15 Orientation and associated motion

(92) *ty-mbri*   *u-kʰukʰa*   *u-ka*
AOR-make.noise 3SG.POSS-while 3SG.POSS-wing DEM DEM.PROX:PL always
*tu-ste*   *ŋu*   *ma juu-kuu-nuuqambwmbjom*

IPFV-do like [III] be:FACT LNK PROXM-SBJ:PCP-fly

*ty-kuu-rvŋgat*   *nuu kuu-fse,*   *u-ka*
IPFV-SBJ:PCP-prepare DEM SBJ:PCP-be like 3SG.POSS-wing DEM

*puu-qt*   *ny*   *ku-wum*   [...] *ŋu*

IPFV:WEST-separate ADD IPFV:EAST-gather be:FACT

'When it sings, it does this with its wings, as if it is about to fly, it
[repeatedly] spreads its wings and then folds them back.' (24-ZmbrWpGa)
{0003628#S109}

A separate use of the solar dimension preverbs is to express alternation be-
tween left and right motion, with two verbs either linked by *ny* as in (95) or in
paratactic relation as in (93) and (94). In this function, the EASTWARDS preverbs
occur on the first verb and the WESTWARDS preverbs on the second one.

(93) *pjy-yγryt*   *tce*   *u-rjit*
IFR:DOWN-throw LNK 3SG.POSS-offspring PL ERG IFR:EAST-pull
*ŋy-rγci-nuw*   *zo*   *puu-ŋu*
IFR:WEST-pull-PL EMPH SENS-be

'She threw themᵢ down there, and her children tore themᵢ apart (pulled themᵢ right and left in a disorderly way).' (2012 Norbzang) {0003768#S349}

(94) *lwlu nuu kuu ci ko-mja,*   *ci po-mja*   *tce*
cat DEM ERG one IFR:EAST-grab one IFR:WEST-grab LNK

'The cat grabbed one from his left and one from his right.' (IWlu 2002)
{0003361#S78}

With the deictic motion verbs, the EASTWARDS-WESTWARDS alternation also
occurs between ᶜe 'go' and ɣi 'come' as shown by (95). Since in this construction
the motion verb with translocative deixis always takes the EASTWARDS preverbs,
while the one with cislocative deixis is found with the WESTWARDS preverbs, it
is not possible to argue that these preverbs here have centripetal vs. centrifugal
functions as in this case the deixis of the preverbs would contradict that of the
motion verb.
15.1 Orientation preverbs

(95) jiga ki ku-fse ku-ce ny pw-yi,
zigzag DEM SBJ:PCP-be like IPFV:EAST-go ADD IPFV:WEST-come
ku-ce ny pw-yi,
IPFV:EAST-go ADD IPFV:WEST-come
‘The zigzags go left and right.’ (140522 Kamnyu zgo) {0004059#S37}

15.1.4.4 Orientations in traditional houses

In the traditional living room (*kʰyjmu*), the seating places around the hearth and
the tripod (*sqʰi*) have specific names and functions: *kʰyckʰy}*r for the men, *kʰydi*
for the lady (in charge of preparing the meal), *caŋlo* for elderly ladies<fnref n="11" /> and *saŋdi*
for servants and for putting firewood. The use of the riverine and solar dimen-
sion preverbs, adverbs and locative nouns in the living room is unrelated to the
cardinal east-west axis or the direction of the mountain slope, and is rather com-
pletely determined by these conventional seating places, as explained in (96), and
summarized in Figure 15.1.

(96) kʰydi nwmw tce atʰi tu-ti-nw.
lady.seating/place DEM LNK downstream IPFV-say-PL
caŋlo nw tce alo tu-ti-nw, kʰyckʰyr
elder.lady.seating place DEM LNK upstream IPFV-say-PL man.seating place
nw tce kutcu pcoq pw-nw-ŋu, kutcu pcoq pw-nw-ŋu,
DEM LNK here side PST.IPFV-AUTO-be here side PST.IPFV-AUTO-be
tcekw tu-ti-nw. tce “nyzo tcekw ky-nw-ce” nwra
eastwards IPFV-say-PL LNK 1SG eastwards IMP:EAST-AUTO-go DEM:PL
tu-ti-nw.
IPFV-say-PL
‘For the seating of the ladies, they say *DOWNSTREAM*, for that of the elder
ladies they say *UPSTREAM*, for that of the men, whether it is here or here,
they say *EASTWARDS*, they say ‘go over there *EASTWARDS*’. (31-khAjmu)
{0004079#S53}

The preverbs corresponding to the orientation indicated in Figure 15.1 are al-
ways selected when the goal of the motion is one of the seating places in the
living room, for instance *EASTWARDS* in (97) or *WESTWARDS* in (98).

<footnote n="11">¹¹This noun is related to the egressive postposition *caŋlo* ‘upstream from’ (§8.2.10).</footnote>
15 Orientation and associated motion

<figure><img src="image_21.png" /><figcaption>Figure 15.1: Orientations in the living room</figcaption></figure>

(97) **tɔ̣-tco    nɔ̣ ẉ pɔ̣-nɔ̣-xtci-nɔ̣    pɔ̣-nɔ̣-wxti-nɔ̣**
**INDEF.Poss-son DEM PST.IPFV-AUTO-be.small-PL PST.IPFV-AUTO-be.big-PL**
**tce kʰɔ̣kckʰɔ̣r    tcu ku-ce-nɔ̣.**
**LNK men.seating place LOC IPFV:EAST-go-PL**

‘Men, whether they are young or older, go to the men’s EASTWARD seating place.’ (31-khAjmu) {0004079#S49}

(98) **saŋdi** n̥tụcu si p̥ụ-ta-nụ
seating place DEM:LOC wood IPFV:WEST-put-PL

‘They put the firewood on the WESTWARD seating place (that is opposite the men’s EASTWARD seating place).’ (31-khAjmu) {0004079#S36}

15.1.4.5 Orientations with the weaving loom

The riverine dimension is metaphorically extended to refer to the axis of the warp threads in the loom. The **DOWNSTREAM** orientation corresponds to the end of the warp closer to the weaver (where Tshendzin's hands are located in Figure 15.2), and the **UPSTREAM** orientation to the opposite end, where the threads are attached.

The downstream preverbs are required on all verbs expressing motion towards the lower side, for instance to express the tamping of the intersections between the threads (using the tool called *tʰaʔmu*, which is located between upper and lower warp threads to maintain them apart from each other in Figure 15.2) towards the waist of the weaver, as in (99).
<figure><img src="image_22.png" /><figcaption>Figure 15.2: The riverine axis in a body tensioned loom</figcaption></figure>

(99) *w-sqar*          *nʷ tʰʷ-ari*          *tce*
3SG.POSS-intersection.of.warp.threads DEM AOR:DOWNSTREAM-go[II] LNK
*tce, nyki, kʷki*          *tú-wy-stu*          *tce cʰú-wy-ŋnda.*
LNK FILLER DEM.PROX IPFV-INV-do like LNK IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-INV-tamp
‘As the intersection of the [upper and lower] warp threads goes down,
one does this to tamp it down.’ (vid-20140429090403) {0003776#S57}

The axis that is perpendicular to that of the warp threads and parallel to the ground, through which the weft is inserted (the action depicted in Figure 15.2), is described using the solar dimension, as shown by the selection of the WESTWARDS preverb in (100).

(100) *w-taʔ*   *cʰo*   *u-pa*   *yu*   *u-ʔjar*   *ni*
3SG.POSS-top COMIT 3SG.POSS-bottom GEN 3SG.POSS-warp DU
*pjw-yqytsʰa-ndzi, nʷtcu tw-jlɣβ*   *pύ-wy-rke*   *tce*
IPFV-be.crossed-DU DEM.LOC INDEF.POSS-weft IPFV:WEST-INV-insert LNK
‘The upper and lower warp threads are crossed, and at [the crossing
place] one inserts the weft.’ (additional explanation provided while
transcribing the video from which Figure 15.2 is taken).

The vertical dimension preverbs refer to the third axis that is perpendicu-
lar with the two previous ones, with the **DOWNWARDS** orientation towards the
ground. The **UPWARDS** preverbs occur to describe the lifting of the warp threads
using the heddles, as in (101).
15 *Orientation and associated motion*

(101) cnat kw ty-ri ra tce nw kw tú-wy-sw-job
heddle ERG INDEF.POSS-thread PL LNK DEM ERG IPFV:UP-INV-CAUS-raise
tce,
LNK

'One lifts the [warp] threads with the heddles.' (2011-06-thaXtsa)

15.1.5 Lexicalized orientations

A complete description of the lexicalized orientation preverbs in Japhug would
require a monograph-length treatment taking into account all verbs, basic and
derived, and including complex predicates. In order to keep this chapter within
a reasonable size, I therefore only focus on a few selected semantic categories
comprising the most common non-orientable verbs of the language.

15.1.5.1 Spatial use of preverbs with non-orientable verbs

While non-orientable verbs generally select only one or two orientations (§15.1.5), orientation preverbs that are different from the lexical ones can occur in specific contexts to indicate either a motion event linked with the action of the verb (normally with an additional associated motion prefix, §15.2.4), the motion of a body part or the position of the body.

The intransitive verb *cu* ‘hibernate’ provides an interesting example of this
use of the preverbs. The lexically selected orientation of this verb is *EASTWARDS*
(like other verbs from the same semantic category), as shown by the preverb *ku-*
in (102).

(102) *qartsw tce ku-cw* | *pwn-ηu.*
winter LOC IPFV-hibernate SENS-be
‘In winter, [the bear] hibernates.’ (21-pri) {0003580#S49}

However, the orientations *UPSTREAM* and *UPWARDS* are also attested with this verb, with more specific readings. The *UPSTREAM* orientation is found in (103) and also in (170) above, §15.2.1, and expresses hibernation in a cave. These examples reflect the illative use of the *UPSTREAM* preverbs (§15.1.4.2). The *UPWARDS* orientation, also shown by (103), is used when hibernation takes place in a hollow tree, with vertical motion up the tree (§15.1.3.1).
15.1 Orientation preverbs

(103) tce qartsw tce numw si kʰoŋrsl ty-ku-yri nw
LNK winter LOC DEM wood hollow.tree AOR:UP-SBJ:PCP-go[II] DEM
u-ŋgw nwmaw tu-cw, nwmawny, prakpa u-ŋgw
3SG.POSS-in otherwise IPFV:UP-hibernate otherwise cave 3SG.POSS-in
lu-ce tce lu-cw.
IPFV:UPSTREAM-go LNK IPFV:UPSTREAM-hibernate

'In winter, it either hibernates in a hollow tree, or goes into a cave and hibernates (there).' (21-pri) {0003580#S100}

The forms with UPSTREAM and UPWARDS preverbs often occur with either motion verbs or associated motion prefixes, as in (104).

(104) si u-ŋgw ty-ku-so, u-ŋgw
wood 3SG.POSS-in IPFV:UP-SBJ:PCP-be.hollow 3SG.POSS-in
ty-ku-rom, numw pjw-saxi tce, nw
IPFV:UP-SBJ:PCP-be.dried DEM IPFV-do.completely LNK DEM
u-ŋgw c-tu-cw nj-ŋu.
3SG.POSS-in TRAL-IPFV:UP-hiberminate SENS-be
'Trees whose inside is hollow, whose inside is dried out, [the bear] hollows it completely, goes up [the hole] and hibernates there.' (21-pri)
{0003580#S53}

The use of preverbs to express spatial position or motion as in the case of the
UPSTREAM and UPWARDS orientations with *cu* ‘hibernate’ above are not unusual
with non-orientable verbs, but are lexicalized, and restricted to highly specific
and well-identified situations. Only orientations that are pragmatically and cul-
turally plausible and compatible with the speaker’s knowledge of the world can
be used: with *cu* ‘hibernate’ for instance, the other series of orientation preverbs
(DOWNWARDS, DOWNSTREAM, WESTWARDS) are not attested. It is not possible to
predict which non-orientable verb will be compatible with the spatial use of pre-
verbs, and this information has to be specified in dictionaries in a systematic
way. The following sections (§15.1.5.4 to §15.1.5.11) present a series of examples
of similar phenomena.

15.1.5.2 Preverbs and lability

A handful of labile verbs select different preverbs and have slightly different
meanings in their transitive and intransitive/semi-transitive uses.
15 Orientation and associated motion

The verb *srgjo* ‘listen’ takes the WESTWARDS preverbs when semi-transitive, and the EASTWARDS preverbs when transitive with the meaning ‘listen to, obey’ (§14.5.3).

The verb *suso* ‘think’ is normally transitive and selects the WESTWARDS preverbs. It can also occurs with the DOWNWARDS preverbs, but in this case it is intransitive, and means ‘in X’s opinion’ (§14.5.1).

15.1.5.3 Irregular orientations with local toponyms

Motion from one locality to another is nearly always expressed using the vertical, riverine and solar dimensions in their basic spatial functions (§15.1.3.1, §15.1.3.2 and §15.1.3.3, respectively). While in some cases there are conflicts between several possible orientations, especially between the riverine and the solar preverbs, the choice of the preverbs is nearly always motivated.

However, there are also cases where the choice of the preverbs is unrelated to the actual spatial orientation of the trip from one particular place to another. For instance, Kamnyu *kympu* (32° 12′ 43″ N, 101° 57′ 42″ E) is located to the west of Mengi *mungi* (32° 12′ 32″ N, 102° 0′ 14″ E, 蒙岩).

However, the preverbs corresponding to orientations that are exactly opposite to the geographical orientations are used between these two villages: the orientation WESTWARDS is used for motion from Kamnyu to Mengi (to describe a trip from west to east), and EASTWARDS from Mengi to Kamnyu (whereas the actual trip is from east to west), as shown by (105) and (106).

(105) *kympu tce tce mungi kx-ce ty-ra tce, “mungi*
TOPO LOC LNK TOPO INF-GO AOR-be.needed LNK TOPO
*pu-ce-a” tu-ku-ti ny. tce mungi tce kympu*
IPFV:WEST-go-1SG IPFV-GENR:S/O-say be:FACT LNK TOPO LOC TOPO
*nu tce tce, nyki, “kympu kx-ye-a, kympu*
DEM LNK LNK FILLER TOPO AOR:EAST-come[II]-1SG pl.n
*ku-ce-a ny* “*nura tu-ti-nu*.”
IPFV:EAST-go-1SG be:FACT DEM:PL IPFV-say-PL

‘When one has to go from Kamnyu to Mengi, one says ‘I am going (westwards) to Mengi, and from Mengi to Kamnyu, people say ‘I came (eastwards) to Kamnyu, I am going (eastwards) to Kamnyu.’ (150904 akW andi) {0006372#S6}
(106) *mūŋi pūr-syx-ce*   *tšu numu̯re ri,*
TOPO IPFV:WEST-OBL:PCP-go path DEM:LOC LOC
ʻOn the road (from Kamnyu) towards Mengi...ʼ (140522 Kamnyu zgo)
{0004059#S2}

This contradiction is clear in example (107), where Mengi is explicitly described
as being located on the *aku* (east) side of Kamnyu.

(107) *akʷ pcoʷ nʷ mʷiŋ ŋu*, andi pcoʷ praqʷuŋ ŋu.
east side DEM TOPO be:FACT west side TOPO be:FACT
ʻMengi is in the east, and Praqwu (a small locality in Kamnyu) is in the
west.ʼ (140522 Kamnyu zgo) {0004059#S21}

Ercha village (in Japhug ɣy̱u tsʰa̱pa, most often called using its Chinese name
二茶村 Èrchácūn, 32° 13′ 10″ N, 101° 55′ 55″ E),

located to the west of Kamnyu, also presents orientation inversion: as shown
by (108), the EASTWARDS preverbs are used for trips from Kamnyu to Ercha, and
the WESTWARDS preverbs for the opposite trip. This fact has been rechecked with
several speakers (note in particular the anecdote reported in §27.5.2).

In (108) Tshendzin hesitates: she was about to say *p<u>u</u>-k<u>u</u>-c<u>e</u> with a WESTWARDS preverb (the expected form, based on the geographical location of these localities), followed by the correct *ku-k<u>u</u>-c<u>e</u> with the irregular orientation.

(108) tce kympu tce tce <erchacun> p<u>u</u>-k<u>u</u>... ku-k<u>u</u>-ce tce
LNK TOPO LOC LNK TOPO IPFV:EAST-GENR:S/O-go LNK
tce, n<u>u</u>n<u>u</u> “ku-ce-a” tu-k<u>u</u>-ti ŋu. <erchacun>
LNK DEM IPFV:EAST-go-1SG IPFV-GENR:S/O-say be:FACT TOPO
tce kympu a-n<u>u</u>-yi-n<u>u</u> tce n<u>u</u> ‘kympu
LOC TOPO IRR-PFV:WEST-come-PL LNK DEM TOPO
n<u>u</u>-ari-a, kympu n<u>u</u>-ye-a” n<u>u</u>ra
AOR:WEST-go[II]-1SG TOPO AOR:WEST-come[II]-1SG DEM:PL
tu-ti-n<u>u</u> ŋu.
IPFV-say-PL be:FACT
‘When one goes from Kamnyu to Erchacun, one says ‘I go (eastwards)’,
and when people come to Kamnyu from Erchacun, they says ‘I went, I
came (westwards).’ (150904 akW andi) {0006372#S9}

This puzzling irregularity has not been observed for other toponyms, espe-
cially those located further away from Kamnyu. For instance, the UPSTREAM ori-
entation is used for trips to Tshobdun and Zbu, the DOWNSTREAM orientation
15 *Orientation and associated motion*

to Mbarkham (§15.1.3.2) and the EASTWARDS orientation to Sarndzu and Tatshi (§15.1.3.3).

15.1.5.4 Verbs of ingestion

The most common verb of ingestion, *ndza* ‘eat’, generally selects the UPWARDS preverbs, as shown for instance by (206) (in §15.2.7) and (200) (in §15.2.6). The same is true of verbs derived from it, such as the compound verb *rundzγtsʰi* ‘have a meal’ (§20.12), as shown by (204) in §15.2.7, and of other more specialized verbs of food ingestion such as *moVK* ‘eat (powdery food)’, *mutɛʰaVK* ‘eat fodder (of horses)’, *nuttɔʰγndzγr* ‘eat a tsampa meal’, *zmγrγβ* ‘eat (mixing with)’ or *χsγl* ‘eat (honorific)’.

The DOWNSTREAM preverbs can occur with *ndza* ‘eat’ to refer to eating by wild
beasts and birds of prey, as in (109), probably due to the fact that this orientation
is also selected by ḳkut ‘eat/drink completely’, a verb which can also describe the
actions of ferocious animals as in example (71) in §14.3.3.1.<fnref n="12" />

(109) *kwrtsɣy nʷ* *kʷ*, *n*, *twrme ra γʷ* *nʷ-fsapαʷ* *nʷ*
leopard DEM ERG FILLER people PL GEN 3PL.POSS-animal DEM

cʰʷ-ndze, [...] qaẓo tsʰγt nʷ

IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-eat[III] sheep goat DEM

cʰʷ-ndze pjγ-ŋu,

IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-eat[III] IFR.IPFV-be

'The snow leopard was eating farm animals, eating ..., sheep and goats.'
(qala kWCqraR 2002)

This orientation is also attested to describe the eating of earth by earthworm
as in (110), though in this case the preverb is used spatially (§15.1.5.1), reflecting
the burrowing motion of the earthworm (§15.1.4.2).

(110) *tceri qandże* *kʷ* *tʰγlwa čʷa* *cʰʷ-ndze*
LKN earthworm ERG earth completely IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-eat[III]

pʷ-cti.

SENS-be.AFF

'The earthworm only eats earth.' (25-akWzgumba) {0003632*S115}

The EASTWARDS orientation is exclusively attested with *ndza* to describe eclipses, as in (111), also a spatial use of the preverbs (expressing motion from the left side to the right side or vice-versa, §15.1.4.3).

<footnote n="12">¹²See also the discussion on the use of the DOWNSTREAM orientation with tsʰi ‘drink’ below, above example 115).</footnote>
(111) *u̯-rku̯ ku̯-fse ku̯-ze tce,
3SG.POSS-side SBJ:PCP-be like IPFV:EAST-being[III] LNK
m<u>u̯-k<u>y</u>-arco m<u>y</u>ct<u>ṣa</u> ku-nd<u>ze</u> y<u>yy</u>zu,
NEG-AOR:EAST-be finished until IPFV:EAST-eat[III] exist:SENS
'Sometimes [the eclipse] starts on one side, and 'eats' [the moon] until it
[disappears] completely.' (29-mWBZi) {0003728#S138}

The orientation WESTWARDS occurs with verbs referring to animals eating grass, such as the intransitive verb *nuru* ‘eat grass’ as in (112) and its synonym *nus<u>y</u>l<u>y</u>.

(112) *nw̱ya qʰe qazo tsʰyt n<u>ra</u> pj<u>y</u>-dyn-n<u>u</u> tce, n<u>tw</u>cu
cow LNK sheep goat DEM:PL IFR.IPFV-be.many-PL LNK DEM:LOC
p<u>u</u>n-n<u>rw</u>u-n<u>u</u> tce swjno tu-nd<u>za</u>-n<u>u</u> pj<u>y</u>-ŋu,
IPFV:WEST-eat.grass-PL LNK grass IPFV:UP-eat-PL IFR.IPFV-be
‘There were many cows, sheep and goats, and they were eating grass
there.’ (150819 woniu-zh) {0006254#S8}

Verbs related to the ingestion of liquids select the EASTWARDS preverbs as default, as in (113), including the deideophonic *nukʰuy* ‘gulp’ (§20.9.2).

(113) *tw̱-ci ko-n<u>uw</u>kʰ<u>uy</u> zo ko-tsʰi.
INDEF.POSS-water IFR:EAST-gulp EMPH IFR:EAST-drink
‘He gulped the water.’ (140429 jiedi-zh)

The verb *tsʰi* ‘drink’ is also found with the DOWNWARDS orientation to refer to drinking with the head down on the grounds (like animals, or from a jar with a straw), for instance in (167) and (168) in §15.2.1 and (37) in §5.1.2.9. The denominal verb *nuci* ‘drink from the ground’ also selects this orientation.

The DOWNSTREAM preverbs occur with this verb in two contexts. First, following the basic spatial meaning of these preverbs (‘direction of the flow of water’, §15.1.3.2), they can be used to insist on the flow of liquid through the oesophagus during ingestion, as in (114).

(114) *tw̱-ci ku̯ny cʰ<u>uw</u>-ce m<u>u</u>-p<u>y</u>-kʰ<u>u</u>.
INDEF.POSS-water also IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-go NEG-IFR-be.possible
*tw̱-ci cʰ<u>u</u>u-tsʰi m<u>u</u>-p<u>y</u>-kʰ<u>u</u>.
INDEF.POSS-water IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-drink NEG-IFR-be.possible
‘Even water could not go [down his throat], he could not drink anymore.’
(of a person suffering from throat cancer) (27-tWfCAI) {0003710#S87}
15 *Orientation and associated motion*

Second, the DOWNSTREAM orientation is found to express excessive alcohol drinking, as in (115), possibly by analogy with ḫkwt ‘eat/drink completely’ which also takes this orientation (see also the discussion concerning example 109 above).

(115) w̥-wa nʷ kʷ cʰa ntšu cʰu-tsʰi qʰe,
3SG.POSS-father DEM ERG alcohol always IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-drink LNK
u̥-me múj-nu̥βda w̥
3SG.POSS-daughter NEG:SENS-take.care

‘Her father was drinking alcohol all the time, and did not take care of his daughter.’ (17-lhazgron)

The DOWNSTREAM preverbs are also selected by the denominal verb *nucʰymda*
‘drink with a straw’ (example 73, §25.1.5), probably reflecting the illative (through
tubular opening) function of the DOWNSTREAM preverb (§15.1.4.2). It is notewor-
thy that tsʰi ‘drink’ takes the DOWNWARDS orientation instead when referring to
drinking from a straw.

The UPSTREAM preverbs occur with the verb χγβ, which can mean ‘drink un-
til the last drop in one gulp’, or ‘breathe in, suck up, draw up’ as in (116), a
special case of the illative (through large opening) function of this orientation
(§15.1.4.2; note that the illative is expressed with the opposite orientation as that
of *nucʰymda* ‘drink with a straw’, due to the difference of the shape of the open-
ing).

(116) w̥-sŋu̥ro lu-χγβ zo tce nʷ βγγza nʷ
3SG.POSS-breath IPFV:UPSTREAM-suck EMPH DEM LNK fly DEM
u̥-ku̥r u̥-ŋgw lu-nu̥-ce cti
3SG.POSS-mouth 3SG.POSS-in IPFV:UPSTREAM-AUTO-go be.AFF:FACT
'[The frog]i breathes in and the fly goes into itsi mouth by itself.'
(27-qaCpa) {0003716#S7}

15.1.5.5 Stative verbs expressing size

Adjectival verbs describing size, like other stative verbs, become dynamic verbs ('become X') in the Imperfective (§21.2), the Irrealis (§21.4.1), the Aorist (§21.5.1.3) and the Inferential (§21.5.2). The most neutral orientation preverbs for these verbs are indicated in Table 15.7. Most positive adjectival verbs select the UPWARDS orientation, except for those describing radial size (*jpum* ‘be thick’, *rjum* ‘be broad’) which are found with the WESTWARDS orientation, and those expressing length (see below).
It is much more difficult to ascertain the lexically selected orientation of negative adjectival verbs, since the situations in which their use as dynamic verbs is appropriate ('become small(er)', 'become short(er)') are less common. The DOWNWARDS orientation does occur as lexically selected orientation (with *xtçi* 'be small' and *mbxr* 'be low'), resulting in forms that are homophonous with the Past Imperfective (§21.5.3). Perhaps due to this homophony, the WESTWARDS orientation is also used instead with *xtçi* 'be small', as in (117).

(117) ki ᵃ-ri swstak zo ᵃ-cya
DEM.PROX 3SG.POSS-before COMP EMPH 3SG.POSS-age
a-nu-xtci ra
IRR-PFV:WEST-small be.needed:FACT
'May she become younger than before!' (2005 Norbzang)

<table><caption>Table 15.7: Adjectival stative verbs of size and orientation preverbs</caption><thead><tr><th>Positive size</th><th>Orientation</th><th>Negative size</th><th>Orientation</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>wxti 'be big'</td><td>up</td><td>xtçi 'be small'</td><td>west, down</td></tr><tr><td>mbro 'be high'</td><td>up</td><td>mbxr 'be low'<br>(of size)</td><td>down</td></tr><tr><td>zri 'be long',</td><td>up,<br>downstream</td><td>xtut 'be short'</td><td>west<br>upstream</td></tr><tr><td>ryyi 'be long'</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>jpum 'be thick'<br>(of radius)</td><td>west</td><td>xtshum 'be thin'<br>(of radius)</td><td>west, east</td></tr><tr><td>jaq 'be thick'<br>(of a surface)</td><td>up</td><td>mba 'be thin'<br>(of a surface)</td><td>west</td></tr><tr><td>rjum 'be broad'</td><td>west</td><td>tçxr 'be narrow'</td><td>east</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>ŋgxr 'be narrow'</td><td>east</td></tr></tbody></table>

In addition to the orientations in Table (15.7), the DOWNSTREAM preverbs can occur to express a progressive increase (§21.1.1.3). Compare for instance the use of wxti 'be big' with the UPWARDS orientation in (118) with that in (119) with the DOWNSTREAM orientation, describing a process taking place progressively over many years.
15 Orientation and associated motion

(118) *mɔ̃zw̃ zo w-kʰa*          *ra to-wxti tce,*
  even-more **EMPH** 3SG.POSS-house **PL IFR:**UP-be.big LNK
  ‘His house had become even bigger.’ (140430 yufu he tade qizi-zh)
  {0003900#S212}

(119) *tceri w-tcw*  *nɔ̃ ẑurwazri*  *cʰy-wxti*
LNK 3SG.POSS-son DEM progressively **IFR:**DOWNSTREAM-be.big
‘His son progressively grew up.’ (28-smAnmi) {0004063#S10}

Some of these verbs are compatible with more than one orientation. For in-
stance, *rpyi* ‘be long’ is attested with the **UPWARDS** orientation to refer to the
length of a vertical object, as in (120) (where it is synonymous with *mbro* ‘be
high’). With the **UPSTREAM** preverbs, it describes for instance (elongated) fruits
or leaves growing out of the branch of a plant, as in (121).

