The future tense The past tense

2.5 Tenses

The systems of tense, aspect, and modality TAM in human language are three ways of representing events in their relationship to time or, as Givón 1984:272 puts it, they are “three different points of departure in our experience of time.” Although it may be convenient and indeed necessary to separate them for analytical purposes, it must be kept in mind when studying them that they are interconnected conceptual categories. This section presents only a very sketchy view of the tense system of Godié. Its purpose is to give the reader a glimpse of the devices the Godié language provides to represent events in relation to time. Tenses represent events as happening at a certain point in time. This is done in reference to a time axis, which is usually the moment of speaking, though other points of reference can also be taken by the speaker. In other words, tense tells us something about whether an event happened in the past or will happen in the future, or is happening right at the moment of speaking. Godié has formal features for future tense and several different past tenses. There is no present tense in Godié. Rather, an event represented by the incompletive aspect can get a present reading in the right context. The following sub-sections present only the inherent semantic meaning of the tenses in conversation, as their discourse meaning in narrative is discussed elsewhere in the study.

2.5.1 The future tense

The future tense in Godié conversation is used for future events that will unavoidably happen; otherwise, the “potential mode” is used. From this it is clear that future tense in Godié has a modal component see chapter 4. No distinction is made between a close and a distant future. Future tense in Godié is marked by the verb yi ‘come’ used as an auxiliary, as shown in example 29. This is the so-called ‘come-future’. Related languages, such as Wobé [wob], have a ‘go-future’, which uses the verb ‘go’ to express future tense. In this use the word is glossed as ‘XFUT’. Unlike the full verb yi, the auxiliary yi like the other auxiliaries in Godié is not conjugated. 29 ɔ cii- lä nynä -a yi yu gä 3 S speak: CP LOP SP 2 1 P XFUT child beget ‘… he = the angel said that we will get a child.’ [elisabet 21–22] To talk about an event that will certainly not happen, the negative auxiliary ‘XNEG’ is used, together with the discourse particle -lä ‘DP2’, as shown in example 30. 30 -nn -lä yɩɔ - zɩkä mʋ -sää 2 S : XNEG DP 2 anymore today VPC be_able_to_speak ‘As of today you will no longer be able to speak.’ [elisabet 40] In narrative, the future auxiliary occurs with events that were to be expected from the preceding event see §9.1.2.

