Temporal Predicative Particles in Sanapaná and the Enlhet-Enenlhet Language Family (Paraguay). A Descriptive and Comparative Study.

This MA thesis provides the first description and discussion of three temporal predicative particles (aɬta, ɬke and hata) found in Sanapaná, an underdocumented and underdescribed Enlhet-Enenlhet language of the Paraguayan Chaco. Furthermore, it compares the form and function of these particles in Sanapaná to that of their cognates in the other Enlhet-Enenlhet languages: Angaité, Enxet, Enlhet, Guaná and Enenlhet. As such, this thesis has three main objectives. Firstly, it aims to be a contribution to the descriptive literature on an understudied indigenous language of South America, since it is based on primary data gathered during my own field work. Secondly, it hopes to provide insights into the genetic relations between the languages of the Enlhet-Enenlhet language family. Thirdly, this work hopes to provide data for possible areal or typological studies of the phenomena manifested by these particles: tense-aspectmodality systems, and (nonverbal) predication. It is argued that...Show moreThis MA thesis provides the first description and discussion of three temporal predicative particles (aɬta, ɬke and hata) found in Sanapaná, an underdocumented and underdescribed Enlhet-Enenlhet language of the Paraguayan Chaco. Furthermore, it compares the form and function of these particles in Sanapaná to that of their cognates in the other Enlhet-Enenlhet languages: Angaité, Enxet, Enlhet, Guaná and Enenlhet. As such, this thesis has three main objectives. Firstly, it aims to be a contribution to the descriptive literature on an understudied indigenous language of South America, since it is based on primary data gathered during my own field work. Secondly, it hopes to provide insights into the genetic relations between the languages of the Enlhet-Enenlhet language family. Thirdly, this work hopes to provide data for possible areal or typological studies of the phenomena manifested by these particles: tense-aspectmodality systems, and (nonverbal) predication. It is argued that aɬta, when it follows a verb, functions as a prehodiernal past marker. When it follows a word from a different word class, it can locate the referent of a noun in the past (but is not a nominal tense marker), and it makes the inherent predicativity of this word explicit, just as Kalisch (2009) argues that these particles do in Enlhet. ɬke, secondly, is argued to be an immediate aspect marker when it follows a verb, and has the same predicative force when following a word from a different class. Furthermore, it can locate the previous mention of a referent or its previous presence in the extralinguistic context in the past. Lastly, hata functions as an indefinite future marker when combined with a verb, and also has this aforementioned predicative force. Based on these (admittedly limited) Sanapaná data and that of its sister languages, it seems that Unruh & Kalisch’ (2003) hypothesis of a Western and an Eastern branch of the family is warranted: Guaná, Sanapaná and Enenlhet cluster together, while Enlhet shares fewer features with these languages. Within the former group, Guaná and Sanapaná seem to be most similar.Show less

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Temporal Predicative Particles in Sanapaná and the Enlhet-Enenlhet Language Family (Paraguay). A Descriptive and Comparative Study.