(120) tce <yimi> jamar ma tu-rpji mɔ̃-cʰa ma
LNK one.meter about apart.from IPFV:UP-be.long NEG-can:FACT LNK
'It cannot grow longer than about one meter.' (11-qarGW) {0003480#S98}

(121) *twrgi yw w-mat*   *lu-rpji*   *tsa ŋu*   *tce,*
    fir GEN 3SG.POSS-fruit IPFV:UPSTREAM-be.long a.little be:FACT LNK
    *nɔki*   *jima*   *popo tsa*   *fse.*
    FILLER maize cob a.little be like:FACT
    ‘The fir cone is elongated, a bit like the corncob (07-tAtho)’
    {0003432#S28}

The **DOWNSTREAM** preverbs are found to express progressive increase (exam-
ple 119, §12.4.1.4, §22.2.1), as in (122), but can also refer to the growth of thread-like
objects like hair, as in (123). Note in this example that *ryci* ‘pull’ shares the same
preverb to refer to the pulling of hairs.

(122) *crr nɔ̃ cʰu-rpji,*   *sni nɔ̃*
  night DEM IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-be.long day DEM
  *cʰu-xtũt*   *pu-ŋu*
  IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-be.short SENS-be
  ‘The nights are becoming longer, and the days shorter.’ (elicited)
(123) *pw-kw-xtci* tce, *nwnw zŋgri nw* nw-*mrzaβ*
PST.IPFV-GENR:S/O-be.small LNK DEM star DEM AOR-marry
*u-raŋ* tce, *tw-kwrme* cʰu-*wy-ryci* tce,
3SG.POSS-time LNK GENR.POSS-hair IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-INV-pull LNK
*ci**u-rpji* ŋu to-ti-*nw* tce,
IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-be.long be:FACT IFR-say-PL LNK

'When we were young, people said that when there is a shooting star, if
you pull your hair, it will grow longer.' (29-mWBZi) {0003728#S93}

15.1.5.6 Verbs related to growth, gain or birth

Adjectival verbs of size can be used to express growth (§15.1.5.5), but another con-
structions expressing the same meaning involves the transitive verb βzu 'make'
with a dummy subject (§14.3.5), and an adjectival verb in participial form (§16.1.1),
as in (124), with the UPWARDS orientation (compare with 120 above and 75 in
§14.3.3.1).

(124) *cvγ* nw li *kw-mbw~mbro* *tu-βze* cʰa
juniper DEM again SBJ:PCP-EMPH~be.high IPFV:UP-make[III] can:FACT
'The juniper grows very high.' (08-CAG) {0003442#S1}

The **UPSTREAM** orientation appears to describe fruits or leaves growing out of
a plant, as in (125) (compare with 121 above).

(125) *twrgi laŋlaŋ nwnw, la-βzu* cimwma nw
fir cone DEM AOR:UPSTREAM:3→3'-make immediately DEM
*ŋw-yrŋi,*
SENS-be.green
'The fir cone is green when it has just come out.' (08-tWrgi)
{0003464#S67}

The **DOWNSTREAM** orientation is found with long and thin thread-like objects,
like the stalks of some plants as in (126) (compare with 123), but also occur to
refer to fruits or grains (127), probably as an extension of the progressive incre-
mentation function of this orientation (119 above, §15.1.5.5).

(126) *u-ru* ra *kw-xtsʰu~xtsʰu* m ŋu ri,
3SG.POSS-stalk PL SBJ:PCP-EMPH~be.thin be:FACT LNK
*kw-zu~zri* zo cʰu-βze qʰe,
SBJ:PCP-EMPH~be.long EMPH IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-make[III] LNK
'Although its stalk is very thin, it grows very long.' (19-qachGa mWntoR)
{0003546#S66}
15 Orientation and associated motion

(127) *swŋg̣wpyjka nʷ w-mat*   *nʷnʷ pyjka kʷ-fse*
wild.squash DEM 3SG.POSS-fruit DEM squash SBJ:PCP-be like
* cʰʷu-βže,
IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-make[III]

'Wild squash grows fruits like those of the [cultivated] squash.'
(16-CWrNgo) {0003518#S37}

The intransitive verb *ndẓyt* ‘grow’ also selects the UPWARDS orientation to describe the growth of a plant, and the DOWNSTREAM preverbs for children, as in (128).

(128) *tɣ-pγtso*   *cʰo-ndzγt*
INDEF.POSS-child IFR:DOWNSTREAM-grow

‘The child grew up.’ (elicited)

For growth in quantity rather than size, the UPWARDS orientation is selected, for instance with the verb *dγn* ‘be many’ in (129).

(129) *tʰam tce mɣzw*   *tɣ-dγn-nʷ*
now LNK even-more AOR:UP-be.many-PL

‘Now they are even more numerous than before.’ (140522 tshupa)
{0004053#S84}

The UPWARDS orientation is also selected by verbs expressing birth and coming into existence such as *tu* ‘exist’ in (130) and (135) (note that its antonym *me* ‘not exist’ rather selects the WESTWARDS orientation, §15.1.5.7), and verbs of Tibetan origin such as *sci* ‘be born’ (131) and the honorific *mkʰroŋ* ‘be reincarnated’ (132).

(130) *ndzi-tcw*   *ci*   *to-tu*
3du.POSS-son INDEF IFR:UP-exist

‘They had one son.’ (2011-05-nyima)

(131) *u̯-tcu̯*   *to-sci*   *ci, u̯-me*   *to-sci?*
3SG.POSS-son IFR-be-born QU 3SG.POSS-girl IFR-be-born

‘Did she have a boy or a girl?’ (elicited)

(132) *nwẓora nʷ-cki*   *yw-to-mkʰroŋ*   *pʷ-ŋu.*
2PL 2PL.POSS-DAT CISL-IFR:UP-be.born SENS-be

‘He had come to be born in their [family].’ (150825 nezha naohai-zh)
{0006272#S35}
15.1 Orientation preverbs

The DOWNSTREAM orientation however occurs with verbs expressing humans or animals giving birth, such as the intransitive denominal verbs *r}*p<u>* ‘have young’, *r}*ŋg<u>* ‘lay eggs’ and *r}*r]*it ‘have a child’ (§20.4.1) and the light verb *l}*t ‘release’ in the meaning ‘give birth to’ in (133). This may be an extension of the elative function of the DOWNSTREAM preverbs (§15.1.4.2).

(133) tsʰỵt nʷ tʰʷ-r y pʷ tce, kʷw̆z ntsw

goat DEM AOR:DOWNSTREAM-have.young LNK two always
cʰʷ-lỵt n̥grzl

IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-release be.usually.the.case:FACT
‘When goats have young, they give birth to two [kids] at a time.’
(05-qaZo) {0003404#S6}

(134) tʷ-ji ʷ-ŋgw nʷra cʰʷ-r yŋgw
INDEF.POSS-field 3SG.POSS-in DEM:PL IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-lay.eggs
n̥grzl
be.usually.the.case:FACT
‘It lays eggs in the fields.’ (24-kWmu) {0003618#S80}

Verbs expressing gain select the DOWNWARDS orientation, including the ori-
entable verb *m}*a ‘take’ (§15.1.2.2) when used in the meaning ‘obtain, get’ (example
93 in §19.7.3), *β}*ỵt ‘obtain’ (§19.7.3), *m}*to ‘see’ (which can mean ‘find’ especially
when used with the autive prefix, see §15.1.5.9 and §19.1.4) as well as the semi-
transitive *a}*e ‘have to eat/drink’<fnref n="13" /> as in (135).

(135) a-kʷr ʷ-ŋgw tʷ-ci
1SG.POSS-mouth 3SG.POSS-in INDEF.POSS-water
pʷ-ɑ:*e-a tce, a-sroχ to-tu
AOR:DOWN-be.needed.eat-1SG LNK 1SG.POSS-life IFR:UP-exist
‘I have water in my mouth to drink, my life is back.’ (2011-05-nyima)

15.1.5.7 Verbs related to loss or death

Verbs expressing loss, with meanings such as ‘disappear’ or ‘lose’ generally se-
lect the orientation WESTWARDS, probably as an extension of its centrifugal use
(§15.1.4.3). For instance, the verb βde ‘throw’, which can also be interpreted as
meaning ‘lose’ when used non-volitionally (especially with the autive §19.1.6),

<footnote n="13">¹³This verb can be translated into Chinese as 吃到 <chīdào> ‘have to eat’ or 喝到 <hēdào> ‘have to drink’.</footnote>
15 *Orientation and associated motion*

selects this orientation, as shown by (136), even though the loss of the hat (in the pear story movie) involved a motion downwards.

(136) tce w-rte ra pɣ-nw-βde tce,
LNK 3SG.POSS-hat PL IFR:WEST-AUTO-lose LNK
'[The boy] lost his hat' (Pear story 2010, Tshendzin, 12)

The same is observed with the verb *me* 'not exist' in (137), here also despite a clear downward motion of the water level until the lake disappears.

(137) mtsʰu nʷ cʰu̯m̩cʰu̯m zo, tce, tʷ-sk(210, 459, 864, 485],

lake DEM IDPH(II):slowly EMPH LNK INF:II-dry.up IFR:DOWN-start LNK
mtsʰu nʷ pɣ-me tce
lake DEM IFR:WEST-not.exist LNK

(138) zgoku n̩wtcu si nʷ z̩rwozri pʷ-n zo
mountain DEM:LOC tree DEM progressively INCR~IFR:WEST-be.few EMPH
'There were fewer and fewer trees on the mountain.'
(04-xiaocunzhuang-zh) {0003394#S24}

The verb *cqʰlyt* ‘disappear’, also semantically related to these verbs, is an ori-
entable motion verb (§15.1.2.1). It does not usually select the WESTWARDS orienta-
tion in a non-spatial way, except for the express the passing of time (§15.1.4.1). In
example (139), there is however some ambiguity as to whether the WESTWARDS
orientation is purely spatial (the setting of the sun in the west, see §15.1.3.3; note
that the vertical dimension is more commonly selected, §15.1.3.1), or whether it
could also be analyzed as centripetal.

(139) tɣe nʷ pʷ-cqʰlyt ku-n ra kʰi
sun DEM IPFV:WEST-disappear IPFV-wait[III] be.needed:FACT hearsay
ma tɣe nʷ wuma zo nʷy-me kʰi.
LNK sun DEM really EMPH APPL-be.afraid[III]:FACT hearsay
'[The yeti] waits for the sun to disappear [before eating the man he has
caught], because he fears the sun, it is said.' (140510 mYWrgAt)
{0003941#S7}
15.1 Orientation preverbs

It is possible that the centripetal function of the WESTWARDS orientation has
originated from a metaphoric extension of the disappearance of the sun in the
west at dusk, in which examples like (139) would be the pivot construction allow-
ing reanalysis from a purely spatial marker to a more abstract meaning such as
'away from the deictic center' or 'loss'.

Verbs expressing a more abstract type of disappearance, such as the cognition
verb *jmut* 'forget' (memory loss), likewise select the WESTWARDS prefixes, as in
*ŋr-nu-jmut-a* IFR:WEST-AUTO-forget-1SG 'I forgot (about it)' (see 162, §14.6.1.4).

The verb *me* ‘not exist’ has another set of forms with the UPWARDS orienta-
tion, as in (140). With the UPWARDS vertical preverbs, this verb does not entail
the presupposition that loss occurred; in the perfective, the *tɣ-me* with UPWARDS
orientation means ‘when there this no X’ (a usage found with other stative verbs,
§21.1.1.3), while *nu-me* with WESTWARDS orientation can only be interpreted as
‘(when) X disappeared/was lost’.

(140) *nʷ ma si tɣ-me tce li nʷ pʷ-pʰu-tnʷ*
DEM apart.from wood AOR:UP-not.exist LNK again DEM IPFV-take.out-PL
'When there is no other wood than this, people cut it.' (07-Zmbri)
{0003438#S59}

As in many languages (for instance Indo-European *mer*, Rix et al. 2001: 439–440), *me* in the meaning ‘disappear’ is commonly used as a euphemism for passing away, as in (141).

(141) *wzo *u-χti
3SG 3SG.POSS-companion IFR:WEST-not.exist LNK
'Her husband passed away.' (12-BzaNsa) {0003484#S111}

Likewise, verbs expressing death and destruction, such as *si* ‘die’ and *χcax*
‘pass away’ (a borrowing from *gčeགས་ gcegs* ‘go away’), *plut* ‘destroy’, *ndzuy* ‘be
destroyed’ select the WESTWARDS orientation, as shown by (142), (143) and (202)
further below (in §15.2.6).

(142) *bdaŋmu nʷ to-ngo tce pɣ-si.*
lady DEM IFR-be.ill LNK IFR:WEST-die
‘The lady became ill and died.’ (2011-05-nyima)

(143) *jima w-rɣi nʷ-pluče-ti*
maize 3SG.POSS-grain AOR:WEST-destroy-1PL
‘We have used up all the maize grains.’ (elicited)
15 *Orientation and associated motion*

The verb *si* ‘die’ alternatively also occur with the **DOWNWARDS** preverbs, in par-
ticular in the case of animals as in (144). With humans, using the **DOWNWARDS**
preverbs is not rude, but considered to be blunter than with the westwards’ pre-
verbs.

(144) *tcetu* ṣara nʷ-NGarmʷ nʷ pjγ-si kʰi tce,
up.there 3PL 3PL.POSS-hybrid.COW DEM IFR:DOWN-die hearsay LNK
‘Those up there, their cow died, it is said.’ (Tagrdo conversation, 2003)

The transitive verb *sat* ‘kill’ also selects the **DOWNWARDS** orientation preverbs, even when taking an associated motion prefix and an overt goal pointing to an orientation other than **DOWNWARDS**, as in (145).

(145) *atu* pyγtcu nʷ c-pu-sat-nu̱ ra
up.there bird DEM TRAL-IMP:DOWN-kill-PL be.needed:FACT
‘Go and kill the bird up there.’ (2005 Kunbzang)

Likewise, *ntɛ́hə* ‘kill, butcher’ (on whose etymology see Gong 2018: 303–309) occurs with the **DOWNWARDS** preverbs in the meaning ‘kill (an animal)’, as shown by (146).

(146) tce nʷ-nuŋa pjγ-nu-ntcʰa-nu
LNK 3PL.POSS-COW IFR:DOWN-AUTO-butcher-PL
‘They killed their cow (for themselves to eat).’ (02-deluge2012)
{0003376#S16}

The orientation WESTWARDS also occurs with this verb in the meaning ‘butcher’, as illustrated by (147) and (148). On the other hand, *sat* ‘kill’ is not found with the WESTWARDS preverbs.

(147) *fsapaɣ* ɣi-ŋru *pui-nu-ŋu*, *ruidaɣ*
farm.animals 3SG.POSS-sinew PST.IPFV-AUTO-be 3SG.POSS-sinew
u-ŋru *pui-nu-ŋu*, *nuiwu* na-ntcʰa-nu̱ *tce*
wild.animals PST.IPFV-AUTO-be DEM AOR:WEST:3→3'-butcher-PL LNK
tu-tcvt-nu̱ *tce* *tce* tu-swɣ-rom-nu̱.
IPFV:UP-take.out-PL LNK LNK IPFV-CAUS-be.dry-PL

‘Whether it is sinew, from a farm or a wild animal, after they butcher them, they take it, out and dry it.’ (150906 tWNgru) {0006304#S5}
(148) *nwnw pa-sat-nw*          *tce tce ju-nw-ywt-nw*          *tce*
DEM AOR:DOWN:3→3'-kill-PL LNK LNK IPFV-VERT-bring-PL LNK
*pw-ntcʰa-nw*          IPFV:WEST-butcher-PL

'After [the hunters] have killed [the animals]ᵢ, they bring themᵢ home
and butcher themᵢ.' (150829 KAGWcAno) {0006420#S17}

15.1.5.8 Verbs of speech and sound

Verbs of speech mainly select either the orientation **UPWARDS** (*ti* 'say', *rwɔ́mi*
'speak', *arju* 'speak', see for instance 123 in §15.1.5.5 and 19 in §14.2.4; their etymo-
logy is discussed in §20.2.1 and §20.6), with the exception of *fɛrɛt* 'tell' (borrowed
from *bɛrɛf bɛad* 'tell'), which occurs with the **DOWNWARDS** preverbs (see the Infer-
ential *pjɛr-fɛrɛt* IFR:DOWN-tell 'she told it' in 127, §16.1.3.7). The intransitive verb
*mbri* 'make a sound', used for animals or objects, is also found with the **UPWARDS**
preverbs (see *to-mbri* IFR:UP-make.noise in 107, §16.1.1.5)

The intransitive denominal verb *nurɣo* ‘sing’ (§20.7.1) on the other hand ap-
pears with the orientation *DOWNSTREAM*, as in (149), and this applies to transitive
verbs taking the base noun *rɣo* ‘song’ as objects (such as *cʰu-tu-ẓa* and *cʰu-ti* in
150).

(149) *qartsʰi nɔ̈ w sni tce cʰu-nuwrɣo*          *nɔ̈*
cicada DEM day LOC IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-sing ADD
cʰu-nuwrɣo          *ŋu*          *tce*
IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-sing be:FACT LNK
‘The cicada [was] singing all day long. (26-NalitCaRmbWm)
{0003676#S29}

(150) *nwnw rɣo cʰu-tu-ẓa*          *qʰe, tɛrcurca zo*
DEM song IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-CONV:IMM-start LNK together EMPH
cʰu-ti-nw          *to-cʰa-nw*.
IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-say IFR-can-PL

'They became able to sing along as soon as it started its song.' (140519 yeying-zh) {0004040#S148}

The choice of the *DOWNSTREAM* preverbs on verbs related to songs and music
is probably an analogical extension of its use with verbs related to wind instru-
ments, as in (151) and (152) (see also 178, §14.6.2).
15 Orientation and associated motion

(151) *juli n<u>u</u> cʰ<u>y</u>-l<u>x</u>t.
flute DEM IFR:DOWNSTREAM-release
'He played the flute' (140513 mutong de disheng-zh) {0003977#S77}

(152) *n<u>u</u>n<u>u</u>ra ku rkyd<u>u</u>t cʰ<u>u</u>-z-<u>m</u>bri-<u>n</u><u>u</u>
DEM:PL ERG horn IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-CAUS-make.noise-PL
p<u>j</u>y-mtsʰ<u>y</u>m.
IFR-hear
'She heard [the hunters] blowing the horn.' (140520 ye tiane-zh)
{0004044#S234}

The DOWNSTREAM preverbs on verbs of this type itself derives from their use with γ<sup>ymut</sup> ‘blow’ as in (153), itself an extension of their illative meaning (‘into a tubular object’, see §15.1.4.2).

(153) *u*-lycu cʰ<u>u</u>u-w<u>y</u>-γ<u>ymut</u> tce tuu-rtsʰ<u>y</u>z
3SG.POSS-upstream IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-INV-blow LNK INDEF.POSS-lung
n<u>u</u> p<u>u</u>-f<u>ka</u> y<u>u</u>
DEM SENS-be.full be:FACT
'One blows [into the pig’s trachea] and its lungs fill up.' (20-kAPjAt)
{0003556#S12}

15.1.5.9 Verbs of perception

With the exception of the orientable verb *ru* ‘look at’ (§15.1.2.4), most verbs of perception generally select only one orientation. The **DOWNWARDS** preverbs are selected by the non-volitional verbs *mto* ‘see’ and *mtsʰyam*, which generally means ‘hear’, but is also used for all non-visual non-volitional perception, including olfaction (example 122, §17.5.3), touch and the perception of vibrations as in (154).

(154) *p<u>u</u>-m<u>u</u>nmu ny *p<u>u</u>-m<u>u</u>nmu tce tce, n<u>u</u> *u*-ŋgw *NGOCNA*
IPFV-move ADD IPFV-move LNK LNK DEM 3SG.POSS-in spider
k<u>u</u>-ry<i>z</i> i n<u>u</u> ku pj<u>u</u>-mtsʰ<u>y</u>m tce
SBJ:PCP-stay DEM ERG IPFV:DOWN-feel LNK
'[The fly that has been caught in the spider's web] moves and moves,
and the spider inside feels it.' (26-mYaRmtsaR) {0003674#S58}

The other verbs each have a different orientation: the semi-transitive *s<u>y</u>ŋ<u>o</u> ‘listen’ selects the WESTWARDS preverbs (§15.1.5.2, §14.5.3), and the tropative verb *n<u>y</u>m<u>n</u>y* ‘smell’ (§17.5.3) the UPWARDS preverbs (examples 122 and 123, §17.5.3). This orientation simply reflects that of the base intransitive verb *m<u>n</u>y* ‘smell’.
15.1.5.10 Verbs of giving

Ditransitive verbs expressing permanent or temporary transfer of property, in-
cluding *mbi* ‘give’, *kʰo* ‘give’, ‘pass over’, *rŋo* ‘borrow’ and *nɔŋŋwu* ‘borrow’ (and
verbs derived from these), have different argument structures (§14.4.1 and §14.4.2),
but most of them select the WESTWARDS preverbs as default orientation, perhaps
reflecting the centripetal function of this orientation (§15.1.4.3), as in English ‘give
away’ or ‘give out’.

For instance, the most common Inferential 3→3' forms of these verbs are nɔ- mbi, nɔ-mbi, nɔ-rŋo and nɔ-nɔŋŋwu (examples are plentiful elsewhere in this gram- mar, for instance 14 in §8.1.7, 105 and 108 in §14.4.1 and 173 and 174 in §8.3.1).

However, it is alternatively possible to choose a prefix reflecting the spatial
direction of the transfer of property. In (155), we find thus a DOWNWARDS orien-
tation preverb to describe a present (downwards) from heaven, and in (156) an
UPWARDS preverb expresses the relative vertical position of the recipient and the
subject: the latter being on the ground, while the former rides a tiger, the transfer
of property involves a motion upwards.

(155) tɔmɔkwɔmpci ku pú-wy-mbi-a ŋu
heaven ERG AOR:DOWN-INV-give be:FACT
'The heavens gave it to me.' (2005 Norbzang)

(156) laŋjuy nɔ ō-taɔ kɔ ō-pʰe to-kʰo tce,
staff DEM 3SG.POSS-ON DEM 3SG.POSS-DAT IFR:UP-give LNK
'He gave the staff to the [thief] who was on [the tiger].' (khu2012)
{0004085#S15}

The DOWNWARDS orientation can also be used more metaphorically to express
gift from someone higher up in the social hierarchy, as in (157).

(157) taɔ ku, <piaozi> pú-wy-mbi-j.
up ERG money AOR:DOWN-INV-give-1PL
'The ones above (i.e. the government) gave us money.' (2010-09)

The riverine axis is also metaphorically use to express relative social status
with the verb *kʰo* ‘give’, ‘pass over’. The *DOWNSTREAM* preverbs express transfer
of property from someone higher in the hierarchy (in particular, nobles or lamas)
to someone lower than himself. For instance in (158), the subject of *cʰɔ-rɔu-kʰo-nɔu*
‘you gave it to her’ is a prince, and the recipient an unknown girl; note that
the *DOWNSTREAM* preverb co-occurs here with the honorific plural (§14.6.1.2),
another linguistic clue to the social status of the subject.
15 Orientation and associated motion

(158) n̥wtcu z̥w laftaク cʰy-tw-kʰo-nw̥ tce, n̥wnw
DEM:LOC LOC token IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-2-give-PL LNK DEM
n̥w-j̥w̥m n̥w cw-car-i ra
3PL.POSS-wife.of.lama DEM TRAL-look.for:FACT-1PL be.needed:FACT
'[Since] you have given her a token, we will go and look for (this
woman, who is to be) your wife.' (sras 2003)

The opposite UPSTREAM orientation is found to express gift from someone lower in the hierarchy to an important person. In particular, it is the orientation selected by the honorific verb pʰul 'offer', which is borrowed from ንጋዜ pʰul 'offer'.

15.1.5.11 Verbs of covering

The verb *fkαβ* ‘cover’ occurs with both the *DOWNWARDS* and *DOWNSTREAM* pre-
verbs. The former are selected when the covering action involves a downwards
motion (as in 159), or when describing the feeling of being completely covered
by a roof (160b) or by the sky.

(159) tce ma n̥wnw kumpya n̥wnw, nɣkinw, p̥w-n̥zwβ tce š-mpaq
LNK LNK DEM hen DEM FILLER AOR-sleep LNK 3SG.POSS-eye
ku-sɣwi p̥w-ŋu. tceri š-mpaq š-rqʰu n̥wnw, nɣkinw,
IPFV-close SENS-be LNK 3SG.POSS-eye 3SG.POSS-husk DEM FILLER
pjw-yi tce š-mpaqrdu n̥w pjw-fkαβ
IPFV:DOWN-come LNK 3SG.POSS-eyeball DEM IPFV:DOWN-cover
kw-fse p̥w-ŋu ma
SBJ:PCP-be like SENS-be LNK
‘When the hen falls asleep, it closes its eyes. Its nictitating membrane
(literally: ‘eye husk’) comes down and covers its eyeball.’ (150819
kumpGa) {0006388#S46}

(160) a. maka kʰa ntsw ku-ku-rɣzi ku-ku-lkwy
at.all house always IPFV-GENR:S/O-stay IPFV-GENR:S/O-be.stiff
múj-sɣ-scit.
NEG:SENS-PROP-be.happy
‘Staying at home all the time, one feels stiff, it is not nice.’

b. pjw-ku-fkaβ zo kw-fse
IPFV:DOWN-GENR:S/O-cover EMPH SBJ:PCP-be like
‘One feels like one is covered (oppressed).’ (conversation, 14-05-01)
15.1 Orientation preverbs

The DOWNSTREAM orientation rather express covering by growing (as in 161)
or building (162, like Chinese 盖房子 <gài fángzi> ‘build a house’).

(161) staχp̥w tχ-rŋjI tce stɔv nʷ cʰu-fkɑβ
pea AOR:UP-be.long LNK broad-bean DEM IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-cover
‘When the pea has grown, it covers the broad bean.’ (25-sthoRthAB)
{0003658#S4}

(162) kʰa ra cʰy-fkɑβ-ndzi
house PL IFR-cover-DU
‘They built a house.’ (02-deluge2012) {0003376#S121}

However, example (163) shows that the verb *ta* ‘put’ occurs with the *EASTWARDS* orientation to express a covering action, although a downwards manipulation (putting clothes or hay on top of the pot) clearly takes place, as confirmed by the *DOWNWARDS* preverb on *fkɑβ* ‘cover’. The *EASTWARDS* orientation expresses complete covering, including on the top and the sides, a use that may be related to the centripetal function of these preverbs (§15.1.4.3).

(163) cizʰiz ri p̥u-ta-nu̥ tce tce, nyki, pj̥u-fkɑβ-nu̥.
somewhere LOC IPFV:WEST-put-PL LNK LNK FILLER IPFV:DOWN-cover-PL
pj̥u-fkɑβ-nu̥ tce tce, u̥-tau̥ tce tu̥-ŋga
IPFV:DOWN-cover-PL LNK LNK 3SG.POSS-on LOC INDEF.POSS-clothes
ku-ta-nu̥, sobma ra ku-ta-nu̥ tce
IPFV:EAST-put-PL hay PL IPFV:EAST-put-PL LNK
‘They put [the pot] somewhere and cover it. They cover it, put clothes
or hay on it.’ (160703 araR) {0006101#S33}

Likewise, the EASTWARDS preverbs are selected by *mpʰu̥r* ‘wrap’ to mean ‘wrap inside’ as in (164). The UPWARDS orientation occurs with this verb to mean ‘binding up’ a wound as in 165), and the DOWNSTREAM one for wrapping into a roll as in (166).

(164) ckʷbu̥ u̥-ŋgw̥ n̥wtcu kú-wy-mpʰu̥r ŋu̥.
onion.bun 3SG.POSS-in DEM:LOC IPFV:EAST-INV-wrap be:FACT
‘People wrap it inside onion buns.’ (160706 thotsi) {0006133#S40}

(165) m̥urmu̥mbju yu̥ u̥-twu̥maz ra to-mpʰu̥r.
swallow GEN 3SG.POSS-wound PL IPFV:UP-wrap
‘She bound up the wound of the swallow.’ (150825 huluwa-zh)
{0006346#S39}
15 Orientation and associated motion

(166) tce βzwr ri tce cʰú-wy-mpʰwr
LNK angle LOC LNK IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-wrap
cʰú-wy-ẓa tce mɔ́rcɔ́v cʰu βzwr nɔ́
IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-INV-start LNK opposite side APPROX.LOC angle DEM
u̯-cki mɔ́ctṣa cʰú-wy-mpʰwr.
3SG.POSS-DAT until IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-wrap

'One starts wrapping [the square piece of cloth] at one of the angles
until the opposite angle [on the diagonal].' (30-mboR) {0003748#S17}

15.2 Associated motion

An associated motion marker, following Guillaume's (2016: 13) definition, is 'a grammatical morpheme that is associated with the verb and that has among its possible functions the coding of translational motion.' This definition excludes both motion verbs, which are not morphologically tied to the verb stem in the purposive construction (§16.1.1.6, §24.4.2.1) and orientation preverbs (§15.1), which do not express translational motion (of the whole body) by themselves in Japhug, though they can indicate in specific cases the direction of gestures involving the motion of a body part (§15.1.2.4).

