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Vol. 43, no. 4 (Winter 2001)

Contents

Abstracts

Language Awareness and Correct Speech among the Tariana of Northwest Amazonia

Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald
La Trobe University

Abstract. This article discusses the way "correct" and "incorrect" language uses are rationalized by Tariana speakers in the linguistic area of the Vaupés River basin in Brazil. This area is known for its institutionalized multilingualism due to linguistic exogamy operating between the Tariana and speakers of a number of languages belonging to the East Tucano subgroup of Tucano family. There is a strong constraint against language mixing in Tariana. This constraint operates predominantly against loan forms and items that contain Tucano-like sounds. A few morphosyntactic constructions calqued from East Tucano languages are also identified as "incorrect" Tariana. An additional mechanism, which helps determine what is "correct" and what is not, is constant reference to the way in which representatives of older generations speak.

Being and Becoming in Ojibwe

J. Randolph Valentine
University of Wisconsin

Abstract. Drawing on textual materials from several dialects of Ojibwe, this article describes an array of morphological and syntactic constructions used to express identity, equation, existence, possession, location, and focus. Identity constructions with the verb aawi be an X' are shown to consistently place their predicate nominal before the verb, suggesting that this position is particularly associated with indefiniteness. By contrast, expressions of equation, which typically have definite predicate nominals, show more variability in the positioning of the predicate nominal. Denominal verbs of identity are also examined, focusing on those which have pronominals as bases. Several distinct sets of verbs of existence are presented, particularly the verb ayaa, which has a variety of functions, expressing identity, existence, and possession, and serving as a diluted base for a host of preverbs expressing various psychological and physical states. Various verbless constructions related to identity and focus are also examined, particularly those involving the ubiquitous predicative particle mii.

The Development of Articles in Baba Malay

Elzbieta Thurgood
California State University, Chico

Abstract. This paper offers a synchronic analysis of nineteenth-century Baba Malay ini and itu. On the basis of narrative stories published in the Baba Malay newspaper Bintang Timor, the paper argues that Baba Malay used these forms as both definite articles and as demonstratives; when ini and itu precede a noun, they function as demonstratives, but when they follow a noun, they function as definite articles. The evidence for the distinction between demonstratives and definite articles is found in textual frequencies and discourse functions of ini and itu. Nineteenth-century Baba Malay developed both a proximal and a distal definite article, with the choice between the two definite articles ini and itu reflecting complex discourse considerations.

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