Knowledge base · Part XIII — Nominalization, Relativization, and Complementation · this topic as a network

105. Quotative Complementation and Reported Speech (sekor)

How does Hokkaido Ainu embed direct-form clauses as complements of verbs of speech, cognition, and intention?

sekor in the complementizer system

What place does the quotative marker sekor occupy in Hokkaido Ainu's clause-embedding system?

A grammaticalized quotative marker appears in almost all quotative indexes, functioning as an adverbial conjunction or as a complementizer depending on clause syntax. (Bugaeva 2008) The conjunctive particles kuni, kunak, yak, and kusu in their formal-noun-like usage in indirect speech function as complementizers. (Nakagawa 2024: 510) Quotationalization in Ainu creates a syntactic structure that stands in an adverbial relationship to the information verb to which it is attached. (Refsing 1986: 48) A dedicated quotationalizer morpheme marks quotations of speech or thought and embeds them as adjuncts to predicates of speaking, thinking, or feeling. (Refsing 1986: 81) In the Saru dialect, sekor appears to be the most frequently used quotation marker. (reported in Refsing 1986: 267) In Shizunai, a quotational adjunct consists of a sentence or nominal expression followed by a quotationalizer. (Refsing 1986: 268) In Shizunai, the sentence or nominal expression preceding a quotationalizer must denote something said, thought, felt, or heard. (Refsing 1986: 274) In Shizunai, quotational adjuncts occur only with predicates expressing speaking, thinking, feeling, hearing, or similar notions. (Refsing 1986: 274) The complementizer/particle yak expresses complementation or quotation ('that / -to, to iu koto'). (Satō 2008: 179) In the Saru dialect, sekór is used both to quote speech and to indicate manner ('in this way'). (Tamura 1972: 20)

Form and position

What is the morphological form of sekor, and where is it positioned relative to the quoted clause and matrix verb?

