Post on 30-Jan-2023
transcript
7 August 2014
Special Workshop on Nominalizations in the Americas
Language and Culture Research Centre, Cairns
The sense of Murui nominalizations
Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak
1. The Murui language
Murui (Bue) is spoken by about 1.100 Murui people that inhabit the areas of native title along the
banks of the Cara-Paraná river (Colombia) (Organización Indígena Murui del Amazonas OIMA,
2008). Murui, together with Mɨka, Mɨnɨka, and Nɨpode (forming a dialect continuum), belongs to
the 'Early Witotoan' branch of the Witoto language family, one of the smaller linguistic families
in Amazonia. The data presented in this paper comes from the author’s fieldwork in the Murui
communities (Jul 2013 - Jan 2014).1
1 Abbreviations used in this paper:
A anaphoric i; ABL ablative; ABILTV abilitative; ADJZ adjectivizer; ADVZ adverbialiser; AGT agentive; ASS associative; C
consonant; CAUS causative; CL classifier; CNE canoe; COLL collective; CONJ conjunction; D distal or possessed; DECR
decreasing; DEM demonstrative; DEON deontic; DER derivational; DES desiderative; du dual; DUR durative; E event
(nominalization); EMPH emphatic; F feminine (pronominal); FEM feminine (nominal); FOC focus; FUT future; G generic; GR
group (pronominal); GROUP group (nominal); HAB habitual; HUM human referent; IMP imperative; INCP inceptive; INHRN
inherent; INTERJ interjection; INST instrumental; LK linker; LINK linking (clause); LOC locative; M masculine (pronominal);
MASC masculine (derivational; nominal); NEG negative/negation; NOM nominalization; NUM lexical number word; O
object; ORT oriented; P possessor; pl plural; PLC place; PP plural participants; PRED predicate; PRIV privative; PRG
progressive; PUR purposive; Q1 question marker bu; Q2 question marker nɨ; RED reported; sg singular; TRANS
transformative; V vowel/verb; VAL valency; X non-core arguments.
Astonishing complexities of South American
languages have been puzzling linguists for a long time
now. One reason for this is the overall lack of
linguistic data that has been impeding a detailed
understanding of distinctive grammatical structures in
the languages from this part of the world. One of
understudied linguistic domains in South American
linguistics is nominalizations. Nominalization has
been much discussed for Tibeto-Burman languages
(Genetti, 2011; Noonan, 1997); yet there is not much
literature on nominalizations in Amazonia. This paper
aims to provide a description of the forms, types, and
functions of nominalizations in Murui (Witoto), a
previously little described language from the
Colombian part of northwest Amazonia.
The sense of Murui nominalizations (6 August 2014, LCRC)
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1.1 Language profile
Murui has a relatively small inventory of 22 phonemes: it distinguishes 16 contrastive
consonantal phonemes (p, b, t, d, k, g, ɸ, β, θ, h, tʃ, ʤ, m, n, ɲ, ɾ) and six vowels (i, e, ɨ, a, u, o). One
of the prominent characteristics of Murui, is the high back unrounded vowel ɨ. This vowel
phoneme is an areal feature common to northern South-America; all Witoto languages share this
characteristic (Aschmann, 1993, p. 124). The phonological system includes phonemic vowel
length. The basic syllable type in Murui is of the (C)V(:) type. Generally, in Murui stress is word-
initial.
Murui is an agglutinating language with some degree of fusion. It is predominantly
suffixing. It is a nominative-accusative language, and generally head marking with some
elements of dependent marking. Murui has three open lexical word classes (nouns, verbs and
derived adjectives) and eleven closed classes (underived adjectives, adverbs, quantifiers,
pronouns, demonstratives, interrogative words, lexical number words, connectives, adpositions,
interjections and onomatopoeic expressions). In principle, all members of the majority if the
word classes2 can occupy the predicate slot (but restrictions as to what kind of sets of suffixes can
occur with non-verbs). The language has a large system of multiple classifiers (about one
hundred) that can occur in various morphosyntactic environments.
The language is generally predicate-final; the organization of the constituents in the clause
is predominantly SV/AOV. Grammatical relations are expressed through bound pronouns cross-
referencing on the verb (with one cross-referencing position: the subject S/A). Syntactic functions
can be expressed through cases. Murui has differential case marking for core-arguments, -dɨ for
'focused S/A' and -na for 'focused non-subject'. Overt marking of these arguments depends on
their argument status in the discourse.3
2. Types and forms of nominalizations
Like many Amazonian languages (cf. van Gijn, Haude, and Muysken (2011)), Murui makes an
extensive use of nominalizations which vary in their types and forms. All are derivational in
nature and have an array of suffixes (among which also classifiers) that are used to derive
nominal forms from all major word classes. 4
From the morphological point of view, Murui has two nominalization types: simple
nominalizations and classifier-driven nominalizations. The former derives a noun from a non-
nominal element by means of attaching a 'dedicated' nominalization suffix (which is not a
classifier). The latter derives a noun by means of classifiers. The examples of both types are
illustrated below:
2 All type of verbs, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, demonstratives, interrogative words, and lexical number words. 3 Throughout this paper, I refer to the 'focused non-subject' suffix -na (N.S/A.FOC) as either 'accusative case marker' or
'O case marker'. The suffix 'focused subject' -dɨ (S/A.FOC) is referred to as either the 'nominative'. 4 I.e. verbs, nouns, adjectives, interrogative words, demonstrative, anaphoric, and numeral expressions. As in many
languages with multiple classifiers, Murui classifiers have also derivational functions and they can occur with existing
nouns to further specify the referent, e.g.: Bogota-ñaiño (Bogota-CL.F.SG) 'a woman from Bogota (lit. Bogota-woman)'.
This type of a derivation process is outside scope of this paper.
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[1] zeda-ja simple nominalization
take.care.wait-NOM.E
'(action of) waiting, taking care'
[2] zeda-raɨ-ño simple nominalization
take.care.wait-AGT-CL.FEM
'female care-taker'
[3] zeda-dɨ5-ñaiño classifier-driven nominalization
take.care.wait-LK-CL.F.SG
'female care-taker (lit. the one female that takes care)'
[4] kue-ra-be-ni-ko
write-CL:NEUT-CL:LEAF-CL:LONG-CL:NHUM classifier-driven nominalization
'notebook (lit. writing leaf-shaped long thing)'
Similarly to other Amazonian languages (e.g. Tucano, Tariana, Baniwa), Murui has a split gender
system. There are two sets of gender markings, derivational and gender classifier. Gender
classifiers occur in paradigmatic positions with other classifiers; derivational gender markers do
not.6 The number system of derivational gender markings is bipartite in nature (distinguishes
between sg/du + masc/fem); gender classifiers have a tripartite number system (sg/du/pl +
masc/fem). See Table 1:
Table 1. Split gender system - morphosyntactic occurrence of markings
Derivational gender marker Gender classifier
-ño (FEM.DER)
-ma (MASC.DER)
-
-
> -naiño (CL.F.SG)
-mɨe (CL.M.SG)
- aɨmɨe7 (CL.M.DU)
-aɨñuaɨ (CL.M.DU)
>
Plural markings > Plural markings
-nɨ (COLL.PL) -makɨ (CL.PL)
-no (CL.GR.HUM)
5 Murui verbal constructions are characterized by the occurrence of various predicative markers. Two of them occur in
allophonic variations:
1) the linker -dɨ: the voiced alveolar plosive /d/ becomes voiceless if verbal roots are either monomoraic or
trimoraic: [d] -> [t] / X]Verb unless X is bimoraic, e.g. do-t-e 's/he threw/throws', ri:-di-kue‘ I came/come’,
dui-di-kaiñai 'we (two women) got/get sick’,
2) the valency decreasing -ka: the voiceless velar plosive /k/ becomes voiced if verbal roots are either
monomoraic or trimoraic: [k] -> [g] / X]Verb unless X is bimoraic, e.g. o-ga 'taken out', fɨ:-ka-kue ‘ I’ve been robbed’.
6 Derivational gender markers, such as -ño (FEM.DER) in [2], occur with nouns (e.g. rɨ+ño (woman+CL.FEM) 'woman') and
numeral words, e.g. da-ño (ONE.ALONE-CL.FEM) 'one woman, woman alone'.6 Gender classifiers, such as -ñaiño (CL.F.SG)
in [3], occur with demonstratives, anaphoric and interrogative words, e.g. bi-ñaiño (this-CL.F.SG) 'she, this one (female)',
i-ñaiño (A-CL.F.SG) 'she', bu-mɨe (Q1-CL:M.SG) 'who?'. They occur in the same functional position as nominal classifiers, c.f.
bi-ko (this-CL:NHUM) 'this dog, house (etc.)'. They can also have derivational functions with verbs and nouns (e.g. jofo-
ñaiño (house-CL.F.SG) 'house wife'). There is some relatedness between these gender markings: -ño (FEM.DER) and -naiño
(CL.F.SG); -ma (MASC.DER) and -mɨe (CL.M.SG). Some nonhuman and inanimate nouns in Murui are marked with nominal
gender markers, e.g. dobeño 'basin (to smash unprocessed yucca (a task of only women)', ueño 'certain kind of frog',
jɨgadɨma 'tapir'. Such nouns could possibly be explained in terms of Murui legends, beliefs and perceived physical
associations (as it is the case, e.g. in Dyirbal (Dixon, forthcoming). 7 Depending on Murui clanolect, also -aɨmaiaɨ; see Wojtylak (2012, p. 50).
