Ditransitive Constructions In Vafsi Don Stilo, Max Planck ...
Ditransitive Constructions in Vafsi
Don Stilo, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
1.0 Introduction:
1.1 Introduction: Language affiliation skeleton grammatical sketch of Vafsi
Vafsi belongs to the Tatic family of Northwest Iranian (NWI) languages and is spoken in four
villages (including four very close subdialects) located ± 200 km SSW of Tehran with about
20,000 speakers, half of whom live in cities outside the Vafsi area. Two subdialects, spoken
in the villages of Vafs and Gurchan, referred to below as V-Vafsi and G-Vafsi, respectively,
have been documented (Stilo, to appear and Stilo, 2004).
1.2 Sketch of morphology and basic functions of Vafsi cases and PAMs
Table One: Morphology of Vafsi Nouns and Adjectives
Masculine
Fem I
Fem II
Direct Sing.
-Ø
´-æ (unstressed) -é
Oblique Sing. ´-i (unstressed) -é
-í
Common
Plural
Direct Plur.
´-e (unstressed)
Oblique Plur. -án
Table Two: Pronouns, PAMs, and Oblique Pronominal Bases
Set1 Set2
Oblique Pronominal
Bases (OPBs)
Person/ Direct Oblique
Enclitic
Number Case Case
Suffix
(Copula) Enclitic Prefix hazun= verewn=
1st sg æz
tæ-mén -om(e)
=im(e) =om
im-
hazún=om veréwn=om
2nd sg tæ
es-d -i
=i
=i i- hazún=i veréwn=i
3rd sg an, in t-an-í,
-e (comm. =e (m.) =es is- hazún=es
veréwn=es
t-in-í
gender) =oæ (f.)
1st pl
awán t-awán
-ám(e)
=ám(e) =oan
oan-
hazún=oan veréwn=oan
2nd pl soán
soán
-a
=a
=ian
ian-
hazún=ian veréwn=ian
3rd pl án-e, t-an-án, -énd(e) =énd(e) =esan isan- hazún=esan veréwn=esan
ín-e
t-in-án
‘who’ ke
te-gé
Set1 (‘Direct PAMs’) exponent of nominal arguments in Direct Case
usually suffixes in verb, but may be enclitics (as copula).
Set2 (‘Oblique PAMs’) exponent of nominal arguments in Oblique case
predominately enclitics, highly mobile, but are sometimes proclitics or prefixes.
Characteristics of Oblique Pronoun Bases (OPBs): hazún= and verewn=
- pronoun bases with no semantic content
- only perform a certain range of oblique syntactic functions
- neither hazún= nor verewn= is licensed in Subject, Patient, or Possessive functions
- both OPBs require Set2 enclitics as possessives to indicate person (compare English
‘my-self, your-self’ as a parallel example, but note that these OPBs are not reflexives)
- hazún=: used most commonly as Indirect Object and the adjunct to certain adpositions
- verewn= is used exclusively in Benefactive functions, including those instances where
the Benefactive is used to mark the Recipient of Ditransitives (see §2.2.3 below)
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Table Three: Uses of Direct/Oblique Cases, Set1/Set2 PAMs and the OPBs
(list reduced only to functions relevant to this paper)
Direct Obliq
Syntactic
Function
Direct Obliq PAMs PAMs OPB OPB
Case Case (Set
Hazun verewn
1) (Set2)
Direct case=Set
1
(a) Subject of intransitive verbs (all tenses)
+
-
+
- - -
(b) Agent of transitive verbs in present
+
-
+
- - -
(c) Agent of transitive verbs in past
-
+
-
+ - -
(d) Salient Patients, present (DOM, marked)
-
+
-
+ - -
(e) Salient Patients, past (DOM, Double Oblique Constr.)
- +
(+) - - -
(f) Non-salient
Patients,
pres./past (DOM, unmarked)
+
- - - - -
(g) Experiencer of Experiencer verbs, all tenses
-
+
-
+ - -
(h) RECIPIENT/Indirect Object
-
+
-
+ + (+)
(j) Noun/Pronominal
possessive
-
+
-
+ - -
Oblique case=Set
2
1.3 Alignment and Argument Marking
1.3.1 Vafsi alignment is characterized by three factors:
(1) Tense-based split Ergativity (and optional variants, including ‘Double Oblique’),
(2) Differential Object Marking (DOM), and
(3) Cross-referencing of core arguments with Set1 and Set2 PAMs (Direct and Oblique
functions, respectively), in addition to Set2 clitic mobility, called ‘Fronting’ below.
Present system and DOM
(a) the Nom-Acc Construction/Salient Patients (Agent
- Patient
);
DIRECT
OBLIQUE
(b) counterpart with non-salient Ps
(Agent
- Patient
);
DIRECT
DIRECT
Past system and DOM
(c) the Double Oblique/Salient Patients
(Agent
- Patient
);
OBLIQUE
OBLIQUE
(d) counterpart with non-salient Ps
(Agent
- Patient
).
