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Chlouvānem: Difference between revisions
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→Use of tenses: Past vs. Perfect
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These theoretical meanings may be translated into practice as this: the '''past''' is most commonly used to express something that happened in the past and does not influence the present, or it is not meaningful to the time of the action. | These theoretical meanings may be translated into practice as this: the '''past''' is most commonly used to express something that happened in the past and does not influence the present, or it is not meaningful to the time of the action. | ||
: ''tammikeika flære lį | : ''tammikeika flære lį yųlekpan.'' | ||
: train_station.<small>DIR.SG</small>. yesterday. <small>1SG.ERG</small>. eat-<small>IND.PAST.3S.EXTERIOR-LOC</small>. | : train_station.<small>DIR.SG</small>. yesterday. <small>1SG.ERG</small>. eat-<small>IND.PAST.3S.EXTERIOR-LOC</small>. | ||
: Yesterday I ate at the station. | : Yesterday I ate at the station. | ||
: ''palias jāyim | : ''palias jāyim junirek.'' | ||
: face.<small>DIR.SG</small>. girl.<small>DIR.SG</small>. paint-<small>IND.PAST.3S.INTERIOR</small>. | : face.<small>DIR.SG</small>. girl.<small>DIR.SG</small>. paint-<small>IND.PAST.3S.INTERIOR</small>. | ||
: The girl painted her [own] face. | : The girl painted her [own] face. | ||
In an appropriate context, however, the same verb form can carry an imperfective meaning: | In an appropriate context, however, the same verb form can carry an imperfective meaning: | ||
: ''tammikeika flære lį yųlopan væse, nanā tammi | : ''tammikeika flære lį yųlopan væse, nanā tammi tadāmek.'' | ||
: train_station.<small>DIR.SG</small>. yesterday. <small>1SG.ERG</small>. eat-<small>IND.PAST.3S.EXTERIOR-LOC</small>. while. , that.<small>DIR.PARROT</small>. train.<small>DIR.SG</small>. arrive-<small>IND.PAST.3S.PATIENT.EXTERIOR</small> | : train_station.<small>DIR.SG</small>. yesterday. <small>1SG.ERG</small>. eat-<small>IND.PAST.3S.EXTERIOR-LOC</small>. while. , that.<small>DIR.PARROT</small>. train.<small>DIR.SG</small>. arrive-<small>IND.PAST.3S.PATIENT.EXTERIOR</small> | ||
: Yesterday I ate at the station. | : Yesterday I ate at the station. | ||
: ''jāyim mæn palias | : ''jāyim mæn palias junirek, mbu nenichladireti meinei muṣkemālchek.'' | ||
: girl.<small>DIR.SG</small>. <small>TOPIC</small>. face.<small>DIR.SG</small>. paint-<small>IND.PAST.3S.INTERIOR</small>. , but. hurry-<small>SUBJ.IMPF.3S.INTERIOR</small>. mother-<small>ERG.SG</small>. ask-<small>INF</small>-run.<small>MULTID-IND.PAST.3S.PATIENT.EXTERIOR</small>. | : girl.<small>DIR.SG</small>. <small>TOPIC</small>. face.<small>DIR.SG</small>. paint-<small>IND.PAST.3S.INTERIOR</small>. , but. hurry-<small>SUBJ.IMPF.3S.INTERIOR</small>. mother-<small>ERG.SG</small>. ask-<small>INF</small>-run.<small>MULTID-IND.PAST.3S.PATIENT.EXTERIOR</small>. | ||
: The girl was painting her [own] face, but her mother kept asking her to hurry. | : The girl was painting her [own] face, but her mother kept asking her to hurry. | ||
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The main use of the '''perfect''' is expressing something that happened in the past but is still impacting the present; this is a difference very similar to the one between simple past and present perfect in English, and as such the perfect is usually translated that way. Compare, for example: | The main use of the '''perfect''' is expressing something that happened in the past but is still impacting the present; this is a difference very similar to the one between simple past and present perfect in English, and as such the perfect is usually translated that way. Compare, for example: | ||
: ''palias jāyim | : ''palias jāyim junirek'' - “the girl painted her [own] face”. Past tense here expresses a generic action: the girl may have painted her face ten years or five minutes ago, but that is irrelevant to the situation. In this particular sentence, the girl’s face may be understood to have now been cleaned, or that she may have cleaned and painted her face again many times - but, actually, whether she did or didn’t is now irrelevant. The actual time when she did it only becomes relevant if it is expressed (e.g. ''palias jāyim flære junirek'' “the girl painted her [own] face yesterday”) and then it is understood that her face isn’t painted anymore. | ||