The particle sékor marks quotations and functions as a postpositional adverb because it can also appear independently. (Satō 2008: 58, 288) Optional quotative indexes appear only preposed to the quote in collocation with postposed obligatory quotative indexes and never co-occur with circumposed obligatory quotative indexes. (Bugaeva 2008) An optional quotative index is typically a noun phrase composed of a speaker nominal, the similarity marker ene, a speech verb, and the nominalizer -(h)i. (Bugaeva 2008) An optional quotative index may consist of an author nominal, a speech verb, and an evidential particle followed by ene, an existential verb, or a nominalizer. (Bugaeva 2008) The speech verb in an optional quotative index may be identical to or different from the verb in the co-occurring obligatory quotative index. (Bugaeva 2008) The naming construction in Ainu always takes an impersonal subject marked by the inclusive prefix a= on the transitive verb ye 'say'. (Bugaeva 2008) In indirect reported discourse statements, the quote functions syntactically as an object complement clause of the main verbal predicate, which must be transitive. (Bugaeva 2008) In indirect reported discourse, quote indices may be circumposed around the quote with an overt subject or postposed with a covert subject. (Bugaeva 2008) When expressing 'so-and-so said' (曰く), the nominalized form with -i is always used. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The quotative conjunction is ari in Iburi, corresponding to sekor in Hidaka. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The postpositional adverb sekor marks direct quotations in the Saru, Chitose, and Ishikari dialects, but when used independently it expresses 'thus, in such a way'. (Nakagawa 2024: 281) In the Saru and Chitose dialects, sekor kane is frequently used instead of simple sekor to emphasize that something is out of the ordinary. (Nakagawa 2024: 331) In the Tokachi dialect, ari hawki is often contracted to ari awki or arawki. (Nakagawa 2024: 472) In the Horobetsu dialect, direct speech is framed with ari hawean or ari itak. (Nakagawa 2024: 472) In the Bihoro dialect, direct speech appears to be framed with ani hawki. (proposed in Nakagawa 2024: 472) The expression sekor an pe in Saru and Chitose corresponds to ari an pe in Horobetsu, Shizunai, Tokachi, and Abuta. (Nakagawa 2024: 472) In oral literature, the quotative postpositional adverb sékor is sometimes followed by kane, which adds a softened nuance such as 'in the manner of' or 'such as'. (Satō 2008: 334) Verbs of speech or hearing usually follow the quotative/manner expression sékor kane. (Satō 2008: 338) Both kuni/kunak and yak follow a bare clause lacking sentence-final particles and intonation to form an object noun phrase under transitive verbs such as ye 'say' or ramu 'think'. (Tamura 1972: 20) The quotative particle sekor follows a complete sentence with final particles and intonation to form an adverbial phrase combining mostly with intransitive verbs such as hawean or yaynu. (Tamura 1972: 20) When sekór combines with the transitive verb ye 'say', the direct object of ye is the addressee. (Tamura 1972: 20) In Southwestern Hokkaido dialects of Ainu, the quotative markers corresponding to Southern Hokkaido sekor are ani and ari. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) In direct reported discourse marked by sekor, the quote need not be a complete clause, but can consist of a sub-clausal element such as a vocative, or can span multiple clauses. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) In indirect reported discourse, the quote clause is co-extensive with a full clause containing a predicate. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) The particle ari functions as an equivalent to sekor in certain dialects. (Bugaeva 2008) The quote of a direct reported discourse construction expressing a statement, command, or question is acceptable when used as an independent matrix clause on its own. (Bugaeva 2008) sekor-marked quotative indexes are regarded as obligatory, but there is also a range of optional quotative indexes that may be preposed to the quote. (Bugaeva 2008) The quotative marker sekor is an adverbial conjunction historically consisting of the mimetic verbalizer root se and the temporal/conditional conjunction kor 'then, when, if'. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) Southern Hokkaido Ainu uses the quotative marker sekor. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) Central Hokkaido Ainu uses the quotative marker sekor, and occasionally ari. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) Northeastern and Southwestern Hokkaido Ainu employ the quotative marker ari. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) Sakhalin Ainu employs the quotative marker nah. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) While sekor in Southern and Central Hokkaido dialects originated as a mimesis marker indexing non-linguistic sounds, ari and nah originated in manner deictics meaning 'thus, in this way'. (Bugaeva 2008) sekor-marked quotative indexes may contain transitive verbs as well as intransitive verbs. (Bugaeva 2008) In Southern Hokkaido Ainu data, 14 transitive verbs were found in sekor-marked quotative indexes, comprising 44% of the 32 verbs used in these indexes. (Bugaeva 2008) Most transitive verbs in sekor-marked quotative indexes lack 'transitivity to speech' and have a valency slot only for a direct object referring to the addressee, rather than to speech or the quote. (Bugaeva 2008) The noun phrase encoding the author of reported discourse always functions syntactically as the main clause subject and is obligatorily cross-referenced by a bound affix on the verbal predicate. (Bugaeva 2008) In reported discourse with intransitive speech verbs, the addressee usually has no overt reference and must be recovered from the context. (Bugaeva 2008) In exceptional cases when context is insufficient, the addressee of an intransitive speech verb may be referred to with an oblique noun phrase. (Bugaeva 2008) In the case of transitive speech verbs with a direct-object valency slot referring to the addressee, the addressee must be obligatorily marked by a bound cross-reference object prefix, and may optionally be encoded by a noun or pronoun. (Bugaeva 2008) Simple quotative indexes (lacking sekor) are not common in Ainu, occurring either with reported questions or in rhythmically organized verse of the yukar and kamuy yukar genres. (Bugaeva 2008) General event-referring verbs that lack an inherent utterance feature do not occur as predicates in simple quotative indexes. (Bugaeva 2008) A bisected quotative index consists of an event predicate and a quotative marker, and it is the most frequent type of quotative index in Ainu. (Bugaeva 2008) General event-referring verbs lacking the inherent feature of utterance, such as intransitive an 'exist' or transitive copula ne 'be', can be used instead of speech verbs in bisected quotative indexes if the context is sufficient. (Bugaeva 2008) Reduced quotative indexes marked by sekor are less frequent than bisected quotative indexes, but are more frequent than simple quotative indexes. (Bugaeva 2008) Obligatory quotative indexes in Ainu may be either postposed or circumposed to the quote. (Bugaeva 2008) In circumposed quotative indexes, the subject and adjunct are preposed to the quote, while the rest of the quotative index, including sekor and the predicate, are postposed. (Bugaeva 2008)

Direct and indirect quotation

In sekor quotation, how does person marking in the quoted clause compare with person marking in indirect complementation?

