The Welsh Answering System

Studies and Monographs 120

The Welsh Answering Syst em Bob Morris Jones

~nds

in Linguistics

.dies and Monographs 120

or ~ner

Winter

,uton de Gruy ter New York ~lin

The Welsh Answering System

by

Bob Morris Jones

Mouton de Gruyter New York Berlin

1999

Mouton de Gruyter (formerly Mouton, The Hague) is a Division of Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin.

(§ Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI to ensure permanence and durability.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jones Bob Morris. The Welsh answering system I by Bob Morris Jones. p. em. - (Trends in linguistics. Studies and monographs: 120) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 3-11-016450-7 (cloth: alk. paper) 2. Welsh lanI. Welsh language - Discourse analysis. guage - Social aspects - Wales. 3. Children - Wales Language. 4. Questions and answers. I. Title. II. Series. PB2171.J66 1999 491.6'6'0141-dc21 99-21536 CIP

Die Deutsche Bibliothek - Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jones, Bob Morris: The Welsh answering system I by Bob Morris Jones. - Berlin ; New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1999 (Trends in linguistics : Studies and monographs ; 120) ISBN 3-11-016450-7

©Copyright 1999 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printing: Rotaprint-Druck Werner Hildebrand, Berlin. Binding: Liideritz & Bauer, Berlin. Printed in Germany.

Preface A popular observation on Welsh is that it has no single words for "yes·· and "no" but uses a variety of expressions as their equivalents (sec Crystal 1987:99, for instance). This study investigates this aspect of Welsh from two main standpoints: a linguistic analysis describes and explains the Welsh yes-no answering system: and this account then provides a basis for a sociolinguistic analysis of the use of this system by Welsh-speaking children between three and seven years of age. Each aspect in itself is interesting. The linguistics of the Welsh answering system is based on the interplay of several aspects of grammar: this system is rich in descriptive detail and challenging in terms of theoretical explanation. The sociolinguistic investigation reveals considerable variation in the use of this system by young children: this aspect. too. is compelling in terms of description and explanation. An approach which is based on both aspects provides a comprchcnsi\•c discussion of an intriguing area of Welsh grammar. The linguistic analysis of the Welsh yes-no answering system focuses mainly upon the forms, semantics and discourse acts of the system. II only considers wider issues of the pragmatics of yes-no answering insofar as they arc relevant to the main aims. The linguistic study is especially concerned with the existence of different formal types of yes-no ans,vers in Welsh. and the grammatical. semantic and discourse influences which determine the selection of one formal type rather than another. The linguistic analysis is presented in Chapters I to 5. The first chapter provides a typology of yes-no answering systems, based on data from various languages, in terms of their semantics and their forms. This chapter uses this typology to introduce the basic characteristics of the Welsh answering system. thus indicating how Welsh fits in with universal features of semantics and form. Chapters 2 and 3 provide the main account of the Welsh yes-no answering system. Taken together, these two chapters show that selecting a form to convey "yes" or "no" in Welsh is subject to a complex array of grammatical and semantic constraints: Chapter 2 demonstrates the influence of morphological and lexical characteristics of finite verbs; and Chapter 3 shows that further influences are exerted by the syntactic and logical form of the clause. Chapter 4 outlines the discourse functions which rcsponsivcs can fulfil, and provides important distinctions for the sociolinguistic analysis which is provided in Chapter 8. Chapter 5 draws upon Xbar syntax to give a formal analysis of the descriptive facts which arc presented in Chapters 2 and 3, and shows that the Complcmcntizer and Inflection arc significant controlling constituents in an account of Welsh rcsponsivcs. The Welsh yes-no answering system is but one aspect of the grammar of Welsh. Where the linguistic analysis touches upon wider grammatical issues. these arc explained as they arise and in a way which suits the aims of this work. For readers who would like to go beyond these explanations on a descriptive level at least.

vi Preface condensed accounts of Welsh are available in Awbery (1984), Campbell (1991: 1444-1451), Thomas A.R. (1992), and Watkins T.A. (1993). Fuller descriptions arc available in contemporary reference grammars by King (1993), Thorne (1993), and, for those who read Welsh, Thomas P.W. (1996). Early theoretical treatments can be found in Awbcry (1976) and Jones-Thomas (1977) while more contemporary approaches arc available in Sadler (1988) and, especially, Rouveret (1994). The sociolinguistic analysis is presented in Chapters 6 to 8. Chapter 6 provides a descriptive account of young children's use of the Welsh yes-no answering system, supported by descriptive statistics. The remaining two chapters attempt to explain the trends of usage which are revealed in Chapter 6 from two different, but not necessarily dichotomous, standpoints. Chapter 7 examines the trends in terms of external causes of language variation and change, and Chapter 8 examines the same data in terms of internal causes. More advanced statistical analyses support the interpretations of the data in these latter two chapters. The sociolinguistic analysis is made against the background of bilingualism in Wales today. There are three features of Welsh bilingualism which arc crucial to this study. Firstly, in comparison with English, Welsh is a minority language both in terms of numbers of speakers and domains of use. Secondly, successive census figures published by the British Government have shown that the numbers of Welsh speakers in Wales have been declining (for a variety of reasons which cannot be discussed here). Both these points suggest that, in general, Welsh and English in Wales are subordinate and dominant languages respectively. Consequently, Welsh speakers have become increasingly bilingual, and this encourages the influences of language contact, with English being the major influence. Thirdly, through primary and secondary education (and also adult education), Welsh is also used as a second language by speakers whose first language, in the majority of cases, is English. This development, too, can activate influences of language contact, and English is again the major influence. Against the background of these three factors, variation in Welsh is frequently attributed to external factors of language contact: that is, the structure of the subordinate language, Welsh, is being changed to reflect the dominant language, English. An extreme version of this view emphasizes language decline, decay or death; ultimately, the very use of Welsh is ousted by the use of English. The sociolinguistic analysis also considers the possibility of internal causes of variation, and examines the influences of simplification, analogy, semantics and discourse. There is also the possibility of a relationship between external and internal factors. There is a view, as seen in Aitchison ( 1991: 116-117), which holds that external factors alone do not bring about language change unless there are internal conditions which favour outside influences and allow them to take effect (although it is not clear that Aitchison has fully taken into account the pressures of language contact in multilingual societies, particularly where one language is dominant as in Wales). There

l'rejace vii

arc many aspects of Welsh which could be used as the basis for a study of variation (sec Jones B.M. 1988, 1990a and b). But the yes-no answering system is particularly appropriate, for, as the linguistic analysis shows, Welsh uses a complex array of forms for "yes" and "no''. The data for the linguistic analyses of Welsh in Chapters I to 4 is based on three sources: a corpus of the spontaneous conversational discourse of children between three and seven years of age (the corpus is described in Chapter 6); existing accounts of Welsh responsives - the details of which will be given in the relevant parts of the study; and this author's experience of responsivcs based on observations of vernacular Welsh over the years. The data for the sociolinguistic analyses in Chapters 6 to 8 is taken from the corpus of child language which is referred to above. It is self-evident that examples which are taken from the corpus contain characteristics of spontaneous spoken Welsh and also features of real-time performance, such as hesitations, unfinished words, retracings, and so forth. These characteristics are preserved to a large degree in their presentation here, and Appendix I provides a list of conventions which arc used in the corpus examples. Given the strong prescriptive tradition in favour of the formal written language which is apparent in traditional grammars of Welsh, it is worth emphasising that this study is primarily concerned with spontaneous spoken Welsh, unless a point is being made about formal Welsh. Consequently, the devised examples of Welsh which arc used in this study also reflect the characteristics of speech, and several of the conventions which are listed in Appendix I arc also used in these examples. The presentation of examples from languages other than Welsh or English, which are numerous in Chapter 1, follows the sources which I have consulted. In all cases of examples other than those from English, glosses are supplied as well as free translations, except where my sources have not provided glosses and where I am not sufficiently familiar with the language in question to gloss the examples. Appendix II lists and explains the conventions which are used in the glosses.

Contents Preface.......................................................................................................... v Acknon·ledgements ................. .... .. ....... .... .. .. .... ......... .. .. ................................ xi List of figures................................................................................................ xiii List of tables .......... ...... .. .. .. ............. .................................. .. ............... ........... xv

Answering systents ............................................................. ...................

1

1.1 Semantics.............................................................................................. 1.2 Forms.................................................................................................... 1.3 An overview of Welsh responsives.........................................................

1 17 42

2

Welsh echo responsivcs .. .. .. .. ......... .. .... .. .. ........... .. .. ............. .. ........... .. .. .

53

2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7

Perfect responsives: tense and aspect..................................................... Full echo and substitute responsives: types of finite verbs ... ................... Agreement features: person deixis ... .... ............. .. .. .. .... .. ......... ...... .. .. ...... Agreement features: number.................................................................. Fonns of bod 'be'.................................................................................. More about negative forms .. ... .. .. .. .. .. ..... ...... .. .. ..... .. .... .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. ...... Sununary...............................................................................................

53 58 71 77 79 87 89

3

Welsh echo and nonecho responsives.....................................................

93

3.1 3.2 3. 3 3.4 3.5

Introduction........................................................................................... 93 Discourse sources.................................................................................. 94 Syntactic form ....................... ................. .. .. ............. ................. .. ........... 10 1 Logical form .......................................................................................... 115 Suntmary ............................................................................................... 126

4

Discourse functions of Welsh responsivcs .............................................. 129

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6

Answers................................................................................................ Agreements and disagreements.............................................................. Response questions................................................................................ Acknowledgements ................................................................................ Corrections............................................................................................ Polari~y of responsives ...........................................................................

130 133 138 141 144 144

List of figures Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure

I. 2. 3. .f. 5. 6. 7.

Figure Figure Figure Figure

9

8.

10. II. 12.

Figure 13. Figure 14. Figure 15. Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure

16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

The Gaelic responsive (the present copula).................................. Welsh rcsponsives as two-form systems....................................... Tenses in Welsh... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . . . . . . . .. .. .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. .. . . Verbs with exceptional uses of the inflectional paradigms . . . . . . . . . . . Simple lexical verbs and tenses in formal and informal Welsh..... Morphologically regular and irregular verbs................................ Types of finite verbs and echo rcsponsives................................... Discourse roles and the person features of the grammatical subject............... ...................................................................... Person contrasts between rcsponsives and their targets................ Selecting person features in targets and responsivcs . .. . . .. .. ..... .. .. .. The forms of the third person of the present tense of hod 'be·...... Assertiveness and third person forms of the present tense of hod'be' ....................................................................................... Definiteness and the nonassertivc y- and o- forms of hod 'be·...... Present tense forms of bod 'be' with and without-d-in the vernacular style .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. .. .. .. . . . . . . . .. .. . . .. .. . . . . . .. .. .. .. . . . . . . . . . Present tense forms of bod 'be' with and without-d-in southern dialects.......................................................................... A summary of the types of Welsh responsives.............................. A summary of the forms of question tags..................................... General discourse sources of targets of rcsponsivcs...................... Responsives and their targets ....................................................... Expected and unexpected pairings of responsives and tagcts.. .. .. .. Scoring of the pairing of rcsponsivcs and targets .. . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. . . . . . . . . A contextual measure of Ll usc...................................................

28 49 54

62 66 67 71 71 74 75 80

80 81 85

86 89 90 94 127 206 241

263

List of tables Frequencies of the discourse contexts of targets for responsives .... Main and subordinate clauses as targets for responsives .. .. .... ...... . The corpus.................................................................................... Frequencies and percentages of targets over the children's ages .... Frequencies for types of responsives.............................................. Frequencies for responsives to missing and inappropriate data...... Frequencies for expected and unexpected positive responsives to perfect and non perfect targets .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . for types of positive responsives to perfect and Frequencies 8. Table non perfect targets.......................................................................... Table 9. Frequencies for expected and unexpected negative responsives to perfect and non perfect targets .. .............. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .... for types of negative responsives to perfect and Frequencies 10. Table ................................... targets....................................... nonperfect imperatives....................... to responsives Table II. Frequencies for types of Table 12. Frequencies for responsives to perfect responsives as targets......... Table 13. Frequencies for positive and negative responsives to perfect aspect targets ... .. ........... .. .. ....... .. .. .. .. .. .. ..... .. .. ........... .. .. ....... .. .. .. .... Table 14. Frequencies for definite and indefinite forms to targets containingeisiau 'needs' ............................................................. Table 15. Frequencies for positive responsives to targets which expect nonecho responsives ...................................................................... Table 16. Frequencies for negative responsives to targets which expect nonecho responsives................................ ...... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. Table 17. Frequencies for responsives to sentence fragments .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Table 18. Frequencies for responsives to pardon questions ............................ Table 19. Features in mismatches of finite targets and verbal responsives ..... Table 20. Frequencies for types of finite verbs in targets for responsives ....... Table 21. Number mismatches and their person features............................... Table 22. Interpolations in exchanges involving finite targets and verbal responsives .. .. ..... ........................... ........................................... .... Table 23. Numbers of users of responsives.......................... .......................... Table 24. Numbers of children in the main corpus, with additions and losses ............................................................................................ Table 25. T -test comparisons of the different ages in designated bilingual schools .......................................................................................... Table 26. T -test comparisons of the different ages in mixed unstreamed schools.......................................................................................... Table 27. T.-test comparison of boys' and girls' use of responsives (bilingual schools).........................................................................

Table Table Table Table Table Table Table

I. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

I 00 107 199 202 204 205 208 208 209 209 212 213 214 215 216 217 219 220 221 222 229 231 243 245 247 248 250

xvi List of tables Table 28. T-tcst comparison of boys' and girls' use of responsives (mixed unstrcamcd) .. ............ ......................................... .. . ........................ Table 29. Numbers of children in the different school types .......................... Table 30. T -test comparisons of children's usc of positive rcsponsives in school types ........... .. .. ....................... .. .. ....... .. .. .. ............... .. .. ........ Table 31. T -test comparisons of children's usc of negative rcsponsivcs in school types ......... .. ....................... ............. .. ................. .. ........... ... Table 32. T -test comparisons of children's usc of positive and negative responsivcs in school types............................................................ Table 33. T-test comparisons of positive rcsponsives in different school types (boys)................................................................................... Table 34. T-test comparisons of negative responsives in different school types (boys)................................................................................... Table 35. T-test comparisons of both positive and negative rcsponsivcs in different school types (boys).......................................................... Table 36. T -test comparisons of positive responsivcs in different school types (girls)................................................................................... Table 37. T-test comparisons of negative responsives in different school types (girls)................................................................................... Table 38. T -test comparisons of both positive and negative responsives in different school types (girls) .......................................................... Table 39. T-test comparisons of Welsh Ll and L2 speakers' strength of usc of Welsh ................. .. ........... .. .. .. ......... .. .. .. ........... .. .. .. .. ................. Table 40. T-tcst comparisons of Welsh Ll and Welsh L2 speakers' use of responsives ............. .. .. ............... .. ........... ... .......... .. .. ........... .......... Table 41. The strength of the usc of Welsh by L I speakers in bilingual and mixed unstrcamcd schools ........... .. ........... .. ... .......... .. ... ........ .. ...... Table 42. Percentages of the discourse acts fulfilled by responsives. .. .. ....... .. . Table 43. Frequencies of the discourse acts and types of rcsponsives............. Table 44. Frequencies of the discourse acts of responsives and their pairings with targets ... .................. .. .. .... ....... .. ............. .. ........... .. .. . Table 45. T -test comparisons of discourse acts conveyed by responsives ....... Table 46. Addressees of responsives expressed in percentages ...................... Table 47. Addressees of discourse acts of rcsponsives expressed in percentages................................................................................... Table 48. T-test comparison of the children's use of answers over different ages .............................................................................................. Table 4 9. T -test comparison of the children· s use of answers over different ages ..............................................................................................

251 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 261 262 264 265 273 284 285 287 288 292 292 294 295

In memory of my father and mother.

t. Answering systems This chapter has two main aims. First, drawing upon descriptions in the literature and generous help from informants, it outlines in two parts common characteristics of answers to yes-no questions in various languages: one part examines their semantics and the other examines their formal realizations. This study is especially concerned with forms of saying 'yes' and 'no': both specialized yes-no words as found in some languages, and their equivalents in other languages. The term responsive is adopted as a general label for both yes-no words and their equivalents.• Second, the chapter uses this outline of answering systems to introduce the main features of the responsive system in Welsh, in preparation for the detailed analyses of that system in the remaining chapters. Szwedek' s observation (1982: 5) about the relative neglect of responsives in comparison with the treatment of questions remains relevant today, and it is hoped that the detailed consideration of the Welsh language presented in this work will contribute to a wider understanding of them. 2

1. I Semantics This section explores the functions of responsives, and examines semantics and, to a lesser extent, pragmatics and discourse. It first introduces the notion of a sentence answer, which allows the semantics of responsives to be explored in terms of grammatical and logical concepts. For introductory purposes, responsives arc discussed more as answers to yes-no questions than as responses to statements or commands. The literature indicates that, in semantic terms, languages answer positive questions in a uniform way but answer negative questions in different ways, and the two are separately considered.

/. /.1 Sentence answers In a general sense, the answer to a yes-no question can be indicated by its equivalent corresponding statement, rendered as either a positive or negative sentence: (I)

a. b.

c.

is it raining? it is raining. it is. it isn't raining. it i.m 't.

2 Answering systems (2)

a. b.

c.

isn't it raining? it is raining. it is. it isn 'I raining. it isn '1.

Languages which allow VP ellipsis, like English, can use shorter versions as illustrated above. In this study, the long and short versions will be referred to as full sentence answers and elliptical sentence answers respectively, or simply sentence answers (the label of sentence answer is taken from Bauerle 1979: 63). Questions and sentence answers arc syntactically, lexically, and semantically closely related. The main differences arise because of: formation of moods, e.g. word order: changes in polarity: changes to person features: pronominalization: ellipsis:

can she swim? can she swim? can you swim? can John swim? can she swim?

she can swim. she cannot swim. I can swim. he can swim. she can.

Such issues arc discussed in detail in respect of Welsh in Chapter 5. Only general points will be made here. Syntactically, the significant differences arise because of polarity and, in some languages, the formation of moods. But these are systematic differences which can be handled within a common syntactic structure for both the clause which supplies the sentence answer and the clause which asks the yesno question. The polarity of questions and sentence answers is highly significant, and is discussed in 1.1.2 and 1.1. 3. The extent to which interrogative and declarative moods produce differences in clause structure varies from language to language. A detailed account is outside the aims of this study but we can note that the use of word order (as in English), particles, and intonation supply the main methods which are variously used to distinguish interrogative and declarative clauses. Lexically, although there arc differences because of pronominalization, person features and ellipsis. both the question and the sentence answer share common referring expressions in their noun and verb phrases. Differences produced by ellipsis arc based on the fact that the sentence answer is able to exploit the question as a source for the recoverability of omitted items. Semantically, both sentence answers and yes-no questions are based on the same propositional content. For the purposes of the discussion at this stage. we can say that propositional content refers to entities (peoples, objects. and abstract concepts) which arc involved in processes (activities and states) in various circumstances (in particular, places and times). lwanicka ( 1976) considers other sorts of sentence answers which she refers to as hesitant answers:

Semantics 3

(3)

is it raining? /think so. c. I don 'tthink so. d. I hope so. c. I hope not. a.

b.

The important point is that these answers do not have the same equivalences to the question as sentence answers. Further, they do not occur in place of sentence answers. Fuller versions of the above arc as follows: (4)

a. /think it is [raining]. b. I don 't think it is [raining/. c. I hope it is [raining}. d. I hope it isn 't [raining].

These fuller versions show that sentence answers to yes-no questions can be modified to produce qualified answers. Expressions like I think ... , I hope ... and so forth bring sentence answers under semantic constraints: the responses are no longer offered categorically but are subject to the nonfactive meanings of words like think and the desires of words like hope. Although the expressions which modify the responses can occur by themselves, they do not occur in place of sentence answers: the latter arc absent through ellipsis and not substitution. This study will concentrate upon unqualified sentence answers. It is not being claimed that sentence answers like (lb-c) and (2b-c) arc typical answers in spontaneous discourse in all languages. Their importance for this study is that they clarify an analysis of responsivcs in a number of ways. The notion of a sentence answer helps to avoid confusion in the use of the term answer itself: in some accounts, it is sometimes not clear whether the term answer refers to a responsive or a sentence answer. This distinction is particularly important when discussing negative questions, as is shown in 1.1. 3. Sentence answers also provide clear illustration of the semantics of answering a yes-no question: in terms of traditional semantics, sentence answers indicate the propositional information that the questioner seeks (discussion in 1.1.4 shows that pragmatic information is also important to achieve a complete understanding of answers). On a more detailed level, certain aspects of sentence answers can be used to explain the function of responsives. Of particular importance arc the grammarian's notion of polarity and the logician's notion of truth value, and these arc considered in the following scctions.3

4 Atuwering systems

1.1.2 Answers to positive questions: polarity am/truth value

The term polarity refers to the familiar grammatical category of negation, or negativity, as it is sometimes called. It is an essential analytic category in the discussion of both questions and answers. In this section, we shall maintain a consistent polarity in the question, and discuss the polarity of the sentence answer and the responsive. In the case of both questions and answers, however, it is useful to distinguish between sentential polarity, on the one hand, and lexical and derivational polarity, on the other hand. We arc concerned in this study with sentential polarity, which is based on the absence or presence of a negating clement in clause structure, such as English not. We shall not consider negation through lexical items such as the English proforms nothing, nohoc{y etc. or the quantifier no, nor negation through derivational affixes as in English dislike."' Polarity captures the obvious difference between the choice of sentence answers: they are either positive or negative. The equivalent responsives can also be distinguished in terms of polarity. In replying to positive yes-no questions, English, for instance, uses one form, yes, when the sentence answer is positive, and another form, no. when the sentence answer is negative. The rcsponsivcs can cooccur with a sentence answer, or - pragmatics allowing - they can occur alone and indicate whether the omitted sentence answer is positive or negative: (5)

a. is it raining? b. yes, it is [raining]. c. yes. d.

e.

no, it isn 'I I raining]. no.

The literature on answers to positive yes-no questions indicates that it is a universal feature of languages that they usc a two-form responsive system, and that the choice of one form or the other is determined by the polarity of the sentence answer. Japanese has an answering system which in another respect is different to English (as is discussed in 1.1.3) but the forms of the responsivcs which it uses to answer positive questions maintain the same polarity distinctions as English, as is shown by the following examples which are based on Dunn-Yanada (1958: 53): (6)

a. ano hito wa Rondon ni imasu ka? that person pt London in is q 'is he in London?' b.

hai, imasu.

yes is 'yes, he is.'

Semantics 5 (7)

a.

b.

kimasu ka? come q 'arc you coming?' iie, ikimasen. no comc+ncg 'no, I am not coming.'

As can be seen, hai 'yes' and iie 'no' convey responses which indicate equivalent positive and negative sentence answers respectively, and for this reason they can be regarded as positive and negative forms. Other examples of answers to positive questions can be found in Appendix III, which provides illustrative data of rcsponsives in various languages. There are apparent counter-examples to the claim that rcsponsivcs agree with the polarity of the equivalent sentence answer. Consider the following: a. b. (9) a. b. (10) a. b. (11) a. b.

(8)

is John working at the moment? no, he 's sleeping. are you William /Ioney? no, I'm Fredclie Baker. is he t1ying to arrange a loan? yes, he hasn 'I got any money. are you tired? yes, I haven 't slept for two days.

In these examples, the polarity of the responsive and the accompanying statements do not agree. But the accompanying statements arc not sentence answers as we have defined them: they do not share the same propositional content as the question, and arc not syntactic and lexical equivalents. The sentence answers have been omitted from the above examples, but if they are overtly indicated, it can be seen that their polarity is the same as that of the responsive: he is not, I am not, he is and I am, respectively. The accompanying sentences are additional answers, and are discussed in 1.1.4. Another possible way of characterizing the functions of yes and no can be found in traditional propositional logic, particularly in accounts which apply it to linguistic semantics. s Propositional logic uses the concept of truth value. It is applied to the concept of a proposition, and has two mutually exclusive possibilities. namely, true and false (often paraphrased as 'it is so /the case that' and 'it is not so I the case that'). In linguistic semantics, it is explained that a proposition: is conveyed by a declarative sentence when such a sentence is used to make a statement, and is ~rue or false when the sentence is uttered on a specific occasion.

6 Answering systems

Consider the following devised examples from English: (12) a. ,','ionecl has a home in the Loire valley. b. yes. c. 110. (13) a. does Sionecllike Brahms? b. yes. c. no. The example in (12a), when it is uttered on a particular occasion, provides an instance of a proposition. There is a view that yes-no questions have no truth value, and that their function is to find out whether the proposition of the equivalent statement is true or false. Thus, does Sioned like Brahms? asks whether it is true or false that .'')ionecllikes Brahms. It can then be said that responsives convey the truth value of a proposition. Bauerle (1979: 64) cites Egli's ( 1976) view that yes means 'it is true' or 'it is the case that', and no means 'it is false' or 'it is not the case that·. Similarly, Lyons ( 1977, 2: 777) claims that the responsives in standard British English may have the meanings 'that is so' and 'that is not so'. The truth-value interpretation is assessed later in this section and in 1.1.3. Unlike polarity, truth value is not explicitly signalled as a matter of routine in declarative sentences in languages with which I have a working familiarity. However, speakers can overtly mark the truth or falsity of a proposition if they feel that it needs to be emphasized. Quirk eta/. ( 1985: 583) discuss expressions which can reinforce tmth value such as clearly and of course, amongst others; and to these can be added expressions like it is the case that and it is not the case that. Thus, we can have examples such as: ( 14) a. b.

c.

of course I don 't/ike Brahms. it is the case that I loathe package holidays, though I'm a travel agent. it's not the case that Gwen refused to help us.

But marking truth value is exceptional. As Quirk eta/. (1985: 583) say: "Since it is normally expected that a person intends his hearer to accept what he says as true, the addition of the comment or assertion in no way alters but merely emphasizes the tmth of the communication. " 6 The routine absence of an overt signal of truth value does not stop speakers of languages from interpreting the propositions which sentences convey as true or false. In traditional logic, this is explained along the following lines. A proposition, :m the occasion of uttering the sentence which expresses it. refers to some state of affairs in the world which is conveyed by its propositional content: entities (peoples, objects, and abstract concepts), processes (activities and states) and circumstances (in particular, places and times). Particular and specific instances of

Semantics 7 entities, processes and circumstances supply the truth conditions of a proposition when it is expressed on a certain occasion. A proposition is said to be true when all these can be verified when the statement is made. Otherwise. if one or more do not hold at the time of utterance, then the proposition is false. Thus. although the form of a sentence docs not signal truth value explicitly. speakers have n·ays, in principle, of interpreting whether a proposition is true or false. In practice. however, users arc not always in a position to be able to match the content of a proposition with specific states of aiTairs. But this docs not restrict our ordinary usc of language. As Chicrchia-McConneli-Ginet (1990: 63) say: "The important thing to notice here is that though we might not know what the facts arc we do know what they ought to be in order to make the sentence truc." 7 We now have two ways of interpreting rcsponsives. On the one hand, they can be seen as signals of the polarity of sentence answers. On this basis. rcsponsives are determined by characteristics of the response, i.e. the sentence answer. which may or may not be realized. On the other hand. responsives can be seen as indicating the truth value of a proposition which is implied by a question. In this case. their determining factor is in a previous utterance by another speaker (anaphoric, in the wide sense of this term). There is no one-to-one relationship between truth value and polarity. A proposition which is true can be either positive or negative- 'it is true that it is raining' or 'it is true that it is not raining'. Similarly. a false proposition can be either positive or negative - 'it is false that it is raining' or 'it is false that it is not raining'. This makes it difficult to reconcile the two interpretations of responsivcs to positive questions that we have developed so far. This can be shown when negative sentence ans\vers arc considered in detail. Given the negative sentence answer it is not raining, there arc two ways of interpreting it in terms of truth value: either 'it is true that it is not raining' or 'it is false that it is raining'. The comment by Quirk eta/. (1985: 583). quoted earlier. that speakers of natural languages make true propositions - or. at least. they create the appearance of making them - is also seen in treatments of questions and answers which are more from the perspective of logic: Biiucrlc (1979: 64) and Hoepehnan (1983: 198) report that Karttuncn ( 1978) interprets questions to expect only true answers. Wason ( 1959: 92), reporting on an experiment to process positive and negative information, also suggests that only true statements are relevant or valid - what he calls "positive information and negative information''. This is not to say that a speaker cannot comment upon the truth value of a statement made by another speaker by referring specifically to its truth or falsity. Indeed. we sec in 1.1.3 that this is the basis, in part, for the answering systems of some languages. But the point is that a statement. when it is made, is intended to be taken as true. In this light, the sentence answer it is not raining in response to is it raining? is more appropriately interpreted as 'it is true that it is not raining· rather than 'it is false that it is raining·. This makes it difficult to interpret no as 'it is false·. If this

8 A11s11'eri11g .fystems

were the case, given an answer such as no, it is not rainin[{. there would be a conflict between the message 'it is false· conveyed by no. and the message 'it is true' conveyed by the truth value of the sentence answer it is not raining. In contrast, it is simpler to say that all statements arc true statements, and that no and .ves, for instance. do not convey truth value but the polarity of the sentence answer - negative polarity in the case of no and positive polarity in the case of yes. In summary, then. all sentence answers arc intended as true statements and that. in respect of positive questions. responsivcs: (i) indicate that a true sentence answer is given. and (ii) reflect the polarity of the sentence answer.

1. 1.3 Answers to ne[{ative questions: polarity and truth value In the following discussion. we shall concentrate again on sentential polarity and not lexical or derivational polarity. The label negative question is a linguistic one and not a value judgement on the aims of a question. It refers to questions whose polarity is negative: ( 15) a. b.

c. d. c.

aren 't you staying? haven't they finished? clicln 't you arrive yesterday? isn 't she married? don't you have the keys?

Discussions of negative questions generally note that they suggest two sorts of belief by the questioner: an original positive belief which can be conveyed by a positive sentence (e.g. you are stl~Ving). and a subsequent negative belief brought on by later doubts which can be conveyed by a negative sentence (e.g. you are not staying). 8 Like positive questions, negative questions can be given either a positive or negative sentence answer. But. unlike positive questions in the main. negative questions are not neutral questions: the questioner is biased either towards a positive sentence answer based on the original belief or a negative sentence answer based on the subsequent doubt. 9 There is some disagreement in the literature as to the direction of the bias. Quirk et a/. ( 1985: 808). in their discussion of English data, refer to negative orientation. Pope ( 1976: 68) acknowledges that it is difficult to decide where the bias lies but then goes on to say "because of the speaker's original positive belief, the question is definitely biased toward the positive [statement] answer". Choi (1991: 408) also allows that a negative question can be used "to emphasise its positive meaning" .10 But there are probably cross-linguistic differences: some languages may allow negative sentences to be used with either positive or negative bias, while others may favour one or the other. Choi (1991:

Semantics 9

409) claims that negative questions in Korean are biased towards the subsequent doubt. and thus imply a negative sentence answer. Boslcgo ( 1984: 75) remarks that there arc no negative questions in Thai. although the data offered earlier in the article suggests that there may be functional. if not formal. equivalents of negative questions. This elusiveness in defining the questioner's bias is not really a problem for the analysis being presented here. It is sufficient to know that the questioner has a bias. As such. the responder can either accept or counter the bias of the question. If the question is thought to have negative bias. a negative sentence answer accepts the bias but a positive sentence answer counters it. If the question is thought to have positive bias. a positive sentence answer goes with the bias but a negative sentence answer goes against it. Solely for convenience of presentation in the remainder of this discussion. we shall assume that negative questions are used with a negative bias and thus imply a negative sentence answer. For a language like English. the selection of a responsive form to respond to a negative question is decided in the same way as to a positive one. i.e. according to the polarity of the sentence answer: (16)

a. b. c.

aren't you slc~ving? no f, I'm not}. yes f, I am].

This data is used by some writers (e.g. Hoepelman 1983: 193-94, 202-203) to challenge the truth-value interpretation of English responsivcs. The argument is that if no means 'it is false that'. then when it answers a negative question like ( 16a). it replaces the original truth value of the implied proposition in the question. Thus. the original 'it is true that you are not staying' is contradicted by 'it is false that you are not staying·. and thus implies 'you are staying'. In other words, we would have: (17)

a. b.

aren't you staying? no {. I am}.

Similarly, if yes means 'it is true·. then the answer yes means 'it is true that you arc not staying': ( 18) a. aren 'I you staying? b. yes f, I am not]. These responses are opposite to the way that yes and no arc typically used in English.

JO A11sweri11g systems

However, the truth-value interpretation is suitable for other languages. Japanese is a frequent example in the literature, as is found in Pope (1976: 122) and Takashima ( 1989). The following data is based on Pope:

desu ne? kyoo wa atuku nai aff today pt hot bc+ncg pol 'it isn't hot today. is it?' de.m ne. b. hai soo aff yes pro[= kyoo wa atuku nai) pol 'no, it isn't hot.' c. iie, kyoo wa atui desu. no today pt hot pol 'yes, it is hot today.·

(19) a.

It will be recalled from previous Japanese examples of answers to positive questions in 1.1.2 that hai is the positive form. and iie is the negative form. But the responses to negative questions show that their selection is not always determined by the polarity of the sentence answer: in this context. when the latter is negative, the positive responsive hai is used, but when the latter is positive. the negative responsive iie is used. We cannot, then, explain the selection of a Japanese responsive to a negative question by referring to agreement with the polarity of the sentence answer. We could maintain the link between responsives and sentence answers by saying that some languages choose the form of the responsive by reversing the polarity of the sentence answer. Such an account reflects the descriptive facts, but there is another approach which has greater explanatory appeal. We can explain the Japanese data by referring to the truth value of the proposition which is implied by the question. In the case of negative bias. the questioner is suggesting 'it is true that not s·. For instance, in the case of example (19a) above, the questioner is implying 'it is true that it is not hot today'. In selecting a responsive, the responder addresses not the polarity of his or her own sentence answer but the truth value of the proposition which is implied by the bias of the question. Thus, when the responder agrees with the implied negative proposition he or she gives a negative sentence answer. soo de.m ne 'it isn't hot", but chooses the positive responsive to agree with the truth value behind the questioner's implied proposition- hai 'yes' or 'it is true (that it is not hot)'. And when the speaker disagrees with the implied negative proposition. he or she responds with a positive sentence answer kyoo wa atui de.m 'it is hot today', but chooses the negative responsive to disagree with the tmth value behind the questioner's implied proposition- iie 'no' or 'it is false (that it is not hot)'. With languages like Japanese, responsives must have a more complex explanation to account for their uses with both positive and negative questions. In responding to positive (neutral) questions. their forms arc polarity-based: they are the same as the polarity of the

Semantics II

sentence answer. In responding to negative questions, they arc based on the truth value associated with the question: where the responder accepts the truth value of the implied negative proposition of the question, a positive responsive is used. hai 'yes' ('it is true'); and where the responder sees the implied negative proposition as false, a negative responsive is used, iie, 'no' ('it is false'). Appendix lll provides examples of other languages found in the literature which are like Japanese in answering a negative question. They are Amharic, Cantonese. Gwa, Harari, Hausa, Korean, Mandarin, Navajo, and Yoruba. Langendonck (1980: 347) says that West Flemish can also function on a truth-value basis. 11 The analysis of English rcsponsivcs as being polarity-based reflects the usage in international varieties which arc primarily monolingual English. such as standard British English. But there are other international varieties of English which operate on a truth-value basis when answering negative questions. Bokamba ( 1992: 132-133) and Oladcjo (1993) say that varieties of African English arc like this, and Bokamba supplies illustrations such as the following: (20) a. hasn 'tthe Presidentlefl for Nairobi yet? b. yes, the President hasn 'tlefl for Nairobi .vet. Bokamba goes on to make the reasonable suggestion that this usage is the result of the influence on English of African languages which usc truth-value systems, e.g. Lingala (a Bantu language), Yoruba and Hausa (examples of the latter two can be found in Appendix III). Baik-Shim (1993: 46) also claim interference as a cause of the use of English yes and 110 on a truth-value basis by some speakers. To complete the outline of negative questions in truth-value systems. we can refer to answering those which have a positive bias. Dunn-Yanada (1958: 53) give an example of what happens in Japanese. They refer to "the kind of negative question that is a disguised positive request": (21) a.

b.

kimasen ka? comc+neg q 'won't you come?' hai, ikimasu. yes come 'yes, I'll come.'

