Beyond Time - Linguistics - University of California, Berkeley

(493)
Ínwè mwìná òkùlìmà-lìmá àwò ndípènì mwáànênù ndìkàlélè.
inwe mu-ina oku-lim-a-lim-a
awo ndi-peni
2pl.pron 2pl-have inf-cultivate-fv-cultivate-fv cl16.dem 1sg-give.pl.imp
mwaanenu ndi-ka-lel-e.
angu ndi-la-bool-a
child.2pl(poss) 1sg-dist-amuse-fv.sbjv.
‘Hey you there cultivating away, give me your child that I may go amuse it. ’
(ZT2009NarrA19.GS.12-13, Kalima Mawundu)
7.4.4 Conditionals and counterfactuals
Conditionals are formed with conditional word ésì (sometimes ásì) ‘if, when’, also used
in other temporal clauses . Both the protases and apodoses of conditionals, as well as
counterfactuals, may occur with a variety of tense and aspect markers. Example (494)
shows a present habitual / near future conditional. The protasis takes subjunctive final
vowel -e in present and future contexts.
(494) ésì tùlyé àhúlù, tùlékùtà
esi tu-li-e ahulu tu-la-ikut-a
cond 1pl-eat-fv a.lot 1pl-noncmpl-become.full-fv
‘if we eat a lot, we(’ll) get full’ (ZT2009Elic40)
Further examples of conditional clauses may be found throughout this study.
Counterfactual clauses are introduced by counterfactual kámbè, a word also used as a
counterfactual in Lozi. Kámbè may also introduce the apodosis, but it is not obligatory and is
quite frequently excluded. The verb in the apodosis is frequently marked by a counterfactual
marker na-. (495) and (496) show this form for counterfactual hodiernal situations (past
and non-past) and with prehodiernal marking, respectively.
(495) kámbè àmênzi àtóntwèlè ná ! twánwà
kambe amenzi a-tontwele na-twa-nu-a
counter cl6.water cl6-cool.stat counter-1pl.cmpl-drink-fv
‘if the water were cool, we would have drunk / we would drink’ (ZT2009Elic40)
(496) . . . nátwàkánwà
na-twa-ka-nu-a
counter-1pl.cmpl-dist-drink-fv
‘. . . we would have drunk’ (yesterday or before) (ZT2009Elic40)
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