Re: Noun and noun or noun

On Thu, 20 May 1999 10:58:07 -0700 Matt Pearson <mpearson@...>
writes:
>And Joshua asked:
>>Is there a present-tense or future-tense analog of the aorist past,
>in Tokana
>>or linguistics in general?
>I don't know about natlangs.  There is a contrast in the present tense
>which
>is similar to, but not quite the same as, the past/aorist contrast in
>the
>past tense:  Tokana distinguishes a simple present tense (usually
>called
>"simple") and a present progressive tense (usually called "present"):
>The
>latter is used to denote an event which is going on at the moment of
>speaking, while the former is used to denote habitual, generic, or
>'timeless' events:
Rokbeigalmki also has this....i call it the "present-routine" and
"present-immediate" tenses:
(to use your examples)

Jan oza-manoi = John is eating (at the moment)
Jan ozoi-manoi = John eats (in general)

By compounding tenses Rokbeigalmki can also describe an aorist/past
distinction:

Jan ozuza-manoi = John was eating (at that moment)
Jan ozuzoi-manoi = John ate (in general)

although the common, simple past just means that the action is finished,
without an immediate/routine difference:

Jan ozu-manoi = John ate

And one of my favorite tenses, the immediate-immediate compound:

Jan ozaza-manoi = John is eating right now at this moment, and might
finish by the time i finish talking

The only verbs which have "simple" present forms without needing to
specify immediate or routine are the two "completely disappearing" verbs:
 tezat (be) , netz (be at) . (not including: mwe (go) , waz (do) . )

Jan (oz) o-mald = John is a man
Jan (oz) ta'wajhwa = John is at (lit. "in") home

The "partially disappearing" verbs need a full subject-tense complex:

Jan oza: wa'wajhwa = John is going home (right now)

_waz_ usually needs a context, such as the following conversation:
"ha'Jan ozoi-bolok sha'wajum?" = Does John build houses?
"Ozoi:." = He does. (in general)


-Stephen (Steg)
 _ , bre'davidh ktish-a tze-a, ozii-elyeb, ozii: i ozii-dagair amsh ,. _

>------------------------------------
>Matt Pearson
>mpearson@ucla.edu
>UCLA Linguistics Department
>405 Hilgard Avenue
>Los Angeles, CA 90095-1543
>------------------------------------
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