The sense of Murui nominalizations (6 August 2014, LCRC)
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Simple and classifier-driven nominalizations both keep their arguments when they are
nominalized.8 The sentence in [5], jibi-e du-tɨ-mɨe (coca-CL:G chew-LK-CL.M.SG) 'the one that chews
coca', is an example of a relativization strategy in Murui (§3.2) where the nominalized verb du-
'chew' retains its argument jibi-e 'coca':
[5] [[jibi-e]o [du-tɨ-mɨe]]NP:S fɨmai-d-e
coca-CL:G chew-LK-CL.M.SG fast-LK-3
'The one that chews coca fasts (taboo).' (JibiFF:19)
Both simple and classifier-driven nominalizations can be divided into a number of semantic
types. The lexical nominalizations include: agentive S/A nominalization (cf. §2.1.1), event
nominalizations (cf. §2.1.2), purposive object/action nominalizations (cf. §2.1.3), and locative
nominalizations (cf. §2.1.4). Semantics of classifier-driven nominalizations vary. Depending on
the referent of their classifiers, they can denote S/A agentive, O-based 'object', or instrument
nominalizations (cf. §2.2). Murui nominalizations, either simple or classifier-driven, can be
categorized as subclasses of nominal forms but they differ in how 'noun-like' or 'verb-like' they
actually are (see §2.3).
2.1 Simple nominalizations
There are five types of simple nominalizations where a noun is derived from a predicate by
means of attaching a 'dedicated' nominalization suffix. Semantic types of simple nominalization
in Murui are outlined in Table 2 below:
Table 2. Types of Murui simple nominalizations
Type Root Nominalization
affix Remarks Example
agentive
S/A V -raɨ (AGT)
-productive,
- obligatory occurs with
derivational gender classifiers,
- can occur with case markers,
- can occur with durative -ri.
mano-raɨ-ma
mano-ri-raɨ-ma
'healer'
'(true) healer'
(heal-AGT-MASC.DER)
(heal-DUR-AGT-MASC.DER)
event V or Adj -a (-ya/-ja)9, -na
(NOM.E)
- productive,
- can occur with case markers
and classifiers (non-stand-
alone nominalizations),
- can head main clauses
(stand-alone nominalizations).
jai-ya
jai~jai-na
mare-na
'going'
'going (prg.)'
'being good'
(go-NOM.E)
(go~REP-NOM.E)
(good+ADJZ-NOM.E)
purposive
object V
-ye
(NOM.PUR)
- not productive,
- can occur with case markers. gui-ye 'food' (eat-NOM.PUR)
purposive
action
V
-ye-na
(NOM.PUR+O)
- productive,
- purposive object
nominalizations suffixed with
the O case marker -na.
e:-ye-na 'to cry, for
crying' (eat-NOM.PUR-N.S/A.FOC)
locative
Adv -fe
(NOM.LOC)
- productive,
- can occur with case markers
and classifiers.
ana-fe
a-fe
'a place down'
'a place up'
(down-NOM.LOC)
(up-NOM.LOC)
8 Nominalization that keep their arguments are referred to as 'clausal nominalizations' in Genetti (2011, p. 164). 9 Murui morphophonemic rules: verbal roots that end with the phoneme /i/ are followed by the allomorph -ya, roots
ending with /ɨ, u, e, o/ < -a (additionally /o/ > /u/ /_a and /e/ > /i/ _a), roots ending with -a are followed by -ja, finally,
and roots ending in the negation marker -ñe and the possessive -re are followed by the allomorph -na.
The sense of Murui nominalizations (6 August 2014, LCRC)
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2.1.1 Agentive S/A nominalizations
Agentive S/A nominalizations are derived from intransitive and transitive verbs with the suffix
-raɨ followed by a derivational gender marker: -ma (MASC.DER), -ño (CL.FEM.DER) and -nɨ (COLL.PL).
Syntactically, these agentive nominalizations refer to core S/A arguments. They express the
notion of a human referent who does something. Given the obligatory presence of the nominal
gender markers, agentive S/A nominalizations distinguish male vs female and singular vs plural
referents (i.e. bipartitie number system) (classifier-driven nominalizations have a tripartite
number system: sg/du/pl, cf. §2.2). Compare the following examples:
[6] yofue-raɨ-ño vs. yofue-raɨ-ñuaɨ
teach-AGT-FEM.DER teach-AGT-FEM.DER+pl
'(female) teacher' '(female) teachers'
[7] mano-raɨ-ma vs. mano-raɨ-ma-iaɨ
heal-AGT-MASC.DER heal-AGT-MASC.DER-pl
'(male) healer' '(male) healers'
[8] maɨjɨ-raɨ-nɨ10 vs. maɨjɨ-raɨ-nɨaɨ
work-AGT-COLL.PL work-AGT-ASS.PL
'(a group of) workers' '(all) workers'
Out of all nominalizations in Murui, agentive S/A nominalizations are the ones that most closely
resemble Murui prototypical nouns. They have all the morphological and syntactic properties of
a noun:
1) they receive derivational gender markers (reserved for nouns only; shown in [6-8]),
plurality, and case markers;
2) they cannot be negated;
3) they can head an NP;
4) they can function as verbless clause complements (VCC);
5) they have to be accompanied by a linker to head an intransitive clause.
See the examples below (agentive S/A nominalizations are in bold). In [9] agentive S/A
nominalization heads an NP:
[9] [[reɨtɨraɨ]o [uieko-do]x [ui-raɨ-ma]]NP
torch face-INS take-AGT-CL.MASC
'torch-taker (lit. taker of the torch ahead)'
In [10], in addition to function as an NP, the nominalized verb functions as a VCC in a verbless
clause:
[10] [bi-e rɨño]vs [kaɨ zeda-raɨ-ño]vcc
this-A-CL:G woman+FEM.DER 1pl take.care.wait-AGT-FEM.DER
'This woman is our care taker (lit. this woman our care taker).'
10 The collective plural marker -nɨ (COLL.PL) has a meaning of a (specific, animate) group with human referents
(regardless whether women or men), e.g. naime-nɨ (sweet-COLL.PL) 'the clan of the Sweet people'. When it occurs with
the plural marker -aɨ, it has an associative meaning of a group of unspecified and uncountable (inanimate and animate)
referents, e.g. jofo-nɨaɨ (house-ASS.PL) '(all) houses'. The collective -nɨ can also occur in pronominal positions, e.g. bi-nɨ
(this-COLL.PL) 'these people'.
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In [11] the nominalization is heading an intransitive clause accompanied by the linker -dɨ:
[11] jɨfai-ri-raɨ-ma-d-e
get.drunk-DUR-AGT-CL.MASC-LK-3
'He is a (heavy) drinker.'
It is a cross-linguistically attested phenomenon that S/A agentive nominalizations can develop
overtones of a 'habitual' aspect (Aikhenvald & Dixon, 2011, p. 340). Murui agentive S/A
nominalizations can denote an entity which habitually carries out the action. This is a
morphological process where the agentive nominalization suffix -raɨ is preceded by the durative
(verbal) suffix -ri. Compare the example [7] (repeated) with [12] below. In [7], we have a healer,
one that knows how to heal but has not necessarily been healing for living:
[7] mano-raɨ-ma
heal-AGT-MASC.DER
'(male) healer'
In [12], the healer is a respected man that has been healing people for years:
[12] mano-ri-raɨ-ma
heal-DUR-AGT-CL.MASC
'healer (one that has been healing for a long time now)'
The examples [13] and [14] illustrate S/A agentive nominalizations with an argument occurring
within the nominalized clause. What forms an NP in [13] are the core O argument nogo 'pot' and
the nominalized ni-raɨ-ño '(female) knitter, maker':
[13] [[nogo]O ni-raɨ-ño]NP
pot knit-AGT-FEM.DER
'a (female) knitter (lit. pot maker)'
Similarly, [14] presents a nominalization of the verbal root faɨ- 'throw' (accompanied by the
derivation gender marker -ma) with the peripheral argument fue-mo 'in(to) mouth':
[14] [[fue-mo]X:LOC faɨ-raɨ-ma]NP
mouth-LOC throw-AGT-MASC.DER
'initiator (lit. a (male) thrower in the mouth)'11
S/A nominalizations can also be of the classifier-driven kind (cf. §2.2). These occur commonly in
relative clauses (cf. §3.2). Compare the following examples:
[15] [yofue-ri-raɨ-ma]NOUN simple nominalizations
teach-DUR-AGT-MASC.DER
'male teacher'
[16] [yofue-dɨ-mɨe]RC classifier-driven nominalizations
teach-LK-CL.M.SG
'male teacher (lit. the one that teaches)'
In [15] the simple nominalization functions as a lexical noun; in [16] the classifier driven
nominalization functions as a relative clause.12
11 The meaning here seems to have been fossilized but yet, is seems to be still transparent (probably derived from
where one initiate a discussion by throwing a topic of a discussion onto people’s mouth).
