The mirative / evidential
delimitation in Quechua
Willem F.H. Adelaar, Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Workshop
Evidentiality and Fieldwork (Leiden, 13 June 2012)
Terminology
Narrative past
Quotative past
Sudden discovery tense
Mirative
Etymology
Quechua I (Central/North Peru):
*-ña-q [ka- ]
Quechua II (all other):
*-shqa [ka- ]
A/S cross-referential endings of the
Tarma Quechua “Mirative”
1 A/S
[ > 3 O/IO] -na-:
2 A/S
[ > 3 O/IO] -na-y[ki]
1+2 A/S [ > 3 O/IO] -na-nči[k]
3 A/S
[ > 3 O/IO] -naq
Mirative and tense
3rd Person A/S:
Present:
wata-n
“He/she ties (it)”
Future:
wata-nqa
“He/she will tie (it)”
Past:
wata-ra
“He/she tied (it)”
Mirative:
wata-naq
“It turns out that he/she
had tied (it)”
Habitual past: wata-q
“He/she used to tie (it)”
“He/she would tie (it)”[1]
Mirative and Aspect
turumanya inti-ta-m muyu-ra-ya:-naq
rainbow sun-ACC-ASS turn-CONT-PROG3A/S.MIR
“A rainbow was surrounding the sun.” 2]
yarga-ra-:ri-na-: masya:du karu-ta-m
go.upward-PERV-PL-MIR-1A/S too.much
far-ACC-ASS
“We realised that we had climbed too far.”
Mirative and evidentials:
Assertive –m(i)
altu-ĉaw ka-yka-nqa-y-kama-m
intrega-rqa-ma:-ñaq mamá-y
highlands-LOC be-PROG-NOMZ-1A/SDLMT-ASS give.away-PERV-1O/IO3A/S.MIR mother-1POSS
“While I was staying in the highlands, my
mother had given me away [in marriage].”
Mirative and evidentials:
Reported speech –sh(i)
ima-sh ga-naq, rachak-shi kinra-n kinra-n
ĉura-naka-ra-:ri-na[q] ĉaski-yubay-si
what-REP be-3A/S.MIR toad-REP side-3POSS side3POSS place-RECIP-PERV-PL-3A/S.MIR
relay.runner-COMPAR-ADD
“What had actually happened? The toads had posted
each other on different spots along the track as in a
relay-race.”
Mirative and negation
man-ta qam ka-ra-y-chu chay o:ra-qa,
nuqa rikaĉaku-rka-ya-ra-q-ta
not-CONTRA you be-PAST-2A/S-NEG that
time-TOP, I/we look.out-PL-PROG-PAST1A/S>2O/IO-CONTRA
“You were not there then [although we had
agreed to meet there]. We were looking out
for you!”
Mirative and interrogative:
Experimental mirative
ma: tupa-yu-y kuyu-ri-naq-chu-sh
let.us.see bump.into-DIR-2A/S.IMP moveINCEP-3A/S.MIR-INTER-REP
“Why do not you give it a push to see if it moves
or not!”
Mirative and exclamation
kipi llashak-mi ka-shka
bundle heavy-ASS be-3A/S.MIR
“The bundle is heavy indeed.”
ima-shina kay wañu-shka kusa manchanai-ta miku-n-arí
what-COMPAR this die-NOMZ husband terror-ACC eat3A/S.PRES-EMPH
“How terribly this dead husband is eating!”
[Examples from Ecuadorian Highland Quichua
(Olbertz 2009)]
Mirative in Andean Spanish
“Así había.sido la voluntad del Taytacha.”
like.that be.3S.PLUPERFECT ART.F will
of.ART.M God
“That is how God’s will turned out to be.”
[Source: Escalante and Valderrama 1992]
Mirative?
Surprisive
vs.
Mirative (Qu) ?
Mirative
vs.
Revelative (Qu) ?
Abbreviations
A/S actor / subject; ADD additive; ACC accusative
case; ART article; ASS assertive evidential;
COMPAR comparative case; CONT continuative;
CONTRA contrastive; DIR directional; DLMT
delimitative; EMPH emphatic; F feminine gender;
IMP imperative; INCEP inceptive; INTER
interrogative; LOC locative case; M masculine
gender; MIR “mirative” tense; NOMZ
nominalizer; O/IO object / indirect object; PAST
past tense; PERV perfective aspect; PLUPERFECT
plusquamperfect tense; PL plural; POSS possessive;
PRES present tense; PROG progressive aspect;
RECIP reciprocal; REP reportative evidential; TOP
topic.