Speaker’s acceptance or call for acceptance

10.2.11 Speaker’s compassionate attitude

The particle aa follows the finite clause and conveys the speaker’s compassionate attitude towards the hearer for what has happened or is going to happen to him or to his loved ones. It is glossed SCAP for speaker’s compassionate attitude particle. When this particle combines with a request or a command it softens it quite a bit. A negated imperative with this particle is a compassionate warning to hearer. If something bad has happened to the speaker he may express his pity on himself too. The following examples illustrate this particle. 10.75 le hi-ko t ɕhi aa. work this-head do;VBZR[IMP] SCAP ‘Could you please do this work?’ This is a soft and kind request to do something. Straight imperative would be a rude command. 10.76 hi-ntuk t ɕhi-na ɕøt aa. this-ADVZR do;VBZR-NFNT1 tell[IMP] SCAP ‘Could you please speak to him in this way?’ If we drop the particle it would be a straightforward command with an obligation to carry it out. Using this particle gives the hearer a bit of freedom whether he carries it out or not. This particle has nothing to do with the honorific system of Lhomi. 10.77 u-ni mal-la mat- ɖo aa that-ABL down.there-DAT NEG-go[IMP] SCAP pulis-ki suŋ joŋ. police-ERG arrest[PST] intend ‘I feel pity for you, do not go down there The police is going to arrest you.’ This is a sympathetic warning to someone. Speaker feels pity toward the hearer and warns him. 10.78 ha raŋ døt aa. now 2SG stay[IMP] SCAP ‘Stay here Too bad, I have to go now.’ This is an idiom when a good friend is leaving. For a long time they are not going to see each other; they feel sad. Speaker expresses his pity to his friend and to himself too. 10.79 ŋa-la khanʈ-e dukŋaa taŋ-tɕuŋ aa. 1SG-DAT what-GEN pain send;VBZR-PST.EXP SCAP ‘What a pain he inflicted on me Poor me’ Speaker expresses his pity toward himself because of the pain someone else has inflicted on him. 10.80 khan ʈ-e dukpa aa. what-GEN hardship SCAP ‘What a trouble he has It breaks my heart to see it.’ This is not a fully developed finite clause but an exclamation. Speaker conveys his compassion to the victim or his loved ones.

10.2.12 Speaker’s acceptance or call for acceptance

Speaker’s call to accept jak signals to the hearer that the speaker wants him to accept and receive what he is offering. It is glossed SAP for speaker’s acceptance particle. It may be a thing, an animal, a piece of property, money, or anything. This particle always occurs at the beginning of the utterance. Speaker and hearer are close to each other at the time of the utterance. If the speaker is going to hand over a thing, the particle signals to hearer to stretch out his hands right away. If the speaker is asking the hearer to do something for him then the particle signals a request to accept it. If he makes a statement he may refer to himself and to others around to accept it. The English translation is typically ‘here you are’, ‘I hand this over to you’, ‘do accept it’, ‘I accept this’. Consider the following examples. 10.81 ja hi-tsøt t ɕik khur-la dʑuk. SAP this-amount INDF carry-DAT go[IMP] ‘Here you are, take this much and go’ Speaker gives a loan to the hearer but not as much as he had requested. 10.82 jak t ɕhøma tɕik. SAP gift INDF ‘Here you are, a gift for you.’ Speaker is handing over his gift and tells the hearer to receive it. There is no verb. 10.83 ja tuwa sa=tu ɕok. SAP food eat=PURP come[IMP] ‘Come to eat, accept my offer’ Speaker is dishing out food and the hearer is standing nearby. This is not a very polite way to ask someone to eat. 10.84 ha na raŋ-la ja raŋ-ki ɖa di. TE17 now RSPNS 2SG-DAT SAP 2SG-GEN enemy DEF ‘Here you are, your enemy.’ Speaker is handing over to his hearer the head of the addressee’s enemy whom he had murdered upon the request of the hearer. 10.85 ja hi-ko dakpu t ɕhi=te. SAP this-head owner do;VBZR[IMP]=EMPH ‘Here you are, take and possess this’ Speaker is handing over a piece of property. 10.86 ja mikma ɕuŋmara u-ko set-na tir-ro SAP ‘mikma shungmara that-head kill-NFNT1 give-AID t ɕhi waɕɕi kuttɕi. TE17 do;VBZR[IMP] please ‘Please do accept to kill that Mikma Shungmara for me’ Speaker is asking someone to murder his enemy. He uses benefactivemalefactive and polite imperative but also this particle ja which addresses the hearer with the idea to accept his request. 10.87 jak hariŋ ŋa ɕi-ken pet. SAP today 1SG die-NMLZ;CONJ AUX ‘I have accepted that I will die today.’ A sick person has yielded to the idea that he is going to die. He is so sick that he has lost his hope for surviving. 10.88 jak ŋa ɖo gø ɕar-soŋ aa. SAP 1SG go need.to become-PST.VIS SCAP ‘I accept that I have to leave but it breaks my heart.’ Speaker is submitting to the idea that he has to die. No more hope is left to survive and he also expresses his emotional pain to depart from his loved ones with aa.

10.2.13 Speaker’s call for attention