To agree with the positive bias of the question, the sentence answer is positive. It can be seen that the responsive form is also positive, namely, hai 'yes'. There arc two \vays of accounting for the selection of a positive form. One is to claim that it is determined by the polarity of the sentence answer, as happens with positive questions. The other is to say that it is determined by agreement with the truth value of the proposition which is implied by the question. The latter is the more

12 Answering systems

appealing explanation as it maintains consistency with the method of answering negative questions which have implied negative propositions. Langendonck (1980: 347) also suggests that, in West Flemish, negative questions which have a positive bias arc also answered with a positive responsive form when the bias is accepted. Pope (1976: 129) records that English, primarily a polarity system. and Navajo. primarily a truth-value system (sec Appendix Ill), vacillate. She provides examples of rcsponsives to a negative question in Navajo being selected on the basis of the polarity of the statement answer, reproduced in Appendix III, rather than the truth value of the questioner's implied negative proposition, as follows: (22) a. b.

c.

doosh ch 'eeh dlnlyaada? 'aren't you tired?' doocla, cloo ch 'eeh c/eyimda. 'no, I'm not tired.' aoo ·. ch 'eeh deyci 'yes, I'm tired.'

There appear to be no similar illustrations of English vacillation in Pope's work, and her view would seem to be based on responses to positive sentences which contain negative lexical items (Pope 1976: 125-129). Intuitively, however, I feel that English can form a responsive to accept or reject the truth value of the proposition of a negative statement: (23) a.

you cion 'I like my cooking, then.

b. yes,/ do. c. no, 1 do. The usc of yes in (23b) may be typical. but strong contradiction can be achieved by using no in (23c) with appropriate emphatic pitch movement on no and, possibly, a longer pause between it and the sentence answer. Bald (1980: 184-185) provides corpus examples which he interprets as showing that yes can agree with a negative statement in place of the more typical no (given here without the prosodic markings): (24) (25)

B: 1 dicln 'I want to he pressurized like that any more. A: yes, yeah. A: they don 'I use the library because they take books out. C: yes.

As Bald points out, the interpretation of (25) is complicated by the occurrence of a negative main clause and a positive subordinate clause: the responsive can target

Semantics 13

either the main or subordinate clause (this issue is examined in respect of Welsh in 3.3.3). Further, this use of yes may simply be based on the familiar discourse strategy whereby listeners indicate that they are paying attention. The latter, of course, can also be fulfilled by no so Bald's interpretation that yes in the above examples as agreeing with a negative statement must be taken seriously. French is like English in that its responsive system is mainly based on the polarity of sentence answers. But Grcvisse (1993: 1571) says that French oui 'yes' can also be used to agree with a negative statement, "Oui sert parfois aconfirmcr une phrase negative (au lieu de non)" [Oui sometimes serves to confirm a negative sentence (in place of non)]. In effect, he is suggesting that oui can also be used like a positive responsive form in a truth-value system, and supplies the following illustration: (26) a.

b.

if n

a pas le sou. he neg has neg the sou 'he hasn't got a penny.' oui. 'yes.'

There is then some evidence which suggests that the norms of both the polarity system and the truth-value system can be broken. In summary, there are two major types of answering systems on semantic grounds. Some languages like English typically select their responsivcs on the basis of the polarity of the sentence answer to both positive and negative yes-no questions. In such languages, the selection of a responsive is determined by the syntactic form of the sentence answer. But other languages like Japanese only do this when responding to positive questions. When responding to negative questions, they choose a positive responsive to accept the truth value of the implied proposition in the question, or a negative responsive to counter it. In such languages and in this discourse context, the selection of a responsive is determined by the logical form of the proposition which is implied by the question. In this study, these two answering systems arc referred to as the polarity system and the truth-value system. Strictly, of course, the latter is a mixed system but the label truth-value system is used for convenience. In a much-cited and influential study, Pope (1976: 73) distinguishes between a positive-negative answering system for languages like English, and an agreementdisagreement answering system for languages like Japanese. The former is the same as this study's polarity-based system, and the latter refers to languages whiclf have been accounted for in this study as being based on truth value. The main point of Pope's views is evident in her overall exposition and from her data, but the details of the explanation of the agreement-disagreement system arc not always completely clear. She says: "In such languages [as Japanese], there arc

14 Answering systems

many questions - probably far more than in English - where it is obvious what answer is intended, and the answerer simply agrees or disagrees with this expected answer.'' Pope also goes on to say that a responder can also agree or disagree with what he or she interprets to be the likely answer. Pope's presentation lacks clarity in two respects. It is not clear what Pope means by an answer - it could be a sentence answer. a responsive or both together. And Pope does not clearly define the focus of the agreement or disagreement II is not clear whether it focuses on the grammatical category of polarity or the logical notion of tmth value. As her explanation stands. it could apply to polarity-based languages like English whose speakers can also agree or disagree with sentence answers which arc expected by a negative question. but do so on a polarity basis. Pope's usc of agreement I disagreement can be compared with a later definition which is clear and specific (Pope 1976: 132 fn. 3). This later definition is based on whether the question and the answer (presumably responsive) share the same polarity or not: if they do. then they agree; if they do not. then they disagree. If this latter definition is applied to the Japanese data in examples ( 19). it can be seen that the Japanese positive responsive disagrees with the negative polarity of the implied proposition. i.e. they disagree. But we know from the sentence answer that agreement is the intention. The diiTerence between languages like English and other languages like Japanese can be more clearly stated if a distinction is made between the grammatical category of polarity in the sentence answer and the logical notion of tmth value in the implied proposition of the question. Pope's agreement I disagreement becomes clearer if the tmth value of the implied proposition of the question is the focus of the agreement I disagreement Pope's work. however. generally identifies the two major answering systems and has been exploited by other writers. such as Baik-Shim (1993: 44 ). These authors. however. give a clearer explanation: " ... in English Yes/No answers correspond with the positivity or negativity of the proposition that follows the answers while there arc other languages in the world in which Yes/No answers signal agreement/disagreement with the proposition in the question."

/./.4 Pragmatics ancl discourse The literature on answers to yes-no questions contains examples which suggest that there is more to answering a question than supplying a responsive and I or a sentence answer. A common observation is that answers can be supplied by statements which are neither the propositional nor grammatical equivalents of the question. Studies on discourse analysis provide some striking examples of this, such as the illustration which is provided in Coulthard ( 1985: 8):

Semantics 15

(27) a. b.

Are you going to work tomorrow? I'm on jw:v du(v.

And Labov (1972). as cited in Coulthard (1985: 8). supplies this delightful illustration: Linus: Do you want to plcw with me, l'io/et? Violet: J"cm 're younger than me. (shuts the door) Linus: (puzzled) ,<;,'he didn 't an.mer my question.

(28)

In the absence of semantic and grammatical equivalence between the question and the answer. we cannot view these as sentence answers. Yet. in both instances. we can regard the responses as implying a sentence answer: I'm on jw:v cflt(v implies 'I am not going to work tomorrow· and J"ou 're younger than me suggests 'I don't want to play with you'. We can refer to pragmatics to justify interpreting these responses in this way. Our understanding of the responsibilities of jury duty. in one case. and peer-group relationships amongst young children. in the other case. enable us to interpret these responses as being equivalent to negative sentence answers. In this study, we shall refer to a response of this type as an additional answer. It is often based on a reason for a negative or positive answer. Pragmatics allows the responsive and the sentence answer to be left out. lca\'ing only the rcason, e.g. [no, I don't want to ph~v with you, hecauseJ you're younger them me. Another observation is that a responsive or sentence answer may well be justifiable in terms of the syntax of the question clause. but it docs not supply sufficient information to meet the questioner"s real objccti\'cs. This applies to both information-seeking questions such as: (29) a.

are you Dr Livingstone? no. (30) a. do you know where Eric li\·es? b. yes.

b.

and questions which arc requests for action such as: (31) a. b. (32) a. b.

can you tel/me the time? yes. would you open the door? 110.

Syntactically, these are yes-no questions which can be answered by a sentence answer and I or the appropriate responsive. But the literature points out that the questioner seeks more than a sentence answer, no matter how the latter is actually

1(i Answering .~y.ftems

realized. The questioner requires further information or wants the addressee to perform an action. The responder should provide the information which the questioner really seeks or perform the relevant task; or failing this, the responder should offer an explanation: are _vou Dr Livingstone? b. no, that 's him standing over there. (34) a. c/o you know where Eric lives? b. .ves, Cardiff. (35) a. can you tel/me the time? b. yes, halfpast four. (36) a. would you open the door? b. no, sony, I've hurt my arm.

(33) a.

Another point to be noted is that responsives in interactive discourse can be volunteered for social reasons. This is seen in particular when a respondent uses an expression which agrees with a previously-made proposition for the purposes of maintaining social solidarity or conveying attentiveness. In both cases, a respondent is using a responsive to achieve ends which are part of the nonpropositional (or social) meaning of a sentence as opposed to its propositional meaning. All these are telling points which emphasize that a complete account of the functions of answers to yes-no questions must consider pragmatics as well as semantics. But this study is especially concerned with responsives, and it will not pursue pragmatic issues in detail, except where they help to explain the uses of responsivcs. Responsives are predominantly seen on the respondent's side of interactive discourse, either as answers to questions, or as affirmations or denials of statements. There may appear to be an exception to their use as responses in their occurrence with sentences which are not responses, as in: (37)

a. yes, we've sold our house. b.

no, I'm not complaining.

But such examples arc based on interactive discourse in that they foresee possible reactions to statements, and supply the responses (more discussion is in 3.2.2). The discussion in this and previous sections has referred to three expressions which can be involved in an answer: two of them, responsive and sentence answer, have figured prominently, and the third has been mentioned only in passing, namely. the additional answer. They can combine or be omitted to create answers of varying degrees of complexity. In the orthography, it is traditional to write them separated by commas. For example, using the question is Sioned coming to the par(v?. it is possible to have:

Semantics 17

(38) a. b.

c. d. c. f. g.

no, she isn't, (because) she 's working. no, she isn 't. no, (because) she's working. she isn '1, (because) she's working. 110.

she isn 't. she 's working.

The sentence answer can involve various degrees of ellipsis, of which the example given, she isn't, is only one possibility. There is much discussion in the literature as to what a proper answer is. i.e. whether a responsive alone is enough. or whether a sentence answer or additional answer should also be used either alone or in combination with one of the others. We can also add to these possibilities qualified answers including disjuncts (the former arc outlined in 1.1.1 and the latter in 1.2.1), and other expressions such as that's right. This question of answerhood, as it is sometimes called, is an interesting one but will not figure in this study unless it contributes to the main aim of discussing responsives themselves. 12

1.2 Forms With the exception of counter answers, which arc discussed in 1.2.3. the literature on answering systems has little to say directly about their forms and syntax. A consideration of the forms of rcsponsivcs is cmcial to the analysis of Welsh. and this section will prepare the way by establishing different formal types of responsives based on data which is available in the literature on answering systems. The typology which is outlined here is based on one simple observational criterion, namely: is the expression which occurs in response to a target sentence and which conveys the functions described in 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 -based on lexical or syntactic forms which occur in the target or not? The answer to this question produces two types of formal systems. Expressions which can be traced to lexical or syntactic items in the target can be metaphorically described as "echoing" the target. and the answering system can be described as an echo system. In contrast. expressions which cannot be traced to lexical and syntactic items in the target can be described as operating a nonccho system. 13 This approach is based on elementary descriptive observations. It docs not address more probing questions about the grammatical status of expressions which can be interpreted as responsives. e.g. arc such expressions members of a unique syntactic category or arc they members of other categories which can be used to fulfil the responsive function? If there is evidence to adopt the first view. responsive is a syntactic category like noun, adjective and verb. If the second \'icw is adopted, responsive is a grammatical function. possibly like subject, object and

18 Answering systems

adverbial, or, more appropriately, like declarative and interrogative. In the survey which follows, these matters arc only touched upon in universal terms in brief and speculative comments. But, in respect of Welsh, they arc explored in detail, both descriptively and theoretically, in Chapter 5.

1. 2. 1 Nonecho responsives It is very striking that the forms of the rcsponsives of many languages are not evident in any of the lexical items which arc in the question. English provides a typical example: (39) a. b. c.

is it raining? yes, it is [raining]. no, it isn't {raining].

It is clear that whereas the sentence answers it is [raining] and it isn 'I [raining] can be related to the syntax and lexis of the question clause, the responsivcs yes and no arc newly introduced from the lexicon. In this sense, we can refer to them as nonccho rcsponsivcs. There is very little direct discussion of the syntactic relationship of nonccho rcsponsives and sentence answers in the literature. Responsives are not substitutes, or proforms, for the latter. This is clearly shown by the many examples which are provided in this chapter which show that responsives and sentence answers can cooccur. The French rcsponsives can occur in complement positions in qualified answers, as is illustrated below in this section. But it is also the case that the French responsives can cooccur with sentence answers outside embedded contexts. This close association of a responsive and a sentence answer allows the former, when standing alone, to indicate the latter. Quirk et a/. ( 1985: 852) describe English .ves and no as "reaction signals'' which convey assent or agreement and denial or disagreement (along with all right, OK, certainly not, definitely not, not at all, and not likely). These authors do not comment specifically on the relationship between yes and no and accompanying sentence answers, but they do say that they arc "grammatically irregular'' and discuss them under the general heading of nonscntcnces - expressions which do not fit regular clause structure. However, we can attempt to develop our understanding of the clausal status of nonecho rcsponsives by asking two questions: whether the functions of rcsponsives are unique to them. and whether rcsponsives can fulfill other functions. Quirk et a/. (1985: 628, 806) refer to a number of items which can be used to answer yes-no questions in English: certain(y, of course, not at all, never, probab(v, it appears so, to some extent, occasionally, and very often. Disjuncts which

Fon11s 19

convey varying degrees of truth (Quirk el a/. 1985: 620-628) provide good illustrations: (40) a. b. c.

d.

c.

is she slaying? prohab(v. probab(v not. of course. of course not.

The important point is that they do not replace the sentence answer or the responsive. Fuller examples are as follows: (41) a. yes, she is prohah~v [staying]. b. no, she's probab(v not {slaying]. c. d.

yes, of course she is/ slaying]. no, of course she isn 'I {slaying].

These examples demonstrate a point that is made in 1.1.1. namely. that responses to yes-no questions can be modified to produce qualified answers. Although the disjuncts can occur by themselves, they do not occur in place of responsivcs and sentence answers: the latter are absent through ellipsis and not substitution. We can, then, establish their primary role as disjuncts. and view their occurrences as sole responses as a supplementary function which is made possible by their semantics. If it is the case that sentence adverbials can occur like responsives. is it also the case that responsives can behave like other constituents? The English rcsponsives can occur as prehead modifiers in noun phrases in examples such as a yes man and the no vole. They can also occur as nominals as in was that a yes or a no?. Attempts to interpret nonccho rcsponsivcs as major clausal constituents arc more interesting. The most likely explanation along these lines is that they arc a sentence adverb of some sort, for example, a disjunct. But Bauerle ( 1979) notes that the English rcsponsivcs cannot be used as a constituent, unlike a disjunct. and he makes the following comparison: (42) a. b.

Peter will perhaps man:v Sheila. * Peter will yes marry Sheila.

But other languages provide very interesting examples of responsivcs fulfilling other.functions. Byrne-Churchill (1986: 445, 477) give examples of the French rcsponsives occurring as complements (possibly as a proscntence for a noun clause):

20 Answering systems

(43) a.

il part

c/eja?

he leaves already 'is he leaving already?'

b. j 'espere que non. I hope that no 'I hope not.·

(44) a.

est-ce qu'il arrive aujord'/mi? q he arivcs today 'is he arriving today?'

b. j 'espere que oui. I hope that yes 'I hope so.' (45) a. il 11' acceplera jamais de Ia faire. he neg accept+fut never of it do 'he will never agree to do it.·

b.

ah je crois

que si.

ah I believe that yes 'oh. I think he will.' Striking examples of a responsive form being used in other functions arc found in German. James C.J. (1988: 93) and Dodd eta/. (1996: 461) show thatja 'yes' can be used as an adverb (Dodd et a/. say that it can be used to underline that a statement is self-evident, i.e. as a disjunct):

(46) a.

es is/ ja

kalt.

it is yes cold 'it really is cold.· b.

das ist ja

ganz

klar.

that is yes absolutely clear 'that is absolutely clear.' Dodd eta/. (1996: 460) and Durrell (1996: 181-183) outline a range of uses of doch 'yes' (counter responsives are discussed in 1.2.3), mainly as a conjunct or disjunct. The following illustrations are from Durrell: (47)

gestern

hat es doch geschneil.

yesterday had it yes snowed 'all the same, it die/ snow yesterday.'

(48)

du

kannst mir

doch he/fen(. oder)?

you can me yes help 'you can help me, can't you?'

or

Fonu.f 21

(49) a.

Afulli

kann ich ein Slilck Schokolade /when?

piece chocolate a I Mummy can 'Mummy, can I have a piece of chocolate?'

b.

nein doch, du

hast

jetzt

genug

have

gegessen.

you have now enough eaten no yes 'certainly not, you've had enough to cat.' The question is whether the responsive forms in all the above cxamplcs 1'1 can be regarded as being basically responsives which have extended their usc to occur as sentence adverbials (disjuncts and conjuncts), or whether they are basically the latter which can also be used to answer yes-no questions. Answers to these question demand detailed analyses of specific languages on a scale which cannot be undertaken in this study. As far as English is concerned, the stronger case is that yes and no arc rcsponsives which can also be used as modifiers. Lcslau (1962: 148) provides further data for the discussion of the status of rcsponsives. He refers to a "special answer particle" which accompanies the repetition of the verb in answers in Ethiopian languages. namely: Tigrinya 'abba. Chaha e, and Soddo aw. Examples can be found in Appendix Ill. Lcslau says that the latter two only occur in the context of answers while the first mainly occurs in this context. Lcslau 's data docs not make it clear whether they can occur without the verb. If this were the case, given their distributional limitations. there would be a case for interpreting them as rcsponsives. The literature supplies historical evidence about some rcsponsivcs which suggests that they have originated as other forms, often as part of larger expressions. The Oxford English Dictionm:v (1994) holds that modern yes could be derived from a combination of 3ea (vea) and s/, the latter being the third singular present subjunctive of beon 'be', via the early Old English forms 3ese. :;ise, and Ji'se. The account goes on to say that this derivation suggests that 3ese might have been used to answer a particular class of question. There is historical evidence quoted in Guomundsson ( 1970: 345-346) and Bald ( 1980: 178) which shows that English rcsponsives in a later period of the language did this (see note 23 ). Judge-Healey (1983: 420) record that French oui emerged in Old French as o from the Latin hoc meaning eela 'that'. They supply the following illustration:

(50) a. ferez-vous cela? do+fut-you that 'will you do that?' (= cela je ferai). je ferai b. o that I do+fut (= that I do+fut) 'that I will.·

22 Ansll'ering system.r

These authors say that this response became shortened too je 'that 1', and that other pronouns were brought into combination with o: o ti 'that you', o if 'that he', o llous 'that we', o vous 'that you', oils 'that they'. They hold that o i/'that he· was the most frequent, and was generalized in place of the others. It became oil, which developed into the form which is still used today, oui. The same authors trace the development of si from Latin sic 'so, thus'. They claim that si was used in combination with other items. si est 'so is', si a 'so has', si fail 'so does', and that these combinations were shortened to the modern responsive si. In summary, there is evidence from observations on the contemporary behaviour of nonecho rcsponsivcs in some languages that they arc not part of the clause structure of accompanying sentence answers. Historical evidence also suggests that nonccho responsivcs in some languages have originated outside clause structure. In brief. they can be regarded as being in a paratactic relationship with accompanying clauses and not a hypotactic one.

/.2.2 Echo responsives Press ( 1986: II 0), speaking particularly of Breton, refers to a method of answering yes-no questions which is based on "the repetition of the pertinent element of the sentence". This method is sometimes referred to metaphorically as echoing, as in Greene (1972) and Thomas C.H. (1973/4), both of whom address Welsh data, and Thomas labels this type of responsive as the echo responsive. But languages can vary according to the types of clements which can be echoed, as the outline which is given below indicates. This method of forming a responsive has received very little attention in the literature and. within the context of the major codified languages which usc nonecho systems, it may be perceived as being exceptional. There are. however, extensive and varied examples of echoing in the world's languages, and this method is very relevant to an understanding of the Welsh system. For these reasons, it is worth exploring echoing at length. Throughout this survey, expressions which are used in yes-no answers which echo an element in a target sentence are more often than not referred to as responsives. This is an assumption which is made for case of presentation, and issues which show that their status as rcsponsivcs, as opposed to being expressions which happen to be suitable in yesno responses. arc briefly touched upon at the end of this section, and arc discussed in detail in respect of Welsh in Chapter 5. A good example of an extensive echo system is found in Malay. Dodds (1977: 22) describes the system as follows: "Malays often take the most significant word in a question and usc it or its negative form to say 'yes' and 'no'." Negative forms arc produced with the negative particle tak, or its longer version tidak (Dodds 1977: 9-10). Dodds ( 1977: 21-22) supplies the following example of the rcpcti-

Fom1s 23

lion of ada which he glosses as an equivalent of English have in the sense of 'possession' or be in the sense of 'located', 'situated' and 'present': (51) a.

b.

(52) a.

b.

Hashim ada di pejabat? in office is 'is Hashim in the office?' ada. is 'yes.' ada kereta? encik have car addr 'have you a car?' tak ada. neg have 'no. '

There are other examples in Dodds (1977: 29, 30, 31) which provide comprehensive illustrations: 15 tuan maim jumpa saya? sir want meet me 'do you want to see me, sir?' b. maim, encik want addr 'yes.' (54) a. apa kami boleh masuk sekarang? now can enter we q 'can we come in now?' b. bolehlah. can+emphasis 'yes.' (55) a. anak encik sudah besarkah? now big+emphasis child addr 'are your children grown up now?' b. sudah. now

(53) a.

'yes.'

(56) a.

rumah doktor ilu jauh dari sini? house doctor the far from here 'is the doctor's house far from here?'

24 A11sweri11g systems

b.

lak jauh. neg far 'no.·

There arc indications in the illustrations in this work that nonccho rcsponsives can occur (Dodds 1977: 30, 39):

apa anak encik mesli linggal eli rumahsakil? q child addr must stay in hospital 'does your child have to stay in the hospital?' b. ya, mesli. yes must 'yes, she docs.' (58) a. hari ini Cik Ali tak kerja? day this neg work 'arcn 't you working today, Cik Ali?' b. tidak, hari ini saya culi. neg day this I holiday 'no. I'm free today.·

(57) a.

On the basis of these examples, it can be suggested that ya 'yes' and tidak 'no, not' can be generalized as nonccho rcsponsives. Malay, then, has a mixed formal responsive system. But the interesting point is the very extensive echo system which is available. Finnish provides another example of an extensive echo system. It can repeat the sentence element which is the focus of the question. This may be a verb or another sentence clement: 16

htin tulee. he comes 'he comes.· b. tuleeko han? comes+q he 'does he come?' c. tulee. comes 'yes.' d. htinko tu/ee? hc+q comes 'is it him who comes?'

(59) a.

Fonns 25 e.

(60) a.

b.

c.

hiin. he 'yes.· tule. hiin ei he neg+inf come 'he doesn't come.' han tule? eikc1 he come neg+inf+q 'doesn't he come?' tule I ei. ei neg+inf come neg+inf 'no.·

Yes-no interrogatives are formed in Finnish by attaching the suffix ko I ko to the element that is the focus of the question, and placing that element in initial position: both characteristics can be seen by comparing (59a) with (59b) and (59d). The responsive is provided by repeating the queried element but minus the suffix. Example (59c) shows that Finnish can repeat the verb. But other items, such as the subject pronoun in (59e). can also be repeated as a responsive when they arc the focus of the question. The examples in (60) illustrate a negative question. Finnish has a variant negator which agrees with the subject, and indicates tense together with the verb. Example (60b) shows that the negator can also carry the interrogative suffix and occur in initial position. The responsive to such an interrogative can repeat either the negator and the verb, or the negator by itself, as is shown in (60c). Chinese languages also supply interesting and extensive examples of echo responsive systems. In their description of Mandarin, Yip Po-Ching-Rimmington (1997: 103) say that the answer to a yes-no question "is usually expressed by repeating the verb or adjective used in the question, in the case of 'no' with the negative (hit or mei).'' Yip Po-Ching-Rimmington (1997: 103-104) supply examples such as the following: (61)

a. ni

b.

c.

tongyi ma? you agree q 'do you agree?' tongyi. agree 'yes.' hti tongyi. neg agree 'no.'

26 A11sweri11g system.f

(62) a.

b. c.

nor /eng ma? cold q 'was it cold there?' /eng ji /e. cold 'yes, extremely cold.· hli /eng. not cold 'no.'

Matthews-Yip (1994: 310-323) show that Cantonese has various ways of forming questions. especially what they call the A-not-A method of forming an interrogative, which involves reduplicating the verb or adjective with the negative marker mh between them. They (1994: 319) show that: "The normal reply to a yes/no question is to repeat the verb of the question. preceded in a negative answer by the appropriate negative marker." Examples of verb repetition arc as follows: (63) a.

b.

c.

(64)

a. b.

c.

Jeih slk-nih-sik ngoh sailou a? you know-not-know my brother pt 'do you know my brother?' sik. know 'yes.' nih sik. not know 'no.· (based on Matthews-Yip 1994: 311. 319-321) Jeih lwih-mhaih M(!ihgwok-yalm a? you arc-not-arc American pt 'arc you American?' haih a. arc pt 'yes.· mhaih a. not-arc pt 'no.· (Matthews-Yip 1994: 320)

Yip Po-Ching-Rimmington (1997: 106-107) show that this method of forming interrogatives is also used in Mandarin (labelled by them as "affirmative-negative questions''). These, and other question types which involve the repetition of other items in both Mandarin and Cantonese, arc illustrated in Appendix III.

Fm711s 27

A particularly interesting example of an echo responsive is illustrated in data from Thai which is provided by Boslego (1984: 75). This study shows that a particle clu"iy. which Boslego glosses as 'right' and 'it is true·. can be added to declarative sentences. These sentences can then be made interrogative by adding the particle miiy. The positive responsive to interrogatives which contain chay are produced by repeating the particle c:lu~v: and the negative responsive is produced by placing the negative particle mt~l' before chc"iy. Boslego provides the following illustration: (65) a.

b.

khiiw pay clu~v miiy? he go right q 'did he go?' clu~v.

right 'yes.· c.

"'~'' clu~v. neg right 'no.'

Boslego classifies chc"iy as an answer word. Declaratives and interrogatives can also occur without clu"iy and in those instances the verb is repeated as a responsive: (66) a.

b.

c.

khiiw pay miiy? he go q 'did he go?' pay. go 'yes.' m~v pay. neg go 'no.·

As can be seen from this data, the negative responsive is achieved by placing the negative particle may before the verb, which also occurs when chc"iy figures in a negative responsive as described above. In this sense. Boslego says that Thai has a mixed formal answering system. The repetition of the verb as a responsive is common amongst languages. Appendix Ill shows that some languages which generally usc a nonecho responsive can repeat the verb as a counter responsive to negative questions which imply a negative sentence answer (such responsivcs arc discussed in 1.2.3):

28 Answering systems

(67) a.

gi's tidigumexi'?

'won't you come tomorrow?' icligiix. 'I will come.' (Harari, an Ethiopian language, Leslau 1962: 147-148) (68) a. ci bewe ci? he not-went q 'hasn't he gone?' b. a he has-gone 'he has gone.' (Gwa, a Niger-Congo language, Painter 1975: 19) (69) a. sahah aytJmiissJ '311 dixa? 'won't you come tomorrow?' b. 'amc'issJ' 'Jbba. 'I will come. on the contrary.· (Tigrinya, an Ethiopian language, Leslau 1962: 14 7-148) (70) a. niigtt gc'ihdya atcan? 'won't you come to the market tomorrow.' b. iifiin-sii. 'I will come.· (Chaha, an Ethiopian language. Leslau 1962: 147-148) b.

ana.

Repetition of the verb as a method of forming a responsive is a general distinguishing feature of the Celtic languages. As the main part of this study is specifically concerned with Welsh. at this preliminary stage. we shall outline the other major Celtic languages: Gaelic. Irish. and Breton. Blacklaw (1978: 3) gives a very brief sketch of Gaelic responsives. Only the present copula is illustrated in his work: it has four forms based on mood and polarity as is shown in Figure I.

1\ffinnative Interrogative

Positive

Negative

tlw a hheil

chan eil 1wch eil

Figure 1. ·nte Gaelic responsive (the present copula)

Blacklaw's examples are as follows:

(71) a.

a bheil t/111 trang? be+prcs+q you busy 'arc you busy?'

Forms 29

tha. bc+prcs+aiT 'yes.' c. a hheil iad be+prcs+q they 'are they cold?' d. chan ei/. be+ncg+aiT 'no.'

b.

fuar? cold

Irish also bases its rcsponsivcs on the verb. For verbs other than the copula, the verb is rcpcatcd: 17 (72) a.

b.

c.

ar hhrisse an flwinneog? q+past break the window 'did he break the window?' bhris. break 'yes.' nior hhris. neg break 'no.'

Breton rcsponsivcs arc described in brief but quite detailed accounts by Gros (1974: 193-198) and Press (1986: 109-110). From their descriptions, it emerges that Breton responsivcs can be formed in various ways. But both mention the repetition of the finite verb of the target, although the contexts in which this takes place arc different in the two accounts. 18 Gros gives examples such as the following: (73) a.

mad? eno e vezer bevel there pt be+prcs+impers+hab feed+pastpart good 'do you get well fed there?' kef. b. ne vezer neg be+prcs+impcrs+hab neg 'no.' c. n em a ket ar bora war a/1 daol? neg be+loc+prcs+ 3sg neg the bread on the table 'is the bread on the tableT (geo). d. em a be+loc+prcs+3sg (bc+rcsp) 'yes.'

30 Answering systems

Press supplies the following example containing a main verb and an auxilia1y (74) a.

b.

ha doni a reol? q come+inf pt do+fut+2pl+aux 'will you come?' doni a rill. come+inf pt do+fut+ lsg+aux 'yes.·

According to Press (1986: 109-110). repetition of clements other than the verb can also occur in Breton. and he gives the example of a fronted adjective: (75) a.

yaouank eo da c 'hoar? is your sister young 'is your sister young?' b. yaouank eo I yaouank is young young 'yes.'

We ignore contextual influences - this particular type of responsive may be rare in Breton, and may only occur in formal styles. But as can be seen. the adjective can be repeated along with the copula or by itself. Press docs not indicate how responsives to this type of target would form the negative. Both Gros (1974: 193198) and Press (1986: 109-110) indicate that Breton uses not only echoing but also has the nonecho specialized formsya 'yes' and llll/111 'no'; further, the copula form eo 'is' or its variant geo and the auxiliary oher 'do· can occur as general responsives. The more specific aims of this study mean that we cannot pursue the relationship between these different realizations of polar rcsponsives in Breton beyond the bounds of these basic observations. It is found that some European languages which have specialized nonecho responsives, repeat the verb as a common way of answering a yes-no question indeed, it may be used in preference to the nonecho one. Brazilian Portuguese has invariable yes-no words. sim 'yes' and ncio 'no·. But in the colloquial language, positive and negative responses to targets arc conveyed by repeating the finite verb: (76) a.

b.

\'oce vai esludar? 3sg+address go+ 3sg+pres study 'arc you going to study?' \1011.

go+ lsg+pres 'yes.'

Fomu 31

c. niio

vou. neg go+ lsg+pres 'no.' presiclente? d. e/e !{OSlO/I do he like+ 3sg+past of+the president 'did he like the president?' e. gostou. like+ 3sg+past 'yes.· f. niio gosto11. neg like+ 3sg+past 'no.' chover? g. vai go+ 3sg+pres rain 'is it going to rain?' h. vai. go+ 3sg+pres 'yes. ' i. niio vai. neg go+ 3sg+pres 'no.' As explained, the form niio can be used as a nonecho responsive. But as can be seen from the negative examples above, the form mio also occurs as a negative particle before the finite verb. 19 The Slavic languages Russian and Czech provide further illustrations of the situation found in Portuguese. 2° Czech has nonecho yes-no words, ano 'yes' and ne 'no', which can be used as responsives. But, like Portuguese, the responsive can be provided by repeating the verb. The following examples show how a simple verbal expression is repeated: (77) a.

mate radio? havc+pres+2pl radio 'do you have a radio?'

b. mcime. have+ pres+ l pi 'yes.'

c. nemcime. neg+have+pres+ lpl 'no.'

32 Anslt'ering .vystems

d.

c.

f.

knilm? (1/ vratlS rclurn+fut+2sg del book 'will you return the book?' vrcillm. rclurn+fut+ I sg 'yes.' nevrat im. ncg+rclurn+fut+ I sg 'no.·

With the future tense (in the case of imperfective verbs) and the past tense, Czech has periphrastic \'Crbal expressions consisting of the copula and a nonfinilc form of the main verb. The following show how the whole periphrastic expression or the main verb can be repeated: (78)

a.

b.

c.

d.

c.

f.

tu hru? jsi vide/ scc+paslpart be+ pres+ 2sg del game 'did you sec the game?' I vide/ jsem vide/ sce+paslpart sg scc+paslpart be+ pres+ I 'yes.· jsem neviclel I nevidel neg+sce+pastpart be+pres+ I sg neg+see+pastparl 'no.' v knihovne? JSI pracoml work+pastpart bc+prcs+2sg in library 'were you working in the library?' I pracoval jsem pracoval work+paslparl bc+prcs+ I sg work+paslpart 'yes.· jsem I nepracoval nepracoval ncg+work+pastpart be+ pres+ I sg ncg+v•;ork+paslpart 'no.·

Like Portuguese. a negative form ne can be used as a nonecho negative responsive and as a negative particle with finite verbs. Russian has the nonccho yes-no words da 'yes' and net 'no', but, like Czech, rcsponsivcs can be given by repeating the verb: (79)

a.

knigu? vernete vy you+pl relurn+pcrfv+prcs+2pl book 'will you return the book?'

Fonus 33

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

g.

h.

i.

j.

k.

I.

m.

n.

o.

vernu. rcturn+pcrfv+prcs+ lsg 'yes.' vernu. ne neg return+pcrfv+prcs+ lsg 'no.' mate? vy vic/eli you+pl scc+pcrfv+past+pl match 'did you sec the match?' vide/. sce+perfv+past+sg+masc 'yes.· ne vide/. neg scc+pcrfv+past+sg+masc 'no.' vy rahota/i v hihlioteke? you+pl work+impv+past+pl in library 'were you working in the library?' rabotal. work+impv+past+sg+masc 'yes.' ne rahotal. neg work+impv+past+sg+masc 'no.' vy poedete na mate? you+pl ridc+pcrfv+pres+2pl to match 'are you going to the match?' poedu. ridc+pcrfv+pres+ l sg 'yes.' ne poedu. neg ride+perfv+pres+ I sg 'no.' vy zdes' hudete ostavat'sja? you+pl here be+perfv+pres+2pl stay+impv 'will you be staying here?' ostamts '. stay+perfv+pres+ l sg 'yes.' ne oslanus '. neg stay+perfv+pres+ lsg 'no.'

34 An.m·ering .~yste11u

As can be seen from these examples. the finite verb is repeated as the responsive (with appropriate changes of person). Latvian supplies another example of a language which has nonecho yes-no words. namely jii and ne. but which can also repeat the verb to answer a question. The following examples show the nonecho yes-no words being used along with sentence answers: (80)

a.

vai

111

paliksi?

q you+sg stay+2sg+fut 'are you staying?' b. jii, (e.\~ pa/ik.~11 (gan). yes (I) stay+ I sg+fut (indeed) 'yes. I am staying indeed.·

c.

ne, (es) nepalik.f11

(vis).

no (I) ncg+stay+ lsg+fut (by no means) 'no. I am not staying (at all).· Latvian has the option of prodrop so that the verb can occur either with or withoul a subject pronoun. Further. like many languages. there is the possibility of usin! an adverb which reinforces the response. But answers can also be supplied by re pealing the verb without the nonccho yes-no words: (81)

a.

mi

111

paliksi?

q you+sg stay+ 2sg+fut 'arc you staying?'

b.

(es) paliH11

(.{!an).

(I) stay+ lsg+fut (indeed) 'I am staying (indeed).· c.

