GB151
Is there an overt verb marker dedicated to signaling coreference or noncoreference between the subject of one clause and an argument of an adjacent clause (‘switch reference’)?
Is there an overt marker on the verb that marks whether the argument has the same/a different referent as/than an argument of the following clause? Some languages (e.g. Kashaya) signal switch reference by using different allomorphs of TAM markers depending on whether the subject of the following clause is the same or different. Some systems (e.g. Southeastern Pomo) only have special morphology to indicate different subjects, whereas the contrasting morphological pattern that is used for coreferential subjects can also be used for some combinations of clauses with different referents.
- Examine sections of the grammar that describe clause combining and multi-clausal constructions, or examine examples of multi-clausal constructions if the grammar does not explicitly designate sections to describe multi-clausal constructions.
- Code 1 if there is a marker or morphological alternation in the verbal domain that signals whether the subject of a clause has the same or a different referent as/than an argument (usually the subject) of an adjacent clause.
- Code 1 if there is a marker that signals (non-)coreference between an argument of a clause and an argument of an adjacent clause, with the opposite unmarked (e.g. non-coreference marked overtly and coreference unmarked).
- Code 0 if there are no morphological alternations associated with coreference of arguments in adjacent clauses.
Washo (ISO 639-3: was, Glottolog: wash1253)
No switch of reference:
yaŋáhadik'ɨli gúɁšemiɁé:setiɁaɁ
they.ran.back.and.forth they.stopped.making.noise
‘They ran back and forth and stopped making noise.’ (Jacobsen 1967: 247)
Switch of reference:
mémluyi-š lémehi
if.you.eat-SR I’ll.drink
‘If you eat, I’ll drink.’ (Jacobsen 1967: 247)
(Abbreviations: SR switch in reference)
Washo would be coded 1 because it uses a -š suffix on the verb to mark a switch in reference in the following clause.
Kashaya (ISO 639-3: kju, Glottolog: kash1280)
Kashaya has markers of co-reference and non-co-reference of subjects that can be used to track referents across clauses. Kashaya is coded 1.
a. tubič-ba waːduʔ
stand-CoR walk
‘I got up and left.’/‘I left after getting up.’ (Gamon 1997: 256)
b. Ɂa tui-li mukin soh čaw
1SG.A stand-SR 3.M.SG.A just sit
‘I stood up but he just sat there.’ (Gamon 1997: 256)
(Abbreviations: CoR coreferential)
Southeastern Pomo (ISO 639-3: pom, Glottolog: sout2982)
Southeastern Pomo uses markers on the verb to signal sequential actions in sentences comprised of multiple clauses. A general form of the sequential action marker can be used whether or not the subject of the first clause is the same as the second clause, according to Moshinsky (1974: 76).
a. Ɂa x̣ol-o-fla qnak'-ya
1SG hither-travel-SEQ fall.asleep-PFV
‘He fell asleep after I came.’ (Moshinsky 1974: 76)
b. yiwi yoq-fla bxe ṭlaq-ya
3SG shoot-SEQ deer fall.over-PFV
‘After he shot it, the deer fell over.’ (Moshinsky 1974: 76)
A different sequential marker is also available, which specifies that the clauses have different subjects.
c. Ɂa x̣ol-o-yukin tu qnak'-in-ya
1SG hither-travel-SEQ.SR already fall.asleep-?-PFV
‘He fell asleep before I came.’ (Moshinsky 1974: 76)
d. ma moc'ki-yukin Ɂa til-o-di-t
2SG wake.up-SEQ.SR 1SG thither-travel-POT-IPFV
‘I’ll go before you wake up.’ (Moshinsky 1974: 76)
Southeastern Pomo would be coded 1. Although the general sequential marker can be used whether or not there is a switch in the referent of the subject across two clauses, there is an allomorph of the sequential action marker that is dedicated to marking a switch in the referent of the subject across adjacent clauses.
Austin, Peter. 1981. Switch-reference in Australia. Language 57. 309–334.
Dooley, Robert A. 2010. Exploring clause chaining. SIL Electronic Working Papers 2010-001. Dallas: SIL International.
Jacobsen, William H. 1983. Typological and genetic notes on switch-reference in North American languages. In John Haiman & Pamela Munro (eds), Proceedings of a Symposium on Switch Reference and Universal Grammar, 151–183. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Roberts, John. 1997. Switch-reference in Papua New Guinea. Papers in Papuan Linguistics 3. 101–241. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Australian National University.
Gamon, David. 1997. Grammaticalization of grammatical relations: A typological and historical study involving Kashaya Pomo, Old English, and Modern English. Berkeley: University of California. (Doctoral dissertation.)
Jacobsen, William H. 1967. Switch-Reference in Hokan-Coahuiltecan. In Dell H. Hymes & William Bittle (eds), Studies in Southwestern Ethnolinguistics. Mouton. The Hague. 238-263.
Moshinsky, Julius. 1974. A grammar of Southeastern Pomo. (University of California Publications in Linguistics, 72.) Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
- GB150 Is there clause chaining?
- GB152 Is there a morphologically marked distinction between simultaneous and sequential clauses?
Hannah J. Haynie