In Central Hokkaido (Asahikawa) Ainu, the sekor-marked quotative index can introduce indirect reported discourse in addition to direct and semi-direct discourse. (Bugaeva 2008) In Southern Hokkaido dialects, sekor has not been attested as a quotation marker introducing indirect reported discourse. (Bugaeva 2008) In indirect speech, the construction consisting of a causative verb form followed by kusu expresses an imperative meaning corresponding to telling someone to do something. (Nakagawa 2024: 478) In indirect reported discourse, reported commands can be functionally expressed by an adverbial purposive clause marked by kusu with a causative verb, where the main subject corefers with the subordinate subject. (Bugaeva 2008) Ainu has three main reported discourse constructions distinguished by person deixis: direct discourse with the author's perspective, indirect discourse with the reporter's perspective, and semi-direct discourse with the combined perspective of author and reporter. (Bugaeva 2008) In Southern Hokkaido Ainu dialects, direct reported discourse constructions are marked by the quotative marker sekor. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) In Ainu, indirect reported discourse constructions are marked by the complementizers kunak, yak, or kuni. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) Direct reported discourse marked by sekor employs intransitive reporting verbs in the quote index, whereas indirect reported discourse marked by kuni etc. employs transitive reporting verbs. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) Ainu possesses a genuine direct reported discourse construction where no pronoun or pronominal affix shows a reporter-oriented shift. (Bugaeva 2008) Direct reported discourse reports in Ainu are frequent and not limited to any specific speech act. (Bugaeva 2008) In colloquial Ainu, direct reported discourse often has a so-called theatrical effect, involving intonation patterns or mimicking. (Bugaeva 2008) According to Tamura (1972), direct reported discourse as in paye=as wa arki=as na sekor haweoka is an actual reproduction of the author's discourse accompanied by mimicking the original voice and manner of speaking. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) According to Tamura (1972), the semi-direct reported discourse version paye=an wa arki=an na sekor haweoka is likely to occur when the speaker intends to leave and not return for a while, whereas the direct reported discourse version is likely to occur when intending to return in a minute. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) Colloquial Ainu complies with the discourse prominence hierarchy of reported-discourse categories, in which direct reported discourse represents foregrounded information and indirect reported discourse represents backgrounded information. (proposed in Bugaeva 2008) In Southern Hokkaido Ainu dialects, the quotative indexes employed in Semidirect Reported Discourse and Direct Reported Discourse constructions are invariably marked with the quotative sekor. (Bugaeva 2008) In Southern Hokkaido Ainu dialects, the frequency of indirect reported discourse encoding reported speech proper is very low across all speech act types, though reported commands occur more often than reported statements and questions. (Bugaeva 2008) Indirect reported discourse in Ainu exhibits a consistent reporter-oriented shift in all pronominal references. (Bugaeva 2008) In Ainu indirect reported discourse, the quote must be coextensive with a clause or two-clause sentence and cannot contain non-linguistic expressions. (Bugaeva 2008) Proper imperatives and negative imperatives do not occur in Ainu indirect reported discourse. (Bugaeva 2008) Sentence-final particles with modal meanings do not occur in Ainu indirect reported discourse. (Bugaeva 2008) Interjections, vocatives, and exclamations do not occur in Ainu indirect reported discourse. (Bugaeva 2008) There is no pause between the quote and the quotative index in Ainu indirect reported discourse. (Bugaeva 2008) Ainu indirect reported discourse (IRD) constructions do not employ logophoric markers to index coreference between the author and a participant inside the quote. (Bugaeva 2008) Any third person within an indirect reported discourse quote can in principle refer either to the author or to a third party. (Bugaeva 2008) Indirect reported discourse referring to speech proper is extremely rare in folklore texts of the poetic genres yukar and kamuy yukar. (Bugaeva 2008) The hearsay reportive construction marked by yak a=ye has an impersonal subject encoded by the inclusive prefix on the transitive verb ye. (Bugaeva 2008) Indirect reported discourse referring to internal awareness (thought) is rather common in folklore and colloquial Ainu. (Bugaeva 2008) Unlike in semi-direct or direct reported discourse, the quote index of indirect reported discourse is repeated after each clause. (Bugaeva 2008) The syntactic link between the quote and the quote index in indirect reported discourse is marked by one of three complementizers: yak, kunak, or kuni, none of which can be omitted. (Bugaeva 2008) In indirect reported discourse constructions, the complementizers belong to the quote rather than to the quote index. (Bugaeva 2008) The complementizers yak and kunak are not used for marking other types of complement clauses, but only for indirect reported discourse (IRD) including 'internal awareness'. (Bugaeva 2008) Kunak derives from kun-yak and is a semantically transparent complementizer consisting of the morpheme kun- and the complementizer yak. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) In indirect reported discourse, commands can be reported using the complementizer kuni expressing obligation ('should, must'). (Bugaeva 2008) Indirect questions are very uncommon in texts. (Bugaeva 2008) The main property signaling that a question is cast as indirect reported discourse is the adjustment of personal deixis. (Bugaeva 2008) In indirect questions, the particle ya should be regarded as a complementizer meaning 'whether' rather than a question marker, and the indirect question clause acts as a complement of the main predicate. (proposed in Bugaeva 2008) The complementizer ya strategy with personal deixis shift is used with both alternative and yes-no indirect questions. (Bugaeva 2008) Content indirect questions may be rendered periphrastically using a possessive phrase headed by the Japanese-origin word moto-ho 'its reason' with katu 'behavior' and a pre-posed attributive clause, instead of a question word like hemanta 'why'. (Bugaeva 2008) Content indirect questions may also be rendered periphrastically by a relative clause whose head noun functions as the object of the speech verb of asking. (Bugaeva 2008) There are three main reported discourse constructions in Ainu distinguished by person deixis: direct reported discourse, indirect reported discourse, and semi-direct reported discourse. (Bugaeva 2008) In semi-direct reported discourse, coreference between a second- or third-person author and a participant in the quote is marked by the indefinite person representing a reporter-oriented shift, while other participant references remain as in the original discourse. (Bugaeva 2008) Genuine direct reported discourse exists as a full-fledged reported discourse category in both colloquial speech and folklore Ainu. (Bugaeva 2008) Semi-direct and direct reported discourse reports are frequent in colloquial and folklore Ainu. (Bugaeva 2008) Indirect reported discourse reports referring to speech proper are rare anywhere in Ainu, but those referring to thought are rather common. (Bugaeva 2008) Quotation constructions in Southern Hokkaido dialects of Ainu are distinguished by person deixis into three main types: direct speech (original speaker's perspective), indirect speech (reporter's perspective), and semi-direct speech (a combination of the original speaker's and reporter's perspectives). (Bugaeva 2008) Semi-direct speech in Southern Hokkaido Ainu cannot be analyzed as a subtype of direct speech. (Bugaeva 2008) In the Saru dialect, direct speech can also take the form of sekor an pe 'the fact/quote that...' followed by a transitive verb such as ye 'say'. (Nakagawa 2024: 470) Indirect speech is expressed by combining a transitive verb such as ye 'say' or ramu 'think' with a conjunction functioning like a formal noun, such as kuni, kunak, yak, or kusu. (Nakagawa 2024: 475) In indirect speech, person marking is in principle assigned from the perspective of the narrator quoting the speech. (Nakagawa 2024: 475) Because what precedes markers like kuni in indirect speech is strictly a verb phrase, sentence-final particles (such as na) cannot be included in an indirect quote. (Nakagawa 2024: 476) The indirect speech markers kuni, kunak, yak, and kusu function as complementizers nominalizing the preceding clause to serve as the object of a following transitive verb, so an intransitive verb cannot follow them (*yak hawean). (Nakagawa 2024: 476) As an indirect-speech complementizer, kunak expresses future events or inferences. (Nakagawa 2024: 477) As an indirect-speech complementizer, yak expresses things that have already occurred. (Nakagawa 2024: 477) The construction yak ramu 'think that...' is used when inferring what is happening right now or what has already occurred, not future events. (Nakagawa 2024: 477) The phrase yak a=ye is frequently used in the meaning 'it is generally said that...'. (Nakagawa 2024: 478) Although yakne has almost the same conjunctive meaning as yak when used as a conjunctive particle, it cannot be used as an indirect-speech complementizer. (Nakagawa 2024: 478) In indirect speech representing an imperative directed at someone, changing direct imperative forms like iku! and ipe! to causatives ikure and ipere followed by kusu ye converts the direct speech into indirect speech. (Nakagawa 2024: 479) The phrases ene an i or ene oka hi (oka being the plural form of an) are sometimes used as expressions introducing quotations of subsequent utterances. (Satō 2008: 299) In quotative clauses with sekór, the intonation and tone of voice replicate what the original speaker uttered, so this construction does not correspond to indirect speech. (Tamura 1972: 20) In indirect speech, kunák and kuní quote events planned or anticipated in the future, while yak quotes facts that have already been realized. (Tamura 1972: 20)