15.2.1 AM prefixes: morphology

Unlike Arandic (Koch 1984 and Wilkins 1991) and Tacanan (Guillaume 2009) lan-
guages, Japhug and other Gyalrong languages have simpler AM systems with
only two prefixes, andative/translocative and venitive/cislocative as illustrated
by examples (167) and (168), respectively.

(167) tce tɔ́-ci yu̯-pju̯-nɔ̯-tsʰi-nɔ̯
LNK INDEF.POSS-water CISL-IPFV-AUTO-drink-PL
'[The wild yaks] come and drink water.' (20-RmbroN) {0003560#S43}

(168) tce tɔ́-ci c-pjʊ̯-nɔ̯-tsʰi.
LNK INDEF.POSS-water TRAL-IFR-AUTO-drink
'She went [there] and drank water.' (140428 mu e guniang-zh)
{0003880#S66}

AM prefixes in Japhug and other Gyalrong languages refer to a motion event
occurring *before* the action of the main verb, resulting in a prior temporal relation
with respect to the main verb, as in (167) and (168). There are no AM markers for subsequent or concurrent motion.

<table><caption>Table 15.8: Associated motion prefixes in Gyalrong languages</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th>come</th><th>CISL</th><th>go</th><th>TRAL</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Japhug</td><td>yì</td><td>yu̯-</td><td>ce̯</td><td>cu̯-, c-, %-, z-</td></tr><tr><td>Kyom-kyo (Situ)</td><td>vi</td><td>və-</td><td>tfʰi</td><td>ʃi-</td></tr><tr><td>Cogtse (Situ)</td><td>pô</td><td>po-</td><td>tfʰê</td><td>j-</td></tr><tr><td>Brag-bar (Situ)</td><td>βʒê, və</td><td>jd-</td><td>tʃʰê</td><td>c̯d-</td></tr><tr><td>Tshobdun</td><td>wî</td><td>o-</td><td>ʃô</td><td>ʃə-</td></tr><tr><td>Zbu</td><td>vâ</td><td>və-</td><td>xwé?</td><td>çə-</td></tr></tbody></table>

Table 15.8 presents the forms of AM prefixes in all four Gyalrong languages (Jacques et al. 2021; data from Jacques 2013b, Gong 2018, Sun 2014a, Lin 2016, Zhang 2016: 200–204, Prins 2016: 497–500).

As shown by the close phonetic resemblance between the motion verbs and the corresponding AM prefixes, there is little doubt that the latter have been grammaticalized from the former,<fnref n="14" /> probably through a paratactic or serial verb construction in which motion verbs occurred in direct contact with the lexical verb without intervening linker.

Although attested, as in (§169), parataxis is rare in Japhug. It can also found when the second verbs takes an AM marker (see 212, §15.2.8).<fnref n="15" />

(169) tcendyre tcetu zgo ku̯-mbu̯-mbro myctṣa to-ce,
L NK up.there mountain SBJ:PCP-EMPH~be.high until IFR:UP-go
to-nu̯rku̯urka.
IFR:UP-climb

‘He went up there, climbing the very high mountain.’ (150825
huluwa-zh) {0006346#S151}

Usually, when a motion verb is followed by or follows another verb, a linker such as *tce* almost always occurs between them, as in (170).

<footnote n="14">¹⁴Exceptions however include the cislocative *p̯-* in Bragbar Situ, whose origin is not straightforward (Zhang 2020), and the case of Zbu, where the motion verb *xwé?* is unrelated to the AM prefix.</footnote>

<footnote n="15">¹⁵The preferred order is *to-nu̯rku̯urka to-ce*, and despite the absence of pause, *to-nu̯rku̯urka* here is an afterthought.</footnote>
15 Orientation and associated motion

(170) *prakpa w-ŋgw* lu-ce tce
cave 3SG.POSS-inside IPFV:UPSTREAM-go LNK
*lu-cw*.
IPFV:UPSTREAM-hibernate
'(Otherwise), [the bear] goes into a cave and hibernates [there].' (21-pri)
{0003580#S101}

The grammaticalization of motion verbs to AM prefixes, from a construction similar to that in (§169), occurred in the common ancestor of all Gyalrong languages, rather than independently in each language, as is shown by the fact that the transitive verb ‘to bring, to fetch’ (Japhug *ru*, Bragbar Situ *rô* / *rô*) shares a common irregularity in all languages (Jacques 2013b): it must appear with an associated motion prefix. In examples (§171) and (§172) from Japhug and Situ removing the AM prefix would result in incorrect forms (§15.2.9).

(171) *c-ty-ru-t-a*
**TRANSL**-AOR:UP-bring-PST:TR-1SG
'I fetched it.' (Japhug)

(172) *rə-cb-rô-ŋ*
AOR:UP-**TRANSL**-bring[II]-1SG
'I fetched it.' (Situ)

In the Japhug verbal template, AM prefixes occupy slot -4, just after modal and negative prefixes (§11.2), but before orientation preverbs (§15.1.1.1, see also (167) and (168) above) unlike in Situ, where AM occur closer to the verb stem than the orientation preverbs (as shown by §172).

The translocative and cislocative prefixes however may not be equally ancient. There is no doubt that the translocative prefix can be reconstructed to proto-Gyalrong, because in addition to the irregular verb ‘fetch’, it does not superfinally resemble the verb ‘to go’ in Situ and Zbu (see Table 15.8) and therefore cannot have been recently grammaticalized. This idea is supported by the high allomorphy of this prefix (§15.2.1.2). The only language with a translocative prefix that is not cognate with the rest of Gyalrong is the Cogtse dialect of Situ, where the prefix *j-* originates from the indefinite orientation preverb (Japhug *jy-*), replacing the inherited prefix.

The cislocative prefix on the other hand lacks any allomorphy, and its initial consonant is identical to that of the verb ‘come’ (with its main vowel either converted to a schwa or identical to that of the verb stem in the case of Cogtse)
in almost all languages including Tshobdun (where o- comes from *wə-*, the re-
duced form of wî ‘come’), the only possible exception being the Bragbar dialect
of Situ. It is therefore possible that each Gyalrong language has independently
innovated a cislocative prefix from its verb ‘come’ after the breaking up of proto-
Gyalrong, and that the proto-Gyalrong only had one AM prefix with neutral
deixis. The introduction of a cislocative AM affix grammaticalized from the verb
‘come’ in a system which originally only comprised a single AM marker is at-
tested in Manchu (Alonso de la Fuente & Jacques 2018), and a similar process
may have taken place in Gyalrong languages.

15.2.1.1 Cislocative

The cislocative (or venitive) *yu-* is superficially homophonous with one of the allomorphs of the inverse prefix *yu-* (§14.3.2.7) and with one denominal prefix (§20.5), but cannot be confused with either one; nevertheless some discussion concerning the distinction between the inverse and the cislocative can be useful to readers of Japhug texts.

Since the cislocative and the inverse do not occur in the same slot, and in par-
ticular before and following the orientation preverbs, they two are easily distin-
guishable in forms having orientation preverbs such as (173) (where *yu-* can only
be the cislocative, not the inverse, since it occurs on the left of the orientation
preverb *tu-*).

(173) *qajw̥ ra tu-ndze* ma tɔ-rɣku *yw̥-tu-ndze*
bugs pl ipfv-eat[III] lnk indef.poss-crops cisl-ipfv-eat[III]
mɔ-ŋgrɣl
neg-be.usually.the.case:fact
'It eats bugs, and it does not come and eat the crops.' (24-ZmbrWpGa)
(Japhug) {0003628#S119}

The only type of forms where a confusion could potentially arise is in the non-
past factual, without second person arguments (which are indexed by prefixes,
see §14.2.1.2). Even in such forms, since the inverse receives stress, and since it is
incompatible with stem III (§12.2.2.2, §14.3.2.8), verbs with stem alternation will
not have ambiguous forms at least in the singular, as illustrated by the contrast
between *yú-ndza* (inverse, stem I) in (174) and *yu-ndze* (cislocative, stem III) in
(175).
15 Orientation and associated motion

(174) tce wzo nsw ŋv-nw-pʰy̥o matei tce, nšmaKNv yú-ndza pjv-ŋu.
LNK 3SG DEM IFR-AUTO-flee LNK LNK otherwise INV-eat:FACT IFR-be
'[The rabbit], he had fled, otherwise he would have been eaten.' (140427
qala cho kWrtsAG) {0003852#S71}

(175) tɔ-yɔku kɔ-fse yɔ-ndze
INDEF.POSS-crop SBJ:PCP-be lik e CISL-eat[III]:FACT
mɔ-yŋgrɔl
NEG-be.usually.the.case:FACT
'It does not come and eat crops.' (23-pGAYaR) {0003606#S21}

It is perfectly possible for the inverse (in its non-initial allomorph -wɣ-) to
directly follow the cislocative, which in this case receives the stress, as γú-wy-
ndza in (176).

(176) kʰu a-j zyut ndv yú-wy-ndza pɔ-ŋu
tiger IRR-PFV-arrive LNK CISL-INV-eat:FACT SENS-be
'If the tiger comes, it will eat him [the man].' (kandZislama 2003)

15.2.1.2 Translocative

Unlike the cislocative, the translocative (or andative) prefix presents an impor-
tant degree of allomorphy. Besides the main allomorph ɔu-, the consonantal al-
lomorphs ɔ-, %-, s- and z- are also found. These allomorphs are only attested in
direct contact with orientation preverbs, following the rules in Table 15.9.

<table><caption>Table 15.9: Allomorphs of the translocative prefix</caption>
   <thead>
    <tr>
     <td>
      Allomorph
     </td>
     <td>
      Orientation preverb
     </td>
    </tr>
   </thead>
   <tbody>
    <tr>
     <td>
      c̣-
     </td>
     <td>
      tu/ɣ/o/a-, pw/a-, tʰu/a-, ku/ɣ/o/a-, pju/ɣ-, (cʰu/ɣ-)
     </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
     <td>
      %-
     </td>
     <td>
      lu/ɣ/o/a-, ntu/a-, (ŋtu/ɣ-)
     </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
     <td>
      s-
     </td>
     <td>
      cʰu/ɣ-, (pju/ɣ-)
     </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
     <td>
      z-
     </td>
     <td>
      ju/ɣ/o/a-, ptu/ɣ-
     </td>
    </tr>
   </tbody>
  </table>

The dental allomorphs s- and z- are only found with orientation preverbs with
a palatal consonant, and result from dissimilation in place of articulation from
their alveolo-palatal counterparts. They harmonize in voicing with the following
orientation preverb, s- being found before the orientation preverbs in cʰ- and pj-,
and z- before those in j- and n-.
The alveolo-palatal allomorphs are found with non-palatal orientation pre-
verbs, and also harmonize in voicing with the following consonant, ɛ- occurring
before unvoiced prefixes (ɛ-tu-kʰat-a in 178 below) and ʒ- before voicing ones as
in (177).

(177) tcendv̥re w-pw
LNK 3SG.POSS-young PL 3PL.POSS-food TRAL-AOR:3→3'-search
'The [cat mother] went to look for food for her [kitten].' (21-IWLU)
{0003576#S75}

The alveo-palatal allomorphs are also used with the palatal orientation pre-
verbs, as shown by the form z-juw-lat-a (instead of z-juw-lat-a) in (178) (for an ex-
ample of ɛ-cʰu-, see 2, §4.2.1.5). With cʰ-, j- and j- prefixes, the alveolo-palatal
allomorphs are very rare, but with pj- prefixes interestingly, the dissimilatory ef-
fect is much more limited and ɛ- is more common than s- (§4.2.2.2), as shown by
the counts in Table 15.10.

(178) nwnw zakastaka kw-tu nwnw yw nwg-<gongfen> ra
DEM each SBJ:PCP-exist DEM GEN 3SG.POSS-work.point PL
z-juw-lat-a c-tu-kʰat-a pw-ra.
TRAL-IPFV-throw-1SG TRAL-IPFV-do.everywhere-1SG PST.IPFV-be.needed
'I had to go everywhere to count work points for every single person.'
(2010-09)

<table><caption>Table 15.10: Number of attestations of the allomorphs of the transloca-
tive prefix with palatal orientation preverb</caption>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Prefixes</th>
      <th>ɛ-</th>
      <th>ʒ-</th>
      <th>s-</th>
      <th>z-</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>pjV-</td>
      <td>95</td>
      <td></td>
      <td>3</td>
      <td></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>cʰV-</td>
      <td>1</td>
      <td></td>
      <td>53</td>
      <td></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>jV-</td>
      <td></td>
      <td>4</td>
      <td></td>
      <td>96</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>jV-</td>
      <td></td>
      <td>0</td>
      <td></td>
      <td>62</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Some clusters, such as ɛpj-, ʒn-, ɛcʰ- and ʒp-, are only attested in translocative + orientation preverb combinations (§4.2.1.5).

With prefixes other than orientation preverbs, such as infinitive *k* (179) or second person *tu-* (180), only the allomorph *ɛwu-* is found. The infinitive *kact-* and the east/centripetal orientation preverb *kact-* can thus be distinguished by their
15 *Orientation and associated motion*

compatibilities with the allomorphs of the translocative prefix, the former occur-
ring with ᵃu- , and the latter with ᵉ- .

(179) tcend̥re nwtcu cw-ky-rvŋgw̥m ndv̥re kumpyvtcw m'üj-nvz
LNK DEM:LOC TRAL-INF-lay.eggs LNK sparrow NEG:SENS-dare
'The sparrow does not dare to lay eggs there (on the ground).'
(22-kumpGatCW) {0003590#S80}

(180) ma-cw-tw-nytwi
NEG-TRAL-2-tell.everywhere
'Do not go around talking about it.' (2002 qaCpa)

In Factual Non-Past prefixless forms, the allomorph c<u>- is also the only possi-
ble one, as in (181) (†c-te would be an incorrect form).

(181) tce ndzi-ŋga cw-te pjy-ra
LNK 3DU.POSS-clothes TRAL-put[III]:FACT PST.IFR-be.needed
'She had to make their beds (cover them with a quilt)'. (2003 kWBRa)

15.2.2 Argument of motion

The argument undergoing the motion event is always the subject in the case of intransitive, semi-transitive (182), and transitive verbs (183). It is thus impossible to interpret c-pw-svŋo in (182) as meaning something like ‘listen to X, after X has gone there’ (motion of semi-object) or c-pw-sat in (183) as meaning ‘kill the boar, after it has gone there’ (motion of object).

(182) aki c-pw-svŋo
down TRAL-IMP-listen
‘Go down there and listen’ (many attestations).

(183) pʰaŋrgot ci tu tce, nɔu c-pw-sat ra
boar INDEF exist:FACT LNK DEM TRAL-IMP-kill be.needed:FACT
‘There is a boar, go and kill it.’ (140428 yonggan de xiaocaifeng-zh)
{0003886#S214}

This is also true in inverse (mixed and non-local) verb forms. In (184) for in-
stance, the argument whose motion is indicated by the cislocative prefix is neces-
sarily *lɔ*ndzì tɔ-*mu* ‘the ghost woman’, the subject of the transitive verb yu-*tú*-wy-
nusnupak, and also the subject the preceding motion verb yì (a case of AM echo,
§15.2.8). The cislocative yu-*-* cannot be interpreted as expressing the motion of
the object (2SG) (‘you will come and she will do you harm’).
(184) tcetʰa nʷ l later DEM ghost INDEF.POSS-mother DEM come:FACT LNK 2SG
y̥u-túr-wy-n̥usn̥uρa申請
CISL-2-INV-do.harm be.AFF:FACT
'The ghost woman will come and cause you harm.' (150907
niexiaoqian-zh) {0006262#S88}

The same rule is observed in local configurations. In (185), the verb form y̥u-pj̥u-kʷu-m;a cannot be interpreted as meaning ‘Now that I have come here, take me’: the cislocative motion event concerns the subject, not the object.

(185) az̥o k̥uər ry̥z̥i-a, tce y̥u-pj̥u-kʷu-m̥a-a wo
1SG here stay:FACT-1SG LNK CISL-IPFV-2→1-take-1SG SFP
'I am here, come and take me!' (150825 huluwa-zh) {0006346#S186}

In causative constructions however, the argument of motion can be either the
causer or the causee (§17.2.4.5; on the syntactic status of the causee, see §14.4.3
and §17.2.4.2). For instance, the form y̥u-cʰu-su̥-χtu̥-nu could either mean ‘they
send (cause to come) X here to buy Y’ or ‘they come and make X buy Y’; (186)
illustrates the first interpretation.

(186) tce kupa-cʰu n̥uər atʰi pcoŋ n̥uər, u̥-pci
LNK Chinese-LOC DEM:PL downstream direction DEM:PL 3SG-outside
n̥uər kʷu k̥uəri y̥u-cʰu-su̥-χtu̥-nʷ ŋu̥.
DEM:PL ERG here LOC CISL-IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-CAUS-buy-PL be:FACT
'People from the Chinese areas downstream, outsiders, send people here
to buy [matsutake].' (20 grWBgrWB 58) {0003554#S57}

In the case of manipulation verbs, the motion can involve both the subject *and*
the object. In (187) for instance, the cislocative does refer to the motion of the
*object* (the character who has been sent down), but it is implied that he did not
come alone, and was brought to his current place by the unspecified *subject* of
the verb yu̥-pjulan 'she/he/they sent/brought him down'.

(187) u̥-scun pjulan tce, ... kutcu yu̥-pjulan 'wy-l̥yt
3SG.POSS-fault PST:IPFV-exist LNK here CISL-IFR:DOWN-INV-release
pjulan ŋu̥.
PST:IPFV-exist
'He had broken the law, ... and had been sent (down) here [to earth, as
punishment].' (180501 xiyouji 08-zh)
15 *Orientation and associated motion*

A similar use of the cislocative with the verb *lṛt* ‘release’ in the sense of ‘bring, send’ (someone) in found in example (23) above.

15.2.3 Motion verbs and AM prefixes

In Japhug, there is no constraint on AM prefixes occurring on motion verbs with the same deixis. Examples (188) and (189) illustrate the cislocative on the verb *yi* ‘come’ and the translocative on the verb *ɛe* ‘go’, respectively. Such examples are not common enough to allow a clear analysis of the semantic value of the redundant AM in these examples.

(188) <jiazhang> *ra ju-yi-nw* tce <laoshi> *w-cki*, tw-cki
parents PL IPFV-come-PL LNK teacher 3SG.POSS-DAT GENR.POSS-DAT
*zo* *yw-ju-yi-nw* cti netci?
EMPH CISL-IPFV-come-PL be.AFF:FACT SFP
‘The parents come, they come to (us) the teachers, right?’
(conversation140501 01)

(189) li *nyki icqʰa* nw txjlu kx-rku *u-ŋgw*
again DEM the.aforementioned DEM flour OBJ:PCP-put.in 3SG.POSS-inside
*zw c-pjy-ce*
LOC TRAL-IFR:DOWN-go
‘He went into [a bag of] flour.’ (140519 chou xiaoya-zh) {0004034#S133}

The opposite combinations, namely cislocative with ɛe ‘go’ and translocative
with yi ‘come’, are not grammatical.

In the case of motion verbs without an intrinsic locative goal such as *ŋke* ‘walk’,
the presence of the translocative does not add a locative goal (unlike when used
with non-motion verbs, see §15.2.7). In (190) for instance, no specific location is
specified even in the previous clauses, and the translocative on *ŋke* indicates that
the motion took place far away from the deictic center (the king’s palace).

(190) *tcendvre nwnw c-to-nw-ŋke-nw* tce, lu *χsw-xpa*
LNK DEM TRAL-IFR-APPL-walk-PL LNK year three-year
*c-pjy-ŋke-nw*,
TRAL-IFR-walk-PL
‘The ministers went to look for [the girl], they walked for three years.’
(sras 2003)

Participles used in the purposive complements of motions verbs (§16.1.1.6) do
not take AM prefixes.
15.2.4 Orientation and AM

In Japhug, AM markers only specify deixis and the temporal relation between motion event and verbal action, but are neutral as far as the orientation of the motion event is concerned.

Orientation and AM markers occupy different prefixal slots. Apart from ori-
entable verbs (§15.1.2), most verbs select one or two lexicalized orientations (see
§15.1.5). For instance, the transitive *murku* ‘steal’ occurs with the orientation
*UPWARDS* (with the orientation preverbs *tr*-, *ta*-, *tu*-, *to*-, see §15.1.1.1).

When non-orientable verbs occur with AM, the verb normally keeps its lex-
icalized orientation preverb, as in (191), where *murku* ‘steal’ is used with the
expected *tu- UPWARDS* prefix. In this context, the motion related to the act of
stealing occurs at the same horizontal level and there is no upward motion; the
orientation preverb here encodes the default lexicalized orientation for the verb
*murku* ‘steal’, and is thus irrelevant to the motion event itself.

(191) kw-nŋo nʷ qʰe ci ci c-tu-mu
SBJ:PCP-be.defeated DEM LNK one one TRAL-IPFV-steal[III]
kw-fse ma nʷ ma mʷ-pʷ-ŋʷe.
SBJ:PCP-be like apart.from DEM apart.from NEG-SENS-be.needed.eat
'The [lion] which is defeated steals a little [meat], but apart from that
has nothing to eat.' (20-sWNgi) {0003562#S62}

Similarly, in (192), the verb *sku* ‘bury’ appears with the lexical orientation *DOWNWARDS*, although the associated motion event is oriented towards the opposite direction, as indicated by the adverb *tɛetu* ‘up there’.

(192) ki a-tcwn ki tcetu zgoku tce
DEM.PROX 1SG.POSS-SON DEM.PROX up.there mountain LOC
c-pjwn-ski-a pwn-ntsʰi
TRAL-IPFV:DOWN-bury[III]-1SG SENS-be.better
‘Let’s bury my son up there on the mountain.’ (150904 cuzhi-zh)
{0006322#S107}

However, alternatively, the orientation preverbs of verbs with an AM marker
can also reflect the orientation of the motion event. In (193), the verb *ntsye* ‘sell’
occurs with the orientation preverbs *UPWARDS* (*ɛ*-tu-*ntsye*-a) and *DOWNWARDS* (*ɛ*-
*pjw*-ntsye-*a*). The lexicalized orientation normally selected by *ntsye* ‘sell’ is the
‘westward; centrifugal’ one (§15.1.4.3). In (193) the *UPWARDS* and *DOWNWARDS*
prefixes clearly correlate with those found on the manipulation verb *yut* ‘bring’
and express the direction of the motion event.
15 Orientation and associated motion

(193) rja yw w-laχtcʰa tu-ywšt-a tce pot zw
China GEN 3SG.POSS-thing IPFV:UP-bring-1SG LNK Tibet LOC
c-tu-ntsye-a, pot yw w-laχtcʰa pjw-ywšt-a
TRAL-IPFV:UP-sell-1SG Tibet GEN 3SG.POSS-thing IPFV:DOWN-bring-1SG
tce, rja zw c-pjw-ntsye-a.
LNK China LOC TRAL-IPFV:DOWN-sell-1SG

'I bring things [down] from central Tibet, and sell them in China.'
(28-qajdoskAt) {0003718#S15}

Overriding of the lexical orientation by the motion event is found in particular
in the case of AM prefixes expressing round trips (§15.2.5). In (194) for instance,
the translocative z-lu-murki-a with the UPSTREAM preverb expresses the fact that
the main character of the story steals from a place located downstream (first
motion event, indicated by the AM prefix) and then brings it upstream (second
motion event, whose orientation is encoded by the preverb). Interestingly, after
a few occurrences of the verb murku 'steal' with AM and UPSTREAM orienta-
tion, one finds examples of that verb with the same non-lexicalized orientation
UPSTREAM but without the AM prefix in the same text, as in (195).

(194) tcetʰi tsmuj jlrwcyrna yw w-pʰe nwtcu ku-murkw
downstream TOPO TOPO GEN 3SG.POSS-DAT DEM:LOC SBJ:PCP-steal
cʰw-ce-a ŋu tce. tsʰyt w-brw yw
IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-go-1SG be:FACT LNK goat 3SG.POSS-horn GEN
w-ci nwnw z-lu-murki-a ri

3SG.POSS-water DEM TRAL-IPFV:UPSTREAM-streal[III]-1SG LNK
a-qʰu zw lɣ-ɣe-nw tce

1SG.POSS-after LOC AOR:UPSTREAM-come[II]-PL LNK

'(Tomorrow morning) I will go downstream to steal from Tamuj
Jlarukyarna, and I will steal the water from the goat's horn, but when
[the mountain god] comes after me...' (25-kAmYW-XpAltCin)
{0003642#S29}

(195) lo-murkw pjv-cʰa tce lo-ywšt ri
IFR:UPSTREAM-steal IFR-can LNK IFR:UPSTREAM-bring LNK

'He was able to steal it and brought it upstream.'
(02-montagnes-kamnyu-cz) {0003378#S28}

In some limited contexts, it is thus possible for verbs without associated motion markers to use their orientation preverb to indicate the direction of the action, with or without motion, as in (195).
In (196), similarly, we find the verb *lu-pe-a* with the *UPSTREAM* orientation without an associated motion marker; when this sentence was uttered, we were sitting far from the door, and to close the door it was necessary to get up and walk a few meters (we were seated at a place closer to the river, so the door was *UPSTREAM*, §15.1.3.2). The same sentence could have been uttered if the door had been at a hand’s reach, and could thus have been closed without walking. Replacing *lu-pe-a* in (196) by *z̥-lu-pe-a* *TRAL-IPFV:UPSTREAM-close[III]-1SG*, with an associated motion marker, would make the second interpretation impossible.

(196) tci-k̥um lu-pe-a je!
1DU.POSS-door IPFV:UPSTREAM-close[III]-1SG SFP
‘Let me close the door (for us).’ (conversation, 03-05-2018, Tshendzin)

It is debatable whether the orientation preverbs in examples like (195) and (196) could be analyzed as marking associated motion (in Guillaume’s 2016 definition), as these prefixes do not actually specify that a motion event takes or does not place. What they specify is that if the main action is linked with a translational motion event, that motion event follows the direction indicated by the prefix. In this grammar, the use of orientation preverbs in examples such as (195) and (196) are therefore not considered to be cases of associated motion.

### 15.2.5 Round trips

The combination of some verbs with AM prefixes implies a round trip when the lexical orientation (§15.1.5) is overridden by the orientation of the motion event (§15.2.4).

With the verb *χtu* ‘buy’ for instance, the translocative expresses a first trip to the goal indicated by the locative *ri* (§15.2.7), but a second trip back to the deictic center (here, Kamnyu) is implied by the selection of the *DOWNSTREAM* orientation (§15.2.4).

(197) tce mbroχpa ri jla nʷ s-cʰu-χtu-nʷ
LNK nomad LOC hybrid.yak DEM TRAL-IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-buy-PL
kʷa pʷ-ra.
completely PST.IPFV-be.needed
‘People had to buy hybrid yaks from the nomads.’ (150820 kAnWCkat)
{0006256#S23}

In (198), the cislocative indicates a first trip from Chinese areas up to Mbarkham (the deictic center, *kure ri* ‘here’), and then back to Chinese areas, as indicated by the choice of the *DOWNSTREAM* preverb (§15.1.3.2).
15 *Orientation and associated motion*

(198) *u-pci* *nura* *ku* *kure ri* *yu-cʰu-sw-χtw-nu*
3SG-outside DEM:PL ERG here LOC CISL-IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-CAUS-buy-PL
ŋu.
be:FACT
‘Outsiders send people to come here and buy [matsutake].’ (20
grWBgrWB) {0003554#S58}

AM markers expressing round trips are found with a handful of verbs, for instance *murku* ‘steal’ (194), expressing actions which can be considered to have been fully completed only when the subject comes back to his starting point with the object. The verb *ru* ‘fetch, bring’, which requires to be used with an AM prefix, always implies a two way trip (§15.2.9). As in examples (197) and (198), the AM prefix encodes the deixis of the first trip, and the orientation preverb the direction of the second trip back – hence the motion of the first trip is always in a direction opposite to that indicated by the preverb.

15.2.6 The nature of the motion

In Japhug, AM prefixes express physical translation from one place to another,
and unlike other Gyalrong languages do no have grammaticalized uses like pros-
pective.

