Knowledge base · Part XIX — Discourse and the Grammar of Oral Literature · this topic as a network
150. First-Person Narration, the Logophoric Fourth Person, and Reported Discourse
How does the language mark reported discourse?
sekor and the reporting-verb split
What is the etymology and grammaticalization of the main quotative marker?
Direct, semi-direct, and indirect reported discourse
How does the language distinguish direct, semi-direct, and indirect reported discourse?
Ainu folklore texts typically possess an overarching structure in which the entire story is framed as a single embedded quote within a reported discourse construction. (Bugaeva 2008) In semi-direct reported discourse, second-person reference remains unshifted from the perspective of the original speech act. (Bugaeva 2008) In the Saru dialect, pronominal and affixal persons other than the first-person singular and exclusive first-person plural do not change their forms within quotation clauses. (Tamura 1972) Semi-direct discourse reports are very frequent in Ainu and cover reported statements, commands, and questions. (Bugaeva 2008) Just like in direct reported discourse, in semi-direct reported discourse there is a pause between the quote and the quotative index, whereas there is no such pause in indirect speech. (Bugaeva 2008) Semi-direct reported discourse, direct reported discourse, and indirect reported discourse should be regarded as stylistic options rather than mutually exclusive grammatical requirements. (proposed in Bugaeva 2008) In Ainu, a reporter can foreground a discourse event by using direct reported discourse (DRD) or background it by using semi-reported discourse (SRD). (Bugaeva 2008) Direct reported discourse is less preferred in colloquial Ainu contexts where the use of first-person pronouns and affixes may be ambiguous with the person of the reporter. (Bugaeva 2008) In some narrative cases, the first-person marker ku= appears within direct-speech quotes to refer to the person speaking the line, even while the surrounding narrative prose is told in the fourth person. (Nakagawa 2024: 473)
The logophoricity debate
How do analyses of the fourth person in quotes differ regarding logophoricity?
In Eastern and Central Hokkaido dialects, verbal stems taking logophoric affixes invariably take plural agreement even when referring to singular participants. (Bugaeva 2008) In the Horobetsu dialect, logophoric contexts referring to singular participants employ plural pronouns and affixes alongside singular verb stems. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) The logophoric use of the indefinite person is widespread in folktales because the entire narrative is framed as reported discourse. (Bugaeva 2016) In the Saru dialect, ordinary first-person forms can occasionally appear instead of quotative first-person forms when quoting speech. (Tamura 1972) In the Saru dialect, the use of ordinary first-person singular forms inside quotes of third-person speech is exceptionally rare, and quotative first-person forms are almost always used. (Tamura 1972) Some Ainu speakers use mixed reports in which logophoric markers and first-person markers occur within the same quote and refer to the same participant. (Bugaeva 2008) In Ainu, logophorics occur in embedded quote clauses when the matrix subject is third or second person, marking coreference with an S, A, O, or possessor in the quote. (Bugaeva 2012: 474–475) Logophoric marking is employed in non-folklore texts of the Asahikawa dialect of Central Hokkaido. (Bugaeva 2012: 476–477) The quotative first person has not been reported outside the Saru dialect (or dialects closely related to it). (Satō 2004) In the oral literature of many dialects other than Saru, the forms expressing the 'first person' are completely identical to the indefinite person, making no distinction between singular and plural and regularly agreeing with plural verb forms. (reported in Satō 2004) When quoting speech, using the ordinary first-person form reproduces the speaker's words vividly and gives an urgent feeling (e.g. 'going right now'), whereas using the quotative first-person form clearly signals that it is a quotation. (Tamura 1972: 26) In oral literature such as epics and folktales, 'asinúma is used as the first-person singular pronoun, 'a'oká as the first-person plural pronoun, 'a- and -'án as nominative affixes, and 'i- as the objective affix. (Tamura 1972: 26) In quotations, the first-person singular quotative pronoun 'asinúma replaces káni. (Tamura 1972) In quotations, the first-person plural quotative pronoun 'a'oká replaces cóka. (Tamura 1972)
Yukar and uwepeker: narration in the protagonist's voice
How does narrative first-person convention use the fourth person in epic?