OBLIQUE
DIRECT
(The Past system has two additional alternate constructions, not relevant to this paper. Note
that the Agent is always Oblique-marked in all constructions in the Past system.)
1.3.2 Set2 Clitics and their Fronting
- Set2 encodes past tense Agents (point (c)) as well as Experiencers (all tenses, point (g)).
- In isolation, the PAM clitics are hosted by the verb, but within the clause Fronting (i.e.,
leftward movement) of Set2 clitics (Set2 is not mobile) to other hosts is quite common:
Agent of Past Tense Transitive Verbs Experiencier of Experiencer verb
Past
Transitive
Fronted
Pres.,
go- ‘want’ Fronted
b-ím-dæ an=om b - -diæ
im-ær-gó an=om
ær- -gó
b-í-diæ an=i
b -diæ
i-r-gó an=i ær-gó
b-ís-diæ an=es
b -diæ
is-ær-gó an=es ær-gó
PUNCT=PAM-saw
that=PAM PUNCT-saw
PAM-DUR-want that=PAM DUR-want
‘I, you, he saw’ ‘I, you, he saw that’ ‘I, you, he wants’ ‘I, you, he wants that’
Fronting Behaviors (but see also 2.3 for an additional crucial point for Ditransitives)
- operates within the bounds of the VP
- Set2 cannot be fronted beyond the left edge of the VP
- Set2 may be hosted by any element within the VP: nouns/pronouns as P, T, or R
(whether in Direct or Oblique case), adverbs, PPs, etc.
- Set2 clitic stacking is not permitted, e.g., to a noun with a Set2 functioning as possessive
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- Fronting is exclusively leftward-moving; never rightward for any reason
2.0 Indirect Objects: The Ditransitive Constructions
Vafsi has three strategies to mark the Recipient (R) argument of Ditransitive verbs
- Double Object Construction (DOC): Oblique-case flagging, no indexing in verb
- Indirect Object Construction (IOC): Adpositional flagging, no indexing in verb
- PAM Ditransitive Construction, PAM indexing in the verb, no flagging
NB: Recipient flagging and indexing are complementary and mutually exclusive. That is,
while an overt Theme is occasionally additionally cross-referenced in the verb — via Set2 in
the Present tenses (Point (d), Table Three) and Set1 in the Past (Point (e), Table Three) — so
far as is known, this additional cross-referencing never occurs with Recipients.
2.1 The Double Object Ditransitive Construction (DOC)
Features of the Double Object Construction (NB: not Double Oblique Construction, point (e), Table Three):
- it lacks an adposition;
- animate Rs are in the Oblique case; (inanimate Rs in Oblique case? unknown)
- the R is most often postverbal (significant, but still optional, feature);
(- Oblique Pronoun Bases (OPBs) hazun= may alternate with full pronoun in Oblique)
In all examples in the rest of this paper, the verb, Theme, and Recipient will be distinguished
visually with three different styles of underlining, as follows:
(1) æz pul æd-do-m esdæ.
THEME VERB
RECIPIENT
I.DIR money
DUR-give=3S2 you.OBL
‘I’ll give you some money.’
2.1.1 Flagging of NP Themes (full nouns and pronouns)
As mentioned above (1.3), Vafsi has Differential Object Marking of Patients/Themes. That
is, Patients/Themes that are both specific and animate are marked with the Oblique case both
in the Present tenses and in the Double Oblique Construction in the Past system.
It is quite common in Vafsi, with certain verbs, to have animate Themes, both non-human
animates (e.g., with ‘sell’) and human animates (e.g., ‘give (in marriage)’). Specific animate
Themes, as with Patients, are Oblique case marked:
Non-specific, Inanimate Theme (DOM unmarked):
(2) yey
q dri púl=es
-da in
tojjár-i. æz
ney n -d-do-m soan.
one
a.bit
money=3S2 PVB-gave this merchant-OM I.DIR reed NG-DUR-give-1S1 you.PL
‘She gave the merchant some money.’ (B11.10)
‘I will not give you the reed.’ (B4.86)
Specific, Animate Theme (DOM marked):
(3) næne-y=s hár=es=da yey
æzin
adui mizán-i.
mother-OM=3S2 PVB=3S2=gave one such person fine-OM
‘He betrothed his mother to a such a fine man.’ (B2.25)
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Non-salient NPs as Recipient
In contradistinction to the Differential Object Marking (DOM) of Patients/Themes, there is no
equivalent differential marking for Rs in Vafsi. All Rs, regardless of specificity and/or
animacy, are flagged with either an Oblique case (DOC) or an adposition (IOC).
(4) hár=om=da yey leyle-y. hár=om=da yey kelj-i.
PVB=1S2=gave one boy-OM
PVB=1S2=gave one girl-OF2
‘I gave (it) to some boy.’
‘I gave (it) to some girl.’
