Re: THEORY: USAGE/THEORY: Re: Case

Matt Pearson wrote:
> That's sort of what I had in mind when I decided to use the instrumenta=
l
> case to express motion through in Tokana.  The instrumental can also be
> used for the 'causee' in a causative construction, especially if that
> 'causee' is not behaving volitionally in carrying out the wishes of
> the 'causer'.
Cool, me too, except that instrumental is always used for the causee.  I
haven't worked out exactly how you would indicate degrees of volition.=20
"I caused Bill to build the house" would use the instrumental for Bill
(which, in turn, means that Bill is almost always incorporated into the
verb).  To express something like "I forced Bill to build the house" or
"I persuaded Bill to build the house", one would use the causative with
a noun in the commitative or instrumental (but this instrumental is
never incorporated), thus something like "I caused Bill to build the
house with/by force" as opposed to "I caused Bill to build the house
with/by persuasion", "I caused Bill to build" is a single complex verb
form - FaBillugl=EDuki; Fa-Bil-lu-gl=ED-u-ki (Past-Bill-cause-make-I-inch=
.)

> The instrumental case is also used for the object of verbs like "speak"
> and "understand", when that object denotes the language or system of
> communication used.  So in "I speak Tokana", "Tokana" is in the instrum=
ental
> case.
I use instrumental for language also.  In Modern Watakass=ED, primary
instrumental is nearly always incorporated if simple (no modifiers),
thus "I speak Watakass=ED" is Pyastakassisag=E1uv, that is
Pyas-takassi-saga-u-v (Know.how.to-Watakass=ED-speak-I-hab - gender
prefixes are dropped in incorporation).

--=20
"[H]e axed after eggys: And the goode wyf answerde, that she coude not
speke no Frenshe ... And then at last a nother sayd that he woulde haue
hadde eyren: then the goode wyf sayd that she vnderstood hym wel." --
William Caxton
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