In traditional narrative literature, the protagonist-narrator is fundamentally expressed using fourth-person forms rather than the first-person singular. (Nakagawa 2024: 178) In narrative discourse in Saru and Chitose dialects, the colloquial first-person singular nominative prefix ku- is replaced by fourth-person affixes for both singular and plural protagonists. (Endō 2022: 10.2) The person of the narrator in Ainu narrative literature is not an ordinary first person, and the label 'first-person narrative literature' reflects translation equivalence rather than grammatical identity. (Nakagawa 2024: 552) Kamuy yukar were originally narrated fundamentally in the fourth person, with first-person plural narration inserted at openings and closings solely to evoke the presence of a deity speaking. (proposed in Nakagawa 2024: 604) In Saru kamuy yukar, a- series forms are generally used throughout, but ci- series forms are occasionally used in opening passages. (Satō 2004) In the Horobetsu dialect, first-person forms are distributed by genre such that ci- series forms appear in kamuy yukar and a- series forms appear in other genres. (Satō 2004) In a Horobetsu prose narrative, an exceptional case is attested where a deity narrates using the a- series form rather than the expected ci- series form. (Satō 2004) Except for a tiny fraction of prose tales, Ainu oral literature is in principle narrated in the first-person style of the protagonist. (Satō 2008: 260) In recent times, especially in Southern Hokkaido dialects, there is a tendency to narrate the entirety of kamuy yukar in SRD style or to recite only the beginning in DRD style and then switch into SRD. (Bugaeva 2008) Relatively short direct reported discourse (DRD) reports may occasionally appear in typical SRD-style folktales (uwepeker) to refer to the discourse of participants other than the protagonist. (Bugaeva 2008) Penampe and Panampe folktales may contain a key phrase in direct reported discourse (DRD) style uttered by one of the characters alongside SRD conversational turns. (Bugaeva 2008) Children's folktales may contain either a key phrase or a few conversational turns of different characters in direct reported discourse (DRD) style. (Bugaeva 2008) In divine epics from the Iburi region (as recorded in Yukie Chiri's Ainu Shin'yōshū), the exclusive first-person plural affix ci- / -as is used as the first-person singular and plural personal affix. (Endō 2022: 10.2) In Ishikari kamuy yukar, a character's dialogue may shift back and forth between the first person and the fourth person. (Nakagawa 2024: 474) The narrator's viewpoint in Ainu narratives is not fixed and can shift as the story unfolds. (Nakagawa 2024: 552) In narrative genres like heroic epics and prose tales, the fourth person is used because the story is told in the format of a character distinct from the teller narrating their own actions, whereas in ritual prayers the first person is used because the narrator speaks in their own words. (Nakagawa 2024: 602)
The hawe family: report verb, reportative evidential, and hearsay
What are the forms and functions of the hawe family of evidentials?
Dialect variation: sekor and ari/ani
How do dialects differ in the quotative marker used?
In Western Hidaka, Chitose, and Horobetsu dialects, verb stems take singular agreement when the narrator's fourth person refers to a singular participant. (Nakagawa 2024: 178) In Hokkaido dialects other than Western Hidaka, Chitose, and Horobetsu, verb stems take plural agreement even when the narrator's fourth person refers semantically to a single person. (Nakagawa 2024: 178) Using the first-person plural for narration in god songs is an archaic narrative style preserved outside of the Saru dialect. (reported in Nakagawa 2024: 603) In recorded god song texts outside the Saru dialect, texts told entirely in the first-person plural are rare, with most texts intermixing first-person plural and fourth-person markers. (Nakagawa 2024: 603) In Kannari Matsu's god songs from Horobetsu, texts do not use first-person plural forms exclusively but intermix them with fourth-person affixes. (Nakagawa 2024: 603) In Chitose god songs and prose tales, colloquial exclusive first-person plural forms are sometimes used at the opening before shifting to fourth-person forms. (Satō 2008: 261)