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Ash: Difference between revisions
→Conjunct and disjunct verbs
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When the source is proximal the target can also be distal in which case it is always disjunct and refers to a third person. | When the source is proximal the target can also be distal in which case it is always disjunct and refers to a third person. | ||
====Indirect involvement and grammatical ambiguities==== | |||
Despite this elaborate system there are still instances where first and second person fall together. However this is not generally an issue in the affected instances thanks to context. An example where a conjunct form would be used to denote first person involvement as a patient rather than an agent is the following: | |||
{{gloss | |||
|phrase=emmõõ bo ao ehbadsas | |||
|IPA=[ʔɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbo̞‿ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿je̞ħˈpɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠] | |||
|gloss=PROX-POSS-head TOP:CRESC ao PROX-TR-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ | |||
|translation=Ao is braiding my hair | |||
}} | |||
Despite a third person being the agent of the action, the focus is on the first person (the assertor) and the verb is therefore conjunct. When the agent is proximal this creates a grammatical ambiguity: | |||
{{gloss | |||
|phrase=emmõõ bo ee ehbadsas | |||
|IPA=[ʔɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbo̞‿ˈji̯eː‿je̞ħˈpɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠] | |||
|gloss=PROX-POSS-head TOP:CRESC PROX PROX-TR-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ | |||
|translation=I am braiding my hair; you are braiding my hair; I am braiding your hair | |||
}} | |||
However since a first and second person are both proximal and thereby directly present in the context of the action this is not ambiguous in practice: both people are aware of whether they are personally doing the braiding or not and thereby whom is meant. | |||
===Subclauses=== | ===Subclauses=== | ||