Recipients are invariably Oblique case-marked, both as nouns or full pronouns. Both types
also occur equally in postverbal position in most cases:
(5)
æz
pul æd-do-m æhmæd-i.
I.DIR money
DUR-give=3S2 P.N.MASC.OBL
‘I’ll give Ahmad some money.’
(6) æz pul æd-do-m esdæ.
I.DIR money
DUR-give=3S2 you.OBL
‘I’ll give you some money.’
2.1.2 DOC
and
hazun=, the OPB Subtype
One difference between nouns and pronouns, however, is that the full pronoun type of DOC is
also interchangeable with the Oblique Pronominal Base subtype, using the OPB, hazun=.
(7) b-éyn-om
cíz-i æd-dó-nde hazún=om? ~ b-éyn-om cíz-i æd-dó-nde tæmen?
PU-see-1S1 thing-IDF
DUR-give-3P1 OPB=1S2
= = = = = = = = = I.OBL
‘Let me see if they give me anything.’ (S2.27)
(8)
ciz i-r-go
æz há-do-m hazún=i? ~ ciz i-r-go æz há-do-m esdæ?
what
2S2-DUR-want I.DIR PVB-give-1S1 OPB=2S2
= = = = = = = = you.OBL
‘What do you want me to give you?’ (S2.30)
2.1.3 Word Order and the DOC Variants
As we have seen in all examples so far, the unmarked word order for placement of the R in
the DOC is in postverbal but this position is not obligatory. Recipients can also occur
preverbally, especially, but not only, when issues of focus are at play. The following
examples (9-11) are all of the non-focus type.
(9) in
ciz
be
tini=s ne en a-da?
tæmen ketab=es ha-bax a
this
what
was
he.OBL=3S1 signal PVB-gave
I.OBL book=3S1 PVB-gave.away
‘What was that he showed him?’
‘He gave me a book.’
When both Theme and Recipient appear preverbally, the R generally precedes the T:
(10) in kelje tini mænzel æd-do-æ. h ni=ke tæmen cay æd-do-Ø,...
this
girl
he.OBL house
DUR-give-3S1 when=SUB I.OBL tea
DUR-give-3S1
‘She gives her a place to stay.’ (A12.81)
‘When she gives me tea,...’ (A11.143)
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There are many cases, however, where the Theme precedes the R.
(11) xodav nd-e al mi-an do danæ lazæ tine
_d-dó-æ. (tine _ddóæ < tine æddóæ)
Lord-EZ world-OP two
CLS son
he.OBL DU-give-3S1
‘The Lord gives him two sons.’ (A11.8) (lit: ‘the Lord of the worlds)
The difference seems to be simply a matter of free variation, but with a clear preference for
the Recipient to precede the Theme, that is, when the Recipient is not postverbal.
2.1.4
The Double Object Construction and Argument Dropping
Vafsi very commonly drops core arguments as old information in the context of discourse.
Hence, it is quite common to find the Recipient as the only overt argument in a clause:
(12) hár=om-da æhm d=i.
PVB=1S2-gave P.N.-MO2
‘(I) gave (it) to Ahmad.’
2.2 The Indirect Object Construction (IOC)
The IOC has the following basic features:
- depending on the verb, this construction uses one of three adpositions:
° the preposition dæ ‘to/Allative1, in, into’, most commonly used with ‘say’,
° the preposition o ‘to/Allative2, upon, on’ (sometimes used with ‘give’, ‘entrust’, etc.)
° the postposition =ra (usually ‘for/Benefactive’ and ‘with/Instrumental-Comitative’);
- Animate Rs with dæ and o require the Oblique case (more an effect of the relationship
between prepositions and animate nouns than it is of the role of Recipient); =ra
automatically always requires an Oblique;
- the R may be preverbal (especially with ‘say’) or postverbal (mostly with other verbs).
2.2.1 The
preposition
dæ ‘to, in, into’
(13) dæ tawan hic=es ná-wattæ.
to
we.OBL nothing=3S2 NG-said
‘He didn’t say anything to us.’
The Recipient is mostly preverbal with the verb ‘say’, but it occasionally occurs postverbally:
(14) yey ci yá-waz dæ
an kelj-i.
one
what
PU-say to
that
girl-OF2
‘Say something to that girl.’
OPBs and the IOC with dæ
(15) hæzíri da
hazún=es b-ím-vattæ. ær-goa
bá-waz-i da hazún=es.
yesterday
to
OPB=3S2
PU-1S2-said
DUR-wanted PU-say-2S1 to OPB=3S2
‘I told him yesterday.’
‘You should have told him.’ (BL381b)
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2.2.2 The
preposition
o ‘to, upon, onto’
The preposition o is sometimes used as an alternate of the DOC with ‘give’ and certain other
verbs. It requires the oblique case for animate Rs and is usually postverbal.
