SSTUDIESTUDIES ININ P PHILIPPINEHILIPPINE LLINGUISTICSINGUISTICS

Volume 5 Number 1 1984 [Aspects of discourse I]

Fe T. Otanes and Austin Hale, series eds.

Inka Pekkanen. “Verb tense/aspect in Tatana discourse”

3–18

© LINGUISTIC SOCIETY OF THE PHILIPPINES and SUMMER INSTITUTE OF L INGUISTICS

ISSN: 0119-6456

Sample Citation Format

Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista. 1977. “The noun phrase in Tagalog—English code switching”. Studies in Philippine Linguistics 1:1, 1–16. Online. URL: http://www.sil.org/asia/philippines/ [etc.] + access date.

Inka Pekkanen Sumner I n s t i t u t e of L i n g u i s t i c s

0. In t roduc t ion 1. Three d iscourse types 2. Narra t ive d iscourse 2.1 Backbone verbs 2.2 Background verbs 2.3 Peak 3. Procedural d iscourse 3.1 Backbone verbs 3.2 Background verbs 4. Explanatory d iscourse 4.1 Backbone 4.2 Background verbs 4.3 Peak Notes References

0. In t roduc t ion

I n order t o understand how a language works a s a whole, one needs to s tudy chunks bigger than i s o l a t e d sentences. The purpose of t h i s paper i s t o compare n a r r a t i v e , procedural , and explanatory d iscourses i n Tatanal a s t o t h e i r use of verb tense laspec t . Verb tense /aspec t i s s i g n i f i c a n t i n d i s t ingu i sh ing d iscourse types. I n n a r r a t i v e d iscourse , mainline events a r e expressed i n t imeless and completive aspec ts . Procedural d iscourse i s charac ter ized by noncompletive aspec t forms. Explanatory d iscourse d i f f e r s cons iderably from both i n t h a t t h e most s t a t i c verb forms and nonverbal c l auses convey t h e mainl ine information.

The n a r r a t i v e t e x t s used f o r a n a l y s i s were two f o l k t a l e s p lus a legend. The procedural t e x t s were about a t r a d i t i o n a l wedding and a r e l i g i o u s ceremony. The explanatory t e x t s d e a l t with a number of ceremonies and an eva lua t ion of t h e time of Japanese occupation.

Longacre (1981) has pointed out t h a t ' d i f f e r i n g forms of tense/aspect/mood/voice do not e x i s t f o r nothing i n a language.' He uses t h e term spectrum t o denote a c l i n e of information which ranges from the most dynamic elements of t h e s t o r y t o t h e most s t a t i c elements. The idea of such a c l i n e has been adopted a s a r e l evan t t h e o r e t i c a l cons t ruc t f o r t h i s prel iminary study.

4 Verb TenseIAspect i n Tatana Discourse

1. Three d iscourse types

Each d iscourse type is used f o r a d i f f e r e n t purpose. This d i f f e rence can be expected t o show i n t h e su r face s t r u c t u r e of discourse. The use of verb tense /aspec t is one such s t r u c t u r a l mani fes ta t ion . It w i l l be described here i n terms of backbone and background. Backbone c o n s i s t s of t h e events t h a t advance t h e s to ry . Background is used here a s a genera l term r e f e r r i n g to information t h a t i s o f f the backbone, such a s s e t t i n g s , c l a r i f i c a t i o n s , explanat ions , eva lua t ions , th ings t h a t did not happen, ques t ions , and contents of speech a c t s . Ins tead of t h i s binary d i v i s i o n , Jones and Jones (Jones 1979) show t h a t mul t ip le l e v e l s of information i n d iscourse can be a t t e s t e d i n seve ra l Mesoamerican languages. It seems l i k e l y t h a t mul t ip l e l e v e l s of information a l s o e x i s t i n Tatana, and t h a t they correspond roughly t o d i f f e r e n t rankings on c l i n e s f o r t h e var ious d iscourse types.

2 . Narra t ive d iscourse

Narra t ive d iscourse is charac ter ized by events . It i s agent or ien ted: what the p a r t i c i p a n t s do is t h e th ing t h a t counts. Events a r e presented i n temporal sequence. Verb forms t h a t occur on t h e backbone i n main c lauses w i l l be discussed f i r s t , followed by a d iscuss ion of verb forms occurr ing o f f the e v e n t l i n e , t h a t i s , o f f t h e backbone of n a r r a t i v e d iscourse .