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2.1.2 Event nominalizations
The most characteristic of Murui nominalizations are event nominalizations.13 Event
nominalizations can be derived from either any kind of verb or any kind of adjective. They can
function in two ways: as non-stand-alone nominalizations or as stand-alone nominalizations.14
(For properties of event nominalizations, see Table 8 in Appendix).
Event nominalizations that are derived from verbs are used to encode any kind of event,
action, or state that is viewed and focused on as a whole without anchoring along the lines of
person or time. Event nominalizations that are derived from adjectives denote a property of an
entity.
To derive an event nominalization, generally, verbal roots are followed by the suffix -a (or
its allomorphs -ya and-ja) and the adjectival roots with the suffix -na:15
[17a] ɨnɨ-a (sleep-NOM.E) '(the action, state of) sleeping'
[17b] moko-re-na (green-ADJZ-NOM.E) '(the property of) being green'
Nominalized verbs have the verb’s argument structure, e.g.:
[17c] [uzu-ma]s bi-ya
grandparent-CL.MASC come-NOM.E
'grandfather came / coming of grandfather'
[17d] [no-kae-na]o fɨnu+a
canoe-CL:CNE-N.S/A.FOC make+NOM.E
'(the action of) making of the canoe'
Event nominalizations, depending on its function, can either show verbal or nominal properties.
Generally, regardless of them functioning as non-stand-alone or stand-alone nominalizations,
even nominalization share many verbal properties and the verbal argument structure:
1) they can be negated, e.g. gui-ñe-na (eat-NEG-NOM.E) 'not eating';
2) verbal roots can be reduplicated (progressive aspect) (unlike any nominal root);
3) they can occur with various verbal aspect markers;
4) they cannot be pluralized;
5) adjective roots are obligatory accompanied by the adjectivizer -re and can also be followed
by a number of transformative (adjectival) suffixes (-rui, -nai, -tai).
12 What is the semantic distinction between these two clauses? 13 'Event nominalizations' in Yap et al. (2011, p. 3). In Aikhenvald and Dixon (2011, pp. 339, 346) they are referred to as '
activity, state or property nominalizations '. 14 The term 'stand-alone nominalizations' is used for nominalizations functioning as independent (main) clauses in
Tibeto-Burman languages (Yap et al., 2011, p. 41). 15 This is somewhat simplified rule that has some variations. If the predicate contains a negative element -ñe15, the
suffix -na appears to also derive nominalizations of both predicative adjectives and verbs, e.g. uzi-re-ñe-na (hot-ADJ-
NEG-NOM.E) '(the property of) not being hot', gui-ñe-na (come-NEG-NOM.E) '(the action) of not eating'. The same counts
for reduplicated verbal stems, e.g. yo-yo-na (tell~RED-NOM.E) 'telling (progressive)'. A few constructions show what
appears to be an optional double marking of event nominalization, e.g. maka-ja-na (walk-NOM.E-NOM.E) 'walking'. This
occurs in equative verbless constructions (VS-VCC) with deverbal event nominalizations.
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2.1.2.1 Non-stand-alone event nominalizations
Event nominalizations that cannot occur on their own have features characteristic of nouns in
that:
1) cannot take any cross-referencing S/A pronominal suffixes (unlike verbs and adjectives);
2) they can core case marked (the accusative -na and, less frequently, the nominative case -dɨ);
3) can be further derived with nominal classifiers and gender classifiers;
4) syntactically, non-stand-alone event nominalizations function as S or O but not A;
5) they can further serve as basis for classifier-driven nominalizations (cf. §2.2).
This section discusses a selected number of these properties.
Constructions which consist of a nominalization and an overtly expressed S/A argument,
are similar to possessive constructions. The following examples show the internal syntax of the
possessive construction where the possessor (R) proceeds the possessed element (D), regardless
whether it is a lexical noun, as in [18a] or a nominalized verb, as in [18b]:
[18a] [[ei-ño]R (i-e) [ifo-gɨ]D]NP:S jeno-d-e
mother-FEM.DER (A-CL:G) head-CL:ROUND small-LK-3
'mother’s head (or: mother her head) is small'
[18b] [[ei-ño]R *(i-e) [rua]D]NP:S ebi-ni-d-e
mother-CL.FEM.DER sing+NOM.E beautiful-PRIV-LK-3
'mother’s singing is not beautiful (lit. is without being beautiful)'
Note, however, that the anaphoric expression i-e 'here: her' that commonly occur in possessive
constructions, cannot precede a nominalized verb, as [18b] shows. 16
Event nominalizations can take predicate’s arguments under their scope. In [19a], the entire
clause combination 'healing other sicknesses' is nominalized and marked with the accusative
(overt O) core-case marker -na. It functions as the object of the transitive verb
uiño- 'know':
[19a] [jɨaɨ-mɨe]A [[jɨaɨ-e dui-ko]O manua]-na]NP:O uiño-t-e
other-CL.M.SG other-CL:G illness-CL:NHUM heal+NOM.E-N.S/A.FOC know-LK-3
'Other (man) knows healing other illnesses.' (ManRm:1)
In [19b] jɨfanu+a 'playing' functions as a O argument:
[19b] [jɨfanu+a]o jɨbui-zaɨbi-tɨ-kañaɨ [estadio-mo]X:LOC
play+NOM watch-VNTV-LK-2du.f stadium-LOC
We came to watch the game (lit. playing) in the stadium.' (MeRN:18)
In [19c], uruiaɨ dɨga 'with children' occurs as the peripheral argument of the nominalized jaia
'going':
[19b] ba! [kome]S [[uruiaɨ dɨga]X:COM jai-a]NP]O jakɨ-ni-d-e
INTERJ person child+pl WITH go-NOM.E scary-PRTV-LK-3
'Uh! Person travelling (lit. going) with children is not scary' (MeRJ:25)
Event nominalizations can also occur with the nominative case marker -dɨ, e.g.:
16 What about case markings occurring within clauses such as [18b]?
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[20] akɨ =mei a-fe bi-e=mei ba [curandero rai-ya]-dɨ]s
AUDTV=so above-NOM.LOC this-CL:G=so INTERJ healer[R] say-NOM.E-S/A.FOC[D]
mei=ua yofue-ga, ja=mai ua iadɨ uiño-ñe-d-e
so=truly teach-VAL.DECR time=so truly CONJ know-NEG-LK-3
'This way (as you have heard) up the river land, healer’s saying teaches, but they truly do not
know (well)' (ManRm:17)
Event nominalizations cannot be pluralized, and their readings depend on the singularity or
plurality of the referent(s) (either expressed grammatically or retrievable from the context), e.g.:
[21a] [uzu-ma ri-ya]
grand.parent-MASC.DER[sg] arrive-NOM.E
'Grandfather arrived.'
[21b] [uzu-tɨaɨ ri-ya]
grand.parent-ASS.PL arrive-NOM.E
'Grandfathers arrived.'
Event nominalizations can serve as base for further nominal derivations (cf. §2.2). In the example
[22], naɨ-ya 'speaking' is a target of relativization (cf. §3.2):
[22] naɨ-ya > naɨ-ya-re-dɨ-ñaiño
speak-NOM.E speak-NOM.E-POSS-LK-CL.F.SG
'speaking' 'female who is capable / characterized by speaking'
Event nominalizations are most productive way to serve as complementation and adverbial
subordination strategies (cf. §3.1 and §3.3).
2.1.2.2 Stand-alone event nominalizations
These stand-alone nominalizations can occur as predicate heading an entire clause, as in [23]:
[23] [kue]S [bi-ya]NOM:PREDICATE
1sg come-NOM.E
'My coming / I came.'
In such constructions S/A (and/or O) arguments are frequently present.
Generally, Murui nouns cannot be used as predicates heading an independent clause:
[24] [kue=uzu-ma]NP
1sg[R]=grand.parent-MASC.DER[D]
'my grandfather'
To head a clause, nouns have to be accompanied by the linker -dɨ, as in [25], or they have to
function as a verbless clause complement, as in [26]:
[25] [jofo-ñaiño-d-e]PREDICATE
house-CL.F.SG-LK-3
'She is a house wife.'
