Knowledge base · Part XV — Evidentiality and Mirativity · this topic as a network
123. hawe ne — the Reportative / Hearsay Evidential
How does the language mark information acquired through speech or hearsay?
The particle manu functions as an indirect narrative marker ('...that...') or as an expletive (filler) particle. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) When a quote reports hearsay, ari is used together with the existential verb an. (Refsing 1986: 265) The auxiliary manu 'is said to be, like' does not occur at sentence-final position, and its use is almost entirely restricted to expressions like kamuy ne manu p. (Satō 2008: 84) The hearsay marker yakaye 'it is said' can be morphologically analyzed as the quotative conjunction yak plus the indefinite transitive verb form a-ye 'people say'. (Satō 2008: 203)
Place in the evidential paradigm
What is the reportative evidential and how does it relate to other evidentials?
The hearsay particle construction manuyke 'it is said that...' is treated as a single word rather than being divided into separate elements. (Murasaki 2025) The auxiliary verb manu expresses hearsay or folktale reportative evidentiality ('it is said that'). (Murasaki 2025: 94)
Meaning: verbal source and reportative function
What meanings does the reportative evidential convey?
The complex predicate hawe ne functions as a reportative evidential ('it is said that'). (Bugaeva 2012: 494–495) In Tamura (1997), "hawe ne" is described as being used when speaking based on what someone said, such as introducing what another person said or further explaining one's own words. (reported in Hirosawa 2026) In Nakagawa's (1995) dictionary of the Chitose dialect, "hawe ne" is defined as a sentence-final particle indicating that something was judged based on verbal information, and it can also be used to explain or confirm the meaning of one's own utterance. (reported in Hirosawa 2026) The form "hawe ne" typically marks auditory/spoken information. (Hirosawa 2026) Bunsai-hō states an event as mere hearsay. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) hawe-ne expresses hearsay / reportative assertion ('it is said that ...' / 'so they say'). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936: 189) hawe ne is an explanatory construction used in connection with the act of speaking or telling. (Satō 2008: 313)
The sekor … hawe ne quotative frame
How does the reportative evidential combine with a quotative complementizer?
hawe as: the indirect reportative
What is the indirect reportative form and how does it differ from the direct one?
A general hearsay report can be encoded by the quotative sekor followed by the avalent verb haw-as 'voice-stand'. (Bugaeva 2008) haw(e)-ash expresses hearsay / reportative modality ('so I hear' / 'it is said that ...'). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936: 189) The verb háwas is literally interpreted as haw 'voice' plus as 'stand', and is used as an impersonal expression meaning 'people say' or 'it is said', obscuring who is speaking. (Satō 2008: 326) In the népenepo ... expression, the form háwas is used when the perception is based on audition. (Satō 2008: 327)
Clause-final frames and illocution
What clause-final frames does the reportative evidential appear in?
hawe is used in interrogative sentences. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) hawe-an (plural hawe-okai) expresses a question (or exclamation). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936: 189) hawe an is used in questions asking about information obtained through words. (Nakagawa 2024: 399) The combination hawe ne functions as an assertive sentence-final form. (Refsing 1986: 237)
Scope over TAM and the embedded clause
What is the scope of the reportative evidential over tense, aspect, and negation?
Southern Hokkaido Ainu has a specialized reportive evidential construction formed by the grammaticalized function word hawe followed by the copula ne, in which the hawe-marked clause is embedded as the object argument of ne. (Bugaeva 2008) Like "siri ne", "hawe ne" can also be used to express an action that has not yet begun (a future action). (Hirosawa 2026)
Double evidentiality and narrative register
How does the reportative evidential combine with other evidentials?
Ainu haw-ne wa hawe, composed of haw 'voice', copula ne, conjunction wa 'and', and the reportative evidential hawe, means 'they say that the rumor is that...'. (Vovin 2022: 6.6)
Diachrony and dialect microvariation
How did the reportative evidential develop from a lexical noun?
The reportative evidential marker hawe developed diachronically from expressions meaning 'there is a voice of...' or 'there is a rumor of...'. (reported in Hirosawa 2026; proposed in Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) In some cases, the existential verb an may substitute for the copula ne in the hawe-based reportive evidential construction. (Bugaeva 2008) haw(e) originally means 'voice', but when used in sentence-final phrases, its meaning is primarily restricted to what has been confirmed through words (verbal communication). (Nakagawa 2024: 398) In the Saru and Chitose dialects, hawe ne can be used when the speaker explains what they themselves have just said. (Nakagawa 2024: 398)