Verbal inflection with applicative-like function?
The adverbial tenses in Otomi-Mazahuai
Introduction.
In this paper, I examine a phenomenon found in Otomi-Mazahua where a set of subparadigms in the inflection of verbs is used when an adverbial phrase occurs in the
clause, commonly in focus. Compare the semantic role of the wh-word KbQKa ‘what’
in the examples in (1) and (2) from Eastern Otomi: in (1), the wh-word questions the
patient, whereas in (2) it questions the instrument or the reason, that is, it questions an
adverbial participant whose specific semantics is retrievable from the context. The
question word does not change in form, what yields a different interpretation of its
role is the inflection of the verb.
Enrique L. Palancar
CNRS, SeDyL-CELIA (UMR8202)
Surrey Morphology Group, University of Surrey
[email protected], [email protected]
Syntax of the World's Languages V
Dubrovnik 1-4, October 2012
Otomi-Mazahua is a linguistic group that belongs to the Oto-Pamean branch of OtoManguean. The group comprises Mazahua and Otomi. Otomi in turn is a linguistic
family of at least six languages, some of which are dialectal continua.
Figure 1. Oto-Mazahua within Oto-Manguean.
Oto-Manguean
Oto-Pamean
...
3
Pamean
Otomian
3
Atzincan
Otomi-Mazahua
3
Mazahua
Otomi:
(1) [KbQ=Ka]
ge
ga=tsi?
EO COMP=DEM.SG FOC 1.PRS.IRR=ingest[3.OBJ]
‘What am I going to eat?’
(2) [KbQ=Ka]
ge
dá=xäh=ma
COMP=DEM.SG FOC 1.PRS.IRR.ADV=peel.corncob.B[3.OBJ]=1POSS
Instrument: ‘With what shall I harvest my corn?’ (E&V: 320)
Reason: ‘For what reason shall I harvest my corn?’
In (1), the verb is inflected for 1st person subject and for present irrealis by means of
the marker ga. In (2), we have the marker dá instead, which realizes the same feature
values, but also serves to index the occurrence of a non-core argument in focus in the
clause with some adverbial meaning.
Eastern Otomi
Northern Otomi
Western Otomi
Acazulco Otomi
Tilapa Otomi
Ixtenco Otomi
The two markers ga and dá form part of the two subparadigms in Eastern Otomi
given in (3) for the two verbs above: one represents a tense we can simply call the
‘present irrealis’; the other I treated as the ‘adverbial present irrealis’.
Present irrealis
1st
2nd
3rd
tsi (tr)
‘ingest’
ga tsi
gi tsi
da zi
Adverbial present irrealis
1st
2nd
3rd
dá tsi
gdí tsi
dí zi
(3) Eastern Otomi
Northern Otomi
San Ildefonso
Huehuetla
Huehuetla
Eastern Otomi
Mexico City
Mazahua
Acazulco Otomi
Mexico
Tilapa Otomi
Figure 2. Location of Otomi-Mazahua in Mexico.
-1-
thä
ya?
maize PTCL
50 km.
xägi (tr)
‘peel corncob’
ga xägi
gi xägi
da xägi
dá xägi
gdí xägi
dí xägi
Adverbial inflection in EO is not only triggered by a wh-words like KbQKa ‘what’ with
the instrumental or reason reading like in (2), it can also be triggered by an NP
bearing some sort of adverbial meaning, including cause, goal or source, as in (4-6).
This is evidence that this special inflection provides little semantic specification.
(4) [ni
mfë] g-dí=tü
EO 2POSS theft
2-PRS.IRR.ADV=die
Cause: ‘You'll die because of your thefts.’ (V&E: 306)
-2-
(5) ná=mba
[hwähi]
EO 1.PRS.R.ADV =SS/go cornfield
Goal: ‘I am going to the field.’ (V&E: 228)
(6) ní=K‹y›ë=GpY
[dejä] ra Kü
EO 3.PRS.R.ADV =‹SS›come.AS=there sea
SG salt
Source: ‘The salt comes from the sea.’ (V&E: 306)
Alternatively, it can also be triggered by adverbs, as in (7) and (8).
