Semantic of certain Sakawi verbs
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Relationship between the speaker and arguments in a sentence is critical in Sakawi
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 12 Jan 2016, 16:18.
[comments] skw
?FYI...
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
In Sakawi, there are several verbs whose meanings change if the relationship between the speaker, the subject and the object is different, and the same meaning can be indicated by different verbs depending on the relationship between the speaker, the subject and the object. In all cases whether the subject or the object is closer to the speaker is the criterion to determine which verb is used, or the actual meaning of the verb.
The usage is somewhat similar to the distinction of Japanese あげる, くれる and もらう (all of which mean "to give"), but the Sakawi version is more elaborate and is more complex, as it involves more verbs and more sememes, and the Sakawi system is pretty irregular.
The closeness of arguments in Sakawi is 1st person > 2nd person > 3rd person, and when all arguments are in 3rd person, the one the speaker knows or the one who is a relative of he speaker, is the closer one, and if all arguments are in 3rd person and are equally distant from the speaker, there's no fixed criteria to decide closeness, and usually the one the speaker is empathized with more, or the one who is more salient to the speaker or is more animate, is considered to be the closer one.
For example, the verb bllesen can mean "to punish", "to beat/kick" depending on the relationship between the speaker, the subject and the object, if the relationship between the subject and the speaker is closer, the verb means "to punish"; if the relationship between the object and the speaker is closer, the verb means "to beat, to kick":
blleseminekir
blles-em-in-ek-ir
punish.PROX>OBV/beat.OBV>PROX-3.SG.P-1.SG.A-IND-PST.APPROX
I punished him/her/it(the verb means "to punish" because "I/me", the subject of the example, is closer to the speaker compared to anyone else)
bllesenistekir
blles-en-ist-ek-ir
punish.PROX>OBV/beat.OBV>PROX-1.SG.P-3.SG.A-IND-PST.APPROX
he/she/it beated me(the verb means "to beat/to kick" because "I/me", the object of the example, is closer to the speaker compared to anyone else)
Both of the verb kunan and the verb knazan can mean "to give", however, the verb kunan is used when the relationship between the agent and the speaker is closer; the verb knazan is used when the relationship between the receiver and the speaker is closer. Some examples are listed below:
kunomozmominakir
kun-om-ozmom-in-ak-ir
give.PROX>OBV-3.SG.P-3.SG.DAT-1.SG.A-IND-PST
I gave it to him(never *knazomozmominakir)
knazonozmomistakir
knaz-on-ozmom-ist-ak-ir
give.OBV>PROX/help.OBV>PROX-1.SG.P-3.SG.DAT-3.SG.A-IND-PST
he gave it to me(never *kunonozmomistakir)/he helped me ✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article
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