Knowledge base · Part XI — Valency, Voice, and Noun Incorporation · this topic as a network
78. The Applicative System: Overview and the Preverb-vs-Applicative Debate
How does Ainu increase verb valency to promote oblique participants to direct object status?
Applicative verbs constitute approximately one third of all verbs in Ainu, representing up to 7% of the entire Ainu lexicon (Bugaeva 2006: 188). Across all three applicative markers ko-, e-, and o-, applicatives derived from intransitive bases are far more numerous than those derived from transitive bases (Bugaeva 2006). Inherently locative object verbs such as oma-re are limited in number, whereas the applicative prefixes e- and o- can be added productively to any semantically compatible base, especially in verse (Nakagawa 2022: 14.6). In Southwest Hokkaido, unaccusative intransitive verbs can host the applicative prefixes e-, ko-, and o- (Bugaeva 2012: 484–485), as seen in derivations like e-ray 'die at some place' from ray 'die' and o-rer 'sink into sth' from rer 'sink' (Bugaeva 2022: 1.4). However, applicatives formed from internally caused verbs of change of state do not occur in Southwest Hokkaido (Bugaeva 2012: 484–485). Oblique relations are frequently promoted to applicative direct objects and then relativized by means of a gap strategy (Bugaeva 2012: 478–479). In Southwest Hokkaido, applicative morphology appears much more frequently in poetic genres such as yukar and kamuy yukar than in colloquial speech or prose oral literature (Bugaeva 2012: 484–485). Bugaeva proposes that in colloquial Ainu and prose oral literature of Southwest Hokkaido, where applicatives are used less frequently, they encode greater discourse salience (proposed in Bugaeva 2012: 484–485). In the poetic genres of oral literature in the Shizunai dialect, applicatives are likewise not infrequent (Bugaeva 2012: 500–501).
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Definition and valency effect
How do Ainu prefixes increase verb valency by promoting peripheral participants to direct object?
Applicative verbs in Ainu are derived by prefixing e-, ko-, or o- to a base verb. (Bugaeva 2006: 185) The applicative prefixes function syntactically to increase verbal valency, while their specific semantic interpretation depends on the lexical meaning of the base verb. (Bugaeva 2006: 185) Attaching an applicative prefix increases the valency or arity of a verb by one. (Bugaeva & Kobayashi 2022: 15.4, Nakagawa 2024: 193) The three applicative prefixes increase valency by converting intransitive verbs into transitives (with S=A) and transitives into ditransitives with two unmarked objects. (Bugaeva 2006: 188) When an applicative prefix attaches to an intransitive verb, the verb becomes a bivalent transitive, shifting intransitive subject agreement (e.g. =an) to transitive agent agreement (e.g. a=) and promoting an oblique adjunct to object. (Bugaeva 2012: 482–483) Applicativized bivalent transitive verbs become trivalent transitives possessing two unmarked objects with similar coding and behavioral properties. (Bugaeva 2012: 482–483) Applicative constructions in Ainu provide a means of introducing peripheral arguments as direct objects. (Bugaeva 2015: 47) Affixes that increase arity by +1 are applicative prefixes and the causative suffix -re. (Nakagawa 2024: 137) In Ainu, any bare noun phrase is treated as an object regardless of whether it translates as accusative, instrumental, or comitative, and applicative prefixes function to increase such bare NP objects. (Nakagawa 2024: 192) Applicative prefixes (e-, ko-, o-) have an arity of +1, adverbial prefixes (ar-, ru-) have an arity of 0, and the plural suffix -pa has an arity of 0. (Nakagawa 2024: 367) The prefixes e-, ko-, and o- are adjunct-increasing (valency-increasing) prefixes that can turn intransitive verbs into transitive verbs. (Refsing 1986: 29) Attaching the prefixes e-, o-, or ko- to a verb increases the number of noun phrases (arguments) the verb can take by one, converting intransitive verbs to transitive verbs and transitive verbs to ditransitive verbs. (Satō 2008: 243) To incorporate an instrumental or locative noun as an object instead of as an adjunct, Ainu usually requires applicative prefixes. (reported in Satō 2022: 16.1) Applicative formation turns an oblique adjunct into a grammatical object, which then triggers the object personal affixes. (Shibatani 1990: 26) There is a set of verbal prefixes that incorporate postpositions into verbs (the applicative construction). (Shibatani 1990: 34) Inactive (unaccusative) intransitive clauses can undergo applicative formation in Ainu. (Shibatani 1990: 66) Applicative formation increases the valency of the verb, turning an intransitive verb into a transitive verb, as shown by the change from intransitive subject affixes to transitive subject affixes. (Shibatani 1990: 66) The stranded nominal in an applicative construction turns into an object, as evidenced by transitive personal subject marking and object-personal affix marking on the verb. (Shibatani 1990: 66) Applicative formation can produce double-object constructions in which two direct objects co-occur. (Shibatani 1990: 68)
The three prefixes at a glance
What are the semantic ranges and arity effects of Ainu's valency-increasing prefixes?
