draft manuscript - Linguistics - University of California, Berkeley

However, constituents derived with -taRa or =mai lack other clausal properties, most notably
the overt encoding of arguments, as in (2.27), from modern Omagua. 55
(2.27) Modern Omagua
Hasta medio cuerpo Rayat1ma SiRimaik w aRa, uRi cielosuimai.
hasta medio
up.to half
=sui
=abl
cuerpo
body
=mai
=inact.nomz
Ra= yat1ma SiRi =mai =k w aRa uRi cielo
3sg.ms= be.buried be.muddy =inact.nomz =iness come sky
‘He was buried in the mud halfway up his body, the one who had come from the sky.’
(MCT:C4.S1)
That these nominalizers have scope over the entire clause is often not visible, as clauses nominalized
by -taRa or =mai frequently have minimal internal structure, as in (2.28).
(2.28) 1watimai Ritama, aikiaRa tuyuka Ritama, upakatu maRainkanamukui, yaw1k1taRa, wakutataRa,
yeneyaRasemai weRanu, muRiai Dios muRa.
1wati =mai Ritama aikiaRa tuyuka Ritama upa =katu maRain
be.high.up =inact.nomz village dem.prox.ms land village all =intsf thing
=kana =mukui yaw1k1 -taRa wakuta -taRa yene= yaRa =semai
=pl.ms =com make -act.nomz carry.in.arm -act.nomz 1pl.incl= master =verid
weRanu muRia -i Dios muRa
coord thus -? God 3sg.ms
‘The Creator of Heaven, Earth and all things, the protector, and our true Lord as well, thus
is God.’
(example (5.2b))
Evidence for the clitic status of =mai comes from the fact that it attaches to the entire verb
phrase, as in (2.1). It occurs outside of spatial postpositions, which we analyze synchronically as
phonologically bound nominal enclitics, given that they follow the nominal plural enclitics =kana
pl.ms and =na pl.fs, analyzed as such because of their scopal properties and distribution within
the noun phrase (see Michael et al. (in prep)). 56 Furthermore, the position of =mai may vary within
the noun phrase with respect to the plural enclitics and spatial postpositions, depending on scope,
as can be seen in (2.27) above. 57
55 In one attested example, person is encoded via a pronominal proclitic, as in (2.1).
(2.1) Modern Omagua
RanapaRisaRa upa Ranakak1R1 Ritamak w aRamai.
Rana= paRisaRa upa Rana= kak1R1 Ritama =k w aRa =mai
3pl.ms= invite all 3pl.ms= live village =loc =inact.nomz
‘They used to invite all those who lived in the village.’
(LHC:2011.06.29.1)
56 The appearance of =mai outside of spatial postpositions, although not attested in the Jesuit texts, is also attested
in von Humboldt’s work (see footnote (53)), in the form , which we transliterate and segment
as uni=w1R1pe=mai ‘water=subess=inact.nomz’ and translate as ‘that which is under the water’. This is line
with Humboldt’s German translation ‘was unter dem Wasser ist’.
57 See Table 2.5 for a schema of nominal morphology.
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