Chapter Five Nominalization and Relativization
5.2 The =ay Construction
The purpose of this section is to discuss what Chang & Lee (2002) called relativization construction, i.e. =ay construction, in Kavalan. Before we go into discussions in detail, we turn to Keenan’s (1985) definition of the relative clause and the parameter in identifying relative clauses for typological studies proposed by Payne (1997). A relative clause is defined as “one that functions as a nominal modifier”
(Keenan 1985, cited in Payne 1997:325); in other words, the main function of a relative clause is modification, i.e. to modify the head noun. And one important parameter in identifying relative clause for typological studies is by investigating the position of the relative clause in relation to the head noun. According to Payne, there are four types of relative clauses in terms of the position where they occur: (1)
16 In fact,*ni-/-in- are the variations of the same reflex from PAN (Starosta, Pawley & Reid 1982:
147ff), and both are treated, together with other affixes such as *-en, *-ana, *iSi-, as “noun-deriving affixes in PAN” (ibid:148).
pronominal, (2) postnominal, (3) internally headed, and (4) headless relative clause.
By carefully examining the distribution and syntactic behavior, we identify three patterns of =ay constructions. Pattern 1 is used to generate an action modifier (a clausal modifier), which is similar to the function of relative clauses. Pattern 2 is used to generate an entity modifier (an object modifier), which is similar to an adjective in function. And Pattern 3 is to generate an entity reference. We will discuss each pattern in detail below.
5.2.1 Pattern 1: Action Modifier (=ay in Relative Clause)
With all these in mind, we may begin investigating the relative clauses in Kavalan. We found that in Pattern one, =ay is enclitic to the main predicate of the embedded clause. The hosts that =ay can be enclitic to in this pattern are mostly action verbs carrying focus markers and which can take another NP as their complement in the embedded clause. This type of =ay clause can occur both pre-nominally, as in (1a), (2a) and (3a) and post-nominally, as shown in (1b-3b).
(1) kav-ngengi-051019
a. tangi mautu sa taqsian [si-qulus=ay tu busaR=ay] ti ngengi today AF.come SA school [wear-clothes=REL OBL white=AY] NCM PN
“Today, Ngengi came to school, wearing white clothes and black pants.’
b. tangi mautu sa taqsian ti ngengi [si-qulus=ay tu busaR=ay]
today AF.come SA school NCMPN [wear-clothes=REL OBL white=AY] “Today, Ngengi came to school, wearing white clothes and black pants.’
(2) kav-ngengi-051019
a. m-RaRiw=ti [m-Roziq=ay tu qelisiu-ku] tazungan AF-run.away=PFV [AF-steal=REL OBL money=1SG.GEN] female
‘The girl who stole my money ran away.’
b. m-RaRiw=ti tazungan [qay-Roziq=ay tu qelisiu-ku]
AF-run.away=PFV female [AF-steal=REL OBL money=1SG.GEN]
‘The girl who stole my money ran away.’
(3) kav-ngengi-051019
a. ara-an-ku [t<em>ibok=ay] biabas bring-LF-1SG.GEN [<AF>fall=REL] guava
‘I brought back the guavas that fell.’
b. ara-an-ku biabas [t<em>ibok=ay]
bring-LF-1SG.GEN guava [<AF>fall=REL]
‘I brought back the guavas that fell.’
We would identify this type of =ay construction as genuine relative clause in Kavalan.
However, not all of the =ay constructions are relative clauses. We explain this claim by the following examples (4a-d), which are taken from Chang & Lee (2002:353, 6a-6d) with our own glosses.
(4) a. tiana=ay sunis Rubatang who=AY child beautiful
‘Whose child is (more) beautiful?’
b. zaku=ay sunis zau 1sg.poss=AY child this ‘This is my child.’
c. p<m>ukun=ti aizipna tu kin-turu=’ay sunis
<AF>hit=PFV 3SG.NOM OBL CLF.HUM-three=AY child ‘He hit three children.’
d. p<m>ukun=ti abas tu mwaza=’ay wasu <AF>hit=PFV PN OBL many.NHUM=AY dog ‘Abas hit many dogs.’
As pointed by Chang and Lee, the hosts of =ay in these examples are usually classified as functional categories. They are absolutely right in pointing out that it is pointless to say that this type of =ay construction is involved of nominalization.
Nevertheless, to say that =ay is relativization does not say much, either.
5.2.2 Pattern 2: Entity Modifier (=ay as Adjectivizer in NP)
Pattern 2 differs from Pattern 1 in that (a) the intrinsic characteristics of the hosts they can be enclitic to: in Pattern 2, the hosts are stative predicates, those belonging to functional categories, and, the most, they do not carry any focus markers; (b) the syntactic behavior is different: in Pattern 2 , the =ay encliticized form can occur only before the modified, i.e. the head noun; (c) in Pattern 2, the syntactic structure of the
=ay forms are not clausal: the modifier, i.e. the =ay encliticized form, and the
modified, i.e. the head, form an NP, which can take case markers in accordance withthe syntactic relation this NP assumes in the clause; and (d) the semantic relation between the modifier and the modified is different, too.
This type of =ay clause cannot be post-nominally, which will result in different syntactic structure and different readings, as shown below.
(5a) Raya=ay baut
The syntactic structure of (5a) is a noun phrase, whereas that of (5b) is a sentence.
Although the relation between the modifier and modified can be read as ‘the one that V’ or ‘the one who is V-ing’ at first look, a further investigation on the data does not support such a view. As shown in (5a-c) and (6a), the =ay form had better be analyzed as an adjectivizer, making the host stative verb an adjective-like modifier. In other word, Pattern 1 =ay construction creates a clausal modifier (an action modifier), while Patter 2 =ay construction creates a noun modifier (an entity modifier). In Pattern 2 the relationship between the modifier, i.e. the =ay encliticized form, and the head noun can be as follows:
‘three dogs’
(10) attribute: color, property, physical characteristics
a. taita-an-ku tbaRi=ay semaRu‘This (kind of) big, red flower is poisonous. Don’t take (them), (or) you will (soon) die.’
c. KavCon-earthquake
270….qi-zua-zuan-niq zau ta-ngayau-an-niq residence-RED-residence-1EPL.GEN this LOC-front-LOC-1EPL.GEN yau Ra-Raya yau buRang kwa
EXIST RED-big EXIST rock INT
‘There are huge rocks in front of our residence.’
271. be<ru>-rumana tu ‘nay sa-ritun=ay tamun
<RED>-place.for.planting TU that grow-thorn=AY vegetable
‘the place where vegetables with thorns are planted’
#n sa-ritun=ay tamun (一種菜名叫做 samal)
#n ritun 刺 ritun na tamun 菜的刺, ritun na paRin 樹的刺, ritun na baut 魚刺,
‘From the written records of other countries.’
#n zuma=ay taqsian 外語學校, zuma=ay razat 外國人
#n zuma 不一樣, zuma zaku=ay Raybang, zuma zasu=ay Raybang 我的東西和你的不
一樣
e KavCon-earthquake
312…aita maqezaq=ay qebadan niana ya==
1IPL.NOM real=AY Kavalan what INT
‘What do we real Kavalan have?’
#n maqen=ay qelisiw 真鈔, saqonga=ay qelisiw 假鈔,
#n maqezaq aisu siRab 你昨天很好
#n maqen=ay sikawma-an-ku 我說的是真的 存在=關係詞 書
‘girl with long, black hair’