2.1 Backbone verbs

Two t ense /a spec t s of t h e verb occur on t h e even t l ine : t imeless aspec t2 forms and completive forms. From t h e t e x t ma te r i a l a v a i l a b l e f o r t h i s s tudy two hypotheses can be made a s t o the use of these verb forms. One p o s s i b i l i t y i s to conclude t h a t t h e r e a r e a t l e a s t two l e v e l s of backbone information. On one l e v e l , t ime les s aspec t forms express more s i g n i f i c a n t events , and on t h e o the r , completive forms express ord inary events . Timeless aspec t verbs express a c t i o n s t h a t e s p e c i a l l y advance t h e theme of t h e s tory . Thus t h e events t h a t a r e expressed by these forms a r e more s i g n i f i c a n t i n comparison with t h e events t h a t a r e expressed by completive forms. Completives a r e verbs of motion, awareness, s ensa t ion , psychological s t a t e , o r verbs expressing l o g i c a l consequences of preceding ac t ions . A s such they a r e not a s dynamic a s a c t i o n verbs , but r e f e r t o more rou t ine events . The o t h e r p o s s i b i l i t y i s t o say t h a t only t imeless aspect forms belong t o t h e backbone, and t h e completives a r e assigned t o t h e background ( o f f t h e l i n e ) because of t h e i r l e s s e r dynamism. The f i r s t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n is adopted here .

Example 1 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e use of t ime les s aspec t forms:3

Pokurungo' n i s i o do anak n i s i o sumandak s i n o He enclosed i t ( i . e . enclose.0F by.him FW c h i l d h i s maiden the re t h e python) with h i s

teenage daughter i n do to i ron . t h e mosquito ne t . i n mosquito.net

Verb Tense/Aspect i n Tatana Discourse 5

The verb pokurungo' is i n t ime les s aspec t form. It i s used t o express a n event t h a t i s e s p e c i a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t i n t h e development of t h e p lo t . The python, which t h e g i r l ' s f a t h e r was hoping would t u r n out t o be a handsome man, eventua l ly swallows t h e g i r l . The t ime les s aspec t verb i s t r a n s l a t e d a s a p a s t time event because of t h e preceding completive aspec t verbs.

Example 2 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e use of completive verb forms i n main c lauses :

I ina ' pun n i s i o t a l u s A s f o r h i s mother, she person mother t o p i c . p a r t i c l e h i s right.away took her own boat

r i g h t away, and r an - o i s i o nongib i t do podou n i s i o s o n d i r i , away. FW she took FW boat her s e l f

nogidu' . r an .away

The verbs nongib i t and nogidu' a r e completive forms. They express more ord inary events . They move t h e s t o r y forward, but a r e l e s s dynamic than t imeless aspec t forms. The func t ion of completive verbs he re i s t o move t h e p a r t i c i p a n t , t h e mother, o f f t h e s t age .

2.2 Background verbs

Verb forms t h a t occur o f f t h e backbone i n n a r r a t i v e d iscourse can be ranked from the more dynamic t o t h e l e a s t dynamic ( s t a t i c ) . Timeless aspec t and completive forms, which a r e found on t h e backbone, a l s o occur i n temporal margins. Completives f u r t h e r occur i n postposed dependent c l auses while noncompletives occur both i n main c lauses and i n margins. S t i l l lower i n the c l i n e of dynamism come s t a t i v e and d e s c r i p t i v e verbs, e x i s t e n t i a l verbs , and nominal c lauses .

Example 3 i l l u s t r a t e s the use of t imeless aspec t form i n temporal margin:

J a d i suda pokosodia' buayo d o g i a r i , i s i o So when those so a l r eady got.ready crocodi le those he crocodi les g o t ready,

he was very happy. Pun sanang o nog i i guang. t o p i c . p a r t i c l e happy FW ? ? hea r t

The verb pokosodia' i s i n t imeless aspect form. While the t imeless aspec t here r e f e r s to a s i g n i f i c a n t event i t i s here a paraphrase of the preceding sentence. Here i t funct ions a s a temporal margin, a cohesive l inkage between sentences. It i s the re fo re considered t o be o f f the backbone.

6 Verb Tense/Aspect i n Tatana Discourse

Example 4 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e use of a completive verb i n a dependent ( r e l a t i v e ) c lause :

Insan odou k i a r o songinan palanuk do Once upon a time t h e r e one.time day t h e r e . i s one.class mousedeer FW was a mousedeer who

saw f r u i t over on the - nokokito do bua' s i n o do suborong bawang. o the r s i d e of t h e saw FW f r u i t t h e r e i n o ther . s ide r i v e r r i v e r .

Since t h e completive aspec t verb nokokito 'saw' occurs i n a r e l a t i v e c l ause where i t modif ies t h e noun 'mousedeer', i t is considered t o be off t h e backbone.

