Tense in Ktunaxa

Trevor McAllister-Day

University of Washington
University of British Columbia

May 27, 2016

5th Linguistics Department Undergraduate
Colloquium

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 Section 1

Introduction

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Introduction

(St. Marys Band)

Cranbrook, B.C.

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Introduction
The Ktunaxa People & Language

The Ktunaxa /ktunaa / have also been known as

the Kutenai or Kootenay
Four bands:
Two B.C. bands, aqam/St. Marys is a
member of the Ktunaxa Nations Council.
Two U.S. bands in Idaho and Montana, as well
as small populations in Washington
Moribund isolate
Roughly 30 elderly speakers between the U.S. and
Canada.
Previous work: L.R. Morgan (1991), R. Laturnus
(2011, 2012)
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Introduction
The Ktunaxa Language

Small vowel inventory /a i u/

Vowel length is (probably?) contrastive
Medium consonant inventory, most follow IPA,

ts C c
V v

Mostly agglutinating
Extensive obviation system (under investigation)
No clear primary word order

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Research Questions

What does ma mean? When is it used?

Is there a present tense in Ktunaxa?
Is there a future tense in Ktunaxa?

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Hypotheses

What does ma mean? When is it used?

More remote events use ma.
Perfective or perfect aspect

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Hypotheses

What does ma mean? When is it used?

More remote events use ma.
Perfective or perfect aspect
Is there a present tense in Ktunaxa?
Yes.

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Hypotheses

What does ma mean? When is it used?

More remote events use ma.
Perfective or perfect aspect
Is there a present tense in Ktunaxa?
Yes.
Is there a future tense in Ktunaxa?
Yes.

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1 Introduction

2 Past Time

3 Present and Future Time

4 Conclusions

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Section 2

Past Time

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Findings
Morphology

Ma cliticizes with the personal pronouns hu (1P) and hin

(2P) to form mu and man. This cliticization is
mandatory.

Singular
1 Mu wankini niku.
2 Man wankini niku.
3 Ma wankini nikus.
Ka at ma wankini nikus
X (my brother)
Plural
Mu wankinani niku.
Man wankinani niku.
Ma wankinani nikus.
Ka atmu ma wankini nikus.
rings the bell.

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Findings
Optionality

I was originally motivated by the fact that ma appeared

to be optional in most cases:

1) Hun haq mai-ni wistaa nataniq-nana

1p wake.up-IND seven clock-DIM
I woke up at seven.
2) M-u haq mai-ni wistaa nataniq-nana
PAST-1p wake.up-IND seven clock-DIM
I woke up at seven.
This holds for all eventive verbs investigated so far

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Findings
Optionality

The exception is stative verbs.

1) Hu1 akuna-ni
1p be.short-IND
I am short.
2) M-u akuna-ni
PAST-1p be.short-IND
I was short (and not anymore).

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Hu and hun alternate. Not sure why. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Findings
Optionality

The exception is stative verbs.

1) Hu1 akuna-ni
1p be.short-IND
I am short.
2) M-u akuna-ni
PAST-1p be.short-IND
I was short (and not anymore).
Early results indicate ma may also be obligatory with
the progressive particle si: E.g. Hu si ikni, I am
eating.

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Hu and hun alternate. Not sure why. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Findings
Remoteness

No relationship between remoteness and

inclination to use ma was found (p=0.346).
Results may have been aected by context.
3) ukin-i nataniq ma k-in hauq iik.
one-IND month PAST COMP-2p shout
One month ago you shouted.

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 Section 3

Present and Future Time

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Present Tense

Unmarked sentences can encode either past or

present time reference

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Present Tense

Unmarked sentences can encode either past or

present time reference
but not future.

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Present Tense

Unmarked sentences can encode either past or

present time reference
but not future.
Hence: PAST and NON-FUTURE

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 and xa
Modality

Usually though of as tense particles, Laturnus

(2011, 2012) described them as modals.
Weak: xa
Strong:
4) Hu xa inaki-ni kukiiki
1p MOD.WK bring-IND cake
I will bring the cake (if you want.)
5) Hu inaki-ni kukiiki
1p MOD.STR bring-IND cake
Im bringing the cake.

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 and xa
Permission and External Ability

is compatible with the particles ta and qata,

able to and not able to.
Using can indicate leave to perform an action,
rather than an intrinsic ability.

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 and xa
Permission and External Ability

Context: The speaker has learned to drive.

6) Hu ta hanuukaki-ni
1p able drive-IND
I can drive.
Context: The speaker has her drivers license.
7) Hu ta hanuukaki-ni
1p MOD.STR able drive-IND
I can drive.

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 and xa
Permission and External Ability

The only pair to have an ungrammatical match was Hu

ta inamnam.

7) * Hu ta inamnam
1p able vote

Hu- ta inamnam
1p-MOD.STR able vote-IND

I can vote.

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 and xa
Final Thoughts

Ma is compatible with , and gives a meaning that can

be translated as was going to.

8) M-u- sani xuni-ni

PAST-1p-MOD.STR bad feel-IND
I was going to feel sick.

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 Section 4

Conclusions

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Conclusions

What does ma mean? When is obligatory? When

is it optional?
Ma possesses only simple past meaning. It is
obligatory in eventive phrases, and optional in all
other contexts.
When is ma used?
At the speakers discretion, possibly as
disambiguation. It does not depend on the
recency of the event.
Is ma related to remoteness?
No.

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Conclusions

Is there a present tense in Ktunaxa?

Strictly speaking, no. Ktunaxa has a binary tense
system, past and nonfuture.
How is the future expressed in Ktunaxa?
The future is expressed through use of the modals
and xa.

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