ʔoʔ 1sg
mɑh eat
pleʔˈtʰɑn jujube
niʔ this
mɑɑk many
pʰoot too_much
ləəj directly
tɛɛŋ ʔɑn cause
ʔoʔ 1sg
sɨrˈmɑʔ have_fever
I ate too much jujube fruit then that caused me to have a fever. Tan.008
kɨnˈniʔ behind
ɡɨˈniʔ that_one
lɛɛw already
ʔoʔ 1sg
ɡɔʔ so_then
sɨrˈmɑʔ have_fever
jɛt located
dɑʔ at
kuŋ village
tɕii IRR
bɨɑn achieve
ɡrɑɑw approximately
mooj one
ʔɑˈtʰit Clf_weeks
bɑɑr two
ʔɑˈtʰit Clf_weeks
After that then I had a fever located at the village lasting about one week [or] two weeks.
3.12 Sɨŋ constructions in discourse
As referring expressions in discourse, sɨŋ constructions are used as narrator comments, to add extra explanatory information about a referent. They do not
signal the activation status or salience of the referent, but are usually used with an active referent 8 instances, and sometimes aid in identification of an
accessible 2 instances or inactive referent 1 instance. Some examples are given below.
In 97 the sɨŋ construction is added at the end of the sentence as additional descriptive information about an active referent, the vehicle, sɨŋ meh lot tʰii bɑŋ
deʔ sɑʔˈɔɔŋ tɛɛŋ rɑʔ being the vehicle where they got wood and made a structure on the back.
97Tan.005 məh
be lot
vehicle bɔriˈsɑt
company buuntʰɑˈˀnɔɔm
Bounthanom lɨɨ
or dee
generic lɑw
say ʔiik
again mooj
one
kɨrˈlɔh Clf_words
məh be
lot vehicle
deʔ POSS
lɑt state
sɨŋ NMLZ
məh be
lot vehicle
tʰii that
bɑŋ 3pl
deʔ get
sɑˈʔɔɔŋ wood
tɛɛŋ do
rɑʔ structure
It was the Buunthanoom Companys vehicle or one could say in other words it was the governments vehicle, being the vehicle where they got wood and made a
structure on the back.
75
In 98 a sɨŋ construction refers to an event which is accessible from the text. The man who was robbed is cursing the thief, saying he should die in the same
way as his son died. His sons death is described in Thief.002. In Thief.009 he refers to this event with the construction sɨŋ kɔɔn ʔoʔ ɡɨˈniʔ like that of that my
son, to explain the way the thief should die.
98Thief.009 ɡəə
3sgm ɡɔʔ
so_then tɨrˈwɑɑjK
rage məh
be məʔ
INDEF hɑk
nevertheless mɔɔt
take_hold kɨˈmuul
money ʔoʔ
1sg
kʰii here
kʰrɔɔ request
ʔɑn COMP
ɡəə 3sgm
hɑɑn die
mɨɑn be_like
sɨŋ NMLZ
kɔɔn child
ʔoʔ 1sg
ɡɨˈniʔ that_one
ʔəm IMP
So then he raged, Whoever it was took my money here, I ask that he die like my sons death
Sometimes a sɨŋ construction is used by the narrator to give an explanation in terms of reasons for events or situations arising in the narrative. In 99 Tan is
describing her feelings now as she looks back at the difficult time when she was sick, and the hardship her family suffered in the years that followed. She uses
the construction sɨŋ dee tʰɨɨ rooj about our belief in spirits, to give the reason for her distress.
99Tan.128 tɨrˈɡət
think ɲɑɑm
period_of_time niʔ
this tɕuʔ
hurt hɨrˈɲɨɑm
heart sɨŋ
NMLZ dee
unspecified thɨɨ
believe_in
rooj spirit
tɕuʔ hurt
hɨrˈɲɨɑm heart
sɨrˈməʔ INTENS
tɛɛŋ ʔɑn cause
dee unspecified
tʰuk poor
jɔɔr because
jɛt DUR
sɑj pay_back
nii debt
sɨŋˈtɕuʔ suffering
deʔ POSS
ʔoʔ 1sg
dɑʔ at
ɲɑɑm period_of_time
niʔ this
When I think about this time I am upset about our belief in spirits, I am really upset that it caused us to be poor, because we kept on paying back the debts of
my illness at this time.
It was this belief that required them to go into debt to buy and sacrifice a buffalo, and kept them poor for years afterwards.
In his description of a similar particle in Mal, Filbeck 1991 describes its discourse function as giving prominence to the content of the clause it
introduces. Further data is needed to clarify whether that is the case in Kmhmu.
76
3.13 Zero anaphora in discourse