The cis- and translocative prefixes only refer to motion events occurring *before*
the action of main verb (§15.2.1). The verbal action does not necessarily take
place immediately after the motion. In (199) for instance, ‘learning computers’
is one of the many activities that the referent did in Chengdu, and took place a
considerable amount of time after the travel from Mbarkham to Chengdu itself.
Here the translocative specifies that the action took place at such a distance from
the deictic center that motion was necessary.

(199) *atʰi* *u-pci* *ri* <chengdu> *ri* <diannao> *ci*
downstream 3SG POSS-outside LOC Chengdu LOC computer INDEF
* c-pa-βzjoz
TRAL-AOR:3→3'-learn
‘He went outside of [Tibetan areas, downstream], to Chengdu, and
studied computers there a little bit.’ (12-BzaNsa) {0003484#S73}

AM markers are not exclusively used to describe walking or motion on land
(199). They can also be applied to flying, as in (200), where *nutçu c-tu-ndze* literally
means ‘it flies there and eats it’. In this example, the translocative is in echo with
the manipulation verb *tsum* ‘take away’ (§15.2.8.1).
(200) pʰyri      praŋ w-ŋgw      mɔctṣa ku-tswm      qʰe, tce
the.opposite side cliff 3SG.POSS-in until IPFV:EAST-take-away LNK LNK
nutcu c-tu-ndze      pɔu-ŋu.
DEM:LOC TRAL-IPFV-eat[III] SENS-be
'[The eagle] takes [the young animal] to the cliff on the other side [of
the river] and eats it there.' (19-qandZGi) {0003548#S48}

Additionally, they are attested in the case of motion in a liquid (involving for instance swimming), as in example (248) in §15.2.10.5, and also plants growing from one place to another (201).

(201) tce w-zrym ju-ce qʰe nure ri, kumaŋ w-pco
LNK 3SG.POSS-root IPFV-go LNK DEM:LOC LOC other 3SG.POSS-place
c-tu-ɔv pɔ-cti ma
TRAL-IPFV-come.out SENS-be.AFF LNK
'It's root spreads and it grows there, at a different place.' (15-babW)
{0003512#S42}

In (202), the motion implied by the translocative is more metaphorical, as it
refers to the reincarnation of a lama in a house different from the one he was
born in his previous life. In (132) above (§15.1.5.6), the cislocative occurs in this
meaning.

(202) a-nu-χcaŋ, a-nu-si tce tce, kumaŋ pco ri li
IRR-PFV-pass-away IRR-PFV-die LNK LNK other place LOC again
c-tu-sci pɔ-ŋu.
TRAL-IPFV-be.born SENS-be
'When [the reincarnated lama] passes away, he is born in another place.'
(160722 skWBli) {0006227#S2}

In the case of (203), the translocative may be interpreted as referring to the
motion of the seed, but since this example comes from a traditional story where
the larch is humanized (since its relation to the fir is compared to that of a nephew
to its uncle), it may also be viewed here as a metaphorical human-like motion.<fnref n="16" />

<footnote n="16">¹⁶In the context of nephews and uncles, the upstream-downstream dimension here refers to the relative position of the adult males on the seating position called kʰyɔkʰyɛ (§15.1.4.4) in the traditional society.</footnote>
15 Orientation and associated motion

(203) tce sacu nw twrgi w-locu zw c-to-lok tce,
LNK larch DEM fir 3SG.POSS-upstream LOC TRAL-IFR-come.out LNK
tce nwmw ty-ftsa nw ty-rpw syz
LNK DEM INDEF.POSS-nephew DEM INDEF.POSS-MB COMP
lu-kw-maŋlo mw-pjy-ŋgryl
IPFV:UPSTREAM-GENR:S/O-be.upstream NEG-IFR.IPFV-be.usually.the.case
‘The larch grew in a place higher than the fir, but nephews could not be
seated higher (i.e. upstream) than their maternal uncles (and this is why
the larch became deciduous).’ (08-saCW) {0003462#S11}

15.2.7 Goal

Verbs taking the translocative prefix very often appear with a locative phrase (adverb, noun in the absolutive or locative case and/or a locative relator noun) expressing the goal of the motion, which at the same time corresponds to the location where the action takes place, as for instance in (204). The locative *ri* is particularly common to express the goal of an AM-prefixed verb (see also for instance 197 and 198 in §15.2.5 and 199 in §15.2.6 above).

(204) <guanzi> w-ŋgw ri c-ty-ruŋdzytsʰi-j.
restaurant 3SG.POSS-in LOC TRAL-AOR-east-1PL
‘We went to a restaurant and ate there.’ (2010-1)

Even if it is not present in the same clause as the verb with the translocative, the goal generally appears in previous clauses. For instance in (205), the verb c-tu-βzdu-nu ‘they (went and) collected it there’ is not directly preceded by the goal, but it shares the goal *swŋgw* ‘in the forest’ of the motion verb cɛ ‘go’.

(205) turme kw-xtci nwnwra spikuku zo swŋgw ju-ce-nw tce,
people SBJ:PCP-be.small DEM:PL every.day EMPH forest IPFV-GO-PL LNK
icqʰa nw, tsʰitsuku z-pw-car-nw pjy-ŋu tce, χsyr ra
FILLER DEM whatever TRAL-IPFV-search-PL IFR.IPFV-be LNK gold PL
c-tu-βzdu-nw pjy-ŋu.
TRAL-IPFV-collect-PL IFR.IPFV-be
‘The dwarves went into the forest every day, searching around and
collecting gold there.’ (140504 baixuegongzhu-zh) {0003907#S94}

Verbs with the cislocative, on the other hand, are more rarely used with an overt goal. As an example, the verb *ndza* ‘eat’ appears 7 times in the corpus with
the translocative, and 16 times with the cislocative. The goal is explicit with the
translocative (either in the same clause or in the previous clause) in 6 times out
of 7 (the only exception being 206; note that here the goal can be understood as
the nest of the eagle), whereas it is overt in only 4 of the 16 examples with the
translocative.

(206) **qaliaң kw, [...] kw-m** *tce tce w-tʰoɣ* *nɔtce*
**eagle** **ERG** **SBJ:PCP-be.first** **LNK LNK 3SG.POSS-ground** **DEM LOC**
**pjw-nyɔarpʰyβ** *tce pjw-sat, tce nɔ kɔmtwz ny*
**IPFV-hit.with.wings** **LNK IPFV-kill LNK DEM only.after** **LNK**
**cʰw-nɔ-tswm** *tce c-tu-ndze*
**IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-VERT-take.away** **LNK TRAL-IPFV-eat[III]**
**pɔ-ra** *ma,**
**SENS-be.needed** **LNK**

‘The eagle, (in the case of prey that is too big), it has to kill them by
hitting them with its wings, and then take them away and eat them.’
(50819 RarphAB) {0006356#S3}

The reason for the more common absence of locative phrases with the cisloca-
tive, as in (207), is because in the case of motion towards the deitic center, the
goal can generally be inferred on the basis of the context: it is most often either
the current location, or the house of either the speaker or the addressee.

(207) **jamɣzdovzdoɣ nɔ kw qajw ra tu-ndze** ma ty-rsku
bird.sp DEM ERG bug PL IPFV-eat[III] LNK INDEF.POSS-crops
γw-tu-ndze mɣ-ŋgryl
CISL-IPFV-eat NEG-be.usually.the.case
‘The bird **jaμmɣzdovzdoγ** eats bugs, and it does not come and eat the
crops.’ (24-ZmbrWpGa) {0003628#S119}

The examples above illustrate the most typical uses of the AM prefixes. How-
ever, the translocative can also be used in cases where the goal is unspecified
and not recoverable from the context, simply as a way to indicate that the action
takes place at a distance from the deicit center. In (208) for instance, the pres-
ence of the translocative implies that the action did not take place immediately
near the house, but that the subject had to look for the badgers (see also 190 in
§15.2.3).
15 *Orientation and associated motion*

(208) *ji-me* *nū* *ku* *byūw* *būnuz* *zo* *c-pjy-sat*.
1PL.POSS-daughter DEM ERG badger two EMPH TRAL-IFR-kill
‘Our daughter-in-law went (to look for badgers) and killed two badgers.’
(27-spjaNkW) {0003704#S102}

The exact location of the event is left vague, as shown by (209), a comment on
(208).

(209) *numu* notcu *nu, ku-χsyl ku-me ku-fse
DEM where be:FACT SBJ:PCP-be.clear SBJ:PCP-exist SBJ:PCP-be lik e
p̱u-cti, “jo-ce tce pjy-sat” tu-ku-ti p̱u-ny.
SENS-be.AFF IFR-go LNK IFR-kill IPFV-GENR-say SENS-be
‘It is like it is unclear where it is, it means ‘she went (somewhere) and
killed them’.’ (explanation of 208).

15.2.8 Echo phenomena

Previous literature on AM has reported the existence of ‘echo phenomena’ in the
use of AM markers (Wilkins 1991: 251, Vuillermet 2012: 681–683, Rose 2015: 128–
130, Guillaume 2016: 11), namely that the same motion event can be expressed by
more than one AM marker. This phenomenon is common in Japhug narratives.
Two subtypes of AM echo can be distinguished: motion verb with redundant AM,
and multiple AM marking.

15.2.8.1 Motion verb with redundant AM

In examples such as (210), (211) and (212), a motion verb is followed by clause
containing a verb with an AM prefix with the same deixis: translocative after cɛ
‘go’ (in the Aorist form tɔ-ari in 210) and cislocative after γi ‘come’, respectively. It
is however clear from the context, in all of these examples, that only one motion
event took place, and that the AM marker could be dispensed with.

(210) *zgoku* tɔ-ari nɔ, ‘hehe a-zi ra
mountaintop AOR:UP-go[II] LNK INTERJ 1SG.POSS-lady PL
cʰɔ-tu-nu-rɔrfit-nu mɔwj-tu-nu-suχsyl-nu’
IFR-2-AUTO-have.a.child-PL NEG:SENS-2-AUTO-realize-PL
c-ta-tut p̱u-ny
TRAL-AOR:3→3’-say[II] SENS-be
‘He went up the mountain top and said: ‘My lady, you had a child and
did not notice it.’ (2003 Kunbzang)
The motion verb and the verb with AM are not necessarily adjacent, as in (210) where they are separated by a complement clause, but AM echo is common when the AM-marked verb directly follows the motion verb, with an intervening linker such as *tce* (as in 211) or more rarely with parataxis (as in 212).

(211) tcʰi w-taɣ to-ce tce c-tx-ru
stairs 3SG.POSS-on IFR:UP-go LNK TRAL-AOR:UP-look
‘He went up the stairs and looked up.’ (08-kWqhi) {0003454#S17}

(212) kʰa mɔ-pu-rɣzi tce tce, ftcar nɔ wuma zo βy̥wz
house NEG-PST.IPFV-stay LNK LNK summer DEM really EMPH badger
pjɛ̥-ruŋuŋy n tce maka, kumtʰoɣ ra kuŋx ju-yi
IFR.IPFV-cause.damage LNK completely threshold PL also IPFV-come
ɣu-pu-sloɣ pjɛ̥-ŋu.
CISL-IPFV-dig.up IFR.IPFV-be
‘He was not at home, and badgers were causing a lot of damage that
summer, they came and even dug up the threshold of the house.’
(27-spjaNkW) {0003704#S99}

Since, with some exceptions, verbs taking AM prefix do not indicate the di-
rection of the motion using their orientation preverbs (§15.2.3), this echo con-
struction makes it possible to indicate the orientation on the motion verb (for
instance, UPWARDS in 210, 211 and 213) while keeping that on the AM-taking
verb, something which would neither be possible with only AM or with a pur-
posive motion verb construction (§15.2.10, §16.1.1.6). Specifying both orientations
can be informative when the other verb is compatible with more than one orien-
tation, as illustrated by the contrast between (211) and (213) with the orientations
UPWARDS and DOWNWARDS on the AM-taking verb ru ‘look at’, respectively. In
principle, all 7 × 7 theoretical combinations would be possible with this pair of
verbs.

(213) tɣ-tcɔu nɔ to-ce tce c-pjɣ-ru ri,
INDEF.POSS-son DEM IFR:UP-go LNK TRAL-AOR:DOWN-look LNK
‘The boy went up and looked down.’ (2012 Norbzang) {0003768#S51}

Echo AM is however completely optional; in (214) for instance, even though
the verbs ku-rɣzi and pjuu-ru, share the same subject as to-ce, they lack the transloca-
tive.<fnref n="17" />

<footnote n="17">¹⁷Note that in this example the anaphora could be potentially ambiguous, and that adding the translocative on these verbs could have contributed to disambiguating the sentence.</footnote>
15 Orientation and associated motion

(214) ci nʷi kʷ t̥sʰa ko-ta, ci nʷnʷ, swəkə nʷtcsə
one DEM ERG tea IFR-put one DEM treetop DEM:LOC
kʷ-nüsuwa jo-ce. [...] tce nʷnʷ swəkə tce to-ce tce
SBJ:PCP-stand.guard IFR:UP-go LNK DEM treetop LOC IFR:UP-go LNK
ku-r piχ-ŋu ri, tcendχre pjiχ-ru tce, u-tχsʰa nʷi
IPFV-stay IFR.IPFV-be LNK LNK IPFV-look LNK 3SG.POSS-tea DEM
to-k-yla-ci tce mbuz pjχ-ŋu tce
IFR-PEG-boil-PEG LNK overflow:FACT IFR.IPFV-be LNK

'One [of the two men] prepared tea, the other one went up the tree to stand guard. He went up, and as he was there, he saw [down there] that the tea had boiled and was about to boil over.' (26-tAGe) {0003686#S3}

Echo can also occur between a manipulation verb and an AM prefix, as in (215) (see also 200, §15.2.6).

(215) nʷnʷ tcʰemχpʷ nʷnʷ jχ-tswm tce c-pw-sat
DEM girl DEM IMP-take-away LNK TRAL-IMP-kill
ra
be.needed:FACT

'Take this girl [to the forest] and kill her.' (140504 baixuegongzhu-zh)
{0003907#S38}

15.2.8.2 Multiple AM marking

The second type of AM echo construction is found when two (or more) verbs are redundantly prefixed with the same AM marker, for instance the cislocative γü-in (216), though only a single motion event is supposed to have taken place.

(216) tce a-kʰa ra γü-ta-ryroŋrwz, a-mgo ra
LNK 1SG.POSS-house PL CISL-AOR:3→3'-tidy 1SG.POSS-food PL
γü-ta-βzu ŋu ci
CISL-AOR:3→3'-make be:FACT QU

'Is it [the neighbour's wife who took pity on me] and came and tidied
my house and made food for me?' (150827 tianluo-zh) {0006250#S76}

AM echo is almost obligatory in serial verb constructions (Jacques 2016a: 253–255, §25.4.1), as shown by (217) and (218), where the pairs of verbs c-tu-ste / c-ku-nurtce and z-ju-su-mtsʰrt / z-ju-ski share the same person (3→3’), TAM (imperfective) and AM (translocative) markers.
(217) ci ci w-mi kw icqʰa, lwlu yw w-mi nura
one one 3SG.POSS-foot ERG FILLER cat GEN 3SG.POSS-foot DEM:PL
z-pw-z-nxtsʰyγz. kura c-tu-ste tce
TRAL-IPFV-CAUS-bump DEM:PROX:PL TRAL-IPFV-do like[III] LNK
c-ku-nwrtce ra pjs-ŋu.
TRAL-IPFV-tease[III] PL IFR.IPFV-be

'[The mouse] sometimes went and touched the cat's legs with its paw, it [went and] teased [the cat] like that.' (150902 dashu-zh) {0006330#S31}

(218) w-loь w-ŋgw ri z-ju-sw-mtsʰyт zo
3SG.POSS-nest 3SG.POSS-inside LOC TRAL-IPFV-CAUS-be.full EMPH
z-ju-ski
TRAL-IPFV-bury[III]

'[The mole]i goes to its nestj and buries [so much of the foodk iti has collected that iti] fills itj up.' (28-qapar) {0003720#S165}

However, not all adjacent verb pairs sharing the same AM markers are neces-
sarily cases of AM echo. Repetition of an AM prefix can also refer to different
motion events. In (219) for instance, the first translocative prefix on c-tu-nwrdov
refers to the motion of the animal to the place where the walnut tree is found,
and the second one on z-ju-ski to the motion back to its nest. The translocative
appears in both cases because both places are away from the deictic center (peo-
ple's houses), and there is no ambiguity that the two places are distinct.

(219) zNGwloь pw-ku-ŋgra nura
walnut AOR-SBJ:PCP-ACAUS:cause.to.fall DEM:PL
c-tu-nwrdov qʰe, nura z-ju-ski.

TRAL-IPFV-collect.one.by.one LNK DEM:PL TRAL-IPFV-bury[III]

'It goes and collects the walnuts that have fallen [on the ground] one by one, and goes [to its nest] and buries them [there].'(28-qapar)

{0003720#S174}

15.2.9 The verb *ru* ‘fetch, bring’

The manipulation verb *ru* ‘fetch, bring’ (homophonous with the semi-transitive *ru* ‘look at’) is peculiar, as it generally requires the use of AM prefixes (with very few counterexamples, see below), a feature shared with Situ (§15.2.1).

With the translocative, the verb *ru* means ‘go to X and bring Y here’, expressing
two motion events (§15.2.5): first, a trip away from the present location (to look
15 *Orientation and associated motion*

for an object), and second, the way back to the point of departure (bringing the
object). The translocative refers to the *first* motion event. On the other hand, the
orientation preverb encodes the direction of the way back to the deictic center,
as shown by (220): the first trip (to the bottom of the ocean) has the *DOWNWARDS*
orientation, indicated by the prefix on the first verb *pu-ari*, while the second one
on *ru* has the opposite orientation *UPWARDS*.

(220) *pu-ari* *ndyre jwyi nʷ c-ta-ru* *pʷ-ŋu.*
AOR:DOWN-go[II] LNK book DEM TRAL-AOR:UP:3→3'-bring SENS-be
'He went down [to the bottom of the ocean] and brought up the sutra.'
(2005 Norbzang)

Locative phrases/adverbs or the locative interrogative pronoun *notču* ‘where’
(§6.5.4), when occurring with *ru*, refer to the destination of the first motion event
(the place where the object was originally/is still found), not the destination of the
trip back, as illustrated by (221) and (222). In (222), the destination of the first trip
(UPWARDS) is the opposite orientation as that found on the verb (DOWNWARDS),
confirming what has been observed in (220) above.

(221) *kwki sylappʰyn ki nzyo notcu z-jɔ-yu-ru-t*
DEM.PROX basin DEM.PROX 2SG where TRAL-AOR-2-bring-PST:TR
pu?
be:FACT
‘Where did you get this washbasin from?’ (150831 jubaopen-zh)
{0006294*S120}

(222) *atu tɔ-mtʰum c-pu-re*
up.there INDEF.PLOSS-meat TRAL-IMP:DOWN-bring[III]
‘Bring [down] the meat from up there.’ (meimeidegushi)

Similarly, the person pronouncing (223) was going towards the east to fetch
the key; the orientation WESTWARDS on the verb indicates the orientation of the
way back to the current location.

(223) *sycu z-pu-re-a*
key TRAL-IPFV:WEST-bring[III]-1SG
‘I will fetch the key (over there, towards the east).’ (heard in context,
2014)
With the cislocative, the meaning of *ru* can be rather translated as ‘come (to the current deictic center) and take *X* away’, as in (224) and (225); as with the translocative, two motion events take place (§15.2.5), but their relationship to the deictic center is reversed: the first trip is from some place to the present location, and the second trip is back to that original place.

(224) tʰa qaliaъ nɔ̈ wu ku a-rjit yü -nɔ̈ -re
later eagle DEM ERG 1SG.POSS-child CISL-AUTO-bring[III]:FACT
‘The eagle will come and take my child away.’ (140427 laoying mao he
yezhu-zh) {0003846#S45}

The orientation preverb, when present, refers to the motion of the second trip away from the deictic center. For instance, in (225), the two people who are subjects of the verb yu-nyu-ru-ndzi (with westwards orientation nyu-) came from their houses in a place called *tulu* to another location called *taŋrdo* to take stones (both in Kamnyu village).

(225) kutcu z̥o rdystaъ yu-nyu-ru-ndzi iz̥o̊ra yu̥ ra
here EMPH stone CISL-IPFV:WEST-bring-DU 1PL GEN be.needed:FACT
my-ngryl ů-maъ ma
NEG-be.usually.the.case QU-not.be:FACT LNK
‘They come here to take stones away, as if we did not need them.’
(conversation, 14-05-10)

As shown by (226) (a few sentences before 225), this trip is oriented from west to east; having taken the stones in *taŋrdo* (in the east), the two referents go back home to *tulu* (westwards).

(226) tcekwu taŋrdo ra ky-ye-ndzi
east TOPO PL AOR:EAST-come[II]-DU
‘They came to Tagrdo (and looked for stones).’ (conversation, 14-05-10)

The examples from (220) to (225) discussed above show that regardless of the
AM prefix, the transitive verb *ru* expresses a two-way motion event: first from
point *A* to point *B*, where an object is retrieved, and then back to *A* with the
object. The AM prefix always indicate the deixis of the first trip (either away or
towards the deictic center), and the orientation preverb encodes the direction of
the second trip, whose deixis is the opposite of that of the first trip (§15.2.5).
15 *Orientation and associated motion*

The manipulation *ru* ‘fetch, bring’ passes all transitivity tests (§14.3.1), for instance C-type orientation preverbs (220), the past suffix -t (221) and Stem III alternation. These tests are generally sufficient to distinguish it from the semi-transitive *ru* ‘look at’, but there are still a few ambiguous cases, in particular in the Inferential, where neither stem alternation nor prefix alternation reveals the transitivity difference. For instance, the surface form *z-lo-ru* can either correspond to the transitive verb ‘she went down(stream) and brought it up(stream)’ as in (227) or to the translocative of the semi-transitive verb ‘he went there and looked upstream’ as in (228).

(227) *tcʰeme nʷ* *kʷ* *popo* *to-ndo tce*, *tʷ-ci*
*girl* DEM ERG earthenware IFR-take LNK INDEF.POSS-water
*z-lo-ru* *ri*,
TRAL-IFR:UPSTREAM-bring LNK
‘The woman took an earthenware jar and brought water.’ (Gesar)

(228) *z-lo-ru* *ri ci* *ra mʷ-lo-cqʰlx-t-nʷ*
TRAL-IFR:UPSTREAM-look LNK INDEF PL NEG-IFR:UPSTREAM-disappear-PL
‘He went there and had a look up there, but the other ones had not [yet] disappeared.’ (tWJo 2005) {0004089#S71}

The transitive verb *ru* almost always occurs with AM prefixes, even its in-
finitive form *cʷ-k* as in (229), or its participles as in (230) (for the presence
of a subject participle instead of an infinitive in their complement clause, see
§16.1.1.6).

(229) *tcɛndɛre [tʷ-ci cʷ-kʷ-ru] nʷ-クジ zʷ-yi*
LNK INDEF.POSS-water TRAL-INF-bring 3PL.POSS-wish SBJ:PCP-come
*maka zɔ pjs-me*
at.all EMPH IFR.IPFV-not.exist
‘None of them wanted to fetch water [anymore].’ (150830 san ge
heshang-zh) {0006416#S127}

(230) [kʷki χsrr pyrtcʷ ki cʷ-kʷ-ru] cʷ
DEM.PROX gold bird DEM.PROX TRAL-SBJ:PCP-bring who
pʷ-kʷ-cʰa nʷ a-sci rp u cʰu-ta-su-ndo-nʷ
AOR-SBJ:PCP-can DEM 1SG.POSS-instead king IPFV-1→2-CAUS-take-PL
ŋu
be:FACT

‘Whoever among you succeeds in finding and bringing this golden bird
here, I will give him the throne.’ (2012-qachGa) {0004087#S24}
However, in the purposive motion verb construction with *ce* ‘go’ and *yi* ‘come’
(§16.1.1.6, §15.2.10), the subject participle *w-ku-ru* is used without an AM marker,
as in (231), as part of a more general constraint against AM prefixes in this con-
struction (§15.2.3).

(231) *lo-ce-nw* tce, *nimawozyr ntw* *staklu* *pjy-nyu*
IFR:UPSTREAM-go-PL LNK ANTHR DEM year.of.the.tiger IFR.IPFV-be
tce *w-ku-ru* *lo-ce-nw*,
LNK 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-bring IFR:UPSTREAM-go-PL

'They went up there, Nyima 'Odzer was born in the year of the tiger and they went to take him (downstream).' (nyima2002)

Example (232) could appear to be a counterexample, but here the phrase *tu-ci numu w-yu-ku-nu-ru* is better analyzed as a prenominal participial subject relative clause (§23.4.2) rather than a purposive complement. Note the presence of the filler *nykinu* and of a pause of hesitation before the following verb *jy-ye-nu* 'they came'.

(232) [*tw-ci* *numu w-yw-ku-nw-ru*] *twrme ra*,
*INDEF.POSS-water DEM 3SG.POSS-CISL-SBJ:PCP-AUTO-bring people PL
nykinu, jy-ye-nu* tce, *numu si w-pa* *nwtcu, spoz*
*FILLER AOR-come[II] LNK DEM tree 3SG.POSS-under DEM.LOC incense
tu-sw-zwyr-nw*,
*IPFV-CAUS-burn-PL*

'Whenever people came to take water [from the well], [the demon]
forced them to burn incense under the tree.' (140512 abide he mogui-zh)
{0003975#S12}

15.2.10 Associated motion vs. motion verb construction

To express the meaning of motion prior to an action, associated motion prefixes
are nearly two times as common as corresponding motion verb constructions
(henceforth MVC) in the Japhug corpus. There is however a clear semantic dif-
ference between the two constructions, which was briefly described in Jacques
(2013b), but is presented here in more detail.

AM and MVC differ from each other in that in the former, the completion
of both motion event and verbal action is presupposed, whereas in the case of
the latter, the two can be separated. This difference in degree of event integra-
tion is most conspicuous in Aorist forms, and can be observed in four types of
15 *Orientation and associated motion*

constructions: concessives (with negation of the verbal action), interrogatives, conditionals and complement clauses.

Another difference between MVC and AM is the fact that while MVC require a volitional verb in the purposive complement, there is no such requirement for the AM markers.

15.2.10.1 Concessive

A MVC with the motion verb in perfective form can be followed by a clause negat-
ing the purposive action, as in (233). In this example, only the motion is realized,
while the action expressed by the verb *rtoš* ‘look’ could not be accomplished.

(233) *n-kw-rtoš*   *jš-ỵe-a*   *ri*,   *mʷ-nʷ-atʷy-tci*,
1SG POSS-SBJ:PCP-see AOR-come[II]-1SG LNK NEG-AOR-meet-1DU
*mʷ-pʷ-ta-mto*.
NEG-AOR-1→2-see
'I came to see you but I did not see you.'

With the corresponding AM verb form *yʷ-jš-ta-rtoš* ‘I came and saw you’, negating the action of the verb is self-contradictory and nonsensical, and a sentence such as (234) is incorrect.

(234) †yʷ-jš-ta-rtoš ri mʷ-pʷ-ta-mto
CISL-AOR-1→2-look LNK NEG-AOR-1→2-see
Intended meaning: ‘I came to see you but I did not see you.’

Additional minimal pairs of the same type are presented in Jacques (2013b: 202–203).

Example (235) from a conversation illustrates this property also with a manip-
ulative verb *yšt* ‘bring’: the action of the essive participial complement *kšt-ntšye*
‘sell’ (§24.4.2.2) is negated in the following clause (with an abilitative *sw*-, see
§19.3).

(235) *sštštmmštshu kw kšt-ntšye cʰš-yšt* ri
ANTHR ERG OBJ:PCP-sell IFR:DOWNSTREAM-bring LNK
*múj-sw-ntšye ndšre,*
NEG:SENS-ABIL-sell LNK
‘Bsod.nams.mtsho brought them [to Mbarkham] to sell, but could not
sell them.’ (conversation, 14.05.10)
15.2.10.2 Interrogative

The difference between MVC and AM in interrogatives can be illustrated by the
minimal pair (236) and (237).

In interrogative, MVCs are required to express meanings such as ‘What/who
have you come/gone to X’, as in example (236), an example which occurs nine
times in the corpus.

Example (236) presupposes that the addressee has not done anything yet, while (237) with associated motion can only be used if the presupposition is that the action has already taken place, requiring a different translation.

(236) tcʰi ၏-kw-pa jy-tu-ye?
what 3SG.POSS-do AOR-2-come[II]
‘What did you come to do?’ (nine examples in the corpus)

(237) tcʰi yu-tx-tu-pa-t
what CISL-AOR-2-eat-PST:TR
‘What did you do upon coming here?’ (elicited)

Similarly, in the interrogative clause in (238), the presence of the translocative
on ᵈ-pw-tu-rx-tṣuβ implies that the sewing action has taken place.