(es) nepalik.i:11 (vis). (I) ncg+stay+ lsg+fut (by no means)

'I am not staying (at all).· Again. prodrop is an option. and there is the choice of using an adverb to n force the meaning. The central point. however. is the usc of verb repetition to swer a question. 21 The illustrations in this section show that the repetition of the verb is a comr way of answering yes-no questions. However. polar responses which are forme this way arc syntactically similar to elliptical sentence answers. This study relied heavily on the notion of a sentence answer to clarify the use of non• responsives. But the productive usc of elliptical sentences based on the finite raises interesting questions as to precisely what a responsive is. Where method is used in languages, are there grounds for interpreting them as res

FOI11/S

35

si\•es or should they be recognized solely as a sentence which is supplying an answer, which we have called a sentence answer? Clearly. if a responsive is formed by echoing material in the target sentence. the responsive can reasonably be viewed as an elliptical sentence. It comes over as a responsive because it can fulfil functions which arc described in I. I. There arc two main considerations in respect of this issue. If a language relics solely on sentence answers. then it is convenient to have a taxonomic category. responsive. in order to indicate their functional similarity with specialized nonccho rcsponsivcs as used in other languages. But where a language uses both a nonccho and echo system - and most of the languages which have been described previously as having an echo system also have a nonecho system - then the relative distribution of the two is cmcial in deciding their respective grammatical status. Portuguese and Czech supply interesting examples. If the nonccho yes-no words can accompany the repetition of the verb, then both can occur in a response: ele gvstvu do presidente'!- - sim, gostou I niio, niio gostou 'did he like the president? - yes. he did I no. he didn't'. and mate radio? - ano. mame / ne, nenuime 'have you got a radio? - yes. we have I no, we haven't'. This is the typical pattern of a responsive cooccurring with an elliptical sentence answer. Also. the same negative form in both languages can occur as a negative nonccho responsive and as a particle in sentential negation. including elliptical sentences. as can be seen in the illustrations which arc repeated here. Given that the elliptical sentence answer can occur productively in polar responses in both Portuguese and Czech. the relative status of the nonccho forms and the former is an intriguing matter. It would need a purposeful analysis of the distribution of both in Portuguese and Czech to explore this issue adequately. This same issue applies to other languages. too. The sources which have been used for all the illustrations do not provide sufficient data to discuss this matter in universal terms even on a preliminary basis. and such a study cannot be undertaken in this work, which has its own major aims. The relationship between rcsponsives and elliptical sentences is considered in detail in respect of Welsh in Chapter 5. Discourse is also another consideration in accounting for languages which have a formally mixed answering system. Such languages may exploit more than one system over a range of discourse functions (the latter arc discussed in relation to Welsh in Chapter 4 ). It is shown in 1.2.3 that some languages usc repetition of the finite verb as a counter responsive to negative questions but usc nonecho rcsponsivcs in other contexts. Standard British English uses mainly yes-no words for answers to questions: thus. is she fantastic? -- no and is that funny? -- yes. But for denial and confirmation of statements. English can repeat certain verbs (auxiliaries and the copula), along with a pronominal subject: thus, she 's fantastic it is; in the absence of such verbs, do-support -she isn't, and that's not funny is used as in he moans a lot - - he doesn 'f. Stylistic aspects should also be considered, especially register. Standard British English uses the nonecho system of yes-no words for answers to quest ions in most

](,

Ansll'erin~

S\'Siems

registers but can usc repetition of a finite verb (along with a pronominal subject). especially. but not uniquely, in certain specialized registers: do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing hut the truth? - I do; do you take this man to he your lawfitl wedded husband? - I do. The significant point is that the responses arc pcrformativc utterances: in saying I do the speaker performs the act of making an oath. The pcrformativc utterance is more transparent with I do than it would be with the responsive form yes. Good examples arc to be found in the section of the Cathedral prayer hook. edited by Stainer-Russell (undated). which lays out the service for the consecration of bishops. There arc a series of question and answer interactions led by the Archbishop which all itl\'olvc repetition in the response. as in the following instance: The Archbishop - Trill you he faithful in ordaining, sending, or lc~ving hands upon others?, Answer- I will so he, by the help of God. Brief reference can also be made to the colloquial usc. in British English at least. of will do and can do to convey positive responses to requests. as in will you help tidy up a.ften••ards? - will do. or can you call again tomorrow? --can do (will co. presumably from will cooperate. can also be used to indicate cooperation with such requests).

I. 2. 3 Forms of answers to negative questions We have seen that languages vary as to how they answer negative questions: they are based either on the polarity of the sentence answer or the truth value of the implied proposition of the target. But answers to negative questions arc interesting in another respect: they show that languages differ as to whether they use the same positive and negative forms which arc used to answer positive questions or whether they usc additional forms. This applies to the two major semantic types of answering systems: polarity-based or tmth-valuc based. And it also applies to the two major formal types of answering systems: nonecho and echo. The following illustrations focus on rcsponsivcs and ignore issues of proper answcrhood. We can first examine polarity-based languages. and the European language French supplies a good example. In responding to positive questions. French uses the familiar two-term system that we have encountered with other languages: the form oui is used when the sentence answer is positive and non is the form which is used when the sentence answer is negative. The following illustrations arc based on Judge-Healey (1983: 420): (82)

a.

vous en voulez? you of+il want+prcs 'do you want it?'

b.

Olli.

'yes.'

Fonus 37

c.

ll01l.

'no.' Bearing in mind that French has a polarity-based ans\vering system. the forms used with negative questions arc as follows: (83) a.

b.

c.

vo11s n en vo11/ez-pas? you neg of+it want+pres-ncg 'don't you want it?' si. 'yes.' ll01l.

'no.' As can be seen, non is used with both positive and negative questions: it indicates or accompanies a negative sentence answer. There are two positive responsives for positive sentence answers: oui is mainly confined to answering positive questions; si is used to counter negative questions which have an implied negative bias. Other polarity-based languages which have a distinctive counter responsive for negative questions arc shown in Appendix III. They arc Danish, Dutch, German, Nonvcgian, and Swedish. Grevissc (1993: 1571) also refers to the usc of French oui to respond to a negative question which has positive bias: "011i s·cmploie parfois apres une interrogation de forme negative, mais qui impliquc unc idee positive" [011i is sometimes used after a negative question. but which implies a positive idea]. The following is based on the illustration which is given: (84) a.

b.

ne sonne-t-on pas le tocsin?, de mane/a /e marquis. neg ring-linking t-one neg the bell asked the marquess 'isn't anyone ringing the bell?, asked the marquess.' oui. 'yes.'

This answer could be made clearer if accompanied by c: 'est vrai 'it is true'. A similar point about answering negative questions with positive bias is also made by Martinet (1979: 148): "On peut entendre oui au lieu de si quand Ia question negative qui precede laisse que Ia negation ne correspond pas a Ia rcalite" [Oui . can be heard in place of si when the preceding negative question is such that the negation does not correspond with reality). Languages which have a mixed answering system, polarity-based for positive questions and truth-value based for negative questions, can also be distinguished by the forms that they use. We have already seen that Japanese operates a truth-

38 Answering .fystems

value S}'Stcm with negative sentences. But. although different in this respect to English. it is similar to English in using the same forms of responsives with both positive and negative questions. Korean is like Japanese in that it has a truthvalue system as the following examples show:

kikJt coa hasimniKa? 'do you like itT b. ne, con lwmnila. 'yes. I do.· c. aniyo, an coa hamnita. 'no. I don't. · d. kikJtan coa hasimniKa? 'don't you like it?' e. ne, Cl/1 con hamnila. 'no, I don't.· (lit. 'yes. I don't.') f. nlliyo, coa lummi/a. 'yes. I do.· (lit. 'no. I do.·) (Kim 1962: 28-29) g. mace, coa hanmiln. 'yes. I do.· (based on observations in Choi 1991: 408, and data in Kim 1962: 28-29)

(85) a.

The answers in (851>-<;) to the positive question in (85a) establish the positive and negative forms as 11e and a11iyo respectively. It can be seen from (85c-l) that Korean exhibits the typical characteristics of a tmth-value system in the responsive forms that arc used to respond to a negative question: the positive form 11e accomp:~nics a negative sentence answer and the negative form aniyo accompanies a positive sentence answer. The significant point is that Choi ( 1991: 408) claims that there is an alternative to aniyo when countering a negative question, namely mace. as in (85g). The latter emerges as a distinctive form which has the same general counter function as the French si. 22 Cantonese and Mandarin provide very interesting examples of the form of a counter responsive in a tmth-value system. Matthews-Yip (1994: 321-322) show that there arc two ways of confirming or contradicting the negative bias of a ncgati\'C question in Cantonese. One way is to repeat the verb in negative form (confirmation) or positive form (contradiction). The following is based on their illustrations: (86) a.

/eih nih dang lah? you not wait pt 'aren't you going to wait any more?'

Fomu 39

b.

c.

nih dang Ia. not wait pt 'no.' dang. wait 'yes.'

The other way is to usc the copular forms lwih 'be· or haahk. which is the contracted form of haih and the particle ak, or mlwih 'not be·. Before looking at their occurrences in responses to negative questions. we can briefly outline their use in general. Matthews-Yip (1994: 312-314. 320) show that Cantonese has what they call "copular questions'' which usc the reduplicated positive-negative pattern haih-mhaih 'be-not-be'. This pattern can occur in copular sentences proper, like:

Jeih haih-mlmih Alf!ihgwok-yalm a? you are-not-are American pt 'arc you American?'

(87)

Or it can be placed before the main verb in a verbal sentence:

keuih lwih-mhaih .w!ung c:huh jihk-tiing-che a? s/hc be-not-be wish ride through-train pt 'docs he want to take the through train?'

(88)

In both instances, the responsive is produced by repeating either the positive part haih 'be' or the negative part mhaih 'not be' (more detailed illustrations of the range of interrogative yes-no patterns and their rcsponsives arc given in Appendix Ill). Returning now to responses to negative questions. Matthews-Yip show that the choice of polar forms of the copular responsive is opposite to that of the verbal responsive: it is the positive haih 'be' or haahk that is used to confirm the negative bias of a negative question and the negative mhaih 'not-be' which is used to contradict it: (89) a.

b.

/eih haih-mhaih meih heui-gwo Oujiiu a? you be-not-be not-yet go-cxp Australia pt 'you haven't been to Australia yet. right?' haahk a. be pt 'no, I haven't.'

Further, haih and mhaih can be used for negative questions which themselves do not contain these forms:

40 Answeting system.f (90)

a.

b.

c.

/eih m6uh daai chin ah? you not-have bring money pt 'didn't you bring any money?' haih a. be pt 'no, I didn't.' mhaih ak. not-be pt 'yes. I did.'

Yip Po-Ching-Rimmington (I997: 104) show that Mandarin can usc a copular form shi 'be' (optionally accompanied by a particle de) and bit (shi) 'not (be)' to answer questions about a state of affairs rather than an action. The following is based on their data: (91) a.

b.

c.

liijielehiinlema? lit: s/he get asp married pt q 'is s/he married?' shi (de). be (pt) 'yes.' bl't (shi}, Iii hai mei (vou) jieluln. lit: no (be), s/he still not have marry 'no, she· s not married yet.'

When responding to a negative question, the negative bzi 'not' contradicts the negative bias, and the positive shi (de) 'be (particle)' confirms the negative bias: (92) a.

b.

c.

(93) a.

nJ bit giioxing ma? you not happy q 'aren't you pleased?' hti, 11'0 hen giioxing. not I very happy 'yes, I am.' shi (de) wo bu giioxing. be (pt) I not happy 'no, I'm not.' nJ mingliiin btl lai ma? you tomorrow not come q 'aren't you coming tomorrow?'

Fom1s 4! b.

c.

hi1, ll'(j tai. come not I 'yes. I am.' shi (de), wo hi1 /Oi. not come be (pt) 'no. I'm not.·

Examples (61) in 1.2.2 show that responses to positive sentences can repeat the positive or negative form of the verb. It is interesting to consider Pope's explanation (1976: 118-120) as to why distinctive counter rcsponsivcs have arisen. She points out that the norms of using the regular responsivcs may be associated with agreement and disagreement, and to underline the fact that the response is counter to the bias of the question. a distinctive positive responsive is used. such as French si and Korean mace. But examples (67-70) show that some languages which have a mixed nonecho and echo system. usc the echo responsive (repeating the verb in these cases) as a counter to negative bias. Appendix III gives examples from Chaha, Gwa, Harari, and Tigrinya. Such counter responsives clearly convey the propositional meaning of the answer, and avoid the difficulties mentioned by Pope. Pope (1976: 112, 118-125) suggests that two-form systems, which lack a special positive counter responsive to underline disagreement, achieve distinctiveness by accompanying the regular positive responsive with an explanation or a sentence answer. Pope suggests that in English, for instance, yes, I did is a more typical answer than yes by itself to counter the negative implication of he didn't go, did he?. This view is supported by a corpus-based analysis of English in Bald (1980: 1 82-183, 185). This convention may also apply to those languages which have special counter responsives. Leslau ( 1962: 148) also provides examples which show that verb repetition and a "special answer particle" are used to answer negative questions in Ethiopian languages, which supplies further evidence that a responsive alone is not enough. Illustrations arc given in Appendix III.

1. 2.4 Formal answering systems

It is possible to classify languages in terms of the number of formal distinctions that they can make in responding to questions, both positive and negative. A number of studies exploit the fact that there are four possibilities (e.g. · Guomundsson 1970, Pope 1976, and Choi 1991): each of the two types of questions (positive and negative) can be given one of two sentence answers (positive and negative). Languages can then be classified as to the number of forms which they have for these four possibilities. The data in the works which have been consulted for this study suggests that there are three possibilities:

42 Annreriug ·~l'Siem.~

a two-form system a three-form system a four-form system These formal systems cut across semantic systems for example. a polarity-based system and a tmth-valuc system can have a two-form system. even though the forms may have different meanings in different contexts. as previous discussion has sho\vn. An illustrated outline of these systems is given in Appendix IV. The basic system is the two-form system: the defining characteristic of this system is that the positive and negative forms which arc used to answer positive questions arc also used to answer negative questions. Appendix IV shows that polarity-based languages. such as English. and truth-value languages. such as Japanese, can both usc the two-form system. The defining characteristic of the three-form system is that. in addition to the basic positive and negative forms which arc used to answer positive questions. an additional form is used in place of one of them to counter the bias of a negative question. For the majority of languages, this additional form is used to counter negative bias. In the case of polarity-based languages. an additional positive responsive is used. like the French si. In the case of truth-value languages. an additional negative form is used. such as Korean mace. Within the three-form systems. Soddo is very distinctive in that it has an extra form to conform with the bias of a negative question. It can be seen that Soddo is a tmth-valuc language as the negative responsive form yiillii is used with a positive sentence answer. The four-form system is distinctive in that both responsive forms which are used to answer negative questions arc different to those which arc used to respond to positive questions. On the basis of a consideration of forms alone. it is difficult to identify which is the negative and positive form and. consequently. whether such languages arc polarity-based or tmth-value based. 21

1.3 An overview ofWelsh responsives The previous sections have established generalizations about answering systems on the basis of analyses and data which arc available in the literature: There arc two semantic systems: a polarity system and a tmth-valuc system. There arc two formal systems: a nonccho system of specialized forms. and an echo system which repeats forms from the target sentence. The formal systems can also vary as to the number of distinct forms of responsives which they use: 1\vo-form system. three-form system or four-form system.

A11 0\'l'l"l'iew l!{ Welsh re.spo11.sive.s 43

This overview will show that Welsh responsivcs can be located within this typology, and that the language follows universal patterns in terms of semantic and formal systems. But Welsh is especially interesting because of the forms and syntax of its responsive system. and these matters arc introduced first.

1.3. 1 Forms: mmecho and echo responsives

Welsh uses both nonccho and echo responsives. This choice produces two major systems of responsivcs - a simple nonccho one which involves a choice of two invariable forms (excluding dialectal variation) and a more complex echo system which involves a greater number of variant forms which arc based mainly on finite verbs. The simple nonccho system of specialized forms uses only ie (positive) and nage (negative). and these lcxemcs will be referred to as the nonecho rcsponsives. The following arc devised illustrations: (94) a.

b. c. d.

e.

f.

'II fory mae hi my11d? tomorrow is she prog go 'tomorrow she's going'/' ie. 'yes. nage 'no.' athrawes yc{v hi? tcachcr+fem is she 'is she a teacher?' ie. 'yes. nage 'no.

In the dialects, ie can occur as [ic) ie, or [ia) ia, and nage occurs as [nage] nage, [nakc] 11ace. [nagi] nagi, or [naki) 11aci. These two lexcmes arc mainly specialized rcsponsives. But speakers in some southern dialects can also use them as particles of mood and polarity in fronted sentences (sec 3.3.1 for more detailed discussion of word order in Welsh sentences) - for instance: (95)

a. ie

Sioned sy 'n aros? yes is prog stay 'is it Sioncd who is staying?'

44 Answering systems

b.

nage ji yw 'r hrohlem. I is the problem no 'it's not me who is the problem.'

In other dialects and styles of Welsh different realizations arc used. and this shows that these mood and polarity functions are not uniquely realized by ie and nage. But for those dialects which can use these forms in this way. the overall answering system is an echoing one. as the answer forms repeat items which are in the target. 2 '1 The complex echo system uses the finite forms of verbs which are determined by the finite verb in the target of the response. and such responsives will be referred to as the echo responsives. The following devised examples demonstrate the general principle: y<~Y Sion

yma? here is 'is Sion here?' b. ydy. is 'yes.' nac c. Vl~V. neg is 'no. A/air yn oedd aros? d. prog wait was 'was Mair waiting?' c. oedd. was 'yes. f. nac oedd. neg was 'no.' g. all Gu:vn ddod? come can 'can Gwyn come?' h. gall. can 'yes. i. na all. neg can 'no. '

(96) a.

An overview of Welsh responsives 45

As can be seen, the finite verb forms - in the above instances, ydy 'is', oedd 'was' and all 'can' - are the basis for the polar answers. In the case of a positive responsive, the finite form alone is repeated. In the case of a negative responsive, the finite verb is preceded by the negative particle na. Before vowels, the negator generally occurs as nac or, in some dialects, nag. Before consonants, it occurs as na and causes mutations of particular types of consonants. 25 Details of the negator forms of a particular dialect are available in Thomas C.H. (1973/4). The next chapter shows that there are constraints on verb repetition. But the current level of detail serves to establish the broad characteristics of the Welsh responsive system. Like other languages which have been examined in this chapter, the Welsh echoing system is based mainly on the finite verb. But the echoing system extends to other word categories in a restricted way. In northern dialects, at least, one nominal, rhaid 'necessity', and two adjectives, gwiw 'appropriate {pronounced [viu] fiw in speech), fitting' and gwaeth 'worse' can also be used as responsives. Devised illustrations can be given as follows: aros. ti rhaid necessity to you stay 'you must stay.' b. rhaid. necessity 'yes.' c. na raid. neg necessity 'no.' gn:vno. ti d. fiw appropriate to you complain 'you daren 't complain.' c. na fiw. neg appropriate 'no.' fvnd. f. waeth i ti worse to you go 'you might as well go.' g. na waeth. neg worse 'no.'

(97) a.

The examples in (97a), (97d), and (97f) are elliptical sentences: rhaid, gwaeth, and gwiw occur in copular patterns containing bod 'be', but the latter has been omitted. The occurrence of bod 'be' is obligatory with tenses other than the present. In the case of rhaid 'necessity', bod 'be' can also overtly occur with the pres-

46 Answering systems

ent tense, and rhaid can serve to illustrate the fuller patterns. When it overtly occurs. bod 'be· can be echoed in the responsive: (98) a.

ti mae rhaid necessity to you is 'you must stay.' b. oes. is 'yes.' c. nac oes. neg is 'no.' d. mae 'n rhaid is pred necessity to 'you must stay.' e. yc~v. is 'yes.' f. nac vc~~'· neg is 'no.

aros. stay

ti aros. you stay

It can be seen that the form mae 'is' occurs in both (98a) and (98d), but oes occurs as the responsive form to the former and yc~v occurs as the responsive for the latter. These differences relate to the definiteness of the subject, as is explained in 2.5.1. The other two nominal forms do not. in vernacular speech, generally allow the recovery of the present of hod 'be' in the present tense. Note that both gwaeth and gwiw occur in elliptical copular patterns which are implicitly negative, as is obvious from the responsives. There are clearly several interesting aspects of the patterns in which these three lexemes occur. but our interest here is in their use as responsives and no more will be said about these other matters (further discussion of them is available in Jones-Thomas 1977: 338-340). Morris-Jones ( 1922: 184) says that responsives to fronted sentences which have an initial adjective can be formed by repeating the adjective:

(99) a.

b.

ai da gennyt hynny? q good with+2sg that 'do you like that?' na deJa. neg good 'no.'

An m·en•iew of ll'e/sll re.rponsives 41

Similarly, Richards (1938: 112-113) mentions repealing a fronted phrase as a responsive. There arc no purposeful examples of this in his work but the following can be found amongst his illustrations: (100) a.

b.

ai hedc{vchlon c{v dc{vfodiacl? q peaceful your+sg coming 'is your coming peaceful?' hedc{vc:hlon. peaceful 'yes.·

Both these writers arc concerned primarily with the formal conservative written style, and I am not familiar with the productive usc of any other nominals and adjectives apart from rhaicl, gwaeth. and gwiw. It can be speculated that echo responsivcs in Welsh have covered a greater range of forms, at least in the conservative style, than exists in the present period. The three lexemes considered here are the only ones which remain in the vernacular style today. In the whole corpus which is discussed in Chapter 6. there are only twenty-three examples which have rhaid in the target sentence (fourteen of these omit hod 'be· and nine retain it). But there is only one responsive which uses rhaid: (101)

M: 's dim rhaid i ni gweld te/edu, na? is neg necessity for we sec television neg 'we don't have to sec television. no?' R: na raid, 's dim rhaid i ni. neg necessity is neg necessity for we 'no, we don't have to.'

The remainder use a nonccho responsive or an echo one. The latter is hod 'be' and it is sometimes recovered in the responsive even though it is omitted in the target sentence. There are no instances in the corpus of gwaeth or gwiw. In vernacular Welsh, there are two items, efallai 'perhaps' and hwyrach 'perhaps', which can precede a noun clause (efal/ai can occur as fa/lela or ellela). Devised illustrations arc as follows:

(102) a. falle hod A/air wedi myncl. perhaps be perf go 'perhaps Mair has gone.' b. hwyrach hyde/ hi yn 6/ fmy. perhaps bc+fut she in track tomorrow 'perhaps she'll be back tomorrow.'

4!1 An.vll'e1i11g sy.flems

They mark the epistemic modality of logical possibility, and are interesting both semantically and syntactically. But our concern here is with the type of responsi\•es for which they can be targets. Responses to these Iexemes are problematic partly because they arc untypical in questions, and partly because they occur in complex sentences which contain noun clauses which may also be the target of a response (see 3.3.3 for more detailed discussion). Positive responses can involve repeating the Iexcmes. but there is also a possibility that the nonecho ie could be used by some speakers: ( 103) a.

folie bod A/air yn mynd. perhaps be Mair prog go 'perhaps Mair is going . ' b. falle / (?) ie. perhaps yes 'yes.' c. lm:vrach b.vdd hi yn 6/ fory. perhaps be+fut+ 3sg she in track tomorrow 'perhaps she'll be back tomorrow.' c. lm:vrach I (?) ie. perhaps yes 'yes.·

But the echoing of these forms in negative rcsponsives is not familiar to me in the vernacular. Further. nage would not be the typical way of disagreeing with the import of the modal lcxcmes: (104) a. fa lie bod A/air yn mynd. perhaps be Mair prog go 'perhaps Mair is going . ' b. * na [aile I ?? nage. neg perhaps no 'no. fory. c. l111:vrach bydd hi yn 6/ perhaps be+fut+3sg she in track tomorrow 'perhaps she'll be back tomorrow.' d. * na Jm:vrach I?? nage. neg perhaps no 'no.' In respect of the lack of a negative responsive, it can be noted that efallai and lm:vrach arc themselves not negated in the main part of the complex pattern. The lack of a negative responsive may thus be attributable to the behaviour of these

An overview of Welsh responsives 49

modal forms. Although the examples of positive responses show the repetition of both forms, they may be examples of the more general possibility of responding with an elliptical sentence answer. The following devised illustration shows that such repetition cannot take the form of a negative responsive: '11 'ti (104) a. fory tomorrow be+pres+2sg+pro prog 'tomorrow you are going?' b. fory. 'tomorrow.' fory. c. "'na neg tomorrow 'no.'

myll(/? go

The occurrences of an adverb like fory 'tomorrow' in responses is very similar to the occurrences of efallai and Jm:vrach. In addition to the absence of negative versions, efallai and lm:vrach are also different to other forms which can be used as responsives in that they do not occur in interrogatives or in tags (these are discussed in 2.7.2). If efallai and lm:vrach are part of the responsive system, they are marginal members. Interestingly, Morris-Jones (1913: 437) and Fynes-Clinton (1913: 215) note that the latter originally occurred as the negative nid hwyrach, but both directly or indirectly indicate that the negative has been lost, which is the case today. Fynes-Clinton even says that na lmyrach is used as an answer to huyrach- but this usage is not attested in today's Welsh, as already indicated. Question: Statement Answer: Nonecho Echo

Positive

Positive Negative

Negative Negative Positive

ie

nage

ie

nage

verb nominal

na verb na nominal

verb nominal

na verb na nominal

Figure 2. Welsh responsives as two-form systems

Figure 2 summarizes the various selections in general terms. For the sake of brevity, the nouns and adjectives which can be repeated in responsives are labelled collectively as nominal. Welsh has two formal answering systems, but each system ·is a two-form system. That is, Welsh uses the same two formal realizations to respond to both positive and negative sentences. It has no specialized responsive form which is used to counter the bias of a negative question or statement, like French si.

50 Answering sy.ftenu

1.3.2 Semantics:

polari~v

and truth value

Welsh is primarily a language which selects the polar form of the responsive on the basis of the polarity of the sentence answer. This applies to both the nonecho system of responsives and the echo system of responsives: (105) a.

Sionecl ·':V 'n aros? is prog stay 'is it Sioned who is staying?' b. ie, .S'ioned { ~v 'n arosj. yes is prog stay 'yes. it is Sioned [who is staying]. • c. nage, dim Sionecl f·':V 'n arosj. no not is prog stay 'no, it's not Sioned [who is staying].' ( 106) a. ycly Sioned yn aros? is prog stay 'is Sioned staying?' b. y~v. mae hi [ 'n arosj. is is she prog stay 'yes. she is [staying].' c. nac yc~v. d y~v hi ddim [ yn arosj. neg is neg is she not prog stay 'no, she isn't [staying).'

The polarity-based system is also the main system in answering negative questions: (107)

a. dim Sioned ·':V 'n b.

c.

( 108) a.

aros? not is prog stay 'isn't it Sioned who is staying?' ie, Sioned f·':V 'n arosj. yes [is prog stay) 'yes. it is Sioned [who is staying).' nage, dim Sionecl[ sy 'n arosj. no not [ is prog stay 'no. it's not Sioned [who is staying].' d yc~v Sionecl clclim yn aros? neg is neg prog stay 'isn't Sioned staying?'

An Ol'1'11'iew of ll'el.th re.tponsi1•es 51

arosj. yc(v. mae hi {'n is she [prog stay] is 'yes, she is [staying).· yc(v hi cldim {yn aro:o.J. c. nac yc(v. cl neg is she not [prog stay neg is 'no, she isn't [staying].'

b.

However. it is found that Welsh speakers can exploit the differences between the nonccho and echo systems to emphasize that they arc countering the implied proposition of a negative sentence. We shall say no more about this matter until we fully discuss the differences between the two systems in Chapter 3, especially 3.4.2.

1.3.3 Summary Semantically, Welsh rcsponsivcs typically relate to the polarity of the sentence answer, and they have positive and negative forms. Formally, Welsh has both nonecho and echo responsivcs. The Welsh echo responsives are predominantly based on the finite verb of the target sentence, and in this respect Welsh compares with the other Celtic languages, Cantonese, Czech, Finnish, Latvian, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, and Thai. Welsh makes only limited use of echoing other items in the target, specifically rhaicl 'necessity·. gwaeth 'worse· and gwiw 'fitting', and docs not match the more extensive system of echoing which is found in Finnish and Malay. Welsh is like English in that there is only a two-term contrast: unlike French. for instance, there is no distinctive term which can contradict a negative target (the functions of rcsponsives are considered in greater detail in Chapter 3). The next two chapters describe and analyse the echo and nonecho systems in Welsh in greater detail.

2. Welsh echo responsives We have already seen in 1.3 that Welsh, in echoing the finite verb. practises a general convention which is found amongst the world's languages. The aim of this chapter is to show that Welsh echo responsivcs arc sensitive to various properties of the verb itself. and that three factors establish subtypes of finite echo responsives: tense, aspect, and types of finite verbs. There are also other factors which relate to finite verbs and which complicate the process of echoing the verb: the agreement features of person and number. and certain forms of hod 'be'. The total picture of finite rcsponsives which emerges is one of considerable complexity. Each one of these factors will be examined in turn in the remainder of this chapter. It is convenient, however, to look first at tense and aspect, as an outline of tense forms in Welsh also prepares the ground for a discussion ofverb types.

2.1 Perfect responsives: tense and aspect Tense is a defining feature of the finite verb. and in contemporary treatments of the verb in X-bar syntax it is a property of l(nflection), the head of the IP. 26 We shall see in this section and in 2.2.3 that tense exerts considerable influence on the formation of finite responsives, and on this basis we can say that I is a controlling factor in their use. In this chapter, these matters are approached on a descriptive level. A more formal approach is adopted in Chapter 5.

2.1./ Tenses in Welsh Strictly in terms of forms and without considering stylistic influences on their functions, the tenses of the finite verb in Welsh can be summarized as in Figure 3. Some of the tense forms have a variety of functions in both formal and informal Welsh which are not adequately conveyed by their traditional labels. The discussion of the forms and their functions in traditional grammars of Welsh, such as Morris-Jones (1913: 315-397; 1922: 107-165) and Williams S.J. (1959: 94-143), can be confusing: for instance, it is possible for the traditional future tense to have a present tense function in certain circumstances. It is useful, therefore, to distinguish between form and function, and in those instances where this distinction is · crucial formal labels will be used rather than the traditional labels. The formal labels are based on the third singular inflection of each paradigm, with the exception of the first paradigm listed which has an irregular morphological stmcture. The label ITH is based on northern vernacular forms. All paradigms are available at some point on the spectmm of formal and informal styles, but their occurrences

54 lf'elsh echo responsives

Fonnal labels

Third person singular f(mns

Traditional labels

PRES ITII

mae 'is' rhedith 'will run' rhedodd 'ran' rhedai 'was running I ran I would run' rhedasai 'had run I would run' rheclo 'run I may nm'

present present, future past perfect, preterite, aorist past imperfect past pluperfect present subjunctive

ODD AI AS AI 0

Fig11re 3. Tenses in Welsh

and their functions can differ according to style: some paradigms arc multifunctional and some share functions. It is not within the aims of this study to discuss these matters in detail, and functions will only be referred to as the need arises for an understanding of the usc of rcsponsivcs. 27

2. 1. 2 Tense and re.spon.sive.s

Analyses of Welsh generally note that rcsponsivcs to targets which contain the past perfect tense are provided not by repeating the verb but by the forms do (positive) and nacldo (negative). as the following devised illustrations from the northern vernacular demonstrate: (I)

(2)

(3)

Sion neithiwr? ti we list last-night scc+pcrf+2sg you+sg 'did you sec Sion last night'!' b. do. 'yes.' c. naddo. 'no.' 'r nhw a. ethan go+ perf+ 3sg they to the 'did they go to the game?' b. do. 'yes.· c. 1wcldo. 'no.' nojio ddoe? 'n ti a. fuosf be+pcrf+2sg you+sg prog swim yesterday 'did you swim yesterday I were you swimming yesterday?'

a.

l'etfecl respcmsil'es: tense and aspect 55

b. c.

do. 'yes. ' naddo. 'no.'

One of the traditional labels for the ODD paradigm is the (past) perfect tense. The term perfect is also used to refer to aspectual distinctions which are conveyed by the syntax of verbal expressions and not the morphology of the finite verb. As is shown in 2.1.3, both the perfect tense and perfect aspect arc relevant to a discussion of responsivcs. Richards (1938: 110-111 ). who concentrates on the major and minor prose classics from the late 16th century onwards. states that even in the perfect tense, the verb can be repeated. and quotes the following instance from Gweithiau Morgan Llwyd o Wvnedd [The Works of Morgan Llwyd of Gwynedd): (4)

a.

b.

mysg nlmy .. ? erioed yn i li a jiwst in their midst they q be+pcrf+2sg you+2sg ever 'were you I have you ever been in their midst .... ? No.' finn. na neg be+pcrf+ I sg 'no.'

Greene ( 1972) makes no clear statements on the possibility of repeating perfect tense forms. But. in her study of the dialect of Nantgarw in the TafT Valley of south-east Wales, Thomas C. H. (1973/4) says that perfect tense verbs can be echoed, and gives the following example (the phonetic script of the original is replaced here by standard orthography, modified to reflect colloquial speech): (5)

a. b.

n1•path ti wetast say+perf+2sg you+sg something 'did you say something to him?' i. wetas na neg say+perf+ 1sg I 'no.'

w 'th ddo? to

he

But Thomas C. H. (1973/4) adds that the usc of an echo responsive here is highly assertive and, more significantly for a discussion of the perfect, very rare. Thomas . P. W. (1996: 525) also suggests that an echo responsive can be used in place of do and naddo to convey strong emotional commitment to the answer. In the case of both Thomas C.H. and Thomas P.W., it is noticeable that their examples show a pronominal subject accompanying the responsive, and this too can be associated with emphatic responses in some dialects, as is discussed in 5.2.4. I am not famil-

56 Welsh echo responsives

iar with repeating perfect tense forms, and my own everyday experiences with northern and central dialects leads me to believe that the use of do and naddo is the norm in the common and popular control of the vernacular. Up to this point in the analysis, responsives to finite clauses in Welsh arc thus of three sorts: nonecho responsives, echo finite verb rcsponsives and do I nacldo. The latter arc invariable and specialized in function, and are similar in this respect to the nonecho rcsponsives, ie and nage. In this light, do I naddo and ie I nage could be seen as two subtypes of the nonecho system of rcsponsives in Welsh. But such a classification would be misleading. Welsh rcsponsives are analysed more revealingly by the factors which condition their use than by their forms. In these terms, do and naddo are like finite echo rcsponsives, in that their usc is conditioned by the finite verb. They are distinctive in that they arc used where the tense features of the verb of the target block the repetition of that verb, and as such form a complementary relationship with echo finite verb responsivcs. They can be regarded as subsystems of a more general class of finite rcsponsivcs: the verbs which arc repeated can be labelled as the verbal responsives. and do and naddo can be referred to as the perfect responsives. Another distinction within the class of finite responsive is added in the discussion of types of finite verbs below.

2. 1. 3 Aspect, tense and responsives In Welsh, aspect is conveyed by using a form of hod 'be· and a preposition which occurs before the main verb. 28 Perfect aspect is denoted by the preposition wedi 'after'. as examples (6) and (7) illustrate. Perfect responsives can also be used to respond to a perfect aspect pattern when hod 'be' is in the present tense. But unlike responding to perfect tense forms, speakers can usc a verbal responsive in place of a perfect one - and this option is common and productive in vernacular styles. 29 The following devised examples illustrate this choice: (6)

a

b.

c.

llyt wedi gweld Sion? ti be+pres+ 2sg you+ 2sg perf see 'have you seen Sion?' ydll' I do. be+pres+ lsg yes 'yes.' I naddo. nac ydw neg be+pres+ lsg no 'no. hi wedi gorffen? ydy be+pres+ 3sg she perf finish 'has she finished?'

.

(7)

a.

Pe1[ect resp01rsi,•es: tense and aspect 57 b.

c.

ydy I do. be+pres+ 3sg yes 'yes.' nac ydy I naclclo. neg be+pres+ 3sg no 'no.'

It is interesting to speculate why this choice should be available. The present perfect binds two temporal periods - the past and the present - and it can be tentatively suggested that a speaker can pick out the past connections by selecting a perfect responsive or present connections by choosing a verbal responsive. In this sense, the verbal responsive focuses on the present tense of the finite verb; the perfect responsive focuses upon the retrospective temporal features of the aspectual preposition. A perfect responsive is not generally used to respond to a perfect pattern when bod 'be' is in a tense other than the present: (8)

(9)

eli wedi gorffe11 erhyn wyth? a. fyddi be+fut+2sg you+sg perf finish against eight 'will you have finished by eight?' I *do. b. hycldaf be+fut+lsg *yes 'yes.' c. na fyddaf I *11addo. neg be+fut+sg *no 'no.' a. fa sa fo wedi cytuno mynd? be+plup+ 3sg he perf agree go 'would he have agreed to go?' b. basa I *do. be+plup+3sg *yes 'yes.' c. na fasa I *11addo. neg be+plup+3sg • no 'no.'