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[26] [uzu-ma]VS [mano-ri-raɨ-ma]VCC
grandparent.MASC.DER heal-DUR-AGT-MASC.DER
'(The) grandfather is a healer.'
Event nominalization can function as a predicate without being accompanied by the linker. In
fact, they cannot occur with -dɨ (cf. [25]):
*[27a] bi-ya-d-e
come-NOM.E-LK-3
*[27b] mare-na-d-e
good+ADJZ-NOM.E-LK-3
Stand-alone event nominalizations independently heading a clause have special discourse
functions that have to do with providing background and setting the stage of an action and event
(see §3.6).This is illustrated in the example [28] nokɨ riya 'the rain came, the coming of the rain'
functioning as a predicate:
[28] eko-no-tɨ-aɨmɨe, [da-ne]ADV [bu-e-na]o i-ñe-d-e,
open-SEMLFC-CL.M.DU ONE-ADV Q1-CL:G-N.S/A.FOC be.exist-NEG-LK-3
[da-ne]ADV [da-je izoi]ADV [nai-zi-aɨ+mɨe-mo]X:LOC [nokɨ ri-ya]NOM:PREDICATE
ONE-ADV ONE-CL:G similar A.D-PP-CL.M.DU-LOC rain arrive-NOM.E
ua [nokɨ ri-ya]NOM:PREDICATE ua rozi-nai-tɨ-aɨmɨe
truly rain arrive-NOM.E truly cold-transf-LK-CL.M.DU
'They opened (it). Once again (there) was nothing [in there]. Once again similarly the
rain came. Truly, the rain came. They really became cold.' (Jit47-49)
Similarly, in the example [29], the nominalized verb raifi-ya 'being expensive, costing' functions
as an independent predicate:
[29] nɨ-ka [raifi-ya]NOM:PREDICATE [na-i-e dɨne]X:LOC erua?
Q2-QUANT be.expensive-NOM.E A.D-A-CL:G there+DEM.LOC TAG
'How expensive is there, right?' (MeRN:17)
2.1.3 Purposive nominalizations
There are two types of purposive nominalizations: an unproductive purposive object
nominalization and a highly productive purposive activity nominalization. While the first has
more noun-like properties, the latter show more verb-like properties.
2.1.3.1 Purposive object nominalizations
Purposive object nominalizations derive nouns from verbs and they occur in S/O function in the
clause. They are not very productive in the language.17 They are formed with (a small number of)
verbal roots accompanied with the nominal suffix -ye.18 Compare the examples in [30] and [31]:
17 Moreover, when they function as an O argument, they cannot occur with the accusative marker-na, e.g.
*gui-ye-na gui-tɨ-kue [cf. [30]]. 18 It seems that purposive and deontic readings can overlap. Murui use the same (homophonous) verbal suffix -ye that,
in addition to being the purposive nominalization suffix, has also a deontic meaning. Those deontic constructions
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[30] [gui-ye]O gui-tɨ-kue
eat-NOM.PUR eat-LK-1SG
'I ate the food'
[31] kɨo-d-o, maɨjɨ-i-aka-dɨ-kue, iadɨ [[gui-ye]S i-ñe-na],
see-PRED-2sg work-EMPH-DES-LK-1sg CONJ eat-NOM.PUR be.exist-NEG-NOM.E
[[rɨ-ye]S i-ñe-na]
eat.meat-NOM.PUR be.exist-NEG-NOM.E
'You see, I do want to work but there is no food, there is no meat.'(Jkkz:7)
Purposive object nominalizations, such as gui-ye 'food' in [30], cannot occur with any verbal or
nominal suffix. Syntactically and morphologically they behave like nouns in that:
1) they occupy a nominal slot in S/O function;
2) they can be modified and thus head an NP;
3) they cannot be negated.
2.1.3.2 Purposive activity nominalizations
Purposive object nominalizations function as a complementation strategy denoting an activity
(see §3.4). They can occur only in the O function and, therefore, are obligatorily marked with the
focused non-subject (accusative) -na case marker. They are very productive in the language. They
express a volitional activity which marks both purpose and reason:19
[32] [maɨjɨ-ye-na]PurCl [ɨkare]X:TIME [iyɨ-mo]X:LOC ja:i-tɨ-kue
work-NOM.PUR-N.S/A.FOC tomorrow garden-LOC go+FUT-LK-1sg
'To work tomorrow, I will go to the garden.'
Purposive action nominalizations they are more verb-like in that:
1) they occupy the predicate slot of purposive clauses;
2) they can be easily can be negated;
3) they can take some verbal affixes, e.g.:
[33] [bi-e [eko-no-ñei-ye-na]Cl:Pur jai jai-d-e
this-cl:g open-SMLFC-NEG-NOM.PUR- O ALREADY go-LK-3
'Not to open it, he has already left.'
2.1.4 Locative nominalizations
Locative nominalizations are derived the nominalization suffix -fe that has a meaning of 'location,
at the side of'. They derive nouns from the closed class of adverbs (therefore, they are not very
productive). Locative nominalizations have noun-like features:
differ from purposive nominalizations and purposive clauses in that they form independent clauses, e.g. gui-ye! (eat-
DEON) 'you should eat (lit. eat-should)!'; ñuita-ñei-ye! (push-NEG-DEON) 'you should not push (boat from the river
edge)!'. 19 It is not uncommon for one form marking both purpose and other meanings. For instance, one form for purposive
and result has been described for Akkadian (Semitic) and many Australian languages, e.g. Yidiñ and Marrtuthunira
(Dixon & Aikhenvald, 2009, p. 18).
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1) they can occur with non-core case markers;
2) they can occur with a modifier in an NP;
3) they function as non-core arguments in the prototypical nominal slots in the clause.
In the following example -fe modifies the adverb a 'above'. As such it can occur with the locative
case marker -mo:
[34] a-fe-mo i-tɨ-kue
above-NOM.LOC-LOC be.exist-LK-1sg
'I live in the top (e.g. part of the river, land) (lit. place above)'
Locative nominalizations can serve as a base for classifier-driven derivations (cf. §2.2.4).
2.2 Classifier-driven nominalizations
Murui has a multiple classifier system where classifiers have complex derivational functions.
They derive full lexical nouns from verbs, adjectives, demonstratives, interrogative and numeral
words, and anaphoric expressions. On the morphological ground, we can distinguish between
four types of classifier-driven nominalizations:
Type A nominalization of bare roots (§2.2.1);
Type B nominalization with multifunctional -ra (§2.2.2);
Type C nominalization of derived adverbial roots (§2.2.3);
Type D nominalization of derived non-adverbial roots (§2.2.4).
Generally, not all classifiers can occur with all classifier-driven nominalization types; their sets
are restricted. Functions of classifier-driven nominalizations vary depending on their semantic
types (types of classifier-driven nominalizations are shown in Table 7 in the Appendix).
2.2.1 Nominalizations of bare roots
Semantically, nominalizations of bare roots cover O nominalizations but they are not productive.
They are derived from both verbal and adjectival roots with the special classifier -kɨ. These
nominalizations occur with both verbs and adjectives. The meaning of the classifier -kɨ is yet
unclear but it certainly has overtones of possession or inherent feature.20 In some cases roots can
also occur with the durative marker -ri, e.g.:
[35] mame-kɨ 'name' (name-CL:INHRN)
kome-kɨ 'heart' (new-CL:INHRN)
fare-kɨ 'fat (oily substance)' (fat+ADJZ-CL:INHRN)
maɨ-ri-kɨ 'strength of the body' (work-DUR-CL:INHRN)
20 This nominal derivation with -kɨ can be an archaism that could have originated from special properties of the
classifier -kɨ that nowadays appear to have been lost. In Murui, the classifier -kɨ has different meaning when used with
derived nouns; it refers to tree fruits, e.g. jagai-kɨ 'a fruit of the jagai-rai tree'. It is unclear at this moment if here this
meaning refers to the fact that the fruit somehow originates from or belongs to the tree, or it is its specific type of shape
of the fruit.
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2.2.2 Nominalizations with multifunctional ra
Semantically, these are O-Instrument nominalizations. They are derived with the neutral
classifier ra 'thing, CL:NEUT' that can occur in various functions. These functions of ra are briefly
summarized in Table 3:
Table 3. Functions of ra in classifier-driven nominalizations
Type Function of ra Example
Type B1 a clitic kue=ra 'something to write with' (write=CL:NEUT)
Type B2 free form da-je ra 'one thing' (ONE.ALONE-CL:G thing)
Type B3 free form baɨ-no-d-e ra 'poison'21 (die-SMFC-LC-3 thing)
Type B4 a bound element in the prefix position ra-fue 'dance, narrative' (thing-CL:STORY)
Type B5 a bound element in the suffix position kue-ra-be
'a book (something in the
shape of a leaf that is used
for writing)'
(write-CL:NEUT-CL:LEAF)
The types B1, B4 and B5 are very frequent in Murui; unlike B2 and B3. Nominalizations derived
with ra denote [-human] referents only. Virtually every verbal and adjectival root can be target of
these nominalizations, e.g. jai=ra (go-CL:NEUT) 'ladder', jitɨ=ra (dark-CL:NEUT) 'something dark'.
