Chapter 15
Anaphora
As noted in §13.8, there are no logophoric pronouns in Tamashek. In (887), the
3FeSg object clitic -\taet may or may not be coindexed with the subject (in
textual context it did happen to be coindexed).
(887) t-anna akma-nAtaet
3FeSgS-say.PerfP be.bad.for.Reslt-3MaPlS-\3FeSgO
'She says (that) it's bad for her.' [K]15.1 Reflexive
There is a basic reflexive construction, expressing coindexation of an object or
other nonsubject NP to the clause-mate subject.
It consists of the (invariably plural) noun i-m-αη 'soul, life force, essence',
plus the appropriate possessor suffix (lSg, 3P1, etc.), agreeing with the
pronominal features of the antecedent.
(888) a. swast-aer
hit.PerfP-lSgS
Ί hit myself.'
i-m-αη-ιη
Pl-souI-MaPl-1 SgPossb. i-xddm [e
3MaSgS-work.Reslt [Dat
'He works for himself.' [K-d]"0-m-an-net]
Pl-soul-MaPl-3SgPoss]C. 3ΖΖ0Χ-3£Ύ [vor
dwell.Reslt-lSgS [chez
Ί live in my own place.' [K-d]"0-m-an-in]
Pl-soul-MaPl-1 SgPoss]i-m-αη can be used as an adjunct to a clause, in emphatic function (Ί did
it, myself'). It is also used in a range of other expressions, e.g. e-m-aejj an
Λ0-ηι-αη 'murderer, criminal', literally 'maker (Agentive) of souls'.
There is usually no explicitly anaphoric pronominal for reflexive
possessor, as in Ί hit my dog', 'she hit her dog', and the like. It is always
possible to use a reflexive pronoun with i-m-αη for emphasis in such cases, but
in practice it is uncommon. Thus (889) is ambiguous as to whether the
possessor of the object 'dog' is coindexed with the subject. It doesn't help that
the 3Sg possessor pronominal does not mark gender.