Example 5 i l l u s t r a t e s the use of a noncompletive verb i n a preposed temporal dependent c lause and i n a main c lause where both express nonbackbone information:

Suda i s i o t inanda ' do sawo, b i l a ' mongoi Af ter she was made a l r eady she made.OF to spouse when goes ( h i s ) spouse, when

(he ) goes t o ba the , he p a j u ' , milunu i s i o . sheds t h e skin. --- bathe shed.skin he

The verbs mongoi and milunu a r e noncompletives denoting customary a c t ion.

Noncompletive forms a l s o func t ion i n s e t t i n g s and with negat ives i n c o l l a t e r a l information. Example 6 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e use of a noncompletive form i n c o l l a t e r a l information:

Na, kaa ondogii i s i o mokoguli' do k u l i t nu Well, he cannot @

wel l not more he can.return t o s k i n of - back i n t o t h e snakeskin.

nipo i. snake def

The verb mokoguli' i s i n noncompletive form.

Nonverbal c l auses and s t a t i v e , d e s c r i p t i v e , and e x i s t e n t i a l verbs rank lowest i n n a r r a t i v e d iscourse but h ighes t i n explanatory discourse. They a r e t h e r e f o r e discussed and i l l u s t r a t e d with examples under Sec t ion 4.1. I n n a r r a t i v e d iscourse , nonverbal c lauses occur a s comments o r eva lua t ions . S t a t i v e and d e s c r i p t i v e verbs funct ion i n background information. E x i s t e n t i a l verbs occur i n a p e r t u r e s and s e t t i n g s , and i n t h e case of t h e negat ive e x i s t e n t i a l verb, i n c o l l a t e r a l information.

Verb ~ense /Aspec t i n Tatana Discourse 7

F igure 1 shows t h e c l i n e of dynamism of verb forms i n n a r r a t i v e d iscourse .

1 t imeless aspec t

DYNAMIC \ completive aspec t

noncompletive aspec t

s t a t i v e (poi(N)-) -

d e p i c t i v e (k i - ) , a d j e c t i v e s (s-) -

\ e x i s t e n t i a l

STATIC \ nonverbal c lauses

F igure 1. Ranking of verb i n Tatana n a r r a t i v e d iscourse

2.3 Peak

When a person t e l l s o r w r i t e s a s t o r y he employs var ious devices i n bui ld ing up t h e tens ion u n t i l he g e t s t o the point of maximum tens ion , which may be c a l l e d t h e peak. Longacre (1981) desc r ibes peak a s a 'zone of turbulence i n the otherwise p lac id flow of discourse. ' The sur face s t r u c t u r e of peak can t h e r e f o r e be expected t o d i f f e r from the r e s t of t h e s to ry .

I n n a r r a t i v e d iscourse i n Tatana var ious devices f o r marking peak a r e used: dialogue, longer sentences with seve ra l verbs but with no preposed temporal margins, f requent use of t imeless aspec t forms, and t h e a u x i l i a r y verb maang. Peak may a l s o have a phonological mani fes ta t ion a s higher p i t ch and rapid pace. When a long sentence with seve ra l verbs occur a t peak, the a c t i o n slows down, and more d e t a i l s a r e given than i n the normal course of even t s i n t h e s tory . A n a r r a t i v e may have minor peaks (wi th in component s e c t i o n s ) and a major peak.

Example 7 i l l u s t r a t e s peak i n the f o l k t a l e 'The Mousedeer and the Crocodiles ' :

J a d i t indak o i s i o do mula-mula', maangi o So he stepped out so s t e p FW he FW a t . f i r s t aux FW f i r s t , t h e heads

of those c rocod i l e s ,

8 Verb TenseIAspect i n Tatana Discourse

n i s i o kotuko' u lu nu buayo d o g i a r i do 'one-two-three-four', by.him hit.OF head of c rocod i l e those FW he s a i d , while he

stepped out and ran t o - miso, duo, t a l u , a p a t , kon n i s i o , om sambil - c ross - over he one two th ree four say by.him and while crossed t h a t r i v e r .

i s i o do tumindak do mimbul-simbul i s i o he FW s t e p FW run he

sumoborong do nokosuborong i s i o do bawang w i l l . c r o s s FW crossed .over he FW r i v e r

d o g i i . t h a t

I n Example 7 t indak is a t imeless aspect verb. Maangi ... kotuko' c o n s i s t s of an a u x i l i a r y verb p lus a t imeless aspec t form. Tumindak, mimbul-simbul, and sumoborong a r e noncompletive verbs , and nokosuborong i s a completive verb. The sentence is considerably longer than t h e o the r sentences i n t h e t e x t . The a c t i o n slows down and expands to include such d e t a i l s a s counting the c rocod i l e s ' heads one by one. The peak i s i m e d i a t e l y followed by a denouement, o r ' t he moment of t ru th . ' It i s r ea l i zed i n a monologue by the hero , t h e mousedeer, i n which he r i d i c u l e s t h e c rocod i l e s f o r t h e i r s tup id i ty . The monologue could perhaps be t r e a t e d a s a d i d a c t i c peak.