Classifier-driven nominalizations with -ra can further be derived with SHAPE, FORM, UNIQUE, and
ANIMACY classifiers, e.g.:
[36] kue-ra-be-ni-ko 'notebook' (write-CL:NEUT-CL:LEAF-CL:LONG-CL:NHUM) 'notebook'
gui-ra-ko 'plate' (eat-CL:NEUT-CL:NHUM) 'plate'
maɨjɨ-ra-kɨno 'instruction of work' (work-CL:NEUT-CL:NEWS) 'instruction of work'
2.2.3 Nominalizations of derived adverbial roots
Classifier-driven nominalizations of derived adverbial roots (Type C) are based on the locative
nominalization suffix -fe (discussed in §2.1.4). This classifier-driven nominalization type is not
word-class changing; they specify further a referent of the nominalization, as in [37] and [38]:
[37] a-fe-be-ji
above-NOM.LOC-CL:LEAF-CL:RIVER.SIDE
'the top side (lit. a place up the land/river located on the one side of the river)'
[38] a-na-fe-be
above-ABL-NOM.LOC-CL:LEAF
'the down side (lit. a place down the land/river)'
2.2.4 Nominalizations of derived non-adverbial roots
To form those kinds of nominalizations, roots are accompanied with verbal markers and
restricted sets of classifiers/gender classifiers. Only those nominalizations that are used with
21 The free form ra can also occur as head of NPs in the possessive construction with a nominalized verb, e.g. [[naɨ-ya]R
[ra]P]NP (speak-NOM.E thing) 'topic (lit. thing of speaking)', or within a clause where a predicate function as a modifier,
e.g. baɨ-no-d-e ra (die-SEMLF-LK-3 thing') 'poison (lit. thing that kills)'. These two nominalization types (see B2 and B3)
are not frequently used in the language.
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gender classifiers can have [+human] referents. Depending on the predicate markers, each
nominalization type has its own semantics. We distinguish the following classifier-driven of
derived non-adverbial roots:
Table 4. Types of classifier-driven nominalizations derived from non-adverbial roots
Type Derived with Example
Type D1 the event nominalization suffix
and a classifier izi-rui-ya-kɨno 'love' (admire-TRANS-NOM.E-CL:NEWS)
Type D2 the future-oriented marker
and a classifier maɨjɨ-yɨ-kɨno
'instruction how to
work (future)' (work-FUT.ORT-CL:NEWS)
Type D3 valency decreasing markers
and a classifier fɨ-ka-ko
'something that has
been robbed'
(rob-VAL.DECR-CL:NHUM)
Type D4 the linker and a classifier jeikɨ-tɨ-mɨe 'the one that was born' (be.born-LK-CL.M.SG)
All classifier-driven Type D nominalizations are derived from verbs and adjectives; Type D2 is
derived from verbal roots only. D1 and D4 nominalizations are very frequent in the language; the
future-oriented D2 and the valency decreasing (passive effect) D3 are somewhat less frequent.
Type D1 - these nominalizations are derived from already nominalized verbs and adjectives
(with the event nominalization suffix, cf. §2.1.2) by means of the classifiers from the UNIQUE set
(-kɨno and -ko), e.g.:
[39] gui-ya-kɨno
eat-NOM.E-CL:NEWS
'a story of eating, instruction to eat'
[40] gui-ya-ko
eat-NOM.E-CL:NHUM
'something to eat from'
Type D2 - nominalizations of the future-oriented -yɨ (type C2) are derived only from verbs
(regardless of their transitivity), e.g.:
[41] yofue-yɨ-ñaiño
each-FUT.ORT-CL.F.SG
'(female) student, applicant (the one that will be taught)'
[42] fɨno-yɨ-kɨno
do-FUT.ORT-CL:NEWS
'a story of something that will be done'
Type D3 - nominalizations derived from transitive verbal roots with the valency decreasing
-ka (-ga) suffix. As such, they occur with gender classifier. Compare the following examples:
[43] feto-ka-ñaiño
choose-VAL.DECR-CL.F.SG
'the chosen one (female)'
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[44] yofue-ga-mɨe22
teach-VAL.DECR-CL.M.SG
'student (lit. the one male that is being taught)'
[45] jɨka-no-ga-ñaiño
ask-SEMFC-VAL.DECR-CL.F.SG
'girlfriend (lit. the one female that was asked for)'
Type D4 - these classifier-driven nominalizations are commonly used as a relativization strategy
(cf. §3.2). They are derived from both verbs and adjectives with the linker -dɨ and can occur with
some verbal suffixes (i.e. semelfactive -no, abilitative -re, durative -ri, the causative -ta, directional
(andative, ventive) -aɨ, -aibɨ and the negative -ñe), e.g.:
[46a] feto-dɨ-ñaiño vs. [46b] feto-dɨ-no
choose-LK-CL.F.SG choose-LK-CL.GR.HUM
'female that chooses' 'ones that choose'
[47] komui-ta-tɨ-ñaiño
grow-CAUS-LK-CL.F.SG
'caretaker (lit. female that makes grow)'
[48] kaka-i-ñe-dɨ-mɨe
hear-NEG-LK-CL.M.SG
'deaf (lit. male that does not hear)'
[49]a. fɨ:-re-dɨ-mɨe vs. [49b] fɨ:-ri-tɨ-mɨe
steal-ABITV-LK-CL.M.SG steal-DUR-LK-CL.M.SG
'thief (lit. the male that can steal)' 'thief (lit. one male that continuously steals)’
[50] kaiyɨ-re-dɨ-ñaiño
scream-ABITV-LK-CL.F.SG
'screamer (lit. female that screams)'
[51] fueu-ai-dɨ-mɨe
mouth+take[learn]-ANDTV-LK-CL.M.SG
'one that is going learn'
Nominal roots can also occur in the same syntactic positions in those constructions. They denote
possession and are used with the possessive suffix -re and the privative -ni (cf. §3.2), e.g.:
[52] [i-yaɨkɨ]NOUN-re-dɨ-ñaiño]RC
A-CL:BONE-POSS-LK-CL.F.SG
'skinny (lit. the one has bones)'
2.3 Comparison of Murui nominalizations
It was shown that Murui nominalizations vary both in their types and forms. It is apparent that
all Murui nominalizations share a number of morphological and syntactic properties with both
22 Which is possibly derived from yo- 'tell' + -fue ‘CL:STORY; mouth’ and still has a semi-transparent meaning that
translates as 'to teach' and functions a one verbal root. This could suggest that maybe at some point it was possible to
attach classifiers directly to verbal roots (sort of verbal classifiers) that now appear to be lost. The verb fueo- in [53] is
different; it meaning is 'to learn' and it consists of fue ‘mouth’ and o- 'take'.
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verbs and nouns. Their properties are illustrated in Table 5, for simple nominalizations, and
Table 6, for classifier-driven nominalizations (see Table 8 in Appendix for a full summary of all
features of Murui nominalizations):
Table 5. Comparison of simple nominalizations with a prototypical noun and a prototypical verb
Nominalization
forms
Properties
Prototypical
noun
Prototypical
verb
Agentive S/A
nominalization
Event nominalization Purposive
nominalization Locative
nominalization Non-stand-
alone
Stand-
alone Object Action
Combines with core
case markers yes no yes yes no no no (-na) yes
Combines with non-
core case markers yes no yes no no no no yes
Modified by
demonstratives and
numeral expressions
yes no yes no yes yes no yes
Can be negated no yes no yes yes no yes no
Can take verbal
TAM markings no yes durative -ri some some no no no
Can be pluralized yes no yes no no no no no
Can be used as
(main) predicate
no (only
verbless
clauses)
yes no (only verbless
clauses)
no (only
verbless
clauses)
yes
no (only
verbless
clauses)
no (predicate
of a
purposive
clause)
no
Syntactic functions S, A, O,
obliques predicate A, S, O, obliques S,O predicate S, O O obliques
Table 6. Comparison of classifier-driven nominalizations with a prototypical noun and a prototypical verb
Nominalization
forms
Properties Prototypical noun
Prototypical
verb
Classifier-driven nominalization
A: derived with
-kɨ
B: derived with
-ra
C: derived with
-fe and classifiers
D: derived with
verbal suffixes and
classifiers
Combines with core case
markers yes no yes yes yes rarely
Combines with non-core case
markers yes
no (only clause
linking) yes yes yes rarely
Modified by demonstratives
and numeral expressions yes no yes yes yes yes
Can be negated no (only when used
predicatively) yes no no no yes
Can take verbal TAM
markings no yes no no no some
Can be pluralized yes no yes yes yes rarely
Can be used as main predicate no (only verbless
clauses) yes
no (only verbless
clauses)
no (only verbless
clauses)
no (only verbless
clauses)
no (only verbless
clauses)
Syntactic functions S, A, O, obliques predicate S, O, obliques S, O, obliques A, S, O, obliques S, O, obliques
These comparisons of Murui nominalizations show various noun-like and verb-like properties
for different nominalization types: they differ in terms how 'nominal' they actually are. While
some are truly noun-like (i.e. agentive S/A nominalizations), others have verbal properties (i.e.
stand-alone event nominalizations).