(7) [tsKQdi=thoho] dí=häi
nKda ra zaGte
EO difficult=only
3.PRS.IRR.ADV=take.out[3.OBJ] one SG wild.animal
’bY
i =ja
ra hyädo
when 3.PRS.R=exist SG cave
Manner: ‘It's difficult to lure a wild animal out when it's in a cave.’ (E&V: 134)
(8) ngetho [n’dajQya] na=n-yY=Kü
because one.year
3.PRS.ADV=INFL-SS/be.inside=DEM.PL
Time: ‘Because in a year they (sweet potatoes) grow well.’ (E&V: 210)
Basics of Eastern Otomi.
In Eastern Otomi, just like in any other language of the Otomi-Mazahua group, verbs
inflect for TAM values by sets of markers, often proclitized to the verbal stem.
Commonly, such markers also encode subject agreement in person. I shall refer to
such markers as ‘inflectional formatives’.
(9) a. dá=tCn=gC
nKda ma
Kbaxi
1.PST=buy.AS[3.OBJ]=1SG.EMPH one 1POSS broom
‘I bought a broom,’
EO
ga=khoGk=ma
ngü
1.PRS.IRR=sweep[3.OBJ]=1POSS house
‘So that I may clean my house.’ (E&V: 25)
b. nge
PURP
Verbs fall into four main conjugation classes attending to the type of inflectional
formatives they require. Consider for this purpose the three relevant sub-paradigms in
Table 1. Adverbial inflection is found in the three tenses in Table 2.
-3-
‘walk’
(intr)
II
dí Kyo
gí Kyo
i Kyo
‘calm down’
(intr)
III
dí-dí käPni
gí-dí käPni
i-dí käPni
‘rush’
(intr)
IV
dí-dí xqni
gí-dí xqni
i-dí xqni
1st
2nd
3rd
Past
1st
2nd
3rd
dá tCPgi
gá tCPgi
bi dCPgi
dá n-KyoM
gá n-KyoM
bi n-KyoM
dá käPni
gá käPni
bi käPni
dá n-xqni
gá n-xqni
bi n-xqni
Present irrealis
1st
2nd
3rd
ga tCPgi
gi tCPgi
da dCPgi
da n-KyoM
ga n-KyoM
di n-KyoM
ga käPni
gi käPni
di käPni
da n-xqni
ga n-xqni
di n-xqni
Table 1. Three representative subparadigms of Eastern Otomi.
Adverbial
EO
The purpose of this talk is to give an overview of the constructions where adverbial
inflection is used in some Otomi-Mazahua languages. The phenomenon is of interest
because it is cross-linguistically rare, and as it bears some functional resemblance
with applicatives, it equally is interesting for a typology of applicative constructions
that is interested in what happens in the fringes. I explore the advantages of this view,
but advance a new analysis based on registering adverbial phrases through
pronominalization.
Present realis
‘fall’
(intr)
I
dí tCPgi
gí tCPgi
i tCPgi
Present realis
1st
2nd
3rd
I
ná tCPgi
gní tCPgi
ní/na dCPgi
II
ná/ní n-KyoM
gná/gní n-KyoM
na/ní n-KyoM
III
ná käPni
gní käPni
ní/na käPni
IV
ná/ní n-xqni
gná/gní n-xqni
na/ní n-xqni
Past
1st
2nd
3rd
dá tCPgi
gí tCPgi
í/(á) dCPgi
dá n-KyoM
gá/gí n-KyoM
á/(í) n-KyoM
dá käPni
gí käPni
í/(á) käPni
dá n-xqni
gá/gí n-xqni
á/(í) n-xqni
Present irrealis
1st
2nd
3rd
dá tCPgi
gdí tCPgi
dí dCPgi
dá n-KyoM
gdá/gdí n-KyoM
dá/dí n-KyoM
dá käPni
gdí käPni
dí käPni
dá n-xqni
gdá/gdí n-xqni
dá/dí n-xqni
Table 2. The adverbial tenses in Eastern Otomi
Adverbial tenses display a peculiar morphological structure in EO: The inflectional
distinctions among the classes have been reduced:
 Verbs of class I and III have the same inflection. The same happens to verbs of
class II and IV.
 There is a high degree of allomorphy for verbs of classes II and IV. One of the
encoding alternatives is always the default of class I and III. The markers are in
free variation. The phenomenon is an instance of overabundancy, in the sense
of Thornton (2011).
As for word order, Eastern Otomi is VOS, illustrated in (10).
