2.1 Phoneme Inventory

Based on the criteria shown in Table 5.1, the Aragusuku dialect has six vowels, sixteen consonants, and two glides.

As shown in Table 5.1, consonants are distinguished by the fact that they are the only segments that obstruct the airstream during pronunciation. Next, vowels and glides differ in their ability to be syllabic: vowels are always syllabic, while glides can never be syllabic.

2.2 Syllable Structure and Phonotactics

Root words have a syllable structure of ((R_i) R_i) ((C_i)C_i(G)) V₁ (V₂) (C_coda), where R represents only word-initial resonants, C the consonants (both obstruents and resonants), G the glides and V the vowels. The parenthesized elements are optional (Table 5.4).

Note that the sesquisyllable is only found word-initially. It can be filled only with a single resonant sound (e.g., m.cɨ ‘road’) or its geminates (e.g., mm.cɨ ‘six’). However, I yet know of no words that include /r/ or /rr/ in their sesqui-syllables. The restriction of slots are as follow (Table 5.5).

Note that the coda slot may be filled with a voiceless obstruent (pronounced as [ʔ]) only when it is in word-medial position. In this case, the onset of the following syllable must be an identical obstruent (e.g., bap.pai [baʔpai] ‘do something wrong’; kakat.tan [kakaʔtaɴ] ‘didn’t write’; kakžk.ka [kaks̞ʔka] ‘If somebody writes’; bas.sɨtar [baʔsɨtaː]; kakžtarc.ca [kaks̞taːʔtsa] ‘(I heard that she) wrote’).

Moreover, Aragusuku rejects vowel strings made up of three or more vowels. To avoid such strings, two strategies are employed: (A) the insertion of /j/ (e.g., //mii⸗a// (eye⸗top) → /miija/ [miːja]), (B) vowel deletion (e.g., //mii-i// (watch-seq) → /mii/ [miː]).

2.3 Mora

In addition to “syllable”, the phonological unit “mora” is primarily involved when describing the prosody of the Aragusuku dialect. The corresponding relationship between syllables and morae is illustrated in Table 5.4. μ indicates the position that carries one mora. As is evident from the table, resonants (R) in the sesquisyllable each carry one mora. As for regular syllables, an onset consonant carries a mora only when it is the first part of a C_iC_i sequence. Vowels always carry one mora each, and the coda consonants also carry one mora each. Aragusuku has a minimal word constraint that a word must have at least two morae.

2.4 Word-Level Prosody

It is reported by Inagaki (1966) that Aragusuku shows the ‘n+1 pattern’ of pitch accent; that is, where for words consisting of n syllables, there are n+1 accent patterns. To put it specifically, for monosyllable words (n=1), there are two patterns: the initial accent (where the falling accent is assigned to the first syllable) and the unaccented pattern (the one that has no falling accent but only a raising one between the first and the second syllable); for disyllabic words (n=2), there are three patterns: the initial accent, the penultimate accent (where the falling accent is assigned to the second syllable) and the unaccented pattern.

However, based on the author’s research, pitch contrasts are not observed: when pronounced in isolation, monosyllabic words are observed always with the falling pith contour (that is, the initial accent), while when followed by clitics there is no fall in pitch (the unaccented pattern). On the other hand, disyllabic words have no falling accent (the unaccented pattern). In Table 5.6, the tonal classes are historical classes based on Igarashi (2017), and H/L is indicated for every mora. The question of whether there is an accentual distinction with longer suffixes requires further research.

2.5 Intonation

There are two basic intonation patterns in Aragusuku: the falling intonation and the rising intonation. The former can be found in declarative, imperative, and prohibitive sentences. The latter, on the other hand, is employed in all interrogative sentences (both content interrogatives and polarity interrogatives), whether with or without final interrogative particles (to be specific, ⸗rjaa/⸗ga for content interrogatives, and ⸗na for polarity interrogatives). It is worth noting that native speakers consider rising intonation to be a feature which distinguishes Aragusuku from neighboring dialects.

3.1 Morphological Units

3.2 Grammatical Relations

In the present description, three grammatical roles are distinguished: intransitive subject (S), transitive subject (A) and transitive object (O; DO for direct object and IO for indirect object). For greater clarity, S is the only argument of an intransitive sentence, marked by the nominative case markers ⸗ga/⸗nu (tuž ‘bird’ in (136)).

