206 RM. W. DIXON, In many languages, each semantic role corresponds to (that is, is mapped onto) a consistent syntactic function. In English, the Moving role is associated with S, Perceiver and Cogitator roles with A, and Impression and Thought roles with O. 2. CORRESPONDENCES BETWEEN FUNCTIONS AND ROLES In some language a certain semantic roles is always mapped onto the same syntactic function. In others there is a degree of fluidity. ‘The most extreme fluidity I have encountered is found in Jarawara, spoken in the dense jungle of southern Amazonia. This can be illus- trated for two verbs.' (Note that all the examples given here are taken from texts.) Consider fisa -na-, a transitive verb which describes using an arrow (or slingshot) to hit something; it is most frequently used for shooting fish in the water. The A argument will be the hunter, but the O argument can be any of the other semantic roles involved in the activity. It is most frequently the animal or fish that is shot at: (1) aba, mee otaa—tisa. na otaa-ke fishm) 3nsgO_lexclA shoot auxmrary lexcl-pectf ‘We shot lots of fish (Note that Jarawara has two genders, feminine (f) and masculine (m). Feminine is the unmarked gender. For instance, all pronouns are cross-referenced as feminine, irrespective of the sex of their referent. ‘Thus in (1) the declarative suffix has f form -ke (m would be -ka), agreeing with the Ist person non-singular exclusive pronoun, ofa, in A function.) Alternatively, the arrow that is used in the action can be placed in © function? * Note that there are two classes of verb in Jarawara:inflecting (eg. -tafa-‘eat’) and non-inflecting (e.g. hoo -na- ‘snore’. Verbal prefixes and suffixes are added directly to an inflecting verb but to an auxiliary (generally -na-) which follows a non-inflecting verb. The auxiliary -na- is omitted with certain prefix and suffix combinations; this happens in (5) and (2). * Jarawara has three past tenses: immediate past (IP), recent past (RP) and far past (FP), Each must be accompanied by an evidentiality marker: eyewitness (e) or non- eyewitness (n)