But, speaking impressionistically, I suggest that some speakers may occasionally . select a perfect responsive when bod 'be' occurs in the imperfect past tense, as in the following devised example:

58 We/sir eclro respmui1•es

( 10) a.

b. c.

oeddet ti weeli gweld Simr? be+pas+ 2sg you+sg perf see 'had you seen Sion?' c/o. 'yes.' naclclo. 'no.'

It is not clear to me whether this use of a perfect responsive is a performance error, or whether it is based on analogy with perfect aspect patterns which occur with the present tense.

2.2 Full echo and substitute responsives: types of finite verbs 2. 2. 1 Introduction: echo ami substitute \'erbal responsives Traditional grammars of Welsh arc primarily monostylistic, and concentrate upon the conservative style of the language, which is typically found in the formal written medium (Anwyl 1898: 70: Morris-Jones 1922: 184, 187; Richards 1938: 110-115; Williams S.J. 1959: 197-199). In the main, they state that a verbal responsive is produced by repeating the verb used in the question. Anwyl mentions only the repetition of the verb, but the other writers add that an alternative exists. Morris-Jones gives the impression that there is a wide choice by sweepingly saying that "another appropriate verb'' can be used. but he only gives gwneucl 'do· (and its variant gwneutlmr) as an example. Richards and Williams more clearly and accurately restrict the alternative to gwneud 'do·. The suggestion is, then, that users can either repeat the verb or usc a form of gwneud 'do': Thomas C.H. ( 1973/4) conveniently refers to these two types as the echo responsive and the substitute responsive. The following devised examples illustrate both types of responsive in the formal variety of Welsh (these examples contain other stylistic markers of this variety):

a ysgrifenwch chwi atynt? q write+fut+2pl you to+3pl 'will you write to them?' b. ysgrifenaf / nac ysgrifenaf writc+fut+ 1sg neg write+fut+ 1sg 'yes I no.·

(11) a.

/•ill/ echo ami .mllstitute respmui1•e.~:

c. gwnaf

I

do+fut+ lsg 'yes I no.· (12) a.

offinite l'erbs 59

11'/la.f do+fut+ lsg

/Ill

neg

a gytuna

~~·pes

·,.

prifathro?

q agree+fut+ Jsg the headteacher 'will the headteacher agree?'

b.

cytuna

/ na

agree+fut+ 3sg 'yes I no.·

c. gwna do+fut+3sg 'yes I no.·

neg

/ na

chytuna. agree+fut+ 3sg

11'/la.

neg do+fut+ Jsg

It needs to be pointed out that gwneud only substitutes the lexeme which carries the finite features of I. In other respects, the finite features themselves are still echoed by the finite forms of gwne/1(1. As we arc using the term echo as a generic label, the expression full echo responsive is used for Thomas· echo responsive, where a more precise label is necessary. As Thomas C. H. (197314) makes clear in her dialect study, the choice of either echoing the verb or substituting gwneud must be assessed grammatically, semantically and stylistically. Different grammatical, semantic and stylistic influences produce the following possibilities: i. compulsory usc of an echo responsive to the exclusion of the substitute

gwneud; ii. the usc of the substitute gwneud \vith the possible alternative of using an echo responsive, depending upon verb type. meaning. style, dialect, and age of speaker. The influences on the choice of these two types of responsivcs will be discussed in the remainder of this section. But before examining the details, some general comments will be made about gwneud. The discussion of gwneud as a substitute responsive can be linked to its occurrences as an auxiliary verb. In northern regions in particular, it can be used as a carrier auxiliary to convey features of tense. mood and agreement in place of a lexical verb (which then occurs as a nonfinitc main verb): in short, we have a socalled periphrastic pattern in place of a simple finite vcrb. 3 Compare the follow. ing devised illustrations:

°

(13) a.

reclodd

Mair i

'r

siop.

run+pcrf+3sg to the shop 'Mair ran to the shop.'

60 Welsh echo re.vponsives

na'th Mair redeg 'r siop. do+perf+ 3sg run to the shop 'Mair ran to the shop.' (14) a. gerdclilh Sion i 'r gwailh. walk+fut+ 3sg to the work 'Sion will walk to work. • 'r gwailh. Sion gerdded b. neilh do+fut+3sg walk to the work 'Sion will walk to work. •

b.

In the following discussion. the selection of an echo or substitute responsive will be analysed within a framework of different types of finite verbs. The classification used here is more systematic than that given in Thomas C.H. (1973/4), and different in detail. An outline of the usc of echo and substitute responsives can also be found in Thomas P.W. (1996: 523-526).

2.2.2 Bod 'be' and modal auxiliaries

Welsh has a class of modal auxiliary verbs: cael 'get', gallu 'can', medru 'can' and dylai 'should' (the last is distinctive in having only finite forms and being restricted to the AI and ASAI paradigms). These verbs and bod 'be' -which can also function as an aspcctual auxiliary in so-called compound tense patterns (see note 30) - arc obligatorily repeated as responsives, and they exclude the usc of gwneud as a substitute responsive:

(15) a.

geilh A/air aros? gct+fut+ 3sg stay 'may Mair stay?' b. ceilh. get+fut+ 3sg 'yes.' cheil/1. c. na neg get+fut+ 3sg 'no.' (16) a. all Mair aros? can+fut+ 3sg stay 'can Mair stay?' b. gall. can+fut +3sg 'yes.'

F111l echo and sllhstilllle responsives: types offinite verbs 61

c.

(17) a.

b.

c.

(18) a.

b.

c.

(19) a.

b.

c.

(20) a.

b.

c.

na all. neg can+fut+ 3sg 'no.' fedar Mair aros? can+fut+ 3sg stay 'can Mair stay?' meclar. can+fut+3sg 'yes.' na fedar. neg can+fut+ 3sg 'no.' dclylai A/air aros? should+ai+3sg stay 'should Mair stay?' dylai. should+ai+ 3sg 'yes.' clc{vlai. na neg should+ai+ 3sg 'no.' oedd Mair yna? be+pas+ 3sg there 'was Mair there?' oedcl. be+pas+3sg 'yes.' nac oedcl. neg be+pas+3sg 'no.' oedd Mair yn aros? be+pas+3sg prog stay 'was Mair staying?' oedd. be+pas+3sg 'yes.' nac oeclcl. neg be+pas+3sg 'no.'

As well as excluding gwneud as a substitute responsive, all these also exclude it as a carrier auxiliary (when the same inflectional function is maintained). 31

62 Welsh echo responsi1•es

2. 2. 3 Lexical verbs: paradigmatic uniqueness Some lexical verbs behave like the auxiliaries in that they compulsorily repeat the verb in the responsive and exclude gwneud as a substitute. These verbs can be distinguished by the forms and functions of their inflectional paradigms (the paradigms of the Welsh verb arc listed in Figure 3 in 2.1.1 ). It is not practical to describe in detail the uses of the Welsh tenses here. but Figure 4 conveys the points which are relevant to a discussion of rcsponsivcs (for further details. sec Jones M. 1970. Jones-Thomas 1977: 72-113. and Fife 1990). First. the inflcctioVerbs which can take PRES and past-imperfect use of J\.l

Verbs with present tense usc of!TH and past-imperfect usc of AI

Verbs with nonpast uses of J\.l I 1\SJ\.l

gwybod 'know'

gweld 'sec' c(l'wed 'hear· credu 'believe' coelio 'believe'

lwjji / licio 'like'

Figure 4. Verbs with exceptional uses of the inflectional paradigms

nat paradigm may be severely restricted to a small number of verbs. Apart from !5l•:~'bod 'know' is the only other verb which has a PRES paradigm and is thus unique amongst lexical verbs. Like bod 'be·. but unlike the majority of lexical verbs. it can also take AI with a past-imperfect function. Second, some of these verbs can inflect in a general way but usc the inflection for an exceptional function. The ITH paradigm is commonly used as a future tense with a range of modal meanings. but there are four verbs (two of which arc synonyms) which can usc ITH in the vernacular wilh contemporaneous-present reference (sometimes called the true present) 32 These same verbs can also use the AI paradigm with past-imperfect reference. Third. another point about exceptional usage relates to AI and ASAI. They can be used in the nonpast to convey unreality, tcntativity and polilcness. but they arc rare in simple verb patterns (i.e. inflected full lexical verbs). The stylistic doublet hoffi / licio 'like'. however, is quite commonly used in this way in polite statements and requests. 33 Devised examples for all these verbs can be given as follows:

bod 'be',

(21) a.

hynny.'l ti know+ pres+ 2sg you+sg that 'do you know that?'

liJ•ddost

l•illlecho am/ s11bstit111e re.fpoll.fi\•es: types of.fillite \'erbs 63

b.

c.

(22) a.

b.

c. (23)

a. b.

c.

(24) a.

b.

c. (25)

a. b.

gwn. know+pres+ 1sg 'yes.' na wn. neg know+pres+ 1sg 'no.· wyddet li ddim? know+pas+2sg you+sg not 'didn't you know?' g11~yddwn.

know+ pas+ 1sg 'yes.' u~yc/c/wn. na neg know+pas+ lsg 'no.' weli eli ·,. ci? see+fut+2sg you+sg the dog 'can/ do you see the dog?' gwelaf. see+fut+ lsg 'yes.' na welaf neg see+fut+ 1sg 'no.' glywi di 'n iawn? hear+fut+2sg you+sg pred right 'can I do you hear alright?' c(vwaf hear+fut+ lsg 'yes.' na chlywaf neg hear+fut+ lsg 'no.' gredi di hynny? believe+fut+2sg you+sg that 'do you believe that?' credaf believe+fut+ 1sg

'yes.' c. na chredaf neg believc+fut+ lsg 'no.'

64 ll'elsh echo responsives

(26)

a.

b.

c.

hoffet li aros? like+imp+2sg you+sg stay 'would you like to stay?' hoj]it•n. like+imp+ lsg 'yes.' na hoj]il'll. neg like+imp+ lsg 'no.'

With these verbs, as well as being excluded as a responsive, gwneud is also excluded as a carrier auxiliary. The paradigmatic characteristics described above are themselves subject to variation. These uses of these verbs may be more characteristic of older speakers than younger speakers and, further, the past-imperfect uses of the paradigms may be less frequent than the others. With younger speakers, in particular, and also with older speakers, all the patterns face strong competition from the very productive compound patterns which have hod 'be' as an auxiliary and the progressive aspect marker yn. In these patterns. the above lexical verbs occur as the nonfinite main verb and bod 'be' is inflected either with PRES, AI or ASAI: 'n li gwbod be+pres+2sg you+sg prog know 'do you know that?' b. ydw. be+ pres+ Isg 'yes.' c. nac l 1dll'. neg be+pres+ I sg 'no.' (28) a. oeddet 'n gwhod li be+pas+2sg you+sg prog know 'did you know that?' b. oeddwn. be+pas+lsg 'yes. c. nac oeclclwn. neg be+pas+ lsg 'no. 'n (29) a. li~VI gweld li be+pres+2sg you+2sg prog sec 'do I can you sec the dog?'

(27) a.

li~VI

hynny? that

hynny? that

y ci? the dog

Full echo am/ substitute respuuswes: types offinite verbs 65

b.

yclw. be+ pres+ I sg 'yes.' c. nac yclw. neg bc+prcs+ lsg 'no.' (30) a. fycldet ti '11 hajJi bc+pas+2sg you+2sg prog like 'would you like to stay?" b. byddwn. bc+pas+ lsg 'yes.· C.

aros? stay

fydc/11'11. neg be+pas+ lsg 'no.'

lUI

And responses to these patterns. of course, echo bod 'be' as described in 2.2.2, and as illustrated in the examples above. The paradigmatic idiosyncrasies mentioned above can be exploited to produce generalizations about verb types and rcsponsives. It can be argued that the modal verbs which are described in 2.2.2 also have a present tense use of the ITH paradigm and a past-imperfect usc of AI. and. in this respect, are similar to the verbs which are described in this section. And, like l{'t:vbocl 'know', bod 'be' inflects for PRES and has a past-imperfect use of AI. If these points are accepted, all verbs which can be repeated in responsivcs share common paradigmatic characteristics. It then emerges that features of the I category of a sentence are a major influence on rcsponsives in Welsh. These points arc explored in greater detail in Chapter 5.

2.2.4 Lexical verbs: regular and irregularmorplwplwnemics

The main points which arc relevant to targets which contain simple finite verbs are summarized in Figure 5. In all dialects, lTH as a future tense and ODD as a past perfect tense can occur. In both cases, some speakers may prefer the periphrastic pattern with gwneud 'do' as an auxiliary verb to the simple pattern; and in both cases, the compound patterns arc aspcctually contrastive with the other two patterns. But for AI and ASAI as modal equivalents of ITH, the typical usage ~s that they occur in compound patterns with hod 'be· as the auxiliary verb, and only restrictedly in simple patterns and periphrastic patterns. The traditional subjunctive does not productively occur in the vernacular. We have already described rcsponsivcs to targets which contain the perfect tense (2.1.2), auxiliary verbs (2.2.2), and relatively exceptional uses of AI and ASAI in simple patterns (2.2.3).

66 ll'el.rh echo re.rponsil•es

The discussion in this section thus concentrates upon responsives to targets which contain ITH as a future tense in simple verbs. Fonnal Welsh Simple Verb

lnfonnal Welsh Periphrastic Pattern

Compound Pattern

ccin Mair 'Mair sings I will sing'

canith hlair neit/1 A/air gmm 'Mair will sing' 'Mair will sing'

fi•clcl Mair yn cmm 'Mair will be singing'

canocld Mair 'Mair sang'

canoclc/ 1\lair 'Mair sang'

jiwdcl Mai r yn ca1111 'Mair was singing'

na 'th Mair gmm 'Mair sang'

canai Mair 'Mair was singing' 'Mnir would sing·

(gcme Mail~ 'Mairwould sing

(nai Mair gmm) 'Mair would sing'

canasai 1\lair 'Mair had sung' 'Mair would sing'

(ganse Mail~ 'Mair would sing

(nyse Mair gam1) 'Mair would sing'

roecld h lair yn cam1 'Mair was singing' fi·clde Mair yn cam1 'Mair would be singing I would sing' roedd hlair wecli ca1111 'Mair had sung· fase Mair yn ca1111 'Mair would be singing I would sing

ccmo hlair 'Mair sings I will sing· Figure 5. Simple lexical verbs and tenses in fonnal and infonnal Welsh

Judgement about the influence of the majority of lexical verbs on responsives is made difficult by dialectal variation and speaker variation, particularly in terms of age. It is useful. especially in relation to northern areas, to make a distinction between those lexical verbs which have regular morphophonemics and those whose morphophonemics arc irregular: this is mainly to be seen in stem formation. There is a small group of four verbs which have irregular stems. The remaining lexical verbs mainly follow regular rules of stem formation, although there is more than one method of forming the stem (in the illustrations in Figure 6, only the first singular of the future tense paradigm is given, and the vernacular style is used). It will be noticed by comparing this list with the previous discussion of auxiliary verbs in 2.2.2 that cae/ 'get' and gwneud 'do' can function as lexical

l•itllecho and substitute

Irregular (a closed class of four verbs)

myncl 'go' dod 'come' cael'gel' gwnerul 'do, make'

a' i

clclo' i ga' i gna' i

responsi1•e.~: ~)'pes

of{inite verbs 61

Regular (an open class, of which the following is a very small selection)

cmm 'sing· rhecleg 'nm' agor 'open' cerclclecl 'walk·

gcma' i reda' i agora' i gerclda' i

Figure 6. Morphologically regular and irregular verbs

verbs as wc11 as auxiliaries, and it is shown below that the behaviour of cael as a lexical verb is different to its behaviour as an auxiliary. We shaH first discuss the regular lexical verbs. In northern areas. it is rare to come across examples of the majority of regular lexical verbs used as rcsponsivcs. Instead. the substitute responsive gwneud is used even though it docs not overtly figure in the target. Thus, in the case of the devised examples from formal written Welsh given previously, their co11oquial equivalents have gwneucl as rcsponsivcs (it wi11 be observed that there arc other stylistic markers in the following examples which distinguish these two varieties of Welsh): (31) a.

ysgrifenwch chi at y pu:vllgor? write+fut+2sg you to the committee 'will you write to the committee?' b. g'naf do+fut+ lsg 'yes.' c. na naf neg do+fut+ lsg 'no.' (32) a. gytunith y prifathro? agrce+fut+3sg the headteacher 'will the headteacher agree?' b. g 'neith. do+fut+3sg 'yes.' c. na neitlr. neg do+fut+ 3sg 'no.'

68 Wf!lsh f!cho re.fpmuil•e.f

As well as allowing gwneucl as a responsive. regular lexical verbs also allow it as a carrier auxiliary. particularly in northern areas. Regular lexical verbs arc thus dilTcrcnt on both counts to auxiliary verbs and verbs which are paradigmatically idiosyncratic. The point has been made that the full echo responsive is rare in northern dialects. But. in his examples of the usc of the negative particle na. Fyncs-Ciinton ( 1913: 389) gives both an echo responsive and the substitute responsive in answer to a question: gymwch chi chwanag? --. na chyma(/) or na na · (i} 'will you have some more?- no'. Fyncs-Ciinton is concerned with na and not with rcsponsives. and makes no comments about the choice of either a full echo or substitute responsive. and little can be made about his illustration other than to list it here. However, at the time of writing this study. my wife (a northern speaker) produced the following responsive involving the lexical verb cynu:vcl 'take': (33) a.

b.

gymith clclu:v awr i frncl i Bort. take+fut+ 3sg two hour to go to Port 'it'll take two hours to go to Port.· na chymilh.l neg takc+fut+ 3sg 'no!'

This was the first example which I had heard my wife produce in nearly twentyfive years. This singular chance example docs. in my view. indicate the rarity of the use of regular lexical verbs as rcsponsivcs in northern areas. Thomas C.H. (1973/4: 281). in her study of the Nantgarw dialect. states thatmync/ 'go· and dod 'come·. "like most other lexical verbs may select either the echo response or the newer [n!Oir) response" ([niOir) denotes gwneutlmr, a variant of gwneuc{). It is her reference to "most other lexical verbs" that is relevant here. This appears to introduce a dialect dilTerence. She also says about gwneucl: "It is still far from having ousted the tme echo response. and strongly emotive responses always take the form of the tmc echo". There is a suggestion here. then, that there is a functional dilTcrcnce between the echo and substitute responsive in terms of strength of assertion. I feel that Nantganv usage is not typical of northern dialects (for instance) but Thomas· reference to strength of assertion would be a reasonable explanation for rare echoing of regular lexical verbs in the dialects. Thomas P. W. ( 1996: 525) also claims that there arc contexts which promote the usc of the echo responsive in place of the substitute responsive. Like Thomas C. H., he emphasizes semantic influences and refers to moe.\gcmt•ch arbennig 'special politeness' and emosiwn c~vf'strong emotion' (such as agreeing enthusiastically and responding defiantly or crossly). H Both writers arc very familiar with southern Welsh dialects. and on the basis of their obscn•ations it must be acknowledged that some speakers generally may be able to recover the practice of repeating the verb if they seck to con-

Full echo am/ substitute responsi1•es: types ojfinile l'erhs 69

vcy strongly held convictions about the polarity of a previous proposition. In this sense, it is significant that my wife's response is not an answer to a question but a disagreement in respect of an assertion which she fell to be unreasonable. The only other explanation for the use of the echo responsive is a stylistic one: the speaker deliberately seeks the formality of written usage. With the majority of lexical verbs, the favourite responsive in northern areas is the substitute responsive gwneud but the echo responsive cannot be ruled out - neither on stylistic grounds nor semantic ones. The small group of lexical verbs which arc irregularly formed (compared with the mass of lexical verbs) allows a choice of the echo responsive or the substitute gwneud in northern areas, at least: (34) a.

b.

c.

(35) a.

b.

C.

(36) a.

b.

c.

hi he no? eith go+fut+3sg she tonight 'will she go tonight?' I 1wc eith. eilh go+fut+Jsg neg go+fut+Jsg 'yes I no. Ina neith neilh do+fut+3sg neg do+fut+Jsg 'yes I no. hi /OJ:v? ddaw comc+fut+ 3sg she tomorrow 'will she come tomorrow?' Ina dclaw. daw comc+fut+ 3sg neg comc+fut+ 3sg 'yes I no.' Ina lteith. neith do+fut+ 3sg neg do+fut+3sg 'yes I no.' 'r geith hi Slt:vdd? get+fut+3sg she the job 'will she get the job?' Ina cheit/1. ceith get+fut+ 3sg neg gct+fut+3sg 'yes I no.' / na neith. neith do+fut+3sg neg do+fut+ 3sg 'yes I no.

Examples (36) show that cael as a lexical verb allows the substitute responsive. but example ( 15) show that as an auxiliary it allows only the echo responsive. The

70 Welsh echo

re.~pon.~il'e.~

lcxcmc K'''neucl itself, on morphophonemic grounds. also belongs to this group, but it makes no sense to list it here as a substitute for itself. unless a case can be made that gwneucl the regular verb is being substituted by gwneucl the auxiliary verb. In my judgement. there would appear to be no clear-cut semantic and stylistic differences between the echo and substitute responsivcs. and this further distinguishes these verbs from the majority of lexical verbs. Furthermore. although these verbs allow the usc of gwneud as a carrier auxiliary like regular lexical verbs, in my experience, they occur in simple patterns more readily than the latter. On both counts. then. the irregular lexical verbs appear to occupy the middle ground between those verbs which exclude gwneud and those which favour it. It should be added that analogical pressure may cause the use of gwneud both in responsivcs and periphrastic patterns to gain ground. particularly amongst younger speakers (Roberts 1988: 116-117 suggests that younger speakers favour periphrastic patterns in at least one northern dialect). Greene ( 1972) observes that his study revealed a trend for questions to contain the auxiliary gwneucl in a periphrastic pattern rather than the simple finite verb. A devised illustration of this would be neilh hi agor y c/111's? 'will she open the door' in place of agorilh hi·,. dn••s?. On this basis he suggests that gwneud is being used as an auxiliary verb in questions similar to the English auxiliary c/o. Ho\'.·ever. for some speakers. the usc of gwneucl in interrogatives is no different to its use in declaratives: that is. they would also say neith hi agor y cln••s 'she'll open the door' rather than agorith hi·,. c/n••s. Greene's study is based on elicitation tests. but he docs not reveal the test sentences in detail in his paper. Without having a detailed account of the tests. there is no way of knowing whether it may only be in the comparison of Greene's test sentences (involving simple patterns) with the informants' rcsponsives (involving periphrastic patterns) that this role for gwneucl appears to arise: the same informants may well have used gwnerul in the equivalent declaratives in their vernacular usage.l~

2. 2. 5 .S'unmrw:v

To summarize. the verb types referred to in the foregoing description can be listed as in Figure 7. The echo responsive compulsorily occurs with the modal auxiliaries, lwei 'be·. and the lexical verbs which have exceptional uses of finite inflections - to the exclusion of the substitute responsive, gwneud. Regular lexical verbs favour the substitute responsive, gwneud, subject to stylistic, semantic and, possibly. dialectal influences: while the irregular lexical verbs can choose either the echo responsive or the substitute responsive, gwneud.

F111l echo ami .sr~b.stilllle re.spon.sive.f: types offinite verbs 11

n cael gallr1 medm clylai bod

guybocl

III

IV

v

VI

gwe/d

lwffi licio

mynd dod cael gwne11d

rhedeg etc.

c(l'll'ed

crec/11 coelio

Modal auxiliaries and bocl Lexical verbs- exceptional use of PRES and past-imperfect AI ITH and past-imperfect AI nonpast AI I ASAI verbs with irregular stems - nom1al usc of verbs with regular stems

n m IV

v VI

Fig11re 7. Types of finite verbs and echo responsives

2.3 Agreement features: person deixis Person features do not establish major constraints on the use of Welsh responsives, and what is said about them in this section applies to all verbal responsives. However, they introduce other constraints on the use of straightforward repetition as a method of forming rcsponsivcs. An account of the person features of responsives underlines the importance of dcixis as an explanatory category in linguistic analysis. It is shown below that an approach which is based on tracing the shifting of person features from target sentence to responsive produces a very complex account. But if the target and the responsive arc each analysed deictically, a more elegant account is achieved. The person features of the Welsh verb agree with those of the grammatical subject. Following common practice, the latter can be discussed in terms of the discourse roles of the grammatical subject in the speech event, and summarized as in Figure 8 (at this stage, the account is deliberately simplified).

speaker person features of the subject

1st

discourse roles of the subject addressee listener 2nd

3rd

Fig11re 8. Discourse roles and the person features of the grammatical subject

other 3rd

72 IJ'elsl! echo responsives

The speaker role is the primary role, and the way in which the speaker addresses the other participants in the speech event decides their roles. The two roles of addressee and listener are distinguished in order to cater for speech events which involve more than two participants and where the speaker specifically addresses one (or more) of them but not all of them: the one (or more) directly addressed is the addressee while the one (or more) not specifically addressed is the listener. All persons and entities outside the group of speech-event participants are simply referred to as "other".

2.3. I Exchange and shifling

As the speaker role passes from the speaker to the responder, exchange produces differences of person between the finite verb of the target and the responsive (changes produced through exchange are sometimes referred to as "shifting''). The following devised examples demonstrate this point: (37) a.

yclw I n im1•n? be+pres+ lsg I pred right 'am I right?' b. uyt. bc+pres+2sg 'yes.' c. nac wyt. neg be+pres+2sg 'no:' (38) a. u:vt 'n iawn? ti be+ pres+ 2sg you prcd right 'are you alright?' b. yclw. be+pres+ lsg 'yes.' c nac ydw. neg be+pres+ lsg 'no.' 'n iawn? (39) a. yciy hi be+pres+ 3sg she pred right 'is she right?' b. ydy. be+pres+3sg 'yes.'

AKrel'/1/elll features: perso11 deixis 73

C.

IUIC y((V.

neg be+pres+ 3sg 'no.· Examples (39) shows that only the third person repeats the form of the finite verb in the target (w(v :::::> y((v). The other persons involve changes in the form of the verb (vdw :::::> u:vt and u:vt :::::> ydw). A number of Welsh grammarians draw attention in general to the possible need to change the person features. but this matter is not explored thoroughly. The most detailed statement is found in Richards (1938: 110-111) and it is worth quoting him in full: "Pan fo berf y cwestiwn yn y person cyntaf neu'r trydydd, atebir yn y person cyntaf (sic) neu 'r trydydd. Pan fo 'r fcrf yn yr ail berson atebir yn y person cyntaf." [When the verb of the question is in the first or third person it is answered in the first or third person. When the verb is in the second person it is answered in the first person.] I am reasonably sure that answering a first-person question as intended by Richards demands a responsive in the second person, and I can only think that he unwittingly allowed his account to suggest otherwise. Assuming straightforward exchange. the person differences arc as follows (which, I suspect, is what Richards had in mind): lst person 2nd person 3rd person

2nd person lst person 3rd person

(e.g. ydw? 'am (I)?' :::::> uyt '(you) are') (e.g. u:vt? 'arc (you)?' :::::> ydw '(I) am') :::::> ydy '(it) is') (e.g. yc~v? 'is (it)?'

But exchanges should not be limited to those that are straightforward, and if a comprehensive account is sought. the differences are more complex than those suggested by Richards. There arc two aspects to exchange of the speaker role. First, we must identify the new speaker. He or she will come from one of the following, who are either central participants in the speech event or who have access to it: i. ii. iii. iv.

(old) addressee, (old) listener, (old) speaker, (old) over hearer. 36

Direct exchange involves the (old) speaker being replaced by the (old) addressee as (new) speaker. But if the speech event has more than one participant, then there exists the possibility of interpolations by a participant who is not directly addressed, i.e. a listener, or even by a person who is not one of the participants in the speech event but who has access to it, i.e. an overhearer (as can happen in

74 Welsh echo l"e.rpollsi\'eS

public places). Finally, there is also the possibility that the questioner will respond to his or her own ullcrance which, for convenience. can be called self-exchange. Second, we must identify the new addressee. Once a participant obtains the (new) speaker role. he or she can then decide whom to select as the (new) addressee. Again, we have the same choices from the participants in the speech event listed above. For instance, when the (old) addressee adopts the (new) speaker role. he or she can complete the exchange by answering the (old) speaker. But there is nothing to stop the (new) speaker from redirecting the response to the (old) listener or even an (old) overhcarcr - either of whom now becomes the (new) addressee while the (old) speaker becomes a (new) listener. It is important to stress that the concept of addressee as used here is based on person deixis and not gaze. Thus. it is possible to direct one's remarks through gaze at one participant but select another participant as the linguistic addressee. Combinations of the four participant roles as new speaker and new addressee give sixteen possibilities. But we can dispense with the difference between listener and ovcrhearer in the general role of responder. as both have the same person characteristics. The person contrasts can now be summarized in Figure 9. In this Participants New speaker New addressee

(old) addressee (old) addressee (old) listener (old) listener (old) speaker (old) speaker (old) speaker

(old) speaker (old) listener (old) speaker (old) addressee (old) addressee (old) listener (old) speaker

Speaker ydw? liJ''

yc(l' IIJ'I

_l'l(l' ydw ydw ydw

Targets Addressee Listener yc(l•? IIJ•f?

Other ydy?

ydw yclw

yc(l'

yc(l' ll:l'(

ydw ydw

yc(v

IIJ'(

_l'C~l'

)'C~l'

yc(l' yc(l'

liJ''

yc(l'

yc~l'

ycly

IIJ'I

yc(l' yc(l'

ycly

Figul"e 9. Person contrasts between responsives and their targets

display, singular forms of hoc/ 'be' arc used- ydw '(I) am·, u:vt '(you) are' and '(he I she I it) is" - as being generally indicative of person contrasts in targets and rcsponsivcs. The first horizontal line of data indicates the person features of the grammatical subject of the target. The columns of data underneath each target indicate the new person features of the responsive; these are due to the combinations of new speaker and new addressee which are listed in the two leftmost columns. From this summary, it can be seen that any one of the persons can change to any one of the other persons, so that Richards' straightforward exchange should be developed as follows:

yc~v

Al'(reement features: person deixis 15

1st person 2nd person 3rd person

=> => =>

2nd person I 1st person I 3rd person I

1st person I 2nd person I 1st person I

3rd person 3rd person 2nd person

Viewed in terms of exchange or shining. the selection of a verbal responsive seems to be VCI)' complex. The complexity arises because the above account is based on tracing the transfer of participant roles in conversational exchange. A simpler view can be obtained if we ignore these shirtings and concentrate upon the relationship of the speaker with the subject.

2.3.2 A simplified view: deic:lic: relationships

The selection of pronominal forms provides a good example of the egocentric nature of language. as realized in individual utterances. which Lyons (1977, 2: 636646) discusses under the category of person dcixis. In effect, both the old and the new speakers operate within the same set of rules, which arc based on the deictic relationships of the grammatical subject and the participants in the speech event. All speakers, old and new. determine the person features of the responsive in terms of their deictic relationships with the grammatical subject. These relationships can be worked out by asking whether the subject is the speaker or the addressee or neither, and then acting on the answers as given in Figure 10. These Subject =speaker?

yes no

::::) ::::)

Subject =addressee?

yes no

1st person 2nd person 3rd person

Fig11re 10. Selecting person features in targets and responsives

simpler rules can be confirmed by comparing the subjects of the targets with new speakers and new addressees in the cross-tabulations previously given: the first pcrsonydw '(I) am' occurs where the new speaker and the old grammatical subject are identical; the second person ":vt '(you) arc' occurs where the new addressee and the old grammatical subject arc identical; othenvise the third person yt~V '(he I she I it) is' occurs. · The complex and varied shifting of person between target and responsive are the product of smaller and simpler changes in the deictic relationships of subject and speaker.

76 ll'e/sll ecllo responsives

2.3.3 Additional matters: exclusive I inclusive, genericness, intimacy Where the target involves the first person plural as in .va:vn ni? 'are we?', an account of responsives must incorporate the traditional distinction between inclusive and exclusive reference. Where the first plural includes the new speaker. the responsive retains the same person. But where the first plural excludes the new speaker, a change of person occurs. Both possibilities arc illustrated below:

yc/yn ni be+ pres+ I pi we 'arc we staying?' b. .vdyn. bc+prcs+ I pi 'yes.' c. yc(vch. bc+prcs+2pl 'yes.'

(40) a.

'n aros? prog stay

In (40b), inclusive reference maintains the first person plural; in (40c). exclusive reference sees the second person plural in the responsive. The second person can also be used in a generic sense which is not restricted to the addressee but also includes the speaker and others. With generic reference. rcsponsives retain the second person. Some speakers. because of dialectal or stylistic usage, may prefer to use c(vn 'man. one' in this generic sense: in this case. the verb of the target is in the third person. as is the responsive. Both possibilities can be illustrated as follows:

a. dach

chi 'n teim/o hod arian yn colli 'i werth. be+pres+2pl you prog feel be money prog lose its worth 'you feel that money is losing its worth.· b. ydych. bc+pres+2pl 'yes.· (42) a. mae c(vn yn teim/o hod arian .vn co IIi 'i werth. be+pres+3sg man prog feel be moneyprog lose its worth 'one feels that money is losing its value.' b. yc(v. be+pres+3sg 'yes.'

( 41)

Some dialects can usc the third singular masculine pronoun formfe 'he' as the pronoun of intimate address (see also the next section on intimacy). Details can be

Agreement features: person deixis 77

found in Thomas C.H. (1982: 108) who concentrates mainly on southern dialects and gives examples such as:

beth wedo' Je mam? what said he mother 'what did he(= you) say mother?'

(43)

In this usage, it is possible in direct exchange that a first person responsive can be given to a third person target - but there arc no examples of this usc of the third person in the corpus. 37 The common way of distinguishing intimacy is discussed in the next section.

2.4 Agreement features: number Number, like person, is another agreement feature of the finite verb in Welsh. Like person, it does not establish major grammatical restraints but it does illustrate other low level characteristics of rcsponsivcs. Welsh has the number contrasts of singular and plural, and in the majority of cases the responsive retains the number features of the target. But there arc two exceptions to this which arise because of pronominal forms of address, on the one hand, and collective and plural nominal subjects. on the other hand.

2. 4./ T and V forms Some speakers distinguish between intimate and nonintimate (or, possibly, equal and subordinate) in the second person. In reference to European languages, the forms which realize these distinctions arc commonly referred to as T and V forms for intimate and nonintimate respectively (following Brown-Gilman 1960). The former is denoted by the singular form (e.g. u~vtti 'you are') and the IaUer is conveyed by the plural form (e.g. y(~vch chi 'you arc'). 38 If two participants of unequal status are involved in exchange, it is possible to have differences of number between the target and the responsive - e.g. first singular => second plural, or second plural => first singular as in:

aros? i 'n ydw be+pres+ I sg I prog stay 'am I staying?' b. ydych. be+pres+2pl 'yes.'

(44) a.

78 Welsh echo respcmsi1•e.f (45)

ydych chi 'n aros'! bc+prcs+2pl you prog stay 'arc you staying?' b. ydw. bc+prcs+ 1sg 'yes.· a.

This distinction is only possible with singular addressees. Traditional Welsh has no way of maintaining this distinction with plural addressees where only the plural form is possible (but sec the analysis in 6.5.3 for further discussion on this point).

2. 4. 2 Collective and plural nominal suhjects The second exception needs a brief preliminary discussion of the agreement relationships between verbs and third person subjects in Welsh. Where the subject is a nominal, the verb is always in the singular form irrespective of the number of the subject: (46) a.

b.

mae 'r c~vn yma. bc+pres+ Jsg the man here 'the man is here.' mae 'r c~~·nion yma. be+pres+ Jsg the men here 'the men are here.·

(We shall ignore here a nile in conservative formal style which says that verbs following fronted plural subjects are also plural in negative clauses, e.g. dynion nad yc{vnt yn gweithio 'men \vho are not working'.) But the traditional view of Welsh verb morphology says that where the subject is a pronominal, the form of the verb changes to agree with the subject: (47)

a.

b

mae hi yma. be+ pres+ 3sg she here 'she is here.' maenl /ns:v yma. ma 'n nhw yma. bc+prcs+ 3pi they here 'they arc here.