(136)

tužnu	tubjuu.
tuž⸗nu	tub-i+ur-∅.
bird⸗nom	fly-thm+prog-npst

‘A bird (S) is flying.’

A is the argument marked by the nominative case marker ⸗ga/⸗nu (maju ‘cat’ in (137)), while DO refers to that marked by the accusative case marker ⸗u (jumuru ‘mouse’ in (137)) in a transitive sentence. When there is an IO, it is marked by the dative marker ⸗n or the allative marker ⸗nkai (see (138)).

(137)

majunu	jumuruu	fautaa.
maju⸗nu	jumuru⸗u	faw-tar
cat⸗nom	mouse⸗acc	eat-pst

‘A cat (A) ate a mouse (O).’

(138)

baga	hunnu	Hanakondu/Hanakonkaidu	turasɨtaa.
ba⸗ga	hun⸗nu	Hanako⸗n⸗du/Hanako⸗nkai⸗du	turas-tar.
ba⸗nom	hun⸗acc	Hanako⸗dat⸗foc/Hanako⸗all⸗foc	pass-pst

‘I (A) passed the book (DO) to Hanako (IO).’

4.1 Personal Pronouns

Aragusuku has a pronominal system which distinguishes the first-person (the speaker) and the second-person (the addressee). It lacks special pronoun forms to express the third-person (all others). Instead, the demonstratives kuri/ uri/ kari are used referring to both animate and non-animate entities. kuri/ uri/ kari will be described in § 8.1, together with other forms derived from the demonstrative roots ku-/ u-/ ka-.

Two numbers are distinguished, singular and plural. The plural affix -taa is used to indicate the plural for both persons. For second-person pronouns, there are vva for singular, and vva-taa for plural.

However, the forms of the first-person pronoun are more complicated. As shown in Table 5.8, there are three allomorphs for the first-person singular: ba⸗, banu, and ban. The three variants cannot be derived through transparent phonological rules. Which form is used depends on the clitics that follow (specifically, ba⸗ co-occurs only with the nominative markers ⸗ga/⸗nu, genitive ⸗ga/⸗nu and the topic marker ⸗a (e.g., ba⸗ga (1.sg⸗nom/⸗gen), ba⸗a [bajaː] (1.sg⸗top))). banu co-occurs with accusative ⸗u and the dative marker ⸗n (e.g., banu⸗u (1.sg⸗acc), banu⸗n (1.sg⸗dat)). ban, the unmarked form, is used elsewhere (e.g., ban⸗kara (1.sg⸗abl), ban⸗nkai (1.sg⸗all)).

As for the plural counterpart, there are two kinds of first-person plural: ban-taa (consisting of first-person singular ban and the plural suffix -taa) and duu-taa (consisting of reflexive duu (§ 4.2) and the plural suffix -taa). Examples (139) and (140) illustrate the contrast between inclusive and exclusive plurals respectively. In the case of inclusive reference, both ban-taa and duu-taa can be used, while in the case of exclusive reference, only ban-taa is acceptable.

(139) (Mrs. A took me to her girlfriends’ party. I didn’t know anyone but her. After a while, Mrs. A whispered to me)

kamariidu	uudara.	bantaaja/duutaaja	sadarii	ikadi.
kamar-i-i⸗du	ur-∅⸗dara	ban-taa⸗a/duu-taa⸗a	sadarii	ik-a-di.
feel.bored-thm-seq⸗foc	prog-npst⸗sfp	1-pl⸗top/1-pl.incl⸗top	ahead	go-thm-int

‘Feel bored? Let us (Mrs. A, the speaker, and I, the addressee) leave first.’

(140) (Mrs. A was telling me about the episode between her and her husband Mr. A, who was absent at that time.)

bantaaja/*duutaaja	kanu	tukjaanna,	funindu	nuurjuutaasugadu,	unu	tukjaa	ssattansuga.
ban-taa⸗a/*duu-taa⸗a	kanu	tukjaa⸗n⸗na	funi⸗n⸗du	nuur-i-i+ur-tar⸗suga⸗du	unu	tuki⸗a	ss-a-ttan⸗suga
1-pl⸗top/1-pl.incl⸗top	that	time⸗dat⸗top	boat⸗dat⸗foc	aboard-thm+prog-pst⸗cnc⸗foc	that	time⸗top	know-thm-neg.pst⸗cnc

‘We (Mrs. A, the speaker, and Mr. A, her husband) were in the same boat at that time, but we didn’t know it at that time.’