3. Procedural d iscourse

I n procedural d iscourse t h e n a r r a t o r t e l l s us how t o do c e r t a i n th ings . This kind of d iscourse i s goal o r i e n t e d , s i n c e t h a t which i s done i s of g r e a t e r importance than those who do i t . Procedural discourse i s charac ter ized by s t e p s , which a r e presented i n chronological sequence. Most sentences have a preposed temporal margin with backreference to t h e preceding sentence. A t y p i c a l procedural d iscourse goes l i k e t h i s : ' F i r s t one does such-and-such. When one has done such-and-such, then one does thus-and-so. Af ter tha t . . . ' Procedural d iscourses conta in explanatory paragraphs, which e i t h e r descr ibe some item i n connection with the procedure, o r exp la in about some aspec t of i t .

Verb forms used i n procedural d iscourse a r e discussed here i n terms of a rough d i v i s i o n i n t o backbone and background verbs.

The Tatana t e x t s s tudied f o r t h i s paper a r e desc r ip t ions of o ld customs o r ceremonies. The t e x t s do not seem t o be marked f o r peak.

Verb TenseIAspect i n Tatana Discourse 9

3.1 Backbone verbs

I n procedural d iscourse t h e c l i n e of dynamism f o r verb t ense la spec t i s s i m i l a r t o t h a t found i n n a r r a t i v e d i scour se , with t h e notable exception t h a t noncompletive verbs a r e t h e most dynamic here. The p a r t i c l e ' t hen ' , denoting succession of a c t i o n s , occurs very f requent ly .

Example 8 i l l u s t r a t e s the use of noncompletive forms i n main c l auses which g ive the backbone events:

1. Kotudung poyo ponyupi, tumungkas o having.sat.down when p r i e s t e s s beat.gongs FW

n o g i i bagu. 2. Kobuoi-buoi poyo ulun ? ? then having. taken. time when people

tumungkas i n , mongoi bagu ulun do ba lo i beat.gongs t h a t go then people i n house

singgarung, i s a i sudara-sudara dance.and.offer.drinks who r e l a t i v e s

1. When t h e p r i e s t e s s has s a t down, (people) w i l l beat gongs. -- 2. When t h e people - -

beat ing gongs have taken t h e i r t ime, t h e people of the house, who a r e h i s r e l a t i v e s , w i l l dance and o f f e r ---- dr inks t o each o ther .

n i s i ~ . h i s

The verbs tumungkas and mongoi ... singgarung a r e i n noncompletive form, t h e l a t t e r being a compound verb phrase. Note t h e use of bagu ' then ' t o l i n k t h e success ive s t e p s of t h e procedure i n t h i s example.

3.2 Background verbs

Noncompletive verb forms occur a l s o i n preposed temporal margins. A conjunct ion suds o r lapas ' a f t e r ' occurs preceding t h e p red ica t e , and 'when' may o r may not occur following t h e predica te .

Example 9 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e use of noncompletive form i n a temporal margin:

Suda mongoi kusoi i n , na, suab Af ter t h e groom comes, when go.come groom t h a t so next.day t h e next day t h e groom

goes up ( i . e . g e t s mindakod o dog i i bagu kusoi. married). go.up(term f o r marrying) FW t h a t then groom

Completive verbs t h a t occur i n main c l auses a r e f lashbacks r e f e r r i n g t o events t h a t have taken p lace p r i o r t o t h e s t e p being described. Completive verbs a l s o occur i n temporal margins t o denote a major s t e p boundary.

10 Verb Tense/Aspect i n Tatana Discourse

Example 10 i l l u s t r a t e s the occurrence of a completive verb i n a f lashback:

1. Na b i l a ' suda nor ikot poyo odou So when t h e wedding so when a l r eady a r r ived when day day had a r r i v e d , so

t h e man's s i d e had kumawin, na, nongoi o papatod bala kusoi do gone t o take the money wil l .marry so went FW t ake s ide groom FW t h e r e , s i x t y

( d o l l a r s ) . u s i n , anampulu. money s i x t y

Af te r t h i s paragraph- in i t ia l sen tence t h e d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e s t e p s of t h e wedding procedure begins.

Example 11 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e use of a completive verb i n temporal margin:

Nakaakan poyo bagu ino , When (people) have have.eaten when then t h a t ea t en ( they) put out

t h e food o f fe r ing of mogidang o bagu do idang the mibobogo. put.out.food.offerings FW then FW o f f e r i n g

mibobogo . ( term)

The completive form nakaakan occurs a t t h e beginning of a paragraph.

