How Purposive Are Purposives?

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Mitsuya Sasaki

Yale Nahuatl Conference

at Yale University, May 13

Outline

1. Introduction

2. “Purposive” in Ixquihuacan Nahuatl

3. What do purposives mean?

4. Discussion: A unified account of purposives

5. Implications

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1. Introduction:Typical and non-typical purposives

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Preliminary: Andative vs. venitive

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ANDATIVE

on-, -tīw, etc.

VENITIVE

wāl-, -kīw, etc.

Purposive forms

Traditionally described/translated as

“go/come in order to …”

–ka ō=ti-kim-itta-to-’

AFF ANT=1PLS-3PLO-see-ANDP.PST-PLS

‘We went to see them.’

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1.1 – Nahuatl directionals (Classical)

Andative Venitive

Purposive

Nonpast -tīw(i-’) -kīw(i-’)

Preterit -to(-') -ko(-’)

Optative -ti(-’) -ki(-’)

Motion auxiliary -tiw(i-’)-tiwāllaw

(-tiwālwi-’)

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1.1 – Typical purposives: (1)–(3)

(1) ‘We went to see the gods …’

(2) ‘We went to give them all your capes.’

(3) ‘… we came to greet him, salute him.’

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1.2 – Non-typical purposives: (4)–(6)

(4) ‘When they arrived (lit. came to arrive) at Tecoac’

(5) ‘It was already dark when they arrived (lit. came to

arrive) here.’

(6) ‘It has gone to be known all the way to Castile that

you are very strong and brave.’

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1.3 – Research questions

Do they really denote purpose?

– Non-typical uses: just a figurative extension?

If not, what do they mean?

– How can the “purpose” reading be derived?

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1.4 - Other remarks

Directionals in Ameyaltepec

– Purposive as subject directional

(Amith 1988)

Combination with ‘go/come’

–ō-ni-ya’ ō-ni-tla-pōwa-to

‘I went in order to read’ (Carochi 1645)

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2. Purposive in Ixquihuacan Nahuatl

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PUEBLA

©INEGI

San Francisco Ixquihuacan

Municipality of Ahuacatlán, Puebla

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©Google

Ixquihuacan

“Purposive” in Ixquihuacan Nahuatl

Andative Venitive

Nonpast -tih (-tīweh) -kih (-kīweh)

Preterit -to(h) -ko(h)

Optative -h (-tih) -ki (-kih)

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2.1 - Typical purposives in Ixquihuacan Nahuatl

(7) ‘Luis’s mother entered (lit. went to enter) the house …’

(8) ‘She went to put them in the dough or in the

nexayote ...’

(9) ‘May they come to see who the thieves are.’

(10) ‘We go all the way to Zacatlán to take things …’

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2.2 – “On-the-way” use of purposives in Ixquihuacan Nahuatl

(11) ‘It became dark when we came at this point.’

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ō-tlayuwa-ko(venitive purposive)

2.3 – “On-the-way” use of purposives in Ixquihuacan Nahuatl

(12) ‘if he passes away on the way [to the city]…’

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poliwi-tih(andative purposive)

2.2 – “On-the-way” use of purposives in Ixquihuacan Nahuatl

(13) ‘My car fell off on my way here.’

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ō-mo-pankahkāwa-ko(venitive purposive)

3. What do purposives mean?

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3. – Typical and non-typical uses

“True purpose” use

– ‘She went to put them in the dough.’

“On-the-way” use

– ‘It became dark when we reached here.’

– ‘The patient died on the way to the city.’

– ‘The car fell off on my way here.’

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3.1. – Purposive = Motion (M) + Event (E)

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Event(E)

Motion (M)

ni-k-nāmiki-tih1SGS-3SGO-meet-ANDP‘I go meet her.’

