jeff_l
(Jeff_L)
#1
652 12 Extraction processes
d. ma-\k£ey i-sla-n
what?-\2MaSgO 3MaSgS-occupy.Reslt-Partpl.MaSg
'What is occupying you-MaSg?' (= 'What are you doing?')
Prepositional examples are in (764).
(764) a. md-\s t-artaes-aed i-saerer-aen
what?-\Instr 2S-cut.PerfP-2SgS Pl-wood-MaPl
'With what did you cut the pieces of wood?'
b. md-\d 0-olaeh
what?\Comit 3MaSgS-resemble.Reslt
'What is it like?' [K-d]
For maAfsel 'on what' (hence 'why?'), see below, §12.3.7.
Two pragmatically interesting phrases, both with -vji> 'do; happen', are in
(765).
(765) a. md i-ja-n
what? 3MaSgS-happen.Reslt-Partpl.MaSg
'What has happened?'
b. ma i-ja
what? 3MaSgS-do.Reslt
'What did he do?' or 'Where is he?'
(765.a) is a standard greeting, cf. English 'what's up?'. In structure it is a
subject focalization. (765.b) is a simple 'what did he do?' question, but can
also be used to mean 'where is he?'.
In the 'what is X?' construction, ma functions as (preposed) object, to
judge by the fact that the copular verb (Resit) -aemos- 'be' has subject
agreement with the postverbal X nominal (766).
(766) a. ma 0-aemos ά-w-a
what? 3MaSgS-be.Reslt Dem-Ma-Dem.Sg
'What is this?'
b. ma asmos-sen [haeraet-aen w-i]
what? be.Reslt-3MaPlS [thing-MaPl Ma-Dem.Pl]
'What are these things?'
