.
18
The ɰuŋ²¹ in this example is functioning as the object of a preposition which
is not an aspectual use of the form.
84
Handbook on adverbials
(7.15) Taokhe 96.
ke³⁴kʰuʔ⁴⁵ lənᶤĩ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ nə²¹ ba⁴⁵
tʰam³³tʰoot⁵¹
tomorrow one day that 2s experience punish
jaᶤʔ²¹
already
Tomorrow, you will experience punishing.
Another example of projection into the future, this time with the use of
the irrealis marker mə³⁴ is demonstrated in (7.16) where the eventual
state of being eaten by the tiger has begun.
(7.16) Tiger Skin 33.
ʔe⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ me⁴⁵ li²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵xɨU⁵¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ tɕʰə³⁴ nəU²¹məU⁵¹
?
that be go seek
acquire thing fragrant
mə³⁴ ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵pʰuŋ⁵¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ nə²¹ jaᶤʔ²¹
IRR return
prepare_rice eat 2s already
"He has gone to get curry herbs and will return to prepare
you to eat."
Analyzing the eventuality in (7.17), it is a process eventuality with
two participants: mi⁴⁵ʔəU²¹ 'bonfire' and tʰeⁱ²¹tʰo²¹ 'eel'. The eventuality
almost culminates as signalled by the forms laᶤʔ⁴⁵ 'completely' and
ka⁴⁵ 'almost'. So the eel has almost entered the state being completely
burned up.
(7.17) Mueng Nong Nwe 83.
tʰẽⁱ²¹tʰõ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ mi⁴⁵ ʔəU²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ laᶤʔ⁴⁵
ka⁴⁵ jaᶤʔ²¹
eel
that fire pile eat completely almost already
As for the eel, the bonfire [fire pile] had almost completely
burned (it) up.
The function of jaᶤʔ²¹ in the remaining examples, (7.18), (7.19) and
(7.20), is not straightforward. In (7.18), jaᶤʔ²¹ occurs in conjunction
with the quantifying element ʔa⁴⁵ 'many/much'. This is a common Pwo
Karen expression, with the sense of 'enough'. It could be that in an
Aspect
85
inchoative reading that the state of there being enough roasted dry
cooked rice was entered.
(7.18) Taokhe 15.
me⁴⁵ θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ li²¹ duʔ²¹mi²¹
tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵
be monk
go receive_food_offerings time that
taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵wiʔ⁴⁵ daⁱʔ²¹ mi²¹
xãⁱ⁵¹ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵
Taokhe
roast
with cooked_rice dry time that
ʔa⁴⁵
jaᶤʔ²¹
many:much already
When the monk had gone to receive food offerings that
time, Taokhe roasted a lot of dry cooked rice that time.
(7.19) is a series of presentational clauses with the verb ʔo⁴⁵
'have/exist'. First, this example provides further evidence that jaᶤʔ²¹
cannot be a completive marker since this example expresses a state. In
a possible inchoative reading it could be that it became a certain day.
(7.19) Taokhe 51.
ʔo⁴⁵ lənᶤĩ²¹ ʔo⁴⁵ le⁴⁵ pʰja³⁴ nɔ⁴⁵ ʔo⁴⁵ jaᶤʔ²¹
have one day have at temple that exist already
There was another day at the temple.
Finally, in (7.20), the jaᶤʔ²¹ occurs between two pieces marked with
the medial demonstrative form nɔ⁴⁵. The first piece is the first
participant in this process eventuality of perpetuation of the Taokhe
stories. The second piece encompasses the predicate and the
unexpressed participant; the Taokhe stories. A possible explanation it
that the monks are in the state of perpetuating the Taokhe stories.
Looking at the preceding eventuality in (7.21), it is also a process
eventuality which is communicating an actual happening, whereas,
(7.20) seems to be specifying the actual perpetuators of the story.
86
Handbook on adverbials
(7.20) Taokhe 128.
θɔŋ²¹kʰa⁵¹ ʔe⁴⁵nɔ⁴⁵ jaᶤʔ²¹ lo²¹ tɕʰu²¹tʰãⁱ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵
monk
that
already speak perpetuate that
Actually, the monks have perpetuated (it).
(7.21) Taokhe 127.
