which describes the early history of Lhomis. The story has rather violent turns. The hearer finally consents to kill the third person in this story but only after a long episode of speaker making polite
requests and promising all kinds of rewards. 10.70 waɕɕi kuttɕi set-na tir-ro tɕhi ɕu-wa dʑap.
please please kill-NFNT1 give-AID do;VBZR[IMP] request-NMLZ;Q VBZR[PST] hi-ni pupu tsʏntɕuŋ-ki joŋ tɕhi-pa bet. TE17
this-ABL pupu tsʏntɕung-ERG HAP say-NMLZ;Q AUX ‘Mintɕung Ngøruk begged saying, “Please do kill him.” Then Pupu tsʏntɕung said,
“Okay, I’ll do it.”’
10.2.10 Confirmation
I will later talk about summoning for hearer’s confirmation SHC clitic see section 10.1.5. However, in this case the speaker does not really request for a confirmation from the hearer but uses the particle nani
CONFIRM to mark his assertion as something which the audience could confirm—it is shared information. Both speaker and hearers could confirm it. It is a pragmatic device to forward the speech
act in argumentation. The range is the preceding main clause or the whole sentence that precedes. Therefore when this particle occurs following a finite verbal phrase the meaning in English would be like
‘isn’t it so?’, ‘doesn’t it?’ This confirmation marker never combines with the interrogative. The following examples illustrate this.
10.71 ki mit-hek-pa jøt. dog NEG-bite-NMLZ;Q EXIST.EXP
‘The dog is not a biting one.’ This is a statement of the owner about his dog.
10.72 ki-i hek-kuk nani. dog-ERG bite-PROG;VIS CONFIRM
‘It does bite, doesn’t it?’ Speaker sees the dog coming at him and he realizes that it is going to bite.
10.73 pemp-ʏ kha-la nen-tɕe sin-na ka official-GEN mouth-DAT obey-SBJV say-NFNT1 CEP
pempu kø-pa hin-ʈo nani. TE46 official appoint-NMLZ;Q AUX-PROB CONFIRM
‘Actually you have appointed the leader for the very purpose that people would obey him, haven’t you?’
This is shared information: everybody knows that it is true. 10.74 kaŋpa mi-la he-ni
foot fire-DAT burn-NFNT2 tshik-ken hin-ʈo nani.
become.burned-NMLZ;CONJ AUX-PROB CONFIRM ‘When someone puts his foot in fire, it would become burned, wouldn’t it?’
Both speaker and the hearer are aware of the fact. This is just a reminder.
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