E should not occur remotely

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E

M

ō-tlami-ko

(17)

Similarities between typical and non-typical purposive

There is a movement M and the event E

M and E occur in succession

E occurs at the same place as the subject

of M

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3.2 – Difference between the two uses: Purpose use

(18) a. ō-ni-k-tlahpalō-to sē no-AMIGO

PST-1SGS-3SGO-greet-ANDP one 1SGP-friend

b. ō-ni-k-ahsi-to sē no-AMIGO

PST-1SGS-3SGO-arrive-ANDP one 1SGP-friend

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CONTEXT:I went to visit my friend. I met him at his house.

3.2 – Difference between the two uses: “On-the-way” use

(19) a. ō-ni-k-tlahpalō-to sē no-AMIGO

PST-1SGS-3SGO-greet-ANDP one 1SGP-friend

b. ō-ni-k-ahsi-to sē no-AMIGO

PST-1SGS-3SGO-arrive-ANDP one 1SGP-friend

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CONTEXT:On my way to the city, I ran across my friend.

3.2 – Difference between the two uses: Summary

Intentional(tlahpalowā)

Unintentional(ahsi)

Purpose(18)

“On the way” (19)

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4. Discussion: A unified account of purposives

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4 – Discussion: A unified account

(A) “Purposive” as M–E succession

(B) Projection of the semantic features

(C) Relevancy condition

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Presupposition A:“Purposive” as M–E succession

The so-called “purposive” suffixes are

unspecified as to the logical/causal relation

between the motion and the event;

They simply denote that the motion and

the event occur in succession

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Presupposition B:Projection of verbal semantic features

The “purposive” affixes -tīw, -to, etc. do

not affect the semantic features of the

whole verb complex

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Presupposition C:Relevancy principle

A verb form cannot combine two events

logically or cognitively irrelevant to each

other.

M and E are interpreted as relevant to

each other

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4.1 – “Purpose” use

(20) ni-Ø-kōwa-tih no-ZAPATOS

1SGS-3SGO-buy-ANDP 1SGP-shoes

‘I go in order to buy shoes.’

– M–E succession: ‘go’→ ‘I buy shoes’

– The whole verb is intentional, agentive

– Relevancy: The succession of ‘go’ and ‘buy’

should not be coincidental

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4.2 – “On-the-way” use

(21) ō-tlayuwa-ko

PST-be.dark-VENP.PST

‘Night fell when [we] came to this point.’

– M–E succession: ‘come’→ ‘it gets dark’

– Agentivity: The whole verb is inintentional

– Relevancy: The motion should be logically

related to the event

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4.2 – “On-the-way” use

• The movement itself may be uncontrollable

(22) Ø-poliwi-tih

3S-be.lost-ANDP

‘He passed away on his way.’

– M–E succession: ‘go’→ ‘he passes away’

– Agentivity: The whole verb is non-agentive

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4.2 – “On-the-way” use

(23) A VEZ sēmonōnōtsa sēkimomatiltīkih

non n ōkatka n ANTES

‘Sometimes we talk to each other and we are

learning what happened in the past.’

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5. Implications

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5.1 – Present/future syncretism

Ixquihuacan Nahuatl

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Unmarked verbs‘to say’

Andative purposive

Venitivepurposive

Present -ihtoa-tih -kih

Future -ihtō-s

Imperfect -ihtowā-ya ? ?

Preterit (past) -ihtoh -to -ko

Optative -ihto -h -ki

5.2 – Paradigms

“Purposive” as a preceding motion

(24a) ō-ni-tla-kwā-to ‘I went to eat’

Motion auxiliaries as a simultaneous motion

(24b) ō-ni-tla-kwah-ti-yah ‘I went eating’

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5.3 – Combination with simple motion verbs

ō-ni-ya’ ō-ni-tla-pōwa-to

‘I went in order to read’ (Carochi)

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5.4 – Philological implications

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(24) san toncochi’tlēwako’ san tontēmikiko’

a’nelli a’nelli tinemiko’ in tlāltikpak

‘We merely come to stand sleeping, we merely

come to dream. It is not true, not true that we

come to live on earth.’

(Cantares mexicanos f. 14v; trans. by Bierhorst)

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Ōannēchmoknēlili’ke’! (Classical)

Tlasohkāmati! (Modern)