(238) cw ra nur-kʰa tce c-pw-tu-rx-tṣuβ ty-ti
who PL 3PL.POSS-house LOC TRAL-AOR-2-APASS-sew IMP-say
ra
be.needed:FACT
‘Say where (whose house) you went and did some seawing.’ (140512
alibaba-zh) {0003965#S156}

This is not a universal property of AM markers. In languages such as Nanai,
AM markers can be used even when the presupposition is that only the motion
event has been completed (Stoynova 2016).

15.2.10.3 Conditional

The presuppositional difference between a MVC and AM is also perceptible in
the protasis of conditional clauses.

With a MVC in the protasis as in (239), there is no presupposition that the
verbal action took place, and the motion event alone constitutes a condition to
the state of affair described in the apodosis.
In (242), the negated modal verb has also on the action of both the main verb and the motion event – the guards would prevent the main character not only from stealing, but also from going to place where the object to be stolen is found.

(242) **вмаь** χsw-tγkʰar kw pウ-yz-nγkʰar-nw cti tce,
soldier three-rounds ERG SENS-PROG-surround-PL be.AFF:FACT LNK
cw-kγ-muwrkw mγ-tw-cʰa

TRAL-INF-steal NEG-2-can:FACT

'Three circles of soldiers will be surrounding it, you will not be able to
[go there and] steal it.' (2003 qachGa) {0003372#S28}

Examples (243) and (244) illustrate the scope of aspectual auxiliary verbs (here *atsu* 'have the time to' and *mda* 'be the time') on both motion event and verbal action. In (244), note that the infinitive form with AM *cw-kγ-mtcʰot* 'go and make offerings' translates the Chinese festival **清明节** <qīngmíngjié> 'Tomb-Sweeping Day' (using a verb borrowed from Tibetan མཚོ་བརྟོ་གདམ་ *mtcʰod* 'make offerings'). There was no motion verb in the original text.

(243) **qʰe potu̯rzi ku ny-ku̯m** yu-kγ-cu̯ mγ-atsu ma
LNK ANTHR ERG 2SG.POSS-door CISL-INF-open NEG-have.the.time.to LNK
'Bod.rje does not have time to come and open the door for you.' (2010
meimei de gushi)

(244) **tursa cw-kγ-mtcʰot** to-mda pウ-ŋu
grave TRAL-INF-makeofferings IFR-be.the.time SENS-be
'It was time to [go and] make offerings for the graves.' (160630 abao-zh)
{0006197#S67}

The same scopal effect also applies to verbs with AM in complement clauses
selected by a verb in the protasis, as in (245) and (246): the realization of the
verbal action (in addition to that of the motion event) belongs to the condition.

(245) cw-kγ-ru mω~mγ-pω-tw-cʰa ŋu nγ nγ-srγm
TRAL-INF-bring COND-NEG-AOR-2-can be:FACT LNK 1SG.POSS-root
nγ-sroŋ lγt-i

1SG.POSS-life throw:FACT-1PL

'If you do not succeed in going and bringing it here, we will destroy
your root and your life.' (Norbzang)
15 *Orientation and associated motion*

(246) n c<u>-k<u>-m<u>r<u>k<u> a-p<u>-t<u>-c<sup>h</sup>a ny azo c<sup>h</sup><u>-s<u>-j<u>y<u>at-u</u>
2SG TRAL-INF-steal IRR-IPFV-2-can LNK 1SG IPFV-CAUS-go.back-1SG
j<u>y<u>
be.agreed:FACT
‘If you succeed in going and stealing it, I can make him to go back there.’
(02-montagnes-kamnyu) {0003378#S39}

By contrast, in (247), in the case of the infinitival complement *ku-r<u>yma</u> k<u>-c<u>e</u>
‘go to work’ with a purposive clause *ku-r<u>yma</u>* (§24.4.2.1), the main verb *mda* ‘be
the time’ only has scope over the motion event expressed by the verb *c<u>e</u> ‘go’ –
the time that is indicated by the stars refers to the beginning of the journey to
work, not the start of the work itself. Compare this example in particular with
(244) above, with the same auxiliary verb.

(247) tce kwc<u>ng<u>gw tce t<u>uts</u><sup>h</sup><u>ot p<u>-me</u> tce num<u>u</u>
LNK long.ago LNK clock PST.IPFV-not.exist LNK DEM
c<sup>h</sup><u>u</u>-t<u>o<u>kv</u></u> lu-cq<sup>h</sup><u>l<u>sv</u>t num<u>a</u>
IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-come.out IPFV:UPSTREAM-disappear DEM:PL
c<u>-tu</u>-k<u>u</u>-ru tce, num<u>u</u> k<u>-r<u>u</u>ru mda
TRAL-IPFV:up-GENR:S/O-look LNK DEM INF-get.up be.the.time:FACT
m<u>-mda</u> c<sup>h</sup><u>ond<u>re</u> k<u>u</u>-r<u>yma</u> k<u>-c<u>e</u> mda
NEG-be.time:FACT COMIT SBJ:PCP-work INF-go be.time:FACT
m<u>-mda</u> num<u>cu</u> c<u>-tu</u>-k<u>u</u>-ru
NEG-be.time:FACT DEM:LOC TRAL-IPFV:up-GENR:S/O-look
p<u>-n<u>gr<u>u</u>l.</u>
PST.IPFV-be.usually.the.case

‘In former times, there were no clocks, and people used to go and watch when [these stars] came out or disappeared [to find out] whether it was time to get up or go to work.’ (29-LAntshAm) {0003726#S60}

15.2.10.5 Volitionality and controllability

An additional difference between AM and MVC has to do with volitionality and/
or controllability. In the case of an MVC, the verb in the purposive clause, whose
action follows the motion event, is always necessarily volitional and controllable.
By contrast, in the case of AM, it is possible to find examples where the verbal
action expresses a non-controllable event.

For example in (248) and (249), the verbs ᶜ-pj<u>-m<u>to</u> ‘he (went and) saw/found
it there’ (with verb echo, § §15.2.8) and ᶜ-p<u>-rnd<u>u</u>-t<u>çi</u> ‘we (went and) obtained
it' express the action of finding something or someone, whose outcome is not
controllable. Note that there are no examples of the non-volitional verb *mto* 'see'
with the MVC in the corpus (the volitional *rtoš* 'look' or *ru* 'look at' occur instead).

(248) *nwcimuma zo tw-ci uŋ-gw̥ pjy-ce qʰe*
*immediately EMPH INDEF.POSS-water 3SG.POSS-inside IFR:DOWN-go LNK*
*icqʰa tycime ku w-sycu*
*the.aforementioned lady ERG 3SG.POSS-key*
*pu-k-nu-cluɣy nu c-pjy-mto.*
*AOR:DOWN-OBJ:PCP-AUTO-drop DEM TRAL-IFR-see*
*'He immediately went into the water and saw there the key that the lady*
*had dropped by mistake.' (140510 fengwang-zh) {0003939#S111}*

(249) *xšyr pya, xšyr mbro numura cʰo ki tycime kura tcizo*
*gold bird gold horse DEM:PL COMIT DEM.PROX girl DEM.PROX:PL 1DU*
*rcanu, wuma zo pu-zdwy-tci tce, nu kómuwz*
*UNEXP:DEG really EMPH PST.IPFV-suffer-1DU LNK DEM only.then*
*č-pwu-rndu-tci ņu*
*TRAL-AOR-obtain-1DU be:FACT*
*'We had to endure a lot of hardships before obtaining this golden bird,*
*this golden horse and this girl.' (140507 jinniao-zh) {0003931#S347}

The verb *si* ‘die’ is also attested with *AM* as in (250), while a *MVC* would be clumsy in this context.<fnref n="18" />

(250) azo műj-cʰa-a, [...] nu sycny a-c-pwu-si-a
1SG NEG:SENS-can-1SG DEM COMP IRR-TRAL-PFV-die-1SG
pu-mna
SENS-be.better
'I am a good-for-nothing, I had better just [go and] die.' (140425 shizi
puluomixiusi he daxiang-zh) {0003798#S21}

15.2.10.6 Relativizability

Another difference between MVC and AM is related to the relativizability of core
arguments. In the MVC, the common subject of the motion verb and the verb of
the purposive clause (including transitive subject) can be relativized, and if overt,
the head can be internal, between the purposive clause and the nominalized mo-
tion verb, as *tr-tɛu* ‘son, boy’ in (251), or occur after the whole clause.

<footnote n="18">¹⁸The verb form *a-c-pwu-si-a* ‘let me go and die’ translates Chinese *寻死 <xúnsi> ‘look for death’*.</footnote>
(251) [[ty-mu
w-ku-rtoN]

ty-tcW
INDEF.POSS-mother 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-see INDEF.POSS-son

jy-ku-yri]

nw a-yi

ny
AOR-SBJ:PCP-go[II] DEM 1SG.POSS-younger.sibling be:FACT

'The boy who went to see the old lady is my brother.' (elicited)

On the other hand, when the verb of the purposive clause is transitive, it is not
possible to relativize the object. Example (252), with an overt transitive subject
a-ki ku is thus non-grammatical, and the phrase w-ku-rtoN jy-ku-yri ty-mu can
only be interpreted as a subject relative ‘the old lady who went to see him’.

(252) †a-ki
kw w-ku-rtoN

jy-ku-yri
1SG.POSS-younger.sibling ERG 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-see AOR-SBJ:PCP-go[II]

ty-mu

nw a-łak

ny
INDEF.POSS-mother DEM 1SG.POSS-MZ be:FACT

Intended meaning: 'The old lady that my younger brother went to see is
my aunt.'

The only way to build a relative clause with this meaning is to use AM prefixes.
In (253) for instance, the prenominal finite relative (a subtype that is restricted
to object or goal relativization, §23.2.2) a-ki kw z-ja-rtoN does not contain any
additional embedded clause, and is a simple case of object relativization.

(253) [a-ki
kw z-ja-rtoN]

ty-mu
1SG.POSS-younger.sibling ERG TRAL-AOR:3→3'-see INDEF.POSS-mother

nw a-łak

ny
DEM 1SG.POSS-MZ be:FACT

'The old lady that my younger brother went to see is my aunt.' (elicited)

The fact that by contrast (252) is not grammatical shows that relativization out
of purposive clauses is prohibited in Japhug grammar, unlike some complement
clauses (§23.5.11).
# 16 Non-finite verbal morphology

The distinction between finite and non-finite verb forms is easy to draw in Japhug: the former have person indexation (see chapter §14), while the latter do not. The only personal markers found on non-finite verb forms are possessive prefixes, the same set as in underived nouns (§5.1).

In this chapter, I distinguish between several sub-categories of non-finite verb forms, including participles, infinitives, degree and action nominals as well as several converbs. In addition to describing the morphology of these verb forms, I also present their functions to build various types of subordinate clauses, including relative, complement and purposive clauses.

## 16.1 Participles

Japhug speakers, like Ancient Greeks, can be aptly described as φιλομέτοχοι 'participle lovers': Japhug and other Gyalrong languages have a rich system of participles, and these non-finite forms play a central role in the syntax of the language.

Participles are nominalized verb forms that keep some verbal characteristics: they can serve as predicates of subordinate clauses (in particular relative and complement clauses), take TAM, polarity and associated motion marking, and preserve the verb's argument structure.

Participles differ from finite verbs in three ways. First, they cannot serve as the predicate of a main clause. Second, they are not compatible with the personal indexation of the intransitive and transitive conjugations (including direct/inverse marking, §14.3.2.7), and with all inflectional suffixes without exception (§11.3).<fnref n="1" /> Rather, like nouns, they can take a possessive prefix which can be coreferent with one of the arguments. Due to the general impossibility of stacking possessive prefixes (§5.1.1), at most only one argument can be indexed this way. Third, there are restrictions on TAM marking on participles: they have at most three forms (neutral, perfective and imperfective), and completely lack Inferential (§21.5.2), Egophoric Present (§21.3.3) or Sensory (§21.3.2) forms.

<footnote n="1">¹Japhug is identical in this regard to Tshobdun and Zbu, but crucially differs from Situ, where nominalized forms in *kə-* can bear indexation suffixes (Sun 2006a; Sun & Lin 2007).</footnote>
## 16 Non-finite verbal morphology

There are three participles in Japhug; the subject S/A participle in ku-, the object participle in k-y- and the oblique participle in s-y-.

Complex participial forms, including negative, associated motion or TAM prefixes are possible, as shown by example (1). However, never more than four inflectional prefixes are found; forms with all five prefixal slots filled (such as ṭu-yu-j-y-ku-qru) are not accepted by Tshendzin.

(1) w-yu-j-y-ku-qru ty-tcu
3SG-CISL-AOR-SBJ:PCP-meet INDEF.POSS-boy
'The boy who had come to look for her' (The three sisters)

Table 16.1 summarizes the template of participial verb forms; more details are provided on possible and attested forms for each participle type in the following sections.

<table><caption>Table 16.1: The template of participial verb forms in Japhug</caption><thead><tr><th>-6<br>possessive<br>prefix</th><th>-5<br>proximative</th><th>-4<br>negative<br>prefix</th><th>-3<br>associated<br>motion prefix</th><th>-2<br>TAM<br>orientation</th><th>-1<br>participle prefix</th><th>Σ<br>enlarged<br>stem</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Stem alternation is reduced in participle forms: stem III (§12.2.2.2) never occurs. The few verbs that have an alternation between stem I and stem II (ce 'go', yi 'come', ti 'say' and derived forms, §12.2.1), however, use stem II in subject and object participles with perfective orientational prefixes (§15.1.1.1), in forms like j-y-ku-ye AOR-SBJ:PCP-come[II] 'the one who came' or ty-ky-tut AOR-OBJ:PCP-say[II] 'what was said'.

### 16.1.1 Subject participles

The subject participle, built by adding the prefix ku- to the verb stem, designates an entity corresponding to the intransitive subject (2, §8.1.1 and §23.5.1), a possessor of the subject (§23.5.10.1), or the transitive subject (3, §8.2.2.1, §23.5.2) of the base verb.

(2) ku-si
SBJ:PCP-die
'The dead one' (many attestations)
(3) *w-*kw-*ndza*

3SG-SBJ:PCP-eat

‘The one who eats it’ (many attestations)

With *a-* initial verbs the *ku-* prefix regularly merge with *a-* as *kr-*, a form which resembles an object participle. There is almost no ambiguity since all *a-* initial verbs are intransitive, §12.3). The only exception are the semi-transitive verbs in *a-*, such as *aro* ‘own’, whose subject participle *ku-*-*rro* ‘having, the one who has’ and object participle *kr-*-*rro* both surface as /krro/.

The subject participle *ku-* prefix is historically related to that of object participles (§16.1.2), velar infinitives (§16.2.1) and deverbal nouns in *x-*/γ- (§16.5.2), and has cognates elsewhere in the family (§16.8.1).

In this section, I discuss first morphological issues (possessive prefixes §16.1.1.3, other prefixes §16.1.1.2 and ambiguous forms §16.1.1.3), and then present the various functions of subject participles, including participial relatives (§16.1.1.4 and §16.1.1.5), complementation strategies (§16.1.1.6), as well as the case of lexicalized participles (§16.1.1.7).

Examples which could potentially be viewed as subject participles in conver-
bial use are analyzed as *kuu*- infinitives (§16.2.1.7).

16.1.1.1 Possessive prefixes on subject participles

In the case of transitive verbs, a possessive prefix coreferent with the object is
obligatory when no overt object is present (3SG *u*- in 3), and when no other prefix
is added to the participle.

When another prefix (polarity, associated motion or orientation preverb) is
present, the possessive prefix is optional, as shown by forms like *mr-kuu-ndza*
‘the one which does not eat (it)’ in (4), as opposed to *uu-mr-kuu-mto* ‘the one who
does not see it’ in (5) with both possessive *uu-* and the negative prefix *mr-*.

(4) *ty-mtʰu* *u̯ja* *zo ma nu ma, nyki,*
INDEF.POSS-meat completely EMPH LNK DEM apart.from FILLER
*tujpu* *mr-kuu-ndza* *ci tu tce,*
flour.based.food NEG-SBJ:PCP-eat INDEF exist:FACT LNK

‘There is [an animal like the mouse] which only eats meat, not food made
from flour.’ (27-spjaNkW) {0003704#S190}
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

(5) li *nwnw kunγ w-ku-mto* γγzu,
again DEM also 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-see exist:SENS
w-mγ-ku-mto γγzu.
3SG.POSS-NEG-SBJ:PCP-see exist:SENS
‘There are [people] who see (find) it, and people who don’t.’ (20-sWrna)
{0003564#S21}

In the case of ditransitive verbs, the possessive prefix strictly refers to the object. With indirecitive verbs like tʰu ‘ask’, the possessive prefix is necessarily the theme, never the recipient. The form in (6) thus cannot be interpreted as meaning ‘the one who asks me (about it)’; the correct construction would be (7), with the recipient in the dative case.

(6) *a-ku-tʰu*
1SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-ask
‘The one asking for my [hand] (in marriage)’ (elicited)

(7) *a-cki* *w-ku-tʰu*
1SG.POSS-DAT 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-ask
‘The one who asks me about it.’

With secundative verbs (§14.4.2), the possessive prefix of the subject participle is obligatorily coreferent with the recipient, not the theme, as in (8).

(8) *nwn ma nγ-ku-mbi me*
DEM apart.from 2SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-give notuezFACT
‘Nobody will give you another [daughter in marriage].’ (2002 qaCpa)

With intransitive verbs, including adjectival stative verbs, a possessive prefix
can also be added. In the case of semi-transitive verbs (§14.2.3), the possessive
can refer to the semi-object (§8.1.5), as in example (9).

(9) *nw cwŋgw tce, w-ku-rga* *pw-dyn.*
DEM before LNK 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-like PST.IPFV-be.many
‘Before, there used to be many people who liked it.’ (12-Zmbroko)
{0003490#S109}

It can also refer to the beneficiary (which is normally marked with genitive or
possessive prefixes, see §5.1.1.4 and §8.2.3.2), as in (10) and (11).
(10) **kw-pe** *tú-wy-nyma tce li twzo*
SBJ:PCP-be.good IPFV-INV-make LNK again GENR
**tw-ku-pe** *tu*
GENR.POSS-SBJ:PCP-be.good exist:FACT

‘If one does good things, one will also have good things.’ (140518 mao he laoshu-zh) {0004030#S111}

(11) **azo a-ku-ra** *nura a-ty-tw-ste* *qʰendsre azo*
1SG 1SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-be.needed DEM:PL IRR-PFV-2-do like[III] LNK 1SG
**numu, nyki, ku-nytsi-a** *jyγ*
DEM FILLER IPFV-hide[III]-1SG be.possible:FACT

‘If you do the things I need, I will keep it secret.’ (2014-kWLAG)

Since participles are also noun-like, the possessive prefixes can be real possessive, and be preceded with a genitive phrase as in (12) with *nu-ku-mna* ‘the best among them’ = ‘their chief’ (on the verb *mna* ‘be better’, see §19.7.10).

(12) **tcaχpa ra yu nu-ku-mna** *nuw wuma zo pjy-nuruyom.*
bandit PL GEN 3PL.POSS-SBJ:PCP-be.better DEM really EMPH IFR-be.upset
‘The chief of the bandits was very upset.’ (140512 alibaba-zh)
{0003965#S186}

This construction is used as a type of superlative (§26.4.2).

### 16.1.1.2 Associated motion, polarity and orientation preverbs on subject participles

Of all non-finite verb forms, subject participles allow the richest possible combinations of inflectional prefixes: associated motion (§15.2, example 13) below with the translocative *cw-), polarity (§13.1, see 5 above) and orientation preverbs marking TAME (§15.1.1.1) all can be prefixed.

(13) **tceri nura w-cur-ku-pʰut** *ra kur-tu me*
LNK DEM:PL 3SG.POSS-TRAL-SBJ:PCP-cut PL SBJ:PCP-exist not.exist:FACT
*ma,*
LNK
‘But nobody goes and picks it.’(11-paRzwamWntoR) {0003476#S81}

Two of the four series of orientation preverbs (§15.1.1.1) are possible with subject participles. With A-type prefixes (*ty-* UPWARDS, *puu-* DOWNWARDS etc), the
16 *Non-finite verbal morphology*

participle of dynamic verbs is perfective as *tʰu-ku-γe* ‘the one who came’ in (14), and takes stem II (§12.2.1). With B-type prefixes (*tu*- UPWARDS, *pju*- DOWNWARDS), it has a habitual imperfective meaning with dynamic verbs as *ju-ku-yi* ‘the one who (usually) comes’ in (15).<fnref n="2" /> The prefixes *pu-* and *ku-* do appear on subject participles, but only to express imperfective: there are no Egophoric (§21.3.3) or Sensory (§21.3.2) subject partiples.

(14) icqʰa qazo u-ku-ntsγe
the aforementioned sheep 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-sell
tʰu-ku-γe nux u-pʰe
AOR:DOWNSTREAM-SBJ:PCP-come[II] DEM 3SG.POSS-DAT
'[He told] the person who had come to sell the sheep.' (2003kandZislama)

(15) u-ku-ndza ju-ku-yi nux pya ci pu-ŋu
3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-eat IPFV-SBJ:PCP-come DEM bird INDEF SENS-be
'The one who comes to eat [the fruits] is a bird.' (2012-qachGa)
{0004087#S22}

The participles of stative verbs with series A and B orientation preverbs have an inchoative meaning, exactly like their finite counterpart (§21.5.1.3 and §21.2.6). In (16) for instance, the imperfective participle *pu-ku-jpum* from *jpum* ‘be thick’ means ‘the one which becomes thicker’, as opposed to the basic participle *ku-jpum* ‘the thick one’.

(16) ndzu u-ku jamar pu-ku-jpum γyzu nγ,
chopsticks 3SG.POSS-head about IPFV-SBJ:PCP-be.thick exist:SENS SFP
ku-wxti.
SBJ:PCP-be.big
‘There are [maggots] that grow as thick as the tip of a chopstick, the big
ones.’ (25-akWzgumba) {0003632#S73}

Imperfective participles of stative adjectival verbs are also can also describe the gradient variation of a property across space rather than time. For instance, in (17), the imperfective subject participles *ku-ku-xtsʰum* and *pu-ku-jpum* are used not to indicate a change across time, but to describe the shape of the gourd, which is progressively thinner towards the top and thicker towards the bottom (on the contrast between the EASTWARDS *ku-* vs. WESTWARDS *pu-* preverbs in this context, see §15.1.4.3).

<footnote n="2">²These two examples also illustrate the use of subject participles as purposive complements with the forms *u-ku-ntsye* and *u-ku-ndza* (see §16.1.1.6, §24.4.2.1).</footnote>
(17) tce w-mat numw, w-taъ ku-kw-xtsʰum,
LNK 3SG.POSS-fruit DEM 3SG.POSS-up IPFV-SBJ:PCP-be.thin
w-pa pn-kw-jpum ci cʰw-βze pn-ŋu tce,
3SG.POSS-down IPFV-SBJ:PCP-be.thick INDEF IPFV-make[III] SENS-be LNK
nw <hulu> tu-syrmi-nw.
DEM gourd IPFV-call-PL

‘It has a fruit that is thinner [in diameter] on the upper part, and thicker on the lower part, people call it ‘gourd’.’ (150825 huluwa-zh) {0006346#S3}

The past imperfective of stative verbs is built using the series A prefix *pu-* as in the corresponding finite forms (§21.5.3.1). For instance, the past imperfective participle of *ŋu* ‘be’ is *pu*-ku-*u*ŋu ‘the one who used to be ....’ (§5.7.10), as in (18).

(18) wzyy nw cwŋgw w-nmaъ pw-kw-ŋu tsʰwraŋ nw
3SG:GEN DEM before 3SG.POSS-husband PST.IPFV-SBJ:PCP-be ANTHR DEM
pjγ-mto
IFR-see

‘She saw Tshering, who used to be her husband.’ (qajdoskAt 2002)
{0003366#S101}

Most examples in the corpus have one or two prefixes, either combining a possessive prefix with another prefix (as in 5 and 13), or combining a negative prefix with an orientation preverb, as in (19).

(19) tce kʰa γw u-ndztsʰi u-ro nw-kw-ri nura,
LNK house GEN 3SG.POSS-food 3SG.POSS-excess AOR-SBJ:PCP-left DEM:PL
mw-nw-kw-sna nura, nura paъ kw vja
NEG-AOR-SBJ:PCP-be.good DEM:PL DEM:PL pig ERG completely
tu-ndze pn-ŋu
IPFV-eat[III] SENS-be

‘Leftover food from the house, or food which is not good any more, pigs eat all of it.’ (05-paR) {0003400#S32}

Subject participles with three prefixes before the participle prefix *ku-* are possible, but attestations are rare. Example (1) above shows the combination of a possessive, an associated motion and an orientation preverbs (*u-γu-jγ-ku-qru* ‘the one who had come to meet/look for her’), and (20) below that of a possessive, a polarity and an orientation preverbs.
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

(20) *w-pjw-kw-nw-fkaβ*          *tu*,
3SG.POSS-IPFV-SBJ:PCP-AUTO-cover exist:FACT
*w-m-pjw-kw-nw-fkaβ*        *tu*          *ri*  *nw*
3SG.POSS-NEG-IPFV-SBJ:PCP-AUTO-cover exist:FACT LNK DEM
*kw-fse*                        *tu-nw-ndza-nw*  *cti*.
SBJ:PCP-be like IPFV-AUTO-eat-PL be.AFF:FACT

‘There are people who cover it (with a lid while cooking), and people who don’t, they eat it as is.’ (23-mbrAZim) {0003604#S20}

In addition to imperfective orientation preverbs as in (20), it is possible for subject participles to combine possessive prefixes with *perfective* orientation preverbs, as in (21). Subject participles are the only non-finite forms attested with such a combination: the object participles do not allow combination of possessive and orientation preverbs (§16.1.2.1) and the oblique participles cannot take perfective orientation preverbs (§16.1.3.4).

(21) *nwmw w-nw-kw-car*      *w-pw-kw-mto*      *nw yw*
DEM 3SG.POSS-AOR-SBJ:PCP-search 3SG.POSS-AOR-SBJ:PCP-see DEM GEN
*pw-tṣaŋ* ma *nwmw, nykinw, w-cw-kw-βji*      *nw yw*
SENS-be.fair LNK DEM FILLER 3SG.POSS-TRAL-SBJ:PCP-charge DEM GEN
*múj-tṣaŋ*
NEG:SENS-be.fair

‘It is fair that she would [be given] to the one who looked for her and found her, not to the ones chasing her.’ (140517 buaishuohua-zh)
{0004018#S117}

The negative prefix has the form *mu-* when occurring with a perfective orientation preverb as *mu-nw-ku-sna* ‘the one that is not good anymore’ in (19) and *mχ-* when no orientation preverb is present (examples 5 and 4 above). With the imperfective orientation preverbs, the allomorph *mχ-* occurs when preceded by a possessive prefix (20) and *mu-* is found when no possessive prefix is present: compare the elicited forms (22) and (23). The allomorphs of the negative prefix are not in free variation: forms such as †*w-mu-ku-ku-tsʰi* or †*mχ-ku-ku-tsʰi* would be incorrect in Kamnyu Japhug.

(22) *w-mχ-ku-kw-tsʰi*
3SG.POSS-NEG-IPFV-SBJ:PCP-drink

(23) *mw-ku-kw-tsʰi*
NEG-IPFV-SBJ:PCP-drink
‘The one who drinks it.’ (elicited)
There are no constraints on the number of derivational prefixes in participial forms. The derivational prefixes are all closer to the verb root than the participle prefix *ku*-, and thus follow it as shown by (20), where the autive *-nu*-, the leftmost of all derivational prefixes (§11.2.2), is placed after *ku*-.

Aside from possessive, orientation, associated motion and polarity prefixes, subject participles can also receive the Proximative aspect prefix *ju*- (see 252, §21.6.2).

Subject participles can undergo totalitative reduplication (§12.4.1.5, §23.3.2), which applies to the first syllable of the word, whether it is the participle *ku*- or an orientation preverb as in (24), meaning ‘all of those who/that X’.

(24) tce nuŋu w-taɣ jw~jy-kuw-ɣe nuw ku-ndym
LNK DEM 3SG.POSS-ON TOTAL~AOR-SBJ:PCP-come[II] DEM IPFV-take[III]
pw-ŋu.
SENS-be

‘[The spider] catches all of the [insects] that have come onto [its web].’
(26-mYaRmtsaR) {0003674#S99}

### 16.1.1.3 Ambiguities

The subject participle *ku*- prefix is homophonous with the generic person marker for intransitive subject and object (§14.3.2.5; note that these two prefixes are probably historically related, §14.8.3). In the case of intransitive verbs, some subject participles are therefore homophonous with generic person forms.