Agreeme/11 features: number 79

The first example in (47b) above is taken from conservative written style while the second is based on informal speech. These points arc offered as background to the use of collective nouns like teu/u 'family' and plural nouns like c~vnion 'men' as subjects. Following from the above. such subjects determine the singular form of the verb. But a responsive can usc either a singular or plural form: (48) a.

yc~v

'r

teu/u

·,

iawn?

be+prcs+ 3sg the family pred alright 'is the family alright?' b.

y~v

be+pres+ 3sg 'yes.' (49) a.

rc~v

I yt~V/1 •.

bc+pres+ 3pl

·,.

c~rnion

be+ pres+ 3sg the men 'are the men alright.·

yn

iawn?

pred alright

b. J-'C~V I .vc~vn ·. bc+pres+ 3sg bc+pres+3pl 'yes. Thus, where targets contain subjects which are plural or collective nominals, there may be number differences between the verb of the latter and the responsive. 39

2.5 Forms of bod 'be' The forms of the present tense of hoc/ 'be' vary in ways which are relevant to a discussion of responsives. This variation relates to: i. ii. iii. iv.

the third person forms; responsives to targets containing eisiau 'needs'; positive and negative rcsponsives in certain dialects; negative forms in targets in certain dialects.

This variation is unique to the present tense of bod 'be', and another particular characteristic of this verb is outlined in the discussion of subordination in 3.3.3.

2. 5. 1 Third person forms: assertiveness and definiteness

There arc three sets of forms of the third person of the present tense which are relevant to a discussion of responsivcs. 40 They can be listed as in Figure 11.

80 Wel.rh echo re.rpo11sives

y- fonns

m- fonns

singular plural

mae maelll

ma ma ·,

yclyw yclyllt

o- fonn

oes

ycly ycly11'

(The lcfimost fonns in each column belong to fonnal styles of Welsh: the rightmost fonns belong to infonnal styles - northern dialects arc used for convenience of illustration.) Figure ll. The fonns of the third person of the present tense of bod 'be'

For convenience. they can be referred to as the m- forms. they- forms, and the oforms. Their use can be explained by the two notions of assertiveness and definiteness. (The cmyunction os 'if and, in very formal Welsh. pan 'when'. arc also influential but will not be discussed here).

Assertive Nonassertive

Mood

Polarity

Declarative

Positive

Declarative

Negative

Interrogative

Positive

Interrogative

Negative

cl cl

mae Joh11 ma '11 Joh11 y~v yclyll. .loh11 yc~v

"""' """'

yc~~·ll.

J'IIO J?IO

clclim clclim

llhll'

cl y~v .loh11 clclim cl yc~~·ll' clclim neg is I arc Jolm I they not

"'"''

J'IIO )110

J'IICI? J'IIU? y11a? y11a? there

( mae.lolmy11a = 'Jolm is there', ma'""'"''Y"a ='they're there'; m- andy- fonns only) Figure I 2. Assertiveness and third personlonns of the present tense of bocl'be'

The contrast between the m- forms and the other two can be explained in terms of assertiveness, which is found in Quirk et a/. ( 1985: 83-85). They usc this contrast to account for classes of pronouns in English. But it can be profitably applied to the Welsh data. Assertiveness is based on mood and polarity: an assertive sentence is both declarative and positive; a nonassertive sentence is interrogative and I or negative. The m- forms occur in assertive sentences while they- and o- forms occur in nonasscrtive sentences. Figure 12 displays the influence of assertiveness on the forms of bod 'be'. using them- andy- forms for case of presentation. The o- form is also a nonassertive form, and the difference between this form and the y- forms is explained by definiteness. It is used in nonassertive contexts when the grammatical subject is indefinite; if the grammatical subject is definite, the y- forms are used. If the sentence is assertive, the m- form is used with both

Fom1s of bod 'he' 81

definite and indefinite subjects. Illustrations are provided in Figure 13. Frequently, particularly in northern dialects, yna 'there· is used after bod 'be· when the subject is indefinite - and it can occur in its full form yna or its contracted form 'na. Indefinite subject

Definite subject Assertive Nonassertive d d neg

mae ydy yc(y ydy IS

yna John yna? Jolm Jolm ddim yna Jolm clclim yna? not there

mae oes oes d oes d neg is

'na 'na 'na 'na there

cfcfJ'II

dclyn ddim cldim not

(mae Jolm yna 'John is there', mae 'na ddyn yna 'there's a man there') Figure 13. Definiteness and the nonassertive y- and o- fonns of bod 'be'

These nonassertive forms arc also the responsive forms: (50) a.

b.

c.

(51) a.

b.

c.

(52) a.

'r siwgr ar y hwrdd? ydy be+prcs+ 3sg the sugar on the table 'is the sugar on the table?' ycly. be+pres+ 3sg 'yes.' nac ydy. neg bc+prcs+ 3sg 'no.' siwgr ar y bwrdd? oes (vna) be+prcs+3sg (there) sugar on the table 'is there any sugar on the table?' oes. be+pres+ 3sg 'yes.' nac oes. neg be+pres+ 3sg 'no.' ydyn' nhw 'n aros? be+pres+ 3pl they prog stay 'are they staying?'

yna yna? dyn yna clyn yna? man there

!12 Welsh echo responsil'es

b. ydyn '. bc+prcs+ 3pl 'yes.' c. m1c yc~vn '. neg bc+prcs+ 3pl 'no.' For convenience of reference, they- and o- forms as responsives will be referred to as the definite and indefinite rcsponsives where necessary. The plural third person of the present tense always has a personal pronoun subject and is thus always definite. As can be seen from the illustrations in (50-52), where the nonassertivc forms occur in the target, the rules of echo responsive are followed literally. But it is also the case that the nonasscrtive forms arc used as confirmations or contradictions to respond to targets which contain the assertive m- form:

(53) a.

b.

mae 'r siwgr ar y hwrdd. bc+prcs+ 3sg the sugar on the table 'the sugar is on the table.' Jl~l'.

be+ pres+ 3sg 'yes.' c. nac y(~V. neg bc+pres+ 3sg 'no.' (54) a. mae (rna) siwgr ar y hwrdd. bc+prcs+ 3sg (there) sugar on the table 'there's (some) sugar on the table.' b. oes. bc+prcs+3sg 'yes.' c. nac oes. neg be+pres+ 3sg 'no.· (55) a. ma '11 nhw 'n aros. be+pres+ 3pl they prog stay 'they're staying.' b. yc~vn '. bc+pres+ 3pl 'yes.'

Forms ofbod 'be' 83

c.

nac y({vn '. neg be+pres+ 3pl 'no.'

The m- forms do not occur in responsives or interrogatives. According to norms prescribed by traditional grammars, they should not occur in negatives either. Such norms can be found in the vernacular but there are some speakers who, to some extent, retain the m- forms in negatives (particularly school children - sec Jones B.M. 1988: 15). The picture of the negative and positive forms of responsives given above changes in some southern dialects in ways which are described below. But before examining these details, we shall examine a much wider use of the indefinite form of bod 'be'.

2.5.2 Bod 'be' with cisiau 'needs· The lexeme hoc/ 'be' occurs in patterns which contain the noun eisiau 'needs'. Responsives to them can be formed by echoing the finite verb in the manner described in 2.2.2. But when boc/'be' occurs in the present tense, the indefinite form oes 'is' is an option which can be used as a general responsive to all persons, including definite ones: for instance. if the target contains ydy 'is', either ydy 'is' or oes 'is' can be used in the responsive. The following devised examples illustrate the possibilities: (56) a.

ydw i eisiau coffi? be+pres+ lsg I want coiTee 'do I want coiTec?' b. uyt I nac u:vt. be+pres+ 2sg neg be+ pres+ 2sg 'yes I no.' c. oes I nac oes. bc+pres+3sg neg be+prcs+ 3sg 'yes I no.' (57) a. wyt li eisiau coffi? bc+pres+ 2sg you want coiTce 'do you want coiTee?' b. ydw I nac ydw. be+prcs+ lsg neg be+ pres+ 1sg 'yes I no.' c. oes I nac oes. be+pres+ 3sg neg be+pres+3sg 'yes I no.'

84 Welsh echo responsives

(58) a.

b.

c.

(59) a.

b.

c. (60) a.

b.

c. (61) a.

b.

c.

ycly hi eisiau coffi? bc+prcs+ 3sg she want coffee 'docs she want coffee?' ydy I nac yc~v. be+ pres+ 3sg neg be+pres+ 3sg 'yes I no.' I nac oes. oes be+pres+ 3sg neg be+pres+ 3sg 'yes I no.' ni eisiau coffi? yc~vn bc+pres+ 1pi we want coffee 'do we want coffee?' I nac yc~vch. yclych be+prcs+2pl neg bc+pres+2pl 'yes I no. oes I nac oes. bc+pres+3sg neg be+pres+ 3sg 'yes I no.' yclych chi eisiau coffi? bc+prcs+2pl you want coffee 'do you want coffee?' yc~vn I nac yc~vn. be+ pres+ 1pi neg be+ pres+ 1pi 'yes I no.' oes I nac oes. bc+pres+ 3sg neg be+prcs+ 3sg 'yes I no.' ydyn' nhw eisiau coffi? be+pres+ 3pl they want coffee 'do they want coffee?' ydyn ' I nac yc~vn '. be+pres+3pl neg be+pres+3pl 'yes I no.' oes I nac oes. bc+prcs+3sg neg be+pres+ 3sg 'yes I no.'

Traditionalists may adopt a strong prescriptive stance against these patterns, and the use of the indefinite oes with definite subjects may be condemned. But the above illustrations reflect the possibilities in colloquial usage. In this study, the use of indefinite oes is viewed as a legitimate responsive to the type of eisiau pattern illustrated above. 41

J•im11s tifbocl 'be' 85

2. 5. 3 forms with or witlw111 -d-

In the present tense, dialectal variation allows a distinction to be made between stems of bod 'be· with -d- and those without. Northern dialects primarily use -dforms while southern dialects can use forms without -d-. A summary is provided in Figure I4. Thus we have, for instance. dw i 'I am' andy(~l'lllli 'we arc' in the north but w i 'I am' andy·,,; 'we arc· in the south. North em Singular

Plural

Soulhcm

I st 2ncl 3rd

ydw

o's

o 's

1st 2nd 3rd

J'l~l'/1

y'll y'ch

ll'

u:vt

ll)'/

nw ydy

nw yw

yt~vch ma'11

ma'11

ydy,·

y·,

(The vowel of the final syllable of the nnrthem disyllabic plural fonns can be [a) y, [£) e, [a] a in various dialects)

Fig11re 14. Present tense fonns of bod 'be' with and without-d-in the vemacular style

Thomas C.H. (I973/4) indicates that the Nantgarw dialect uses the distinction between forms with or without -d- to differentiate between positive and negative responsives. Figure IS summarizes the forms involved (presented here in orthographic form rather than the phonetic script of Thomas' original work); the indefinite forms have been added by myself for the sake of completeness. It can be seen that the hod 'be' forms in the negative responsives are identical to those in nonresponsives (with the exception of the third person m- forms, as previously discussed), i.e. forms without -d-. But the positive responsives use-d- forms (with the additional dialect feature of initial o; other dialects, have y - schwa). It is not the case that Thomas' account is typical of all southern dialects, especially in respect of the -d- forms which are also used in negative rcsponsives, and in positive and negative nonresponsives by some southern speakers. Northern dialects usc forms with -d- in responsives and nonresponsivcs and have schwa in the open ·initial syllable (although it can be dropped in vernacular speech in nonresponsives, e.g. ydy ~ 'dy, and in perfunctory responsives, particularly those delivered with ingressive air mechanism). 42

86 Welsh echo responsives

nonresponsive

I st 2nd Jrd

Sing.

I st 2nd Jrd

Plur.

responsive negative positive

w

odw

nag w

liJ'I ma

liJ'I

nag liJ'I nag yw

ody

yw

OI~V

a's

a's

nag yw nag o 's

y'n

Ol~~'n

nagy 'n

y'ch

oc~~·eh

nagy 'ell

ma 'n

Ol~l'n

nagy 'n

y 'n

OI~W/

nagy 'n

Figure 15. Present tense fom1s of hod 'be' with and without -d- in southern dialects

2.5.4 Negative forms ofthe present tense Some southern dialects have very distinctive forms of the present tense of bod 'be' when it occurs in negative sentences (see Thomas-Thomas 1989: 78-80 for details of forms and geographical distribution). In the corpus. the invariable negative forms s 'o. s 'a and sm 'o occur in place of the variant forms which inflect for person and number in other dialects. When rcsponsivcs arc given to these invariable forms. the variant forms of hod 'be' arc used. Examples from the corpus are: (62)

a.

b.

c.

MJ: s'o

isie hwnna? ti bc+prcs+neg you needs that 'don't you want that?' W: ydw. bc+prcs+ lsg 'yes.' IIi wedineucl clim byd heddi. G: s'o bc+prcs+ncg we perf do nothing today 'we haven't done an}1hing today.' A: nag y '11. neg be+ pres+ 1pl 'no. rhai gwyrdd. 1111' fod yn y S: s'o bc+prcs+neg they be in the ones green 'they're not supposed to be in the green ones.'

FomiS ofbod 'he ' 87

I:

na, nag y ·, '. neg neg be+pres+ 3pl 'no, no.'

d.

N:

s 'o

ni

·,

moyn hu'll.

be+pres+neg we prog want this 'we don't want this.·

A:

na

dyn.

neg be+ pres+ I pi 'no.·

It can be seen that the variant hod 'be' forms of the responsives recover the person and number features which are indicated in the targets by the subjects.

2.6 More about negative forms So far, three main formal types of responsives have been established along with minor nominal and adjectival ones. Each one has a negative version: verbal perfect nonecho nominal and adjectival

-

na +finite verb (e.g. nafydd 'neg will be') naddo nage na + rhaid 'necessity', gwaeth 'worse', gwiw 'filling'

In the corpus which is discussed in Chapter 6, all these negative responsives face competition from an additional realization of a responsive, namely the use of the negative particle 1w by itself. as in the following examples from the corpus: (63) a.

b.

MJ: cwningen 'dy hwnna? rabbit be+pres+ 3sg that 'is that a rabbit?' H: na. neg 'no.' MJ: uyl li 'n gwhod he 'c
88 Welsh echo responsi1•es

11id doctor yw hll'lllla, efe? q+tag not doctor be+ pres+ 3sg that 'he's not a doctor. is he?' R: na. neg 'no.' '11 gwhod he? d. A: 'li be+ pres+ 2sg+pro prog know what 'do you know what?' E: na. neg 'no. 'ti isio 1111'11? e. E: be+prcs+ 2sg+pro needs this 'do you want this?' H: na. neg 'no. 'r hac. e mas lnl'y f. W: cwmpodd fall+pcrf+ 2sg he out through the back 'he fell out through the back.' crash. R: 11a, 1111'11 getho ' neg this have+perf+ 3sg crash 'no, this one had a crash.· o? g. MJ: 11a 'th y tan•• redeg ar 'i ol do+pcrf+ 3sg the bull run on his track he 'did the bull run after him?' R: 11a. neg 'no.·

c.

G:

It is interesting to note that only na is used and not 11ac, for example: IUIC

.Vc/W

neg

be+pres+ 1sg

110 neg

Thus, where 11a occurs in place of a negative verbal responsive, it is not simply a matter of deleting the finite verb form. The base form of the negative particle is preferred to its phonologically conditioned equivalent. In this respect, it is reasonable to view na as an independent negative responsive. This usc of na is commented upon by Fynes-Ciinton ( 1913: 389), Greene (1972), King (1993: 325), Morris-Jones (1913: 423), and Thomas P.W. (1996:

Alore a hurl/ negati1•e [cm11s 89

522), which indicates that it is typical of the Welsh of mature speakers, too. Morris-Jones and Fyncs-Ciinton were writing at the beginning of this century and describe different styles of Welsh. Morris-Jones focuses on formal written Welsh, and is normally very conscious of differences between the vernacular and literary styles. It is highly significant that he should have made this observation about occurrences of na by itself without prescriptive comment. Fynes-Clinton concentrates on a local variety of spoken Welsh. He tells us that his work is based on the usage of older speakers and that his chief informants were variously born in the years 1835, 1839 and 1859, and that two of them were not able to speak English. Clearly, such speakers usc authentic speech patterns which take us back to the 19th century. The works of Morris-Jones and Fyncs-Ciinton suggest that na has been an established responsive in the vernacular for some time, and that contemporary popular censure of its usc may not be historically justifiable. 43

2.7 Summary 2. 7.1 Responsives Figure 16 provides a brief summary of the forms of the Welsh responsive system as described in 1.3 and in this chapter. The nominal responsives arc interesting in their own right but are minor systems both in terms of size of membership and actual usage. The major distinction is between nonecho and finite echo responsives. The finite system of responsives all repeat a feature of the finite verb of the target. Within this system, tense (and perfect aspect) controls the selection of either a verbal or perfect responsive. Within the verbal subsystem, the choice of an echo or substitute responsive is determined by types of verb lexemcs and inflectional characteristics. Further. in the case of the verbal responsives, there are other influences which determine their individual forms: person and number being the main factors, with additional considerations for the present tense of bod 'be'. Finally, with negative responsivcs, all the above have a single variant, namely na by Positive nonccho ....................................................... . verbal [full echo .. .. substitute .. finite [ perfect ...................... . echo [ nominal ...................................... .

ie verb guneucl

do nominal

Figrrre 16. A summary of the types of Welsh responsives

Negative

nage na verb 11a gwneud naddo na nominal

I I I I I

/Ill

na /Ill /Ill

na

90 ll'el.fll ecllo responsive.f

itself. The frequencies of these various types in the corpus are given in Tables 5 and 6 which are discussed in Chapter 6.

2.7.2 Tags The forms used as responsives are also used as question tags. Where a positive answer is expected. the main part of the sentence is positive and the particle yn is used before the responsive in the tag - see the (a) versions of the examples given in (64) to (68). If the responsive begins with a vowel, yn occurs as yncl. otherwise it occurs as yn (in formal styles, onicl and oni arc used respectively). Where a negative answer is expected, the main part of the sentence is negative. and the negative responsive is used in the tag- see the (b) versions in examples (64) to (68). Welsh tags can be summarized as in Figure 17. Expecting Negative Answer

Expecting Positive Answer nonecho .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ................ . .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ..

echo

full e~l10...... subslttutc .... perfect........................ nominal........................................ _ . [ hmle

[

verbal [

yncle yn verb yn g\meud ynclo yn nominal

llllge

verb /Ill g\\llCUd 1/aclclo 11a nominal /Ill

I I I I I

/Ill /Ill /Ill /Ia /Ia

(11te tag particles arc based on informal styles~ there are various reali7..ations of yncle, includingynde, ynte, 'cle, 'te, J71Ciefe, ylllefe, 'defe, 'tefe.)

Figure 17. A smmnary of the fonns of question tags

The following examples show how the selection of a tag follows the rules for the selection of a responsive: (64) a.

oedd

Mair yn

gweithio,

bc+pas+3sg prog work 'Mair was working, wasn't she'!' b.

cl

oeclcl

A/air clclim yn

gweilhio,

neg be+pas+ 3sg not prog work 'Mair wasn't working, was she?' (65) a.

enillilh

Jolm

he no,

tonight win+fut+3sg 'John will win tonight, won't he?'

ynd oeclcl? q-tag be+pas+3sg llCJC

oecld?

neg

be+pas+3sg

yn

gneilh?

q-tag do+fut+sg

SummUiy 91 b.

(66) a.

b.

(67) a.

b.

(68) a.

b.

enillith John clclim heno, win+fut+ Jsg not tonight 'John won't win tonight. will he?" enillodcl John neithiwr, win+perf+ Jsg last night ·John won last night, didn't he?' enillodcl John dclim neithiwr, win+perf+ Jsg not last-night 'John didn't win last night. did he?' waeth i ti aros, fitting to you+sg stay 'you might as well stay.' waeth i li heh og aros, fitting to you+sg without with stay 'you might as well not stay.' A/air oeclcl yn gweithio, be+pas+ Jsg prog work 'it was Mair who was working, wasn't it?' dim Moir oeclcl yn gweithio, not be+pas+ Jsg prog work 'it wasn't Mair who was working, was it?'

no neg

neith? do+fut+sg

.r11clo? yes 110clclo? no 110 neg

woeth fitting

110 neg

woeth fitting

ynte? q-tag nage? neg+q-tag

There is more to the use of Welsh tags than can be discussed here. There are dialectal differences in the formation of verbal tags which expect a negative response: in southern areas. the positive responsives can be used. Indeed, the positive responsives can also be used as tags with positive sentences, given appropriate intonation patterns. The responsives are the main concern of this study, and this brief account will suffice to indicate the similarities between tags and responsives.

3. Welsh echo and nonecho responsives

3.1 Introduction Welsh has a mixed system of echo and nonecho responsives, and the aim of this chapter is to explain the selection of either one or the other. Chapter I shows that a number of languages have mixed formal systems, and the question arises whether the choice of responsive is free or whether it is systematically determined. An example of the latter is found in the discussion in 1.2.3 which shows that some languages usc a nonecho responsive in the majority of exchanges but usc echo responsives in the context of responding to negative questions (this is the case with Chaha, Gwa. Harari. and Tigrinya. and illustrations can be found in Appendix Ill). This chapter shows that the Welsh echo and nonecho rcsponsives are also systematically related in a mutually exclusive relationship: the choice of one or the other is determined by syntactic form but this influence can be overridden by logical form. For simplicity, the account is presented in terms of the relationship between a responsive and the target sentence even though this relationship mainly goes through a sentence answer (or its equivalent when the target is not a question), as Chapter I shows. On the whole, traditional grammars of Welsh give a very narrow picture of the types of structures that can occur as targets for responsives. Echo and nonccho rcsponsives arc not systematically related in existing descriptions, and remarks about the latter are often brief appendages to observations on the echo responsives. The description of targets given in this study is based mainly on an analysis of the corpus which is discussed in Chapter 6 but it is also supplemented by my own experience of Welsh. However. judgement as to the appropriateness of the children's pairing of types of targets and responsives needs a set of norms against which the latter can be compared. Ideally, these norms should be based on comprehensive empirical descriptions of a wide variety of spontaneous mature Welsh. Unfortunately, despite the invaluable contributions of traditional grammarians, including Greene (1972) and Thomas C. H. ( 1973/4), such a range of descriptions does not exist. Judgements are therefore based on existing observations in the literature or, where the latter offer no guidance, on my own views. Rcsponsives arc generally discussed in terms of the relationship between an utterance by one speaker and a response by another speaker - the questionanswer pairing is a classic illustration. But interactive exchanges alone do not provide a complete account of rcsponsives, and this chapter will draw upon the emphasis that discourse analysis has placed upon all aspects of the context of language. These are outlined in Figure 18. It will be shown that targets for responsivcs relate to all these aspects of the discourse context of utterances. The most interesting data for the choice of either an echo or nonecho responsive in Welsh

94 Welsh echo am/ nrmeclw re.~pcmsil'e.~ textual

(endophoric)

situational "understood"

(exophoric) (pragmatic)

-preceding a responsive (anaphoric) -following a responsive (cataphoric)

Figure 18. General discourse sources of targets of responsives

is provided by interactive exchanges, both from the point of view of syntactic and logical form, and these arc discussed in 3.3 and 3.4. But the analysis considers first other aspects of the contexts of their use.

3. 2 Discourse sources 3. 2. I Situation Existing accounts of Welsh responsives mainly assume that they refer to an utterance which has already been delivered in discourse - particularly to a preceding question. The corpus shows, however, that rcsponsives can have nonverbal targets in the immediate situation of the speech event: either an action performed by one of the participants or an undirected event. Certain pronominal forms can make it clear that situational reference is involved, particularly the usc of fel hyn 'like this' or fel 'na 'like that', as in the following: (I)

D: rhaicl li neud fel hyn. must you do like this 'you must do like this.· ie, fel 'na. yes like that 'yes, like that.'

In this example, the speaker responds positively to an action performed by the addressee who appears to comply with the obligation laid down in the speaker's first utterance. Alternatively, there may be a visual reference in the text which indicates that the target is situational, as in:

J)i.~cow·se scmrce.f

95

G: edrych ar hu'll. look on this 'look at this.' R: oo, na. oh neg 'oh. no.· nage, G . no 'no, G-.·

(2)

In this example, something in the immediate situation. to which G- draws attention, brings disapproval from R. Other examples contain more direct reference to the situational target: R: na,

S-, 'ti 'm i Joel clwtsiad. neg be+pres+2sg+pro not to be to touch 'no, S-, you're not supposed to touch.·

(3)

Clearly, the speaker objects to S-'s touching something. But very often there are no textual indications that situational reference is involved, and it is the absence of any textual stimulus for the response which suggests that there is a situational target:

(4)

a.

b.

N: hei, 'ni 'n rhoi hey be+pres+ lpl+pro prog put 'hey, we put the medicine in this.' na, rho efo 1/uy. neg put+imp with spoon 'no, put (it) with a spoon.' D: ga' fi rhaco fe mas. let+imp I rake he out 'let me rake it out.' rhaca. rake+ imp 'rake (it).' na, paid mynd d 'r sand neg stop go with the sand 'no, don't take the sand from here.'

'r medisyn mewn hwnna. the medicine into that

o 'ma. from here

The transcriptional conventions of the corpus do not allow detailed statements to

be made about the prosodies of responses to situational targets. But it can be

96 Wl'isll echo ami t/OIIecllo responsives

added that the rcsponsives arc frequently accompanied by a paralinguistic form fo: ). written in the corpus as oo. in an exclamatory response. This type of target is not discussed in existing descriptions of Welsh and, consequently, there arc no guidelines as to which type of responsive is appropriate. It is my view that nonecho rcsponsivcs arc typically used to respond to situational targets. and it is this pairing that is taken to be the norm.

3. 2. 2 Text: interactive anclnoninteractive

Text, however, supplies the main source of targets. But here we need to exploit the distinction between interactive and noninteractivc relationships between utterances in text. i.e. whether the responsive relates to a target utterance which has been produced by another speaker and thus crosses exchange boundaries, or whether the responsive relates to a sentence which is produced by the same speaker within the same speaker's turn. Existing accounts of rcsponsives, in their discussion of questions and answers, emphasize interactive relationships: an answer responds to a preceding question which has been asked by another speaker. Noninteractivc uses of responsivcs are of two sorts. First, the corpus shows that rcsponsives have no target sentence other than the equivalent of a sentence answer which the responsive immediately accompanies. In the corpus, the responsive directly precedes the sentence-answer equivalent in exactly the same manner as happens when both respond to another speaker's utterance: (5)

S: 'ji dclim yn ho.f]i fe yn iawn, y meclsyn. be+prcs+ lsg+pro not prog like he adv right the medicine 'I don't like it really. the medicine.' om/ clw i 'di hyta fe. but am I perf cat he 'but I've eaten it.' 1: olreit. 'alright.· S: oes, raid i li fyta fe. is must for you cat he 'yes. you must cat it.'

In S's second turn. the responsive form oes does not respond to a previous target but relates only to its sentence-answer equivalent. This noninteraclive use of responsives docs not come under exchange. Bald (1980: 186-187) refers to an equivalent usc of English yes and no as the "summarizing function", whereby they supply "a one-word summary of the speaker's own statement". On the basis of

/Jiscour.fe sources 91

statistics from his corpus-based study, he suggests that. in this function, yes and arc usually noninitial. i.e. they arc positioned either immediately afier the sentence to which they relate or within it. However. this is not a strict distributional feature as he also provides examples from the corpus of initial positioning. Bald's summarizing function docs not really distinguish the noninteractive nontarget use of rcsponsivcs from their interactive usc when they answer yes-no questions. Nevertheless. Bald's summarizing function is a reasonable explanation as Chapter 1 has argued that interactive rcsponsivcs arc determined by sentence answers in the case of responses to positive questions. and on this basis they can be regarded as a one-word sununary of them. Indeed. Bald's examples in his article could be related to preceding utterances by another speaker. The important point about examples like (5) is that they have no obvious target in the surrounding discourse they arc nontarget as well as nonintcractive. Second, Bald (1980: 187) also refers to another nonintcractive use ofyes and 110 which he refers to as the "clarifying usc". It occurs when a speaker interrupts himself or herself as in the instance supplied by Bald (the prosodic markings in the original have not been retained and punctuation has been added): well, last year we had a din11er - llO, it was a jillalisls' reception, wasn 'I it, in which ... According to Bald. "the speaker has clarified his thoughts (or words)". Both the summarizing and clarifying use are noninteractivc. but there is an important difference between them. The clarifying usc has a target (last year we had a dinner) whereas the summarizing usc docs not, except for the sentence-answer equivalent which determines its form. Bald's example could be expanded to contain the equivalent of a sentence answer: well, last year we had a dinner ... no, it wasn 'I, it was a finalists' reception, wasn 'I it ... Although the target for no in these examples is a nonintcractivc one. the relationship between it and the responsive is the same as that which exists with interactive targets. The speaker is contradicting or correcting himself or herself just as he or she would contradict or correct a different speaker. This can be regarded as self-exchange as discussed in 2.3.1. In the summarizing function. the responsive relates only to the equivalent of the sentence answer which determines its polarity. But examples like (5) could be said to involve an understood target. That is. a speaker can produce a responsive without an actual target. but as if such a target has been given. Examples like (5), which appear to pre-empt questions. statements. and commands. rely upon an assumed target. It can be seen as a rhetorical device in the tradition of persuasive spoken discourse, as mentioned in 1.1.4. The grammatical characteristics of this understood target can be inferred from the response. Williams S.J. (1959: 198199) notes this use in literary examples in respect of the perfect and nonccho responsives only, and says that they have an emphatic function. The summarizing function, however, is available to all types of responsivcs.

110

98 Welsh echo anclnoneclw respmui\'1!.~

The type of responsive that is appropriate depends upon the syntactic characteristics of the sentence which it accompanies, as in the following devised illustrations: (6)

a.

yclw, clw i '11 mynd i egluro 11awr. am am I prog go to explain now 'yes. I'm going to explain now.· b. nacldo, 11esh i clclim 'i dorri o. no did I not his break he 'no. I didn · t break it.· na i cldim ~ymucl o c. IW 11af, neg do+fut+ I sg do+fut+ I sg I not move from 'no. I won't move from here.· d. ie, fi ~v 'n myncl yfory. yes I is prog go tomorrow 'yes, it's me who's going tomorrow.'

'ma. here

The choices in (6a--c) depend upon the properties of the finite verb in ways which are described in Chapter 2. and the choice of the nonecho responsive in (6d) is explained in 3.3.1. In the case of oes in (5). its selection is determined by a combination of factors which are explained in the discussion of rhaicl 'necessity' in 1.3.1., the indefinite copular responsive in 2.5.1. and ellipsis in 3.3.4 in this chapter.

3. 2. 3 Interactive targets: specific a11d general

Interactive targets in the corpus arc of two sorts. Firstly, there arc those which can be identified as a specific utterance; for instance, as in this question and answer exchange:

(7)

R: 'ti

'n bc+prcs+2sg+pro pred 'arc you ready?' S: 11ag w. neg am 'no.

barod? ready

But there are also instances where a specific utterance is difficult to isolate and where it is more reasonable to sec a piece of continuous text as the target. There arc fairly clear-cut examples where two sentences are coordinated:

Discortrse sortrces 99

(8)

G: fvdda'

'n mynd mire ('n 6/) will+be I prog go home (in track) Til be going back home.' a 'li 'n mynd aclre. and be+pres+2sg+pro prog go home 'and you go home.· J: ia. 'yes.·

But there are also instances where it is difficult to pick out specific ul!erances and the anaphoric stimulus of the responsive is indeterminate:

(9)

S: na, 'ji 'n neud cwpaned o de. neg be+pres+ lsg+pro prog make cupful of tea 'no. I· m making a cup of tea.· oo, 'ji 'n gweld beth 'ti 'n oh be+pres+ I sg+pro prog see what be+ pres+ 2sg+pro prog meddwl am v cracie. mean about the cracks 'oh. I sec what you mean about the cracks.· 1: ie, one/ 'ti 'n lim #. yes but be+pres+ 2sg+pro prog #m 'yes. but you#.· ie, mae 'n II. yes is prog 'yes, it's#.'

To some extent, indeterminacy may be an analytic problem: that is, the speaker may have had a target in mind but the text does not make it obvious to the analyst. But we should not rule out the possibility that indeterminacy is deliberate in that the speaker is offering a responsive which is intended to refer generally to the drift of a preceding piece of text. This use of responsives is also auested in a corpusbased study of English responsives by Bald ( 1980: 183, 185-186 ), and is referred to in Thomas P. W.'s (1996: 522) reference grammar on Welsh. Existing accounts of Welsh responsives do not discuss general textual targets and, in the absence of any guidelines, I suggest that nonecho responsives are appropriate for this type of target. However, in the case of two coordinated clauses Whose form is similar, there may be the possibility that their syntax determines the choice of either a nonecho or echo responsive. The influence of syntax on the choice of responsive is discussed below.

I 00 Wel.fll echo and noneclw responsi\•e.f

3. 2.4 Summm:v Table I gives the frequencies of occurrence of the different types of targets in the corpus. Despite missing data of nearly 10%. by far the most frequent targets for responsivcs arc specific interactive ones. and they arc discussed in the remainder of this chapter. Situation - which is a significant factor in early language acquisition - is dominated by textual relationships within the age range of three years to seven years (age is considered in greater detail in Chapter 7). Despite these frequencies. the situational and nonintcractivc uses of rcsponsives remind us that existing accounts of Welsh responsivcs fail to recognize their role both in responding to actions I events and in signalling the polarity of a sentence which is about to be delivered (with the exception of a brief note in Williams S.J. 1959: 198-199 about the latter). Table l shows that specific utterances greatly outnumber pieces of running text as targets. Because of their very low numbers. any doubts about the anal}1ie accuracy of rcsponsives to chunks of text do not present any great problems for an analysis in statistical terms. But such responses indicate how indeterminate language can be. and how difficult it sometimes is in practical terms to analyse corpora. Table 1. Frequencies of the discourse contexts of targets for respnnsives

Discourse contexts Situational Specific anaphoric Chunk anaphoric Cataphoric Missing data Total

Frequencies

453 7514 31 8 835 8841

The account can now go on to consider types of specific interactive targets and their pairings with types of rcsponsives. It is in this area that we see the influence of the syntax of targets on rcsponsives.

Sylllaclic fomr 10 I

3 .3 Syntactic form 3.3. 1 Finite sentences andji-onting

The nature of the verb and the ordering of sentence clements in targets is the most interesting influence on the choice of responsive. Where the target is a finite clause, the selection of an echo or nonecho responsive is determined by the word order of the target. Echo rcsponsivcs arc used to respond to finite clauses of normal word order, as in example ( 10), while nonccho responsivcs arc used to respond to finite clauses which do not exhibit the primary characteristics of normal word order, as in examples (I la-b): Fronted

Verb Subject

Pro g. Vcrbnoun·1·1 yn

canu? sing

(II) a.

Mair

yn

Calli/?

b.

camt

oecld A/air was oedd was oeclcl A/air

(10)

sing --?

oecld l11ac oedcl neg was was lnage ie yes no ie I nage yes no

(10) = 'was Mair singing?- yes I no'

(lla) = 'was it Mair who was singing?- yes I no' (lib)= 'singing was Mair?- yes I no' In (lla), the subject Mair has been moved from its normal position after the finite verb to the beginning of the sentence. In (lib), the main verb has been moved from its position after the progressive aspect marker Y" to initial position (note that the aspect marker Y" is deleted in this context). In this work, the terms fronted or inverted will be used to refer to all sentences which do not exhibit normal word order. For the purposes of this study, word order will be characterized in terms of the central constituents of auxiliary verb (if present), subject, main verb, complement. and adjuncts. The occurrence of conjuncts and disjuncts will be ignored as they present complexities of analysis and statement which arc beyond the scope of this work. 45 It can be said that normal order in a finite sentence is characterized by a finite verb (auxiliary or main verb) in initial position, followed by a subject (which .may be covert in formal styles at least). From subject position onwards, clause structure can vary in ways which are not relevant to the aims of this study and which are too complex to describe briefly. Targets based on this normal configuration call for the use of echo responsivcs in ways discussed in the previous chapter (that is, a full echo responsive, a substitute responsive, or a perfect responsive).

I 02 Welsh echo and mmeclw respmui1•es

If the target of a responsive is a fronted sentence then the initial element is no longer a finite verb. For the sake of illustration. any initial phrase which is not a finite verb can be labelled as a fronted phrase in order to cover the variety of phrases which can be fronted. Any fronted question should be answered positively by ie and negatively by nage, and not by repeating the finite verb form in the manner of echo responsives. Fronting is a common and productive process in Welsh. In traditional grammars, the terms mixed (GJ'IIIysg) and abnormal (mmormal) arc employed to differentiate different types of fronted sentences. Such distinctions as may be involved will not be discussed here (but sec Thomas C.H. 1982 for views on the possibilities in a particular dialect). Further. there is the possibility that fronted sentences in the contemporary language can be attributed different functions related to the information structure of the clause. such as focus. emphasis, and contrastive emphasis.·1~

The distinction between normal and fronted sentences is implicitly referred to in existing accounts of rcsponsivcs. But. in the main. it is the preverbal particles which occur in interrogatives in formal styles that are explicitly commented upon. In formal styles, the rules arc as follows: normal-order yes-no interrogatives are preceded by a or oni(d} - the latter expects an affirmative responsive: ii. fronted yes-no interrogatives arc preceded by ai or onid - the latter again expects an affirmative responsive.