(16) yey xærbozæ=san æ-day o
tini.
one
melon=3P2
PVB-gave to he.OBL
‘They gave him a melon.’ (B3.58)
(17) in leyle-y æt-æsbir-om o esdæ (dæst).
this
boy-OM DUR-entrust-1S1 to you.OBL (hand)
‘I am entrusting this boy to you’ (or, lit: ‘to your hand’ (optional))
2.2.3 The
postposition
=ra ‘for,’ ‘with’
The polysemous enclitic postposition =ra (‘for’/Benefactive, ‘with’/Instrumental-Comitative,
Recipient), is required in the DOC only with a small set of verbs (esp. ‘write’, ‘send’,
‘bring’). An allative adposition is excluded for the Recipient with these verbs. The R with
=ra is most commonly postverbal, but occasionally also preverbal:
(18) kaqæ æn-nivis-om esdæ=ra.
paper
DUR-write-1S1 you.OBL=BEN
‘I’ll write you a letter.’
(19) yey cay æt-ar-énde esdæ=ra.
one
tea
DUR-bring-3P1 you.OBL=BEN
‘They will bring you a tea.’ (A11.128)
OPBs hazun= and verewn= and Recipients flagged by =ra:
The primary OPB used for the R with these verbs is verewn=, since it is specifically a
Benefactive OPB. It is always possible to express the OPB variants alternatively with full
pronouns, and thus there are parallel ways of expressing the IOC with pronoun Recipients:
OPB
Full
Pronoun
Form
(20) kaqæ æn-nevis-om veréwn=i (=ra). kaqæ æn-nevis-om esdæ=ra.
letter
DUR-write-1S1 OPB=2S2(=for) letter
DUR-write-1S1 you.OBL=for
‘I’ll write you letters/a letter.’
2.2.4 Recipient and Beneficient/Benecipient
Many languages are ambivalent about the third argument of ‘take/bring’ (among others), cf.
English What have you brought us?/What have you brought for us? Hence the term
‘Benecipient’ has been coined. Vafsi, this argument is much more commonly, perhaps
obligatorily, expressed with the benefactive adposition =ra (but in postverbal position, see
point (b) under 4.1.6):
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(21) yey cay
æt-ar-énde esdæ=ra.
ci y-ard-e tæmen=ra? (<
ci=i)
one
tea
DUR-bring-3P1 you.OBL=for what
PU-brought-PRF I.OBL=for (<what=2S2)
‘They will bring you a tea.’ (All.128)
‘What have you brought me?’ (A1.9)
Actions performed on someone’s behalf (Beneficient), but whose end product is also intended
to be transferred/given to that person (Recipient), amalgamate the two roles into one (see also
Similarities and Differences between Recipient and Benefactive/Benecipient below):
(22) æz kot æd-duz-om veréwn=i ~
æz kot æd-duz-om esdæ=ra
I.OBL coat DUR-sew-1S1 OPB=2S2
I.OBL coat DUR-sew-1S1 you.OBL=for
‘I’ll sew you a coat/I’ll sew a coat for you.’
2.3
Recipient Indexing: The PAM Ditransitive Construction
The two flagging constructions (DOC, IOC) of Vafsi present us with patterns that are cross-
linguistically familiar and, with a few exceptions, typologically unsurprising. The Vafsi PAM
Ditransitive Construction, however, exhibits with some typologically more unusual features.
The PAM Ditransitive Construction is distinguished from the DOC and IOC by indexing, that
is, the encoding of a pronominal R as Set2 (the Oblique PAMs) directly in the verb (or verbal
complex, in the case of LVCs). There are two variants of the Oblique PAM Construction:
- Set2 as R occurring with simplex verbs that have an overt Theme NP present (23)
- Set2 as R with Light Verb Constructions (LVCs) consisting of a non-verbal element
(NVE) and a Light Verb (24).
The crucial feature of both these subtypes is that the Set2 PAM obligatorily moves leftwards
off the verb root and attaches to the Theme or to the NVE.
A) Simplex verb with Set2 fronted to an overt Theme NP
(23)
ketab=i
_d-do-m.
ketab=i n -d-do-m.
book=2S2 DUR-give-1S1
book=2S2 NG-DUR-give-1S1
‘I’ll give you a book.’
‘I won’t give you a book.’
B) Set2 fronted to the NVE of a Compound verb:
(24)
juwéw=om
há-dæ!
answer=1S2 PVB-give
‘Answer me!’ (lit: Give me an answer!)
It should be noted that while Set2 (the oblique PAMs) that encode the Recipient are
obligatorily fronted off the verb to the Theme or the NVE, Set2 PAMs encoding Theme
always remain on the verb. For this contrast, compare (23) above with (25) below.
2.3.1 The Oblique PAM Construction with Simplex Verb Roots
Patients/Themes and Recipients at times behave quite differently in their indexing in the verb:
- an overt salient Patient/Theme may occasionally be cross-referenced in the verb while,
so far as is known at present, cross-referencing is not licensed for a Recipient.