Noun-like nominalizations generally tend to:
1) lack tense, aspect, or modal affixes;
2) can be pluralized and case-marked;
3) can be modified;
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4) they occupy a prototypical nominal position;
5) cannot occur as predicate (unless they occur in verbless clauses).
Verb-like nominalizations, on the other hand, retain some of their verbal properties:
1) can be negated;
2) cannot be modified, pluralized or case-marked;
3) have the possibility of taking arguments;
4) some have tense, aspect, or modal affixes;
5) some head independent clauses.
Given these properties, we can introduce a hierarchy of the nature of the Murui nominalizations:
Figure 1. Nature of Murui nominalizations
Agentive S/A
nominalization
Classifier-driven
(A, B, C)
Locative
nominalization
Classifier-
driven (D)
Purposive object
nominalization
Purposive activity
nominalization
Event
nominalization
more noun-like more verb-like
3. Functions of nominalizations
In South American languages, nominalizations are typically used as the main subordination
strategy to subordinate clauses of all sorts (van Gijn et al., 2011). Commonly, while event
nominalizations function as complement clauses, participant nominalizations are used a
relativization strategy. Any of these can occur in adverbial clauses (Gildea, 2008, pp. 11-12). In
Murui only event nominalizations can occur in adverbial clauses.23 This section briefly describes
nominalizations functioning as complementation (§3.1) and subordination strategies:
relativization (§3.2), adverbial subordination (§3.3), purposive clauses (§3.4). Backgrounding
function of nominalizations is discussed in (§3.5). The last section (§3.6), shows a
grammaticalization path of the event nominalization suffix.
3.1 Complementation strategy
Murui lacks complement clause constructions; it employs event nominalizations as a
complementation strategy. See the following example (repeated from §2.1.2.1):
[19a] [jɨaɨ-mɨe]A [[jɨaɨ-e dui-ko]O manua-na]NP:O uiño-t-e
other-CL.M.SG other-CL:G illness-CL:NHUM heal+NOM.E-N.S/A.FOC know-LK-3
'Other (man) knows healing other illnesses.' (ManRm:1)
In [19a] jɨaɨ-e dui-ko manua functions as complementation strategy in that:
1) it forms an NP and manua 'healing' is the head noun;
2) it functions as a core argument of the verb 'know' (marked with the core case marker -na),
23 In addition to nominalizations, Murui has also other mechanisms to express subordination, e.g. clause-linking
suffixes. The language has also clause-chaining suffixes to place events in sequences.
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3) it describes a proposition which is an activity.24
The sentence [55] is an example of an NP with nominalization of atɨñena 'not bringing' that
functions as the head noun of 'our not bringing money' (note that negation of the complement is
marked on the verb):
[55] [[uku-be]o [kaɨ atɨ-ñe-na]] [komo]X:TIME komekɨ-tɨ-kaɨ
money-CL 1pl bring-NEG-NOM.E lately remember-LK-1pl
'Lately, we remembered that we didn’t bring money.' (Di:47)
Murui uses this strategy with the following semantic types of complement taking verbs (Dixon,
2010, p. 394): Attention ('see', 'hear/listen'), Thinking ('know/understand', 'remember'), Liking
('like/love/need', 'fear'), Speaking ('say').25
3.2 Relativization strategy
Cross-linguistically, there is an intimate relationship between nominalization and relativization
(Yap et al., 2011, p. 27). In Murui, classifier-derived nominalizations (Type D) are used as a
relativization strategy (RC) (discussed in §2.2.3). In many languages of South America, classifier-
derived nominalizations form relative clauses, e.g. in some Macro-Jé langauges (Rodrigues, 1999,
p. 194) and Hup (Epps, 2012, p. 196). Compare the following examples:
[56] [kue=uzu-ma]S fɨmai-d-e
1sg=grandparent-MASC.DER fast-LK-3
'My grandfather fasts.'
[57] [[[jibi-e]o [du-tɨ-mɨe]NP]RC]S fɨmai-d-e
coca-CL:G chew-LK-CL.M.SG fast-LK-3
'The one that chews coca fasts (taboo).' (JibiFF:19)
In the example [57], MC and RC make up one intonation unit. The common argument (CA) is
stated in the RC and fills the RC slot which the CA would have in the MC.
In Murui nominalized relative clauses, the CA can either be fully stated in the MC, as in
[58], or as in [59], where it is stated in the RC:
[58] [[kue uruai-aɨ-na]O komekɨ-tɨ-kue]MC [[jofo-mo]X:LOC [i-tɨ-no-na]RC]o
1sg child-pl N.S/A.FOC remember-LK-1sg house-LOC be.exist-LK-CL:GROUP-N.S/A.FOC
'I remember my children who stayed at home' (Dic117)
[59]26 [[fui-ri-re-dɨ-mɨe]S]RC [bi-t-e]MC [bi-ñe-d-e]MC
fight-DUR-ABLIT-LK -CL.M.SG come-LK-3 come-NEG-LK-3
'The fighter (lit. one who always fights) came, didn’t he?'
The nature of the CA in Murui is limited: is a bound element that may refer to the 3rd person
only27 (this includes classifiers), e.g.:
24 In the spirit of Dixon (2010, p. 370). 25 Other types of CTVs to be identified in the future. 26 In some linguistic frameworks, the example [65] could also be interpreted as a 'headless' RC as there is no NP stated
within neither MC nor RC (the whole RC functions as an NP). Note, however, that there is the obligatory bound
pronoun -mɨe that directly expresses the CA. 27 Similar to another language in the Amazon, Jarawara (Arawá) (Dixon, 2010, p. 319).
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[60] [[ebi-re-dɨ-fue-na]RC]O eo gaɨ-dɨ-kue
beautiful-ADJZ-LK-CL:STORY-N.S/A.FOC very like-LK-1sg
'I like the beautiful story (lit. the story that is beautiful)'
A clause with a nominalization occupies a prototypical nominal position; Murui is generally verb
final and the nominalizations occur before the main predicate. In [61] it functions as a VCC and
in [62] it occurs in the S function; in all examples it restrict the meaning of NP:
[61] [Juan]vs [urue-re-dɨ-mɨe]vcc
Juan child-POSS-LK-CL.M.SG
'Juan has child(en) (lit. Juan (is) child-possessor).'
[62] mei [jɨaɨ-kaɨñaɨ]x ua mei [urue-re-dɨ-mɨe]s [da-ma]s
INTERJ other-TIME INTERJ INTERJ child-POSS-LK-CL.M.SG alone-MASC.DER
[urue dɨga]X i-t-e
child WITH be.exist-LK-3
'Well, other times, the one that has children, lives alone with (his) children.' (JoFɨ:15)
The CA has similar functions in the MCs and the nominalized RCs. In both, the CA may occur in
the S, A, and O functions (also VS and VCC) but the most frequent argument type as CA within
an RC is S, A, VS, and VCC.
3.3 Adverbial subordination
Event nominalizations in Murui are also the frequent means of forming adverbial-type
subordinate clauses. There is a number of morphosyntactic mechanisms in Murui to adverbially
modify the main clause. In Murui, adverbial constructions are found pre-posed to the main
clause. Given their morphological, syntactic, and semantic properties, we can distinguish
between three adverbial constructions: temporal (§3.3.1), consequence (§3.3.2), and others
(§3.3.3). The most frequent adverbial clauses formed with a nominalized predicate are temporal
adverbial constructions.
