The epistemization of person markers in reported speech

Abstract

Egophoricity is a cross-linguistically rare grammatical phenomenon. While numerous descriptive studies have substantially improved our synchronic understanding of the category in recent years, we are still largely ignorant of the diachronic origins of egophoricity systems. In this article, we address this gap and discuss a diachronic process that transforms person agreement markers into egophoricity markers. Based on evidence from three Tibeto-Burman languages, we reconstruct the diachronic transformation and argue that the process starts out in reported speech clauses once the direct construal of the predicate is generalized. This generalization allows for the functional reanalysis of first and third person markers as egophoric and allophoric markers, while second person markers become functionally obsolete. Once person markers have undergone an epistemization in reported speech clauses, the innovative epistemic system is extended to simple declarative and interrogative clauses, where it gradually replaces the conservative person agreement system. The epistemization of person markers in reported speech Abstract Egophoricity is a cross-linguistically rare grammatical phenomenon. While numerous descriptive studies have substantially improved our synchronic understanding of the category in recent years, we are still largely ignorant of the diachronic origins of egophoricity systems. In this article, we address this gap and discuss a diachronic process that transforms person agreement markers into egophoricity markers. Based on evidence from three Tibeto-Burman languages, we reconstruct the diachronic transformation and argue that the process starts out in reported speech clauses once the direct construal of the predicate is generalized. This generalization allows for the functional reanalysis of first and third person markers as egophoric and allophoric markers, while second person markers become functionally obsolete.Once person markers have undergone an epistemization in reported speech clauses, the innovative epistemic system is extended to simple declarative and interrogative clauses, where it gradually replaces the conservative person agreement system. 2

The Origin and Evolution of the Opposition between Testimonial and Factual Evidentials in Purik and Other Varieties of Tibetan

“…Hence, in Bunan, first and third person agreement markers were respectively reanalyzed as egophoric and allophoric markers. Widmer and Zemp (2017) are able to show that their evidentialization must have been triggered in reported speech clauses. Drawing also on Zemp (2016a), the diverging functions of the Bunan markers documented at different stages, along with other properties of the language as well as comparative evidence from Sunwar and Dolakha Newar, allow us to neatly reconstruct the evidentialization of person markers in Bunan.…”

“…Lastly, the evolution of 'dug and yod in Purik and other varieties of Tibetan is contrasted with that reconstructed for the egophoric/allophoric present markers in West Himalayish Bunan. Drawing on Widmer and Zemp (2017), I explain why egophoric markers which derive from first person agreement markers that were evidentialized in reported speech clauses, unlike the factual markers of Purik, exclusively occur when the informant participates in the profiled event.…”

Egophoricity, Involvement, and Semantic Roles in Tibeto-Burman Languages

“…The Shigatse Tibetan egophoric form goes back to a periphrastic construction that consisted of a nominalizer and a copula. The Bunan egophoric endings -ek / -h ek, in turn, were once first person subject agreement forms (Widmer 2015;Widmer & Zemp 2017). The more restricted functional scope of -ek / -h ek is a consequence of the fact that these morphemes were already tied to specific semantic roles when they were still subject agreement markers.…”

“…The ranking of semantic roles on the hierarchy given in Figure 2 can be explained in terms of the cognitive exclusiveness of mental states that they are associated with (see Widmer & Zemp 2017). The highest-ranked semantic roles are volitional agents and endopathic experiencers, that is to say, arguments that are associated with mental states that are only directly accessible to the person experiencing them.…”

Egophoric marking and person indexation in Japhug

“…Very few languages have both person indexation and egophoric marking; none of those included in the forthcoming volume on egophoricity (Floyd et al 2018) have person indexation, and in the Sino-Tibetan family, while languages with egophoric marking such as Newar, Pumi (Daudey 2014) and Bunan (Widmer & Zemp 2017) have remnants of person indexation completely or partially reanalyzed as evidential categories, the only language group where both a fully fledged person indexation system and an evidential system containing an egophoric category are both present is the Gyalrong branch of Sino-Tibetan, comprising Situ, Japhug, Tshobdun and Zbu (Sun 2018). While previous work has partially described the use of evidential categories in Gyalrong languages (see in particular Lin 2003;Sun 2003;Jacques 2017: 617-620), much descriptive work is still needed before these languages can be profitably used by typologists working on evidentiality.…”