(10) bi=dCnK-a=[nKda
xQGki rá
däkhmi]o=[Ka
zí xitsu]s
EO 3.PST=SS/buy.AS[3.OBJ]-B=one piece SG.3POSS cloth
DEM.SG DIM woman
‘The woman bought a piece of her cloth.’ (E&V: 54)
-4-
NPs realizing arguments can be fronted to a preverbal position when they introduce a
referent as a new topic, as in (11) with a fronted subject.
(11) [nu=Ku
yo paxi]s bi=te
EO INTRO=DEM.PL PL plant 3.PRS.R=grow
‘Plants live with the rain.’ (V&E: 221)
[nange ra
with
SG
Kye]OBL
rain
In example (11), we also have an adjunct PP nange ra Kye with an instrumental
meaning. Another example of this oblique encoding is given in (12).
(12) bi=gCGk=ra
däGpo [nange ra
EO 3.PST=SS/clean.B[3.OBJ]=SG forest
with
SG
‘He cleaned the forest with a machete.’ (V&E: 302)
jwai]
machete
The structure in (12) contrasts with the construction in (13) where the verb inflects in
an adverbial tense, and the NP encoding the instrument is unmarked.
(13) í=gCGk=ra
däGpo [ra jwai]
EO 3.PST.ADV=SS/clean.B[3.OBJ]=SG
forest SG machete
‘He cleaned the forest with a machete.’ (V&E: 302)
However, despite the existence of (14), in Eastern Otomi it is far more common to
find the unmarked indexed adverbial NP in preverbal position, which is the default
position for focus, as in (16).
(16) a. [ra ’ye] na=nte
yq paxi
EO
SG rain
3.PRS.R.ADV=grow PL plant
‘WITH THE RAIN, plants are alive.’
‘It is with rain that plants are alive.’ (V&E: 220)
EO
b. [ra koni]
í=ts‹’›ix=ra
fani
SG hackberry.rope (3.)PST.ADV=‹PASS›carry.AS[3.OBJ]=SG mule
‘WITH A HACKBERRY ROPE, the mule was brought.’
‘It's with hackberry rope that the mule was brought.’ (V&E: 306)
When the construction involves an adverb, fronting is obligatory.
(17) a. maske [asta nijQya]
daP=n-nu=wi
ya
EO
but
until next.year 1.PRS.IRR.ADV=MIDDL-see=DU PTCL
‘But until next year we won't meet again.’ (E&V: 4)
b. *maske daP=n-nu=wi
ya [asta nijQya]
but
1.PRS.IRR.ADV=MIDDL-see=DU PTCL until next.year
Intended reading: ‘But we won't meet again until next year.’
The functions of adverbial inflection
Adverbial inflection has various functions depending on its syntactic scope:
EO
(i) Predicate scope: where it encodes manner of motion or posture.
(ii) Inter-clausal scope: where it serves as a clause-combining mechanism to encode
an adverbial relation between two clauses.
(iii) Intra-clausal scope: where it serves as a device to register an adverbial in focus.
The construction is very common with clefts. Cleft constructions may involve a
pronominal in focus. Compare (18) with (19), which illustrate the same focus
structure but with a different interpretation on the pronominal.
Intra-clausal scope and the registering of adverbial phrases.
Adverbial inflection registers an adverbial phrase that has a prominent role regarding
information structure, as it commonly occurs in focus. When the indexed adverbial
phrase is an NP, it may occur in situ. This is seen in various examples above in
Eastern Otomi, notably in (14).
(14) ní=Kyän=ra
mujwa=[KY
yqP
nhyQtsKi]
3.PRS.R.ADV=move.B=SG armadillo=DEF.PL PL.3POSS fold
‘The armadillo moves because of its folds.’ (V&E 2007: 231-232)
EO
For this situation, in Acazulco Otomi, another Otomi language of the Southern
subgroup, an adverbial NP in focus inside the VP is still encoded with a PP, as seen
in (15); a possibility apparently not available in Eastern Otomi.