ɰəpʰloŋ²¹ lo²¹ tɕʰu²¹tʰãⁱ²¹ põ²¹ taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ plãⁱ²¹
Karen
speak perpetuate story Taokhe
tease
kjaⁱʔ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵
monk that
The Karen perpetuate the story about Taokhe teasing the
monks.
Is jaᶤʔ²¹ a verbal particle or an adverbial? From the information we
have, it would appear that jaᶤʔ²¹ could be an adverbial since it does not
seem to be restricted in the position of its occurrence. More typically,
jaᶤʔ²¹ occurs preceding any vocatives at the end of the clause; however,
in (7.14), (7.18) and (7.20) it occurs in conjunction with nonpredicating items such as the subject (7.14, 7.20) and a quantifying
element (7.18).
7.2.2
Imperfective aspects
In the data are examples of eventualities with continuous and habitual
meanings. Continuousness can be signalled simply by the repetition of
the verb as in (7.22) and (7.23). (7.24) demonstrates the repetition of a
predicate with the verb series pʰlãⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ waⁱʔ⁴⁵ 'pick up and eat'.
(7.22) Mueng Nong Nwe 76.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ ʔə²¹ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵ li²¹ dɔʔ²¹ li²¹ li²¹ li²¹ tʰuŋ²¹
?
finish 3
?
?
go again go go go reach
luʔ⁴⁵ θɔŋ⁵¹θᶤĩ⁴⁵ ʔədɔŋ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵
to
Song_Sing top
that
So she went again, walking until she got to the very top of
Song Sing mountain.
Aspect
87
(7.23) Tiger Skin 44.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ li²¹ dɔʔ²¹ tʰãⁱ²¹ tʰãⁱ²¹ tʰãⁱ²¹ tʰuŋ²¹ ʔəɰẽⁱ⁴⁵
?
finish go more return return return reach house
ka⁴⁵ jaᶤʔ²¹
almost already
Then they went again, returning until they were almost to
the house.
(7.24) Taokhe 28.
taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ pʰlãⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ waⁱʔ⁴⁵ pʰlãⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ waⁱʔ⁴⁵
Taokhe
pick_up eat away pick_up eat away
pʰlãⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ waⁱʔ⁴⁵ ʔo⁴⁵xa⁵¹ ləduŋ⁴⁵
daⁱʔ²¹
pick_up eat away remain one mould still
Taokhe ate and ate and ate. There still remained one piece.
Continuative aspect is expressed with daⁱʔ²¹ 'still'. This is illustrated
in (7.27), where, in a state eventuality, the child is asserted to be in a
continuing state of smallness. Unlike the continuousness discussed
above, the continuing signalled by daⁱʔ²¹ has a connection to a
situation previous to the time of the statement.
(7.25) Mueng Nong Nwe 98.
ʔəpʰu⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ me⁴⁵ tɕʰə³⁴ pi⁵¹ daⁱʔ²¹ laᶤʔ⁴⁵
dɔʔ²¹
child that be thing small still completely more
The child was still very small, also.
The two other examples of daⁱʔ²¹ in the data are found in (7.26) and
(7.27). (7.26) shows that daⁱʔ²¹ follows the object and (7.27) shows
that daⁱʔ²¹ occurs in the position preceding clause-final markers such
as dɔʔ²¹ 'more, again'.
88
Handbook on adverbials
(7.26) Taokhe 28.
taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ pʰlãⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ waⁱʔ⁴⁵ pʰlãⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ waⁱʔ⁴⁵
Taokhe
pick_up eat away pick_up eat away
pʰlãⁱ²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ waⁱʔ⁴⁵ ʔo⁴⁵xa⁵¹ ləduŋ⁴⁵
daⁱʔ²¹
pick_up eat away remain one mould still
Taokhe ate and ate until there was still one piece remaining.
(7.27) Taokhe 71.
paʔ²¹pʰɔŋ⁵¹mɨŋ⁴⁵ təkwa⁴⁵mɨŋ³⁴ daⁱʔ²¹ lo⁵¹ θᶤĩ⁴⁵ jo²¹
midnight
past_midnight still !! Boy! this
It was still past the midnight!
Finally, the marker kjɔŋ²¹ is used to signal habitual aspect. This is
demonstrated in (7.28) where it occurs after the object argument and
before the intensifier, a clause-final element.
