A’ingae (Cofán/Kofán) Operators

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to show how the TAME system of A'ingae, a language isolate spoken in Colombia and Ecuador, can be captured within the theoretical framework of Functional Discourse Grammar. An important prediction in this theory is that the surface order of TAME expressions reflects the scope relations between them in their underlying representation. An initial analysis reveals that, with three exceptions, the A'ingae TAME system confirms this prediction. Closer inspection of the three exceptions, which concern basic illocution, evidentiality, and quantificational aspect, then reveals that on the one hand, the theoretical model has to be adapted, while on the other hand some of the A'ingae facts allow for an alternative interpretation.

Keywords

• a'ingae
• tame-systems
• functional discourse grammar
• quantificational aspect
• reportativity
• basic illocution