3.3.1 Adverbial clauses of time
Semantically, adverbial clauses of time establish a temporal link between a subordinate clauses
and the main clause. Murui nominalization extend its uses to form adverbial subordinate clauses
(Yap et al., 2011, p. 45). Murui adverbial temporal clauses are composed of a nominalized verb
(with the event nominalization suffix -a) obligatorily followed by temporal adjunct fakai
(grammaticalized noun meaning 'time, period, season'). An example of such a construction is
presented in [63] where the nominalized verb komulga-ja 'receive the Holy Communion' (Spanish
borrowing comulgar) is the predicate of the dependent temporal adverbial clause: 28
28 As a possessive construction: [[komulga-ja]R [fakai]D]NP 'time of taking communion, communion taking time'.
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[63] [komulga-ja fakai]Cl:ADV ro-a29 [nana]o
take.communion-NOM.E TEMP sing-NOM.E ALL
'In the time of receiving communion, she was singing everything [all songs] (lit. time of
receiving communion).' (MeRN:30)
The following example [64] illustrates a similar construction with the nominalized verb i-ya
'being, existing, living' functioning as adverbial modification. Moreover, the peripheral argument
Nofɨko 'Chorrera' is marked by the locative -mo:
[64] [kue [Nofɨko-mo]x i-ya fakai], [[be-no]x bi-ya-na]30 eo kue
1sg Chorrera-LOC be.exist-NOM.E TEMP here-CL:PLC come-NOM.E-ABL very 1sg
aiyo bi-aka-dɨ-kue, [akɨ kue]x
QUANT come-DES-LK-1sg AUDTV 1sg
'During my living in La Chorrera, as for coming here, I really wanted to come, I say so' (lit.
time of my being in La Chorrera).' (MeRJ:1)
Regarding other adverbial expressions referring to time, it is interesting to notice that -na also
derives the time words in Murui, e.g.: naɨo 'night' > naɨo-na 'at night'.31
3.3.2 Adverbial clauses of consequence
Event nominalizations can also occur in adverbial clauses of consequence. They combine with
the clause-linker jira that can be translated roughly as 'consequence, reason'.32 In [65], the
nominalized zuri-ya 'announcing' is derived from a verbal root:
[65] [abɨdo dane]ADV [nɨ-no-mo]x zuri-d-e, [zuri-ya
again once.again Q2-CL:PLC-LOC bird.sing.bad-LK-3 bird.sing.bad-NOM.E
jira] dane Kecha rei-t-e: 'Ama' rei-t-e
consequence once.again Kechatoma say-LK-3 brother+MASC.DER say-LK-3
'Once again somewhere [a bird] sung (announcing bad news). Because of (its) singing, once
again Kechatoma said (to Jitoma): “Brother” he said.'(Jit:42)
In [66], the nominalized adjective denotes an information leading up to the state of being 'cold':
[66] [eo rozi-nai-ya jira] “Uzu, uzu!
very cold-TRANSF-NOM consequence grand.father[VOC.MASC] grand.father[VOC.MASC]
Abɨ manaɨ-no, o jito-dɨ-kue-za!’ rei-t-e
body calm-IMP 2sg son-LK-1sg-NCERTAIN say-LK-3
'As a consequence of becoming very cold (outside), “Grandfather, grandfather! Calm
yourself! I am your son!' he said.' (Jit:51)
The clause-linker jira can also be sometimes omitted; this is not a very frequently occurring
construction and it is similar to the stand-alone nominalizations backgrounding an event in the
discourse (§3.5):
29 Innovative morphophonological rules. 30 This is a kind of focus construction with the ablative case marking -na. 31 The suffix -na on time words in Murui is homophonous with O marking -na. This is similar to Tucanoan -re which is
has the same form when used as a derivational suffix marking O, oblique arguments, locative and temporal nominals
(Stenzel, 2004, pp. 229-230). 32 This has also form of a possessive construction: [[zuri-ya]R [jira]D]NP 'reason ', as in [72].
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[67] [urue e:~e-na] ua raɨ-re [monɨ-na]o [kue-dɨ]A jiro-ta [na-i
child cry-RED-NOM.E INTERJ quick-ADV breast-N.S/A.FOC 1sg-S/A.FOC drink-CAUS A.D-CL:G
uruiaɨ moto-mo]X:LOC e:-ñei-yena
child+pl middle-LOC cry -NEG-PUR
'The child cried. I made her drink breast in the middle of children so she would not cry.' (MeRN:25)
3.3.3 Other adverbial clauses: temporal-sequential
To make temporal-sequential relations, the nominalized verb kɨo- 'see' (event nominalization) is
followed by the sequential temporal marker -no:
[68] [jari-re uieko-mo jai-tɨ-kue], [mei navui-da ri-dɨ-kue]
quick-ADVZ face-LOC come-LK-1sg so late.afternoon-INS arrive-LK-1sg
[o kɨ-a-no] [jari-re]ADV [uieko-mo]X:LOC kaka+rei-zai-dɨ-kue
2sg see-NOM-SEQ quick-ADVZ face-LOC listen-VENTV-LK-1sg 'I went quickly ahead, so I arrived late afternoon. After having seen you, I went quickly in the front to listen.' (MeRJ:23)
Other types of nominalizations are not used in adverbial clauses.33
3.4 Purposive clause
Purposive object nominalizations in purposive clauses have been described in §2.1.3.2. Purposive
clauses express a purpose, as in [72], and result, as in [73-74], and are best translated with 'to X':
[72] [[bi-e yɨkɨ-aɨ]S zori-ye-na]PurCl [[kue]s rui-ka]MC
this-CL:G fish-pl smell.nice-NOM.PUR-N.S/A.FOC 1sg toast-VAL.DECR
'For the fish to small nice, I toasted them.' (Cuad:979)
[73] M: [[be-ne-na]X:LOC jai-a]MC [o-ye-na]PurCl
HERE+DEM.LOC-ABL go-NOM.E take-NOM.PUR-N.S/A.FOC
S: No, i-ñe-na jira
No[Sp] be.exist-NEG-NOM.E reason
'M: (You went) from here to take (it)?
S: No, because it was not (there)'(MeRN:40)
[74] [bi-e komɨnɨ nɨkaɨ-nei-ye-na]PurCl [baɨ-ñe-d-e]MC
this-CL:G people+COLL.PL being.dreamt.of-NEG-NOM.PUR-N.S/A.FOC die-NEG-LK-3
'For not being dreamt of, these people did not die.' (Cuad:979)
33 Other Murui adverbial clauses are converbal (suffix -kana), as in [69], CONDITIONAL I (suffix -nia), as in [70], and
CONDITIONAL II (-na), as in [71]. They are morphosyntactically dependent on the main predicate:
[69] [maka-kana] gui-gui-tɨ-kue
walk-CONV eat~RED-LK-1sg
'I was eating while walking'
[70] [gui-nia] kaɨma-dɨ-kue
eat-COND.I happy-LK-1sg
'If I eat, I am happy'
[71] [obe-do jini-d-e-na], naɨme-re-d-e
fruit-CL become.ripe-LK-3-COND.II sweet-ADJZ-LK-3
'When the fruit becomes ripe, it is sweet. '
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3.5 Stand-alone nominalizations as discourse pragmatic device
Independently used nominalizations in Murui have discourse specific functions that have to do
with backgrounding and setting the stage of an event. Compare the following examples:
[75a] aifɨ bi-ya
wind come-NOM.E
'The wind came / coming of the wind.'
[75b] aifɨ bi-t-e
wind come-LK-3
'The wind came.'
Without a context, it is very difficult for speakers to 'feel' the difference in meaning between
these two constructions. In discourse, however, sentences as in [75a], background or stage-set an
event in Murui.34
In example [76] the nominalized zuri~zuri-na 'announcing' functions as action focus. In the
story, an evil elder Jobai sends two boys on a mission. The main goal for the boys, Jitoma and
Kechatoma, is not to open the package Jobai gave them. The boys suspect that the package is
empty and that Jobai is only testing the boys. At some point, a bird comes and starts
'announcing' that something bad has happened. This gives Kechatoma a clear reason to believe
that Jobai has tricked them. He says:
[76] [bi-e uzu-ma Jobai]A [bu-e-na]o jone-ñe-d-e, i-e
this-CL:G grand.parent-MASC.DER Snake Q1-CL:G-N.S/A.FOC put-NEG-LK-3 A-CL:G
bi-e ñe [[koko]R [zuri~zuri-na]D:NOM]NP
this-CL:G INTERJ 1du.m bird.sing.bad~RED-NOM
'The grandfather Jobai did not put anything [into our bag]! This is what the bird is announcing to us
(lit. the announcement of bad news to us!” (Jit:42)
Nominalized zuri~zuri-na 'bird announcing bad news' here is backgrounding the event. It
describes the state of affairs 'the announcement' while the main action is going on: Jobai did
cheat the boys. This is similar to [77] and [31] (repeated) below. The sentence in [77] is a part of
an oration so the hunting would go well. Walter Nɨraima Buinaima is referring to places in the
forest. The one mentioned in [77] is a place far away 'where black umari fall' and where his
ancestors used to go hunting. Kaɨ einamakɨ jaijaikaiya 'going of our ancestors' is a stage setting
device that evokes a specific frame that is familiar to the Murui speakers:
[77] [nɨ-no]x [ja-e]x [kaɨ ei-na-makɨ jai~jai-kai-ya]NOM, [meido
Q2-CL:PLC time-CL:G 1pl ancestor-A.D-CL.PL go~RED-INCEPT-NOM stubble
a:-na-mo]x [nɨ-no-mo]x [obe-do]s uai-d-e
up-ABL-LOC Q2-CL:PLC-LOC umari.black-CL:ROUND fall-LK-3
'Where long time ago our ancestors have begun their journey (lit. their start of going), underneath
the stubble where black umari fruits fall…' (Jkkz:13)
34 Similar functions of 'unembedded nominalizations' have been reported for Kham (Watters, 2002, p. 350) where
nominalization mark 'discontinuity'. (Matisoff, 1972) states that stand-alone nominalizations give 'a strong assertive,
matter-of-fact interpretation'.