(7.28) Taokhe 5.
ɰəpʰloŋ²¹ lo²¹tʰãⁱ²¹ taᶤʔ⁴⁵kʰe⁵¹ nɔ⁴⁵ plãⁱ²¹ kjaⁱʔ²¹ kjɔŋ²¹
person
tell
Taokhe
that tease monk used to
kɨU³⁴
INTENS
People say that Taokhe used to really tease the monks.
Habitual aspect can also be signalled through the use of a classifier
phrase. In (7.29), the classifier phrase is repeated with an intensifier to
accentuate the habitual quality of the eventuality. In (7.30), the
habitual quality of the eventuality is emphasized with two intensifiers.
(7.29) Mueng Nong Nwe 38.
kuʔ⁴⁵ ɰa⁴⁵ diʔ²¹ kuʔ⁴⁵ ɰa⁴⁵ diʔ²¹ tɕʰəkʰaⁱʔ²¹ lɔŋ²¹
every evening so every evening so darkness down
taʔ⁴⁵
ɰe⁵¹ lo⁵¹
just_when come !!
Every evening, just when darkness fell, he came!
Aspect
89
(7.30) Tiger Skin 82.
ru⁴⁵
ru⁴⁵
raⁱʔ⁴⁵ nə²¹ pʰaⁱʔ²¹ ke³⁴ jə²¹ pʰaⁱʔ²¹
"sound" "sound" "sound" 2s skin be 1s skin
nə²¹ pʰaⁱʔ²¹ ke³⁴ jə²¹ pʰaⁱʔ²¹ kuʔ⁴⁵ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ di⁴⁵na²¹
2s skin be 1s skin every time indeed
"Ru ru rai your skin is my skin, your skin is my skin!"
every time.
7.2.3
Quantificational aspects
Quantificational aspect is signalled in a number of ways in WCT Pwo.
The primary repetitive form is dɔʔ²¹ 'again'. This is illustrated in (7.31)
and (7.32) where dɔʔ²¹ occurs as the final element in the clause.
(7.31) Mueng Nong Nwe 13.
ʔə²¹ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵ blaⁱʔ²¹
tʰəluŋ³⁴ kʰwaⁱʔ⁴⁵
3
?
?
shake_off discard throw_overhand
ʔɔŋ⁴⁵we³⁴
dɔʔ²¹
scoop_up_fish again
She threw it away and fished again.
(7.32) Tiger Skin 54.
ʔəmu³⁴ ma²¹ təU²¹
tʰaᶤʔ⁴⁵ ʔə²¹ we⁵¹ tɕuʔ²¹ lɔŋ²¹ tɕʰə³⁴
mother do pursue stop 3
?
peck down thing
dɔʔ²¹
again
The mother stopped pursuing. She pecked again.
In (7.33), an allomorph of dɔʔ²¹ appears with high tone preceding
the emphasis marker na²¹, signalling a repetition of the eventuality.
90
Handbook on adverbials
(7.33) Mueng Nong Nwe 27.
ʔə²¹ we⁵¹ da⁴⁵ kuʔ²¹ dɔ⁴⁵ na²¹
3
?
?
call again so
It called again!
dɔʔ²¹ has several extended meanings. In (7.34)—(7.36) are
examples of the repetition of an event type with different participants.
Different participants signal a different eventuality. In (7.34), the event
is the telling of a story, but in this case, the event is repeated with a
another, different story. The dɔʔ²¹ occurs in conjunction with the time
adverbial nɔŋ⁴⁵ tʰᶤi⁴⁵ 'just one time'.
(7.34) Taokhe 2.
ʔə²¹ jə²¹ mə³⁴ lo²¹tʰãⁱ²¹ põ²¹ nɔŋ⁴⁵ tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ dɔʔ²¹
EXCL 1s IRR tell
story just_one time another
I am going to tell another story.
The situation in (7.35) is a sequence of the calling of different birds,
and thus a sequence of different eventualities. In the first eventuality,
the Theme participant was a crow, and now the main character is
instructed, in (7.35) to call the hawk, due to the unsuitibility of the
crow for the task.
(7.35) Tiger Skin 39.
kuʔ²¹ ni³⁴ laⁱʔ⁴⁵ dɔʔ²¹
call get hawk more
"Call a hawk."