Ainu possesses three applicative prefixes: e-, ko-, and o-. (Bugaeva & Kobayashi 2022: 15.4, Nakagawa 2024: 193, Shibatani 1990) The relative frequency of the three Ainu applicative prefixes diminishes in the order ko-, e-, and o-. (Bugaeva 2006: 188) Ainu applicatives are derived using the prefixes e-, ko-, and o-, which increase verbal valency across a range of semantic roles. (Bugaeva 2012: 482–483) There are three applicative prefixes in Ainu: instrumental e-, dative ko-, and locative o-. (proposed in Bugaeva 2022: 1.4)
Semantic roles of the applied object
What semantic roles do Ainu applicative prefixes assign to the promoted object?
The majority of e- and ko- applicative constructions, including those expressing Theme-Patient, Addressee, Recipient, Benefactive, and Malefactive roles, lack non-applicative paraphrases with postpositions and are therefore obligatory. (Bugaeva 2006) In the Shizunai dialect, the three verbal prefixes e-, ko-, and o- increase predicate adjuncts, indicating means/circumstances, direction/goal, and location respectively. (Refsing 1986) Benefactive proper (distinct from Recipient and Addressee) is not the most common semantic role of the applied object in Ainu applicatives. (Bugaeva 2006) The semantic ranges of the applicative prefixes partially overlap, such that meanings typical of ko- (benefactive, comitative, malefactive) may occasionally be expressed by e- on some verbs, and meanings typical of e- (cause, range, purpose, location) may occasionally be expressed by ko-. (Bugaeva 2006: 191) Bugaeva (2010a) analyzes the three applicative prefixes e-, ko-, and o- prototypically as instrumental e-, dative ko-, and locative o-. (Bugaeva 2012: 482–483) In trivalent applicative clauses, while either object can in principle be cross-referenced if first or second person, in practice Recipient objects are usually cross-referenced because they are typically animate. (Bugaeva 2012: 482–483) The prefix e- indicates the means by which, or more vaguely the circumstances under which, something happens. (Refsing 1986: 183) The prefix ko- indicates the direction or goal of an action, or the object affected by the action. (Refsing 1986: 183) The prefixes e- and o- often express instrument, goal, or location, while ko- often expresses direction or instrument, although they can also express more abstract relations. (Satō 2008: 243) Double-object constructions arising from applicative formation typically involve an original patient object and a derived locative object, whereas derived instrumental objects tend to be incorporated. (Shibatani 1990: 68)
The prefix e-: four subtypes
How does the prefix e- relate its applied object to postpositional paraphrases in Ainu?
The applicative prefix e- can promote oblique relations (Benefactive, Instrument, Location) to object, and can also add non-peripheral roles such as Theme-Patient or Content, thereby functioning as non-causative transitivization. (Bugaeva 2006) Like o-, the prefix e- often refers back to the sum of what has been described directly before rather than to a single adjunct, gathering the facts together and presenting the result or conclusion. (Refsing 1986: 183) Examples of the applicative prefixes e- and ko- are relatively common, whereas examples of o- cannot be said to be so common. (Satō 2008: 243) The prefix e- 'by means of, about' is an applicative prefix that attaches to a verb and increases the number of objects it can take. (Satō 2008: 347)
The prefix ko- and the contrast with o-
How do the prefixes ko- and o- differ in the goal arguments they promote in Ainu?
