Skip to content
A Grammar of Hokkaido Ainu

Knowledge base · Part XV — Evidentiality and Mirativity

122. siri ne — the Direct-Perception / Situational Evidential

How does the language express that a statement is based on a directly perceived or visible situation?

その言語は、直接知覚された、または目に見える状況に基づく発言をどのように表現するのか？

siri ne ('it is the appearance/scene that'), marking directly observed situations and visible states, with a close interface to the siran situational-continuative and a mirative lean.

candidate topic from the first edition topic:evidential/siri-ne-situational read this topic as text

22claims
43statements
18sources
5examples
8sections
73first-edition sentences

Local network

The chapter, its sections, the sources it cites, the chapters it cross-references, the forms it mentions most, and the claims grouped under it with the sources that assert, propose, doubt or reject each.

Related chapters

Forms mentioned

siri ne 13sir 12siri 11ruwe ne 10siri an 7siri ki 4ne 3ru 3an 3sir-i 2sir-pirka 2sir-kunne 2siran 2ruwe 2sirki 2ki 2sin 2humi ne 1hawe ne 1*ruwehe 1*humihi 1Poro-sir 1Tokyo un paye=an siri an? 1ruwe an 1hawe an 1wa an 1kor an 1humi as 1hawe as 1ruwe un 1*siri un 1un 1kira sin ne nankor 1hum 1haw 1ru / ruwe 1supuya at kor sir-an ruwe ne anan 1siri ki siri ne 1*siri an siri ne 1[clause] siri ne 1

Claims

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.

  1. The particle siri can function as a conjunctive particle meaning 'even though' or 'despite'.
    助詞 siri は「〜であるのに」「〜にもかかわらず」を意味する接続助詞として機能することがある。
    form-function ainu some siri
    reports hirosawa2026

Sections

·

Place in the evidential paradigm 4 claims ·7 sentences

What marker does the language use for direct visual evidence in its evidential system?

  1. In Southwestern Hokkaido Ainu, the complex predicate siri ne functions as a visual evidential meaning 'it looks that'.
    北海道南西方言において、複合述語 siri ne は「〜のようである、〜に見える」という視覚証拠性を表す。
    form-function hokkaido/southwest all siri ne
    asserts bugaeva2012
  2. In evidential constructions, shir-ki dynamically marks the immediately preceding action or state, shir-iki dynamically marks the broader situation or atmosphere, and shir-an marks a static state.
    見説法構文において、shir-ki は直前の動作・状態を動的に受け、shir-iki は全体の雰囲気・環境を動的に受け、shir-an は静的な状態の存在を表す。
    form-function all shir-kishir-ikishir-an
    asserts kindaichi1936
  3. In népenepo constructions, síran is selected for visual perception whereas húmas is selected for internal sensation.
    népenepo 構文において、視覚に基づく場合には síran が、内部感覚に基づく場合には húmas が選択される。
    distribution hokkaido all húmassíran
    asserts sato2008
  4. The particle sir is used to express witnessed mood, affirming a fact directly observed by the speaker.
    助詞 sir は、話者が目撃した事実を確認する目撃法を表す。
    form-function ainu all sirsirisir-ansiri-ne
    asserts shibatani1990

Morphology: siri is sir-i, 'the appearance of —' 8 sentences

What is the morphological composition and semantic range of the noun that forms the basis of the direct visual evidential?

Meaning: directly visible situation 8 claims ·12 sentences· 2 examples

What kind of situation does the direct visual evidential marker assert?

  1. The form siri ne (shiri-ne) is used to firmly assert facts present before one's eyes, conveying that something is so or has just occurred.
    siri ne（shiri-ne）は眼前の事実について「〜である」「〜したところである」と確説するのに用いられる。
    form-function all siri neshiri-ne
    asserts kindaichi1936reports hirosawa2026
  2. The combination siri ne conveys an explicative nuance meaning 'having just done...'.
    siri ne は断りの意味を表し、「今〜したところだ」を意味する。
    form-function ainu all siri ne
    reports hirosawa2026
  3. The form siri ne is used for visible situations.
    siri ne は目に見える状況に関して用いられる。
    form-function all siri ne
    reports hirosawa2026
  4. In the Chitose dialect, siri ne is defined as a sentence-final particle indicating that the situation has been judged visually.
    千歳方言において、siri ne は視覚的に判断された状況であることを示す文末詞である。
    form-function hokkaido/chitose all siri ne
    reports hirosawa2026
  5. In Hokkaido Ainu, siri ne typically marks information obtained through visual perception.
    北海道アイヌ語において、siri ne は典型的には視覚から得た情報であることを標示する。
    form-function hokkaido most siri ne
    asserts hirosawa2026
  6. In Hokkaido Ainu, siri ne can be used when speaking about unactualized future events.
    北海道アイヌ語において、siri ne は実現していない未来の出来事について発言する際にも用いられることがある。
    form-function hokkaido some siri ne
    asserts hirosawa2026
  7. The visual evidential category (kensai-hō) serves to firmly assert facts present before one's eyes.
    見説法は眼前の事実に就いて確説するものである。
    form-function all shiri-ne
    asserts kindaichi1936
  8. In the Shizunai dialect, the choice between siri and hawe is determined solely by the sensory modality of perception (visual vs. auditory or other sensory) rather than speaker evaluation.
    静内方言において、siri と hawe の選択は話し手の評価ではなく、言及されている事柄についての知覚様態（視覚的か聴覚的等か）のみによって決定される。
    form-function hokkaido/southwest/shizunai all sirihawe
    asserts refsing1986
a=kor ekasi a=imek-kar sir-i ne
4.A=have elder 4.A=offering-make appearance-POSS COP
‘I am distributing (food) to my grandfather.’
nakagawa2024:397 SAR
tane a=ko-onne sir-i ne wa tapne
now 4.A=APPL-be.old appearance-POSS COP CONJ thus
‘And so I have aged along with it, as one can see —’
ilcaa1976 SAR Kawakami Matsuko, uwepeker民話8(その3); ILCAA Ainu materials aa-irc/008#6