Verbs with t h e p r e f i x &- a l s o occur i n preposed temporal margin, where ko- denotes an a c t i o n t h a t has j u s t been completed. -

Example 12 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e occurrence of a verb with t h e p r e f i x &-:

Kotudung poyo ponyupi, tumungkas o When t h e p r i e s t e s s - has having.sat.down when p r i e s t e s s beat.gongs FW s a t down, they w i l l

bea t gongs. n o g i i bagu. ? ? then

Explanatory paragraphs o r embedded explanatory d iscourses t h a t occur wi th in procedural d iscourse con ta in verbs t h a t a r e mostly s t a t i v e or e x i s t e n t i a l o r express p o t e n t i a l i t y .

Verb Tense/Aspect i n Tatana Discourse 11

Example 13 i l l u s t r a t e s the t y p i c a l verb forms used i n such an explanatory paragraph:

Kalau k i s s a l a ' kusoi i n , na, ukumon nu bala I f t h e groom -- has done i f has . fau l t groom t h a t so judged by s i d e something wrong, then

t h e b r i d e ' s s i d e w i l l andu' , kaa makasalakoi. judge (him), (he) b r ide not can.go.up cannot g 3 ( t o the

b r i d e ' s house).

Verbs with t h e p r e f i x g-, a s i n k i s a l l a ' 'has a f a u l t ' , a r e s t a t i v e o r dep ic t ive . The p r e f i x - maka- i n makasalakoi 'can go up' denotes p o s s i b i l i t y o r a b i l i t y , here sub jec t t o t h e preceding condit ion.

4. Explanatory d iscourse

Explanatory o r expos i tory d iscourse comprises desc r ip t ions , explanat ions , eva lua t ions , and comments. Fur ther s tudy of t h i s d iscourse genre may n e c e s s i t a t e t h e s e t t i n g up of subtypes. Explanatory d iscourse i s charac ter ized by t h e predominance of s t a t i c verb forms. It i s the re fo re t h e most d i f f e r e n t from the o the r d iscourse types. Explanatory d iscourse i s charac ter ized by topic-comment sentences. The s t o r y i s c a r r i e d forward by t o p i c s , o r themes, r a t h e r than by events t h a t a r e presented i n temporal sequence. Another d i s t ingu i sh ing f e a t u r e of explanatory d iscourse is the use of hypothe t ica l o r f a c t u a l examples and i l l u s t r a t i o n s (Longacre 1972:154). Conditions and t h e i r consequences c o n s t i t u t e an e s s e n t i a l element i n t h i s d iscourse type. Themes a r e more important than p a r t i c i p a n t s , and so t h e a c t o r i s o f t e n a general person.

A s explanatory d iscourse i s s t a t i c by d e f i n i t i o n , the c l i n e of verb ranking i s reversed: what i s most s t a t i c i n n a r r a t i v e d iscourse ranks h ighes t i n explanatory discourse. No e x p l i c i t c l i n e w i l l be presented here a s t h e a n a l y s i s i s not completed. Verb forms i n explanatory d iscourse w i l l be discussed he re i n terms of backbone, background, and peak.

4.1 Backbone

The backbone of explanatory d iscourse c o n s i s t s of topics . The n a r r a t o r p re sen t s an o v e r a l l t o p i c a t t h e beginning of h i s s tory . Then he p resen t s t h e important po in t s and e l a b o r a t e s each one f u r t h e r a s he deems necessary. Topics i n Tatana explanatory d iscourse a r e mostly nominal phrases. Main topics4 a r e introduced by gii - ' tha t - topic p a r t i c l e ' , ino n o E ' t ha t - top ic article', o r - i t i ' t h i s - top ic p a r t i c l e ' . The t o p i c i s o f t e n followed by t h e p a r t i c l e s - i o r - i n , which denote de f in i t eness .

The t o p i c i s followed by a comment which is e i t h e r a nominal phrase o r conta ins a verb phrase. The verbs i n t h e backbone c l auses a r e e x i s t e n t i a l , d e s c r i p t i v e o r s t a t i v e .

12 Verb TenseIAspect i n Tatana Discourse

Example 14 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e occurrence of a nonverbal c lause on the backbone :

Om g i i nopo ulun do And a s f o r t h e person and t h a t t op ic . p a r t i c l e person FW f o r whom t h e mamansung

mayang, o r exorc i s ing , mamansung.mayang i do kon do a s they say, i s perform.mamansung.mayang.ritual def FW say FW performed, (he i s ) an

insane person. boras ik om ulun mulau. exorc i se conn person insane

I n Example 14 t h e top ic and comment a r e nominal phrases, which a r e l inked by t h e connector ,m.