(18) Pronominal clefts and object focus
EO
[ge=Ka]
dí=m-män=gC=Ka=ya
FOC=DEM.SG 1.PRS.R=INFL-say.AS[3.OBJ]=1EMPH=DEM.SG=PTCL
‘THAT is what I mean.’ (E&V: 115)
(19) Pronominal clefts and adverbial focus
a. [ge=Ka]
g-dí=paKm-a=kafe
FOC=DEM.SG
2-PRS.IRR.ADV=heat[3.OBJ]-B=coffee
Instrument: ‘WITH THAT you may heat coffee.’ (V&E: 223)
EO
b. [ge=Ka]
í=n-hCGte
FOC= DEM.SG
3.PST.ADV=INFL-cheat
Manner: ‘He cheated thus.’(Lit. ‘It's so that he cheated.’) (V&E: 222)
(15) daP=k’YGki=ga
[ko yám
tsKi]
1.CPL.ADV=tear[3.OBJ]=1 with DEM.PL.1POSS tooth
‘I tore it with my teeth.’ (Green 2012: 7)
AC
-5-
-6-
Clefts may also involve full NPs in focus, as in (20) compared with (21).
(20) Nominal clefts and subject focus
EO
jananjabY
[ge=Ka
ma
nana] bi=te=GkC
because.of.that FOC=DEM.SG 1POSS mother 3.PST=bring.up=1EMPH
‘Because of that, MY MOTHER brought me up.’ (E&V: 258)
Adverbial inflection across Otomi-Mazahua.
Unlike in Eastern Otomi, where adverbial inflection indexes the occurrence of an
adverbial phrase without semantic specification, in Acazulco Otomi, one finds that
instrumental phrases and manner phrases are indexed by different means. For a
detailed account, see Green (2012).ii
(21) Nominal clefts and adverbial focus
EO
a. o [ge=Ka
rá
xQni] ní=K‹y›CKtsK-i
or FOC=DEM.SG SG.3POSS piece 3.PRS.R.ADV=‹SS›scoop[3.OBJ]-F
Instrument: ‘Or WITH A PIECE (OF TORTILLA) he scoops it.’ (E&V: 10-11)
b. [ge=Ka
gC] ná=n-’Ynb-a=hY=Ka
FOC=DEM.SG all 1.PRS.R.ADV=MIDDL-suffer-B=PL=DEM.SG
Reason: ‘FOR ALL THAT we suffer.’ (V&E: 225)
Incompletive
1st
2nd
3rd
‘ingest’
I
drá tsZMga
grá tsZM
ra tsZM
Completive
1st
2nd
3rd
dí tsZMga
gí tsi
bi zZM
dí(-dí) teM
gí(-dí) teM
bi teM
dí hóGki
gí hóGki
bi hóGki
Irrealis
1st
2nd
3rd
gY tsZMga
gi tsZM
da zZM
gi-di teM
gi-di teM
di teM
gi-di hóGki
gi-di hóGki
di hóGki
Associated with focus, the construction is naturally used with adverbial wh-words:
(22) a. [ha=GpY] g_ní=mba?
INT=there
2.PRS.R.ADV=SS/go
‘Where do you go?’ (V&E: 228)
‘grow’
II
drá teMga
grá teM
ra teM
‘fix’
III
drá-dí hóGki
grá-dí hóGki
ra-di hóGki
Table 3. Three representative subparadigms of Acazulco Otomi.
EO
Incompletive
b. [’bQ=GpY] g_ní=nu-g-i?
COMP=so
2.PRS.R.ADV=see-1OBJ-F
‘How do you consider me?’ (V&E: 226)
Instr./Reason
Manner/Reason
Manner
Adverbial
c. [ha_nkGa] á=n-zix=kC
mande?
INT_why
3.PST.ADV=INFL-SS/take=1OBJ yesterday
‘Why did he take me yesterday?’ (V&E: 226)
Completive
(no specification)
Instrument
Manner/Reason
As well as with relativization of the adverbial element, as in (23).
(23) a. hinKyY [KbQ=Ka
dí=Ynb-a=KY]
EO
not.be COMP=DEM.SG 3.PRS.IRR.ADV=hurt[3.OBJ]-B=DEM.PL
‘There is no reason why he should hurt them.’ (V&E: 231)
(Lit. ‘There isn't what he should hurt them for.’)
