Person[grnd]: person of the ground of a postpostion
| Values: | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Person[grnd] encodes the person of the internal argument of a postpostion, i.e., the reference object, relatum or ground (also landmark in cognitive grammar), which is realized in Nheengatu in certain circunstances by the non-contiguity prefix s-. These postposition forms correspond to a prepositional phrase formed by a preposition and a personal pronoun in languages such as English.
1: first person ground
This is realized by an inactive prefix, also called second class pronoun.
Examples
- Ape ana suú-itá umamana ixé, upuãmu uyuyari se resé useréu arama aé. “At that moment the animals surrounded me, stood up against me to lick him.” (Amorim, 181, adap., apud Avila 2021)
2: second person ground
This is expressed by a second class pronoun.
Examples
- […] pe ruayana yuruparí uyatimana pe ruakí kwayé leão usasemu waá yawé, […]. “[…] the devil, your enemy, walks around you like a roaring lion, […].” (O Novo Testamento em nyengatu, 1 Pedro 5:8, adap., apud Avila 2021)
3: third person ground
A pronominal third person ground is incorporated into the postpostion in form of the non-contiguity prefx s.
Examples
- Kunhã-itá upuapuãmu suakí rupí umaã arama aé umungitá aintá. “Women milled around him to see if he would court them”. (Amorim, 444, adap., apud Avila 2021)
- Waimĩ uyapí pisá sesé, upupeka reté aé, urasú suka kití. “The old woman threw the net over him, enveloped him completely, took him to her house.” (Magalhães, 165, adap., apud Avila 2021)