In (7.36), the event to be repeated is part of the object complement
of the matrix clause and not overtly referenced, although it is clear
from the previous discourse; it is this event that will be remembered.
dɔʔ²¹ occurs with a time adverbial nɔŋ⁴⁵ pʰəU⁵¹ 'just one occasion'.
Aspect
91
(7.36) Taokhe 64.
ʔe⁴⁵jo²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ nɔŋ⁴⁵ pʰəU⁵¹
dɔʔ²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ jə²¹
here
that just_one occasion another that 1s
tʰuŋ³⁴nãⁱ⁴⁵ni³⁴
remember
Next time (on another occasion) I will remember this.
In (7.37) and (7.38), dɔʔ²¹ has the sense of 'in addition, furthermore'.
There is no repetition of an eventuality. Instead, some additional
background information is being supplied. Looking at the clauses in
(7.37), the main event is the going of the child and the father, which is
communicated in the first clause. However, an additional piece of
information is that the child was still very small; this clause includes
dɔʔ²¹. Finally, in the third clause, the impact of this additional factor
on the going is communicated; the father had to carry the child.
(7.37) Mueng Nong Nwe 97.
ʔe⁴⁵ ɰuŋ²¹ tɕʰəpʰɔŋ²¹ tʰɔŋ⁴⁵ li²¹ lo⁵¹ de³⁴ pʰu⁴⁵ de³⁴
?
finish brightness up
go !! with child with
pʰa³⁴
father
At daybreak, the father and the child went.
Mueng Nong Nwe 98.
ʔəpʰu⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ me⁴⁵ tɕʰə³⁴ pi⁵¹ daⁱʔ²¹ laᶤʔ⁴⁵
dɔʔ²¹
child that be thing small still completely more
Furthermore, the child was still very small.
Mueng Nong Nwe 99.
ʔəpʰa³⁴ ba⁴⁵ tɕʰuʔ⁴⁵
father must carry_with_hand
So, the father had to carry her.
The situation with (7.38) is similar. In this case, the main event is
the spinning of cotton and the additional information is the fact that the
92
Handbook on adverbials
old woman had the daughter spinning cotton. Eventually, in the story,
the daughter is captured by a tiger as she was spinning cotton.
(7.38) Tiger Skin 76.
ʔə²¹ θᶤĩ⁴⁵ ʔə⁴⁵ waⁱʔ⁴⁵ be²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵məU⁵¹ ʔəpʰu⁴⁵mɨŋ⁴⁵
3
PL EXCL spin cotton employ
daughter
waⁱʔ⁴⁵ be²¹ dɔʔ²¹ tɕʰəmɨŋ⁴⁵ɕa³⁴ nɔ⁴⁵
spin cotton more old woman that
Oh dear! They were spinning cotton and the old woman had
her daughter spin the cotton.
A third example of this phenomenon is provided in (7.39), where
the main event is the return to the house; but the additional
information, that impacts the events to follow, is the fact that the
mother is drying rice.
(7.39) Tiger Skin 49.
tʰãⁱ²¹
tʰᶤĩ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ tʰuŋ²¹ luʔ⁴⁵ ʔəɰẽⁱ⁴⁵ nɔ⁴⁵ ʔəmu³⁴
return_home time that reach to
house that mother
θᶤĩ⁴⁵ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵luŋ⁵¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ bɨŋ⁴⁵
dɔʔ²¹
that dry
acquire paddy_rice more
When (they) returned that time, reaching her distant house,
her mother was drying rice.
Finally, dɔʔ²¹ in its 'more' sense can be used as a comparative
marker with an attributive verb such as ɕa⁵¹ 'smart', as in (7.40).
(7.40) Tiger Skin 18.
le⁴⁵ ʔəpʰɨŋ³⁴
ɰa²¹ nɔ⁴⁵ ɕa⁵¹ dɔʔ²¹ ʔə²¹ we⁵¹
at younger sibling person that smart more 3
?
da⁴⁵ li²¹ ʔeʔ⁴⁵
?
go NEG
As for the younger sister, she was smarter. She didn't go.
