246 WILLIAM H. JACOBSEN, JR.
7. Sentence-connectives
Turning to sentence-introducing words, there seem to be three or four of
them in our sample, of which two occur in absolutive form. Most common
is 2uycahtaksa "and then", occurring 25 times (especially favored in the first
text, absent from the third, sixth, and seventh):
(35:8)
and then-3 jump into box-- Kwatyat
"and then Kwatyat jumped into the box".
This is shown to be a potential predicate by occurring also with clausal
operator markers Quotative 3 occurrences),
Finite twice), and both
'~ " ~" once).
Either way, it is followed by absolutive form of the predicate that it intro
duces. For example:
(17:11)
and then-QuoT-3 take hold-MOM-PAss-3 young man-ART
"and then they took hold of the young man".
I take the forms without these clausal operator markers to be defective
cores, marked only suffixally for subject; they never take separate argu
ments, and they are not inflected for even the inner-layer category of
aspect.
The other sentence-connective occurring in absolutive form in our
sample is "and then, thereupon, thus" (two occurrences), with
clausal operator-bearing forms (4),
(1), and A third introductory word
occurs here only in finite form: "now" (twice) beside quotative
(once). Another may be "as before, still, again" (twice
on p. 31).
We find even clearer evidence that these absolutive sentence-connec
tive forms should be construed as carrying a third-person from texts of
personal reminiscence, where we find first person singular absolutive -sv
(as well as indicative -(m)ah) added to them:
(138:29)
then-FiN-lsG have-MOM-FiN-3 girl
"then a daughter was born to me".