Instrument
Irrealis
(no specification)
Instrument
Manner/Reason
1st
2nd
3rd
1st
2nd
3rd
drá
grí
rí
dra
grY
ga
I
tsiga
tsi
zZM
tsiga
tsi
nzZM
II
drá-dí teMga
grá-dí teM
rá teM
dra-di teMga
gra-di teM
ga teM
III
drá hóGki
grí hóGki
rí hóGki
dra hóGki
grY hóGki
gi hóGki
1st
2nd
3rd
dá
gí
í
gá
tsiga
tsi
zZM
nzZM
dá-dí
gá-dí
á
gá
teMga
teM
teM
teM
dá
gí
í
gí
hóGki
hóGki
hóGki
hóGki
1st
2nd
3rd
dá
dí
dí
ká
tsiga
tsi
zZM
nzZM
dá-dí
dá-dí
dá
ká
teMga
teM
teM
teM
dá
dí
dí
kí
hóGki
hóGki
hóGki
hóGki
Table 4. The adverbial tenses in Acazulco Otomi.
b. i=käx=yq
jätKaKdqzä
3.PRS.R=carry.B[3.OBJ]=PL sack
[(ge)
ní=dQ
yq hwä]
REL/FOC 3.PRS.R.ADV=SS/fish[3.OBJ] PL fish
‘They carry sacks with which they get the fish.’ (E&V: 10)
-7-
Mazahua is the language in the group with a more restricted adverbial inflection. It is
only used with a specific set of fronted adverbs. The adverbs in question subdivide
into three classes for morphological purposes as each class has a slightly different
subparadigm. These appear in Table 6. The data is much adapted from Stewart (1966:
125ff).
-8-
(Unmarked)
With adverb class I
st
Present
1
2nd
3rd
Impf.
1st
2nd
3rd
Past
1st
2nd
3rd
Future
1st
2nd
3rd
Potential 1st
2nd
3rd
‘work’
rgá pëpji(gö)
gí pëpji(ge)
ga pëpji
(r)má pëpji(gö)
má/mí pëpji(ge)
má pëpji
rvá pëpji(gö)
ví pëpji(ge)
vá pëpji
rga pëpji(gö)
rgi pëpji(ge)
rgá/rgí pëpji
rva pëpji(gö)
rvi pëpji(ge)
rva pëpji
‘work’
rí pëpji(gö)
ín pëpji(ge)
Ø pëpji
(r)mí pëpji(gö)
mí pëpji(ge)
mí pëpji
ró pëpji(gö)
ín pëpji(ge)
ó pëpji
rá pëpji(gö)
rí pëpji(ge)
ra pëpji
ri pëpji(gö)
ri pëpji(ge)
ri pëpji
Adverbial tenses
With adverb class II
rgá
ní
ní
(r)má
mí
má
rvá
ví
vá
rga
rgi
rgí
rva
rvi
rva
‘work’
pëpji(gö)
pëpji(ge)
pëpji
pëpji(gö)
pëpji(ge)
pëpji
pëpji(gö)
pëpji(ge)
pëpji
pëpji(gö)
pëpji(ge)
pëpji
pëpji(gö)
pëpji(ge)
pëpji
‘work’
rrí/rrú pëpji(gö)
ní pëpji(ge)
ní pëpji
rvá
ví
ví
rga
rgi
rgí
rva
rvi
rví
pëpji(gö)
pëpji(ge)
pëpji
pëpji(gö)
pëpji(ge)
pëpji
pëpji(gö)
pëpji(ge)
pëpji
Table 6. The adverbial tenses in Mazahua
Adverb class I
na jo(’o)
na niji
jamnch’a
ts’ë tsKë
ndajmetjo
jã (c’o)
(24)
MAZ
(25)
MAZ
Adverb class II
‘well’
‘fast’
‘slowly’
‘little by little’
‘in/for a while’
‘how’
tsKi
dí=ne
(27) [jange]
With adverb class III
because.of.that
da=nëng-aP=r
3.PRS.IRR.ADV=want[3.OBJ] 3.PRS.IRR=swell.AS-B.3POSS=SG
wa
nKa
foot
one
‘It's because of that that one's foot swells up.’
(Lit. ‘BECAUSE OF THAT one's foot wants to swell.’)
In this respect, Eastern Otomi is the only language where adverbial inflection can be
used with full NPs with adverbial meaning. This is not a possibility available to any
other language, as shown for example by the infelicity of examples (28b) or (28c)
from Northern Otomi.
(28) a. bi=xYGk-w-i
Ra_ñho [ko=r xabo]
NO
3.PST=wash.up-3DAT-F well
with=SG soap
‘They washed it (his hand) well with soap.’
b. *i=xYGk-w-i
Ra_ñho [ar xabo]
SG soap
3.PST.ADV=wash.up-3DAT-F well
Intended reading: ‘They washed it (his hand) well with soap.’