4.2 Reflexives

Aragusuku has three forms to indicate ‘oneself’, una, duu, and nara, all of which are called reflexives in this chapter. The distribution of these three forms is captured by the three factors summarized in Table 5.9.

Factor (A) distinguishes una from the other forms. The form una can only refer to plural referents, expressing the distributive plural (Quirk et al. 1985) meaning of ‘for each one respectively’. una⸗ga jumi (refl⸗gen dream), for example, can only mean ‘(different) dreams of each individual’. In contrast, duu and nara refer to singular referents. For plural referents, the corresponding plural forms duu-taa, nara-taa (pl) are used, with no restriction on their meanings. For instance, duu⸗ga jumi, nara⸗ga jumi can be understood as both ‘(different) dreams of each individual’ and ‘(the same) dream for everyone’. Factors (B) and (C) place additional constraints on nara. As shown in Table 5.9, nara is used only when it refers to a third-person referent whose case must be nominative ⸗ga, accusative ⸗u, genitive ⸗ga, dative ⸗n, allative ⸗nkai or ablative ⸗kara. Since there are no restrictions on duu, it can be used under any circumstances, and that of course includes the circumstances where nara can be used. In such cases, nara is preferred, because it leads to an unambiguous reference in person. Further details are available in Wang (2021).

Plurality marking is obligatory. -taa is used after reflexives, forming duu-taa and nara-taa.³

4.3 Lexical Nouns

Lexical nouns may precede the diminutive suffix -gama and plural suffixes -taa/ -nukja. When the noun is followed by several suffixes, the order is Noun stem (-pl) (-dim) (e.g., ffa -nukja -gama ‘(cute) children’).

The diminutive suffix -gama generally implies the smallness of the referent (e.g., jubi-gama ‘the pinky finger’), an affectionate quality (e.g., ffa-gama ‘the child (with affection)’), as well as contempt towards the referent (e.g., vva-gama ‘you (with contempt)’).

There are two suffixes which mark plurality marking, -taa and -nukja, and these are obligatory for pronouns but optional for lexical nouns. They may co-occur with different kinds of noun phrases (Table 5.10; “Y” means “applicable”; “N” means “not applicable”).

4.4 Numerals

Numerals in Aragusuku behave like nouns. They may occur in the main part of a noun phrase acting in a pronominal way (e.g., futaaž⸗ga (two.people⸗nom) ‘two people’). They may also be found as a modifier in a noun phrase, functioning as an adnominal and limiting the quantity of the noun (e.g., futaaž⸗ga pžtu⸗nu (two.people⸗gen people⸗nom) ‘two people’).

Aragusuku has an impoverished numeral system which can count only up to ten. When the amount is in excess of ten, native speakers tend to use the adjective jamakasa ‘many’. For more precise reference, Standard Japanese numerals are used. The cardinal numerals and their derivative forms are given in Table 5.11. When counting more than five people, the form ‘cardinal numeral⸗gen people’ is used. To count animals, the suffix -kara is utilized, no matter the size of the animal. Except for shellfish, for which the suffix -kuu is used instead.

5.1 Inflectional Morphology

Verbs inflect for tense, polarity and mood in independent clauses, while they inflect for polarity and conjunctional relationships in the dependent clauses. The inflectional paradigms for the three verb classes are given in Table 5.12 (B indicates the basic stem, E-a the expanded stem requiring the thematic vowel -a-, and E-i the expanded stem requiring the thematic vowel -i-).⁴

5.2 Derivational Morphology

Verb stems may be extended by adding derivational suffixes to verb nuclei: the causative markers -sɨmi-/-asɨ- (mii-sɨmi- (//mii-smi-//) ‘to make someone see’, kak-asɨ- (//kak-as-//) ‘to make someone write’),⁵ the passive/potential marker -rari- (mii-rari- ‘to be seen’), the polite marker -samac- (mii-samac- ‘see (with respect))’. The derivational suffixes attach to the verb in a specific order. When these three suffixes are all added, the order is Nucleus-Causative-Passive/Potential-Polite (e.g., mii-sɨmi-rari-samac- ‘to be made to see (with respect)’).