: ''palias jāyim ujunirā'' - “the girl has painted her [own] face”. Perfect “tense” here focusses not on the action, but on its result. The girl finished painting her face, and it may be seen that her face is still painted - when she did is still irrelevant, but it happened sufficiently close in time that the result of that action may still be seen. | : ''palias jāyim ujunirā'' - “the girl has painted her [own] face”. Perfect “tense” here focusses not on the action, but on its result. The girl finished painting her face, and it may be seen that her face is still painted - when she did is still irrelevant, but it happened sufficiently close in time that the result of that action may still be seen. | ||
The Chlouvānem perfect, however, has a broader use than the English one, compare: | The Chlouvānem perfect, however, has a broader use than the English one, compare: | ||
: ''flære | : ''flære dašajildek'' - “yesterday it rained”. Past tense, implied meaning is that there’s nothing that may indicate that yesterday it rained, or it doesn’t influence the speaker in any way. | ||
: ''flære dašejilda'' - *yesterday it has rained. Perfect tense; while wrong in English, this construction is possible - and, in fact, is frequently heard - though it often only makes sense in a broader context. For example, in a sentence like “yesterday it rained and the path collapsed, so we [two] can’t walk there”, English uses both times a simple past, while Chlouvānem uses the perfect, as the path is still not walkable due to the rain: ''flære menni dašejilda līlta viṣeheṣṭvirā no, āñjulā gu pepeithnāyou ša''. | : ''flære dašejilda'' - *yesterday it has rained. Perfect tense; while wrong in English, this construction is possible - and, in fact, is frequently heard - though it often only makes sense in a broader context. For example, in a sentence like “yesterday it rained and the path collapsed, so we [two] can’t walk there”, English uses both times a simple past, while Chlouvānem uses the perfect, as the path is still not walkable due to the rain: ''flære menni dašejilda līlta viṣeheṣṭvirā no, āñjulā gu pepeithnāyou ša''. | ||
Note that the “impact on the present” meaning and the use of evidentials are independent from each other. Using a first inferential, for example, does not change the implications given by the use of perfect or past, though the actual interpretation is often heavily dependent from context: | Note that the “impact on the present” meaning and the use of evidentials are independent from each other. Using a first inferential, for example, does not change the implications given by the use of perfect or past, though the actual interpretation is often heavily dependent from context: | ||
: ''palias jāyim | : ''palias jāyim junirekvan'' - “apparently, the girl painted her [own] face”. Past tense: it can be assumed that the girl painted her own face sometime in the past; e.g. the girl is now painting her face, and given the way she does it, it’s reasonable to believe it’s not her first time. | ||
: ''palias jāyim ujuniritena'' - “apparently, the girl has painted her [own] face”. Perfect “tense”: it can be assumed that the girl now has a painted face, but the speaker has not seen her; e.g. in her room there are face painting colours open or that look like they’ve been recently used. | : ''palias jāyim ujuniritena'' - “apparently, the girl has painted her [own] face”. Perfect “tense”: it can be assumed that the girl now has a painted face, but the speaker has not seen her; e.g. in her room there are face painting colours open or that look like they’ve been recently used. | ||
Second inferential changes the speaker’s deduction, but not the implications given by tenses: | Second inferential changes the speaker’s deduction, but not the implications given by tenses: | ||
: ''palias jāyim | : ''palias jāyim junirekvammū'' - “apparently, the girl painted her [own] face, but probably didn’t”. Past tense: as before, but while she, or something she did, had made the speaker believe she had already painted her face at least once in the past, the way she’s doing it makes think that she probably never did. | ||