hawe and itak as framing elements

How do the nouns hawe and itak frame or introduce reported speech events in Hokkaido Ainu?

In the Saru dialect, direct speech is commonly formed by the adverb sekor combined with intransitive verbs such as hawean, itak, or yaynu. (Nakagawa 2024: 470) The direct speech framing sekor hawean is used exclusively in the Saru and Chitose dialects. (Nakagawa 2024: 471) In the Ishikari dialect, sekor is used for direct speech, but the accompanying verb 'say' is frequently itak rather than hawean. (Nakagawa 2024: 471) In many dialects outside Saru, Chitose, and Ishikari (such as Shizunai, Kushiro, and Tokachi), direct speech is framed using ari hawki. (Nakagawa 2024: 471) In Saru narratives, directly quoted speech often begins after expressions like ene hawean hi or hawe ene an hi and closes with sekor hawean. (Nakagawa 2024: 473)

The logophoric fourth person in speech reports

In indirect speech reports, how are first-person markers adjusted to reflect the reporting narrator's viewpoint?

In semi-direct discourse, the indefinite person is used when a third- or second-person author is coreferential with a participant in the quote, showing a reporter-oriented shift. (Bugaeva 2008) In the sekor-marked reported discourse construction, when a third- or second-person author is coreferential with a participant in the quote, the first person changes to the indefinite person. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) When a third- or second-person author is coreferential with a quote participant, not only the first person singular but also the first person plural shifts to the indefinite person. (Bugaeva 2008) According to Tamura, the first person is never used in quoting the speech of others in Ainu. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) Genuine direct reported discourse using the first person coreferential with a second- or third-person original speaker is documented in colloquial Ainu and folklore. (Bugaeva 2008) In Southern Hokkaido dialects, the indefinite pronouns asinuma and aoka and verbal affixes a=, =an, and i= within quotes function as logophoric markers. (proposed in Bugaeva 2008) In the Saru dialect, the fourth person is used in reported speech for the quoted original speaker, triggering singular verb agreement for singular referents and plural verb agreement for plural referents. (Nakagawa 2024: 179) Because narrative prose is told in the fourth person, character dialogue is marked identically, necessitating framing formulas that clearly delineate dialogue boundaries. (Nakagawa 2024: 473) When a narrator's own command is rendered in indirect speech, the subject of the causative verb ahunte is the narrator and takes the fourth-person prefix a=. (Nakagawa 2024: 479)

Analyses and open questions

What categorical distinction is drawn between quotative complementation with sekor and nominalized complement clauses?

