Knowledge base · Part XI — Valency, Voice, and Noun Incorporation · this topic as a network

81. The o- Applicative

What is the function of the applicative prefix that promotes locative, source, and goal obliques to direct object status?

14 sentences from 18 sources · every sentence names the pages it rests on

Compared to e- and ko-, the applicative prefix o- is considerably less frequent and is predominantly used in verse. (Nakagawa 2024: 198)

Applied-object roles and the place restriction

What roles does the o- applicative assign to applied objects, and what restriction applies to the noun type?

The applicative prefix o- can express an ablative relation or point of origin ('from'). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936, Shibatani 1990) The applicative prefix o- indicates location, meaning '(there)at, (there)in, (there)to' and can alternate with the postpositions ta or un. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The prefix o- converts Class II verbs into Class I verbs. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Attaching the applicative prefix o- to the intransitive verb arpa 'to go' derives the transitive verb o-arpa (+2) 'to go to <place>', allowing a destination to be expressed as a direct object. (Nakagawa 2024: 194) The prefix o- is used to indicate location in space, or more often a vague location within a specific set of circumstances expressed in preceding sentences. (Refsing 1986: 183) The applicative prefix o- attaches to the intransitive verb ipe 'to eat' to derive the transitive verb oype (from oipe) 'to eat with / at'. (Satō 2008: 245) The applicative prefix o- attaches to the intransitive verb pásirota 'to speak ill' to derive the transitive verb opasirota 'to speak ill behind someone's back'. (Satō 2008: 245) The applicative prefix o- attaches to the intransitive verb sirepa 'to arrive' to derive the transitive verb osirepa 'to arrive at'. (Satō 2008: 245)

The place restriction: spatial goals versus animate goals

How does the o- applicative differ from the ko- applicative in terms of the semantic type of the applied object?

The applicative prefix o- attaches to the intransitive verb ahun 'enter' to yield a transitive verb o-ahun, promoting an allative/Goal participant to a core object. (Bugaeva 2006: 187) The applicative prefix o- expresses direction toward a place, requiring a location as its object unlike ko-. (Nakagawa 2024: 197)

tumi o-ek

war APPL-come

‘War came to [the village].’

Nakagawa 2024: 198 · CHI

pet ku=o-arpa

river 1SG.A=APPL-go

‘I went to the river.’

· constructed

e=oarpa kuni p ne kusu taptap a=e=kar na

2SG.A=APPL-go PURP NMLZ COP CONJ like.this 4.A=2SG.O=do FIN

‘Since you are going, I shall do thus and so for you.’

Biratori Ainu oral literature 1969 · SAR

kamuy or oarpa hine ora nea menoko a=kor wa

god place APPL-go CONJ CONJ DEM woman 4.A=have CONJ

‘He went to the place of the kamuy (heaven), and then took that (human) woman as his wife.’

Biratori Ainu oral literature 1969 · SAR

Lexicalized forms and productive use

Which derived verbs with o- are lexicalized, and how does their frequency compare to productive uses?

A complete loss of an original initial h has occurred historically for the applicative prefix o- as well as prefixal e- and o- in directional compounds. (reported in Nam 2021) When the prefix o- is added to inkar 'to look, direct one's eyes', it derives oinkar 'to look at/in', a transitive verb taking a locational object, and like koinkar it is restricted to special contexts such as 'a god watches over'. (Satō 2008: 242)

The verb o, the affiliative o-, and disambiguation by arity

How can the applicative prefix o- be distinguished from other homophonous elements using arity?

wor a=o wa

there 4.A=put.in CONJ

‘and put [them] into that [water] …’

Ainu Koraci 1991 · SAR

Noun incorporation and allied spatial operators

What role does the o- applicative play in noun incorporation of spatial obliques?

The phrasing tosir corpoke oponsuatte p nep ta an? in riddle (1219) uses the applicative prefix o- and the incorporating verb construction o-pon-su-atte, rendering its style closer to elevated poetic diction (gago) than everyday speech. (Nakagawa 2024: 538)