For instance, the past imperfective generic *pu-ku-ŋu* ‘one used to be’ in (25) is identical to the past imperfective participle *pu-ku-ŋu* ‘the one who used to be ...’, discussed above (example 18 in §16.1.1.2). In this example, it is obvious that *ku*- is the generic person marker because the verb *pu-ku-rga* ‘one used to be’ occurs as the main verb; outside of any context, *tx-pytso pu-ku-ŋu* could be understood as a relative clause ‘the one who used to be a child’, but this is not the meaning of this sentence.

(25) tceri ty-pytso pu-ku-ŋu tce, nu kx-ndza wuma
LNK INDEF.POSS-child PST.IPFV-GENR:S/O-be LNK DEM INF-eat really
zo pu-ku-rga.
EMPH PST.IPFV-GENR:S/O-like

‘When [we] were children, [we] used to like eating it.’ (12-ndZiNgri)
{0003488#S126}
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

More generally, the Factual, Imperfective, Past Imperfective and Aorist forms of intransitive verbs in generic person forms are homophonous with unmarked, Imperfective, Past Imperfective and Aorist participles, respectively. In the case of transitive verbs, the subject participle can be identical to the object generic form. For instance, the participle *nuu-tu-kuu-ndza* ‘the one who eats them’ in (26) only differs from the generic *tu-kuu-ndza* ‘it eats us/people’ in (27) by the possessive prefix *nuu-*, and that prefix being optional, there are forms that are really ambiguous between participle and generic.

(26) nwee r-kuw jy-azywee-nwee tce, zara nwee-tu-kuu-ndza
dem 3sg.poss-side aor-reach-pl lnk 3pl 3pl.poss-ipfv-sbj:pcp-eat
sruunmw ci pjy-tu,
rakshasi indef ifr.ipfv-be
‘There was a râkshasî who ate those who came near her.’ (2012 Kunbzang)
{0003768#S219}

(27) tce ndzypri ky-ti nwe tce twrme tu-kuu-ndza
lnk brown.bear obj:pcp-say dem lnk people ipfv-genr:s/o
jwee-ŋgryl
SENS-be.usually.the.case
‘The one called “brown bear”, it eats people.’ (21-pri) {0003580#S91}

The irregular generic *tu-kuu-ti* ‘one says’ of the verb *ti* ‘say’ is also identical with
the participle ‘the one who says’.

The 2sg→1sg form of transitive verbs in -a, due to the vowel fusion rule /-a-a/
→ -a, are also superficially identical to subject participles. For instance *tu-kuu-ndza-a* ‘you eat me’ is pronounced [tuku̯ndza] exactly like the generic and the participle *tu-kuu-ndza* in the Kamnyu dialect (in the dialects of Japhug where this vowel fusion does not occur, the forms remain distinct).

(28) nwe kóowwez ny tu-kuu-ndza-a
dem only.after lnk ipfv-2→1-eat-1sg
‘Eat me only after [having taken the thorn from my foot].’ (140426 lang yisheng-zh) {0003808#S16}

In the case of stative verbs and some auxiliary verbs, the infinitive has in some
cases the form ku-, and there is thus ambiguity between infinitive and subject
participial forms for these verbs (§16.2.1).
16.1.1.4 Subject relative clauses

The most common use of subject participles is to build participial relative clauses
whose head noun is the subject; it is the only way to relativize the subject in
Japhug (§23.5.1). Headless relatives are most common (§23.4.1), but when the
head noun is overt, the relative can be either prenominal, postnominal or head-
internal. With intransitive verbs the difference between postnominal or head-
internal relatives is often difficult to ascertain, and many examples are ambigu-
ous; for instance in (29), the relative clause could be argued to be postnominal
(limited to the participle *ku̯-ru̯em̥i* ‘speaking’) or head-internal (including *tɛ́ h̥emɛ́
bnwz* ‘two girls’, and possibly even the previous adjunct).

(29) kʰa w-ŋgw nwtu tcʰeme wnwz ku̯-rwemmi pjs-tu.
house 3SG.POSS-inside DEM:LOC girl two SBJ:PCP-speak IFR.IPFV-exist
‘There were two girls speaking in the house.’ (150909 xiaocui-zh)
{0006386#S144}

Other examples such as (30) are unambiguously head-internal, since the loca-
tive adjunct **ku̯m u̯-rku̯ zu** cannot belong to the matrix clause. This example
additionally illustrates the necessity of using a subject relative clause with an
existential verb to connect a noun with an postpositional phrase (†ku̯m u̯-rku̯
zu pya would not be a complete sentence).

(30) kumpya nwnw tce [ku̯m u̯-rku̯ zu pya ku̯-tu] kx-ti
fowl DEM LNK door 3SG.POSS-side LOC bird SBJ:PCP-exist INF-say
pu̯-ŋu
SENS-be
‘The word kumpya ‘fowl’ means ‘the bird that is next to the door’.’
(22-kumpGa). {0003588#S3}

With transitive verbs, subject head-internal relatives can be distinguished from
postnominal ones by the presence of the ergative ku̯ on the head noun (§23.4.3),
as in (31).

(31) [tsuku u̯-rdu̯-rdoV ku̯ zo tʰotsi u̯-ku̯-ta]
some 3SG.POSS-piece ERG EMPH decorative.stamp 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-put
yyzu.
exist:SENS
‘There are people who put a decorative mark [on their bread].’ (160706
thotsi) {0006133#S20}
## 16 Non-finite verbal morphology

Prenominal relatives are relatively rare with intransitive verbs, but commonly occur with transitive verbs, as in (32). Note the presence of indefinite person possessive marking on the head noun *tx-px:tso* ‘child’ in this example; unlike in Situ (Sun & Lin 2007), the head noun of prenominal relatives in Japhug does not take a third person singular prefix as in a possessive construction (in which case the form †uu-px:tso would have been found).

(32) [tw-nu w-kw-tsʰi] tx-px:tso yu
INDEF.POSS-breast 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-drink INDEF.POSS-child GEN
w-kw-mŋỵm p̣u-ŋu tce,
3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-hurt SENS-be LNK

‘It is a disease [that affects] infants who still drink their mother’s milk.’
(25-kACAI) {0003640#S54}

There are nevertheless prenominal genitival subject relative clauses, contain-
ing a subject participle, with the genitive yu occurring between the relative
clause and the head noun. This construction is especially common in texts trans-
lated from Chinese (due to calquing with the <de>-relatives, §23.2.3), but also
attested in natural speech, as in (33).

(33) n̪u n̪u kw-sy-ndza yu rwda w n̪u tce kurŋi tu-kur-ti
DEM SBJ:PCP-APASS-eat GEN animal DEM LNK beast IPFV-GENR-say
ŋu.
be:FACT
‘Animals eating [other animals] are called “beasts”.’ (150822 kWrNi)
{0006260#S6}

When subject relative clauses contain a complement clause, the main verb
of the complement clause can be in subject participle form (see example 84 in
§24.4.2.4).

### 16.1.1.5 Other relative clauses

In addition to subject relativization, the subject participle is also used in possessor relatives, when the relativized element is the possessor of the subject (§23.5.10.1). The head-internal clause in (34) is such a possessor relative; its head noun si ‘tree’, possessor of the subject u-mat ‘its fruits’, is marked with the genitive, showing that it belongs to the relative.
(34) [si γw̥ w-mat kw̥-kw̥-tu] nw̥ w-ku ri
tree GEN 3SG.POSS-fruit TOTAL~SBJ:PCP-exist DEM 3SG.POSS-top LOC
c-ku-zo p̥w-ηu tce.
TRAL-IPFV-land SENS-be LNK
‘It lands on the top of all trees that have fruits.’ (24-ZmbrWpGa)
{0003628#S41}

Headless possessor relative clauses, such as *nw̥-mtc̥h̥i mɔ̥-kw̥-pe* ‘those with a big mouth’ in (35), are even more common.

(35) *nw̥-mtc̥h̥i mɔ̥-kw̥-pe*, *kɔ̥-nytsw̥ kw̥-ra* *ra*
3PL.POSS-mouth NEG-SBJ:PCP-be.good INF-hide SBJ:PCP-be.needed PL
kw̥ny tu-kw̥-nw̥-ti *numw̥ra t̥cayi tu-syrmi-nw̥*
also IPFV-SBJ:PCP-AUTO-say DEM:PL parrot IPFV-call-PL
ŋgryl.
be.usually.the.case:FACT
‘People call “parrots”, those with a big mouth, who tell [everything], including things that should [remain] hidden.’ (24-qro) {0003626#S121}

In addition, there are also participial relative clauses in *ku-*, whose relativized element is neither the subject or the possessor of the subject, in particular locative adjuncts with the relator noun *u-stu* ‘place’ (§23.5.5.3), the only argument of dummy subject verbs (§23.5.3.4) or arguments from complement clauses embedded within the relative (§23.5.11.4).

### 16.1.1.6 Purposive clauses and other complementation strategies

Subject participles occur in three types of complement clauses and complementation strategies (§24.4.2).

First, the three motion verbs *c̥e* ‘go’, *yi* ‘come’ and *łɔv* ‘come out’ (§15.1.2.1) use subject participle clauses as purposive clauses (§15.2.10), such as *ndzi-ku-qur* in (36), whose (transitive or intransitive) subject is coreferent with that of the matrix verb.

(36) *azo* [ndzi-ku-qur] *c̥h̥u-yi-a* *je*
1SG 2DU-SBJ:PCP-help IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-come-1SG SFP
‘Let me come to help you.’ (tWJo 2005) {0003368#S26}

Sun (2012) posits the category of *supine* to refer to the cognate construction in Tshobdun. However, given the existence of object participle purposive clauses
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

(§16.1.2.6, §24.4.2.1) above, I consider the supine to be only a specific use of the
subject participle, rather than an independent morphology category.

Second, subject participle relative clauses (§23.8.3, §24.4.2.3) are selected as
objects or semi-objects by some verbs such as *nuɛpuz* ‘pretend’, ‘imitate’, as in
(37).

(37) zara ku [cʰa nu ku-ku-tsʰi] to-nuɛpuz-nu,
3PL ERG alcohol DEM IPFV-SBJ:PCP-drink IFR-pretend-PL
‘They pretended to drink the alcohol (‘imitated an alcohol drinker’).’
(2012 Norbzang) {0003768#S77}

Third, participial clauses occur as genuine complements in some constructions (§24.4.2.4), in particular in negative existential constructions and when the matrix verb is itself in subject participle form, as in (38).

(38) [[azo a-ku-cu-nŋo] ku-cʰa] me
1SG 1SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-CAUS-be.defeated SBJ:PCP-can not.exist:FACT
‘Nobody can defeat me.’ (150821 edu de wangzi-zh) {0006402#S5}

16.1.1.7 Lexicalized subject participles

A certain number of subject participles have developed specialized meanings and
can be considered to have been lexicalized. Some of these lexicalized participles
are formally identical to the regular participle (Table 16.2, for instance the noun
kucʰi ‘candy’ in (39) as compared to the non-lexicalized participle ku-cʰi ‘the one
that is sweet’ in (40). For such nouns, lexicalization is shown by the meaning spe-
cialization and the inability to take orientation, associated motion and polarity
prefixes (but not possessive prefixes, as shown by he prefix a- on ku-cʰi ‘candy’
in 39).

(39) azo a-ŋgra a-ku-cʰi ci tɔ-χti ra
1SG 1SG.POSS-salary 1SG.POSS-candy INDEF IMP-buy[III] be.needed:FACT
‘Give me a candy as a reward.’ (140515 congming de wusui xiaohai-zh)
{0003998#S78}

(40) tce numu li tú-wy-ndza tce, ku-cʰi tu,
LNK DEM again IPFV-INV-eat LNK SBJ:PCP-be.sweet exist:FACT
mɣ-ku-cʰi tu.
NEG-SBJ:PCP-be.sweet exist:FACT
‘When one eats them, some are sweet, some are not.’ (08-rasti)
{0003460#S49}
Table 16.2 does not include the many names of profession / occupation built
from the subject participles which are semantically transparent. We can distin-
guish two cases.

First, labile verbs derive participial forms such as *ku-lɣy* ‘shepherd’ or *ku-*
*murku* ‘thief’ (from *lɣy* ‘graze’ and *murku* ‘steal’) without an obligatory posses-
sive prefix; the absence of these prefixes cannot be attributed to lexicalization,
since these verbs can also be used intransitively (§14.5.1.2).

Second, plain transitive verbs have to undergo antipassive derivation (§18.6) for their subject participles to be usable as names of professions. For instance, *kurɔrɣt* ‘writer’ and *kurɔtʃuβ* ‘tailor’ are from the *rɣ-* non-human antipassive forms of *rɣt* ‘write, draw’ and *tʃuβ* ‘sew’, while *ku-sr-y-suxcɣt* ‘teacher’ comes from the *sr-y-* human antipassive of *suxcɣt* ‘teach’ (see Table 18.9, §18.6.7.4). Without antipassive prefixes, the subject participles of (non-labile) transitive verbs require either an overt object or a definite and anaphorically recoverable object, and are used as names of professions. For instance, in (41), the participle *u-ku-rɣt* ‘the one writing it’ is used with *tɣ-rmi* ‘name’ as its object.

(41) [tɣ-rmi u-ku-rɣt] tɣ-pytso nw
INDEF.POSS-name 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-write INDEF.POSS-child DEM
u-rku zo, [...] pj-y-zyt tce,
3SG.POSS-side EMPH IFR-reach LNK
'It arrived near the boy who wrote the names (of the contestants).'
(150826 shier shengxiao) {0006284#S109}

Moreover, I do not include among lexicalized participles cases like ‘shooting
star’ (42): although this expression is not compositional, the participle here is not
frozen; the verb *mrzaβ* ‘marry’ can also occur in finite forms with the noun *zŋgri*
‘star’ in the meaning ‘appear, fall (of a shooting star)’ as in (43).

(42) zŋgri nɔu-ku-mvırzaβ
star IPFV-SBJ:PCP-marry
‘Shooting star’ (‘the wedding star’)

(43) zŋgri nɔu-mvırzaβ u-raŋ tce, tɔu-kɔrme
star AOR-marry 3SG.POSS-time LNK GENR.POSS-hair
cʰu-uy-vɔ-y ci tce, cʰu-rŋfɪ ŋu
IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-INV-pull LNK IPFV-be.long be:FACT
‘When a shooting star crosses the sky, if one pulls one’s hair, it becomes
longer.’ (29-mWBZi) {0003728#S93}
<table><caption>Table 16.2: Lexicalized subject participles</caption><thead><tr><td>Noun</td><td>Base verb</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><i>kuβwa</i> 'noble'</td><td><i>βwa</i> 'prevail, win'</td></tr><tr><td><i>kuspok</i> 'hole'</td><td><i>spok</i> 'have a hole'</td></tr><tr><td><i>kucʰi</i> 'candy'</td><td><i>cʰi</i> 'be sweet'</td></tr><tr><td><i>kumŋɔm</i> 'ailment'</td><td><i>mŋɔm</i> 'feel pain'</td></tr><tr><td><i>kun</i>u 'right thing'</td><td><i>ŋu</i> 'be'</td></tr><tr><td><i>kumaɛ</i> 'bad thing'</td><td><i>maɛ</i> 'not be'</td></tr></tbody></table>

In the case of *kuŋu* ‘right thing’ and *kumaɛ* ‘bad thing’, lexicalization is very advanced, and the meanings of the nouns are very different from those of the corresponding participles *ku-ŋu* ‘the one that is’ and *ku-maɛ* ‘the one that is not’. Examples such as (44) and (44) illustrate their use in collocation with verbs like *nɔma* ‘do’ and *fse* ‘be like’.

(44) *mɔ-ti-a* ma *kuŋu* mɔ-*tu-*nɔme
NEG-say:FACT-1SG LNK right.thing NEG-2-make[III]:FACT
'I won't say it, because you will not do the right thing.' (2005 Kunbzang)

(45) *a-lý-wy-caβ-a* tce tcendvɛ re *kuŋu* mɔ-*fse*
IRR-PFV-INV-catch.up-1SG LNK LNK right.thing NEG-be.like:FACT
'If he catches up with me, [our enterprise] won't succeed.'
(25-kAmYW-XpAltCin) {0003642#S36}

The participle *ku-maɛ* ‘the one that is not’ has been independently grammaticalized as an identity pronoun/determined *kumaɛ* ‘other’ (see §6.8 and §9.1.7).

From the nouns *kuŋu* ‘right thing’ and *kumaɛ* ‘bad thing’, the intransitive verbs *rukuŋu* ‘do the right thing’, ‘take good care of one’s family’ and *rukumaɛ* ‘do bad things’, ‘happen bad things’, ‘be clumsy’ and the transitive verb *nukumaɛ* ‘make a mistake’ have been derived by denominal derivation with *ru-* and *nu-* (§20.4.1, §20.7.3).

The subject participle *ku-mpɛvɛr* ‘the beautiful one’ of the verb *mpɛvɛr* ‘be beautiful’ has a derived denominal transitive verb *nuku-mpɛvɛr* ‘wear (on important occasions)’ with highly derived semantics, reflecting the lexicalized use of the participle in the meaning ‘decoration’ as in (46).
(46) tce li w-kw-mpcSr kw-fse
LNK again 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-be.beautiful SBJ:PCP-be lik

ty-ky-βzu jw-ŋu tce

AOR-OBJ:PCP-make SENS-be LNK

‘[The mark on breads] is used for decoration.’ (160706 WzbroN)
{0006131#S5}

Several names of diseases only exist as intransitive verbs, and the disease it-
self or the person suffering from the disease can only be referred to by using
a participial or infinitive form. In particular, the word *kw-* *kw-*n*ndza ‘leper’ is
the perfective subject participle of n*ndza ‘have leprosy’; this word has some de-
gree of lexicalization (in particular, it is a common insult), but it behaves like a
participle grammatically; in particular, it can undergo totalitative reduplication
(§12.4.1.5, §23.3.2), as in (47).

(47) nwnw kw, nwnwtcu kw~kw-rzyi nw to-yγ-mna.
DEM ERG DEM:LOC TOTAL~SBJ:PCP-stay DEM IFR-CAUS-recover

to-yγ-mna w-qʰu tce tcendsre <quanxian> tce

IFR-CAUS-recover 3SG.POSS-after LNK LNK all.the.district LOC

kw~ky-kw-n*ndza nw jy-yγ-me

TOTAL~AOR-SBJ:PCP-have.leprosy DEM IFR-CAUS-not.exist

‘He healed all those who were staying there (in the leper house). After he
healed them, he had eradicated leprosy (removed all lepers) from our
district.’ (25-khArWm) {0003644#S71}

Other disease names such as *tkyzybyak* ‘headache’ (as in 48), although clearly
the perfective participle or infinitive of a verb root *azbyak*, is hardly ever attested
in finite form.

(48) tkzybyak nw ty-mγym qʰe, tce nw w-qʰu nγ,
migraine DEM AOR-hurt LNK LNK DEM 3SG.POSS-after LNK

ŋgwsqγ-rzaŋ zo mw-tu-mna

nine.or.ten-night EMPH NEG-IPFV-recover

‘After the migraine starts, it does not recede for nine or ten days.’
(conversation taRrdo 2003)

In addition, we find nouns in *kw-* that can be suspected to be former lexicalized participles, such as *kujŋu* ‘oath’, which appears to contain the root of the verb *ŋu*
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

'be', though the segment -j- cannot be accounted for at the present moment,<fnref n="3" /> and *kuwtɛ́hu* 'toy', whose verbal root cannot be identified. The name *kuwɛ́yru* 'mirror' (an archaic word in the process of being replaced by the Tibetan *χcɛ́ylzgon* 'mirror') could also be a frozen subject participle of the verb *ru* 'look at', but the nature of the prefix *sry-* is unclear: it could be proprietive prefix (§18.8), or alternatively, be analyzed as a frozen oblique participle prefix (§16.1.3.10). In the second view, the prefix *ku-* would not be identifiable.

Lexicalized subject participles appearing in compounds are also found. Several
cases must be distinguished. First, we find subject participles of transitive verbs
as the second member of a compound, with their object as the first member.
This type of compounds are lexicalized headless relative clauses, like *qalekwtsʰi*
'species of kite', which combines *qale* 'wind' and the participle *u-ku-tsʰi* of the
transitive verb *tsʰi* 'block', literally 'blocking the wind' (§5.5.1.1), a designation
referring to this bird's ability to apparently remain unmoving in the sky, as de-
scribed in (49).

(49) *k*-n<u>wqambwmbjom múj-ce*
*ku* n<u>uwu̯re w-stu*
*ri*
INF-fly
NEG:SENS-GO ERG there
3SG.POSS-place LOC
*ku-rɛ́zi tce,* [...] *u-ka*
*nw* *tu-sylqylqyt* *nɔ*
IPFV-stay LNK
3SG.POSS-wing DEM IPFV-flap.slightly LNK
*tu-sylqylqyt* *ŋgryl*
IPFV-flap.slightly be.usually.the.case:FACT
'It does not move [flying] but remains [in the sky] in place, slightly
flapping its wings.' (23-RmWrcWftsa) {0003610#S39}

A second type involves two participles in apposition, as *kurŋukwuyndz<u>wur* ‘har-
vestman’, built from the subject participles of the verbs *rŋu* ‘parch’ and *yndz<u>wur
‘grind’* (§5.5.1.3). Both verbs being transitive, the absence of a possessive prefix
*u-* is an additional clue that the form is fully lexicalized.

Third, there are compounds with the subject participle of transitive or intransitive verbs as first element (see also §5.5.6), for instance *kuqurzŋgri* ‘evening star’ from *u-ku-qur* ‘the one helping him’ (*qur* ‘help’) and *zŋgri* ‘star’ literally ‘the star of the helper’, for reasons explained in the following excerpt (50).

(50) *u<u>nw<u>n<u>w ku<u>c<u>w<u>gw tce ku<u>-qur ju-ku<u>-ce tce n<u>uw<u>,*
DEM before LNK SBJ:PCP-help IPFV-GENR:S/O-go LNK DEM
*mu<u>-nw<u>-łov* *m<u>yct<u>sa n<u>w* *tu-ku<u>-nw<u>na*
NEG-AOR:WEST-come.out until DEM IPFV-GENR:S/O-rest

<footnote n="3">³In any case, the Tangut cognate 畝繖4600 ŋwu¹.⁵⁸ ‘oath’ shows that this derivation is very ancient and reflects a non-productive morphological process.</footnote>
mʷ-p-jyɣ :p-ŋu tce, tce núndɔ̣a kwqurzŋgri

NEG-IFR.IPFV-be.possible SENS-be LNK LNK for this reason evening.star

tu-syrmi-nu̯

IPFV-call-PL

‘Long ago, when one would go helping people, one was not supposed to rest until it came out, and for this reason it was called ‘star of the helper’.’ (29-mWBZi) {0003728#S58}

An example with an intransitive verb is provided by the noun *kundzarmu* ‘type of rain’, compound of the participle of *ndzar* ‘drip dry’ (§17.3.1) with the noun *tu-mu* ‘sky, weather’ (§5.1.2.11). As shown by the definition provided for *kundzarmu* in (51), the original meaning of this compound may have been ‘last drops of rain’ – the last rain before a relatively long period without rain.

(51) iɛqʰa tʷ-mu nʷ spikuku žo, spikuku žo
the aforementioned INDEF.POSS-sky DEM every.day EMPH every.day EMPH
a-ky-lxt tce tce, kʷ-maqʰu tce ci ci ku-lyt, ci
IRR-PFV-release LNK LNK SBJ:PCP-be.after LNK one one IPFV-release one
ci nʷ-ju:m kʷ-fse ŋu tce, u̯n̯u̯m
one IPFV-be.sunny SBJ:PCP-be lik e be:FACT LNK DEM
ku-kʷ-lyt, <zhenyu> kʷ-fse ku-kʷ-lyt
IPFV-SBJ:PCP-release showery.rain SBJ:PCP-be lik e IPFV-SBJ:PCP-release
nʷ, n̯u̯n̯u kʷ-fse a-ky-lyt tce u̯-qʰu tce
DEM DEM SBJ:PCP-be like IRR-PFV-release LNK 3SG.POSS-after LNK
tʷ-mu mγ-lyt tu-kʷ-ti ŋu tce, n̯u̯m
INDEF.POSS-sky NEG-release:FACT IPFV-GENR-say be:FACT LNK DEM
tʷ-mu ku-kʷ-lyt nʷ ḵu̮ndzarmu tu-kʷ-ti
INDEF.POSS-sky IPFV-SBJ:PCP-release DEM type.of.rain IPFV-GENR-say
ŋu
be:FACT

‘When it rains everyday (continuously), followed by sporadic rain (sometimes it rains, sometimes it is sunny), when there is a showery rain and after that no more rain, this type of [showery] rain is called *kundzarmu*.’ (definition, 2015-04-18)

Nominalizations with the x-/y- prefix (§16.5.2) are ancient lexicalized subject participles that have undergone a syllable reduction rule (§5.6.2, Jacques 2014b: 6) and have become completely separated from their base verbs synchronically.

There are also a few adverbs derived from verbs with a ku- prefix, but these are best analyzed as lexicalized stative infinitives (§16.2.1.8).
16.1.2 Object participles

The object participle is a nominalized form which refers to an entity correspond-
ing to the object (§8.1.3) or semi-object (§8.1.5) of the base verb. Nearly all tran-
sitive and semi-transitive verbs (except for a handful of exceptions, §16.7) can
build an object participle by adding the prefix *k* (for instance *kats-ndza* from the
verb *ndza* ‘eat’ in 52). This form is homophonous with, and historically related
to the velar infinitive (§16.2.1, §16.8.1).

(52) *kats-ndza*
OBJ:PCP-eat
‘The one that is eaten.’ (many attestations)

In the case of secundative verbs (§14.4.2), the object participle can either refer
to the recipient or the theme, as in (53); this question is discussed in more detail
in §16.1.2.4.

(53) *nsw-kats-mbi*
AOR-OBJ:PCP-give
‘The one that he has given it to.’
‘The one that has been given to him.’ (many attestations)

In this section, I first describe the morphological properties of object partici-
ples (compatibility with possessive prefixes §16.1.2.1 and other prefixes §16.1.2.2).
Then, I discuss several cases of ambiguity between object participles and other
*kat*- prefixed forms in §16.1.2.3 (see also §16.2.1.1). The uses of object participles
to build relative clauses and complement clauses are described in §16.1.2.4 and
§16.1.2.6. Finally, I present a few cases of lexicalized object participles in §16.1.2.7.

16.1.2.1 Possessive prefixes on object participles

Unlike subject participles, object participles never require a possessive prefix. An
optional possessive prefix coreferent with the transitive subject, as in (54), can
however be added.

(54) *a-kats-swaz*
1SG-NMLZ:P-know
‘The one that I know.’ (many attestations)

In the case of semi-transitive verbs, the possessive prefix is also coreferent
with the subject, as in the form *w-kats-rga* ‘the one that he likes’ in (55), built in the
same way as the object participle of the transitive (tropative, §17.5) verb *nɛ́rmu*
'find tasty'.

(55) ri nwnw stu w-ky-rga, w-ky-ny-muw
LNK DEM most 3SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-like 3SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-TROP-be.tasty
pjy-cti.
IFR.IPFV-be.AFF
'But it was what he liked most, what he found most tasty.' (160703
poucet3) {0006107#S72}

In addition to semi-transitive verbs, the complement-taking verb cʰa 'can' has
object participles taking possessive prefixes meaning 'the one that X can Y', X
being the subject (marked by the possessive prefix), and Y the verb in the com-
plement clause, which can be overt or not as in (56), where nu-mɛ́-kɛ́-cʰa stands
for kɛ́-ndo nu-mɛ́-kɛ́-cha 'the one(s) that they are able to catch' (see additional
examples in §23.5.11.2).

(56) tce nɔ̃-mɛ̃-kɔ̃-cʰa nɔ̃ kʰũna χswũ pɔ̃-tu qʰe, nɔ̃ra
LNK 3PL.POSS-NEG-INF-can DEM dog three PST.IPFV-exist LNK DEM:PL
kɔ̃ rcanɔ̃ claɣ zo ku-ndo-nɔ̃ pɔ̃-cti.
ERG UNEXP:DEG IDEO.I:immediately EMPH IPFV-catch-PL SENS-be.AFF
'The [rats] that [the people] had been unable to [catch], there were three
dogs, and these [dogs] caught them at once.' (150831 BZW kAnArRaR)
{0006378#S41}

16.1.2.2 Associated motion, polarity and orientation preverbs on object participles

Object participles, like subject participles, are compatible with polarity (57), as-
sociated motion (58) and orientation preverbs (58).

