Reciprocals 429
Each of the morphological markers found in reciprocals implies plurality
of action when functioning outside of the reciprocal construction. As reciprocals
imply plurality of action, their grammaticalization as part of the reciprocal con-
struction represents a logical development.^7
2.2. A special property of saleng, patang, and gante
The morpheme saleng, patang, and gante have special properties in reciprocals
indicating that they are tightly bound to the main predicate. First, in reciprocals
no element may come between saleng and the verb. In nonreciprocal construc-
tions, modal expressions such as bisa ‘can’, kod.u ‘should’, and others may oc-
cur either before or after saleng; this is illustrated with the auxiliary kodu
‘should/must’ in (58).
(58) a. Siti so Marlena kodu saleng ngerem sorat dha' ebu'-na.
Siti and Marlena should SALENG AV.send letter to mother-DEF
‘Siti and Marlena should send letters to their mother.’
b. Siti so Marlena saleng kodu ngerem sorat dha' ebu'-na.
Siti and Marlena SALENG should AV.send letter to mother-DEF
‘Siti and Marlena should send letters to their mother.’
However, in the reciprocal, the modal may not follow saleng; therefore, (59a) is
grammatical, but (59b) is not.
(59) a. Siti so Marlena kodu saleng kerem sorat.
Siti and Marlena should SALENG send letter
‘Siti and Marlena should send letters to each other.’
b. *Siti so Marlena saleng kodu kerem sorat.
Siti and Marlena SALENG should send letter
(Siti and Marlena should send letters to each other.)
The sentences in (60) illustrate the same tight connection between patang and
the verb with respect to the placement of the negative.
(60) a. Na'-kana' ta' patang tobi'.
RED-child not PATANG pinch
‘The children did not pinch each other.’
(^7) See Davies 2000 for more extensive discussion of multiple events in reciprocals.