7.1 Nominalizations

In Aragusuku, there are two strategies for verb nominalization: by zero marking (-∅) (142), and compounding by adding the noun jaa (143) or formal nouns kutu, munu (e.g., fau+kutu ‘eating’, fau+munu ‘food’).

(142)

faunu	sɨgama.
faw-∅⸗nu	occupation
eat-nlz⸗nom	occupation

‘Eating is (my) occupation.’

(143)

jamsijaa

jam+sii+jaa

be.ill+do+home

‘People who tend to get sick.’

For the the nominalization of adjectives, the suffix -sa is used (upu-sa ‘size’, taka-sa ‘height’).

7.2 Adjectivizations

Aragusuku uses reduplication to indicate adjectivization. However, this is limited to nouns that imply properties, such as ffa ‘child’ (ffaa~ffa ‘childish’) and avva (avvaa~avva ‘greasy’).

8.1 Demonstratives

There are three demonstrative roots, ku-, u-, ka-. They function as different word classes by taking the derivational affixes -(r)i, -ma, -nu. When functioning as pronouns, plural marking is obligatory. To express manner, only the derived form of the ka-root and the other special root a- are observed. In other words, the derivational affix -ncii does not attach to give *kucii, *ucii. The origin of the special root a- requires more research.

8.2 Interrogatives and Indefinites

The list of interrogatives is given in Table 5.14. Note that, apart from the basic interrogative words, there are two derived adverbs nau⸗tti ‘why’ (derived from nau ‘what’) and naubasi⸗nu ‘what kind of’ (derived from naubasi ‘how’). These interrogatives relate to the regular word classes, for instance, icɨ is an adverb; tau, nau are pronouns, etc. For interrogative pronouns, plural marking is optional, and is only used when the speaker wants to emphasize the plural amount. As is evident from the table, the suffix -gara attaches to the interrogatives to form the corresponding indefinite forms.

9.1 The Head

Any kind of noun can be the head of an argument phrase. In general, the head can be optionally modified. However, modifiers are necessary when the formal nouns kutu, munu function as head.

9.2 The Modifier

Modifiers always precede the head in Aragusuku. Nouns (or noun phrases), adjectives, adnominals, and relative clauses may function as modifiers.

If a noun phrase functions as a modifier, the genitive marker ⸗ga/⸗nu is required (e.g., mjaaku⸗nu pžtu ‘Miyako’s people’, ffu+zata⸗nu kwaasɨ ‘sweets made from brown sugar’). Compounding can be employed to express a similar meaning (e.g., mjaaku+pžtu (Miyako+people), ffu+zata+kwaasɨ (black+sugar+sweet)).

When the modifier is an adjective, similar to the case of an NP modifier, the genitive marker ⸗ga/⸗nu is also required, attaching to the modifier (kagii~kagi⸗nu pžtu ‘cute person’). Similar to noun modifiers, compounding can be an alternative strategy (kagi+pžtu). In this case, instead of the reduplicated form, the root functions as the first element of the compound.

As shown in § 4.4, adnominals can also be a modifier (e.g., kunu hun ‘this book’).

Relative clauses may also be a modifier of an NP. They always come directly before the NPs they modify. The relative-clause verb inflects for tense when functioning as a modifier (e.g., hunnu kakž pžtu ‘people who writes books’, hunnu kakžtaa pžtu ‘people who wrote books’). Note that when a modifier ends with an intransitive verb, there are two forms observed: the relative clause with the progressive aspect (juu-form in Tabira 2018; (144a)) and the nominalized form followed by the genitive marker (iinu-form in Tabira 2018; (144b)). These two differ in meaning. According to Tabira (2018), the former is used to express a progressive action, while the latter tends to be used when expressing occupations or characteristics.

(144) Relative clause as a modifier:

a.

budurjuu	pžtu
budur-i+ur-∅	pžtu
dance-thm+prog-npst	person

‘the person who is dancing’

b.

buduriinu	pžtu
budur-i-i⸗nu	pžtu
dance-thm-seq⸗gen	person

‘the dancer’

9.3 Case and Other Role Marking

Case markers indicate the semantic or logical relationship between the nouns or nominal elements that they follow and other parts of the clause. Aragusuku has a case system comprising ten case markers. The list of case particles is given below.