1.

Thus. it is common to find explanations which say that echo responsives are used to answer interrogatives which arc introduced by the preverbal particles a or oni(d). whereas nonccho rcsponsives are used to answer interrogatives which arc introduced by the particles ai or onicl (Anwyl 1898: 70; Morris-Jones 1922: 184, 187; Richards 1938: 110-115: Williams S.J. 1959: 197-199; and also Gregor 1980: 220-222). Existing accounts arc aware. of course. that, in formal styles, the first pair are used with normal order while the second pair arc used with fronted patterns. But it needs an explicit reference to word order to account for the usc of rcsponsivcs in all styles.

3.3. 2 Demonstrative clauses In addition to finite sentences. Welsh also has a demonstrative pattern based on 'here I this is·, c~vna 'there I that is· and dacw 'yonder I that is'. According to Morris-Jones ( 1913: 440; 1931: 188-189), these patterns are historically derived from imperatives involving the verbnoun gweld 'sec' and locative proforms yma 'here·, yna 'there· and acw 'yonder'. For instance, dyma comes from weli di c~vma

Sylllactic [om1 I03

yma 'you sec here'. Existing accounts of Welsh do not consider demonstrative clauses as targets for responsivcs. My own experiences are that the nonccho responsives are used to respond to these patterns: c~vna clcligoll? that's enough 'that's enough?' b. ie. 'yes.' c. 11age. 'no. 1111 Sim1? clyma d. here's one 'here's I this is Sion's?' ie. c. 'yes.' nage. f. 'no.' clacw Sion? g yonder+ is 'there's I that is Sion?' h. ie. 'yes.' i. nage. 'no.'

(12) a.

In the absence of a finite verb on which to model a responsive, it is not surprising that the nonecho rcsponsivcs arc used to respond to demonstrative clauses.

3.3.3 Subordination

Generally speaking, independent clauses are the usual targets for responsives but there are instances of a responsive being directed at a subordinate clause. Both traditional types of subordinate clause are involved, namely noun clauses and adverbial clauses. The former are in the minority but there are clear instances of them where the responsive is directed at the noun clause and not the main clause:

I 04 Welsh ec/10 and nonecho responsil•es

(13) a.

MJ: o 'n i 'n was I prog

y

meddwl hod dadi yn think

be

{rhoi} dodi papur ar

daddy prog {put} put paper on

wal.

the wall 'I thought daddy put paper on the wall.' S:

yndy. is 'yes.'

b.

J:

mae 'n

siwr hod 'na

dw/1 yna.

is pred sure be there hole there 'it's certain that there's a hole there.'

drycha. look+imp 'look.'

A:

oes? is 'yes?'

c.

D:

s'a

i 'n

am+neg I prog

hob

credu

bod digon

believe be

o 1/e

Janna i

enough of room there for

un.

every one 'I don't believe that there's enough room there for each one.'

M:

oes. is 'yes.'

In the case of noun clauses, the traditional choice of responsive is determined by the syntax of the clause. The above examples. however, show another idiosyncratic characteristic of bod 'be'. In noun clauses, the overt realizations of the present tense and the past imperfect tense in the forms of bod 'be' are lost, and the verbnoun form hod occurs instead of the finite forms. The responsive, however, recovers the finite features, and this pairing of nonfinite and finite forms provides another unique aspect of hod 'be' to add to those given in 2.5.1. The adverbial clauses arc different in two ways. First, they can occur without a main clause, which is omitted through ellipsis:

Sy11tactic fomr I05

(14) a.

S:

mewn yn 'o fo ltejjocl.

pt-pt

dan ni 'n

in

are we prog pee-pee into 'we pee-pee in it also.'

he also

MJ: na! neg 'no!' S:

yndan. are 'yes.·

MJ: i

he'?

for what 'what for?' ((laughter))

R:

hod ni isio.

gan

because be we needs 'because we want to.·

S:

ie.

0:

ac

'yes.

b.

o 'dd ni wedi

mynd ar gu:vlie.

on holidays and was we perf go 'and we had gone on holidays.'

ac

yn

o 'dd pawh

siarad Cymraeg 'na.

and was everyone prog spoke Welsh 'and everyone spoke Welsh there.' 0 ? MJ: yn 1/e, in where 'where, 0-?'

0:

{yn}

lt'

i

'm

gwhod.

yn

{in} am I not prog 'I don't know.'

MJ: pan

oeddet ti

know

ar dy

uylie?

you on your holidays when was 'when you were on your holidays?'

0:

ie. 'yes.'

there

I 06 Welsh echo anclnoneclw responsil•es

c.

A: F:

A:

o 'del hon yn ea.~y gal off was this pred easy to get off 'this was easy to get off. ' 'n gwbocl. 'fi be+pres+ 1sg+pro prog know 'I know. achos 11/l pisyn yw e. because one piece is he 'because it's one piece.· ie. 'yes.'

But there are some examples in the corpus where the adverbial clause is accompanied by its main clause: (15) a.

b.

E: ma ' hwn i Joel mynd y11 Janna is this to be go in there 'this is supposed to go in there.' aclros mai I ant• yc~v e. because comp bull is he 'because it's a bull.' R: ie. 'yes.' R: ma ' Je 'n clechre stopid nawr is he prog begin stop now 'it's starting to stop now.' aclros 1111' wecli mynd d gycl o 'r sane/ because they perf go with all of the sand o 'r beach. from the beach 'because they've taken all the sand from the beach.' W: na, ma' lot 'ma. neg is lot here 'no, there's a lot here.'

The problem with this type is that it is not always clear to the analyst whether the responsive is aimed at the main clause or the subordinate clause (the second example \vould appear to be aimed at the subordinate clause but the first example is open to either interpretation). Second, with both attached and detached adverbial clauses, I suggest that nonecho responsives are the appropriate choice of responsive (existing accounts do not discuss this type of pairing).

Syntactic [01111 I07

Table 2 gives the frequencies of targets which arc clauses in complex sentences, or which occur unaccompanied by a main clause. As can be seen, overall, there are very few instances which are targets of rcsponsives (of the total of 7514 specific targets, they amount to only 0.64%). But the statistics reveal that the majority of them are unaccompanied adverbial clauses. In the case of accompanied clauses, reference has already been made to the difficulty of identifying the target in some instances, and the statistics of ten main clause targets and five subordinate targets are based on my own judgements. Table 2. Main and subordinate clauses as targets for responsives Frequencies

Clauses

10

Main Subordinate, attached

5

Subordinate, detached

33

Total

48

3.3.4 Ellipsis: auxilim:vless and verbless fragments

As well as finite sentences (both normal and fronted), we must also recognize two reduced patterns. namely auxiliaryless fragments and verbless fragments: Auxiliary (16) a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

Y(~v

Subject

Pro g.

11/Cl/11

VII

mam

yn yn

Verbnoun

Adjunct

mynd mynd mynd mynd mynd?

heno? heno? heno? heno?

mam? heno?

mother tonight go is ( 16)a ='is mother going tonight?' b ='mother going tonight?' d ='going?' c ='going tonight?' g ='tonight?' f = 'mother?'

I08 Jl'elslr eclro am/ noneclro responsives

These terms arc used to refer to patterns in discourse and not to catcgorial units in the formalized grammatical stmcturc of sentences. 47 These patterns arc the product of situational and textual influences which reduce fuller forms of finite sentences. Finite, auxiliaryless and verbless patterns arc characterized by the presence or absence of finite and nonfinite main verbs: a finite sentence contains a finite verb as in (16a); an auxiliaryless sentence lacks a finite verb but contains a nonfinite main verb as in (16b-c); and a verbless sentence lacks both a finite verb and a nonfinite main verb as in (16f-g). In cases of simple verbal patterns unaccompanied by an auxiliary, the main verb is also the finite verb and occurs initially. as in the following devised illustration: (17)

eith mam heno? go+fut+3sg mother tonight 'will mother go tonight?'

But where an auxiliary is used, the latter assumes finite form in initial position and the main verb then occurs in a post-subject position as a vcrbnoun. Thus. the example in (16a) above contains the finite auxiliary verb ydy 'is' and the nonfinitc main verb mynd 'go·. The examples (16b-e) show ellipsis of the auxiliary but the retention of the main verb: the ellipsis of other items produces further subtypes of auxiliarylcss patterns which arc not relevant to the discussion here. The further ellipsis of the main verb produces verbless patterns as in (16f-g) above. Examples of auxilial)•less and verbless targets from the corpus arc as follows: (18) a.

b.

c.

MJ: hoi yn hrifo? stomach prog hurt 'stomach hurting?' M: ie. 'yes.' S: pori. 'graze.' M: ie. 'yes. E: we eli Kll'ertlm nhw, do? perf sell they yes 'sold them, yes?' A: do. 'yes.'

Sy11tactic [om1 I 09

d.

e.

f.

(19) a.

b.

c.

d.

c.

G:

hwnna fod Janna. that be there 'that (is) supposed to be there.' N: na. neg 'no.' H: dau o Ill n neud o. two of we prog do he 'two of us doing it.' M: na. neg 'no.' oluyn c/im yn troi. G: wheel not prog turn 'wheel not turning.' gwbocl. H: na, c/w i 'n neg am I prog know 'no, I know.' S: cangant•. 'kangaroo.' ie. 1: 'yes.' E: mas. 'out.' A: nage. 'no.' M: ond neb arail. but nobody other 'but nobody else.' H: ie. 'yes.' H: hain allan. these out 'these out.' A: ie. 'yes.' A: a bali yn y toilets. and "barlic" in the toilets 'and "barlie" [=truce] in the toilets.' S: ie. 'yes.'

II 0 ll'elslr eclro ami IICmeclro responsi,•es f.

R:

E:

hach. 1111 one lillie 'a lillie one.· ie. 'yes.'

To some extent. a choice of either echo responsive or nonecho responsive is possible with auxiliaryless and verbless pallerns. This can be explained as follows. On the one hand, these reduced pallerns do not contain a finite verb in initial position and, in the absence of a model in the target to form an echo responsive, the responder can therefore choose one of the nonecho responsives. On the other hand, the responder can draw upon his or her grammatical knowledge of the language to recover the full forms of the reduced patterns. and model the responsive on the finite verb form which they would otherwise contain in initial position. The following devised example illustrates the possibilities: (20)

a.

fuyt ti 'n cynn:vd ] siwgr? rare you prog take 1 sugar '[do you] take sugar?' (retains the reduced version as target) b. ie I nage . 'yes I no.' (recovers the full version as target) c. ydw I nac ydw am neg am 'yes I no.·

In the case of situationally-conditioned ellipsis, as opposed to textuallyconditioned ellipsis. the process of recovery is difficult for the analyst to observe empirically. To some degree, the extent of ellipsis may influence the possibilities of recovery. In the case of auxiliaryless pallerns, if the subject and aspect marker remain, there may be a greater tendency to recover the auxiliary as an echo responsive, as in the following devised example: (21) a.

1110111 yn 111ynd? mother prog go 'mother going?'

b. yc~v. is 'yes.' c. nac yc~v. neg is 'no.'

Syntactic fonn Ill

If the perfect aspect marker wedi 'after' occurs, the perfect rcsponsi\'es can be used, as in ( 18c) and the following devised example: (22) a.

b. c.

mam wecli mynd? mother perf go 'mother gone?' do. 'yes.' naddo. 'no.'

The option to recover material to use an echo responsive may thus depend upon the amount of material which has been reduced. It is seen in Chapter 6 that nonecho responsivcs arc used more frequently than echo responsivcs to respond to verbless targets.

3.3.5 Responsives as targets

When a responsive occurs in the discourse, it can itself be a target for another responsive. This applies to all types of responsivcs and also to na by itself. The following are typical examples: (23) a.

b.

c.

G: na dw. neg be+pres+ lsg 'no.' H: nag uyt. neg be+pres+2sg 'no.' S: nac y(~v. Tad. neg is Father (heavenly Father, used as reinforcing exclamation) 'no, of course.' T: yndy, Tad. is Father (heavenly Father, used as reinforcing exclamation) 'yes, of course.' S: neith? do+fut+3sg 'yes?' T: neilh. do+fut+3sg 'yes.'

112 ll'el.fh echo a/lei noneclw responsives

d. E: do? 'yes?' A: do. 'yes. c. P: naddo. 'no. L: do, Tad. 'yes. of course.' f. M: ie, H-? 'yes, H-?' H: ie. 'yes.' g. E: nage. 'no.' H: ie. 'yes. h. S: na. neg 'no.' A: ie. 'yes.· Responsivcs can be used to respond to other responsivcs for the same reasons that they arc used to respond to other targets. The reasons arc discussed in Chapter 4, and. anticipating that discussion, the functional relationships behveen rcsponsives in targets and responses can involve agreements, disagreements, answers, and questions. The targets arc themselves responses to other targets, and it is possible to have quite long sequences of exchanges involving rcsponsivcs as both responses and targets: (24)

habi. S: dim c:luli oedd y not you was the baby 'it's not you who was the baby.' T: v cldau ohonon ni. the two of+2pl we 'both of us.' S: oo,na. oh neg 'oh, no. T: ie. 'yes.'

.~mtactic Jon11

113

S: na. neg 'no.' T: ie. 'yes. S: na. neg 'no. T: ie. 'yes.' S: na. neg 'no.' T: ie. 'yes.' S: fydd neb yn fahi will+be noone pred baby 'no one will be a baby now.'

'wan. now

The choice of a responsive to respond to another responsive is influenced by factors already discussed. Basically, responsives which are targets determine responsives of their own kind: verbal responsives determine verbal ones, nonecho ones determine nonecho responsives. and perfect ones determine perfect responsives. The occurrence of na as a target comes under the discussion of ellipsis, as it is possible for a responder to retain it as a reduced responsive expression or to recover its full form.

3.3.6 Echo questions and pardon questions

The corpus shows that there are two other sorts of interrogatives which play special roles in controlling discourse and which. if these special roles are not taken into consideration, appear to contradict the conventional relationships between targets and their responsives, outlined previously. The first of these are echo questions where a speaker. perhaps in order to win lime or possibly to express surprise, simply repeats the whole or part of a question which has been asked of him I her. A responsive can be used by the first questioner to confirm that the Qriginal question was correctly heard:

114 Welsh echo ami nonecho re.fpmuive.f

(25) a.

b.

heth .~w pee/war? what is four 'what is four?' G: pee/war? 'four?' H: ia. 'yes.· 0: prycl hydd o 'n gweithio? when will+bc he prog work 'when will he be working?' MJ: pryd? 'when?' 0: ie. 'yes.· H:

Such questions are proper targets for responsivcs. The judgement here is that nonecho rcsponsives arc the appropriate type to usc. Echo questions can also be formed by using a responsive. and these are discussed in 4.3. Pardon questions can also produce a responsive. Thus. if a responsive has not been properly heard. a pardon question can elicit its reproduction (pardon questions arc sometimes referred to as loops). The usual forms used for pardon questions arc based on beth 'what' - either beth or its contracted version be ': (26)

8: 'eli

ffeintio, ia? perf faint yes 'fainted. yes?'

E: llaci. 'no.· 8: he'? 'what?' E: naci. 'no.· But the paralinguistic forms spelled in the corpus as mm. ee and JY can also occur as pardon questions:

.~\'lllactic jon11

(27)

115

R: alia' i roi lywod i

li wec~v11? can I give sand to you after 'can I give you sand after?' S: 11a chei. neg havc+fut+2sg 'no.' R: xv? 'uh?' S: na chei. neg have+fut+2sg 'no.'

There is no systematic relationship between pardon questions and responsives: they recover a responsive to a previous target and it is the latter which determines the type of responsive. If a question is asked but the answer is not given, the paralinguistic forms given above can also be used to prompt a response, as in the following devised illustration: (28)

Speaker A:

n:vt li '11 aros? arc you prog stay 'are you staying?'

mm? Speaker B:

'mm?' ydw. am 'yes.'

But there are no instances of responsivcs to prompts like this in the corpus.

3.4 Logical form In this section we shall consider instances of the usc of the nonccho responsives in contexts where, according to the analyses which have been presented in Chapter 2 and this chapter, their occurrences cannot be predicted by syntactic rules. We can, however, explain the selection of nonecho rcsponsives by referring to logical form: specifically, in terms of illocutionary force and truth value. The influence of either syntactic form or logical form on responsives is not unique to Welsh. It is shown in 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 that some languages usc responsives according to syntactic form when they respond to positive sentences but according to logical form, Specifically truth value, when they respond to negative questions. The details of

116 ll'el.fh echo ancllwlwclw resprm.fil•es

the influence of logical form on Welsh rcsponsives arc different. but its influence in Welsh reflects a general role that it plays in the usc of rcsponsivcs universally.

3. .J.I Jllocutionm}1 force lllocutionary force is chiefly associated with the work of J.L. Austin and J.R. Searle. especially Austin ( 1962) and Searle ( 1969). It is now widely established in linguistic approaches to the semantics of natural languages. This study is concerned with illocutionary force only to the extent that it helps to explain Welsh responsivcs. and it docs not discuss all the issues and complexities which are associated with it.·'H In outline. illocutionary force can be said to account for aspects of semantic differences between utterances which have the same syntactic form and the same propositional content. To take a classic illustration. I'll see you outside after the meeting can be uttered as a prediction. a promise. an offer or a threat. These latter meanings are said to be based on different types of illocutionary force. In this light. illocutionary force is often explained as reflecting the speaker's intended influence on the actions or state of the addressee. The fact that different types of illocutionary force can be attributed to a constant syntactic form make this concept especially suitable for explaining the choice of either a nonccho or echo responsive. It is shown below that there arc certain syntactic contexts which. on the basis of syntactic ndes, predict an echo or nonecho responsive but which supply counter-examples on the basis of actual usage. There arc three such contexts: a certain usc of the future tense: beth 'what' questions; finite imperatives. The usc of illocutionary force to explain differences of response is also found in the literature. Davison (1975: 160) shows that questions with differences in illocutionary force vary as to the appropriateness of using yes and no. and Chierchia-McConneii-Ginet (1990: 175-176) also show that declarative sentences with pcrformative illocutionary force, such as you're fired, cannot be challenged with yes and no as can descriptive statements (or constatives as they were originally termed by Searle). Likewise, the usc of Welsh responsives in the above contexts can be explained in terms of illocutionary force, as the following discussion shows. The future tense. when it is carried either by a lexical verb or the auxiliary gwneud, can be assigned a number of meanings. With the majority of them, the formation of a responsive follows the conventions described above. In both simple and periphrastic patterns, a verbal responsive occurs: in informal Welsh, this gen-

Logicalj"o1n1 117

erally means that gwneud echoes itself or occurs as a substitute responsive for a lexical verb: (29) a.

b.

c.

(30) a.

b.

c.

(31) a.

b.

c.

(32) a.

b.

c. (33) a.

mi lawilh (hi) yfory. pt rain+fut+3sg (she) tomorrow 'it will rain tomorrow.· gneilh. do+fut+3sg 'yes.' na neilh. neg do+fut+3sg 'no.' mi neilh (hi} lawio fory. pt do+fut+ 3sg (she) rain tomorrow 'it will rain tomorrow.' gneith. do+fut+3sg 'yes.' ncz neilh. neg do+fut+ 3sg 'no.' he/pith Mair dc/im. help+fut+ Jsg not 'Mair won't help.' gneilh. do+fut+3sg 'yes.' na neilh. neg do+fut+ 3sg 'no.' neith Mair ddim helpu. do+fut+3sg not help 'Mair won't help.' gneith. do+fut+3sg 'yes.' na neith. neg do+fut+ 3sg 'no.' chychwynilh y car ddim. start+fut+3sg thecar not 'the car won't start.'

118 Welsh echo and noneclm reJponsive.f

b. gneilh. do+fut+3sg 'yes.' c. na neilh. neg do+fut+3sg 'no.· (34) a. neit/1 y car ddim cychuyn. do+fut+ 3sg the car not start 'the car won't start.' b. gneilh. do+fut+3sg 'yes.· c. na neilh. neg do+fut+ 3sg 'no.' These examples can be associated respectively with the plain, or possibly, predictive future in (29) and (30), with animate volition in (31) and (32), and with "inanimate volition'' (for want of a better expression) in (33) and (34). 49 But there is one use of the future tense where the normal conventions for the formation of responsives do not apply, namely its usc in interrogatives where the speaker seeks the approval or sanction of the addressee for the performance of an action: (35) a.

b. c. (36) a.

b. c.

i ·,. agora flenest? opcn+fut+ I sg I the window 'shall I open the window?' ie. 'yes. nage. 'no. I!Cl i agor y flenest? do+fut+ lsg I open the window 'shall I open the window?' ie. 'yes. nage. 'no.'

With this usc. as the above examples demonstrate, the appropriate responsive is a nonecho one and not a verbal one (neither full echo nor substitute). Speech-act theory and the logical form of the sentence provide an explanation. Useful discussion on both points can be found in Lyons (1977, 2: 725-745, 749-

Logical fomr 119

751 ). The significant point is that an abstract analysis of the functions of a sentence can distinguish between its propositional content and the speech act which is achieved in delivering the utterance. In the case of sentences involving an appeal to the addressee as above, we can distinguish between the physical action to be performed which is denoted by the propositional content of the sentence, and the speaker's need to subject that action to the addressee's approval which is in the speech act. The question relates to the latter and not to the former. That is, the question docs not ask whether an event will occur in the manner of a plain or predictive future or whether an action will be fulfilled in the case of animate and inanimate volition; rather, it seeks approval for the doing of the action. It can be argued that the verbal responsive is used where the question relates to the event or action contained in the proposition. But the nonccho responsive is used where the speech act is one which seeks. through elicitation. the addressee's approval. The difference between these two can be seen in the following two devised contexts. First, suppose that an individual has heard about a very sad and moving film from an acquaintance who has already seen it. In this case. that individual can ask the acquaintance to predict whether he or she will be moved to tears; and the acquaintance can venture a judgement as follows:

(37) a.

IW

do+fut+lsg 'willl cry?'

i wio? I cry

b. gnei. do+fut+2sg 'yes.·

c.

na

nei.

neg do+fut+2sg 'no.' In the second situation. suppose that the same individual is about to face a friend who is expected to relate a sad experience. Out of propriety, that individual considers that it might be appropriate to force a sympathetic tear or two, but is uncertain and seeks the approval of the same acquaintance:

(38) a.

na'

i grio?

do+fut+ lsg I cry 'shall I cry?' b.

ie. 'yes.'

c. nage. 'no.'

120 JVelsh echo and nonecho responsi1•es

The purposes of the two questions are different, and this accounts for the selection of a nonecho or verbal responsive (Lyons 1977, 2: 755 follows the convention of referring to questions like (37) as information-seeking or factual questions and to those in (35), (36) and (38) as deliberative questions; and Anwyl 1899: 104 briefly considers the forms which can fulfill the latter in Welsh, including the future tense). A purposeful semantic analysis of the future tense could examine these issues in far greater detail than given above. The basic descriptive points given above arc sufficient for the aims of this study, which are primarily concerned with the usc of forms. Generally speaking, beth 'what' questions are not targets for responsives but there arc such pairings in the corpus. Some examples would appear to be the product of performance errors, and arc probably the result of the speaker responding as if a polar question had been asked: (39) a.

b.

neud? MJ: be dach chi wedi hod yn you perf be prog do what are 'what have you been doing?' do. A: 'yes. neud mel? MJ: Sill ma 'r gwenyn yn prog make honey the bees how is 'how do bees make honey?' G: y<(v. is 'yes.'

But others remain obscure. There arc only seven instances in the whole of the corpus. More interestingly, there are types of beth 'what' questions which can draw forth a responsive. Firstly, there is the type which begins with beth am ... 'what about ... ' and can be followed by either a verbnoun phrase, as in (40a), or noun phrase, as in (40b): (40) a.

Janna? roid petha 1m•' S: beth am what about put things through there 'what about putting things through there?' T: ia. 'yes.'

Logical form 121

b

D: beth am hun? what about this 'what about this?' M: oo,na. oh neg 'oh, no.·

Such targets are not considered by existing accounts of Welsh rcsponsivcs. In my judgement, nonccho rcsponsivcs arc the appropriate responsive for them. Secondly, there are clause-initial examples of beth 'what' which head a conditional clause which contain the so-called pluperfect or imperfect tense to convey unreality or tcntativity. The corpus supplies one example of beth 'what' with the conditional conjunction pe 'if or os 'if omitted (which is common in spoken Welsh in this context): (41)

H: he' 'san ni 'n claddu bws 'wan? what bc+plup+ I pl we prog bury bus now 'what if we buried a bus now?'

ia? 'yes?'

ia, beth am

raid y

bws yn Janna?

yes what about put the bus in there 'yes, what about putting the bus there?' There is also an example involving pam 'why' and the future tense forms in a simple verb in a negative sentence (pamna ... 'why not ... '):

(42)

MJ: pam na newch chi aros? why neg do+fut+2g you stay 'why don't you stay?' S: na, :2 ma' isio brat i [vncl i (vwod. neg is needs apron to go to sand 'no, you need an apron to go in the sand.'

They arc not considered in existing accounts of Welsh responsives, but it is judged here that the appropriate responsive is the nonecho type. Discussions of questions and answers are typically presented within a frame. work of types of questions: yes-no questions, alternative questions and whquestions. It is rightly pointed out that responsivcs are only used for yes-no questions. The above illustrations would therefore appear to be counter-examples. We can account for the exceptional use of responsives by distinguishing between the illocutionary force of regular beth 'what' questions and those given above. Regu-

122 IFelsh echo and mmeclw respcmsi1•es

Jar wit-questions ask for information which is relevant to one of the constituents of the sentence: they might seck information about the subject, the object or an adjunct. In the famous and oft-quoted characterization of Jespersen ( 1924: 303), they seck details about an unknown "x". But the wit-questions illustrated above put forward a suggestion. and seek a response which either accepts or rejects it. The illocutionary force of suggestion questions is quite different to that of informationseeking questions (or x-questions. to use Jespersen's term). Regular information questions are answered by supplying. if known. details about the sentence constituent which is queried: the answer might be provided by a noun phrase. a verb or a prepositional phrase. Suggestion questions arc properly answered by supplying acceptance or r~jcction of the suggested course of action: this is done in Welsh by supplying a positive or negative nonecho responsive. There is another aspect of suggestion questions which provides a syntactic difference to underline their semantic distinctiveness. In Welsh. when heth 'what' is fronted. a resumptivc pronominal clement can mark its extraction site. Its actual realization depends upon stylistic matters. The following examples show overt occurrences: (43) a.

b.

(44) a.

b.

(45) a.

b.

m_lfynt)'r. asesu gwaith y mae Sionecl yn students the work prog assess is work.· students' 'Sioned is assessing the ci asesu? beth mae Sionccl yn prog his assess what is 'what is Sioncd assessing?' ecb:vch ar y /11111. mae ,\'ioned yn on the picture prog look is 'Sioned is looking at the picture.· edrych amo? beth mae Sioned yn on+he prog look what is 'what is Sioncd looking at?' cerdded ,l!,yda .f(on. mae Sioned yn with stick prog walk is 'Sioned is walking with a stick.· cerdded gyda (e? heth mae Sioned yn with he prog walk what is 'what is Sioncd walking with?'

In the case of fronting heth 'what' as a complement to a verbnoun as in (43b), the extraction site is marked by a pronominal form. ei. which is placed immediately before the verbnoun. The form. ei, is variously referred to as a possessive pronoun, a preposed pronoun. or a clitic. When the queried constituent is the complement of a preposition, the extraction site is marked in one of two ways. One way arises

Logical [om1 123

because of a distinctive characteristic of Welsh. namely. that some prepositions can inflect for person and number in agreement with a pronominal complement. With these prepositions. the resumptive element is indicated by an inflected preposition as in (44b) without an overt pronominal complement (an example of prodrop, which is compulsOI)' in formal styles). The other way occurs with those prepositions which do not inflect. With these prepositions. a personal pronoun is inserted into complement position. as in (45b). These three ways of realizing a resumptive pronoun show explicitly that beth 'what' has a source within the structure of the sentence. In the case of suggestion questions. no extraction site is marked and beth 'what' docs not have a source from within the sentence. This clear syntactic difference between the two can be linked to their semantic difference: beth 'what· in information-seeking questions asks for details about a constituent of the sentence. but in suggestion questions it seeks information about an aspect of logical form. Imperatives can be targets for responsivcs. as is seen in the following examples: (46) a.

R: hei #es esgus mai Janna yw ·,. castell. hey pretend comp there is the castle 'hey pretend the castle is here.·

G: ia. 'yes.' H: he/well /win .fel 'na, 'te. collect+imp these like that. then 'collect these like that. then.· A: ia. 'yes.' c. A: gna hi Janna. do+imp she there 'do it there.' F: 1wci. 'no.' d. E: rhoic/ o tn1:v j(uma i 'r ~ywod, put he through there to the sand 'put it through there into the sand, yes?' A: ia. 'yes.'

b.

ia? yes

.There are two points to note about imperatives. Firstly, they can cover a range of meanings including command, recommendation, and request. Secondly, children, like adults, can use the verbnoun to convey an imperative, as in (46a) and (46d) as Well as a finite verb as in (46lH:).

124 Welsh echo and noneclw re.vponsives

In terms of the syntactic mles for the use of responsives. a substitute responsive could be given by using a form of gwneud 'do'. This is particularly appropriate with negative rcsponsivcs, and there arc examples in the corpus: (47) a.

b.

i gyd. 'na 'r sand o S: Iynna pull+imp the sand from there all 'take all the sand from there.' T: na na '. neg do+fut+ I sg 'no.' fa 'n (/). A: na do+ imp he in (I) 'do it in (1).' H: na na '. neg do+fut+ I sg 'no.'

But responding positively is more problematic. There are no examples of positive verbal responsivcs in the corpus and, impressionistically, such rcsponsives would appear to be uncommon. Considering the following devised illustration. iawn 'right', o 'r gorau 'alright', rei/ 'right' and ok would appear to be more appropriate: (48)

Speaker A:

Speaker B:

arhoswch yma. stay+imp here 'stay here.' ?? gnaf do+fut+ lsg 'yes.' iawn. 'right.·

In the corpus. nonccho responsives are used by the children. We shall delay further judgement until we examine the children's use of responsives in Chapter 6.

3. 4. 2 Truth value: counter responsive The discussion in 1.2.3 shows that languages have various ways of countering a proposition. In many instances, this involves using a distinctive responsive form: either a unique nonecho responsive such as French si 'yes', or an echo responsive within a system that uses a nonecho responsive in other exchange contexts, such

Logicalform 125

as in Chaha, Gwa, Harari, and Tigrinya, which are illustrated in Appendix III. In Welsh, the regular method of countering a proposition is to reverse the polarity of that proposition in a sentence answer or equivalent, and to form the responsive on the basis of the polarity of the latter as already described in 1.3.2: (49) a.

b.

(50)

a. b.

(51) a.

b.

nest ti ddim mu:vnhau, naddo. did you not enjoy no 'you didn't enjoy (it I yourseiO, did you.· do, nesh i. yes, did I 'yes, I did.' dw i ddim yn ddigon da. am I neg prcd enough good 'I'm not good enough.' llyt, uyt ti 'n dc/igon da. are are you pred enough good 'yes, you're good enough.' mi wrthoc/ith hi helpu. pt refuse+fut+ 3sg she help 'she'll refuse to help.' na neith, neith hi ddim. neg do+fut+3sg do+fut+3sg she not 'no, she won't.'

In all these instances, the formation of the responsive follows rules already outlined. These responsives are selected in accordance with clausal syntax as described in this chapter and the characteristics of the finite verb as described in Chapter 2: a perfect responsive occurs in (49b), a full echo responsive occurs in (SOb), and a substitute responsive occurs in (Sib). But it is possible in Welsh to counter a proposition not by reversing its polarity but by contradicting the truth value of the implied proposition in the target sentence. This is done by using the negative nonecho responsive, nage, even though the syntax of the target predicts an echo responsive as in examples (49-51): (52) a.

nest ti ddim muynhau, naddo. did you not enjoy no 'you didn't enjoy (it I yourself), did you.' b. nage, nesh i fi•ynhau yn iawn. no, did I enjoy adv right 'no, I enjoyed (it I myself) fine.'

126 Welsh echo and noneclw

(53)

a.

b.

(54)

a.

b.

re.~ponsil'l's

ddigon da. dw i ddim yn prcd enough good am I not 'I'm not good enough.· 'n iawn. nage. u:rt ti arc you prcd right no 'yes. you 'rc alright.· rhy .mil. 'n mae hi she prcd too shy is 'she's too shy.· 'n iawn nage, mae hi she prcd right neg is 'no. she· s alright.·

The negative nonccho responsive can be used in this marked way in place of an echo responsive to give an emphatic force to the contradiction of a proposition. It can be seen that all the above examples involve statements of unfavourable import. and this would be an appropriate context for a speaker to produce an emphatic counter responsive. This usc of nage in place of an echo responsive is not widely commented upon in descriptions of Welsh. but it can be observed in vernacular usage. In a general sense. the ability of Welsh to mark formally the switch from countering polarity to countering truth value is also found in Cantonese. As shown in 1.2.2. and 1.2.3 .. in the main. echo rcsponsivcs arc used in Cantonese. and this convention includes the usc of the copular forms haih 'be' and mhaih 'not be'. In responding to negative questions. echo rcsponsives can also be used. but haih and mlwih can be used in their place as a nonccho responsive to confirm or deny truth value of the implied proposition (examples arc given in 1.2.3 and Appendix III).

3.5 Summary This summary concentrates upon targets which can be defined in terms of discourse contexts and syntactic form. The range of targets and their appropriate rcsponsivcs can be summarized as in Figure 19 in the order that they have been introduced in this chapter. The discussion also used the contrast between interactive and noninteractive targets. But this distinction refers to the discourse contexts of targets and rcsponsivcs in text. and docs not identify the factors which determine the pairing of different types of targets and responsivcs. Further, subordinate noun clauses were also discussed but their form and their relationship with responsivcs can be accounted for by the finite targets listed above. Adverbial clauses. too. could be accounted for as sentence fragments but they have been

SrtmiiWI')'

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x. xi. xii. xiii. xiv. XV.

Targets

Responsives

situational text chunk finite clause, nonnal finite clause, fronted demonstrative adverbial clause fragment, auxiliaryless fragment, verbless responsive, non echo responsive, echo responsive, 1w question, suggestion question, echo question, pardon imperative

nonecho nonecho echo nonccho non echo nonecho nonecho or recover full fonn nonecho or recover full fomt nonecho echo na or recover full fonn nonecho nonecho repeat original responsive nonecho or negative echo

127

Figure 19. Responsives and their targets

listed separately because, unlike fragments, only a nonecho responsive is appropriate. It is apparent from the summary in Figure 19 that the nonecho responsives are the most general in that they have the widest range of targets. But Table 4, which is discussed in Chapter 6, shows that finite clauses arc statistically the most frequent type of target. This chapter has also shown that the influence of syntactic form- in particular. the finite verb in normal-order clauses - can be overridden by aspects of logical form, namely illocutionary force and truth value.

