Adjective Classes - A Cross-Linguistic Typology

i8o R. M. W. Dixon

TABLE i. Pronominal forms in Jarawara

isg
2Sg
3sg.animate
3 inanimate
msg.inc
msg.exc
2nsg
3nsg. animate

owa

tiwa

0

0

era

otara

tera

me(ra)

o-

ti-

0

0

ee

otaa

tee

mee

owa

tiwa

—

—

ee

otaa

tee

mee

oko

tika

hinaka

—

eekaa

otaa kaa

tee kaa

mee kaa

o-, oko

ti-, tika

fee

—

ee

otaa

tee

mee

verb', either ama- 'extended in time' (which is cognate with copula verb ama- 'be'),
as in (17), or awine (feminine form) lawa (masculine form) 'seems', as in (37).
The only way of showing negation is by suffix -ra to the verb—as in (17)—or
verbal auxiliary. There is no form 'no'. To provide a negative response to a question
such as 'Are you eating?' one must use a full clause, with negative suffix on the verb:
o-tafa-ra (isgS-eat-NEGATiVE) T'm not eating'.
The pronominal system plays a central role in Jarawara grammar. Table i sets
out the paradigm. Those forms in the first pronominal slot plus non-singular (nsg)
forms in the second pronominal slot are separate words, which precede the verb
within the predicate. However, isg o- and isg ti- from the second pronominal slot
are prefixes, and move into the first prefix slot (making up a system with hi- and
to-, shown above).
In other parts of the grammar, there is a distinction between sg (referring to
one), dual (to two), and plural (to three or more), so that it is convenient to adopt
these labels for the grammar as a whole. Pronouns simply distinguish singular (sg)
from non-singular (nsg); nsg refers to two or more, and covers dual and plural.
Within msg there is a distinction between inclusive (inc), which includes the
addressee, and exclusive (exc), which excludes the addressee.
It will be seen, in Table i, that a number distinction in 3rd person is made only
for animates. All inanimates are coded by 0 within the predicate. For animates, 3sg
is 0 but 3nsg is shown as mee or me(rd).
Most of the pronominal forms have cognates in other Arawa languages, a nota-
ble exception being 3nsg mee. It appears that this is a recent grammaticalization
from the noun madi 'person, with concomitant phonological reduction madi >