The prefix o- is used to indicate location, which may be simple location in space, but more often indicates a vague location within a specific set of circumstances expressed in one or more preceding sentences. (Refsing 1986: 183) Of the three prefixes o-, e-, and ko-, ko- is the one that most often carries the extra adjunct explicitly. (Refsing 1986: 183)
Stacking, productivity, and the feeding relation
Can Ainu combine multiple applicative prefixes on a single verb, and in what order?
Applicatives in Ainu are permitted with almost all verb classes except those at the extremes of the transitivity hierarchy (meteorological, bodily process, and change-of-state verbs at one end, and effective action verbs at the other). (Bugaeva 2022: 1.4; reported in Bugaeva & Kobayashi 2022: 15.4) The applicative prefixes ko-, e-, and o- can co-occur with valency-decreasing morphology (reciprocal u-, reflexives yay- and si-, antipassive i-, and noun incorporation) and with causative suffixes (-re/-e/-te, -ke, -ka). (Bugaeva 2006: 188) Applicative prefixes combine into complex prefixes such as sociative uko- 'together' and yayko- 'by oneself'. (Bugaeva 2006: 188) Double applicatives can be formed with e-ko- and ko-e-. (Bugaeva & Kobayashi 2022: 15.6) ka opas 'to run to help' is a separable verb, where 'she comes to help me' is expressed as en-ka opas. (Satō 2008: 242)
Homophonous prefixes and the arity computation
How do homophonous prefixes in Ainu differ from applicative prefixes in their effect on verb valency?
Applicative verbs formed with e-, ko-, and o- retain the number agreement pattern of the base verb: when derived from an intransitive verb, number agrees with the agent, and when derived from a transitive verb, number reflects event number (or object number). (Nakagawa 2022: 17.4) The prefixes o- and si- occur much less frequently in the author's Shizunai material than do the other verbal prefixes. (Refsing 1986: 183)
Terminological background
How has the category of valency-increasing prefixes been labeled in Ainu linguistic tradition?
In the Shizunai dialect, the use of an applicative prefix often replaces the case postpositions that would otherwise be required to mark locative, instrumental, or allative adjuncts. (Refsing 1986) Applicative formation occurs more prevalently in Classical Ainu than in the colloquial language, which tends to use particles analytically. (Shibatani 1990: 34) The majority of applicative constructions in Ainu deviate considerably from the typologically prototypical applicative construction. (Bugaeva 2006: 187) Many Ainu applicative constructions deviate from the cross-linguistic prototype by lacking non-applicative paraphrases or by adding a participant with a Theme role. (Bugaeva 2012: 482–483) Applicative constructions in Ainu often appear to be the only available way of introducing peripheral arguments, rather than just an alternative to postpositional marking. (Bugaeva 2012: 484–485) Whereas colloquial language typically marks case with case particles, elegant language relatively commonly marks case using the applicative prefixes e-, o-, and ko-. (reported in Endō 2022: 10.4) Kindaichi and Chiri emphasize the case-marking function of the prefixes e-, ko-, and o- much more strongly than Refsing does. (reported in Refsing 1986: 31) Applicative expressions with e-, ko-, and o- can express nearly the same logical meaning as independent words like the postposition ani, but pairs of both expressions are rarely used equally frequently, suggesting they may not form a systematic functional opposition. (proposed in Satō 2008: 243) In the classical register, case relations are relatively often expressed through the applicative prefixes e-, o-, and ko-, whereas the colloquial register frequently expresses them using case particles. (Satō 2008: 263) Applicative prefixes absorb postpositional particles and express the semantic relations of the stranded oblique nominals despite bearing no morphological resemblance to the particles. (Shibatani 1990)