14 .93 ŋ-e ama khim-na jøppet.
1SG-GEN mother house-IN EXIST.INFER ‘It seems to me that my mom is at home.’ Or: ‘I think my mom is at home.’
Speaker sees smoke coming from the house and knows that mother ought to be there. She could be anybody’s mother actually. Close kinship relation has no impact on this example. This is logical inference
from external signs. Equative copular clause type
14.94 u- ki jaŋ-la pempu di aku wantsin hiŋ-køppet.
that-GEN time-DAT headman DEF uncle wantsin COP.EXP-INFER ‘At that time I think the headman was uncle Wantsin.’
The topic is the headman in this statement and the proper name is the predicate nominal. When the copula hin is inflected for inference or for any other inflectional category, the direct experience strategy
of hin is reduced. In other words no kinship relation is involved here. Negated equative copular clause type
14.95 u- ki jaŋ-la pempu di aku wantsin meŋ-køppet.
that-GEN time-DAT official DEF uncle wantsin NEG.COP.EXP-INFER ‘At that time I think the headman wasn’t uncle Wantsin.’
The topicsubject is the headman in this statement and the proper name is the predicate nominal. Table 14.21. Summary of how inference from circumstances is realized in copular verbs
Declarative 3.person subject and inference from
circumstances. Negated declarative
3.person subject and inference from circumstances.
14.2.5 Speakerhearer’s assumed evidential based on general knowledge
Aikhenvald 2004:391 defines assumed evidentials as follows: “Information source based on conclusions drawn on the basis of logical conclusions and general knowledge and experience.” General knowledge in
Lhomi is considered factual information. I have marked it -NMLZ;CONJ AUX - ken bet and -NMLZ;
Q AUX - pa bet. The latter is used in historical narratives as the back bone. The previous one is used for
commonly known facts. The tense of the former one is nonpast and of the latter is past. The marker -
pa bet marks past tense and general knowledge, an event which is considered to be true. It is the general factual knowledge which is the primary grammatical meaning of this marker and
therefore I have listed it under direct evidentials. The verb has past tense root. It is the whole periphrastic structure V[PST] -
pa bet which marks past tense, factual information and an event. The marker -
ken bet marks nonpast tense and general knowledge, which is considered to be true. The general factual knowledge is the primary meaning of this marker with the auxiliary. The verb root is
nonpast.
Speakerhearer’s assumed evidential based on general knowledge in verbs of ST2, I and T1 14.2.5.1
Declarative, clause type ST2 14.96 u-ko
doŋpu-ni tshar-a bet. that-head tree-ABL fall.down-NMLZ;Q AUX
‘He fell down from a tree.’ Speaker draws from general factual information.
Declarative, clause type I 14
.97 aku tshiriŋ daŋ na-ja bet. uncle tshiring yesterday get.sick-NMLZ;Q AUX
‘Uncle Chiring got sick yesterday.’ This signals the starting point of an illness which may or may not last for a long time. It could refer
also to a spell of headache which may be over by the time of this speech act. To use sensory observation na-
soŋ would indicate a closer observation of the patient. Declarative, clause type T1
14.98 gott-e iki ɖok ɕii-pa bet.
3SG-ERG writing read know-NMLZ;Q AUX ‘He learned to read.’
Speaker bases his information on general knowledge which he has learned from elsewhere. This refers to an event, the end of learning process. From now onwards the person knows how to read.
S peakerhearer’s assumed evidential based on general knowledge in copular verbs
14.2.5.2 When the existential copular verb is marked for general knowledge it is the same marker that occurs
with other verbs in the current section, jøk- ken bet. The corresponding negated copula is somewhat
irregular, mip- pa bet. Copular verbs do not inflect for past tense. Therefore this negated copula may refer
either to the state whose event-time precedes or to the state which is right at the time of speech or reference time, see Givón 2001:286. There is more about this in section 13.4.5.
When the equative copular verb is marked for factual general information it is bet and the negated
one is mem-pet. Consider the following examples. Declarative, possessive copular clause type
14 .99 aku tshiriŋ-la ŋaa ŋii jøk-ken bet.
uncle tshiring-DAT drum two EXIST-NMLZ;CONJ AUX ‘Uncle Chiring has two large drums.’
Speaker knows it for sure, it is general knowledge. He may have seen the drums himself but he chooses not to use any other direct evidential markers.
Negated declarative possessive copular clause type 14.100 phøt-
laŋ thaŋ jak duŋka dʑap-na ak Tibetan-bull and yak fight VBZR-NFNT1 INCLN
oŋpu-la jak-ki tɕhikka ak strength-DAT yak-GEN half INCLN
phøt- laŋ-la mip-pa bet. TE32
Tibetan-bull-DAT NEG.EXIST-NMLZ.Q AUX ‘If a Tibetan bull and a yak have a bull fight, the bull does not have even half of
yak’s strength.’ Speaker tells as parenthetical information that yak is much stronger than a Tibetan bovine bull. Yet
they often fight and it is the Tibetan bull that wins. Interrogative, descriptive copular clause type with predicate adjective
14 .101 aku tshiriŋ thaŋ-puwa jøk-ken bek=ka?
uncle tshiring health-ADJVZR EXIST-NMLZ;CONJ AUX=Q ‘Is uncle Chiring healthy?’
Speaker assumes that the hearer knows but he himself does not have access to this general knowledge.
Interrogative, equative copular clause type 14.102 aku lhakpa pempu bek=ka?
uncle Lhakpa official COP=Q ‘Is uncle Lhakpa the headman?’
This is normal third person question of the copular verb with predicate nominal. Neither speaker nor hearer has any experiencerkinship relation to the third person.
14.2.6 Speaker’s source of information is direct speech, quotative
