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A Grammar of Hokkaido Ainu

Knowledge base · Part XVI — Negation

127. Negative Existential and Possessive: isam

How does Hokkaido Ainu express negative existence and possession? Describe the forms and their functions.

北海道アイヌ語では、否定の存在と所有をどのように表現するか。その形式と機能を述べよ。

isam as the suppletive negative counterpart of the existentials an/oka, its 'not have' possessive use, and the privative sak.

candidate topic from the first edition topic:negation/negation-existential-possessive-isam read this topic as text

7claims
24statements
13sources
5examples
5sections
49first-edition sentences

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Forms mentioned

isam 20somo 10sak 10an 6kor 5no 4wa 3somo an 3oka 2ka 2*sam 2i- 2oka(y) 1eaykap 1eramiskari 1erampewtek 1ku=isam 1e=isam 1nep ka 1wa isam 1somo kor 1ona sak pe 1sak-somo-ay-ep 1*samno 1a 1o 1sam* 1sam 1

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A claim is one proposition; under it stand the statements of each source, with the stance that source takes. Claims are grouped by a model from the extracted statements and carry that status until reviewed.

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Place in the negation system 1 claims ·7 sentences

How does Hokkaido Ainu negate existence and possession without using the preverbal adverb somo?

  1. Certain verbs inherently incorporate negation into their lexical meaning, such as isam 'not exist', sak 'lack', and erampewtek 'not understand/know'.
    isam「存在しない」、sak「欠く」、erampewtek「理解しない／知らない」のように、語彙的意味の一部として否定を含む動詞が存在する。
    existence hokkaido/southwest exists isamsakerampewtek
    asserts bugaeva2012

The negative existential isam 5 claims ·11 sentences· 3 examples

What is the argument structure of the negative existential verb isam, and how does it mark person?

  1. In Sakhalin Ainu, the auxiliary construction wa 'isam expresses that something has disappeared or ceased to exist as a result of an action or state.
    樺太アイヌ語において、補助動詞構文 wa 'isam は動作や状態の結果として見えなくなることや存在しなくなることを表す。
    form-function sakhalin all wa 'isam
    asserts murasaki2025
  2. The construction wa isam corresponds to Japanese '-te shimatta' and indicates that something ceases to exist as a result.
    構文 wa isam は日本語の「〜てしまった」に相当し、結果として存在しなくなるという文脈で用いられる。
    form-function ainu all wa isam
    asserts sato2008
  3. The verb isam is a lexical negative verb that inherently incorporates the meaning of negation.
    動詞 isam は語彙的否定動詞であり、否定の概念がその意味自体に含まれている。
    form-function ainu all isam
    asserts bugaeva2022
  4. To the author's knowledge, there are no other examples of póka 'even just' directly preceding isam 'not exist'.
    isam「ない」の直前に póka「だけでも」が置かれた用例は、著者の知る限り他にない。
    absence none pókaisam
    asserts sato2008
  5. The verb isam means 'not exist', but it is also used to mean 'to die'.
    動詞 isam は「ない」という意味であるが、「死ぬ」という意味でも用いられる。
    form-function ainu generic isam
    asserts sato2008
i=epetturasi p sinep ka isam
4.O=rival NMLZ one even not.exist
‘There is not even one who can rival me.’
nakagawa2024:450 SAR Nakagawa ex. 1025
seta ka nep ka isam pe ne a p
dog even something even not.exist NMLZ COP PFV NMLZ
‘There was not even a dog or anything,’
nakagawa2024:323 SAR Nakagawa ex. 529
k=uni-hi okari anakne nep ka isam
1SG.POSS=home-POSS around TOP something even not.exist
‘There is nothing around my house.’
sato2008 HK

isam and the somo strategy 1 claims ·10 sentences

How does the negative existential isam relate to the analytic negation of existential predicates with somo?

  1. Certain verbs and auxiliaries in Shizunai Ainu are not negated with the adverb somo but instead have lexicalized declarative/negative pairs.
    静内アイヌ語において一部の動詞や助動詞は否定副詞somoによって否定されず、語彙化された肯定／否定の対をもつ。
    existence hokkaido/southwest/shizunai exists somoanokaisamkorsak
    asserts refsing1986

Possessive negation: sak 11 sentences· 2 examples

What constructions express possessive negation in Hokkaido Ainu, and what role does sak play?

ene an nispa maci-hi ene tamasay ka sak ru-we an hi an
such exist rich.man wife-POSS such necklace even lack track-POSS exist NMLZ exist
‘The wife of such a wealthy man does not even have a necklace.’
nakagawa2024:323 SAR Nakagawa ex. 533
ku=kor pukuro sak no ku=hosipi
1SG.A=have bag lack ADV 1SG.S=return
‘I went home without my bag.’
ijas2023 constructed HK

Diachrony: *sam and the negative-existential cycle 10 sentences

What historical relationship has been proposed between the negative existential isam and the negator somo?