4. Discourse functions of Welsh responsives This chapter presents an outline of the range of discourse functions that responsives can convey. Such an outline serves three purposes: it fills out traditional descriptions of Welsh rcsponsives which concentrate mainly upon questionanswer exchanges; it contributes to the comparison of responsivcs and VPiess sentences which is given in the next chapter; and it supplies a basis for the discussion, which is given in Chapter 8, of the ways in which the children's use of responsivcs is influenced by discourse. As Chapter I indicates. the literature on responsives concentrates mainly upon their uses as answers to questions. Very little explicit attention is given to other discourse functions which they may have in responses to statements and commands. Kim ( 1962), although idiosyncratic in some respects, and Bald ( 1980) arc exceptions. Existing treatments of Welsh responsivcs provide only passing and fragmentary references to other discourse functions. Thomas P.W. (1996: 521-526). for example, follows the conventional approach of discussing them under questions and answers, and his account has only brief, but interesting, notes in respect of other uses such as agreement and exclamatory surprise. The functions of rcsponsivcs arc described here in terms of discourse acts, an analytic category in discourse analysis which is essentially based on the exchange purpose of utterances in conversational interactions (see, for instance: SinclairCoulthard 1975; Burton 1980; Coulthard 1985: 69-79, 120-145; Stubbs 1983: 84-193; and Sinclair-Brazil 1982: 48-54). Much of the work on discourse acts is based on particular varieties of language (such as classroom exchange as in Sinclair-Coulthard 1975, and Sinclair-Brazil 1982; therapy sessions as in Labov-Fanshel 1977; and meetings and negotiations as in Stubbs 1983: 164175) and, although there arc general acts found in many varieties, some acts are particular to certain varieties of language (at least in terms of frequency). Jones B.M. (1987/88) describes the discourse acts which are found in the conversational Welsh of five-year olds and, using functional categories presented there but also found in other studies. an analysis of the corpus reveals that responsivcs can fulfil the following discourse acts: answers, agreements and disagreements. response questions, acknowledgements, corrections. These functions are based on interactive relationships between responsives, produced by one speaker, and preceding targets, produced by a previous speaker (along the lines which arc outlined in 3.2.2. and 3.2.3.). With the exception of

I JO /Jisccmr.w.• jimcticms

c~{ ll'l'i.fh

re.fpcmsi,•es

corrections. the functions of rcsponsives which arc listed above imply targets which have their own particular discourse functions. and the account of rcsponsh·cs must be related to a functional classification of targets. To take an obvious example, answers respond to questions. The discourse acts that rcsponsives denote can be of two general types: elicited ones (such as an answer to a question) or unclicitcd ones (such as an agreement with a previous statement). The discourse functions of rcsponsivcs and their targets are discussed in greater detail in the following sections. It may be the case that the discourse functions which rcsponsivcs can fulfil vary across languages. Painter ( 1975) shows that Gwa has different forms to answer questions, to acknowledge calls (sec 4.4 for an explanation of these). and to give assent. The account which is presented here is appropriate for Welsh. It must be added that rcsponsivcs arc not the only forms that can convey the functions listed above; they arc part of the wider realization of the discourse system of responses. In particular, VPicss sentences such as clw i clclim 'I'm not' or mi feclra' i 'I can' can also fulfil some of these functions - in particular. agreements, disagreements. and response questions - and these arc discussed in the next chapter.

4.1 Answers The relationship of an answer to a question is a prominent factor in accounts of rcsponsivcs in general as well as accounts of Welsh rcsponsives. In the latter, rcsponsivcs arc typically defined as expressions which arc used as answers to direct questions, as in Watkins C. (1963) and Thomas C.H. (1973/4). In respect of Welsh responsivcs, there arc two weaknesses to this functional definition of responsivcs. One is that it fails to recognize that rcsponsives have other functions in addition to answering questions. and any definition of them which tics them specifically to questions will fail to take account of their wider occurrences in discourse. The other is that it fails to give due \veight to the fact that there are different sorts of direct questions. and not all of them can be answered with a responsive. In this section. we shall devote some attention to the second weakness. The first weakness is implicitly addressed in the remaining sections which discuss other discourse functions. The literature on questions emphasizes that there arc three major types of direct questions. In general accounts of rcsponsives. these types are widely recognized. One type presupposes a proposition and seeks details about a part of that proposition. as in the English example what are you making?. This question takes for granted that the subject is making something and seeks to find out what it is. Jespersen (1924: 303) refers to these questions as x-qucstions for the good reason that there is a missing piece of information, "x", which the question seeks to obtain. Some American structuralists label them as supplement questions

Ansll'ers 131 (Bloomfield 1935: 171, 176). Halliday (1985: 44, 47, 74) refers to them as content questions. A common latter-day term in English grammars is wh-qucstions, reflecting the fact that they begin with wh-words or words of that type. A second type of direct question docs not assume a proposition. and can be illustrated by are you making wine?. As indicated in 1.1. this type of question can be viewed either in terms of selecting one of two alternative propositions. you are making wine or you are no/making wine. or in terms of truth value, it is true that you are making wine or it is false that you are making wine. Jespersen (1924: 303) labels such questions nexus-questions. A common term in English grammars is yes-no questions. for obvious reasons. Halliday uses the term polar question. It is based on his usc of the term polarity to refer to the contrasts of negative and positive (as in Halliday 1985: 85-89, for instance). There is a third type of question which is similar in its interrogative form to a polar one, i.e. an alternative question such as are you making wine or beer?. An alternative question can be distinguished from a polar one by the answer which is given. It can repeat one of the alternatives. wine or beer: or neither can be given to discount both. But it is facetious or erroneous to give a responsive, yes or no. An x-question is a direct question and. by the functional definition given in Watkins C. (1963) and Thomas C.H. (1973/4). an answer such as wine would have to be taken as a responsive. Obviously. this is not what is intended and their definition has to be revised to restrict the usc of responsives to polar questions. An apparent exception to this restriction occurs with a suggestion question, which is discussed below. Polar questions are subject to further subdivisions in terms of their interrogative forms such as open questions. tag questions and conducive questions. These distinctions have not been found to add to the discussion of variation in the forms of responsives and will not be considered here. In the remainder of this section, we shall examine the range of targets that rcsponsives, as answers. can have. Answers can be given to general anaphoric targets if the question is based on a coordinated sentence, as in the following devised illustration: (I)

Speaker A: ydy e 'n gwertlm 'r hen gar is he prog sell the old car 'is he selling the old car.· ac yc~v e 'n prymt un nen:I'Cid? and is he prog buy one new 'and is he buying a new one?' Speaker B: y~v. is 'yes.·

But there are no instances in the corpus.

132 Disco11rse jimctions of We/sir re.fponsives

If the general target is one which is described in 3.2.3. as indeterminate, then it is difficull to sec how an answer can pair up with its corresponding question. However, the following occurs in the corpus: (2)

D: 'chi ·, my11d 'ibo 7'be+pres+2sg+pro prog go past 'you go past T -.' a ma ' gat fanny yn y gors fa1111a and is gate there in the marsh there 'and there's a gate there in the marsh there.' a troi miwll ja11ny and turn into there 'and turn in there.' troi /an wec{v11 turn up after 'turn up then.' 'c/ ife, /-? q-tag 'isn't it, I-?' I: ie. 'yes.·

The significant point here is the status of the tag pattern 'd ife (< o11id efe roughly, 'isn't it'). The responsive ie could be interpreted as responding to 'd ife and not to the whole of the preceding text. But the tag 'd ife itself relates to the preceding text and the responsive can thus be indirectly related to the text. There is only one instance in the corpus. In contrast. specific anaphoric targets are abundant - they provide familiar instances of question-answer exchanges: (3)

a.

A: 'ti isie hon? be+pres+ 2sg+pro needs this 'do you want this?' ('fi dclim). be+pres+ I sg+pro not 'I don't.' H: na clw. neg be+pres+ I sg 'no.·

A11swers 133

b.

i dipyn? Y: ga' have+fut+ lsg I bit 'can I have a bit?' S: cei. have+fut+2sg 'yes.'

c.

G: stopodd e Janna?

d.

stopped he there 'did he stop there?' A: naddo. 'no.' 'n licio? F: 'ti be+ pres+ 2sg+pro prog like 'do you like (it)?' A: na dw. neg am 'no.'

Suggestion questions, discussed in 3.4.1, do not meet the formal definition of a polar interrogative, and do not appear to be a polar question as defined above; for example:

(4)

roid petha tn1•' Janna? S: beth am what about put things through there 'what about putting things through there?' T: ia. 'yes.'

As shown in 3 .4.1., the logical form of suggestion questions can explain the use of a responsive here. Such questions do not seck information about "x" in the manner of x-questions. They seck a response about the addressee's approval or disposition in respect of an action and, as such, can be interpreted as seeking affirmation or denial of the suggestion. Answers are also given to pardon questions but, appropriately known as loops, the latter only serve to recover a preceding responsive (examples are given in 3.3.6.).

4.2 Agreements and disagreements As discussed in 1.1. 3, the terms agreement and disagreement are used by Pope 0976: 73) in two ways. One way accounts for a type of answering system which

134 Discour.fe fimctimu of ll'elsll respmuil'es

Pope labels as the agreement-disagreement system, which this study refers to as the tmth-valuc system (such as in Japanese). The other way refers to the relationship of the responsive and the question. Her classification is based partly on the polarity of the responsive (positive or negative) and partly on the congruence of the polarity of the responsive and the question (agreement. if their polarity is the same, and disagreement, if their polarity is different). This gives four types of rcsponsivcs: positive agreement (PA), negative agreement (NA). positive disagreement (PD). and negative disagreement (ND). Agreement and disagreement arc used here to refer to the relationship of responsives with statements and commands. and not questions. As such, they include a range of finer distinctions: agreements include acceptances. approvals, confirmations, endorsements. and so forth: while disagreements cover refusals, denials, rejections. contradictions, and such like. But Pope's emphasis on the congruence of the polarity of the responsive and its target is relevant here. Agreements maintain the polarity of a previous sentence in the discourse, while disagreements counter the polarity of a previous sentence. Unlike answers, agreements and disagreements arc unclicitcd responses and. as such. their occurrences cannot be predicted from a target. except in the general sense that they arc potentially available. Also, they have a wide range of targets. as will be shown below, both in terms of discourse sources and types of sentences. The data in SinclairCoulthard ( 1975) shows that agreements and disagreements are thin on the ground in children's contributions to classroom discourse but Jones B.M ( 1987/88) shows that they are prominent in informal peer-group conversations. As well as textual targets. agreements and disagreements can also respond to situational ones. as in the examples in 3.2.1.. repeated here for convenience: (5)

a.

D: rlwid li neue/ fe/ hyn. must you do like this 'you must do like this.·

ie,

b.

fel

'na.

yes. like that 'yes, like that.· G: edrych ar hun. look on this 'look at this.·

R: oo,na. oh neg 'oh. no.· nage. G-. 'no. G-.·

Agreements and disagreements 135

In the first of these two examples. the speaker agrees with the situational activity, while in the second the speaker disagrees with it. Where the target is textual. agreements and disagreements can occur not only with specific ones but also with general ones: (6)

a. N: ie, 'ti

b.

c.

'n gneud hls:vd yes be+pres+ 2sg+pro prog do food 'yes, you do food.· a 'fi 'n neue/ teganau. and be+pres+ Isg+pro prog do toys 'and I do toys.' G: na, 'fi isio neud teganau. neg be+pres+ lsg+pro needs do toys 'no. I want to do toys. M: hei, C-, :3 a c~rma 'na If hey and hcre+is there 'hey, C-, and here comes#.' hey, C-. gu:vnt mawr yn dwad ia. hey wind big prog come yes 'Hey, C- a strong wind comes. yes.' R: a hraf and fine 'and fine.' M: a sandyn mynd clros hob man. and sand prog go over every place 'and sand goes everywhere. R: ia, ma ' hynny 'fyd. yes, is that also 'yes, that is, too.' E: a neud A-- cysgu 'na and make sleep there 'and make A- sleep there.' a roid sand ar 'i hen o i clagu o. and put sand on his head he to choke he 'and put sand on him to choke him.' N: ia. 'yes.'

Specific anaphoric targets are the main type of target, and it is found that agreements and disagreements can relate to targets which exhibit all the functions of mood, except questions. They are found with statements:

136 Discourse functions of Welsh responsives

(7)

a.

b.

H: 'ti 'di be+ pres+2sg+pro perf 'you've spoiled it.' R: do. 'yes.' G: ma' wal Janna. is wall there 'there's a wall there.'

shoi/io fo. spoil he

R: oes. c.

'yes.' T: mae 'n dn1•m. is pred heavy 'it's heavy.'

S: yndy. d.

S:

T:

e.

S:

T:

f.

1:

0:

g.

S:

R:

'yes.' 'eli rhegu. 'ti oh be+pres+2sg+pro perf swear 'oh, you've sworn. naddo. 'no.' ma' isio anifeiliaid. is needs animals 'we need animals.' nac oes. neg is 'no.' 'li heh siarad yn hwnna. be+pres+2sg+pro without speak in that 'you've not spoken in that.' w i wedi. ami perf 'I have.' ydw. am 'yes.' :2 oes ginno fo dclim pen. is with+ 3sg he not head 'he hasn't got a head.' oes. is 'yes.' 00,

Agreements and disagreements 137

S: yn estyn /an fimna. prog reach up there 'reaching up there.' M: ie. 'yes.· i. A: hwnna 'n dod gynla. that prog come first 'that coming first.· E: nace. 'no.' j. S: a yy s am Sian. and uh s for 'a uh s for Sian.' 1: ie, 'de. yes q-tag 'yes, isn't it.· k. S: mis lonml'l". month January 'January.' M: nage. 'no.' h.

Agreements and disagreements also respond to commands: (8)

a.

G: cal rhain. have these 'have these.'

H: ie. 'yes.' b. T: cuddiad o. hide he 'hide it.' S: ia. 'yes.· c. N: ond dim cymysgu e. but not mix he 'but not mix it.' G: na, neud hwn nawr. neg do this now 'no, do this now.' N: ie. 'yes.'

138 Discourse jimctimrs of ll'el.~lr respunsiws

d.

c.

f.

g.

tymm sand mas o come/. G: paid a don't with pull sand out of corner 'don't take sand out of the corner.' A: na. neg 'no.' E: dodi fe reit mewn icldo fe. he to put he right in 'put it right inside it.' dod. H: na, dwr ~v 'n neg water is prog come 'no, it's water that's coming.· S: tynmt twlc allan pull sty out 'pull a sty out.· M: na. neg 'no.' miss. 'tho A: cer i RJI'e/1 to+ 3sg miss go to tell 'go and tell miss.'

F:

IICl.

neg 'no.·

It is clear from the above outline that agreements and disagreements are distributed widely in conversational discourse. Further. these discourse acts have important social values. and raise general consequences for the expression of politeness and tact (or otherwise) through language. It is surprising that. with the exception of a note in Williams S.J. (1959: 198-199) and a brief reference in Thomas P. W. ( 1996: 522) to the use of ie to convey agreement, there is little focused discussion of this important aspect of Welsh rcsponsives in existing accounts of them.

4.3 Response questions We return in this section to a discussion of questions. We have already encountered them as targets for responsivcs in two different discourse functions. In one usc, they have figured prominently in this study, namely, as yes-no questions which can be characterized in two ways: (i) they arc information-seeking in ways which are addressed in l.l: and (ii) they have no syntactic anaphoric source in the discourse. The second point is important for the immediate discussion, and can be

Response q11estions 139

beSt illustrated by the fact that completely new dialogue with a total stranger can be opened with an information-seeking yes-no question (albeit, abmptly), such as is there a car park nearby?, would you like to buy a lottery ticket?. have you got change of ten pomuls?. and so forth. In addition to this very common use of yesno questions we have also considered another usc of questions which arc not anaphorically independent but which have a clear anaphoric source for their lcxis and syntax, i.e. echo questions. It is shown in 3.3.6 that questions can echo previous utterances, and one of the examples given there can be repeated here for convenience: beth yw pedwar? 'what is four?' - pedwar? 'four?'. In interactive discourse, echo questions are both anaphoric, in that they query a previous target, and cataphoric, in that they can elicit a response. Our previous interest has been in their cataphoric function as targets and the type of responsive which they elicit. Now we concentrate upon echo questions as responses and not targets. As there is the potential for confusion between echo questions in their dual discourse role, the expression response question can be used to refer to echo question as responses, if necessary. Welsh responsives can be used as response questions in unelicitcd responses in the same general manner as echo questions. They can be used in this way to respond to declarativcs: (9)

a.

T: dw i 'di hoc/ yn hyw yn G am I perf be prog live m 'I've been living in G-.· S: c/o? 'yes?'

A: dw i am ada/ 1111 fi arno fo. am I for leave one I on+ 3sg he 'I am for leaving mine on it.' E: u~vt? are 'yes?' c. P: na, 's 'im isio hwmra. neg is not needs that 'no, we don't need that.' E: nag oes? neg is 'no?' d. B: coeclwig sy 'na, 's' ti. forest is there know you 'it's a forest there, you know.' M: ie? 'yes?'

b.

140 Discourse frmctions of Welsh responsives

And they can also be used to respond to imperatives:

(10) a.

b.

neud o 'n Janna. T: na, paid a he in there neg stop with do 'no, don't do it there.' S: na? neg 'no?' petlre ddim yn gwbod, reit. a R: jocan o 'dd ymm y da prog know right joke was uhm the stock and things not 'pretend the animals and things didn't know. right.' S: ie? 'yes?'

Echo questions arc well-known in the literature. and outline discussions can be found in Quirk eta/. (1985: 835-838) and Radford (1988: 462-466). Both sources indicate that echo questions can respond to a variety of sentence types - statements, questions and commands. And both sources show that echo questions can be either a yes-no question or a wit-question (and both of these can be full or elliptical). Quirk et a/. give a fuller account of the discourse functions and the prosodies of echo questions, and show that the choice of either a yes-no question or wh-question depends upon discourse functions. Of particular relevance to the discussion of Welsh responsives is what they call a "recapitulatory echo question ... which repeats part or all of a message ...... Also of particular relevance is one example which they give. namely: I didn't like that meal. -you didn't LiKE it?. What is noticeable in Quirk et a/., as in Radford, is that the echo question has declarative syntax but interrogative prosodies (this also applies to the witquestions in which the wh-word is given in situ). Echo questions which preserve the full syntax of the clause are also possible in Welsh. But our concern here is with the usc of rcsponsivcs in the same general discourse context in which echo questions occur. The term response question is used in this study as a general cover label for this usc of Welsh rcsponsives. But it is obvious that finer distinctions arc possible. Given that such questions arc anaphorically related to previous targets they arc not really questions which seck information - the information has already been given. They may be a sort of acknowledgement (also discussed in the next section). but they can also be used to query a previous statement or to exclaim surprise and so forth. This account of their function largely follows that for recapitulatory echo questions which is found in Quirk eta/. They (1985: 835) introduce them as repeating all or part of a message "as a way of having its content confirmed". But Quirk eta/. (1985: 836) modify this view by adding that "they frequently have other functions, such as to express irony, incredulity, or merely to fill in a conversational gap." The Welsh responsives are different formal

Re.fpo11se questio11s

141

patterns, but the similar discourse functions warrant treating them as echo questions. Finally, echo questions can themselves elicit a responsive and, thus, can be a target for other responsives as discussed in 3.3.5.

4.4 Acknowledgements The most difficult function to define is an acknowledgement. As Sinclair-Brazil ( 1982: 41) emphasize, prosodic features influence the function of responses and help to distinguish between acknowledgements and agreements, for instance. But the corpus docs not provide detailed prosodic information. The analysis provided here is based on their occurrences with types of targets. As such, there are three types of acknowledgements. Firstly, they can be elicited by a vocative address (or call, as this discourse act is sometimes referred to): (11) a.

b.

H: E--. 'E-.' E: ie. 'yes.' D: hei, A-. 'hey, A-.' A: ie. 'yes.'

The paralinguistic noise represented in the corpus as mm can also acknowledge: (12)

A: H-. 'H-.' H: 111111. 'mm.'

ie. 'yes.' Calls are not the only way of gaining attention (others are exclamatory paralinguistic forms such as hei, clicking fingers, poking, waving etc.). In Welsh, the positive nonecho ie is used to acknowledge a call (although beth 'what' is also an appropriate alternative). In his description of responsives in Gwa, Painter (1975: 70) records that distinctive forms are used in that language to respond to a call. Secondly, acknowledgements can also be unelicitcd and simply acknowledge that the speaker has said something - sometimes referred to as back channel; they can be accompanied by the paralinguistic noise oo:

142 Discourse fimctions of ll'el.fh re.fponsives

(13)

R: one/ : dyn cia oedcl e. but man good was he 'but he was a good man.' G: beth? 'what?' dyn da. man good 'a good man.' R: clyn da. man good 'a good man.' oo, ie. 'oh, yes.'

This use is similar to agreements and response questions insofar as they can serve as acknowledgements. Echo and nonccho responsives can be used to suit different types of targets, but nonccho forms arc quite common as general responsives with all targets. Acknowledgements can be given to subordinate clauses and can interrupt a complex sentence between the subordinate clause and the main clause: (14) a.

b.

MJ: os oes gormod o bethe yn fmma ... if is too+much of things in there 'if there arc too many things there ... ' 1: ia. 'yes.' chi roicl 1111' fel 'na. MJ: ... gellwch can+fut+2pl you put they like that ' ... you can put them like that.' li 'n troi hwnna 11psidedown ... R: os 'sal if would+bc you prog turn that upside down 'if you turned that upside down ... ' E: ie. 'yes.' R: ... 11pside down !for' )m ... upside down way this ' . . . upside down this way ... ' E: ymm ([anna). 'uhm there.' R: ... bydd hwnna (2). will+be that ' ... that will (2).'

A.cknowleclgements 143

But it should also be borne in mind that the speaker can usc forms like reit 'right', ;awn 'right', ok and o 'r gorau 'alright' to check the listener's attention and possibly draw forth an acknowledgement. as in the following example. where a complex sentence is again involved: pan o 'dele hanner !Jorde/, reit. R: : a and when was he half right way 'and when he was halfway, right.' S: ie. 'yes. R: ... goclocld e /an i weld. he up to sec rose ' . . . he got up to see. '

(15)

Thirdly, acknowledgements can also be given to a particular type of command; namely when the addressee is instructed to attest visually a feature of the immediate situation: (16) a.

S: b. R:

G: c.

G:

J:

d.

/law fl. look handl 'look (at) my hand.· oo, ie. 'oh, yes.· clrycha be ' sy 'cia fl. look what is with I 'look what I've got.' oo, ie. 'oh, yes.' yli sane/ arno fo. look sand on+3sg he 'look (at the) sand on it.' lie? 'where?' oo,ia. 'oh, yes.' 'co hwn, N-. yonder this 'look at this, N-.' ie. 'yes.'

T: yli

A:

N:

144 Discourse functions of Welsh responsives

e.

R: hei, 'co e 'n cerdded. hey yonderhe prog walk 'hey, look at him walking.· H: ie. 'yes.·

The responsive nonecho ie is used. and it attests that the situational phenomenon has been witnessed and not that the command has been obeyed.

4.5 Corrections A correction puts to right what the speaker sees to be an inaccuracy of fact or form in a previous utterance. Here is one showing one child correcting another child who had failed to follow proposals for playing a game: (17)

G: oeclcl ti 'eli gweud idclo fi beth i neud. was you perf say to+3sg I whatto do 'you had told me what to do.· N: beth .vw enw plant? name children what is 'what arc the children's names?' G: na, oeclcl ti wedi {he} gweud beth 'fi 'n neg was you perf {what} say whatbc+pres+lsg+pr prog neud. do 'no. you had said what I do.'

Corrections arc very rare in the corpus. as is shown in Tables 48 and 49 which arc discussed in 8.2.1.

4.6 Polarity ofresponsives The functions of responsives described above relate differently to the category of polarity. The polarity of an answer depends solely upon the speaker's beliefs and knowledge, and not upon the target. Thus, a question - whether positive or negative - can be given either a positive or negative answer. It is well-known that questioners can build expectancies into their questions either by using tags or by using an untaggcd negative question. But the speaker is quite free to override these expectancies to select either polarity, although answers which break the expectancies are usually emphatically delivered.

Polarity cifresponsil•e.f 145

Like answers, agreements and disagreements can be either positive or negative. But, as is emphasized by Pope ( 1976: 111-112, 118-119) and Quirk el a/. ( 1985: 793), agreements arc not exclusively positive, and disagreements are not exclusively negative. In Welsh, too, the polarity of the responsive when they convey these two discourse acts is determined by the polarity of the target. as follows: agreements

match

the target, thus:

disagreements reverse the target, thus:

positive negative positive negative

(:::) (:::) (:::) (:::)

positive negative negative positive

The polarity of agreements and disagreements, while they are essentially the product of the speaker's knowledge and beliefs. is at the same time based on the polarity of the target. Despite the potential for agreements and disagreements to be either positive or negative. Pope (1976: 111-112) holds that agreements are most associated with positive responsivcs and disagreements with negative responsives. Tables 8.3a-b referred to in Chapter 8 indicate that most agreements are positive and that most disagreements are negative, thus indicating that their targets are mainly positive. Bald ( 1980: 182) also records the greater frequency of yes after positive statements in an English corpus. The Welsh and English statistics support Pope's views on the typical uses of positive and negative responsives to agree and disagree. We return to a discussion of agreements and disagreements in Chapter 8, where more complex distinctions are considered. Response questions can also be positive or negative but, like agreements and disagreements, the choice is determined by the target. In Welsh, like agreements but unlike disagreements, response questions always match the polarity of the target: response questions match the target, thus: positive (:::) negative (:::)

positive negative

This is also the case with unelicited acknowledgements. but acknowledgements which are elicited by a call arc always positive. On the basis of the above, it can be seen that agreements, response questions and unelicited acknowledgements form their polarity features in the same way: they match the polarity of the target. This underlines the similarity of their functions. They can be distinguished by prosodic features but the corpus to date does not allow such studies. Mention can be made here of a type of acknowledgement which deliberately reverses the polarity of a positive target. Devised illustrations can be given as follows:

146 Di.rco11rse frmctions of ll'el.rll respmrsi1•es

(18) a.

b.

c

Speaker A: ma' Wil a Gwenno yn myncl i briodi. is and prog go to marry 'Wit and Gwenno are going to marry.· Speaker B: nac ydyn '! neg arc 'no!· Speaker A: ma ' 'r rheolwr wedi ymcldi.m:vdclo. is the manager perf resign 'the manager has resigned.' Speaker B: 1wcldo! 'no!· gwrthod myncl. Speaker A: y c~rnion ~v 'n the men is prog refuse go 'it's the men who arc refusing to go.' Speaker B: nage! 'no!'

In formal terms. the reversed polarity of these responsives makes them look like disagreements, and also distinguishes them from other acknowledgements discussed above. But they are essentially exclamatory, and their intention is to express strong surprise - even incredulity - but without contradicting the proposition in the target. There arc no examples in the corpus, and they may be a discourse act which is typical of adult usage. Sentence answers figure prominently in the introduction to responsives in Chapter I. and there it is emphasised that, although answers and target sentences may be different in terms of polarity, they share the same propositional content as their anaphoric target. The majority of the other discourse acts form their polarity on various grounds. as outlined above, but they too have the same propositional content as their targets. The exceptions arc corrections and acknowledgements to vocative addresses and to commands to witness the immediate situation - these responses are not essentially concerned with propositional content but with signalling the completion of an exchange in interactive discourse. The significance of propositional equivalence is taken up again in the comparison of rcsponsives and VPlcss sentences in 5.2.2.

s.

A formal analysis of Welsh responsives

The aim of this chapter is to present a formal analysis which establishes whether responsives can be accounted for within a general analysis of the Welsh clause or whether special provision has to be established for them. The chapter draws upon descriptive material which has already been presented in previous chapters, but it also introduces additional descriptive observations about VPlcss elliptical sentences. This chapter characterizes Welsh VPless sentences. compares them with responsives, and concludes with an attempt to set up a formal analysis of the syntax of both responsives and VPlcss sentences. The formal analysis of responsives is also used in the discussion of internal causes of change in 8.1.

5.1 VPiess elliptical sentences The elliptical sentences which are the concern of this chapter can be initially illustrated by the following examples: (I)

a. mi oeddwn i. b.

pt was 'I was.' d oeddwn i dclim. neg was I not 'I wasn't.'

Radford (1988: 82-83, 98, 103-104, 236-237, 304, 452) refers to elliptical sentences in English, such as he will in I bet he will [wash the dishes} if you're nice to him. These reduced English sentences arc produced by ellipsing the VP of the sentence- [wash the dishes} in the example immediately given. It is convenient to refer to this process as VP ellipsis. 50 The same general explanation in terms of VP ellipsis can be applied to equivalent Welsh examples. That is, examples like (la-b) arc derived from full sentences which contain a VP, such as the following: (2)

a.

b.

mi oeddwn i yn pt was I prog 'I was working.' d oeddwn i ddim neg was I not 'I was not working.'

gweilhio. work yn gweithio. prog work

The process of VP ellipsis can be illustrated as follows:

14!1 A fmmal ana(l•sis of IJ'elsll re.vponsi,•es

CP

(3)

c

IP

(±neg)

NegP

~ Spec

Neg•

I

mi d

oeddwn oeddwn

--------.._

NP

Neg

I

I 0 dclim

VP

~ : yn gweithio : yn gweithio

The background to this analysis is outlined in 5.3. I. The ellipsis of the VP leaves overt material in the C. I, Spec NegP and. in the case of negative sentences, Neg. There are other aspects of VP ellipsis which will be introduced as the analysis is developed. An elliptical sentence answer, first introduced in 1.1.1, is an instance of a VPiess sentence. A detailed comparison of responsives and VPiess sentences in Welsh thus provides a consideration of the relationship between responsives and sentence answers. first mooted in 1.2. Essentially, then, the discussion attempts to establish to what extent Welsh finite responsives and elliptical sentence answers can be accounted for within the same syntactic framework. As well as having a label for the process which produces these reduced patterns, it would also be convenient to have a label for the resulting patterns themselves. In a discussion of the formal characteristics of English auxiliary verbs, Palmer ( 1987: 19-20) mentions that J.R. Firth used the term code in relation to the resulting elliptical sentence. Quirk eta/. (1985: 125), as well as referring to code, also speak of stranding - that is, by omitting the VP, the auxiliary can be left stranded (in the terminology of Quirk el a/., the operator is stranded from its predication). Halliday (1985: 71-83) distinguishes two parts of a sentence, which

17'/es.t elliptical sentences 149

he calls the Mood and the Residue. Thus, in an example such as the duke has given aw~v that teapot, the Mood is the duke has and the Residue is given away that teapot - an approach which is quite different to the traditional division of the sentence into the subject, the duke, and the predicate. has given aw~y that teapot. All these sources provide possible labels for the elliptical pattern. But in this study the expression VPiess (elliptical) sentence is used. This label not only indicates the process which produces this type of elliptical sentence but it also follows the format of the labels for other elliptical sentences which are encountered in Chapter 2 in this study, namely auxiliaryless patterns and verbless patterns. These latter two types of elliptical sentence contrast directly with VPiess sentences: auxiliaryless patterns and verbless patterns omit the finite verb while VPicss sentences retain it.

5.2 Responsives and VPless elliptical sentences For languages which have nonecho responsives. like English, clear differences of form make it a straightfonvard matter to distinguish between the responsive and the VPiess sentence: will you wash the dishes? can produce the response yes, I will, and the responsive yes is clearly distinguishable from the VPiess sentence. Such formal differences exist in Welsh when the responsive is not a finite verbal one- that is, when it is a nonccho or perfect responsive. as in: (4)

a. Mair

b.

(5)

a. b.

~v

'n mynd? is prog go 'Is it Mair who is going?' ie, Mair. yes 'yes, Mair.' nest ti weld Sioned? did you sec 'did you sec Sioned?' do, nesh i. yes did I 'yes, I did.'

Chapter I shows that several languages produce a responsive by echoing the finite Ycrb, and the question arises as to whether such a responsive can be accounted for as a VPiess elliptical sentence. This question is relevant to Welsh, as responsives and VPless sentences bear some similarities, as can be seen by comparing the (b) and (c) examples in the following illustrations:

150 A fonual analysis of Welsh responsives

(6)

(7)

(8)

di symucl? alii can+fut+2sg you move 'can you move?' b. galla/ can+fut+ 1sg 'yes.' mi alia' i. C. pt can+fut+ 1sg '1 can.' 'n oer? a. oedd hi was she pred cold 'was she cold?' b. nac oedd neg was 'no. oedd hi ddim. d c. neg was she not 'no. she wasn't.' nei di ddod ~·n of? a. do+fut+2sg you come in track 'will you come back?' b. gnaf do+fut+lsg 'yes.' i. c. mi na pt do+fut+lsg 1 'yes, 1 will.' a.

The similarity is based on the repetition of the finite verb of the target in both the responsive and the elliptical sentence, such as galla! in (6b) and alia· in (6c) respectively. This similarity raises the issue of whether the two can be explained under general sentential mlcs with added details relating to ellipsis and pronominalization. or whether they demand separate analyses. The remainder of this section explores this relationship by taking into account the following: types of finite verbs. discourse functions, polarity: preverbal particles and mutations, overt and covert grammatical subjects, post-subject constituents, subordination, verb forms.

Responsives a11el VPiess selltences 151

Useful observations on some of these points can be found in Greene ( 1972) and Thomas C.H. (1973174). The latter specifically contrasts responsivcs and nonresponsives but the discussion is extremely brief and lacks purposeful illustrations.

5.2. I Types offinite verbs The description of Welsh responsivcs in 2.1 and 2.2 shows that only certain types of verbs can be repeated as an echo responsive in Welsh, namely:

-

bod 'be' and modal auxiliaries; two very restricted sets of lexical verbs: one set shows a unique usc of the tenses; and the other set has irregular morphophonemics.

The exceptions to verb repetition arc: when another verb type occurs (this effectively means the majority of lexical verbs), the auxiliary verb gwnerul 'do· is used as a substitute responsive; when any verb is in the perfect tense. the perfect rcsponsives do and naddo are used.

It is found that VPlcss sentences follow the same rules as responsives to a considerable extent, with one exception as is explained below. The following devised examples show the retention of hoc/ and auxilial)' verbs in the VPiess elliptical sentence: (9)

a.

oedd y

c~ynion

yna

mewn pryd.

was the men there in 'the men were there in time.' b.

a

mi oeclcl y

time

mere/reel.

and pt was the girls 'and the girls were.'

(10)

a. mi geith

Mair aros y

nos.

pt may+fut+3sg stay the night 'Mair may stay the night.' b.

a

geith

Sioned hefycl.

and may+fut+ 3sg also 'and Sioned can stay also.' (II) a.

mi all

Gwyn godi lionel sach o datws.

pt can+fut+ 3sg lift full sack of potatoes 'Gwyn can lift a sackfull of potatoes.'

!52

Afom~al

b.

(12) a.

b.

(13) a.

b.

analysis of Welsh responsives

mi alia' inna he[vd. pt can+fut+ 1sg I+con also 'I can too.' fedran nhw ddim agor y clnvs. can+fut+3pl they not open thedoor 'they can't open the door.' mi fedra' i. pt can+fut+lsg I 'I can.' mi cldyle Sion ymdcliheuro. pt should apologize 'Sion should apologize.' we/, mi dclyle pm1•b. well pt should everyone. 'well, everyone should.'

And the following examples show the substitution of gwneucl'do' for regular lexical verbs: (14) a.

mi arosilh Sioned ar 6/ yr ysgol. pt stay+fut+ 3sg on track the school 'Sioned will stay afier school.· b. a mi na inna hefyd. and pt do+fut+ lsg I+con also 'and I will too.' (15) a. mi agorilh 'wan. y clror pt open+fut+3sg the drawer now 'the drawer will open now.' 0 dclim. b. neith do+fut+ 3sg he not 'it won't.' (16) a. mi garia' i hwnna yn hawdd. pt carry+fut+ 1sg I that adv easy 'I can carry that easily. ' b. nei eli dclim. do+fut+2sg you+2sg not 'you won't.' 'ma. Mair am y clrefn (17) a. mi gwynith about the arrangement here pt complain+fut+3sg 'Mair will complain about this arrangement.'

Resp01uives and VP/ess selllences 153

b.

(18)

a.

b.

mi neilh hi hefyd. pt do+fut+ 3sg she too 'she will too.' mi newidilh Sion 'i feddwl. pt change+fut+3sg his mind 'Sion will change his mind.' neith o cldim. do+fut+3sg he not 'he won't.'

The verbs which show a unique usc of tenses arc under strong competition from regular patterns involving bod 'be' in compound patterns as explained in 2.2.3. But where they occur, they are repeated:

a. mi wyddet

bopeth. ti pt know+pas+2sg you+sg every+thing 'you knew cvcl}1hing.' b. wydclwn i ddim. know+pas+ I sg I not 'I didn't know.' (20) a. mi we/a' i o. pt sec+fut+ lsg I he 'I sec it.· b. weli di ddim. scc+fut+2sg you+sg not 'you don't see it.' (21) a. mi liciet ti aros efo Gu:vn. pt likc+pas+2sg you+sg stay with 'you would like to stay with Gwyn.' b. liciwn i ddim. like+pas+ lsg I not 'I wouldn't.'

(19)

With these verbs, gwneucl is not available as a substitute and the only possibility which maintains semantic and stylistic consistency is to repeat the finite verb. The third group of finite verbs which can be used as a responsive is made up of lexical verbs which have irregular morphophonemics but which otherwise use the tenses . in a regular fashion: namely, mynd 'go', dod 'come', cael 'get', and gwneud 'make, do'. With these verbs, the VPlcss sentence can either echo the original verb or substitute gwneud:

154 Afomral analysis of Welsh responsives

mi eith .S'ioned yn ol he no. pt go+fut+ 3sg in track tonight 'Sioned will go back tonight. ' b. neith hi dclim. do+fut+3sg she not 'she won't.' c. eith hi ddim. go+fut+3sg she not 'she won't go.' eli yn 6/. (23) a. mi ddoi pt come+fut+2sg you in track 'you'll come back.' b. na i ddim. do+fut+ lsg I not 'I won't.' c. dcloa' i dclim. come+fut+ lsg I not 'I won't come.' (24) a. mi gan nhw fuy o bres. pt get+fut+3pl they more of money 'they'll get more money.· b. (?) nan nhw clclim. do+fut+ 3pl they not 'they won't.' c. chan nhw clclim. get+fut+ 3pl they not 'they won't get.'