2.5.2 The past tense

Past tense in Godié is expressed by different tense particles. Their position in the clause is either after the main verb or after the auxiliary. A past tense particle indicates that the event or state expressed by the verb has happened or existed since some time before the current temporal reference point. This reference point is the moment of speaking for some particles, but a point in the past for other particles. Events of the past are thus presented as being distant from the time of speaking. An analysis of the Godié tense system is not attempted here. Instead, the attested tense particles will simply be listed and their basic function described. Five different past tense particles can be distinguished in Godié narrative, as listed in table 2.8. Table 2.8. Tense particles Particle Gloss bhä ‘PST1’ a ‘PST2’ wä ‘PST3’ bhS ‘PST4’ bh ɔɔ ‘PST5’ 2.5.2.1 The past tense particle bhä ‘PST1’ The most frequent tense particle in Godié is bhä ‘PST1’. It appears to be in the process of replacing all the other tense particles, especially in the speech of younger speakers, who have gone through school in French and are not immersed in the Godié language like older speakers. The particle bhä often combines with the low-prominence particle lä ‘LOP’ discussed in §4.3.2.1, which results in the form bhlä ‘PST1:LOP’, as shown in example 31. 31 a. nä ʋmʋ gɔlʋnʋ ʋ pio kpänyɩ SP 1 NH 3: TH canoe: DEM NH 3 hurry: ICP much ‘So that same canoe, it was very fast nɩ ʋ -zi gokpüü -a plä bhlä -zä nä kʋ ADD 1 NH 3 outstrip: CP boat: PL : DEF 1 P enter: ICP PST 1: LOP usually SP 1 VPC and it outstripped the boats we usually took.’ [greve 27–29] b. - zёküü ylʋʋ - ʋ plöö- bhlä nä adjacent_day: GEN day: DEF NH 3: REL pass: CP PST 1: LOP SP 1 ‘Now on the day of yesterday lit. the one day from now that passed, ʋmʋ kʋ nä wälɩklё -bhlogbe -bhlü bhä NH 3: TH on SP matter_part one_single fall: CP PST that day lit. on it something happened.’ [greve 15–17] Note that the main clause in 31a acts like a title for the following narrative, thus placing the whole subsequent narrative in the past. It sets the time for the subsequent events at a certain point in the past, as opposed to the preceding section which talks about the usual daily routine. The element bhlä also frequently occurs with the incompletive aspect ICP in relative clauses see §2.6.2. In this context, it signals a habit that existed before the time of the narrative, as in example 32. 32 -m ɔɔ nyiee klʋʋ LOC lagoon: DEF surface: OBL ‘There on the lagoon gokpüü - ɩ tʋ-anyɩ bhlä nä […] kɩ bʋä boat: PL : DEF NHP REL :cross: ICP :1 PO PST 1: LOP SP 1 ASF : NHP be_slow: ICP the boats that used to take us across, […] they are really slow.’ [greve 18, 21] In a tail-head linkage construction discussed in §4.2.3 the element bhlä only occurs in the tail clause, but not in the head clause, as shown in example 33. 33 - Glɩsɩsɩɛɛ -za -a -mö bhlä -a -mö lä nä Christmas: GEN because:of we go: CP PST 1: LOP we go: CP LOP SP 1 ‘It was because of Christmas that we had gone. When we had gone …’ [neyo 2–3.1] 2.5.2.2 The past tense particle a ‘PST2’ The tense particle a ‘PST2’ instructs the hearer to locate the state or event expressed by the verb in a past stretch of time or at a specific point in time situated before the time of another state or event in the past. 20 In other words, the time axis, or reference time, for such a state or event is not the moment of speaking but another past state or event, as illustrated by example 34. 34 a. n nä naa käkäwoobhü n -sä a nä 1 S say 1 S : GEN cocoa:pod: PL 1 S take_away: CP PST 2 SP 1 ‘My cocoa pods that I had picked, wa kä mʋ wa kää klää -a gɩ wlä 3 P XPOT go 3 P XPOT help 1 P XPOT : NHP break they should go to help me break them lit. they should go, they should help me, we would break them…’ [cacao 13–18] b. -mä ɔmɔ nyɩkpɔɔ nä ɔ plöö- a nyikpa kädɔ ADD 4 3 S : TH person: DEF SP 1 3 S BE 2: CP PST 2 person big ‘Now that same man, he was an important man. ɔ -kä a lɩ nɩ ɔ -kä a - gänʋnyʋä 3 S have: CP PST 2 thing: PL ADD 1 3 S have: CP PST 2 slavery:do: AG : PL He had riches and he had slaves.’ [filsprod 3–6] 2.5.2.3 The past tense particle wä ‘PST3’ The past tense particle wä ‘PST3’ is used for a state of affairs that existed or did not exist in the distant past, or for an event that happened or did not happen in the distant past. It has a variant form w ɛ, which has been found only in negative clauses, as shown in example 35. 35 tëbhii wɛ - kʋ towel: PL : XNEG PST 3 BE 1: CP ‘Towels didnt exist back then.’ [kazo 21] With action verbs in the incompletive aspect, wä is used to indicate past habitual actions, often ancient customs, as shown in example 36. 