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Re: USAGE: Miapimoquitch directionals

From:Dirk Elzinga <dirk_elzinga@...>
Date:Monday, June 16, 2003, 18:45
On Monday, June 16, 2003, at 12:00  PM, Tim May wrote:

> Dirk Elzinga wrote at 2003-06-16 09:55:26 (-0600) > > Very interesting material.
Thanks.
> [...] >> >> There are three directional suffixes (so far, though I don't think >> it's >> likely to change): >> >> -si 'towards' >> -hu 'away from' >> -wea 'general motion; within, about' >> > [...] > > What's the point of reference of these directionals?
The point of reference is contextually determined in the discourse. Typically it will be the speaker, so that _taka-si_ will refer to motion towards the speaker and _taka-hu_ will refer to motion away from the speaker. However, in narratives this will change since the narrator isn't always involved in the events being described. Right now I have the impression that it isn't really much different than English. For example, how do you know when to use 'come' and 'go' when telling a story? I assume the same mechanisms will govern the choice of directionals in Miapimoquitch. It's a question that I haven't thought a lot about yet, but I knew that I didn't want a system with absolute directionals (i.e., orienting events or entities along compass points exclusively). Dirk -- Dirk Elzinga Dirk_Elzinga@byu.edu "I believe that phonology is superior to music. It is more variable and its pecuniary possibilities are far greater." - Erik Satie

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Tim May <butsuri@...>