It is worth mentioning that the nominative and genitive are isomorphic, ⸗ga/⸗nu. As with other Miyakoan languages (Shimoji 2010, etc.), these two alternate according to the animacy of the S or A noun phrase, as shown in Table 5.16.

10.1 General-Verbal Predication

In a general-verbal predicate phrase, any verb can function as the predicate head. It is composed of one verb phrase (VP) and, if required, its complement. It may further be divided into two types: the simplex predicate (145a). and the complex predicate. A simplex verb predicate phrase contains a single verb root, whereas a complex predicate consists of two verb roots. Complex predicates can be further subdivided into compound-verb predicates (145b), auxiliary-verb predicates (145c) and light-verb predicates (145d).

(145) a. (complement) simplex verb

e.g., mii-tar (watch-pst) ‘watched’

b. (complement) verb root1 (+verb root2)

e.g., mii+pazɨmi-tar (//mii+pazmi-tar// (watch+start-pst)) ‘started to watch’

c. (complement) verb root (auxiliary-verb)

e.g., mii ur-∅ (watch prog-npst) ‘(be) watching’

d. (complement) verb root (light-verb)

e.g., mii⸗a sii-tar (watch⸗top do-pst) ‘watched’

10.2 Copular-Verbal Predication

Copular-verbal predicate phrases can be divided into two types: one comprising a NP (the NP-type) and one comprising an adjective (the Adj-type). In the case of the NP-type, the copular-verb (j)ar- functions as the head, bearing the inflection for tense, mood and polarity. (j)ar- is the realization in positive polarity (146a), while /ar/ is used in negation (146b)). Note that (j)ar is obligatorily omitted in non-past tense, affirmative mood and positive polarity sentences (147).

(146) (j)ar-:

a.

Tarooja	siitu	jaataa.
Taroo⸗a	siitu	jar-tar
Taroo⸗top	student	cop-pst

‘Taroo was a student.’

b.

Tarooja	siitu	aran.
Taroo⸗a	siitu	ar-n
Taroo⸗top	student	cop-neg

‘Taroo is not a student.’

(147) Omission:

Tarooja	siitu.
Taroo⸗a	siitu
Taroo⸗top	student

‘Taroo is a student.’

In the case of the Adj-type, the copular-verbs ur- (positive, animate), ar- (positive, inanimate) and njaa-n (negative) function as the head. Omission of ur-, ar- occurs optionally in the non-past tense, affirmative mood and positive polarity (148) (149). However, when the focus marker is attached to an adjective, this omission never occurs (150) (151).

(148)

Tarooja	takaataka	(uu).
Taroo⸗a	takaa~taka	(ur-∅)
Taroo⸗top	red~taka	(cop-npst)

‘Taroo is tall.’

(149)

kunu	kiija	takaataka	(aa).
kunu	kii⸗a	takaa~taka	(ar-∅)
this	tree⸗top	red~taka	(cop-npst)

‘This tree is tall.’

(150)

Tarooja	takaatakadu	uu.
Taroo⸗a	takaa~taka⸗du	ur-∅
Taroo⸗top	red~taka⸗foc	cop-npst

‘Taroo is tall.’

(151)

kunu	kiija	takaatakadu	aa.
kunu	kii⸗a	takaa~taka⸗du	ar-∅
this	tree⸗top	red~taka⸗foc	cop-npst

‘This tree is tall.’

As for negation, the head verb switches from ur- to njaa- (152). In this case, the adjective complement no longer reduplicates. Instead, the verbalization marker -f- and the topic marker ⸗a are required.

(152)

Tarooja	takaffa	njaan.
Taroo⸗a	taka-f-∅⸗a	njaa-n
Taroo⸗top	tall-vlz-npst⸗top	cop.neg-npst

‘Taroo is not tall.’

11.1 Sentence Type

The different sentence types of Aragusuku, the declarative sentence (see (153) (154)), the interrogative sentence and the imperative sentence, are illustrated below.

Interrogatives can be divided into content interrogatives and polarity interrogatives. The interrogative clitics ⸗rjaa/⸗ga are optionally added to the end of content interrogatives while ⸗na is optionally added to polarity interrogatives. An interrogative is always accompanied by a rising intonation, regardless of the type of interrogative and the appearance of clitics (§ 2.5).