36 a. t ɛɛtɛɛ -a bäsɩ -yä -a tɩtɩä formerly 1 P father: PL ADD 2 1 P grandfather: PL ‘In former times, our fathers and grandfathers, 20 Marchese 1978b:63 describes it as indicating recent time in the Jluko dialect of Godié spoken in the area of the town of Dakpadou. kaz ɩɩ wa budo wä raffia_washcloth: PL : OBL 3 P wash: ICP PST 3 it was with raffia washcloths that they used to wash themselves.’ [kazo 18–19] b. yl ɩɩ wa nʋ wä [sese] torch: PL 3 P make: ICP PST 3 NUPT ‘It was torches people used to make.’ [lueuzi 40] As already mentioned in §2.5.2.1, in the speech of younger speakers the particle bhä seems to be used in contexts where a and wä are likely to be used by older speakers. This is illustrated in example 37 produced by a young-adult speaker. Contrast 37a with examples 34a and 34b produced by a middle-aged speaker; and 37b with 36a and 36b produced by an older speaker. 37 a. ɔ plöö- bhlä släkäsänyɔ 3 S BE 2: CP PST 1: LOP sacrifice:take: AG ‘He was a priest …’ [elisabet 16] b. - bhɔɔdä nä kä g wɛ -yä nyɩkpɔ sɔ -kʋʋ bhä kʋ beginning SP 1 ASF chimpanzee ADD 2 person two live_together: CP PST 1 VPC ‘… in the beginning the chimpanzee and man actually lived together.’ [gwebhutu 12] 2.5.2.4 The past tense particle bh ɛ ‘PST4’ In nominal clauses the tense particle bh ɛ ‘PST4’ takes the place of the predicator particle lä to indicate a past state of affairs see §4.2, as in example 38. 38 -m ɔɔ titi -naa yu bhɛ 2 S : TH self 2 S : GEN child PST 4 ‘… it was your own child …’ [lueuzi 71] In verbal clauses, this particle is used for anterior events and states—that is, events and states that happened or existed before another event or state in the past—as in example 39. With the perfect auxiliary, it combines with the discourse particle -zä to express the idea of ‘already’, as in example 39c. 39 a. - Kɔkwɛɛnɔ, -ɔɔ bhɛ lä monii nii- nä [-kpazebhleku] Rooster: DEM 3 S : NEG PST 4 LOP money get: CP SP 1 NUPT ‘That Rooster, who had not gotten money, nɩ ɔ yi monie kʋ bhlü [-kpazebhleku] ADD 1 3 S XFUT money: DEF VPC take NUPT he then took the money …’ [kokoleko 173–174] b. -zlëa -a - kʋ bhɛ lä - lɔɔ nä spirit: DEF NH 1: REL BE 1: CP PST 4 LOP there SP 1 ‘The spirit that had been there ɔ yä yɩ - lɔɔ -zlëa -sä 3 S XPER now there spirit take_away he has now taken that spirit away from there.’ [kazo 58–59] c. -a yä anyɩ bhɛ soo 1 P XPER 2 P PST 4 speak ‘We had told you…’ [neyo 13.1] The particle bh ɛ ‘PST4’ is also used for posterior events and states—that is, events that happened or could have happened and states that existed or could have existed after other events or states in the past—as illustrated in example 40. 40 kä -a bhobho nynä -aa -lä bhɛ yu gä ASF 1 P think: ICP SP 2 1 P : GEN DP 2 PST 4 child beget ‘… we really thought we would not get a child.’ [elisabet 26–27] Unlike the particle bhä, the particle bh ɛ does not amalgamate with the low-prominence particle lä ‘LOP’, as shown by example 41. 41 Ɩmɩ n yä bhɛ lä -zä ci NHP : TH 1 S XPER PST 4 LOP DP 3 speak ‘… “That’s what I had already said.”’ [gwebhutu 40] The particle bh ɛ has the variant form wɛ. It seems to be phonologically conditioned, which is not surprising since phonetically the consonants [bh] and [w] are very close. The form w ɛ has been found whenever a long vowel caused by a floating high tone precedes the particle, as illustrated in example 42. 42 a. tëbhii wɛ - kʋ towel: PL : XNEG PST 4 BE 1: CP ‘Towels didn’t exist back then.’ [kazo 21] b. -n bä, ɔ yää wɛ -zä -naa ŋnöö paa- 2 S father 3 S XPER :1 SO PST 4 DP 3 2 S : GEN name: DEF show: APL ‘… your father, he had already told lit. shown me your name.’ [elisabet 77] As with the particles wä and a, younger speakers tend to replace the particle bh ɛ with the default past particle bhä. Thus, in example 43, bhä is used by the speaker for both anterior and posterior events. 43 ɔɔ -lä bhä tee wlie nöö 3 S : XNEG DP 2 PST 1 yet husband marry ‘… she hadn’t married a man lit. a husband yet. ‘nɩ - Laagɔzuzu -sonöɔ bhä s ɩɩ ADD 1 God:spirit speak: APL :3 S : CP PST 1 ADD 3 Then an angel from God had told her, too, nynä ɔ yi bhä s ɩɩ yu gää SP 2 3 S XFUT PST 1 also child give_birth saying that she would also give birth to a child.’ [elisabet 54–56] 2.5.2.5 The past tense particle bh ɔɔ ‘PST5’ The past particle bh ɔɔ is limited to negative clauses, as shown in example 44. It may originally have been a morphologically complex form, consisting of the past particle bhä ‘PST1’ and the countering connective -w ʋ ‘CNT2’ see §8.2.2. In the course of time, the two elements may have amalgamated, yielding the present form bh ɔɔ ‘PST5’. 44 a. waa budo bhɔɔ tobhoo 3 P : XNEG wash PST 5 towel: OBL ‘They didn’t use a towel to wash themselves.’ [kazo 20] b. -mä ɔmɔ ɔɔ -sää bh ɔɔ lä mʋ nä ADD 1 3 S : TH 3 S : XNEG speak: ICP PST 5 LOP VPC SP 1 ‘But as for him, since he was not speaking … [elisabet 80]

2.6 Aspects