(57) tce azo a-mɔ̃-kɔ̃-swɔ̃ txjmyy nɔ̃ kɔ̃-ndza
LNK 1SG 1SG.POSS-NEG-OBJ:PCP-know mushroom DEM INF-eat
mɔ̃-naz-a
NEG-dare:FACT-1SG
'I do not dare to eat mushrooms that I do not recognize.' (23-mbrAZim)
{0003604#S105}
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

(58) *w-pci* tce *w-cw-k-y-n*ma ci pjy-tu
3SG.POSS-outside LNK 3SG.POSS-TRAL-OBJ:PCP-work INDEF IFR.IPFV-exist
tce,
LNK
'[The mouse] had something to do outside.' (140518 mao he laoshu-zh)
{0004030#S77}

Associated motion and polarity prefixes on object participles co-occur with possessive prefixes, as shown by (57) and (58) above, but orientation preverbs (whether perfective or imperfective) do not. This is an important difference between subject and object participles (§16.1.1.2). Object participles only have at most two prefixes.

(59) tce pjka wuma num w tce, pjw-k y-nw-ji ny tce,
LNK gourd really DEM LNK IPFV-OBJ:PCP-AUTO-plant be:FACT LNK
'The gourd proper is cultivated (it does not grow on its own).'
(16-CWrNgo) {0003518#S61}

Finite relative clauses, instead of object participles, can be used to specify both TAME and the subject (§23.2.2).

Unlike subject participles, object participles are attested with the progressive *asw-* prefix, as in (60). It is the only non-finite form compatible with this prefix.

(60) tcʰeme nʷ kʷ icqʰa, ย-jaq <meihua>,
girl DEM ERG the.aforementioned 3SG.POSS-hand plum.blossom
m nqoχ p -kx-y sw-ndo nʷ pjy-y ryt.
flower PST.IPFV-OBJ:PCP-PROG-take DEM IFR-throw
'The girl threw down the plum blossom, the flower that she was holding
in her hand.' (150907 yingning-zh) {0006264#S28}

These forms are rare and difficult to identify, as they are always ambiguous with object participles or infinitive of causativized verbs. In the case of (60), the context makes it clear that interpretation as the participle of a progressive form is the only possibility, as the same verb with the progressive appears a few sentences before in (61).

(61) w-jaq nwtc u, icqʰa, <meihua> ci
3SG.POSS-hand DEM:LOC FILLER plum.blossom INDEF
pjy-k-y sw-ndo-ci,
IFR.IPFV-PEG-PROG-take-PEG
'She was holding a plum blossom in her hand.' (150907 yingning-zh)
{0006264#S19}
16.1.2.3 Ambiguity

There is rampant ambiguity between object participles, *kʷ- infinitives and subject participles of passive verbs. The question of the ambiguity between object participles and *kʷ- infinitives is discussed in §16.2.1.3.

The passive *a- merges with the subject participle as /kʷ/, homophonous with the infinitive and the object participle. Potentially ambiguous examples are very common. For instance, in (62), the form /kʷrku/ could be argued to be an object participle *kʷ-rku* or a passive subject participle *kuw-*-*rku*; the second option is chosen here due to the semantics, which fits the passive *arku* ‘be in’ better (as this passive verb is in the process of becoming a locative existential verb, §22.5.1.2). In the absence of any argument in favour of the passive analysis, the ambiguous /kʷ-/- forms are analyzed as object participles by default.

(62) syteʰa w-ŋgw kw-y-rku <yangyu> cʰo lxpwɣ nuxra
earth 3SG.POSS-inside SBJ:PCP-PASS-put.in potato COMIT radish DEM:PL
tu-ndze ngryl.
IPFV-eat[III] be.usually.the.case:FACT
'It eats the radish and the potatoes that are in the ground.'
(25-akWzgumba) {0003632#S21}

Due to the fact that passive verbs in Japhug are barely attested in perfective forms (§18.1.1), participles with perfective prefixes can be considered to be object participles, especially in cases like (63), where the participle *nw-*-*kʷ-*-*χtʰr* ‘(those) that have been scattered’ occurs in a sentence following the transitive form *n*-*χtʰr* ‘it scattered, it smashed’.

(63) to-yi tce nw-ẓmbrw p-y-χtʰr zo p-w-ŋu tce,
IFR:UP-come LNK 3PL.POSS-ship IFR-scatter EMPH SENS-be LNK
w-zda ra nw-pʰe, nyki, “nwnw ẓmbrw
3SG.POSS-companion pl 3PL.POSS-DAT FILLER DEM ship
nw-*kʷ-*χtʰr nw w-taɣ kʷ-*nqoɣ-*nw ra”
AOR-OBJ:PCP-scatter DEM 3SG.POSS-on IMP-hang-PL be.needed:FACT
to-ti
IFR-say

‘The [monster] came up and smashed their ship, and [Norbzang] said to
his companions: “Grab the [pieces of the] ship that have been scattered”.’
(2012 Norbzang) {0003768#S29}
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

The same analysis as object participles, rather than passive subject participles
is applied to examples of perfective kɣ- forms also when the transitive verb is not
found in finite form in a neighbouring sentence, such as (64).

(64) ṣapaɣ ɔ-ŋgo rcanɔ, pɔ-kɣ-prɣt zo
animals 3SG.POSS-disease UNEXP:DEG AOR-OBJ:PCP-break EMPH
tɣ-fse pɔ-ŋu.
AOR-be like SENS-be

'It was like the disease of the cattle had been [suddenly] stopped.' (2003
kAndZislama)

A more marginal case of homophony occurs between object participles and velar infinitives on the one hand, and several finite forms taking the series A orientation preverb *kɣ-* on the other hand (§16.2.1.1).

16.1.2.4 Object relative clauses

Object participles can be used to build object relative clauses, but compete in this
function with finite relatives (§23.5.3). They differ in this regard from subject
relatives, which are the only available construction to relativize transitive and
intransitive subjects.

As was described in §16.1.2.2, object participles, unlike subject and oblique participles, cannot combine possessive and orientation preverbs.

Object participles with orientation preverbs are used in relative clauses with indefinite subjects, or with definite third person subjects as in (65).

(65) [lamu kʷ qajji nʷ-kχ-mbi] nʷ tu-ndze p-ŋu
ANTHR ERG bread AOR-SBJ:PCP-give DEM IPFV-eat[III] IFR.IPFV-be
'[As] he was eating the [pieces of] bread that Lhamo had given him.'
(2002 qajdoskAt) {0003366#S110}

The only example of first or second person that could be interpreted as subject
in a perfective object participle relative in the corpus is (66), but in this example
(translated from Chinese), the referent of the first person is a pen that has been
used to write a poem; the ergative postpositional phrase *aẓo kʷ* here can be either
analyzed as an instrument ('the poem that has been written using me') or as a
causee (§8.2.2.6, 'the poem that he has made me write'), as shown by the presence
of the causative *su*- prefix, not a subject.
(66) [aẓo ku pw-kx-sw-ryt] nuŋu pjw-ndun pw-ŋu néti
1SG ERG AOR-OBJ:PCP-CAUS-write DEM IPFV-read SENS-be SFP
(The pen said): [the poet is reading the poem] that has been written using
me.' (150818 bi he moshuihu-zh) {0006382#S131}

When the subject is first or second person, an object participle with a posses-
sive prefix is used instead. In (67) for instance, we find *ji-k* 'the thing that
we give' (see §16.5.1 concerning the meaning of this verb) and *nro-kro-susso* 'the
thing that you think / that you want' with a first plural and a second singular
possessive prefix, respectively.

(67) nɔ̃ ma ize ji-kɔ̃-rku me, atu
DEM apart.from 1PL 1PL.POSS-OBJ:PCP-put.in notuezFACT up.there
spyi ty-ce qʰe, la;tcʰa nɔ̃tcu nɔ̃-kɔ̃-swso zɔ̃
granary IMP:UP-go LNK thing where 2SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-think EMPH
nuguw, nɔ̃-mraiv, nɔ̃-rna, nɔ̃-cna cʰo ra
DEM 2SG.POSS-eye 2SG.POSS-ear 2SG.POSS-nose COMIT PL
kw-kw-spoɔ̃ nɔ̃ w-ŋgw tce a-kɔ̃-tw-rke
TOTAL~SBJ:PCP-have.a.hole DEM 3SG.POSS-inside LOC IRR-PFV-2-put.in[III]
qʰe,
LNK

‘We don’t have anything else to give you as a departing present, so go up
there in the granary, and whatever you want, put it in all the holes [in
your body], your eyes, your ears, your nose etc.’ (31-deluge)
{0004077#S134}

When the subject is a definite third person, it is also possible to have a third
person possessive prefix on the object participle, as in (68) (or 58 above).

(68) ly-fsoɔ̃ w-juja nɔ̃ pjɔ̃-ru tce [w-kɔ̃-nɔ̃mbrɛ́pwɔ̃]
AOR-be.clear 3SG-along DEM IPFV:DOWN-look LNK 3SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-ride
nɔ̃ kʰu pw-cti pw-ŋu,
DEM tiger PST.IPFV-be.AFF SENS-be
‘As the day broke, looking down, [it dawned on him that] what he was
riding was a tiger.’ (2005 khu)

Unlike in Tshobdun (Sun & Lin 2007: 10), in Japhug object participial relatives
with possessive prefixes are not restricted to generic state of affairs, but can refer
to particular situations as in examples such as (68) and (69).
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

(69) a-łaк, tce ny-ku-mγy-m
1SG.POSS-aunt LNK 2SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-hurt what SENS-be like LNK upstream
qʰaqʰu ny-ky-ti] nura ty-stu-t-a
behind.the.house 2SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-say DEM:PL AOR-do like:PST:TR-1SG
‘Stepmother, how do you feel, I did the things you said [about creating a
lake] up there behind the house.’ (28-smAnmi) {0004063#S341}

In object participial relatives, when the relativized element is overt, it is gene-
rally located before the participle, as in (70).

(70) [nuya w-ndʒi tʰu-ky-rγγdu], tʰu-ky-t ny
COW 3SG.POSS-skin AOR-OBJ:PCP-skin AOR-OBJ:PCP-sew DEM
uŋ-gu nytcu ko-ce
3SG.POSS-inside DEM:LOC EVD:EAST-go
‘He [crawled] into the cow hide that had been skinned and sewed.’
(2-deluge2012) {0003376#S30}

While the relative clause in (70) can either be interpreted as head-internal or
post-nominal, clear examples of head-internal object relative clauses are attested
(§23.4.3.2), as in (71), where the head noun kʰa is located between the instrumental
adjunct ku-cʰi ku and the participle.

(71) [ku-cʰi ku kʰa ty-ky-su-βzu] ci pjy-mto-ndzi
SBJ:PCP-be.sweet ERG house AOR-OBJ:PCP-CAUS-make INDEF IFR-see-DU
‘They saw a house that was made of sweets.’ (140507 tangguowu-zh)
{0003933#S75}

Prenominal object participial relatives are mainly attested with participles with
a possessive prefix, such as *a-k-su:*z in (72).

(72) nwnw paχci [aẓo a-ky-swz] nu nura γγzu
dem apples 1SG 1SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-know allium DEM DEM:PL exist:SENS
‘Of the apples, [the aforementioned] are the ones I know about.’
(07-paXCi) {0003430#S67}

Examples of prenominal object participial relatives with orientation preverbs
are also attested, as in (73) (a near minimal pair with 71) and (74). This type of rela-
tive clauses are considerably less common that the corresponding head-internal
ones, especially in texts that have not been translated from Chinese as in (74).
(73) [lonba com ku nʷ-k-βzu] kʰa pjy-ŋu
all iron ERG AOR-OBJ:PCP-CAUS-make house IFR.IPFV-be
'It was a house made completely of iron.' (140505 liuhaohan zoubian
tianxia-zh) {0003913#S149}

(74) tce [kʰru ku tʰu-kx-su-lst] labdwn kuŋx tu ma
LNK cast.iron ERG AOR-OBJ:PCP-CAUS-release tool also exist:FACT LNK
‘There are also tools that are made of cast iron.’ (30-Com) {0003736#S28}

As mentioned above (example 53), the object participles of secundative verbs can either refer to their object proper (the recipient, §14.4.2) or to the theme, which is not indexed on the verb but occurs in absolutive form (§8.1.6). In fact, in the corpus examples of theme relativization with the object participle are quite common (as 65 above and 75 and 76 below), but recipient relativization is rare (77). Examples can however be elicited without difficulty.

(75) nʷ ma u̯-kʷ-mbi maŋe tce,
DEM apart.from 3SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-give not:SENS LNK
“a-me ta-mbi ra” to-ti tce,
1SG.POSS-daughter 1→2-give:FACT be-needed:FACT IFR-say LNK
‘He had nothing else to give him, and said “I give you my daughter”.’
(2011-04-smanmi)

(76) tcendsre [twmukyrŋi ku pw-kx-swxcyt] ra jy-nyxtsum tce tce
LNK heaven ERG AOR-OBJ:PCP-teach PL IFR-be.grateful LNK LNK
nwcimwma zo pjy-nu-ce.
immediately EMPH IFR:DOWN-VERT-go
'[Pu'an] was thankful for the things that the god of heaven had taught
him and went back [to earth] immediately.' (150827 taisui-zh)
{0006390#S134}

(77) icqʰa, [kyntcʰu-xpa zo, nyki, xciri nʷ-kx-swxcyt]
the.aforementioned several-year EMPH FILLER weasel AOR-OBJ:PCP-teach
nʷ pjy-sat,
DEM IFR-kill
‘He killed the weasel that he had trained for several years.’ (140518 xuezhe
he huangshulang-zh) {0004032#S28}

With indirective verbs, the object participle can only refer to the theme, as in (78), for these verbs the recipient must be relativized with the oblique participle (§16.1.3.7).
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

(78) *nɣ-kɣ-tʰu*   *u-ɣuŋu*   *n, tɣ-tʰe*   *jɣu*
2SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-ask QU-exist:SENS LNK IMP-ask[III] be.allowed:FACT
‘If you have and questions, you can ask them.’ (conversation 14-11-08)

The semi-object of semi-transitive verbs (§8.1.5) can also be relativized with a
object participial relative, as *ji-kɣ-rga* ‘the one that we like’ in (79).

(79) icqʰa <mach>a kɣ-ti nʷ [izora stu
the.aforementioned macha.tea OBJ:PCP-say DEM 1PL most
ji-kɣ-rga] ɣu
1PL.POSS-OBJ:PCP-like be:FACT
‘The [type of tea] called “macha” is what we like best.’ (30-macha)
{0003746#S1}

Secundative verbs undergoing antipassivization become semi-transitive verbs (§14.4.2, §18.6.4) with the theme remaining the semi-object. Like other semi-transitive verbs, these antipassive verbs can build an object participle, which can then be used to relativize the theme, as in (80).

(80) *nɣ-kɣ-rɣ-mbi*   *nʷ tcʰi pw-ŋu?*
2SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-APASS-give DEM what PST.IPFV-be
‘What was it that you gave (to people)?’ (elicited)

Object participles also occur in genitival relatives (§23.2.3, postnominal relative with the genitive postposition yu occurring between the relative clause and the head noun), as in example (81). This type of examples is frequently found in texts translated from Chinese, but unattested in the rest of the corpus for object relativization, and is a clear case of calque (§23.2.3). Although speakers do accept these examples, they cannot be considered to be representative of the normal grammar of the language.

(81) tce [<shui>ing> ku *tɣ-kɣ-su̯-βzu] yu̯ *tw-xtsa*
LNK crystal ERG AOR-OBJ:PCP-CAUS-make GEN INDEF.POSS-shoe
nwa̯ra jo-yu̯t.
DEM:PL IFR-bring
'[The bird] brought shoes made of crystal.' (140504 huiguniang-zh)
{0003909#S155}
16.1.2.5 Other relative clauses

Just like subject participles can relativize the possessor of subjects §16.1.1.5), ob-
ject participles can be used to relativize possessors of objects, as in (82), where the
head of the relative *ndzi-mŋač wu-tɔ-y-kɔ-rɔt* is not the object ‘their eyes’ (which
would result in a non-sensical sentence ‘their eye which had not been drawn
were still on the wall’) but rather the possessors (the dragons).

(82) [ndzi-mŋač wu-tɔ-y-kɔ-rɔt] numi tcetu, znde w-tač
3DU.POSS-eye NEG-AOR-OBJ:PCP-draw DEM:DU UP wall 3SG.POSS-on
nutcu nunw pjy-nu-tu-ndzi.
DEM:LOC DEM IFR.IPFV-AUTO-exist-DU
‘The two [dragons] whose eyes had not been drawn were still on the
wall.’ (160718 hualongdianjing-zh) {0006153#S59}

In light verb constructions with *łyt* ‘release’ (§22.4), the oblique argument en-
coded with the relator noun *u-tač* ‘on, above’ (§8.3.4.3) can be relativized with
the object participle. For instance, in (83) and (84), although the noun *tusŋač* ‘en-
chantment’ is the object of the verb *łyt* ‘release’ in the collocation meaning ‘cast a
spell’, the participial relative *tusŋač tɔ-y-kɔ-łyt* means here ‘(prince) who has been
enchanted’, not ‘the spell that has been cast’.<fnref n="4" /> The head of this relative is there-
fore not the object, but the recipient, although this oblique argument is marked
with *u-tač* ‘on, above’, as shown by example (84).

(83) qačpa nwmw, icqʰa nw, rjɛ́ lpu ci yu w-tcw nwmw, nɛ́ kinw,
frog DEM FILLER DEM king INDEF GEN 3SG.POSS-ON DEM FILLER
tu-sŋač tɔ-y-kɔ-łyt tce qačpa
NMLZ:ACTION-enchant AOR-OBJ:PCP-release LNK frog
nw-kɔ-svβzu pjy-ŋu.
AOR-OBJ:PCP-transform IFR.IPFV-be
‘This frog was the son of a king who had been enchanted and transformed
into a frog.’ (140429 qingwa wangzi-zh, 180-181) {0003890#S176}

(84) a-tcw nw w-tač tw-sŋač to-łyt tce
1SG.POSS-ON DEM 3SG.POSS-ON NMLZ:ACTION-enchant IFR-release LNK
nw mbaly-pw ci pɔ-yβzu.
DEM bull-DIM INDEF IFR-transform
‘She cast a spell on my son and turned him into a calf.’ (140512 fushang he
yaomo-zh) {0003967#S98}

<footnote n="4">⁴The second interpretation is however possible, and these relatives are ambiguous.</footnote>
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

In addition, there are cases where an object participle can relativize a locative adjunct (§23.5.5.2). The object participle of the perception verbs *mto* ‘see’ and *mtsʰỵm* ‘hear’ can be used to make headless locative relative clauses meaning ‘(a place) where X can see/hear Y, in particular when occurring as the goal of a motion verb as in (85). Note the optionality of the ergative on the nouns *tci-rna* ‘our ears’ and *tci-mpaɣ* ‘our eyes’ in (85).

(85) [tci-rna mɣ-ky-mtsʰỵm], [tci-mpaɣ mɣ-ky-mto]
1DU.POSS-ear NEG-OBJ:PCP-hear 1DU.POSS-eye NEG-OBJ:PCP-see
a-jy-ce-ndżi ra
IRR-PFV-GO-DU be.needed:FACT

‘May they go away [to a place] where our ears cannot hear them, where our eyes cannot see them.’ (2003-kWBRa)

It is not possible in (85) to replace the object participle by an oblique participle
sɣ-.

16.1.2.6 Purposive clauses

While kɣ- prefixed non-finite verb forms are very common in complement clauses,
most of these forms are infinitives rather than object participles (§16.2.1.5), since
there are no restrictions on intransitive verbs (§16.2.1).

The only complementation strategy where an object participle, rather than an
infinitive, has to be posited occurs in the purposive clause of motion verbs when
the verb of the purposive clause is transitive and coreference occurs between its
object (rather than subject) and the subject of the matrix motion verb, as kɣ-nykʰu
in (86).

(86) <xingqi> raŋri zo tce nwnw svβzw γw u-kʰa nwtcu
week each EMPH LNK DEM mouse GEN 3SG.POSS-house DEM:LOC
kɣ-nykʰu ju-γi pjγ-ŋu
OBJ:PCP-invite IPFV-come IPFV.IFR-be

‘He would come to the mouse’s house as a guest.’ (150818 muzhi guniang-zh). {0006334#S291}

A possessive prefix coreferent with the transitive subject of *nykʰu* can be op-
tionally added on this object participle, as in (87).

(87) a-ky-nykʰu jy-γe
1SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-invite AOR-come[II]
‘He came to my house as a guest (following my invitation).’ (elicited)
In purposive clauses, the rule is thus that the subject participle is used when there is subject-subject coreference (§16.1.1.6), and the object participle in cases of object-subject coreference (Jacques 2016a: 248).

### 16.1.2.7 Lexicalized object participles

While some object participles are commonly used as headless relative clauses, few can be considered to be fully lexicalized.

The verbs related to food ingestion such as *ndza* ‘eat’, *tsʰi* ‘drink’, *ndzytsʰi* ‘eat and drink’, *moš* ‘eat (powdery food)’ have object participles such as *k*–*ndza* ‘food’, *kty-tsʰi* ‘drink (n), beverage’, *kty-ndzytsʰi* ‘food and drink’ and *kymoš* ‘dry tsampa’, which commonly occur in enumerations (§9.2.2.1) with nouns not derived from verbs, as in (88).

(88) *u-kty-ndza*      *u-kty-tsʰi*      *u-tukrimgo*      *ra*
3SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-eat 3SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-drink 3SG.POSS-butter.bread PL
*to-yušt*          *qʰe*, *tcendre*, *nura*          *pý-wy-mbi*  *qʰe*,
IFR:UP-bring LNK LNK DEM:PL IFR-INV-give LNK
‘She brought food, drinks and butter bread for her and gave them to her.’
(2003-kWBRa)

In these enumerations, sometimes only the first element takes a possessive prefix, as in (89), where we find *ndži-kty-ndza* *kty-tsʰi* instead of the equally possible *ndži-kty-ndza* *ndži-kty-tsʰi* (however, if the first *kty*–participle in the enumeration has no possessive prefix, the following participle cannot take one).

(89) *ndži-kty-ndza*      *kty-tsʰi*      *mty-mbryt*,
2DU.POSS-OBJ:PCP-eat OBJ:PCP-drink NEG-ACAUS:cut
*ndži-kty-ndzytsʰi*      *a-pu-me*      *smułym*
2DU.POSS-SBJ:PCP-eat.and.drink IRR-IPFV-not.exist prayer
‘May you never lack food or drink, may there nobody [coming to] eat you.’ (2003kAndZWslama)

In these examples, the possessive prefix always refer to the person or animal ingesting the food (not the person giving the food), and although these forms are very common, since their semantics is completely predictable from the base verb, and since the possessive prefix behaves like that of a normal oblique participle, there is no specific reason to consider that they have become nouns and constitute lexical entries that must be distinguished from the verb (except in the case of *kymoš* ‘dry tsampa’, whose meaning has become more specific).
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

The forms *k-pa* and *ké-stu*, derived from the verbs from the verbs *pa* ‘do’ and *stu* ‘do like’, both meaning ‘manner, method (to solve a problem)’ (like Chinese ‘办法 <bànfǎ> ‘method’), are other potential candidates to be analyzed as lexicalized object participles (or infinitives). They are particularly commonly used with existential verbs to mean ‘X has (no/a) way to do it’ (X being referred to by the possessive prefix on *ké-pa* or *ké-stu*), as in (90).

(90) *a-kypa* *maŋe*
1SG.POSS-method not-existent
'I have no way of doing it.' (many attestations)

However, collocation in texts of *ké-pa* and *ké-stu* with the finite forms of the verbs *pa* ‘do’ and *stu* ‘do like’, as in (91) and, suggest that these forms are still synchronically linked with these verbs, and that it may be more economical to analyze them as participles rather than derived nouns.

(91) *ny-ky-pa* *tw~tu* *ny*, *ty-pe* *ma mtsʰoŋlaŋ*
2SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-do COND~exist:FACT LNK IMP-do[III] LNK water.monster
*ty-ɣe*
AOR:UP-come[II]

'If you have some way [to protect us], use it, because the water monster has come.' (2012 Norbzang) {0003768#S26}

(92) *nwnw w-taɣ* *nwtcu ny-ky-stu* *u-ɣyɣu* *tce*
DEM 3SG.POSS-ON DEM:LOC 2SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-do lik QU-exist:SENS LNK
*a-ty-tw-ste* *ma tce*
IRR-PFV-2-do like[III] LNK LNK

'If you have a way to deal with him, use it.' (25-kAmYW-XpAltCin)
{0003642#S35}

The object participle *ké-ti* from the verb *ti* ‘say’, although transparently derived, has an unpredictable meaning in the existential construction. With a negative existential verb, in addition to the expected meaning ‘have nothing to say’, it can be interpreted as ‘be unable to say for sure’, as in (93).

(93) *a-ky-ti* *ci* *maŋe*
1SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-say INDEF not-existent
'I cannot say for sure.' (many examples)

In addition, there are highly lexicalized object participles occurring as members of compounds; these cases are generally ambiguous, and alternatively analyzable as lexicalized velar infinitives (§16.2.1.9). The incorporating verb *kɔ́tu pa*
'tell' is an interesting case: it combines the form *kr-ti* (either the participle 'what one says' or the infinitive 'to say') in bound state *krtu-* (the alternative form *krtipa* is also attested) with the auxiliary *pa* 'do' (§22.4.2.5).

### 16.1.3 Oblique participles

The *sɣ*-prefix (and its allomorphs *sɣγ-*, *sɣz-* and *z-*) is used for non-core argument nominalization, in particular recipients of indirecitive verbs (§8.2.3.2, §8.3.1), instruments (§8.2.2.4), place and time adjuncts, as in (94). It takes a possessive prefix which can be coreferent with any core argument (subject or object).

(94) *u-sɣ-yi*
3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-come

‘The place/moment from where/when he/it comes.’ (elicited)

Related forms include the gerund (§16.6.1) and the purposive converb (§16.6.2); the historical relationship between these categories is discussed in §16.8.2.

#### 16.1.3.1 Allomorphy

The base form of the oblique participle is *sɣ-*, but three additional allomorphs are also found: *sɣz-*, *z-* and *sɣγ-*.

The allomorph *sɣγ-* or *sɣx-* (depending on the voicing of the next consonant) is attested with intransitive (or labile) monosyllabic verbs with an onset without velar/uvular consonant, and without consonant cluster involving a preinitial (§17.2.1.4). This allomorph is to some extent lexicalized, and is not found with all verbs fulfilling these criteria. Table 16.3 presents some of the most common examples of *sɣγ-* participles in Kamnyu Japhug.

Some of the verbs taking the *sɣγ-* allomorph do also occur with *sɣ-.* For instance, *me* ‘not exist’ is attested with both *u-sɣγ-me* as in (95) and *u-sɣ-me* in (96). However, most verbs in Table 16.3 are only compatible with the *sɣγ-* allomorph.

(95) *zmbulum* *u-sɣγ-łok* *nura* *tu-łok*
species.of.mushroom 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-come.out DEM:PL IPFV-come.out
ŋu. *zmbulum* *u-sɣγ-me* *ra kumɣ*
be:FACT species.of.mushroom 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-not.exist PL also
*tu-łok* *cti*.
IPFV-come.out be.AFF:FACT

‘It grows in the places where the *youlaku* mushroom grows, and also in the places where there are no *youlaku*.’ (22-BlamajmAG) {0003584#S55}
<table><caption>Table 16.3: Examples of oblique participles in *sɣy-*</caption><thead><tr><th>Base verb</th><th>Oblique participle</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>pʰŋn 'be efficient'</td><td>u-sɣx-pʰŋ 'advantage'</td></tr><tr><td>me 'not exist'</td><td>u-sɣy-me 'place where there is no X'</td></tr><tr><td>łɔk 'come out'</td><td>u-sɣy-łɔk 'place where X grows, pasture'</td></tr><tr><td>lɣy 'graze'</td><td>u-sɣy-lɣy 'pasture, place from which X comes out'</td></tr><tr><td>ndzɔk 'be attached'</td><td>u-sɣy-ndzɔk 'place where X is attached'</td></tr><tr><td>zo 'land' (of bird)</td><td>u-sɣy-zo 'place where X lands'</td></tr><tr><td>ce 'go'</td><td>u-sɣx-ce 'direction, place where X goes'</td></tr></tbody></table>

(96) *tyjmɣy* *u-sɣ-tu* *u-sɣ-me* *ɣɣzu*. mushroom 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-exist 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-not oxy exist SENS 'There are places where there are mushrooms, and other places where there aren't.' (20-grWBgrWB) {0003554#S45}

The allomorphs *sɣz-* and *z-* occur in the same context, with non-monosyllabic verb stems, where the first syllable (either a productive or a frozen prefix) is sonorant-initial. These two allomorphs are completely interchangeable, without restriction on particular verbs or the function of the relativized element (instru-ment, locative or temporal adjunct). For instance, the locative participle of *rɣzi* 'stay' is attested as both *u-sɣz-rɣzi* and *u-z-rɣzi* 'the place when he/it stays' in the corpus, as shown by examples (97) and (98), a few sentences away from each other in the same story.