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- The Oblique PAM may be incorporated directly into the verb for the role of a pronoun
as Theme, but such indexed forms are ungrammatical as Recipients alone:
(25) i-d-do-m
i-t-ar-om
2S2-DUR-give-1S1
2S2-DUR-bring-1S1
‘I’ll give you
(in marriage).’
‘I’ll bring you
(somewhere)’
THEME
THEME
but: ‘*I’ll give you
(something).’
‘*I’ll bring you
(something).’
REC
REC
‘Say,’ ‘Teach’: Monotransitive or Ditransitive?
Only a small subset of two or three simplex verbs allow indexing of the R directly in the verb
via a Set2 clitic when the Patient has been omitted (as a result of regular argument dropping):
(26) i-r-vaz-óm.
2S2-DUR-say-1S1
‘I’ll tell you.’
(27) is-æt-æns-en-om
i-t-æns-en-énde
3S2-DUR-learn-CAUS-1S1
2S2-DUR-learn-CAUS-3P1
‘I’ll teach him.’ ‘They’ll teach you’
Simplex verbs with Oblique PAMs and overt Theme
As mentioned above, when there is an overt Theme in the clause, it is perfectly acceptable to
encode the Recipient with a Set2 PAM as long as it is fronted off the verb to the Theme:
Set2 enclitic fronted to the Theme:
(28) ketab=i æd-do-m. áwæ=s æd-do-m
book=2S2 DU-give-1S1 water=3S2 DU-give-1S1
‘I’ll give you a book.’
‘I’ll give him water.’
(29) hær-ki yey dæsd-e mu=s æd-dó-æ.
each-who
one
bunch-EZ hair=3S2 DU-give-3S1
‘They each give him a bunch of [their] hair.’ (A12.114)
The Oblique PAM Construction is encountered especially in blessings and curses:
(30) xoda onr=i (h)á-do-Ø! xoda
qoæt=ian (h)á-do-Ø!
God
long.life=2S2 PVB-give-3S1 God
strength=2P2
PVB-give-3S1
‘May God give you long life!’
‘May God give you strength!’
(2nd plural or 2nd singular deferential)
The verbs we have already seen above (22) signifying actions that are performed on
someone’s behalf (Beneficient), but whose end product is also intended to be transferred to
the person (Recipient), may also have a third alternate, synonymous form using the Oblique
PAM Construction. In this case, however, there must be an overt Theme to host the Set2:
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(31) (a) æz kot
æd-duz-om veréwn=i ~
(=22) I.OBL coat
DU-sew-1S1
OPB=2S2
(b)
æz
kot æd-duz-om
esdæ=ra
~
I.OBL coat
DU-sew-1S1 you.OBL=for
(c) æz kot=i æd-duz-om
I.OBL coat=2S1 DU-sew-1S1
‘I’ll sew you a coat/I’ll sew a coat for you.’ ((c) also means: ‘I’ll sew your coat’)
Such three/four-fold interpretations as in (31) are only possbile with a small subset of verbs
(‘build, sew, bake’, etc.) that signify actions performed on someone’s behalf with an end
product intended to be transferred to the person. In contradistinction to (31), however, an
argument that is interpreted exclusively as a Beneficient of other verbs is not licensed for
indexing in the verb:
(32) æz bez=í ær-ko -om.
I.DIR goat=2S2 DU-kill-1S1
‘I’ll kill your goat.’ (‘*I’ll kill you a goat’, ‘*I’ll kill a goat for you’)
2.3.2 Oblique PAM Construction Fronted to NVEs in Light Verb Constructions
It is slightly more common to find a Set2 enclitic indexing the R with LVCs, but, again, as
long as the Set2 is fronted to the non-verbal element (NVE) of the verb.
(33) b-úri y -ss-am ne án=i æd-d-àm.
PU-come.IMP PU-go-1P1 sign=2S2 DU-give-1P1
‘Come on, let’s go. We’ll show you.’ (i.e., ‘we’ll show (it) to you.’) (B3.40)
2.3.3 Noun
Incorporation
The examples of the PAM Ditranstive Construction we have seen thus far all involve the
fronting of the R clitics only to generic/indefinite (i.e., non-salient) nouns. It is ungrammatical
to front these clitics to a definite/specific Theme. That is, (28) above, ketab=i æd-do-m is
grammatical if it means ‘I’Il give you a book’ but not if it means ‘I’ll give you the book.’
This restriction makes ketab=i æd-do-m look like the (lexical, not morphological) incorpora-
tion of a noun into the verbal complex. This analysis may explain why we find the fronting of
the R PAM rather frequently with the fixed, somewhat lexicalized phrases that we find in
blessings and curses, such as xoda onr=es (h)á-do-Ø! ‘May God give him long life’ (##).