Adverb class III
‘early’
ya
dya be
ya xo
‘just’
‘still’
‘also’
c. *[ar xabo] i=xYGk-w-i
Ra_ñho
SG
soap 3.PST.ADV=wash.up-3DAT-F well
Intended reading: ‘They washed it (his hand) well with soap.’
A summary of the variation internal to the group is given in Table 5.
[na_jo] rgá=ñá=gö
well[I] 1.PRS.ADV=speak=1EMPH
‘I speak well.’ (Stewart 1966:131)
[cjá]
ró=cjuarü=gö
almost 1.PST=finish=1EMPH
‘I'm almost finished.’ (Stewart 1966: 50)
In Otomi, in constrast, as I have shown in the previous section, the construction can
be used with wh-words, clefts and adverbs. But about adverbs, languages differ as to
the type and number of items they allow. For example, in Northern Otomi it may
occur with a set of adverbial pronominals like locative ja/ha in (26) and the reason
adverbial jange ‘because of that’ in (27).
(26) nuKya [ja] gir
hüh=’pY
now LOC 2.PRS.IRR.ADV sit.AS=there
‘And now you'll be sitting THERE.’
NO
-9-
Intra-clausal scope
Inter-clausal scope
Predicate scope
Semantic specification
Focused adverbial NPs
Focused adverbs
Wh-words
Clefting
Relatives
Acazulco
Otomi

X
Some



?
X
Eastern
Otomi
X

Some





Tilapa
Otomi
X
X
Some


?
?

Northern
Mazahua
Otomi
X
X
X
X
Some
Some

X
X
X
(marginally)
X
(marginally)
X


Table 5. Functional scope of adverbial tenses in Otomi-Mazahua.
So what is adverbial inflection?
There are two possible ways to account for adverbial inflection. One possible view is
to regard the intra-clausal uses of adverbial inflection as having applicative function.
This is the position taken in Green's (2012) account for the phenomenon in Acazulco
Otomi. The best example for this possibility is to compare the construction in (29a)
with the one in (29b).
-10-
(29) a. bi=dätK-i
[ko yq kadena]
EO
3.PST=SS/tie[3.OBJ]-F with PL chain
‘He tied it with chains (i.e., the dog).’ (V&E: 304)
b. í=dätK=[yq
kadena]
3.PST.ADV=SS/tie.B[3.OBJ]=PL chain
‘He tied it with chains (i.e., the dog).’ (V&E: 304)
It is known that typical applicatives promote an NP so that it acquires object
properties, such as pronominalization, relativization, and passivization (Peterson
1999, 2007). Because of this, it is common to find applicatives that promote non-core
arguments to core. For example, the construction in (29b) reminds one of the
instrumental applicative of the Mayan language K’ichee’, which promotes an
instrumental participant to object. Compare for this purpose (30a) and (30b), which
can be further passivized as in (30c).iii
(30) a. x-at-in-sok-oj
(ch-ee jun chi’iich’)
CPL-2SG.ABS-1SG.ERG-wound-TERM PREP-RN one machete
‘I wounded you (with a machete).’ (adapted from Norman 1978: 460)
K’I
b. [chi’iich’] x-Ø-in-sok-b’e-j
aw-eech
machete
CPL-3ABS-1SG.ERG-wound-INSTR-TERM 2SG.GEN-RN
‘I used a machete to wound you.’ (Norman 1978: 462)
‘It's a machete what I used to wound you.’
c. [chi’iich’] x-Ø-sok-b’e-x
(aw-eech)
machete
CPL-3ABS-wound-INSTR-PASS
2SG.GEN-at
‘A machete was used to wound you.’ (Norman 1978: 462)
‘It's a machete what was used to wound (you).’
Of special interest about the applicative construction in K’ichee’ is that the language
is VOS, so the instrumental NP in (30b-c) occurs in preverbal focus position. In this it
resembles grosso modo the use of adverbial inflection in Eastern Otomi, but there are
structural differences, because an adverbial NP indexed by adverbial inflection is
never promoted to direct object in Eastern Otomi.
(31) a. da=h‹y›o-’-i
3.PRS.IRR=‹SS›kill-2OBJ-F
‘He'd kill you with a gun.’