Example 15 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e use of a n e x i s t e n t i a l verb:

Om g i i nopo l a g i ' ulun do pa to i And a l s o , a s f o r a and t h a t t o p i c . p a r t i c l e a l s o person FW dead person who has newly

d ied , t h e r e i s t h e -- b a g ~ i n om a r o sumangat nu ulun s p i r i t of a l i v i n g - newly t h a t conn t h e r e . i s s p i r i t of person person t h a t has gone

along and been buried. poimpasi nokowaya' do linumobong . a l i v e has.followed.along FW was.buried

The e x i s t e n t i a l verb are ' t h e r e i s ' i s s t a t i c i n cha rac te r . I ts negat ive counterpar t i s koiso ' t h e r e i s not ' .

Descr ip t ive verbs have t h e p r e f i x ki-, a d e r i v a t i v e a f f i x which occurs with nominal roo t s . Adject ives, which t z e t h e ve rba l p r e f i x - mo-, a r e a l s o d e s c r i p t i v e .

Example 16 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e use of d e s c r i p t i v e verbs:

Om g i i nopo ulun do untuk And a s f o r a person and t h a t t o p i c . p a r t i c l e person FW f o r who i s making a wall

r e a l l y wel l aga ins t momodinding o bobanar dog i i ulun mulau t h e insane person, he make.wall FW rea l ly .wel1 t h a t person insane headcovering, he

has a woven h a t , which i om kidudung i s i o , k i s i r u n g i s i o has t h e name of tudung --- def conn has.head.covering he has.hat he julang.

do kingaran do tudung julang. FW has.name FW name.of.woven.hat

Verb TenseIAspect in Tatana Discourse 13

The stative verbs describing the condition of a person have the prefix poi@) - .

Example 17 illustrates the use of a stative verb:

Adat nopo intad do komotutuaan do As for the custom of custom topic.partlcle from FW ancestors FW the ancestors, they

say, (if) one has not kon, kaa nopo nokongoi idang do gone and offered food, say not topic.particle has.gone offer.food FW they say, (they, i.e.

the ancestral spirits) kon, pointudung sino do tana', pointingaa'. - are sitting there on say is.sitting there on ground is.looking.up the ground, looking

Noncompletive verb forms occur in explanatory discourse to express customary action. Timeless aspect forms occur in the narrator's comments.

Example 18 illustrates the use of noncompletive forms on the backbone:

Gii nopo ukuman nu Gipun om that topic.particle sentence of Japanese conn

monyusub ani' do ulun do kampung sama-sama' order only FW people in village together

mokitaak do bogok om mokitaak do manuk ask. to .give FW pig and ask. to .give FW chicken

As for the sentence given by the Japanese, (they) just gave an order to the village - people to ask for pigs -- and ask for chickens, -- they said, for their own food (i.e. for the Japanese soldiers).

untuk kon nisiro ani' do anakon niro sondiri. for say by.them just FW food their self

The noncompletive verb forms monyusub and mokitaak constitute the contents of the standing order given by the Japanese.

Example 19 illustrates the use of a timeless aspect form in a narrator's comment:

Ino no ampai aku disiro do That is, I put food that topic put.before I for.them FW before them to show

that I severed rinampung do anak ku do motuo do andu'. (family) ties with my sever.ties FW child my FW oldest FW female oldest daughter.

The verb ampai 'put before' is in timeless aspect form. This narrator's comment is part of an illustration of a food offering ceremony performed in connection with the oldest daughter's wedding.

14 Verb ~ e n s e / A s p e c t i n Tatana Discourse

4.2 Background verbs

I n t h i s prel iminary a n a l y s i s , t h e r e were p laces i n t h e da ta where i t was hard to draw a d iv id ing l i n e between t h e backbone and background. Reasons, condi t ions , comments, and ampl i f i ca t ions a r e assigned t o the background. They conta in noncompletive and completive verb forms. Completive forms r e f e r t o a c t i o n s which have been completed o r need to be completed before t h e a c t i o n t h a t i s being described can take place. Completive forms a l s o occur embedded i n nominal phrases. Explanatory d iscourse may con ta in embedded procedural d iscourses .

Example 20 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e use of noncompletive forms i n a n a r r a t o r ' s comment :

Tapi ino no magagau aku do l o i n But t h a t i s why I am but t h a t t o p i c . p a r t i c l e worry I FW not worried, f o r i t i s n o t

t h a t (one) sees ( i t ) ; tupo ko mokito, s a r i t a ' a n i ' do komotutuaan the ances tors only you.know FW see s t o r y only FW ances tors t e l l i t i s l i k e t h a t ,

they say. do ingkoi kon. FW l i k e . t ha t say

The verbs magagau and mokito a r e i n noncompletive form.