Aspect
93
As for the question of whether dɔʔ²¹ is some kind of adverbial or
verbal particle, in the data, it always appears as a clause-final element
preceding emphasizing particles. It is unlikely that it could occur
preceding the predicate. So, it is more likely that it is some type of
clause-final marker.
Classifier phrases can signal frequentive aspect, as demonstrated in
(7.41). The classifier phrase nɔŋ⁴⁵ pʰəU⁵¹ 'just one occasion' occurs
following the object argument. The speaker is asserting that catching
fish did not occur even one time. (7.42) shows that the frequentive
aspect adverbial nɔŋ⁴⁵ pʰəU⁵¹ precedes clause-final elements such as the
negated form deʔ²¹ 'not yet'.
(7.41) Mueng Nong Nwe 17.
jə²¹ ʔɔŋ⁴⁵we³⁴
ʔɔŋ⁴⁵ ləba⁴⁵ tɕʰwe⁴⁵ ləba⁴⁵
1s scoop_up_fish acquire not get crab
not get
θaʔ²¹dɔŋ⁴⁵ nɔŋ⁴⁵ pʰəU⁵¹
shrimp
just_one occasion
I fished and did not get crab or shrimp even one
occasion/time.
(7.42) Mueng Nong Nwe 90.
deʔ²¹
jə²¹ da⁴⁵ ɰe⁵¹tʰãⁱ²¹ nɔŋ⁴⁵ pʰəU⁵¹
1s see return
just_one occasion not yet
I have not yet seen her come back even once.
7.3
Summary
This chapter has examined the ways in which a number of aspectual
distinctions are coded in English and WCT Pwo. In many cases, the
WCT Pwo means of signalling aspect are not adverbials at all, while
English has the possibility of using adverbials more widely to signal
aspectual distinctions. A listing of the structural devices used to signal
aspect in English and WCT Pwo are listed in Table 11.
94
Handbook on adverbials
Table 11 Aspect coding strategies in English and WCT Pwo
Aspect
English
WCT Pwo
Past tense verb forms
Verbal auxiliary ɰuŋ²¹
Main verbs such as finish
'finish'
Main verb and particle up
Aspectual adverbials
tʰaᶤʔ⁴⁵ 'stop' as second
element of complex
predicate
Inchoative
Copula become
jaᶤʔ²¹ 'already'
Ingressive
Main verb start, begin
No data
Completive
Possibly adverbial suddenly
Habitual
Continuous
used to
Adverbials, e.g. always,
habitually, etc.
Marker kjɔŋ²¹ 'used to'
Classifier phrases
Verb to be with -ing on verb Multiplication of the
Adverbial, e.g. on and on,
predicate
continually, etc.
Continuative still
Verbal auxiliary daⁱʔ²¹
'still'
Frequentive
Adverbial, e.g. often
Classifier phrase
Repetitive
Adverbial, e.g. again
dɔʔ²¹ (likely clause-final
particle)
Iterative
Adverbial, e.g. three times
Classifier phrases
8
Clause-event adverbials
Adverbials that take under their scope the entire clause-event include
epistemic and deontic-evaluative adverbials. Epistemic adverbials code
the speaker's judgment of a proposition's truth, certainty or probability.
Deontic-evaluative adverbials code the speaker's attitude toward the
event; their judgment on whether the event is something desired.
8.1
Clause-event adverbials in English
Examples of single-word epistemic adverbs are reproduced, in (8.1),
from Givón (2001, 92) .
(8.1) a) He is certainly wrong.
Certainly, he is wrong.
He is wrong, certainly.
b) Maybe you're right.
You're maybe right.
You're right, maybe.
c) She supposedly finished two weeks ago.
Supposedly, she finished two weeks ago.
She finished two weeks ago, supposedly.
d) Probably nothing will happen.
?Nothing will probably happen.
Nothing will happen, probably.
Note that there is a semantic relationship between epistemic
adverbials and modal auxiliaries. However, modal auxiliaries are not
considered to be a type of adverbial. English examples from (Givón
2001, 93) are reproduced in (8.2). Unlike adverbials, which can occur
95
96
Handbook on adverbials
in more than one position, modal auxiliaries can only occur preceding
the predicate.
(8.2) a) She may have left already.
*May she have left already.
b) This can't be right.
c) He must have left already.