EO
[nange ra
with
SG
nzafi]
gun
b. [ra nzafi] dí=h‹y›o-’-i
SG gun
3.PRS.IRR.ADV=‹SS›kill-2OBJ-F
‘It's with a gun, he'd kill you.’
-11-
In this connection, the Otomi construction reminds us of the one found in other
Mayan languages like Ixil and Tzutujil, which use the cognate instrumental
morpheme -b’e, but without promoting the instrument to core-argument.iv
(32) a. n-in-tzok’=Ø
tse’ [t-a’n
machit]
IXIL
INCPL-1SG.ERG-cut=3SG.ABS tree 3SG.GEN-RN
machete
‘I'm cutting the tree with a machete.’ (Norman 1978: 464)
b. [uula] Ø-a-k’oni-b’e=in
sling
CPL-2SG.ERG-shoot-APPL=1SG.ABS
‘With a sling, you shot me.’ (Norman 1978: 464)
(33)
TZU
[tz’uum] x-in-r-ch’ey-b’ee-j
whip
CPL-1SG.ABS-3.ERG-hit-APPL-TERM
‘It was a whip that he hit me with.’ (Dayley 1985: 355)
Aissen (1990) treats the function of the instrumental morpheme -b’e in (32) and (33)
as a ‘registering applicative’, proposing that applicative morphology can be used just
to register the occurrence of an adverbial phrase in the clause.v It is appealing to
regard adverbial inflection in Otomi as being a ‘registering applicative’ when it has
intra-clausal scope. This would be in accordance with a view of applicatives as
mechanisms that promote to prominent pragmatic positions (Mithun 2002). One of
the main functions of a registering applicative is precisely to place the registered
phrase in focus, as for example the locative adverbials in Tswana by Creissels (2004).
(34) a. kL-taLaL-taLbP-aL [koP tsPleL-L]
1SG-FUT-run-FIN PREP road[9]-LOC
‘I will run on the road.’ (Creissels 2004: 11)
TSW
b. kL-taLaL-taLbP-Pl-aL
[koP tsPleL-L]
1SG-FUT-run-APPL-FIN PREP road[9]-LOC
‘I will run ON THE ROAD (as opposed to somewhere else).’
Viewing adverbial inflection as having applicative function compels one to view
Eastern Otomi as the most conservative member of the group, and to conclude that
the construction has reduced its functional space in all other Otomi languages, the
extreme end found in Mazahua, which only allows it with a set of focused adverbs.
The applicative account is problematic in that it needs to treat adverbs as applied
arguments. Although this view places the Otomi-Mazahua phenomeon in the right
Mesoamerican perspective, perhaps the constructional similarities are better regarded
as due to having the same function rather than having the same structure.
-12-
An alternative analysis of adverbial inflection is to view it as adverbial
pronominalization which has developed some agreement-like behaviour in its role of
adverbial registering. In such a view, the phenomenon bears resemblance with the
locative and partitive pronominals of French, like in (35).
Many other instances of adverbial inflection with a preverbal adverbial phrase could
then be better understood as being focused extracted elements whose reference and
semantic role are recovered inside the clause by adverbial pronominalization on the
head.
(35) a. Paul va à Lyon. Il y va en voiture
‘Paul goes to Lyon. He goes there by car.’
(39) [te]
[ke4
gaP-taP=tsi
ntKa mi
hme]?
TIL what REL.FOC 1.PRS.IRR_ADV =ingest[3.OBJ]
one 1POSS tortilla
‘What is it that I am going to eat my tortilla with?’
b. Vous achetez des surgelés? -Oui, j'en achète
‘Do you buy frozen foods? - Yes, I do’ (Lit. I buy of them)
This view can put other data in place. For example, the main discourse function of
adverbial inflection is to pin-point to a topical referent in the discourse outside the
clause which happens to have an adverbial role within the clause. This is a function
found in morphologically conservative Otomi languages: Anaphoric uses appear in
Acazulco Otomi (36) and Tilapa Otomi (37), and a cataphoric one in EO (38).
(36) x=ki
pQnt’=[rY
AC ANT=2.CPL
grab.B[3.OBJ]=SG
‘You grabbed the knife.’
khwaMi],
knife
x=tá
hQGki=ga
nY
ngqM=nY
ANT=1.CPL CUT[3.OBJ]=1 DEM.SG MEET=DEM.SG
‘I've already cut the meat with it.’ (Green 2012: 6)
(37) Kneha mbChC
g‹w›Y=Gtyü=hY
[yo skY-za],
TIL and.FP SS/go.PL.INCL ‹CISLOC›1.PRS.IRR=bring[3.OBJ]=PL.INCL two DIM-stick
‘And now we're going to bring two sticks.’
para
gY=GkCtsKY=hY,
1.PRS.IRR=burn.B[3.OBJ]=PL.INCL
‘to burn them.’
