Beyond Time - Linguistics - University of California, Berkeley

. balinunite
ba-li-nun-ite
1sg-pres.stat-get.fat-stat
‘they’re fat’
In addition to change-of-state verbs, where -ite picks out a state in the coda phase, -ite
also occurs frequently with “true” (non-inchoative) statives, and with perception statives.
The occurrence of -ite with true statives is shown in (344)-(346). As expected, -ite-marked
verbs refer to a time frame within the single-phase stative situation, here, being rich, being
cheap, or waiting. Marking with -ite seems to be the most natural way of expressing the
meanings in (344)-(346). I argue in 6.4 that -ite’s relevance presupposition can account for
its use with examples such as these.
(344) ishabo kafumite
ishabo ka-fum-ite
their(3pl).father prehod.ipfv-be.rich-stat
‘their father was rich’ (NT2007Narr9.BM Muntu Nomufwakazi Wakwe)
(345) chichipite
chi-chip-ite
cl7-be.cheap-stat
‘it is cheap’ (NT2007Elic57)
(346) ano tulilindile okuti aba abakwayamasta beeze
ano tu-li-lind-ile
okuti aba aba-kwayamasta
now 1pl-pres.stat-wait-stat that
ba-iz-e
cl2-come-fv.sbjv
cl2.dem cl2-choir.masters
‘now we’re waiting for those choirmasters to come’ (ZT2007Narr22.VB, Sunu)
Interpretations with perception statives are similar, as shown in (347), which contrasts a
-la- form in (347a), with relatively free temporal interpretation, with the corresponding -ite
form, which references a time after entry into the state.
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