135 fouri
le-le, wuso
ne n-alei,
miso teingi.
seed m-3m
if she
3f-eat.3m
APT
good.m Its seed, if she ate it, would be good.
This same subordinate clause structure can be used to identify a noun, which is the function of the relative clause. It is introduced by a subordinate clause marker wuso and normally concluded with a
demonstrative l-epe. The demonstrative agrees with the gender of the noun which the relative clause modifies. An example of this is given in 136.
136 m-uluwe-pe
weli twange
wuso fale
l-epe 1p-see-3p
fire smoke
which arrive 3m-herethis We saw the smoke which went up here.
A second form of a subordinate clause uses a different initial marker. The same demonstrative mor- pheme occurs in the final position; however, it is functioning internal to the final NP as shown by its
agreement with a noun internal to the NP.
17
This form of subordinate clause is used in identification where the action is customary or habitual. An example is given in 137.
137 fei
ku w-ulu-wo
metine l-iti
l-esi-ene nafle
n-epe now
1p 1d-see-3m
man 3m-
ASS
3m-hold-3f bird
3f-thishere Now we saw the man who flew this plane
In both cases the subordinate clause comes after the numeral position in the noun phrase. Example 138 shows that the subordinate clause comes in a different position from the adjective. Adjectives oc-
cur before numbers, but subordinate clauses occur after numbers.
138 ku
m-irpe-nge mete
li-ngi winges
wuso t-ile
t-epe 1p
1p-say-3md man
big-md two.m
who 3md-stand
3md-thishere We spoke to the two big men who stood here.
2.4 Summary
In this chapter we have laid the foundation for understanding the problem of reference in relation to the Olo language. We have looked at the phonology and a general overview of the grammar. We have
examined general word classes, phrases, and clause constructions. Particular attention has been paid to the serial clause construction. In this section we have delineated the different ways a referent can be
realized in Olo. Table 2.14 gives a summary of the possibilities.
Table 2.14. Morphosyntactic forms that realize referents in Olo verbal affixes
free pronouns common nouns
proper names modified noun phrases
possessive noun phrase genitive noun phrase
noun phrases with a subordinate clause
2.4 Summary 45
17
This is shown by the initial n- ‘feminine’ on the demonstrative. This agrees with nafle ‘birdplane’ which is feminine.
The different ways a given participant can be referred to in a clause, as given in table 2.14, can be combined. Normally verbal affixes appear that are coreferential with the non-affixal referential de-
vices. So, for example, a participant that is realized by a lexical subject will also be realized by a prefix on the verb. However, the use of the verbal marking is not automatic. In clauses with two core seman-
tic roles, if the patient is not marked on the verb then object demotion has occurred. The reverse can also occur with benefactives. If the normal case frame has only two core semantic roles, the benefi-
ciary can be marked on the verb with a suffix resulting in benefactive promotion. This same type of promotion can also occur with genitive constructions, in which the possessor can be marked on the
verb with a suffix replacing the actual patient, commonly called “possessor raising.” Olo also has the possibility to mark some verbs for inverse.
46 The Olo Language
3 The Rationale for Different Referential Forms
3.1 Why Are There Different Referential Forms?
Referential form and its management has in recent times been investigated in at least three separate dis- ciplines: artificial intelligence, psycholinguistics, and linguistics. The people in artificial intelligence want
to understand the use of reference so that machines can parse or generate “natural” language. The human ability to use the same pronominal form to refer to many different objects, even in the same environment,
is very difficult for AI researchers to duplicate with computers. Psycholinguists use language as a window into the mind. They try to account for the mental processes behind the use of language. Linguists fall into
different camps. Some look at the study of reference as merely a tool to help analyze the structure of a lan- guage. Others look at reference as part of a complete description of a given language. And finally, some
view reference in much the same way as psycholinguists, as a way to understand the human mind.
While I have divided up the different reasons for looking at reference, this is not to suggest that a given researcher could not have multiple goals in his study of reference. For my own part I am inter-
ested in reference as being part of a complete picture of a given language and as a window into the mind of language producers and comprehenders. I believe that the choice of referential form is
cognitively based and conventionalized. It is cognitively based in that the use of a given referential de- vice has cognitive effects in the minds of the audience. Specifically the different referential forms
cause increases in the activation level of their referents and cause suppression of the activation of all other participants. The amount of activation and suppression varies according to the specific referen-
tial form used. Generally the larger and more specific the form, the greater the effects will be Gernsbacher 1990. Referential form is conventionalized in that there are rules or strategies
1
that govern the use of given referential devices. These rules or strategies need to be discovered for each
given language. The strategies, while based on general cognitive principles, will vary from one lan- guage to another. For example, Perrin 1978 reports that the main character in Mambila folk tales is
realized almost exclusively by a zero after the initial introduction. Other languages that have zero as a realization for a referent use it in different circumstances.
3.2 Definition of Reference