Example 21 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e occurrence of completive verb forms:

Om nalap poyo bagu n i s i o g i r i t u sumangat nu And when she - has got and got when then by.her t h a t FW s p i r i t of t h a t s p i r i t of t h e

person who had - ulun nokowaya' i om gumara' pobagu followed along, they person has.followed def conn shout then shout and.. . i s i r o om.. . they and

I n Example 21 t h e completive verb nalap occurs i n t h e temporal margin of a sentence which descr ibes t h e car ry ing out of a ceremony. The completive verb form nokowaya' occurs wi th in a nominal phrase. Both verbs r e f e r t o a c t i o n s t h a t have taken p lace p r i o r t o t h a t of the main c lause .

4.3 Peak

The t h r e e Tatana t e x t s s tudied present some evidence f o r peaks i n explanatory d iscourse . I n t h e Moginum t e x t one of t h e most important Tatana ceremonies is described and explained. The f i r s t p a r t i s a procedural d iscourse , which i s followed by a d e s c r i p t i o n and expounding of var ious a s p e c t s of t h e ceremony. Heavy r e p e t i t i o n and paraphrasing occur i n the passage which s t r e s s e s t h e importance of c o r r e c t performance. I n another

Verb TenseIAspect in Tatana Discourse 15

text, which describes three Tatana rituals, the main purpose of one of the rituals is explained by using a collateral contrast.

Example 22 illustrates the use of paraphrase and repetition in marking peak:

1. Kaa nopo noi ' gia ' not topic.particle finished talk

ulun mibobogo om ponyubi i, male.ceremony.leader and priestess def

kosinduol do ulun natatak -- in. 2. can.make.sick FW people left. behind that

Ino nopo sabap nu that topic.particle reason FW

pinoturun komotutuaan, adat diti, previous.generations ancestors custom this

kaa po onuon bobanar, kaa oyo mawaya' not yet taken in.earnest not if follow

polombuson, kosinduol dami ' , carried.through can.make.sick us

mokou jur. 3. Masalaan can.cause.illness make.mistake

nopo ataupun no ulun kaa bagu topic.particle or FW people not then

maru-aru mopopupus do adat dino, stable-?? carry.through.to.end FW custom that

kosinduol nini' do ulun natatak. 4. can.make.sick also FW people 1eft.behind

Sabap po gonoi.tupo do ulun.mibobogo apropos of ? ? FW male.ceremony.leader

jangan ponyupi, kaa no majadi, koiso oyo iro. with priestess not FW succeed is.not if they

1. If the male ceremony leader and the priestess have not finished their talk, that can cause the --- people who are left behind to sick. 2. hati is thereason from the previous generations and ancestors as for this custom, if it is not taken seriously, if is not followed and -- carried through, that can cause sickness for -- us, it can cause - -- illness. 3. If mistakes are made, or if people who are not stable are to carry through that custom, that can cause the people who are left --- behind to get sick. 4. As for the male ceremony leader along with the priestess, it will not succeed if -- they are not there. 5. If (they) err even a little, that can kill people. -

5. Kalau mopinsalaan koini, makapatoi do if err a.little can.kil1 FW

ulun. people

16 Verb ~ e n s e / A s p e c t i n Tatana Discourse

I n Example 22 paraphrase i s used i n t h e underl ined i tems i n sentence 2: ' i f i t i s not taken s e r i o u s l y , i f i t i s not followed and c a r r i e d through' , and 'can cause t o g e t s i ck , i t can cause i l l n e s s ' , and i n sentence 3: ' i f people who a r e not s t a b l e a r e t o c a r r y through t h a t custom.' Crucia l words o r phrases a r e repea ted , such a s kosinduol 'can cause t o ge t s i c k ' i n sentences 1, 2 , and 3, and masalaan 'make mistakes ' and mopinsalaan ' e r r , make mistakes ' i n sentences 3 and 5. Paraphrasing and r e p e t i t i o n serve to h i g h l i g h t the necess i ty of c o r r e c t performance i n t h e l i g h t of the impl ica t ions .

Example 23 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e use of c o l l a t e r a l c o n t r a s t a t peak:

1. Om b i l a ' poyo g i i ulun mulau i and when when t h a t person insane def

naadan poyo om g i i no kon katandaan do f a i n t e d when conn t h a t FW say s ign FW

naalap o nu bobolian dog i i sampai mokobonsoi got FW by p r i e s t e s s t h a t u n t i l get.wel1

kon. 2. Kaa nopo maadan, kon, do say not t o p i c . p a r t i c l e f a i n t say FW

mamansung.mayang i n om kaa l a g i ' nokobonsoi name. of . ceremony t h a t conn not y e t got .well

1. And when t h a t insane person has f a i n t e d , t h a t i s , they say, t h e s ign t h a t t h e p r i e s t e s s has got ( t h e s p i r i t ) so t h a t t h e person can g e t we l l , they say. 2. I f (he) does not f a i n t , they say, during t h e mamansung mayang r i t u a l , t h a t insane person has not recovered ye t .

ulun dino mulau. person t h a t insane

I n t h e above example t h e second sentence i s i n c o l l a t e r a l c o n t r a s t with t h e f i r s t . The n a r r a t o r uses t h i s device i n t h e culminat ing explanat ion.