There is, in fact, a range of subtle gradations starting with true LVCs (where the NVE is not
an argument of the predicate) that take Patients as arguments (34), progressing to arguments
that are interpreted as either Patients or Recipients (35), to those that look less and less
incorporated (36-39). We eventually reach the type that can only be interpreted as a specific,
referential Theme (40). In the latter type, Recipients encoded as Set2 PAMs are no longer
permitted and must convert to full pronouns as in usual DOC-type constructions:
(34) bæzan dómmæ=dæ
an esdæ færíb æd-dò-Ø.
then
after=LOC she
you.OBL deception DU-give-3S1
‘Then after that she will trick you.’ (A11.87)
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(35) áwæ=s æd-do-m
water=3S2 DU-give-1S1
‘I’ll give him (Recipient) water’ or ‘I’ll water it (Patient)’ (e.g., a plant or a crop)
(36) xoda onr=es
(h)á-do-Ø!
God
long.life=3S2 PVB-give-3S1
‘May God give him (long) life!’
(37) ketab=i æd-do-m.
(= 28) book=2S2 DU-give-1S1
‘I’ll give you a book.’
(38) æz esdæ u xaterjæm=i æt-ar-om.
from
you.OBL husband tranquil.mind=2S2
DU-bring-1S1
‘I’ll bring you reassuring news from your husband.’
(39) hær-ki
yey dæsd-e
mu=s
æd-dó-æ.
(= 29) each-who one bunch-EZ hair=3S2 DU-give-3S1
‘They each give him a bunch of [their] hair.’ (A12.114)
but the cut-off point comes into effect after this point in:
(40) *an ketab=i æd-do-m. >
an
ketab
æd-do-m esdæ.
that
book=2S2 DU-give-1S1 that
book
DU-give-1S1 you.OBL
‘I’ll give you that book.’
3.0 The Typology of the Vafsi Ditransitive Constructions
The typology of Vafsi A/P/T/R marking, as discussed in various places throughout this paper,
is complicated by two factors:
(1) Tense-based split Ergativity, especially in the tense-based split marking of Agents
leading to the ‘Double Oblique’ construction that is so common in Vafsi past tenses
(2) Differential Object Marking (DOM)
These two splits ultimately require us to show the typology of flagging constructions (DOC,
IOC) in four schemata rather than just one (Figures 1 – 4). Furthermore, two additional
schemata will be needed for the typology of the indexing construction in present vs. past
tenses but since none of the available data for Vafsi include any examples of indexing of
Recipients in the past tenses, only a fifth schema for the Present tenses (Figure 5) will be
given below.
Don Stilo
Vafsi Ditransitives
Page 11
Figure One: Indirective Flagging of P/T/R; Present system (DOC, IOC)
Non-salient
PATIENT, Present Tense
Non-salient THEME, Present Tense
S=Ø
A=Ø
P=Ø
P=Ø
T=Ø
R=m
æz æz esdæ ney
ær-gir-óm
æz
ney
æd-dó-m
esdæ.
I.DIR from
you.OBL reed DU-get-1S1
I.DIR reed DU-give-1S1 you.OBL
AGENTDirectCase
PATIENTDirectCase
THEMEDirectCase
RECIPIENTObliqueCase
‘I’ll get the reed from you.’
‘I’ll give you the reed.’
Figure Two: Indirective Flagging of P/T/R; Past system (DOC, IOC)
Non-salient
PATIENT, Past Tense
Non-salient THEME, Past Tense
S=Ø
A=m
P=Ø
P=Ø
T=Ø
R=m
tæmen
æz
hæs n-i púl=om
há-giræ
tæmen púl=om há-da hæs n-i.
I.OBL from
P.N.-OM money=1S2 PVB-get
I.OBL money=1S2 PVB-gave P.N.-OM
AGENTObliqueCase
PATIENTDirectCase
THEMEDirectCase
RECIPIENTObliqueCase
‘I got money from Hassan.’
‘I gave money to Hassan.’
Figure Three: Neutral Flagging of R and Salient P/T; Present system
Salient
PATIENT, Present Tense
Salient THEME, Present Tense
S=Ø
A=Ø
P=m
P=m
T=m
R=m
æz
in
kelj-i
ær-gir-om.
bawæ
kell-i=s æd-do-Ø
tæmen
I.DIR this girl-OF DU-take-1S1 father
daughter-OF=3S2 DU-give-3S1 I.OBL
AGENTDirect
PATIENTOblique
THEMEOblique
RECIPIENTOblique
‘I will marry this girl.’
‘The father will give me his daughter.’
Don Stilo
Vafsi Ditransitives
Page 12
Figure Four: Neutral Flagging of R and Salient P/T; Past system
Salient
PATIENT, Past Tense
Salient THEME, Past Tense
S=Ø
A=m
P=m
P=m
T=m
R=m
(‘Double Oblique Construction’)
(‘Double Object Construction’)
belæxæræ
tini kelj-i=s
há-girætæ. tæmen kell-i=m há-da
hæs n-i
eventually
he.OBL girl-OF-3S2 PVB-took
I.OBL daughter-OF=1S2 PVB-gave P.N.-OM
AGENTOblique PATIENTOblique
THEMEOblique RECIPIENTOblique
‘Eventually he married this girl.’
