Beyond Time - Linguistics - University of California, Berkeley

(303) Iñolo lyenu twakalibona ijilo lwaSanu . . . Onse twakasuwa.
. . . Iñolo lyenu twa-ka-li-bon-a
cl5.letter cl5.2sg(poss) 1pl.cmpl-prehod-refl-see-fv
lwaSanu. . . O-nse twa-ka-suw-a.
cl11.Thursday cl6-all 1pl.cmpl-prehod-understand-fv
ijilo
yesterday
‘Your letter, we got it yesterday, Thursday [the day of writing]. We understood
everything.’ (ZT2009Elic165)
In narratives, shifts in perspective time are the norm. Once the dissociative domain
of narrative time has been established through -ka- marking, -a-marked forms are used as
events are described from a narrative-internal perspective. See section 5.4 for more details.
5.3.2.3 Summary of analysis
In summary, both na- and -ka- behave as shifters of temporal domain. They are thus tense
markers in the sense of Botne & Kershner (2008). They are linked as well with epistemic
uncertainty (na-) and less direct relevance at perspective time (-ka-). That is, they may be
associated both with tense (temporal dissociation) and with more modal dissociation.
Other markers related to aspect, completion, and modality can operate within dissociated
domains. A simple pictorial representation of dissociative domain marking is given in (304),
which presents basic diagrams for uses of prehodiernal dissociative -ka- with durative -nenga
‘dance’ and change-of-state -komokwa ‘be surprised’. 22 The perspective time (PT) is in the
associative domain, or current cognitive world, of the utterance (labeled P-domain). The
lines connecting the domains symbolize use of -ka- projecting out of the P-domain, into a
dissociative domain (labeled D-domain) and assert that a particular situation reached nuclear
completion in that domain. Running timelines through each domain suggest that situations
obtain across a time span within their respective domains.
(304) a. ndàkànèngà
nda-ka-neng-a
1sg.cmpl-prehod-dance-fv
‘I danced’
22 For a more complex general illustration, taking into account also different views of the movement of time
(or movement through time), see Botne & Kershner 2008:153. Botne & Kershner do not depict timelines
running through dissociated temporal domains, but rather show only time-related movement within the
P-domain, and between the P-domain and D-domains. Botne & Kershner (2008:153)) portray a timeline
running between the domains, indicating that they are construed as temporally related.
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