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In the example [31], guiye iñena, rɨye iñena 'there is no food, there is no meat' has a similar
function. It is backgrounding the state-of-affairs which is the direct reason why he wants to work
so badly:
[31] kɨo-d-o, maɨjɨ-i-aka-dɨ-kue, iadɨ [gui-ye]s [i-ñe-na]NOM
see-PRED-2sg work-EMPH-DES-LK-1sg CONJ eat- NOM.PUR exist-NEG-NOM.E
[rɨ-ye]s [i-ñe-na]NOM
eat.meat.NOM.PUR exist-NEG-NOM.E
'You see, I do want to work but there is no food, there is no meat.' (Jkkz:1)
3.5 Grammaticalization of event nominalization
One interesting area where nominalization can be viewed as an example of grammaticalization is
Murui questions. The language has a special kind of a tag question that is characterised by the
presence of a special tag element erua or ua. The tag is added after a statement which has a
normal declarative intonation. The tag forms a separate intonation unit (sharply rising
intonation).
The tag has a rather fixed form: erua or its shorter version (and way more frequent) ua. The
tag word is generally used when a speaker predicts that a statement is correct and seeks
agreement from an addressee. For example:
[78] [bi-mɨe]VS [Pedro dofo+ra-to ji-to]VCC, ↗↗e↘rua? positive tag question
THIS-CL.M.SG Pedro first+CL:NEUT-CL:SON son-CL:SON TAG
'This one is Pedro’s first son, right?'
[79] [i-e]S jari-re fui-t-e, ↗↗u↘a? positive tag question
A-CL:G quick-ADVZ finish-LK-3 TAG
'It’s finished quickly, right?'
The origin of erua is likely to be the nominalized word for 'see', ero-d-e (see-LK-3) 's/he sees' > eru-a
(see-NOM.E). In Murui erua/ua are the only forms that function as a tag. These tag words are also
used in contexts where 'seeing' is not truly involved (possibly a semantic extension of 'seeing'):
[80] ziyɨ-na ja-zi-kɨmo kaka-dɨ-o, erua? positive tag question
bird-N.S/A.FOC jungle-CL-LOC hear.feel-LK-2sg TAG
'You have heard the bird in the forest, right?'
4. Conclusion
This paper has discussed Murui nominalizations as frequently occurring morphological
derivations in the language. Functionally, nominalization types that occur in Murui are very
common in many languages of South America, e.g. in Tariana, and in Tucanoan and Carib
languages.
In Murui there two types of nominalization mechanisms that can be distinguished: simple
nominalizations and classifier-driven nominalizations. While the former is fully 'dedicated'
derivational nominalization type (i.e. always requires an overt nominalization suffix), the latter is
derived by the means of classifiers/gender classifiers. All simple nominalizations (i.e. agentive
S/A, event, purposive action and locative) are fully productive; with exception of purposive
object nominalizations that are not productive. With exception of Type A nominalizations, all the
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K. I. Wojtylak
24
classifier-driven nominalizations are fully productive.
Classifier-driven nominalizations suggest that Murui deverbal and deadjecitval roots
generally require a 'buffer, linker' of various kinds to derive nominalized elements. All Murui
nominalizations share a number of noun-like and verb-like properties but generally, each
nominalization is very different. Various Murui nominalizations can be explained in terms of a
noun-like vs verb-like continuum.
References
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Appendix
Table 7. Types of classifier-driven nominalizations
Type Root Derivational affixes Example
A V or Adj -kɨ (CL:INHER) (PL, ASS) mame-kɨ(-nɨaɨ) 'name(s)' (name-CL:INHER-ASS.PL)
B1 V or Adj ra (clitic) (PL, ASS) jai=ra 'ladder' (go=CL:NEUT)
B2 Nomz. V or
Adj
ra 'thing' (free
form) (PL, ASS) naɨ-ya ra
'topic (lit. speaking
thing) ' (speak- NOM.E thing)
B3 Inflected V or
Adj
ra (free form) (PL, ASS) baɨ-no-d-e ra
'poison (lit. thing
that kills)' (die-SEMLF-LK-3 thing')
B4 Ø ra- (bound form;
prefix)
- classifiers (PLACE or SHAPE
or FORM or ANIMACY35 or
UNIQUE)
ra-be-ni-ko
'notebook'
(CL:NEUT-CL:LEAF-CL:LONG-
CL:NHUM)
B5 V or Adj -ra (bound form;
suffix)
- classifiers (PLACE or SHAPE
or FORM or ANIMACY or
UNIQUE)
kue-ra-be-ni-ko '(writing)
notebook'
(write-CL:NEUT-CL:LEAF-
CL:LONG- CL:NHUM)
maɨjɨ-ra-kɨno
'an
instruction/story
of work'
(work-CL:NEUT-CL:NEWS)
C V -a (NOM) + -fe
(NOM.LOC) -kɨ (CL:INHER) bɨri-ya-fe-kɨ 'tar'
(drop-NOM.E-NOM.LOC-
CL:INHER)
D1
V or Adj -a (NOM.E) - classifiers (UNIQUE,
ANIMACY) maɨjɨ-ya-kɨno
'an
instruction/story
of (an action of)
working
(timeless)'
(work-NOM.E -CL:NEWS)
D2
V -yɨ (FUT.ORNT) - classifiers (UNIQUE)
- gender classifiers maɨjɨ-yɨ-kɨno '
'an instruction to
work (fut.) (work-FUT.ORT-CL:NEWS)
D3 V (trans.) -ka/-ga (VAL.DECR) - classifiers (UNIQUE)
- gender classifiers feto-ka-ñaiño '
'the chosen one
(fem.) (choose-VAL.DECR-CL.F.SG)
D4 V or Adj -dɨ (LK) - classifiers (UNIQUE)
- gender classifiers
maɨjɨ-dɨ-mɨe 'one (who) works
(male)' (work-LK-CL.M.SG)
ebi-re-dɨ-fue 'a beautiful legend' (beautiful-ADJZ-LK-CL:STORY)
Type A nominalization of bare roots (§2.2.1);
Type B nominalization with multifunctional -ra (§2.2.2);
Type C nominalization of derived adverbial roots (§2.2.3);
Type D nominalization of derived non-adverbial roots (§2.2.4).
35 Classifier set UNIQUE consists of -kɨno (CL:NEWS) and -fue (CL:STORY) [denote abstract nouns]. Classifier set ANIMACY
consists of -ko (CL:NHUM). Both have only one position available and cannot be further derived (sim. gender classifiers).
The sense of Murui nominalizations (6 August 2014, LCRC)
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26
Table 8. Comparison of Murui nominalizations with a prototypical noun and a prototypical verb
Form of
nominalization
Prototypical
noun
Prototypical
verb
Event nominalization Agentive S/A
nominalization
Purposive
nominalization Locative
nominalization
Classifier-driven nominalization
A: derived
with
-kɨ
B: derived
with
-ra
C: derived with
-fe and classifiers D: derived with
verbal suffixes and
classifiers Non-stand-
alone Stand-alone Object Activity
Roots types
nominalization
applies to
nominal verbal verbal
adjectival
verbal
adjectival verbal verbal verbal adverbial
verbal
adjectival
verbal
adjectival adverbial
verbal
adjectival
Root reduplication no yes yes yes no no no no no no no no
Combines with core
case markers yes no yes no yes no yes yes yes yes yes rarely
Combines with non-
core case markers yes no no no yes no no yes yes yes yes rarely
Modified by
demonstratives and
numeral expressions
yes no no no yes yes no yes yes yes yes yes
Can be negated yes (verbless
clauses) yes yes yes no no yes no no no no yes
Can take verbal
TAM markings no yes some some durative -ri no some no no no no some
Can be pluralized yes no no no yes no no no yes yes yes rarely
Occupy prototypical
nominal position yes no yes no yes yes no yes yes yes yes yes
Can be used as main
predicate
no (only
verbless
clauses)
yes no (only
verbless clauses yes
no (only verbless
clauses
no (only
verbless
clauses
no
(predicate of
a purposive
clause)
no
no (only
verbless
clauses)
no (only
verbless
clauses)
no (only verbless
clauses)
no (only verbless
clauses)
Can head possessive
NPs yes no no no yes yes no yes yes yes yes no
Types of
subordination it
occurs in
all all adverbial
clauses
adverbial
clauses all -
purposive
clauses adverbial clauses all all all all
Syntactic functions S, A, O,
obliques predicate S,O predicate A, S, O, obliques S, O O obliques
S, O,
obliques
S, O,
obliques S, O, obliques A, S, O, obliques