Chapter 66Object Indexing and Three-Place Verbs

66.1 The object series

An object index identifies an argument of a transitive verb. Its English equivalent may be “me,” “you,” or “us,” or a phrase such as “to me.” The verb determines the participant's role Satō (2008: 120–121). In the Saru/Chitose reference paradigm, the following forms occur with a third-person subject Nakagawa (2024: 170, table 27); Bugaeva (2012: 472–474).

Combinations with first- or second-person subjects require the interaction forms described in Chapter 65 (Eci and Person Interactions). The table alone does not license every possible sequence of subject and object prefixes.

66.2 Recipients and themes

In this example, e= indexes the recipient, while cep names the theme being transferred. Object marking and verbal number can both follow the recipient. Satō gives a Chitose example with one fish, plural addressees, and the plural stem of “give” Satō (2008: 121).

These forms explain why an O gloss is useful: it records a grammatical role without deciding in advance whether English will use an accusative pronoun or a phrase with “to.” See Chapter 58 (Verbal Number and Stem Alternation) for the participants relevant to verbal number.

66.3 Two objects and one object index

Three-place verbs such as kore “give” and nukare “show” involve a subject and two objects. Satō distinguishes these arguments from the person indexes: his account does not allow both objects to receive separate O indexes simultaneously. A meaning such as “he introduced me to you” may require a paraphrase that distributes the participants across clauses Satō (2008: 147–148). The number of indexes consequently does not determine the verb's semantic valency; see Chapter 57 (Transitivity and Valency Classes).

Satō's 2008 account reports recipient indexing for these giving and showing constructions. His later discussion explicitly acknowledges theme-indexing examples reported by Bugaeva 2011:244, while retaining recipient indexing as the basic pattern for kore Satō (2023: 40 n. 5) ‹contested›. The later qualification prevents a universal recipient-only rule. It does not establish how frequent either construction is.

66.4 Fourth-person i= and derivational i-

Fourth-person i= belongs to the person paradigm. Its reference can be inclusive, honorific, or narrative, depending on the construction Nakagawa (2024: 170, 174–180). The derivational prefix i-, by contrast, can form a verb with an unspecified object. Bugaeva analyzes i-sitoma “fear” as an antipassive formation even in a clause whose support verb has fourth-person A marking Bugaeva (2012: 475, example 18b).

The relationship between the two has received different analyses. Refsing treats the objective form in close connection with her intransitivizing prefix Refsing (1986: 31, 218–219) ‹contested›. Satō also records honorific ku-i-kusa, but rejects the corresponding formation with kore; he treats this as restricted derivation rather than a complete person-paradigm row Satō (2008: 147).

66.5 Unexpressed third person

A third-person argument need not have an overt exponent on the verb. Satō represents this structurally with a zero affix and explains why ordinary examples can leave it unwritten Satō (2008: 121, 147). Nakagawa's tables leave the third-person cells blank Nakagawa (2024: 167, 170). Their notation agrees on the absence of an audible form; the analysis of zero morphology is discussed in Chapter 62 (Person Marking and Argument Roles). An unexpressed object index therefore does not establish that a verb is intransitive.