Re: Degrees of volition in active languages (was Re:Chevraqis:asketch)

On Mon, 14 Aug 2000, Thomas R. Wier wrote:

I wrote:

> >   l-am v@zut pe el
> >   him-have seen OBJ him
> >   "I have seen him"
> >
> > This is the emphatic form; without emphasis it's simply "l-am v@zut".
>
> Wait -- does that mean that Romanian crossreferences both the object
> and the subject on the verb?
The unemphasized pronoun is a clitic; I think it depends on your
definition of "on the verb" :-)

This is only with human objects, and in the case of inversion:

l-am v@zut pe Sorin - I've seen Sorin
l-am v@zut pe el    - I've seen HIM, it's him I've seen
l-am v@zut          - I've seen him

 (_pe_ is an object marker for human objects)

but:

am v@zut cîinele    - I've seen the dog
l-am v@zut          - I've seen it

and emphasized:

cîinele l-am v@zut  - it's the dog I've seen

> Or does the unemphasized form just leave
> the object NP out, left to be assumed by the listener?
For unspecified human objects, yes.

   Irina

--
           Varsinen an laynynay, saraz no arlet rastynay.
irina@valdyas.org (myself)     http://www.valdyas.org/irina/valdyas