In the Shizunai dialect, spoken quotes are marked by the quotationalizer ari followed by verbs of speaking such as hawki, ye, itak, or yayisoitak. (Refsing 1986: 265) In the Asahikawa and Nayoro dialects, kunak is used as a complementizer to quote speech. (Refsing 1986: 267) Tamura suggests that kuni introduces indirect reports of future events, whereas yak tends to introduce indirect reports of past events. (reported in Bugaeva 2008) The complementizer yak is attested in indirect reported discourse reports describing current or future events. (Bugaeva 2008) What has previously been treated as direct discourse in Ainu comprises two distinct categories: direct discourse proper and semi-direct discourse. (Bugaeva 2008) The quote of the sekor-marked construction is interpreted as a kind of adverbial clause, whereas the quote of indirect reported discourse is interpreted as a complement clause functioning as an object argument of the main reporting verb. (Bugaeva 2008) The reported discourse system in Ainu constitutes a continuum comprising direct reported discourse and semi-direct reported discourse that differ in their degrees of directness. (Bugaeva 2008) An elaborate obligatory quotative index in Ainu is likely to have a predicative structure consisting of a discourse verb functioning as the predicative nucleus, a nominal referring to the speaker/author, possibly a nominal referring to the addressee, and a quotative marker or complementizer. (Bugaeva 2008) Quotative verbs that have no use outside reported discourse have not been attested in Ainu. (Bugaeva 2008) In sekor-marked quotative constructions, the quote is not a complement of the quotative index predicate, but functions as an oblique construction resembling an adverbial clause of manner. (Bugaeva 2008) Quotative indexes or their constituents can be used to express auditory perception. (Bugaeva 2008) The use of quotative indexes to express non-auditory sensory perception has not been attested in Southern Hokkaido dialects of Ainu. (Bugaeva 2008) Quotative indexes in Ainu can be used to explain human actions, in which case the quotative particle sekor is repeated twice after actual demonstrations of the actions. (Bugaeva 2008) In folklore texts, reported evidence representing established oral history can be encoded by sekor occurring after a regular postposed quotative index as a final remark indicating that the storyteller heard the tale from another storyteller. (Bugaeva 2008) The complementizers kunak and kuni each consist of two morphemes, where the initial element kun- adds an intentional meaning or an epistemic/situational modal meaning to the quote proposition. (Bugaeva 2008) In indirect reported discourse constructions, kuni is primarily used for encoding internal awareness and only occasionally for reported speech proper. (Bugaeva 2008) The complementizer yak probably acquired its function as an indirect reported discourse marker through semantic reinterpretation of its Sakhalin cognate nah, which originally meant 'thus'. (proposed in Bugaeva 2008) Indirect reported discourse is a relatively new construction in Ainu that arose through the functional extension of hi-complementation strategies and the emergence of a speech-restricted yak-complementation strategy. (proposed in Bugaeva 2008) Indirect reported discourse in Ainu emerged relatively recently as an extension of the complementation strategy used for embedding thoughts, knowledge, emotions, and intentions. (proposed in Bugaeva 2008) Semi-direct and direct reported discourse reports are much older than indirect discourse, having originated in a wider domain of mimesis including the discourse-embedding of bodily gestures, ideophones, and non-linguistic sounds. (Bugaeva 2008) The quotationalizer ari is used with the verb yaynu 'think/reflect', whereas the verb ramu 'think/feel' requires the conjunctionalizer kuni instead. (Refsing 1986: 265) When a quote conveys hearsay, ari is used with the existential verb an. (Refsing 1986: 265) The quotationalizer ari is used with the verb yaynu 'think/reflect'. (Refsing 1986: 265) The verb ramu 'think/feel' requires kuni rather than ari to introduce a quotation. (Refsing 1986: 265) In the Bihoro and Sōya dialects, kuni is also used for quoting speech. (Refsing 1986: 267) The Saru dialect has both kuni and kunak as quotation markers, but lacks ari. (Refsing 1986: 267) In the Bihoro and Sōya dialects, kuni is used for quoting speech as well. (Refsing 1986) The Saru dialect has both kuni and kunak used as quotation markers. (Refsing 1986) The Saru dialect does not have the quotationalizer ari. (Refsing 1986) sekor appears to be the most frequently used quotation marker in the Saru dialect. (reported in Refsing 1986) In kamuy yukar texts, the quotative postadverb sékor before verbs of saying can be omitted for rhythmic reasons. (Satō 2008: 291) kunak functions as a complementizer or quotative particle meaning 'that... / saying...'. (Satō 2008: 370)