Concurrent result

A concurrent result is an event that is caused in some way by the framing event, but occurring simultaneously with it. It is not found with Motion in the corpus, though it occurs with other framing events.

6.1.6 Subsequence

When the co-event takes place directly after the framing event, and is enabled by, or is caused by, or is the purpose of that event, we have a support relation of Subsequence. According to Hypothesis 3 and Hypothesis 4, this should be expressed in the first verb of a chain, with a framing event in the final verb, as usual. Any simple iconicity of temporal or ‘logical’ sequence of events will thus be broken:

the event occurring subsequently to the framing event is placed first in a chain.

In 13) below we find a sentence containing two instances of a colloquial and frequently used chain, with the ‘mixed distribution’ verb cha.chv ‘exit’ in V¹ position:

13) V¹ V² adv S^ag V¹ V² adv Loc Cha mcnœqdÅ+ j`¿ e`∆`∆œ l√æ√æœ cha mcnœvtæ b`œv œt xdœv+ Ô cha mcnæœ,qdÅ knb e`∆`∆œ l√æ√æœ cha mcnæœ,vtá b`∆œv œvh xdæœv Ô exit pass-v-detr at back friend exit pass-pst again 3s thing

“He went out, behind him the friend also went out on his way…”

txt4:023

The elliptical first clause contains only the chain Cha mcnœ,qdÅ ‘exit pass’ plus the verbal detransitiviser, but the lack of any Ground in 13), i.e. a specification of the location left, is only ostensive: the preceding context locates the subjects of the two clauses in a house. 13) then depicts the subject as leaving the house by passing through the door. This is expressed in an unobtrusive way, by means of conflating it into the motion-verbs of the verbal complex, thus back-grounding the information. No house is explicitly mentioned, no door is heard of, but the V¹ verb cha ‘exit’ conveys the idea of exiting from an enclosure, and the V² verb of passing thorugh an opening.

mcnæœ.mc—æ—æœ _pass’ may mean ‘pass (through)’ a constriction, ‘pass (by)’ an entity, or with the derivational suffix Ê`, ‘into’, ‘enter’ an enclosure. (It may also be used with a stative meaning,

‘surpass’). The same chain, with the same meaning, is found in the second clause as well.

Both verbs in this chain express Motion, V¹ specifying the Motion as ending up outside (Path + Ground) and V² specifying the Motion as a passage (Path + Ground). Both of the verbs may occur in simplexes, and both are recorded in the corpus as occurring both in V¹ and V² position, cha.chv

‘exit’ most typically so (cfr 3.3). The chain thus has a ‘mixed distribution’ verb in first and final position, giving us an opportunity to test HypothesesHypothesis 5 and Hypothesis 6.

The first predicts that verbs used in a final position must be semantically compatible with a framing event. This is borne out here, as mcnæœ.mc—æ—æœ _pass’ is clearly semantically compatible with a Motion framing event.

Hypothesis 6 predicts only two possibilities for chains with ‘mixed distribution’ verbs in first position. Either the V² verb is of the same framing event type, and we get a pleonastically expressed framing event, or the V² verb is of another framing event type, and we get an ordinary structure of co-event - framing co-event. The last alternative is exemplified e.g. in 34) below. Are the chains in 13) examples of the first alternative?

In my opinion it is still possible to discern a framing event and a co-event between these two verbs. The framing event is the passing of the door, and the ‘being outside’ is a subsequent co-event of this passing, enabled or caused by it. What makes this distinction possible is that the denotation of the two verbs are only partially co-extensive, and that passing through an opening may be seen as a prerequisite of getting outside an enclosure. In 6.1.8 below we shall examine other chains where the

verbs are more co-extensive in their denotation, and consequently expressing the framing event pleonastically.

Formal version: [the Figure _APASSED through an opening] WITH-THE-SUBSEQUENCE-OF [the Figure came outside].

6.1.7 Constitutiveness

When the support relation is one of Constitutiveness, the co-event is a substrate being shaped by the framing event (Talmy 2000-II: 220, 232). This type of support relation is most easily found in the corpus with Temporal Contouring as framing event. But another use seems to be as a substrate motion verb with a more specific motion verb as framing event, which can account for some of the chains with two verbs of Motion.

The first example is drawn from a sentence already cited in 3.1, to show the use of chains in general. Here we shall have a closer look at the second clause, which involves the mixed distribution verb fd ‘go’ in final position of the chain, as in 7) above. But while 7) has an Agentive subject and the active, transitive verb ka ‘take’ as co-event, 14) has a Patient subject and the inactive, intransitive verb ‘fall’ as co-event. What happens to the semantics of fd ‘go’ in this context?

As the most frequent verb of mixed distribution, fd ‘go’ is interesting in its own right. It occurs in two-verb chains as first and last verb 6 and 5 times respectively. It is also frequently used in simplexes⁴⁵, and in 3- and 4-verb chains. As for its first position use, we can see that it is typically followed by final position verbs, such as ihœ.iÿÿœ ‘return’ (cfr. 3.3; see also the analysis of fd iÿÿœ in 16) below). It also retains its concrete meaning of moving volitionally and self-propelled⁴⁶ to a location. The same applies for use in simplexes, though a certain tendency to auxiliarisation can be seen in its use with subjunctives, cfr note 45.

In final position the situation is somewhat different, though not necessarily so. We have already analysed two chains above with this verb in final position, and one more will be examined in the next subsection. The chain in 7) can profitably be treated here under the heading of Constitutiveness:

14) S^exp V¹ O^pat Rel: [ S^pat V¹ V² ] Ô¬tk√√∆œ rdvt la`»m jt∆t∆ e—æ—∆ …`f fdvtm`»+ Ô Ô¬t,k`Ñv,ok rd,vtá la`ÑmK jt∆tæ e—æ—æ,K …`f fd,vtá,m`∆ Ô

….they-DEMpl see-pst placeDF grandpa staffDF fall go-pst-pcple ….

“….they saw the place that grandpa's staff fell off to,…..”

s42:004

The chain …`f fdvtm`», ‘fall go-to’, is the verbal constituent of an unmarked relative clause, with the final suffix –m`» co-referent with the head noun la`»m ‘place-DF’. The subject of the relative clause is

jt∆t∆ e—æ—∆ ‘grandpa’s staff’, a possessive syntagm. The possessive syntagm is directly following the head noun of the relative clause without any relative pronoun, as often is the case in Nizaa.

Hypothesis 5 predicts that any verb occurring in framing event position will also be semantically compatible with some framing event category, and fd ‘go’ certainly is compatible with Motion. But in this clause it can hardly be said to have a meaning of volitional, self-propelled movement. The Figure slips by accident out of a person’s hand, and then falls. But fd ‘go’ also contains the meaning of moving away from a location, to ‘part’. Thus, in this clause its presence tells us that there is a further Motion on the part of the Figure, it does not just fall straight down, but travels a certain distance before landing.

Within this macro event, the V¹ …`f ‘fall’ can be seen as the event constituting the Motion.

The Motion framing event shapes the falling as having a sideways trajectory in addition to the normal downwards direction of any fall, given the gravitational forces.

Formal version: [the Figure MOVED to a location] CONSTITUTED BY (it fell).