Static Motion Events 1 Spatial Terms

Blust divides spatial system into systems of “macro-orientation” and

“micro-orientation” (Blust 1997:39-40). According to his definition, the

“macro-orientation” refers to the directional system, and the “micro-orientation”

refers to the system of location. Examples for the “macro-orientation” are the cardinal directions such as “north/south/west/east,” as well as the directional terms such as

“left/right”; examples for the “micro-orientation” are notions of

“inside/outside/above” and “below.” These systems differ because “macro-orientation may be sensitive to gross environmental differences,” whereas “no such expectation holds for systems of micro-orientation” (Blust 1997:40).

Our collected data of spatial terms in Saisiyat (see Table 1) partially correspond to Blust’s classifications of spatial system in that the semantic changes of cardinal directional terms has much to do with the source domains of the sun (the orientations of east and west) and of the wind or the seasons (the orientations of south and north), but the directional terms such as “left/right” are derived from the body part relations.

In Utsurikawa (1993), the orientation of the east in Saisiyat derives from the motion of the sun. The north derives from the direction of the chilly wind. The word kapayhahila’an “east” comes from the stem hahila, which is the “sun.” In our explanation, “the sun” added with a locative focus -an becomes a verb. Then this verb becomes a noun by adding a prefix pay and a gerundive tense prefix ka-. Similarly, kap’na’amiSan “north” comes from the stem amiS, which means the chilly wind, with gerundive prefix ka- and the locative focus -an. This cardinal orientation from the sun and the wind is similar to many languages of mountainous surroundings (cf. Heine,

Claudi, and Hünnemeyer 1991; Utsurikawa 1993; Svorou 1994; Blust 1997).

We display in Table 1 the spatial terms that are usually involved in spatial expressions:

Table 1. Spatial Terms in Saisiyat

Saisiyat Glossed in English

babaw top region of object; above; over; on

raya’ higher region (of the mountain)

hahoer bottom region of object; under

kamasal lower region (of the mountain)

kati’aela’(-an) front region of object

hikor back; behind

‘izo’ interior region of object; inward

‘i’izo’ deep

‘oehaz exterior region of some object; outward

aboe’ indoor region; inside

latar outdoor region; outside

lang’i vicinity of object; beside; edge

kabih side

wazwaz middle region; between; center

katiaelae front

hinirowai circle

siwsiwazay branch roads

Sepa’ siwsiwazay crossroads (four branch roads)

ra:an road

loehoe a straight road

tone’ ; rolaw’an pond

wasal lake

kis(na)ray ; inaray from

pingi’ beneath

Imahinkalaw; imahinkiyo corner

ka’anal right hand; right

kayri left hand; left

kapayhahila’an east

kaheban west

kap’naba’an south

kap’na’amiSan north

These spatial terms are mostly locative nouns derived from either body part relations (i.e., hikor “back; behind,” ka’anal “right hand; right,” and kayri “left hand; left”).

hikor means the back of the body; it also refers to the spatial relationship of “behind.”

ka’anal is the right hand; it is also the right side. Similarly, kayri is the left hand as well as the left side.

2.2 A comparison with English and Chinese – babaw, hahoer, and wazwaz

Among these spatial morphemes, babaw, hahoer, and wazwaz, we find that Saisiyat is very different from English and Chinese but similar to Proto-Malayo-Polynesian languages (Blust 1997). It uses only one word babaw to represent the spatial concept of an upper or a surface region, such as above, up, high, and so on. Symmetrically, it uses hahoer to represent the space that is in the lower region, such as concepts of below, down, and under. Besides these two words, wazwaz indicates the middle position in a situation where things are lined up in a row. It also means the center of a two-dimensional circle or of a three-dimensional ball. When indicating the center, wazwaz is not restricted to circular or round things; it can point to the center of a square room. As for objects with irregular edges, such as humans, mountains, or fish, wazwaz means the trunk of the human body extending from the armpits to the waist, the hillside of a mountain range, or the middle part of a fish ranging from the gill split to the part before the caudal fin.

2.3 Synonyms – lang’i versus kabih

In Saisiyat, both lang’i and kabih have the meaning of “side” or “beside.”

However, they do display different syntactic patterns. (1a) and (1b) show that it is

correct to say kabih ho kabih “here and there,” but it is incorrect to say lang’i ho lang’i.

(1a) ray ka-ba:iw-an ka haehoeway kabih ho kabih Loc buy-LF Nom shoes here and here

“(You can) buy shoes here and there.” (Fieldnotes)

(1b) ray ka-ba:iw-an ka haehoeway *lang’i ho *lang’i

Loc buy-LF Nom shoes here and here (Constructed)

In addition, (2a) and (2b) show that it is acceptable to say kakabih when referring to the motion of going along the edges, while ka lalang’i is unacceptable. However, if the first syllable of the word kabih is not reduplicated, the sentence is acceptable with the implication that the “edge” is wide.

(2a) may isaza ka la-lang’i pass that Acc Red-edge

“To go along the edge (of the pond).” (Fieldnotes)

(2b) may isaza (ka) *ka-kabih

pass that Acc Red-edge (Constructed) (2c) may isaza kabih

pass that edge

“To go along the (wide) edge.”

To differentiate lang’i and kabih, we asked our informant to place the two words together in a sentence as in (3a) and (3b) for us to see what the sentence means.

(3a) ray lang’i kabih Loc side side

“the edge of the side.” (Fieldnotes) (3b) * ray kabih lang’i

Loc side side (Constructed)

(3b) is incorrect whereas (3a) is correct. This differentiates kabih from lang’i in that lang’i indicates a narrower scope than kabih. Moreover, if there are three objects in a row, the Saisiyat speaker uses only lang’i to refer to the object that lies at the side.

The examples are in (4a) and (4b).

(4a) wazwaz lang’i hayza ka boway middle side have Nom fruit

“Beside the middle is the fruit.” (Fieldnotes)

(4b) wazwaz *kabih hayza ka boway middle side have Nom fruit

“Beside the middle is the fruit.” (Constructed)

Concluding from the examples above, lang’i refers to an edge that is narrower than kabih. In addition, lang’i is used in the situation where things lie in a row as well as in the situation where people move along the edge, while kabih has less interaction with other objects and is not used with a moving motion.