(155) Content interrogative:

vvaga	miitaa	sibaija	naurjaa/nauga?
vva⸗ga	mii-tar	sibai⸗a	nau⸗rjaa/nau⸗ga
2.sg⸗nom	watch-pst	play⸗top	what⸗sfp/what⸗sfp

‘What is the play you watched?’

(156) Polarity interrogative:

vvaa	aca	ikadina?
vva⸗a	aca	ik-a-di⸗na
2.sg⸗top	tomorrow	go-thm-int⸗sfp

‘Will you go tomorrow?’

Imperatives are expressed using inflectional affixes, with -ru/-i used⁶ for imperatives and -na for prohibition (§ 5.1).

(157) a. Imperative:

sibaiju	miiru.
sibai⸗u	mii-ru
play⸗acc	watch-imp

‘Watch the play!’

b. Prohibition:

sibaiju	miina.
sibai⸗u	mii-na
play⸗acc	watch-proh

‘Do not watch the play!’

11.2 Alignment

Aragusuku dialect has a nominative-accusative case alignment system, with the S or A marked with ⸗ga/⸗nu, and the object (O) marked with ⸗u obligatorily in most circumstances. However, though case-particle ellipsis rarely occurs, it is observed only in invitational sentences (e.g., cjaa(ju) numga cii ‘Let’s go for a cup of tea’; Takahashi 2018).

11.3 Possession

Aragusuku uses three constructions to indicate possession or part-whole relationships: (a) using the genitive marker ⸗ga/⸗nu; (b) using an existential verb ar-/ur- ‘to be, exist’; (c) using the double-nominative constructions.

Regardless of inalienability, a noun phrase of possession is formed by using the genitive marker ⸗ga/⸗nu between the possessor and the possessed (Inalienable: ba⸗ga tii (1.sg⸗gen hand) ‘my hand’; Alienable: ba⸗ga hun (1.sg⸗gen book) ‘my book’). As explained in § 9.3, the choice between ⸗ga or ⸗nu depends on the possessor’s animacy.

Using an existential sentence is another strategy. In this construction, the possessor is generally marked with the dative case ⸗n and the topic marker ⸗a, or just with the topic marker ⸗a (⸗n can be omitted optionally). The possessed, on the other hand, is marked with the nominative case ⸗ga/⸗nu. The choice between the existential verbs ar-/ur- depends on the animacy of the possessed. ur- is generally selected when the possessed is a living creature, either a human being or an animal. In other cases, ar- is used. However, there are exceptions. Both ur- and ar- are acceptable in some cases, where the possessed is a kinship noun or a word meaning ‘friend’ (dusɨ or agu).

(158)

banna/bajaa	ututunudu	uu/aa.
ban⸗n⸗a/ba⸗a	ututu⸗nu⸗du	ur-∅/ar-∅
1.sg⸗dat⸗top/1.sg⸗top	younger.brother (sister)⸗nom⸗foc	exist-NPST/exist-NPST

‘I have (a) younger brother/younger sister.’

A third strategy is the double-nominative construction (hereafter, DSC) with a non-verbal predicate. In the DSC, the possessor is marked with the topic marker ⸗a and the possessed with the nominative marker ⸗ga/⸗nu.

(159)

a.

bajaa	miinudu	upumunu.
ba⸗a	mii⸗nu⸗du	upu+munu
1.sg⸗top	eyes⸗nom⸗foc	big+dhd

‘(literally) I, eyes are big.’

b.

*bajaa	jaanudu	upumunu.
ba⸗a	jaa⸗nu⸗du	upu+munu
1.sg⸗top	house⸗nom⸗foc	big+dhd

‘(literally) I, house is big.’

As shown in (159), the DSC strategy applies in restricted circumstances. According to my research, the use of the DSC is relevant to the Possession Cline (Body part > Attribute > Clothing > Kin > Pet animal > Product > Others; Tsunoda 1991, 1995, 2009). Generally, Aragusuku allows the use of the DSC only when the possessed is part of a ‘body part’ or ‘attribute’ (Table 5.17). More information is available in Wang (2019b), Wang and Shimoji (2020).

11.4 Valency Changing

There are two strategies that can be used to change the valency of a verb: the causative derivation which increases valency, and the passive derivation which decreases valency.