As well, some verbs taking clausal complements add epistemic
information to their complements.19 Examples are reproduced in (8.3)
(Givón 2001, 93).
(8.3)
a) I guess/suppose she's not in.
b) I think you are wrong.
c) They knew she was there.
In Van Valin (2005, 19-20), epistemic and evidential adverbials are
distinguished, while Givón (2001) includes evidential adverbials with
epistemic adverbials. Forms indicating evidentiality code the source of
the information contained in the proposition. For example, direct
evidence (actually seen), indirect evidence (heard about but not seen)
and inference (deduced from evidence after the fact). (8.4)
demonstrates evidential adverbials in English.
(8.4) a) Evidently she has been sick for three days.
She has evidently been sick for three days.
She has been sick for three days, evidently.
b) Allegedly, the TV was stolen by the neighbours.
The TV was allegedly stolen by the neighbours.
The TV was stolen by the neighbours, allegedly.
c) Without a doubt, I saw her at the concert.
I saw her at the concert, without a doubt.20
19
Note that in these constructions, the epistemic verbs are the main clause
predicate and not some kind of adverbial.
20
Example suggested by Melinda Lyons.
Clause-event adverbials
97
Deontic-evaluative adverbials, coding the speaker's attitude toward
the event, are demonstrated in (8.5).
(8.5) a) Luckily, she was wearing her helmet.
b) Regrettably, I cannot come this week.
c) Fortunately/unfortunately, he had left his wallet at home.
d) To my surprise, she finished three hours early.
Note that deontic-evaluative adverbials can be coded as single words
(a, b, c) or prepositional phrases (d).
As with epistemic adverbials, deontic/evaluative senses can be
conveyed by modal auxiliaries and clausal complement constructions.
Again, note that these types of structures would not be considered to
be adverbials. Deontic/evaluative senses coded by modal auxiliaries
are illustrated in (8.6) and deontic/evaluative senses conveyed by
clausal complement constructions are illustrated in (8.7).
(8.6) a) She should publish her work.
b) They must exercise every day.
c) Dan may buy a new car this week.
(8.7) a) I wish that the weather were cooler.
b) I'd prefer that she went to school in New York.
c) I'm glad to see you.
8.2
Clause-event adverbials in WCT Pwo
Unfortunately, the data is quite limited for clause-event modification in
WCT Pwo, with only a single example in all three texts, which is
presented in (8.8). pəle⁴⁵ 'probable' codes the speaker's attitude toward
the idea of going to fish in response to an invitation from her friend in
the previous clause. The clause-final particle bɔ⁴⁵ also communicates
speaker attitude.
98
Handbook on adverbials
(8.8)
Mueng Nong Nwe 9.
kwaʔ²¹ ʔo⁴⁵ pəle⁴⁵ lɔ⁵¹ bɔ⁴⁵
problem have probable !! contrary_perhaps
There would probably not be problems.
All three texts that provided the data for this handbook are thirdperson narrative folktales. It may be that with other types of texts,
clause-event modifiers will be more plentiful.
8.3
Summary
In this chapter, we have looked at adverbials that take under their
scope the entire clause-event. Two types of clause-event adverbials
were examined: epistemic adverbials coding the speaker's judgment of
a proposition's truth, certainty or probability and deontic-evaluative
adverbials coding the speaker's attitude toward the event; their
judgment on whether the event is something desired.
In addition to the adverbial means of coding epistemic and deonticevaluative information, English can also use modal auxiliaries and
verbs with clausal complements to code epistemic and deonticevaluative information.
For WCT Pwo, the data is quite limited, with only a single example
in all three texts. In this example, a form pəle⁴⁵ 'probable' is used with
the final particle bɔ⁴⁵ 'contrary.perhaps' to communicate speaker
attitude.
9
Conclusion
This short handbook has provided only an introduction to some of the
issues related to adverbials in English and WCT Pwo. Parson's
(1990) characterization of eventualities and Givón's (2001) functional
treatment of adverbials provided the framework for this study. There is
much more to be learned and discovered regarding the characteristics
of adverbials, both within the extensive linguistic literature and in
particular languages.