: ''palias jāyim ujuniritenamū'' - “apparently, the girl has painted her [own] face, but probably didn’t”. Perfect “tense”: as before; highly dependent on context. For example, there are face painting colours out of place, but it’s unlikely she did paint her face - e.g. it may not be a logical time to do it, or too little colour seems to have been used. | : ''palias jāyim ujuniritenamū'' - “apparently, the girl has painted her [own] face, but probably didn’t”. Perfect “tense”: as before; highly dependent on context. For example, there are face painting colours out of place, but it’s unlikely she did paint her face - e.g. it may not be a logical time to do it, or too little colour seems to have been used. | ||
The Chlouvānem perfect is however also used where English would use ''past perfect'' or ''future perfect'', as the “impact on the present” is understood to be on the time the main action in the sentence takes place, thus something that happened earlier is considered to have an impact on it: | The Chlouvānem perfect is however also used where English would use ''past perfect'' or ''future perfect'', as the “impact on the present” is understood to be on the time the main action in the sentence takes place, thus something that happened earlier is considered to have an impact on it: | ||
: ''tammikeika flære lį uyųlapan, utiya nanā tammi | : ''tammikeika flære lį uyųlapan, utiya nanā tammi tadāmek''. | ||
: train_station.<small>DIR.SG</small>. yesterday. <small>1SG.ERG</small>. eat-<small>IND.PERF.3S.EXTERIOR-LOC</small>. , then. that.<small>DIR.PARROT</small>. train.<small>DIR.SG</small>. arrive-<small>IND.PAST.3S.PATIENT.EXTERIOR</small>. | : train_station.<small>DIR.SG</small>. yesterday. <small>1SG.ERG</small>. eat-<small>IND.PERF.3S.EXTERIOR-LOC</small>. , then. that.<small>DIR.PARROT</small>. train.<small>DIR.SG</small>. arrive-<small>IND.PAST.3S.PATIENT.EXTERIOR</small>. | ||
: I had [already] eaten at the station yesterday when the train arrived. | : I had [already] eaten at the station yesterday when the train arrived. | ||
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A notable exception to this use is with so-called “chained actions”, when the second one is a direct consequence of the first and the first one is usually still ongoing; the second one is therefore only a momentane happening inside the broader context of the first, and thus the choice between present and past is once again dependent on the impact on the present. Note that in such cases the two verbs are usually connected with ''no'' instead of ''sama''. Compare: | A notable exception to this use is with so-called “chained actions”, when the second one is a direct consequence of the first and the first one is usually still ongoing; the second one is therefore only a momentane happening inside the broader context of the first, and thus the choice between present and past is once again dependent on the impact on the present. Note that in such cases the two verbs are usually connected with ''no'' instead of ''sama''. Compare: | ||
: ''dašajildo līlta | : ''dašajildo līlta vīheṣṭvirek no'' - “it rained, and the path collapsed”. Past tense: the path has since been repaired and it is walkable. | ||
: ''dašejilda līlta viṣeheṣṭvirā no'' - “it has rained, and the path has collapsed”. Perfect “tense”: the path is not walkable due to it having collapsed. | : ''dašejilda līlta viṣeheṣṭvirā no'' - “it has rained, and the path has collapsed”. Perfect “tense”: the path is not walkable due to it having collapsed. | ||
Both the past and the perfect are independent from verbal aspect: | Both the past and the perfect are independent from verbal aspect: | ||
: ''marte | : ''marte mīmīšviyek kite lįnek no'' - "(s)he kept being seen in the city, and [therefore] remained at home" ((s)he has since gone out of home). | ||
: ''marte mīšimīšveya kite ilįna no'' - "(s)he has kept being seen in the city, and [therefore] she has remained at home" (actual meaning dependent on a broader context, e.g. ''āñjulā tatantepepeithnaiṣyes'' "you can find him/her there" (potential agent-trigger future of ''tatāpeithake'' (''ta-tad-peith-'') "to find (frequentative)")). | : ''marte mīšimīšveya kite ilįna no'' - "(s)he has kept being seen in the city, and [therefore] she has remained at home" (actual meaning dependent on a broader context, e.g. ''āñjulā tatantepepeithnaiṣyes'' "you can find him/her there" (potential agent-trigger future of ''tatāpeithake'' (''ta-tad-peith-'') "to find (frequentative)")). | ||