‘I gave my daughter to Hassan (in marriage).’
Argument Indexing with non-salient P/T (PAM Construction)
Figure Five: Neutral Indexing of S/A/P and R/P/T; Present system
Salient
PATIENT, Present Tense
Salient THEME, Present Tense
S=m
A=m
P=m
P=m
T=m
R=m*
xoda
ræhm t=i Ø-kær-e!
xoda onr=i
há-do-Ø!
God
pity=2S2
PU-do-3S1 God
long.life=2S2
PVB-give-3S1
PATIENT/PAM-Set2 AGENT/PAM-Set1
RECIPIENT/PAM-Set2 AGENT/PAM-Set1
‘May God pity you/have mercy on you!’
‘May God give you long life!’
NB: While the Theme and the Recipient can both be indexed in the verb, hence ‘m’ in this schema, it is
never possible for both of them to be indexed in the verb at the same time, i.e., either Theme or
Recipient, but not both.
4.1 Features of Recipients Shared with other Nominal Arguments and Adjuncts
Various characteristics of each of the three Ditransitive constructions of Vafsi also share both
similarities to, but also differences from, strategies for expressing Patient/Theme, Goal, and
Benefactive, as listed below.
4.1.1 Similarities between Recipient and Patient/Theme:
a. both are Oblique Case-marked;
b. both may be indexed in the verb using Set2 PAMs (in the present tenses);
c. both have synonymous alternates of case-flagging of a pronoun vs. indexing in the verb;
d. when encoded as a Set2 PAM in an LVC, both obligatorily front the Set2 to the NVE;
Don Stilo
Vafsi Ditransitives
Page 13
4.1.2 Differences between Recipient and Patient/Theme:
a. Unmarked word orders for the DOC generally place the Patient/Theme before the verb
and Recipient after the verb;
b. While salient Patient/Themes have DOM differentiated by oblique case marking, there is
no equivalent differential Recipient marking;
c. Adpositional flagging is an alternate for the Recipient (IOC), but not for the P/T;
d. Fronting of the Set2 marker as Patient/Theme from a simplex verb in the present to another
host is disallowed, as opposed to Recipient, where such fronting is obligatory (but
compare point (d) above for LVCs);
e. Patient/Theme may be passivized, but passivization of Recipient is not licensed in Vafsi;
f. Only pronominal Recipients may alternate with OPBs (this also goes for Goal and
Benefactive) but OPBs never fill the role of Patient/Theme.
g. an overt salient Patient/Theme may occasionally be cross-referenced in the verb while, so
far as is known at present, cross-referencing is not licensed for a Recipient.
4.1.3 Similarities between Recipient and Goal/Destination
a. DOC: The Recipient of most Ditransitive verbs and the Goal adjunct both typically occur
in post-verbal position;
b. DOC: Both Recipient and Goal are usually expressed without an adposition (‘simple’
GOAL, as opposed to more complex PATH, see Differences, Point (e));
c. DOC: Animate Rs and animate GOALs (e.g., æræse bærzeg r-i ‘he gets to the farmer.’
(B8.60)) are both marked with the oblique case, although animate Goals in the Direct case
and inanimate GOALs in the Oblique case rarely also occur (see Differences below);
d. IOC: Both the R and the GOAL can also be expressed with an adposition, particularly the
two allative prepositions dæ and o;
e. DOC/IOC: Pronominal Rs and GOALs can both also be expressed with the OPB hazun=.
4.1.4 Differences between Recipient and Goal/Destination
a. Only the R requires the oblique case (at least until we can explore the issue of inanimate
Recipients);
b. The GOAL is most commonly, but certainly not always, inanimate and is usually a noun of
place. Even when it is not inanimate or specifically a noun of place, the GOAL NP is
generally inert or, at best, passive or unengaged in the event. That is, it does not play a
role in active accepting the Patient. The R, at least so far, is always animate and implies a
sense of accepting, receiving, i.e., if not a fully volitional involvement, at least a certain
participation in the event;
c. The GOAL occurs with both transitive and intransitive verbs whereas the Recipient is one
of three arguments of a Ditransitive verb;
d. Issues of Path: GOAL marked by dæ alone often has a sense not only of ‘to, towards’
(which it shares with Recipient), but as opposed to Recipient, dæ very often also has the
sense of ‘into, inside’ or ‘on, onto’;
e. Additional refinement of PATH: while GOAL and R share an optional use of the preposition
dæ, GOAL also differs fundamentally from R in that with nouns of GOAL only the basic
Allative is expressed without an adposition. There are many different types of additional,
semantically complex adpositional phrases that further refine the PATH to the GOAL (‘to-
between/among, to-under, to-next to,’ among others). This differentiation of Path marking
for the GOAL is not available to the Recipient.