PURP
gaP_taP-tYP=GpQtKY=hY
1.PRS.IRR_ADV-1=make.tortillas.B=PL.INCL
‘to make tortillas that way.’
‘to make tortillas with the burning sticks.’
para
PURP
ná=m-KbYh-t=Ka
na
ra xitsu:
3.PRS.R.ADV=INFL-live.AS-DEL=DEF.SG DEM.SG SG woman
‘In that way lives this woman:’
(38) ya
EO
PTCL
[nge hingi zäm=mi
nKda ra nKyohY]
that NEG [3.PRS.R]persist.AS=DU one SG man
‘in that she never stays with one man.’ (E&V: 48)
-13-
The question arises then as to what happened in Eastern Otomi so that we can
account for the structure in example (29b). In this view, this initial state of affairs was
taken further in Eastern Otomi. It is well known that pronominals develop into
agreement markers, e.g. French subject affixes (Bloomfield 1933: 191ff), or Spanish
dative clitics.
(40) a. [Jean] ou
est-il?
John where is-he
‘Where is John?’
b. Le=voy
a dar [a los
niño-s] un dulce
3DAT=go.1SG.PRS.IND to give to the.PL.M child-PL a sweet
‘I'm going to give the kids a sweet.’
This is what appears to have happened in Eastern Otomi, the construction would have
first allowed extracted NPs, as in (41), to extracted NPs in focus (42).
(41) [nü=Ka
na=n-tih=ra fani], [ge=Ka] [í=dC=Ka]
EO
INTRO=DEM.SG INF=ST-run.B=SG mule FOC=3SG 3.PST.ADV=SS/fall.AS=3SG
‘The mule's running, that is the reason why she fell off.’
(42) [ni
mfë]
[g-dí=tü]
EO
2POSS theft
2-PRS.IRR.ADV=die
‘You'll die BECAUSE OF YOUR THEFTS.’ (V&E: 306)
(Lit. ‘It's your thefts you will die for.’)
From this situation it is possible to imagine a second stage in which the NP is placed
inside the VP. In these situations, adverbial inflection having a pronominal function
becomes a registering agreement-like operator. The displacement would have first
happen with complements of motion and putting verbs (43a), and then with other
adjuncts (43b). With this analysis we finish with the same construction where the
applicative analysis starts.
(43) a. [ní=K‹y›ë=GpY
[dejä] ra
3.PRS.R.ADV =‹SS›come.AS=there sea
SG
‘The salt comes from the sea.’ (V&E: 306)
EO
-14-
Kü]
salt
b. [ní=’‹y›äx=ra
t’ëi
[ra
corn.drink SG
3.PRS.ADV=‹SS›stir.B[3.OBJ]=SG
‘He stirs the ‘atole’ with a stick’ (V&E 2007: 164)
za]]
stick
In this paper, I have given an overview of the constructions where adverbial
inflection is used in some Otomi-Mazahua languages. And I have provided two
alternative accounts of it, one based on applicative function, the other on adverbial
pronominalization.
i
My sincere thanks to Néstor H. Green, Grev Corbett, Oliver Bond, Sebastian Feden and Milena
Krstić for the fruitful discussions on the topic.
ii
In Acazulco Otomi (just like in Tilapa Otomi, another Souther Otomi language), the exponents of
class I have not been extended completely as the default for the inflection of class III verbs.
Marking contrasts are retained in the markers expressing manner.
iii
A similar phenomenon is found in Tswana (or Setwana) where the general applicative promotes
an instrument NPs to subject, see Creissels (2004: 9 ff) for more details.
iv
A similar construction is not possible in K’ichee’ (Norman 1978: 462).
v
The notion of a registering applicative is further taken in Zavala (2000) for the analysis of Oluta, a
Mixe-Zoquean language. See also Polian (2012) for a similar treatment of the functions of Tseltal
and Tsotsil pronominal a/o.
6
Northern Otomi is represented here by the variety of San Ildefonso Tultepec, Querétaro.
-15-