Currently, in the linguistic literature, there are two major views. The
traditional view is that adverbials are a type of adjunct—optional
elements of the clause. This view is represented in the work of Ernst
(2002). This is the view briefly presented in the introductory grammar
textbook by Kroeger (2005). Van Valin (2005) also treats adverbials as
adjuncts which relate to different levels of the clause. The other view,
presented in Cinque (1999), is that adverbs are not adjuncts. Rather,
they fill out the universal inventory of functional heads. Functional
heads are those grammatical concepts, such as tense, aspect and mood,
that are coded by affixes, auxiliaries and/or particles, depending on the
language. Further, according to Cinque (1999), these functional heads
have a fixed hierarchy in relation to each other, universally.
In response to the ideas presented in both Cinque (1999) and Ernst
(2002), a good number of papers have been produced. A collection of
articles in Austin et al. (2004) presents an overview on the current
state of studies on adverbials.
For someone wanting to investigate adverbials further, Bonami et al.
(2004), and Delfitto (2006) are a good place to start. Dik
(1997) provides a view of adverbials from a functional standpoint. For
aspect, Comrie (1976) and Smith (1997) are both excellent and
accessible resources. As well, Romeo (2008) is a study of aspect in
Burmese. Then, in addition to the theoretical argumentation, Cinque
99
100
Handbook on adverbials
(1999), is a rich, cross-linguistic resource on functional head and
adverbial behaviour as well as copious and wide-ranging references to
earlier work. Finally, Jackendoff (1972), while an older work, is often
referred to in the literature on adverbials.
REFERENCES
Austin, Jennifer, Stefan Engelberg, and Gisa Rauh, eds. 2004.
Adverbials. The interplay between meaning, context, and
syntactic structure. Linguistics Today 70.
Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing
Company.
Bach, Emmon. 1981. On time, tense and aspect: An essay in English
metaphysics. In Radical pragmatics, ed. Peter Cole, 63-81.
New York: Academic Press.
Bonami, Olivier, Danièle Godard, and Brigitte Kampers-Manhe. 2004.
Adverb classification. In Handbook of French semantics, ed.
Francis Corblin and Henriëtte de Swart. Stanford, CA: CSLI
Publications.
Cinque, Guglielmo. 1999. Adverbs and functional heads: A crosslinguistic perspective. Oxford studies in comparative syntax.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Comrie, Bernard. 1976. Aspect. Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Crystal, David. 2003. A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. 5th ed.
Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Delfitto, Denis. 2006. Adverb classes and adverb placement. In The
Blackwell companion to syntax, ed. Martin Everaert and Henk
van Riemsdijk, I:83-120. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Dik, Simon C. 1997. The theory of Functional Grammar. Ed. Kees
Hengeveld. 2nd ed. 2 vols. Functional Grammar Series 20.
Walter de Gruyter.
101
102
References
Dowty, David R. 1991. Word meaning and Montague Grammar: The
semantics of verbs and times in Generative Semantics and in
Montague's PTQ. Vol. 7. Studies in Linguistics and
Philosophy. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Ernst, Thomas. 2002. The syntax of adjuncts. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Givón, T. 2001. Syntax: An introduction. 2 vols.
Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing
Company.
Guralnik, David B. 1984. Webster's New World dictionary of the
American language. Second College Edition. New York:
Simon and Schuster.
Jackendoff, Ray S. 1972. Semantic interpretation in generative
grammar. 4th ed. Vol. 2. Studies in Linguistics. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Kroeger, Paul R. 2005. Analyzing grammar: An introduction.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Parsons, Terence. 1990. Events in the semantics of English: A study in
subatomic semantics. Current studies in linguistics 19.
Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Romeo, Nicoletta. 2008. Aspect in Burmese. Meaning and function.
Studies in Language Companion Series 96.
Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing
Company.
Schachter, Paul, and Timothy Shopen. 2007. Parts-of-speech systems.
In Language typology and syntactic description, ed. Timothy
Shopen, I:1-60. 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge University
Press.
References
Smith, Carlota. 1997. The parameter of aspect. 2nd ed. Dordrecht:
Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Trask, R. L. 1992. A dictonary of grammatical terms in linguistics.
London and New York: Routledge.
Van Valin, Robert D., Jr. 2005. Exploring the syntax-semantics
interface. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Vendler, Zeno. 1967. Linguistics in philosophy. Ithaca, New York:
Cornell University Press.
103