The siri an polysemy 15 sentences· 2 examples

How many distinct readings does the construction of the noun for 'appearance' plus the existential verb have, and what are they?

i=resu sir-i an sekor yaynu=an kor an=an a p
4.O=raise appearance-POSS exist QUOT 4.S=think while 4.S=exist PFV NMLZ
‘I had been thinking that (my older sibling) was raising me, but (it turned out otherwise)…’
ilcaa1976 SAR Kawakami Matsuko, uwepeker民話11; ILCAA Ainu materials aa-irc/013#348
ineap kusun a=i=eoripak wa siri ki ya ka a=eramiskari
how.very CONJ 4.A=1SG.O=respect CONJ appearance-POSS do Q even 4.A=not.know
‘I was being respected to such an extent as I had never seen before.’
biratori1969 SAR 平賀さだも, uwepeker ‘ウラユシウンクㇽ’ [biratori/010/003#10]

Clause-final frames and illocution 4 claims ·5 sentences· 1 examples

What is the illocutionary paradigm of clause-final frames that the direct visual evidential participates in, and which frame is absent?

  1. When sir(i) is used in a sentence-final phrase, its lexical nominal meaning is bleached and it expresses visually confirmed situations.
    sir(i) は文末句で用いられると名詞的意味が消失し、視覚的に確認された事態を表す。
    form-function ainu all sirisir
    asserts nakagawa2024
  2. siri ne can be used to explain the speaker's own current action or situation as reflected in the addressee's eyes.
    siri ne は、相手の目に映っている現在の話し手自身の行為や状況を説明するために用いられることがある。
    form-function ainu some siri ne
    asserts nakagawa2024
  3. In interrogative clauses, siri and siri an are used to ask about an action in which the addressee is currently engaged.
    疑問文において、siri および siri an は相手が現在行っている行為について尋ねる際に用いられる。
    form-function ainu all sirisiri an
    asserts nakagawa2024
  4. The usage of sittapan corresponds functionally to the usage of siri ne that explains the speaker's current action to the addressee.
    sittapan の用法は、話し手が現在していることを目の前の相手に説明するという siri ne の用法の一つに対応している。
    form-function hokkaido/central/ishikari all sittapansiri ne
    proposes nakagawa2024
Tokyo un paye=an sir-i an
Tokyo LOC go=4.S appearance-POSS exist
‘Did you go to Tokyo?’
kanazawa1898nakagawa2024:394 SAR

Predication type: the Tokachi stage-level constraint 3 claims ·9 sentences

What constraint on predicate type applies to the direct visual evidential?

  1. In the Tokachi dialect, sir is not used with individual-level predication describing permanent properties even when visual information is available, and ru is chosen instead.
    十勝方言において、恒常的な性質について述べる個体レベル叙述では視覚情報であっても sir は用いられず、ru が選択される。
    distribution hokkaido/central/tokachi all sirru
    reports hirosawa2026
  2. In the Tokachi dialect, sir is restricted to uncompleted events or temporary states.
    十勝方言において、sir は未完結の事象や一時的状態に限定されて用いられる。
    distribution hokkaido/central/tokachi all sir
    reports hirosawa2026
  3. In the Tokachi dialect, the visual evidential nominalizer sir is used with stage-level predication.
    十勝方言において、視覚的知覚を表す証拠性名詞化辞 sir はステージレベル述語とともに用いられる。
    distribution hokkaido/central/tokachi all sir
    asserts takahashi2022

Double evidentiality and the siri an / ruwe ne pairing 7 sentences

In double evidential constructions, which evidential marker pairs with the indirect visual evidential?

Diachrony, weather predicates, and dialect microvariation 2 claims ·10 sentences

What is the diachronic development of the direct visual evidential, and how does it relate to weather predicates and dialect variation?

  1. The form shir, originally a noun meaning 'land' or 'place', has grammaticalized into a prefix-like element expressing surrounding space, weather, and evidentiality.
    shir はもともと「土地・場所」を意味する名詞であったが、周囲の空間や天候、見説法などを表す接頭辞的要素へと文法化した。
    diachrony all shirshir-
    asserts kindaichi1936
  2. In the Chitose dialect, siri is used to indicate the state or appearance of an action in progress at the reference time.
    千歳方言において、siri は基準時に進行中の動作の状態や様子を表すために用いられる。
    form-function hokkaido/chitose all siri
    reports takahashi2022