4.1.5
Similarities between Recipient and Benefactive/Benecipient:
a. Both the Recipient in one type of IOC and the Benefactive use the adpositional enclitic
=ra ‘for; with’;
b. Both the Recipient and the Benefactive allow the use of OPBs;
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Vafsi Ditransitives
Page 14
4.1.6
Differences between Recipient and Benefactive/Benecipient:
a. The Benefactive may be used with intransitive verbs;
b. The Benecipient is more often postverbal than the true Benefactive.
Appendix One: Statistics of the various Ditransitive Constructions
Table
Four
Gurchan dialect
Vafs dialect
Speaker A
Speaker B
Folk Tales
TOTAL DITRANS TOKENS:
‘Give’ only (simplex)
GIVE,
DOC,
preverbal:
47.8% 24.4%
2.8%
GIVE,
DOC,
postverbal:
52.2% 73.3%
86.1%
GIVE,
IOC,
preverbal:
0.0% 0.0%
2.8%
GIVE,
IOC,
postverbal:
0.0% 2.2%
8.3%
TOTALS:
100.0%
99.9%
100.0%
Compound Verbs formed with ‘Give’
Give-comps,
DOC,
preverbal:
50%
100.0% 20.0%
Give-comps,
DOC,
postverbal:
50%
0.0% 20.0%
Give-comps, IOC, preverbal:
0%
0.0%
20.0%
Give-comps, IOC, postverbal:
0%
0.0%
40.0%
TOTALS:
100%
100.0%
100.0%
‘Say’ only (simplex) (TO BE COMPLETED)
SAY,
DOC,
preverbal:
xx%
xx%
x%
SAY,
DOC,
postverbal:
xx%
xx%
xx%
SAY, IOC, preverbal:
x%
x%
x%
SAY, IOC, postverbal:
x%
x%
x%
TOTALS:
xx%
xx%
xx%
All other Ditransitive Verbs
OTHER, DOC, preverbal:
33.3%
0.0%
0.0%
OTHER, DOC, postverbal:
0.0%
50.0%
0.0%
OTHER, IOC, preverbal:
33.3%
12.5%
20.0%
OTHER, IOC, postverbal:
33.3%
37.5%
80.0%
TOTALS:
99.9%
100.0%
100.0%
Bibliography
Anna Siewierska, 2004. Person, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Comrie, Haspelmath and Malchukov, 2006. ‘Questionnaire on Ditransitive Constructions’
Martin Haspelmath, 2007 (to appear). ‘Ditransitive alignment splits and inverse alignment’,
Functions of Language, (special issue on ditransitives, guest-edited by Anna
Siewierska).
Martin Haspelmath, 2005a. ‘Argument marking in ditransitive alignment types’, Linguistic
Discovery 3.1:1-21.
Martin Haspelmath, 2005b. ‘Ditransitive Constructions: The Verb ‘Give’.’ In: Martin
Haspelmath & Matthew S. Dryer & David Gil & Bernard Comrie (eds.) The World
Atlas of Language Structures. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 426-429.
Donald Stilo, 2004. Vafsi Folk Tales, Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag.
Donald Stilo, to appear. A Grammar of Vafsi.
Don Stilo
Vafsi Ditransitives
Page 15
1S1
Set1 (Direct) PAM, 1st sg.
IDF Indefinite
2S1
Set1 (Direct) PAM, 2nd sg.
IMP Imperative
3S1
Set1 (Direct) PAM, 3rd sg.
LOC Locative
1P1
Set1 (Direct) PAM, 1st pl.
LVC Light
Verb
Construction
2P1
Set1 (Direct) PAM, 2nd pl.
NG Negative
3P1
Set1 (Direct) PAM, 3rd pl.
NVE
Non-verbal Element (in LVC)
1S2
Set2 (Oblique) PAM, 1st sg.
OBL Oblique
2S2
Set2 (Oblique) PAM, 2nd sg.
OF
Oblique feminine, Type 1
3S2
Set2 (Oblique) PAM, 3rd sg.
OF2
Oblique feminine, Type 2
1P2
Set2 (Oblique) PAM, 1st pl.
OM Oblique
masculine
2P2
Set2 (Oblique) PAM, 2nd pl.
OP Oblique
plural
3P2
Set2 (Oblique) PAM, 3rd pl.
OPB Oblique
Pronominal
Base
AUX Auxiliary
verb
P.N. Proper
Name
BEN Benefactive
PAM
Person Agreement Marker
CHG Change
of
state
morpheme
PF Perfect
CLS Classifier
PL Plural
CMP Comparative
PU Punctual
COMP Comparative
PVB Preverb
DEF Definite
marker
REC Recipient
DIR Direct
Case
SUB Subordinator
DP Direct
Case,
Plural
TAM Tense-Aspect-Mood
Marker
DU Durative
marker
TR Transitive
EZ Ezafe