(97) *tceri numu sɣtcʰa nu li icqʰa* *qapribuxsi* but DEM place DEM again the aforementioned python *u-sɣz-rɣzi* *pjɣ-cti*. 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-stay IFR.IPFV-be.AFF 'But that place was the abode of a python.' (140511 xinbada-zh) {0003961#S89}

(98) *tce <xinbaba> rcanu, maka nwtcu u-z-rɣzi* LNK Sinbad UNEXP:DEG at.all DEM:LOC 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-stay *u-tu-sɣy-mu* *pjɣ-sɣre* *zo tce, 3SG.POSS-NMLZ:DEG-PROP-be.afraid IFR.IPFV-be.ridiculous EMPH LNK 'Sinbad, the place where he stayed was extremely terrifying.' (140511 xinbada-zh) {0003961#S95}
The *sɣ*- allomorph, rather than *sɣz*- or *z-*, is however found when preceding the vertitive (§19.2) and autive (§19.1) prefixes, as in (99).

(99) *qʰe tú-wɣ-cu*      *mɣ-ku-kuʰu*,      *sɣ-nu-ku*      *ri*
LNK IPFV-INV-open NEG-SBJ:PCP-be.possible OBL:PCP-AUTO-come.out also
*kuu-me*      *ta-βzu*.
SBJ:PCP-not.exist AOR:3→3'-make

‘(He put tape on the drawers so that) they could not be opened, and there
was no way to come out of them (to prevent the rats inside from
escaping).’ (150831 BZW kAnArRaR) {0006378#S18}

The allomorph *sɣγ-* is also (though more rarely) attested with the autive *nuu-* of verbs that take *sɣγ-* in their simplex form. For instance, next to *sɣ-nuu-łoBV*, the oblique participle *sɣγ-nuu-łoBV* is found in (100) (without autive prefix the oblique participle is *uu-sɣγ-łoBV*, see Table 16.3).

(100) *uu-sɣγ-nuu-łoBV*      *ŋu uu-kuu-spo BV*
3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-AUTO-come.out GEN 3SG.POSS-SBJ:PCP-have.a.hole
*puŋ-ŋu*.
IFR.IPFV-be
‘It was the hole from which [the animal] came out [of the cave]. (140511 xinbada-zh) {0003961#S80}

The *sɣz-* allomorph is not completely impossible with the autive *nuu-* prefix, but only one example, *nuu-sɣz-nuu-ngŋt* ‘the place where they (had) parted ways’ (101), is found in the whole corpus (and the form *sɣ-nuu-ngŋt* is also attested, see example 122 in §16.1.3.5).

(101) *nuu-sɣz-nuu-ngŋt*      *ŋu icqʰa, tςγςŋŋt nuuicu*
3PL.POSS-OBL:PCP-AUTO-ACAUS:separate GEN FILLER crossroads DEM:LOC
*jγ-azyuŋt-nuu tce,*
AOR-reach-PL LNK
‘They arrived at the crossroads where they had parted ways.’ (140508 benling gaoqiang de si xiongdi) {0003935#S106}

16.1.3.2 Transitivity

Like subject and object participles, oblique participle keep the verb transitivity, and transitive verbs can take an overt object as *qaj u-s-y-ji* ‘place for planting
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

wheat<fnref n="5" /> in (102).

(102) **qajsta numu kwćungu** qaj w-sv-ji
**TOPO DEM** in/former.times.wheat 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-plant
**pjv-pe** tce tce núndza qajsta tu-ti-nu pw-ŋu
**IFR.IPFV-be.good** LNK LNK for this.reason **TOPO IPFV-say-PL** SENS-be
**'Qaysta, in former times it was a wheat field which was good, and for**
**this reason, it is called 'Qaysta' 'the place of the wheat'.** (140522
kAmYW tWji2) {0004057#S101}

An antipassive form (§18.6) is necessary if there is no definite object. For instance in (103), *svz-rv-ji* ‘place for planting, field’ is based on the *rv-* antipassive of *ji* ‘plant’; this form, unlike *w-sv-ji* in (102), is used without (and cannot occur with) any noun specifying the crop planted in the field.

(103) tce tumgri svz-rv-ji nw koŋla p-v-v-me-nw
LNK **TOPO** OBL:PCP-APASS-plant DEM completely IFR-CAUS-notuez-PL
ma kʰa kfa zo to-bzu-nw.
LNK house completely EMPH IFR-make-PL

‘They removed all the fields in Temgri, and built houses there [instead].’
(140522 kAmYW tWji2) {0004057#S17}

16.1.3.3 Possessive prefixes

Possessive prefixes on oblique participles are optional, though their presence is
preferred in careful speech.

With intransitive verbs, the possessive prefix refers to the subject, as *a-svz-nyri*
'the place where I stay' in (104).

(104) a-kv-ndza ri yzyu, a-svz-rvzi ri
1SG.POSS-OBJ:PCP-eat also exist:SENS 1SG.POSS-OBJ:PCPblique-stay also
yzyu qʰe exist:SENS LNK

'(There), I have food to eat and a place to stay.' (150831 renshen wawa)
{0006418#S22}

With transitive verbs, the possessive prefix can be coreferent with the object.
For instance, in (105), the plural *nw-* on *nw-sv-tšwβ* refers to the many types of
clothes and shoes mentioned just before in the same text.

<footnote n="5">⁵Note that participle *w-sv-ji* can have other interpretations, including ‘the period when it is planted’, as in (129) below.</footnote>
(105) *nwstʰamtcxt yu* *nw-sɣ-tṣuβ* *nw tu-ŋgru*
so.many GEN 3PL.POSS-OBJ:PCPblique-sew DEM INDEF.POSS-sinew
tu-sw-βzu-nw.
IPFV-CAUS-make-PL

'People use sinew to sew that many [types of clothes and shoes].'
(150906 tWNgru) {0006304#S17}

However, it is also possible for the possessive prefix to be coreferent with the subject. This is particularly common when the subject is first or second person, and no overt object is present, as *nɣ-sɣ-ta* 'the place where you put it' in (106).

(106) *kwcte nuctu nɣ-sɣ-ta* *me w-ŋu*
other DEM:LOC 2SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-put not-existent QU-existent
'Isn't there any other place where you put [the food]?' (meimei de gushi)

There is no person hierarchy in slot accessibility to the possessive prefix however; in (107), the possessive prefix on *nw-sɣ-ntcʰoz* marks the subject, although the object is first person plural.

(107) *tce izora yu* *nw-sɣ-ntcʰoz* *a-pu-tu tce pu-tṣuŋ*
LNK 1PL GEN 3PL.POSS-OBL:PCP-use IRR-IPFV-exist LNK SENS-be.grateful

'We are glad that [some] of us have an opportunity to be useful to them.'
(conversation)

When the object is overt (§16.1.3.2), it is rare to put a first or second person possessive prefix coreferent with the subject on the participle. Rather, a possessive prefix occurs on the object, as in (108) and (109), as if *kʰutsa sɣ-rku* 'place where one puts the bowls' and *mbrɣz sɣ-rku* 'rice container' were compounds.

(108) *tce tce ji-kʰutsa sɣ-rku yu* *u-ŋgw* *nw,*
LNK LNK 1PL.POSS-bowl OBL:PCP-put.in GEN 3SG.POSS-inside DEM
<chouchou> *u-ŋgw* *pu-nnu-ŋu,* *nw kumaŋ nura*
drawer 3SG.POSS-inside PST.IPFV-AUTO-be DEM other DEM:PL
*pu-nnu-ŋu* *kuŋy maka, laχtcʰa kɣ-rku* *me,*
PST.IPFV-AUTO-be also at all thing OBJ:PCP-put.in whether
kɣ-ndza kɣ-rku *me,* *nura tu-ndze* *nɣ tu-ndze,*
OBJ:PCP-eat OBJ:PCP-put.in whether DEM IPFV-eat[III] LNK IPFV-eat[III]
'Whether it was in the cupboard in which we put [our] bowls, or in the
drawers or elsewhere, whether it was food or objects in there, [the
mice] ate/gnawed them again and again.' (150831 BZW kAnArRaR)
{0006378#S7}
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

(109) *nú* *s}*zn}* a-*mbr}*z *s}*-rku *a-*pu-*η}* *pu*-ra
DEM COMP 1SG.POSS-rice OBL:PCP-put.in IRR-IPFV-be SENS-be.needed
‘Why don’t I use [this basin] as a rice container?’ (150831 jubaopen-zh)
{0006294#S23}

Using the possessive on the verb is never preferred, but appears to be grammatical in elicitation in negative existential constructions, thus next to (110a), (110b) is also possible.

(110) a. *izo* ji-*kʰu*tsa *s}*-ta *me*
1PL 1PL.POSS-bowl OBL:PCP-put not:FACT
b. *izo* kʰu*tsa ji-*s}*-ta *me*
1PL bowl 1PL.POSS-OBL:PCP-put not.ilex:FACT
‘We don’t have any place to put the bowls.’ (elicited)

If the object is an inalienably possessed noun, it can be alienabilized (§5.1.2.9).
For instance, the 1PL possessive form of *tu-*-*ŋga* *s}*-*χtci* ‘washing machine’ can be
either (111a) with alienabilization or (111b) without it.

(111) a. ji-*tu-*-*ŋga s}*-*χtci
1PL.POSS-INDEF.POSS-clothes OBL:PCP-wash
b. ji-*ŋga s}*-*χtci
1PL.POSS-clothes OBL:PCP-wash

‘Our washing machine’ (111a heard in context, 111b elicited)

16.1.3.4 Polarity and orientation preverbs

Unlike subject and object participles, the only prefixes (other than possessive prefixes) that oblique participles can take are the polarity prefixes and series B orientation preverbs.

It is thus not possible to have perfective or past imperfective oblique partici-
ples, and alternative strategies are used to express the corresponding meanings.
For instance, from the verb *sqa* ‘cook’, the form †*u*-pu-*s}*-*sqa* (intended meaning:
‘the thing that has been used to cook’) is incorrect, and the solution to circumvent
this morphological constraint is to combine the plain oblique participle *u*-*s}*-*sqa*
with *pu*-ku-*η}* (the past imperfective subject participle of *η}* ‘be’) and with the
phrase *nu* ɛwŋgw ‘before that’, as in (112).
(112) **nʷ cʷŋgw u-sy-sqa** **pʷ-kʷ-ŋu** **u-ŋgw**
DEM before 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-COOK PST.IPFV-SBJ:PCP-be 3SG.POSS-inside
(tu-rku-nʷ)
IPFV-put.in-PL

'[They put it] in the [pan] that had been used to cook [the barley grains] previously.' (31-cha) {0003764#S58}

Negative forms of the oblique participle are not very common, but examples are found in the corpus (as in 113) and there is no difficulty to elicit them.

(113) **qaẓmbri nʷ, nykinʷ, u-sy-pe** **ra me,**
vine DEM FILLER 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-be.good PL notuez:FACT
u-mú-sy-pe** **ra me,**

3SG.POSS-NEG-OBL:PCP-be.good PL notuez:FACT

'The vine is neither a boon nor a harm (to the plants on which it grows).'  
(06-qaZmbri) {0003416#S17}

16.1.3.5 Locative relative clauses

The oblique participle can be used to build many different types of relative clauses, with various non-core arguments and adjuncts as relativized elements, including locative, temporal, instrumental adjuncts and dative arguments. The most common ones are the locative relative clauses.

With motion verbs like *ɛe* ‘go’ or verbs of manipulation, the relativized element
can be either the goal (the endpoint of the motion, as in 114), or the path through
which the motion event takes place: in (115) for instance, the head *tšu* is a locative
adjunct (‘the road through which one goes to X’) different from the goal (the
placename *pryšt*a).

(114) ndži-syx-če nštču jo-žyšt tče
3DU.POSS-OBL:PCP-go DEM:LOC IFR-reach LNK

'[The ox] arrived at the place where the two of them were going.'
(150826 shier shengxiao-zh) {0006284#S85}

(115) [prvcta tšu ku-syx-ce] nwere ri tw-ji ci
toPO path ipfv:east-oBL:PCP-go dem:loc loc indef.poss-field indef
tu tce, nʷ cŋŋgyy rmi.

exist:FACT LNK DEM TOPO be.called:FACT

'On the road towards Prashta there is a field, it is called Kyangag.'
(140522 kAmYW tWji) {0004055#S110}
In (116), the oblique participle designates the areas in which the subject (a plant) grows, without a specific goal.

(116) *pyjka* *wuma zo* *a-pw-pe*, *tce* *w-syx-ce*
pumpkin really *EMPH* *IRR-IPFV-be.good* *LNK* 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-go
*nura* *a-pw-dyn* *w-syz-nycwe*
DEM:PL *IRR-IPFV-be.many* 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-go.around
*a-pw-dyn* *tce*, *pyjka* *tw-pʰw* *w-taɣ* *nwtaɣ*
IRR-IPFV-be.many *LNK* pumpkin *ONE-tree* 3SG.POSS-on DEM:LOC
*kwβdvsqi jamar*, *w-mat* *ku-tsʰov* *pwh-cʰa*
fourty about 3SG.POSS-fruit IPFV-attach SENS-can
‘When the pumpkin [grows] well, and when there are a lot of [places]
for it to spread, one plant can yield about fourty pumpkin.’ (16-CWrNgo)
{0003518#S95}

The relativized locative adjunct can also be the place of origin rather than the goal in the case of the verb *yi* ‘come’ as in (117).

(117) *izora nʷ ji-sy-yi* *nwteɣ* *pjy-ŋu* *tce*.
1PL DEM 1PL.POSS-OBL:PCP-come DEM:LOC IFR.IPFV-be LNK
‘The place from where we come was there.’ (2010-06)

With stative verbs or dynamic verbs implying no motion, the oblique participle has a static locative meaning, as in (118).

(118) *ty-tcwn* *tcʰeme tw-sy-ymdzw* *zaka tu*.
INDEF.POSS-son girl INDEF.POSS-OBL:PCP-sit each exist:FACT
‘Gentlemen and ladies each have [different] seating places.’ (31-khAjmu)
{0004079#S10}

Participial locative relative clauses are used to describe non-transient properties of places: directions, locations or places of origin that are unchanging characteristics of things or persons (115 and 117), places where some state of affair generally occurs due to a natural law (116 and 128) or places used for a specific purpose, as in (118), and even more clearly in (119) with the property noun *u-rkoz* ‘something special’ (§16.5.1).
(119) tce saŋdi nu̯ tce, nu̯nw̯ si
LNK lower side of the hearth DEM LNK DEM firewood
u̯-sɣ-ta u̯-rkoz zo pjɣ-ŋu.
3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-put 3SG.POSS-special EMPH IFR.IPFV-be
'The lower side of the hearth was specifically where [people] put
firewood.' (2011-11)

For transient properties of places, finite relatives are used instead (§23.5.5.1).
In example (120) translated from Chinese,<fnref n="6" /> Tshendzin hesitates between a participle relative (implying that there was a specific place where the sky goddesses put their clothes each time they came to earth) and a finite relative (suggesting that they put their clothes in some unspecific place, perhaps in a casual way as the autive -nu- could indicate, §19.1).

(120) tcʰemɣpwu nwa, [nwh-ŋga sɣ-ta] nuctu ko-ce,
girl DEM:PL 3PL.POSS-clothes OBL:PCP-put DEM:LOC IFR:EAST-go
[nwh-ŋga na-nw-ta-nw] nuctu ko-ce matci,
3PL.POSS-clothes AOR:3→3'-AUTO-put-PL DEM:LOC IFR:EAST-go LNK
'He went to the place where the girls put their clothes, where they had
put their clothes.' (150828 niulang-zh) {0006318#S58}

Locative participial relative clauses with overt head can be prenominal, in particular with genitival relatives as in (121).

(121) pjɣ-nuːkwlu-nuː ma sɣ-nuː-ce yuː w-tsu nuː
IFR-be.lost-PL LNK OBL:PCP-VERT-go GEN 3SG.POSS-path DEM
mw-ŋ-ŋu-mto-nuː.
NEG-IFR-AUTO-see-PL
'They were lost, and could not find their way back home.' (160630
poucet1) {0006065#S52}

However, head-internal relatives are also attested: in (115) above and (122), the
head of the participial relatives, the noun tṣu ‘road’, occurs between the verb in
oblique participle form and a place name marking the goal. Note in addition that
(122) illustrates two locative oblique participial relative clauses embedded within
another participial relative.<fnref n="7" />

<footnote n="6">⁶The original text has ……走到仙女们放衣服的地方 <zǒu dào xiānnǚmen fāng yīfú de difāng> ‘…went to the place where the sky goddesses put/had put their clothes’; both interpretations are possible.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷In (122), the orientation preverbs reflect the basic meanings of the tridimensional system (§15.1.3).</footnote>
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

(122) [[rpɣŋgw tšu lu-syx-ce]
TOPO path IPFV:UPSTREAM-OBL:PCP-go COMIT TOPO path
lu-sɣ-yi]

pwo-sɣ-nwo-ngyt]

IPFV:UPSTREAM-OBL:PCP-come IPFV:WEST-OBL:PCP-AUTO-ACAUS:separate
nwatcu,
DEM:LOC

'At the place where the road towards Rpangu and the road towards Praskhyu separate.' (140522 kAmYW tWji2) {0004057#S122}

16.1.3.6 Instrumental relative clauses

Another very productive type of oblique participial relatives are the instrumental relative clauses (§23.5.6). Although instruments, like transitive subjects, receive ergative case (§8.2.2.4), they are usually relativized with oblique participles.

There is often ambiguity between instrument relativization and locative ad-
junct relativization; for instance, while the participle *u*-z-r-y-r-y*t can mean ‘pen
(the tool used to write)’ as in (123), this form can also designate the paper on
which one writes or even one’s office.

(123) *u*-slama*χti *nw* γw, [*u*-z-r-y-r-yt] *ci*
3SG.POSS-classmate DEM GEN 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-APASS-write INDEF
*to*-nw-*ndo* *tce* *jo*-nw-*tswm* *pwo*-*ŋu* *tce*,
IFR-AUTO-take LNK IFR-VERT-take-away SENS-be LNK

'He took away the pen of a classmate.' (2014-tou dongxi de xiaohai-zh)

Instrumental relative clauses built with oblique participles can occur as objects of the causativized verb *swu-βzu* ‘cause to make; use X to make’, as in (124).

(124) *nwnw* [twtʰw *sy-χtci], [tw-ŋga sɣ-pciz] *nwra*
DEM pan OBL:PCP-wash INDEF.POSS-clothes OBL:PCP-wipe DEM:PL
*tu-sw-βzu-nw* *pwo-ŋgrvl*.
IPFV-CAUS-make-PL PST.IPFV-be.usually.the.case

'People used to employ [*Usnea*] as tools to wash pans or wipe clothes.'
(20-sWrna) {0003564#S141}

In this construction, the material used to make the tool is marked with the ergative (§8.2.2.4), as in (125).
(125) *wnwnw kw [u-sv-em]*
tu-sw-bzu-nw
DEM ERG 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-mix IPFV-CAUS-make-PL
pu-ngryl
PST.IPFV-be.usually.the.case
'People used to employ it (a boat oar) to mix [the alcohol]' (31-cha)
{0003764#S42}

Oblique participles are used to make instrumental relative clauses, used like nouns of instruments, from both transitive and intransitive verbs. If the base verb is transitive, the participle retains its transitivity: thus in (125), the absence of object in the one-word relative clause *u-sv-emi* 'the tool used to mix it' is the result of zero-anaphora, and implies a definite object. Instrumental relative clauses with a transitive verb more often have an overt object, as in (124). For indefinite objects, antipassivization is necessary, as in *u-z-r-y-r-yt* 'the tool used to write' in (123) above (see also §16.1.3.2).

The relativized instrument need not be an entity, but can also be an action. For instance, in the pseudo-cleft (126), what is referred to by the participial relative is the infinitival clause *mrym k-y-p-ha*.

(126) *qajdo [u-rza-b u-cki u-syz-nwrmyzu]* n-w
crow 3SG.POSS-wife 3SG.POSS-DAT 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-show.off DEM
mrym k-y-p-ha pjy-ny
type.of.tree INF-chop IFR.IPFV-be
'What he was showing off with to his wife was chopping the wood of
the mrym tree (which is easy to cut).' (11-mYAm) {0003474#S22}

### 16.1.3.7 Other oblique relative clauses

In addition to goals, locative adjuncts and instruments, oblique participles are used to relativize various other types of arguments and adjuncts, though those cases are considerably less common in the corpus.

Dative arguments (in *u-ki* or *u-phe*, §8.3.1) are relativized with an oblique participle (§23.5.8), as is shown by (127), where the verb *feyt* 'tell' also occurs as the main verb of the second clause with an overt recipient marked with the dative.

(127) [*u-sy-feyt] pjs-me qhe tce ty-pytso
3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-tell IPFV.IFR-not.exist LNK LNK INDEF.POSS-child
u-ki n-w t-cu nura tc-hi pw-ku-fse nura pjs-feyt.
3SG-DAT DEM LOC DEM:PL what PST-SBJ:PCP-be like DEM:PL IFR-tell
'She had no one [else] to tell, so she told the boy everything that had
happened.' (140515 congming de wusui xiaohai-zh) {0003998#S74}
16 Non-finite verbal morphology

Likewise, comitative phrases in *cʰo* (§8.2.5) and occurring with verbs with in-
trinsically non-singular subjects (§14.2.6), are relativized with an oblique partici-
ple. For instance, the participle *u-sy-ymi* in (128) is a headless relative meaning
‘those with whom it is on good terms with’.

(128) tce wso [u-sy-ymi] nw dy
LNK it 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-be.on.good.terms DEM be.many:FACT
ma ca kw-fse qazo kw-fse, tsʰyt
because musk.deer OBL:PCP-be likesh sheep OBL:PCP-be lik goat
kw-fse, wso cʰo kw-naχtcwy swjno, xcaj ma
OBL:PCP-be like it with OBL:PCP-be identical herbs grass apart.from
my-kw-ndza nw ra cʰo nw ammi-nw tce,
NEG-OBL:PCP-eat DEM PL with DEM be.in.good.term:FACT-PL LNK
‘The [animals] that are on good terms with the rabbit are many, it is on
good terms with those that only eat grass, like musk deer, sheep or
goats.’ (04 qala1) {0003392#S30}

Time adjuncts are also possibly relativized using oblique participles, as *u-sy-
ji*, which means ‘the period when it is planted’ in (129). However, finite relative
clauses are the preferred way of relativizing time adjuncts (§23.5.9). As in the case
of locative relative clauses (§16.1.3.5), participial relative clauses are only used to
refer to specific dates and time periods that are intrinsic properties of the event.

(129) tce numu zaka [u-sy-ji] p̱u-ŋu tce
LNK DEM each 3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-plant SENS-be LNK
‘These are the [periods] when people plant each of these [crops].’ (15
tChWma) {0003514#S18}

Temporal relative clauses are generally headless, but (130) shows an example
of head-internal (or postnominal) relative clause, with skyrma ‘minute, date’ as
its head noun. In addition, this participial relative has here a superlative interpre-
tation (§26.4.2).

(130) lςςyρ χswm u-raŋ tce, tuxpalγskγr yu, nykinu, [skyrma
new.year three 3SG.POSS-time LOC whole.year GEN FILLER date
u-sy-sna] ōu tu-kw-ti ōu.
3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-be.good be:FACT IPFV-GENR-say be:FACT
‘We say that the third day of the year is the [most] auspicious day in the
whole year.’ (2010-10)
A further derived meaning of the oblique participle is that of ‘opportunity to do X’, as in (131) and (107) above.

(131) tce [sɣz-nuŋgra] γγzu ri, li sɣyzwr
LNK OBL:PCP-earn.wages exist:SENS LNK again be.dangerous:FACT
‘Although it [provides] an opportunity to earn wages, it is also
dangerous.’ (conversation 140510)

Even in context, the exact meaning of a particular oblique relative clause may
allow some leeway in interpretation. For instance, the participle *ji-sɣx-ce* in the
negative existential construction in (132) could be understood as a locative rela-
tive clause ‘(we had no) place to go’ but also alternatively as ‘(we had no) oppor-
tunity to go (anywhere)’ in this particular context.

(132) izora tce kʰa u-ŋgw kɣ-kɣ-ja zo
1PL LNK house 3SG.POSS-inside AOR-OBJ:PCP-close EMPH
pu-fse-j ku-rɣit-i ma [ji-sɣx-ce] maŋe
SENS-be like-1PL IPFV-stay-1PL LNK 1PL.POSS-OBL:PCP-go notuezENS
‘It was like we were locked in the house, with nowhere to go.’ (140501
tshering skyid) {0003902#S115}

16.1.3.8 Causative

The oblique participles can occur as object of the verb βzu ‘make’, with a pur-
posive (133) or causative (134) interpretation. These meanings derive from the
instrumental nominalizing uses of the oblique participle.

(133) tw-ji w-rkw ra ty-yur pjw-ta-nw tce,
INDEF.POSS-field 3SG.POSS-side PL INDEF.POSS-fence IPFV-put-PL LNK
fsapaɣ w-mɣ-sɣx-ce tu-βzu-nw
animals 3SG.POSS-NEG-OBL:PCP-go IPFV-make-PL
ŋgryl
be.usually.the.case:FACT
‘They put a fence around the fields, so as to prevent farm animals from
going there.’ (140427 qamtsWrmdzu) {0003854#S13}

In (133), the phrase *fsapaɣ w-mɣ-sɣx-ce* can be interpreted as ‘(something made so) that animals do not go (there)’, while in (134) *rgargun numu w-sɣ-čju-čjit* means ‘(something used to) remind the old man’.
## 16 Non-finite verbal morphology

(134) **tcʰeme ku-ŋy-n** nu ku icqʰa nu, rgargwn nwnu
woman SBJ:PCP-be.evil DEM ERG FILLER DEM old.man DEM
u-sy-ŋujw-ŋjit to-βzu tce,
3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-EMPH-remember IFR-make LNK
'The evil woman reminded the old man.' (140515 jiesu de laoren-zh)
{0004004#S118}

### 16.1.3.9 Ambiguity

The various allomorphs of the oblique participle do resemble other prefixes found in Japhug. The *sɣ-* and *sɣy-* allomorphs are also found with the proprietive derivation (§18.8), and *sɣ-* is also similar to the human antipassive, or the sigmatic causative of *a-* initial verbs (§12.3). Finally, the *z-* allomorph of the oblique participle can resemble the causative (§17.2.1.1) or one allomorph of the translocative prefix (§15.2.1.2).

However, unlike subject (§16.1.1.3) and object (§16.1.2.3) participles, these surface ambiguities are only very superficial, as the forms with which the oblique participle could potentially be confused are all finite, and hardly ever occur in the same syntactic context as the oblique participle (and except for their bare infinitive form, in the case of transitive verb, never occur with a possessive prefix).

In the case of the *z-* allomorph of translocative prefix, note that it only occurs before a few orientation preverbs (*nuw-*, *nɣ-*, *ju-*, *jɣ-*, *jo-*, *ja-*), whereas the oblique participle *z-* can only follow an orientation preverb, as in *u-cʰu-z-raŋruŋ* in (135), so that the two forms can never be confused.

(135) **nwnu γu u-cʰu-z-raŋruŋ** nu
DEM GEN 3SG.POSS-IPFV:DOWNSTREAM-OBL:PCP-sweep DEM
u-sy-pciz rmi
3SG.POSS-OBL:PCP-wipe bePORT:FACT
'[The tool used to] sweep [the flour] is called a "wiper".' (06-BGa)
{0003408#S149}

### 16.1.3.10 Lexicalized oblique participles

Nouns of instruments and of location, including placenames, are often made from oblique participles.

The noun *sɔrcu* ‘key’, although transparently originating from the instrumental use of the oblique participle of *cu* ‘open’, is lexicalized as shown by the fact that it cannot take orientation preverbs, and that it occurs in collocation with the auxiliary *lɔt* to mean ‘lock (the door)’ as in (136).