[PapuanLanguages] FW: sociative causative in PNG

Tue May 22 17:09:06 EST 2007

Dear Fellow-Papuanists,

Françoise Rose and Antoine Guillaume have asked me to forward the following query on to you.

Best wishes

Sasha

Professor Alexandra Aikhenvald, PhD, DLitt, FAHA
Associate Director and Postgraduate Coordinator
Research Centre for Linguistic Typology
La Trobe University
Victoria 3086
Tel: 61-(0)3-9479 6402
Fax: 61-(0)3-9467 3053
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/rclt/StaffPages/aikhenvald.htm 

The original query

Dear Colleagues,

we are surveying languages that display a specialized marker for sociative causation. Such languages seem to be rare, and as far as we know for the time being, a great number of them are from South America, but at least another one is from Papua New Guinea ! We were wondering if other languages in the area display such a marker. We would be very thankful to learn if that were the case in your languages of expertise. 

Below  (and as an attachment) is given a general description of our query.

Thanks in advance !

Best,

Françoise ROSE, CELIA (CNRS/IRD), France, rose at vjf.cnrs.fr

& Antoine GUILLAUME, Université Lyon, France, aguillau at ish-lyon.cnrs.fr

In some apparently rare languages, one of the causative markers is specialized in indicating that the causer not only makes the causee do an action, but also participates in it. It pertains to a type of causative, variably called sociative causative (Shibatani and Pardeshi 2002), comitative causative (Tupi-Guarani tradition, Cf. Rodrigues 1953), causative of involvement (Dixon 2000). This type of causative function is more frequently conveyed by a causative morpheme also coding direct or indirect causation. We are curious to know more about languages showing a device to express sociative causative, and especially languages displaying a specific associative causative marker (along other causative markers), such as below.

Emerillon (Tupi-Guarani, French Guiana)

(1)               pe-lo-polahadj-kom.                                                                                                  

2pl-CAUS.SOC-dance-PL.O

You made them dance with you. 

(2)               o-elo-kwa                             ba’eza’u.

3-CAUS.SOC-pass                           food

She distributed food (she passes by and have food pass with her).

(3)               zawal-enam        ka        o-(w)elo-nan.

dog-Top.Switch   wasp      3 -CAUS.SOC-run

The dog runs with the wasps (The dog makes the wasps “run” with him.) 

(4)               zawal               o-elo-’al                             tupawəl.

dog                         3-CAUS.SOC-fall                          box

The dog makes the box fall (when falling himself).

Cavineña (Tacana, Bolivia)

(5)               E-ra         e-kwe     e-bakwa        tawi-kere-ya.

1SG-ERG 1SG-GEN       1-child                sleep-CAUS.SOC-IMPFV

I (will) make my child sleep with me.

(6)               E-ra         =tu             ara-kere-chine                      torta     Don Francisco.

1SG-ERG    =3SG               eat-CAUS.SOC-REC.PAST            cake        Mr. Francisco

I invited Mr. Francisco to eat a cake with me. (I made Mr F. eat a cake with me).

Shibatani & Pardeshi (2002) distinguish 3 semantic types of sociative causation :

- joint-action (Mother is making the child play)

- assistive (Mother is making the child pee)

- supervision (Mother is making the child read a book)

Depending on the language, sociative causative may be restricted to intransitive bases (Tupi-Guarani languages) or may also apply to transitive bases (Cavineña).

Sociative causative differs from the applicative construction, where a comitative participant is promoted to an object position, in having a causative meaning (and probably in the fact that the causee/object is the main agent of the action, and the causer/subject the “comitative” participant). Indeed, there are languages which display a distinction between a comitative applicative and a sociative causative, as is the case in Wolof, for example. 

There is however in many languages a formal syncretism between causative and applicative: Shibatani & Pardeshi (2002) underline the fact that “in a fair number of languages, causative morphemes are associated with the applicative function of introducing a comitative, instrumental or benefactive argument.” To summarize, whereas applicative markers can not take the sociative causative function (but just the comitative one), causative markers may overlap the applicative function. 

Apart from Tupi/Tupi-Guarani languages, Cavineña and Wolof, we have read about specific sociative causative markers in the Peruvian Pre-Andine Arawak languages Nomatsiguenga, Amuesha and Piro (Wise 1986: 593-594) and Asheninca (Payne 2001), as well as in the Equatorian Barbacoan language Awa Pit (Timothy Curnow, p.c.), and in Alamblak– Sepik, New Guinea, (Bruce 1984 :55, 155-156). 

Our questions are:

-         Do you know any other language displaying sociative causative?

-         Does it have a specific sociative causative marker?

-         What exact meaning does it carry?

-         On what type of verbs is it found? (valence + meaning)

-         In this language, how do(es) the other type(s) of causative function? Is there any applicative construction? Is it an “and-language” or a “with-language” (Stassen 2000)?

Françoise ROSE

Centre d'Etudes des Langues Indigènes d'Amérique

CNRS-IRD

BP 8

94801 Villejuif Cedex

FRANCE

(0)1-49-58-38-08

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