Common prohibitions for second person singular and plural Changing a prohibition into a request not to do something

133 ¡Jan jo -xahin -non -nu he come -INDEF.FUT -HORT -DECL ‘May he come sometime.’ 134 ¡Jo -yaa -non -comun hiya jochi yohi -xon -tan -u, chipi¡ come -IMM.ACN -HORT -indeed me older.brother tell -BENEF -ahead -F.VOC daughter ‘My daughter, please go ahead and tell your older brother for me to come immediately’ Lit.: ‘To come immediately, please go tell your older brother for me, my daughter’ 135 ¡Jaha rahoo haya -ma -non -nu hisher.mother medicine take -cause -HORT -DECL ‘Let hisher mother cause himher to take the medicine.’ 136 Jan vacu-xano -mun hizin -ya -hqui. ¡Rahoo haya -ma -non -comun her child-female -TH pain -with -DECL medicine take -cause -HORT -indeed jaha yohi -yu hisher.mother tell -F.VOC ‘Her daughter is hurting. Please tell her mother to make her the daughter take the medicine’ Lit.: ‘To cause her to take medicine, please tell her mother’ 137 Jato vuchi -xon -quiha, jato canon jato -qui -tzin vahaa -hi them meet -NONSQSSTR -REPORT them now them -towards-next make.visit-INF vo -xahin -non -vo jato yohi-vahin -can-ni -xo -hqui. go.PL -INDEF.FUT-HORT-PL them tell -away.from.speaker-PL-REM.PAST-3PAST-DECL ‘Meeting them, it is said, they the visitors having told them the hosts that it would be their turn to visit them next time, they the visitors left.’

4.3.10 Common prohibitions for second person singular and plural

There are two types of negative imperatives in Amahuaca: common prohibitions and petitions not to do something. A common prohibition is marked with the negative morpheme -yama ‘not’, lit.: with not plus the optional -xan-xanh ‘imperative’ plus the vocative. 138 ¡Ca-yama -pu 139 ¡Ha -yama-u, chipi go -not -M.VOC do -not -F.VOC daughter ‘Don’t go’ ‘Don’t do it, my daughter 140 ¡Jo-yama-xan 141 ¡Nan rama vu- yama -xanh -can-pu come-not-IMP this day come.PL -not -IMP -PL -M.VOC ‘Don’t come’ ‘Don’t you all come today’ 142 ¡Jato jau paran-hai coon-yama -xanh-can-pu them something betray-PROG trust-not -IMP -PL -M.VOC ‘Don’t trust those who are betraying others’ 143 Chipo ca-tan -pana -n, hiya: —Non nincaa-sharaa-non -murocon. later go-ahead-FRUST -ERG to.me we listen- good -HORT-really ¡ca-yama-yoo -pu ha-caa -vo. go -not -IMM.ACN-M.VOC do-PAST.PFTV -PL ‘I wanted to go ahead a little later but they said lit.:to me they did to me: “Let us really listen well. Don’t go as yet ” ’ 144 ¡Jo -yama-ti -murocon min-hnu Nuno-mun ja-yama-hi hun-hcai come-not -must-really you-DECL here -TH be-not -PRES.PROG I -12ACT.DECL ‘You really must not come. I am not going to be here.’ The prohibition turns into a strong warning by adding -covin ‘very’ plus -pan ‘emphasis’ to the verb expressing the prohibition. 145 Vuzoh -nayaa-tan mucaa -haito jan jato: wake.up -early -SQSS laugh -NONSQ.SO he them —¡Mucaa-yama-covin -pan -can-pu ni -xo -hqui. laugh -not -very -EMPH-PL -M.VOC REM.PAST-3PAST-DECL ‘They woke up early and hearing them laugh he said to them: “You had better not laugh” ’

4.3.11 Changing a prohibition into a request not to do something

In order to soften a prohibition to a request not to do something, the speaker employs -tzi ‘personal commitment’. The morpheme generally precedes -xan-xanh ‘imperative’ somewhere in the clause. In this case the negative morpheme impeding the action is not -yama but -na ‘negative’ or -can -na ‘negative plus plural’. The clitic -tzi ‘personal commitment’ can be preceded by -pana- ‘frustrative’ or the evidential morpheme -cari ‘mirativity’. 146 Nan hino-mun zina -hnu. ¡Raman-tzi -xanh-can-na, miya pi -non this dog -TH angry-DECL touch -PERS.COMM-IMP -PL -NEG you bite-ASSUM ‘This dog is vicious. For heaven’s sake do not touch him, he could bite you’ 147 Jo -tan -mun jan: —¡Vuro-vuro -tzi ja -xanh-na -pu, come-away-TH he despair -despair-PERS.COMM be-IMP -NEG-M.VOC ni -xo -hnu. REM.PAST-3PAST -DECL ‘When he came a long time ago, he said: “For heaven’s sake, don’t despair.’ 148 Miya-x -qui nutuh-xanhquin -tzi min caivo you -ACC-23ACT save -PURPSSTR-PERS.COMM your people jau paran-xanh-na -pu. something betray-IMP -NEG-M.VOC ‘For heaven’s sake don’t betray your people in order to save yourself 149 Miya sharaa-quin jau yohi-haito -tzi you good -NONSQ.SSTR something tell -NONSQ.SO-PERS.COMM ¡jato nincaa-xanh-na -pu miya paran-non -vo. them listen -IMP -NEG-M.VOC you betray-ASSUM-PL ‘For heaven’s sake don’t listen to those who flatter you with beautiful words. They most likely are betraying you.’ 150 Tapaz-naman hoxa-hax hinoh-cari -tzi house -under sleep-PAST.PF.PRES.RELEV dog -MIR-PERS.COMM vuzo -n -xanh-can-na, mato pi -non, vacu-vau wake.up-MALF-IMP -PL -NEG you bite-ASSUM child-PL.VOC ‘Surprisingly the dog fell asleep under the house. For your own safety, children, don’t wake him up He could bite you.’ 151 Moha man ha -shin -na -hqui-nu, hun-tzin vutza now you kill-yesterday-2PAST.PFTV-ACT-DECL I -next another.one ha -pana -n -tzi hiya ha -can -xanh-can-na -pu kill-FRUST-ERG-PERS.COMM I kill-MALF-IMP -PL -not-M.VOC mai, quin -mun jan jato yohi-vahin-ni -xo -hqui. ATTN.GETTER NONSQSSTR-TH he them say -away-REM.PAST-3PAST-DECL ‘Now you killed game yesterday, now it is my turn, don’t you kill any more, you guys, he said and left.’ In 151 the frustrative preceding -tzi ‘personal commitment’, expresses a conflict of motives or possibly an inadequate perception of a person’s own abilities. Several people have had success in their hunting activities and the one who has not been successful, requests that the others refrain from killing so he might have a chance.

4.4 Conclusions