11.5 Polarity

Only the negative polarity is marked. Negation is primarily expressed by attaching the negative inflectional affix to the verbal stem (§ 5.1).

(162) a. General-Verbal predication:

Tarooja	miin.
Taroo⸗a	mii-n
Taroo⸗top	watch-neg

‘Taroo does not watch.’

b. Nominal-Comprising predication:

Tarooja	siitu	aran.
Taroo⸗a	siitu	ar-a-n
Taroo⸗top	student	cop-thm-neg

‘Taroo is not a student.’

c. Adjectival-Comprising predication:

Tarooja	upuffa	njaan.
Taroo⸗a	upu-f-∅⸗a	njaa-n
Taroo⸗top	big-vlz-npst⸗top	cop.neg-npst

‘Taroo is not big.’

11.6 TAM

Tense is expressed using inflectional affixes. Please refer to § 5.1 for further details.

Aspect is indicated primarily by auxiliary-verbs: ur- (progressive), ar- (resultative), njaa-n (perfect), uk- (prospective), mii- (experiential). In addition, the full reduplication of a verb root is used to express a habitual event (e.g., mii~mii ‘(habitually) watch’).

Modality is expressed by the inflection of verbs (intentional: -di, -daan, imperative: -ru, -i, prohibitive: -na (refer to § 5.1)), sentence-final particles (low certainty ⸗dara, ⸗jaa, non-subject focus ⸗doo, confirmative ⸗ira, self-question ⸗bjaa), or a combination of both.

11.7 Information Structure and Its Formal Encoding

In the Aragusuku dialect, the topic is marked with the topic marker ⸗a (⸗uba for the accusative topic). The focus is specified by the focus particle ⸗du (⸗ga for content interrogative focus). It may precede any word class (Noun: after the case markers; e.g., maju⸗nu⸗du (cat⸗nom⸗foc); Adj: e.g., kagii~kagi⸗du (red~cute⸗foc); Verb: after the sequential form; e.g., kak-i-i⸗du (write-thm-seq⸗foc)).

12.1 Clause Combining Strategies

12.2 Quotatives

The quotative clause is marked with the quotative marker ⸗tti.

(165)

ujaga	faitti	ažžtaa.
uja⸗ga	faw-i⸗tti	ažž-tar.
father⸗nom	eat-imp⸗qt	say-pst

‘Father said ‘Eat!’.’

12.3 Insubordination

Like other variants of Miyako (Pellard 2012), three types of insubordination are observed. See below for sample examples.

(166) a. From concessive to permissive:

karjaa	kuujaamai	(zaumunu).
kari⸗a	kuu-jaamai	zau+munu.
3.sg⸗top	come-cnc	good+dhd

‘I don’t care if he comes.’

b. From negative conditional to debitive:

karjaa	ukidakara	(naran).
kari⸗a	uki-dakara	nar-a-n.
3.sg⸗top	get.up-neg.seq	become-thm-neg

‘He has to get up.’

c. From narrative to past:

kjuuja	fauttikara	kisii.
kjuu⸗a	faw-tti⸗kara	kis-i-i
3.sg⸗top	eat-seq⸗abl	come-thm-seq

‘I’ ve been here since I ate today.’

12.4 Clause-Chaining Structure

The clause-chaining structure is frequently used in monologues. It is realized using the sequential inflected form of verbs (e.g., paz-i-i, kis-i-i, kanz-i-i in (167)). In this construction, subjects can be the same or different.

(167)

oziija	naraga	kisjuu	kžnnu	paziidu,	bantaaga	urjuu	kisii,	nukumurjuu	kanzii	nivvtaa.
ozii⸗a	nara⸗ga	kis-i+ur-∅	kžn⸗nu	paz-i-i⸗du,	ban-taa⸗ga	uri⸗u	kis-i-i,	nukumuri⸗u	kanzi-i	nivv-tar.
grandfather⸗top	refl⸗gen	wear-thm+prog-npst	kimono⸗acc	take.off-thm-seq⸗foc	1.sg-pl⸗nom	that⸗acc	wear-thm-seq,	warmth⸗acc	feel-seq	sleep-pst

‘Grandfather took off the kimono he was wearing, and we put that on, and slept in the warmth.’