NOTES

lTatana is a Dusunic language spoken by approximately 5,500 people i n t h e d i s t r i c t of Kuala Penyu i n t h e S t a t e of Sabah i n Malaysia. The ma te r i a l f o r t h i s paper was c o l l e c t e d i n 1980-81 under t h e auspices of t h e Summer I n s t i t u t e of L ingu i s t i c s .

The paper i s a r e s u l t of a workshop conducted by D r . Robert E. Longacre i n 1982 a t t h e s tudy cen te r of t h e Sumer I n s t i t u t e of L i n g u i s t i c s a t Nasul i , Bukidnon, Ph i l ipp ines . I wish t o thank D r . Elmer Wolfenden f o r numerous h e l p f u l sugges t ions during t h e prepara t ion of t h i s paper.

Verb Tense/Aspect i n Tatana Discourse 17

Z ~ i m e l e s s aspec t has t h e same form a s imperative: zero s u f f i x i n sub jec t focus, -0' i n ob jec t focus, -i' i n r e f e r e n t focus. When t h e root has t h e noncompletGe aspec t p r e f i x =(N)- o r completive aspect p r e f i x no(ko)-, t h e t ime les s a spec t , l i k e t h e imperat ive, has t h e p r e f i x E(N)- o r -- - E ( & ) - .

3 ~ h e phonemes of Tatana a r e a s fol lows: p, t , k, ? ( I ) , b, d , g , m, n , - n (ny) , 9 (w) , s, 1, r , w, Y; i, u, 0 , a .

Abbreviat ions used i n t h i s paper a r e a s fol lows:

aux a u x i l i a r y conn connector c l a s s c l a s s i f i e r def d e f i n i t e n e s s p a r t i c l e OF ob jec t focus FW grammatical func t ion word with wide range of meaning; au thor d id

not spec i fy which meaning. ? ? g l o s s unce r t a in

4Further s tudy i s needed t o determine whether Tatana demonstratives func t ion a t d iscourse l e v e l i nd ica t ing d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s of prominence. I n t e r e s t i n g evidence has been found i n the Yakan and Sama Banging: languages of t h e Ph i l ipp ines .

REFERENCES

Callow, Kathleen. 1974. Discourse cons idera t ions i n t r a n s l a t i n g t h e word of God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Grimes, Joseph E. 1975. The thread of discourse. (Janua Linguarum s e r i e s minor, 207) The Hague: Mouton.

Hopper, Paul J. 1979. Aspect and foregrounding i n discourse. Discourse and syntax (Syntax and Semantics, Vo1.12.) ed. by Talmy Giv6n. pp.213-241. New York: Academic Press .

Jones, Linda K., ed. 1979. Discourse s t u d i e s i n Mesoamerican languages. Discussion, Vol.1. SIL Publ ica t ions i n L i n g u i s t i c s and Related F i e l d s No.58. Dal las : Summer I n s t i t u t e of L i n g u i s t i c s and Univers i ty of Texas a t Arl ington.

Longacre, Robert E. 1968. Ph i l ipp ine languages: d iscourse , paragraph, and sentence s t r u c t u r e . SIL Pub l i ca t ions i n L i n g u i s t i c s and Related F i e l d s No.21. Dallas: Sumner I n s t i t u t e of L ingu i s t i c s and Univers i ty of Texas a t Arl ington.

18 Verb ~ e n s e / ~ s p e c t i n Tatana Discourse

Longacre, Robert E. 1972. Hierarchy and u n i v e r s a l i t y of d iscourse c o n s t i t u t e n t s i n New Guinea languages. Discussion, Vol.1. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown Univers i ty Press .

. 1976. An anatomy of speech not ions . (PdR Press Publ ica t ions i n Tagmemics, 3 ) Lisse : P e t e r deRidder Press .

. 1979. The paragraph a s a grammatical u n i t . Discourse and syntax (Syntax and Semantics, Vo1.12.) ed. by Talmy Giv6n. pp.115-134 New York: Academic Press .

. 1981. A spectrum and p r o f i l e approach t o d iscourse a n a l y s i s . Text 1.337-359. -

and Stephen Levinsohn. 1977. F i e l d a n a l y s i s of discourse. Current t rends i n t e x t l i n g u i s t i c s . ed. by Wolfgang U. Dress ler . pp.103-122. Ber l in : Walter de Gruyter.