(22) a.

In all the above contexts, the formation of VPiess sentences follows rules which are similar to the use of responsives. There is, however, a striking difference between responsives and VPless sentences when the verb is in the perfect tense. It will be recalled from 2.1 that the perfect responsives do and naddo are used instead of repeating the verb or substituting gwneud 'do'. But a VPiess sentence can repeat the verb when an auxiliary occurs:

mi jitsh i 'n gweithio 'n hu~vr neithiwr. adv late last+night pt be+perf+ lsg I prog work 'I was working late last night.' b. jitosl li ddim. be+perf+2sg you+2sg not 'you weren't.·

(25) a.

Responsives and VPie.u sentences 155

(26) a.

mi fiwdd pawb yn yr arc/d. pt be+pcrf+3sg everyone in the garden 'everyone was in the garden.' b. fiwdd .S'ioned cldim. bc+pcrf+ 3sg not 'Sioncd wasn't.·

Or, if a finite lexical verb occurs, gwneud can occur in the perfect tense as a substitute for the lexical verb:

mi we/ish i 'r gem. pt sec+ perf+ I sg I the game 'I saw the game.· b. nest ti ddim. do+pcrf+2sg you not 'you didn't.' (28) a. mi helpocld Sionecl roi 'r doclrefn yn 6/. pt hclp+pcrf+ 3sg put the furniture in track 'Sioncd helped put the furniture back.' b. mi na 'th Mair hefyd. pt do+perf+ 3sg also 'Mair did too.' (27) a.

In VPless sentences, then, the echoing of the finite verb or the substitution of gwneud 'do' occurs in an additional context. The important point to note is that the use of one or the other is determined by the same general factor of verb classes: auxiliary verbs arc retained and the lexical verbs are substituted.

5.2.2 Discourse acts This section shows that VPiess sentences are like responsives in that they occur in anaphoric contexts. The discussions shows that there are two sets of contexts: in one set, VPless sentences can fulfil discourse functions which can be conveyed by responsives; but in the other set, VPless sentences can undertake functions which arc not open to rcsponsives. The section concludes with an attempt to provide a generalization about the two sets of contexts. It can be recalled from Chapter 4 that responsives can be used for the following discourse acts:

156 A fomral analysis of We/sir responsives

answers, agreements and disagreements, response questions, acknowledgements, corrections. VPless sentences can also be used for these functions. with the exception of acknowledgements, in the main, and corrections. The norm in Welsh is to use a responsive to answer a yes-no question. But VPless sentences are not excluded from occurring as answers, as the following devised examples demonstrate: (29)

(30)

(31)

(32)

(33)

'n aros yn y dre? Speaker 1: uyt ti are you prog stay in the town 'are you staying in town?' Speaker 2: dw i ddim. am I not Tm not.' siwgr ar 6/? Speaker I: oes 'na there sugar on track is 'is there any sugar left?' Speaker 2: ma 'na. there is 'there is.' mi? di agar hwn Speaker I: alii can+fut+2sg you open this for I 'can you open this for me?' 'i. Speaker 2: mi alia pt can+fut+ lsg 'I can.' 'r gem? Speaker 1: we/est ti saw you the game 'did you see the game?' Speaker 2: nesh i ddim. did I not 'I didn't.' di Sioned heno? Speaker 1: weli tonight see+fut+2sg you 'will you see Sioned tonight?' i ddim. Speaker 2: na do+fut+ lsg I not 'I won't.'

Responsives ami VP/ess sentences 151

But they are used where the answer is hedged by conditions or circumstances. In each case, the reply would suggest that there are other matters which need to be declared. There is, for instance, an implied one/ 'but'. For example: (34) a.

b.

(35) a.

b.

(36) a.

b.

(37) a.

b.

(38) a.

b.

Speaker 1: uyt ti 'n aros yn y eire? are you prog stay in the town 'are you staying in town?' Speaker 2: dw i ddim, one/ ma' A/air yn aros. am I not but is prog stay 'I'm not, but Mair is staying.· Speaker 1: oes 'na siwgr ar ol. is there sugar on track 'is there any sugar left?' Speaker 2: ma' na, one/ dim digon ti. is there but not enough for you 'there is, but not enough for you.' Speaker 1: alii eli agor hn'll i mi? can+fut+2sg you open this for I 'can you open this for me?' Speaker 2: mi alia' i, one/ dw i 'm isio. pt can+fut+ 1sg I but am I not needs 'I can, but I don't want to.' Speaker 1: we/est ti 'r gem? saw you the game 'did you see the game?' Speaker 2: nesh i cldim, ohens:vdd y tyuydd. did I not because the weather 'I didn't because of the weather.' Speaker 1: weli eli Sioned heno? see+fut+2sg you tonight 'will you sec Sioned tonight?' Speaker 2: na' i ddim, one/ neith Mair. do+fut+lsg I not but do+fut+3sg 'I won't, but Mair will.·

VPless sentences, then, can answer questions but imply that there are special circumstances which surround the reply. In this sense, they are the marked answer, whereas responsives arc the unmarked answer. VPless sentences readily occur as agreements and disagreements, as the following devised examples indicate respectively (the (b) member of each pair is a response to the (a) member):

158 Afonnal analysis of Welsh responsives

(39) a.

mi oedd Sioned yn garedig iml'n. pt was pred kind very 'Sioned was very kind.' b. mi oedd hi. pt was she 'she was.' (40) a. esh i cyn deg. went I before ten 'I went before ten.' b. nest ti ddim. did you not 'you didn't.' In respect of VPiess sentences occurring as response questions, the polarity of the response influences the usc of a VPiess sentence. A positive one is quite acceptable: (41) a.

b.

(42) a.

b.

(43) a.

b.

mi oeddwn i 'n 'r nos. gweithio tn1y pt was I prog work through the night 'I was working all night.' oeddet ti? was you 'were you?' mae Sioned yn deal/ popeth. is prog understand everything 'Sioncd understands everything.' ydy hi? is she 'docs she?' ddylet ti ymddiheuro. should you apologize 'you should apologize.' ddylwn i? should I 'should I?'

But negatives are not as readily acceptable in all cases and, in comparison, a responsive is more fitting (given in (c) in the following examples): (44) a.

oeddwn i ddim yn gweithio tnl'y 'r nos. was I not prog work through the night 'I wasn't working all night.'

Respo11sives a11d VP/ess se/llellces 159

d oeddet li ddim? neg was you not 'weren't you?' c. nac oeddet? neg was 'no?' (45) a. d ydy Sioned ddim yn deal/ dim bye/. neg is not prog understand nothing 'Sioncd doesn't understand anything.' b. d ydy hi ddim? neg is she not 'doesn't she?' c. nac ydy? neg is 'no?' (46) a. ddylet li ddim ymddiheuro. should you not apologize 'you shouldn't apologize.' b. ddylwn i ddim? should I not 'shouldn't I?' c. na ddylwn? neg should 'no.' b.

The VPiess patterns cannot be ruled out, particularly with appropriate prosodies, but the availability of the responsives makes them seem less common. VPicss sentences do not readily occur as acknowledgements or corrections, with the possible exception of back-channel acknowledgements. It will be recalled from 4.4 and 4.5 that acknowledgements which respond to vocatives and commands to witness the situation involve the usc of the positive verbless ie, and that corrections involve either nage or na. Thus, this restriction is not unique to VPiess sentences but applies to echo verbal responsives as well. There are other contexts in which VPicss sentences can occur but responsives cannot. One is discussed in Jones B.M. (1987/88: 190-192) under the heading of "co-ordinated modification". It is based on a contrastive relationship between a VPiess sentence and a previous utterance. VPiess and responsives can both have pofarity features which are different to that of the target sentence. But in the discourse function now being considered, the VPiess sentence changes the grammatical subject. Devised examples can be provided as follows:

160 Afom/01 analysis of Welsh responsives

(47) a.

b

Speaker 1: ma ' Sioned yn aros yn y dre. is prog stay in the town 'Sioncd is staying in town.' ma' Mair hefyd. Speaker 2: a and is too 'and Mair is too.' Speaker 1: ma ' 'r dynion yn clt~vno. is the men prog complain 'the men arc complaining.' Speaker 2: d y~v 'r merched ddim. neg is the women not 'the women aren't.·

An example in Jones B.M. (1987 /88: 190-192) contains the same pronominal form as the grammatical subject in both the target and the response: (48)

E: dw i 'n mynd i siopa. am I prog go to shop 'I'm going shopping.' A: dw i ddim. ami not 'I'm not.'

But the reference of i 'I' is, of course, different in the two instances: it refers to speaker E in the first utterance, and is replaced by a reference to speaker A in the second utterance. Responsives do not occur in this function as can be seen from the following: (49)

(50)

Speaker 1: dw i 'n mynd i siopa. am I prog go to shop 'I'm going shopping.' Speaker 2: *nac ydw. neg am 'no.' aros yn y dre. Speaker 1: ma ' Sioned yn prog stay in the town is 'Sioned is staying in town.' Speaker 2: *a y~v Mair hefyd. and is too 'yes Mair too.'

Responsi\•es ancl VP/e.u sentences 161

Speaker 1: ma 'r dynion yn cu:vno. is the men prog complain 'the men are complaining.' Speaker 2: * nac ycly 'r merched. neg is the women 'the women arcn 't.'

(51)

There are other contexts which exclude responsives but allow VPiess sentences. These contexts are different to those examined above in that they involve relationships between clauses which arc produced by the same speaker and not relationships between sentences which are produced by different speakers. But in these contexts, too, the VPiess sentence has a different grammatical subject. They are: coordinated sentences, comparative constructions, correlative constructions. Examples can be given as follows: (52) a.

b.

c. d.

(53) a.

b.

c.

mae Sionecl yn myncl a mae Mair hefyd. is prog go and is too 'Sioned is going and Mair is too,· mi allwn i 'i neue/ o a mi a/let ti. pt could 1 his do he and pt could you 'I could do it and you could.' mi ddylen ni aros a mi dc(v/ec/1 chilhe. pt should we stay and pt should you+con 'we should stay and you should too.' mi wrtlwdilh ,')'ion a neilh Guyn hefvd. pt refuse+fut+ 3sg and do+fut+ Jsg also 'Sion will refuse and Gwyn will too.· mae Sionecl yn Cll:vno vn fi1:v na mae Alair. is prog complain adv more than is 'Sioned is complaining more than Mair is.' mi alia' i godi muy na alii di. pt can I lift more than can you 'I can lift more than you can.' mi ddyet li gasglu muy na ddylwn i. pt should you collect more than should 'you should collect more than I should.'

162 A formal

cma(~·sis

ofll'elslr respmuives

mi arhosilh .S'ioned hirach na neith A/air. pt stay+fut+3sg longer than do+fut+3sg 'Sioned will stay longer than Mair will.' (54) a. mae Sioned yn chwerthin cyn gymint ag y mae o. is prog laugh as much as pt is he 'Sioned is laughing as much as he is.' b. mi a/lith o siarad gystal ci gallith hi. pt can he talk good as can she 'he can talk as good as she can.' c. mi ddylet li aros cyhyd ti dylwn i. pt should you stay long as should I 'you should stay as long as I should.· d. mi ganilh Sioned cyn gystal ti neilh Mair. pt sing+fut+3sg as good as do+fut+3sg 'Sioned will sing as good as Mair will.' d.

In each case, there is an alternative to the VPiess pattern which some Welsh speakers may prefer, namely a pattern which is based on the subject alone:

mae Sioned yn mynd, a Mair hefvd. is prog go and too 'Sioned is going. and Mair too.' b. mi allwn i 'i neud o, a tithe. pt could I his do he and you+con 'I could do it, and you too.' c. mi dc~vlen ni aros, a chithe. pt should we stay and you+con 'we should stay, and you too.' d. mi wrthoclith Sion, a Gu:~•n. pt refuse+fut+3sg and 'Sion will refuse, and Gwyn.· (56) a. mae Sioned yn cu:vno yn fi!Y na Mair. is prog complain adv more than 'Sioned is complaining more than Mair.' b. mi alia' i godi nm:v na li. pt can I lift more than you 'I can lift more than you.' c. mi dc~vlet li gasglu mwy na fl. pt should you collect more than I 'you should collect more than me.'

(55) a.

Responsi1•e.f and I "Pie.u sentences 163

d. mi arhosilh

Sioned hirach na

A/air.

pt stay+fut+3sg longer than 'Sioned will stay longer than Mair. · (57) a.

mae Sionec/ yn

clnverlhin cyn gymint d fo.

is prog laugh as much 'Sioned is laughing as much as him.·

b.

as he

mi a/lith o siarac/ gyslal d hi. pt can he talk good as she 'he can talk as good as her.'

c. mi c/c{vlel li

aros cyh,vcl ci

fl.

pt should you stay long as I 'you should stay as long as me.'

d. mi ganilh

Sioned cyn gyslal ci A/air. pt sing+fut+3sg as good as 'Sioned will sing as good as Mair. ·

An interesting descriptive point is that Welsh has a class of pronouns, labelled conjunctive pronouns (rhagenwau cysylltiol), which can be used in conjunctive contexts. Thus. tithe 'you (singular and familiar] too· and chithe 'you [plural or formal] too· arc used rather than the ordinary li and chi in (55b) and (SSe) respectively (although the ordinary pronouns are not excluded from conjunctive contexts). HO\vever, returning to the main issue. whatever the preferences for a VPiess pattern or a subject-only pattern. a clear difference arises between both and responsives: the latter are not used in this type of coordination, comparison or correlation: (58) a.

* mae Sionec/

yn

mynd a

yc{v A/air hefycl.

is prog go and is 'Sioned is going and yes Mair.'

b.

* mi al/wn

i 'i neue/ o a

pt can+pas+ 1sg I his do 'I could do it and yes you.·

c.

* mi

ddylen

ni aros a

too

galle/.

he and can+pas+2sg

c{vlech.

pt should+ I pi we stay and should+ 2pl 'we should stay and yes you.'

d.

* mi wrthoc/ilh

Sion a

gneilh.

pt refuse+fut+ 3sg and do+fut+ 3sg 'Siond will refuse and yes [Gwyn].·

(59) a.

* mae Sioned

yn

cwyno

yn

fwy

nag ycly.

is prog complain adv more than is 'Sioned is complaining more than yes [Mair].'

164 A formal

b.

cma~l•sis

of ll'elsll respmuives

* mi alia'

i godi mwy na

galli.

pt can+fut+ lsg I lift more than can+fut+2sg 'I can lift more than yes you.'

c.

* mi ddyet

li

gasglu

111\IY

na

c~vlwn.

pt should+ 2sg you collect more than should+ 1sg 'you should collect more than yes I.'

d.

* mi arhosilh

Sioned hirach na

gneilh.

pt stay+fut+3sg longer than do+fut+3sg 'Sioned will stay longer than yes [Mair].' (60)

a.

* mae Sioned

yn

chwerthin cyn gyminl ag

is prog laugh as much 'Sioned is laughing as much as yes [him).' b.

* mi a/lith

o siarad gystal

yc~v.

as is

d gallith.

pt can+fut+ 3sg he talk as+ good as can+fut+ 3sg 'he can talk as good as yes [her).'

c.

* mi dc~vlet

li

aros cyhyd

d

c~vlwn.

pt should+2sg you stay as+ long as should+ lsg 'you should stay as long as yes [me].'

d.

* mi ganilh

Sioned cyn gystal d gneilh.

pi sing+fut+ 3sg as good as do+fut+ 3sg 'Sioncd will sing as good as yes [Mair).' We have. then. two sets of contexts: in one set. both VPiess sentences and responsivcs can occur, and in the other. only VPiess sentences can occur. The shared contexts arc: answers. agreements, disagreements, and response questions. The nonsharcd contexts arc: coordinated modification and complex sentences (coordinated sentences, comparative sentences. and correlative sentences). A generalization can be set up which can help to explain the difference between the two contexts. The shared contexts show that the anaphoric target sentence and the responsive must have the same grammatical subject. Chapter 1 argues that responsivcs in a polarity-based answering system such as the Welsh one are based on the sentence answer. The latter is free to change its polarity but it must share the propositional content which is implied by the anaphoric target. This restriction also applies to the other discourse acts of responsives. A change of grammatical subject alters the propositional content and we no longer have a sentence answer. The contexts in which a responsive occurs or not are precisely those in which a proper sentence answer occurs or not. In these terms it is consistent that a responsive behaves like a sentence answer. The nonshared contexts allow VPless sentences, but they arc not propositionally equivalent to the anaphoric target they are not sentence ans\vers and responsivcs do not occur in these contexts. Finally, in this section, we shall consider a common practice in colloquial Welsh, particularly in some southern dialects, which involves reduplicating a re-

Responsives ami VPiess .re11te11ces 165

sponsive. This practice may be common in languages, as it is also recorded by Bald ( 1980: 188-190) for English. Examples in Welsh can be devised as follows: (61) a.

b.

(62) a.

b.

(63) a.

b.

(64) a.

b.

(65) a.

b.

(66) a.

b.

'ti 'n aros? be+ pres+2sg+pro prog stay 'are you staying?' yclw, yclw. am am 'yes, yes.' o 's 'na clcligon 'na? is there enough there 'is there enough'!' o 's, o's. is is 'yes, yes.' we/est li Sionecl? saw you 'did you see Sioncd?' do, do. yes yes 'yes, yes.· wyt ti ddim yn myncl? are you not prog go 'are you going?' na 'clw, na 'dw. neg am neg am 'no, no.' agoroclcl e? opened he 'did it open?' naddo, naddo. no no 'no, no.' 's 'da li fwy? is with you more 'have you got more?' nac o's, nac o's. neg is neg is 'no, no.'

VPless sentences are not readily reduplicated, and negative ones arc very untypica1 in reduplications:

166 A fom/Ul analysis of Wel.fh responsives

(67) a.

ma' William yn gryf is pred strong 'William is strong.' b. ody, oc~v. is is 'yes, yes.' c. (?) ma 'fe, ma' fe. is he is he 'he is, he is.' (68) a. o 'del Sionecl yn erbyn y syniacl. was against the idea 'Sioncd was against the idea.' b. o 'clcl, o 'c/d. was was 'yes, yes.' c. (?) mi o 'del hi, mi o 'del hi. pt was she pt was she 'she was, she was.' (69) a. eldaw Gu:vn yn 61. come+fut+ 3sg in track •Gwyn will come.' b. gneilh, gneith. do+fut+3sg do+fut+3sg 'yes, yes.' c. (?) fe clclaw e. fe clclaw e. pt comc+fut+3sg he pt comc+fut+3sg he 'he will [come], he will [come].' (70) a. uyt ti 'n lm:vr. arc you prcd late 'you are late.' 'clw, na 'c/w. b. na neg am neg am 'no, no.' c. (??) dw i clclim, dw i ddim. ami not am I not 'I am not, I am not.' (71) a. clw i gweithio bob nos. every night am 1 prog work 'I work every night.' b. u:vt, uyt. arc arc 'yes, yes.'

.,

Responsil•es and VPless sentences 167

c.

(72) a.

mi li:Vt li. pt are you pt are you 'you are, you arc.' gormod. c11:vno ma 'n 1111' 'n they prog complain too+much are 'they complain too much.' (?) mi u:vt ti,

b.

oc~vn. oc~vn.

c.

arc arc 'yes, yes.· (?) ma 'n nw, ma 'n nw. they they arc arc 'they are, they are.'

This restriction. however. is better seen not as a grammatical one but as one which involves differing conversational conventions.

5. 2. 3 Polarity: preverbal particles and mutations Welsh clauses can contain particles in preverbal position which convey features of mood and polarity. In formal Welsh. preverbal particles are consistently employed. In vernacular Welsh. the usc of overt particles is considerably less, but both positive and negative particles and I or the mutations which they trigger can be found. These matters provide differences between responsives and VPless sentences. 51 The most reliable and general difference between rcsponsives and VPiess sentences is that the two form the negative in different ways. The following examples demonstrate the differences (in each case. the responsive is given in the (a) example and the VPicss pattern is given in the (b) example): (73) a.

b.

(74) a.

b.

na fvddaf neg be+fut+ lsg 'no. i. * na fydda' neg be+fut+lsg 'I won't.' ddim. *fvddaf be+fut+lsg not 'no.' i ddim. fydda' be+fut+ lsg I not 'I won't.'

168 Afomwl ana~~·sis of Welsh responsives

The responsive always uses the preverbal negator na (realized as na(c) or na(g) in the dialects) - as in (73a). In contrast, in vernacular styles, the VPless pattern primarily uses the overt negator dim 'not' in post-subject position where it is softmutated to ddim -as in (74b). The examples show that responsives and the elliptical sentences do not share these two different methods of forming the negative: responsives do not omit the preverbal particle na and use post-subject dim (as in 74a), and VPicss patterns do not abandon dim to use the preverbal na (as in 73b). However, there arc two additional points which make the account of negative formation slightly more complex than this. First, in formal styles, VPicss sentences, like finite sentences in general, use an initial preverbal negator without post-subject dim like a responsive. But it is realized in main clauses by the form ni and not na (ni before consonants and nid before vowels). Informal styles arc different, and the following examples illustrate the descriptive facts about preverbal ncgators in main clauses in spoken Welsh: (75) a.

•

b.

•

c.

d.

e.

f.

hi ddim. ni fvdd neg be+fut+3sg she not 'she won't be.' hi. ni fvdd neg be+fut+ 3sg she 'she won't be.' i ddim. ydw d neg bc+pres+ I sg I not 'I'm not.' dw i dclim. be+ pres+ 1sg I not 'I'm not.' hi ddim. fvdd be+fut+ 3sg she not 'she won't be.' chei dclim. di gct+fut+2sg you+sg not 'you may not.·

The main points about vernacular usage can be summarized as follows: The preverbal ncgator is generally untypical of spoken Welsh either with or without the support of post-subject dim as examples (75a-b) show. Thomas C. H. ( 1973/74) suggests that the Nantganv dialect is a notable exception. 52 Where the preverbal negator occurs, it is contracted to d (or/) as in (75c).

ReJpo11si1•es a11d 1'/'le.rs se111e11ces 169

Its occurrences in this contracted form are limited to forms which have vocalic beginnings especially of hod 'be' -thus it is seen before ydw in (75c) but not beforefvc/c/ in (75e). It is always accompanied by the post-subject negator dim as in (75c). But example (75d) shows that it can be left out, leaving ddim alone. In general, the only indication of any preverbal presence in the VPiess sentence is the mutation which the overt preverbal negator ni would cause if present- as in (75e-f) which show the formfvc/c/ for hyde/ and the mutated form chei for cei. ~ 3 Thus. both in terms of negator forms and syntax. negative versions of responsives and VPless patterns are very different. Second. negative responsives can include post-subject dim as well as the preverbal negator na when an emphatic response is needed, e.g. nac ydw ddim 'no' (literally, 'neg am not'). But some southern dialects can use the form dim in a very different way in utterances which strongly contradict or deny a previous utterance by another speaker. A striking characteristic of this use of dim is that it can occur with a positive responsive which contradicts a previous negative sentence. Here are some devised examples: (76) a.

d yw e ddim yn ddigon da. neg is he not pred enough good 'it's not good enough.' b. ydy, ddim. is not 'yes. it is.' (77) a. d oes dim gwirionedd yn y slori. neg is not truth in the story 'there's no truth in the story.' b. oes, ddim. is not 'yes, there is.' The negator form dim does not negate the finite verb in the response. Rather, it rejects the proposition in the previous utterance. Hence. in the above illustrations, a comma has been inserted between the responsive and dim for clarity of presentation. In the light of this use of dim, a problem arises in interpreting emphatic -negative responsives which also include dim, as in the following devised examples:

170

Afom~al

analysis of Welsh responsives

ma' fe 'n ddigon da. is he pred enough good 'it's good enough.' b. nac ydy ddim. neg is not 'no, it isn't.' wirionedd yn y slori. (79) a. 11/Q' 'na in the story is there truth 'there's truth in the story.' b. nac oes dclim. neg is not 'no, there isn ·t. • (78) a.

We can either interpret these examples as proper negatives whose syntax in respect of dim is similar to that of full or elliptical sentences, or we can interpret dim as a special emphatic adverb similar to its usc in the positive examples in (76) and (77). If the first view is adopted, it could be claimed that dim has spread to positive responsives because of its emphatic value - which could suggest that dim in all responsivcs has developed as an emphatic adverb rather than a negator. Vernacular Welsh can use an overt preverbal particle in positive clauses. The main forms used are fe (associated mainly with southern dialects) and mi (associated mainly with northern dialects). The essential point is that positive responsives never have a positive preverbal particle whereas the VPless sentence will admit them (in each case, the responsive is in the (a) example and the VPlcss pattern is in the (b) example): (80)

a.

b.

(81) a.

b

• fe I mi fyc/c/af pt be+fut+ lsg 'yes.' fe I mi Jvclcla ' i. pt be+fut+ lsg I 'I will be. • • fe I mi gei. pt get+fut+ 2sg 'yes.' eli. fe I mi gei get+fut+2sg you pt 'you will have. •

It is the exclusion of a particle from the responsives which is the important point

here. They can be omitted from the VPiess sentences but, in many dialects, the mutation which they would otherwise cause remains, and maintains a contrast

Responsives and VP/ess sentences 171

with the unmutated responsive (in the following illustrations, the responsive is in the (a) example and the VPless pattern is in the (b) example): (82) a.

byddaf bc+fut+lsg 'yes.' b. fydcla ' i. bc+fut+ I sg I 'I will be.' (83) a. cei. gct+fut+2sg 'yes.' b. gei di. gct+fut+2sg you 'you will have.· But there are dialects, as indicated by Thomas-Thomas (1989: 75), which not only omit the particle but which also admit unmutated verbs in the VPless sentence (and full sentences, too), thus losing the mutational difference: (84) a.

b.

(85) a.

b.

hyde/. be+fut+3sg 'yes.' hyde/ hi. be+fut+3sg she 'she will be. ' cei. gct+fut+2sg cei eli. get+fut+2sg you 'you will have.'

But, in general, the mutational and particle characteristics sketched above distinguish responsives and VPless sentences, the crucial point being that responsives do not admit a positive particle.

5.2.4 Overt ancl covert grammatical subjects In discussing the occurrence of overt subjects, it is useful to distinguish between pronominal subjects such as hi 'she' and those which arc noun phrases headed by a proper noun such as Sionecl or a common noun as in y ferclr 'the girl' - we can

172 A fomral analysis of IVelsh responsives

refer to both the latter as nominal subjects for convenience. Nominal subjects can never occur in the responsive. But a nominal subject can occur in the VPicss sentence, especially if there is extra assertion either on the auxiliary or items following the subject- the latter arc commonly the post-subject negator dim, an aspectual preposition wedi or yn, or the predicatival particle yn (these items are discussed in 5.2.5): (86) a

b.

(87) a

b

(88) a

b

(89) a

b

* hydd

A/air. be+fut+3sg 'yes.' Mair. mi fvdd pt be+fut+ 3sg 'Mair will be.· Mair. * na fvdd neg be+fut+ 3sg Mair ddim. fvdd bc+fut+3sg not 'Mair won't be.' no acceptable pattern (see 5.2.5.) A/air wedi. fydd perf be+fut+3sg 'Mair will have.' no acceptable pattern (see 5.2.5.) Mair yn. fvdd bc+fut+3sg prog 'Mair will be.·

This data provides a clear difference between rcsponsivcs on the one hand and VPicss sentences on the other hand. Turning now to pronominal subjects, there is the general point that the typical anaphoric relationship between two sentences sees the pronominalization of corefercntial expressions. The question as to whether they remain overt or are dropped cannot be presented in clear-cut terms. The discussion has to be given in terms of norms rather than absolute conventions. We shall begin by portraying the norms, and then look at departures from the norms. The norms arc that pronominal subjects are dropped in responsives and retained in VPicss sentences: (90)

a.

Sioned yn mi fvdd prcd pt bc+fut+ 3sg 'Sioncd will be late again.'

hwyr eto. late again

Responsives am/ I'Piess sentences 173

b.

c.

(91) a.

b.

c.

(92) a.

b.

c.

(93) a.

b.

c. (94) a.

b.

c.

bydd. be+fut+Jsg 'yes.' mi fydd hi. pt be+fut+Jsg she 'she will.' ga i wbod yfory. get+fut+ lsgl know tomorrow 'I'll get to know tomorrow.' cei. get+fut+ 2sg 'yes.' mi gei eli. pt get+fut+2sg you 'you will.' ma 'n nhw 'n ddrud. arc they pred expensive 'they're expensive.' ydyn'. are 'yes.' ma 'n nhw. they are 'they are.' wyt li ddim yn deud v gwir. are you not prog tell the truth 'you're not telling the truth.' ydw. am 'yes.' mi ydw i. pt am 'I am.' dw i 'n anghywir. am I prcd incorrect 'I'm incorrect.' wyt. are 'yes.' mi wyt ti. pt are you 'you are.'

174 AfomiOI analysis ofll'el.~h responsives We shall now consider the interesting matter of the departures from the norms, beginning with rcsponsivcs. Judgement about a pronominal subject in rcsponsivcs in colloquial Welsh is problematic, as dialectal variation makes generalization difficult. I am only familiar with frequent occurrence of an overt subject in responsivcs in southern dialects (particularly in mid-Wales) and all examples that I have heard have involved a bod 'be' responsive, particularly the present tense. as in the following devised illustration: 'n mynd i dderbyn 11:vt ti arc you+sg prog go to accept 'are you going to accept the offer?' b. ydw i. am I 'yes.' c. nag.vdw i. neg am 'no.'

(95) a.

v cynnig? the offer

Thomas C.H. (1973174), however, gives examples of responsives from the Nantgarw dialect with subjects with a variety of verbs, and there are examples of responsivcs containing subjects in illustrations provided by Thomas P.W. (1996: 525). Responsives typically occur without a subject. and the question naturally arises as to what is the difference between. for instance. ydw 'am' and ydw i 'I am' as a response to a question. I have no intuitions about any possible difference but Thomas C.H. ( 1973174) states that the subject is only used in strong responses (with falling tone on the first prominent syllable in the responsive. and a rising tone on the subject), and Thomas P. W. 's ( 1996: 525) examples illustrate the use of echo responsivcs to convey politeness or strong emotions attached to agreement or denial. The semantic base of the explanations of both writers is similar to that given for the choice (where choice exists) of the full echo responsive rather than the substitute responsive discussed in 2.2.4. The examples in Thomas P.W. (1996: 525) arc specifically provided to show that in these semantic contexts the echo responsive is preferred to the substitute responsive. He specifically comments on the use of a pronoun in these contexts, thus indirectly demonstrating a semantic reason for using pronominal subjects. It is worth mentioning that Fynes-Clinton ( 1913: 389), in his illustrations of the use of the negative particle na in a local variety of northern Welsh, includes pronominal subjects in some of his examples of negative rcsponsives. Significantly, he provides two, namely na ddo' i 'no [lit. I will not come]' and nag a' i 'no [lit. I will not go]' as alternatives for responsives without subjects, namely na ddo(f) 'no [lit. (I) will not come]' and nag a(/) 'no [lit. (I) will not go]', and describes the former as emphatic. Fynes-Clinton pro-

Responsives and I 7)/ess sentences 115

vidcs no other comments on these examples but the reference to emphasis is generally similar to the observations given by Thomas C.H and Thomas P. W. We can now consider whether a VPless sentence can allow a null subject. Null subjects arc regularly encountered in formal Welsh in full and elliptical sentences. The norm in the dialects is for pronominal subjects to occur overtly. However, null subjects are not unknown in speech and they can occur in both full sentences and elliptical VPicss sentences. They arc typically associated with a series of coordinated sentences, such as:

dar/lenodd y l~vthyr. a the letter read and envelope the down opened sat letter.' 'Mair sat down, opened the envelope, and read the

(96) steddodd J\fair i lawr,agorodd yr am/en,

Concentrating on VPiess sentences, it is important to distinguish between positive and negative clauses. The following examples show that null subjects can occur in positive VPiess sentences (the (b) example is a response to the (a) example in each case):

mi fvdd pt be+fut+ 3sg 'she'll be late.' b mi fvdd. pt be+fut+ 3sg '(she) will.' (98) a. mae hi she pred is 'she is tall.· b. mae. is 'it is.· (99) a. mi oedd hi pt was she 'it was cold.' b. mi oedd. pt was '(it) was.'

(97) a.

.,

'n hi she pred

lm:vr. late

dal . tall

'n pred

oer. cold

It is difficult to judge the extent of the occurrence of the null subject in VPlcss sentences. As already emphasized, the norm is to usc an overt subject. Further, there arc examples which suggest that its occurrence is influenced by the phonological relationship between the verb ending and the pronominal subject. The first singular pronoun i 'I', in particular, has a very close junctura! relationship

176

Afom~al

analysis ofWelsll responsi1>es

with vowel endings, and the two form a diphthongal element. This occurs with the first person singular ending of the future tense [a] ([av] in formal Welsh), and the first person singular of the present tense of bod 'be', namely ydw [adu]. Examples arc as follows:

wyl li ddim yn deud y gwir. arc you not prog tell the truth 'you're not telling the truth.' b. * mi ydw [i}. pt am [I] 'I am.' (101) a. fyddi eli ddim yn of mewn pryd. be+fut+2sg you not in track in time 'you will not be back in time.' {i}. b. * mi fydda ' pt be+fut+ lsg [I] 'I will be.'

(100) a.

The diphthongal relationship of the pronoun with the ending discourages the dropping of the former. Turning now to negatives, it emerges that a VPlcss sentence does not allow the omission of the subject; but this is possible in responsivcs: (102) a.

b.

(103) a.

b.

na fydd. neg be+fut+3sg 'no.' *fydd ddim. be+fut+3sg not '(he) will not be.' na chei. neg gct+fut+2sg 'no.' * chei ddim. gct+fut+2sg not '(you) will not have.'

The occurrence of dim seems to prevent the dropping of a pronominal subject. A more formal explanation is attempted in 5.3. The norms of subject realization in responsives and VPless sentences are very clear: null subjects predominantly occur in responsives and overt subjects predominantly occur in VPless sentences. In the case of nominal subjects, there are no exceptions. But pronominal subjects allow these norms to be broken. In par-

Responsives and VPless sentences 177

ticular we have seen that rcsponsivcs can allow pronominal subjects for emphasis, and that VPless sentences, when positive, can allow null subjects. Consider a responsive and a VPiess sentence both with null subjects. The differences between them are reduced to mutations (where appropriate) and preverbal particles. But if these latter distinctions were omitted (as described in 5.2.3), the VPlcss sentence would become similar in form to the responsive: (104) a.

b.

(105) a. b.

bydd. bc+fut+Jsg 'yes.' [fe} hydd [pt] bc+fut+3sg 'she will be.' cei. get+fut+2sg [fej cei [pt] get+fut+2sg 'you will have.'

[hi}. [she]

[di}. [you]

Where either the responsive or the VPiess sentence are used abnormally, the superficial grammatical differences between the two are fewer.

5.2.5 Post-subject constituents The aim of this section is to establish the extent to which responsivcs and VPiess sentences can be expanded through the inclusion of other elements in post-subject positions. As VPiess sentences are derived from equivalent full sentences, and as responsives arc being considered in the same light, another way of approaching this issue is to ask to what extent ellipsis has to occur. We have already considered the post-subject negator dim in 5.2.3, and now we shall examine the aspectual prepositions, wedi and yn, and the prcdicatival particle, yn (which is used in Welsh before predicatival adjectives and nouns in ascriptive copular sentences, as illustrated in l08b). These items establish a clear distinction between responsives and VPiess sentences, as they arc not found in the former but can occur in the latter: (106) a.

* hyddaf

wedi. bc+fut+ lsg perf 'yes.'

178 A Jom1al a11alysis of Welsh respo11sive.f

b.

(107) a.

b.

(108) a.

b.

i wedi [myndj. fvdda' bc+fut+lsg I perf [go) 'I will have [gone].' *hydclaf yn. be+fut+ lsg prog 'yes.' fmynclj. fvclda' i yn be+fut+ lsg I prog [go] 'I will be [going].' *byddaf yn. be+fut+lsg prcd 'yes.' fydda' i yn [oerj. be+fut+ lsg I pred [cold] 'I will be [cold].'

Given that VPless sentences are derived from full sentences through the process of VP ellipsis in anaphoric contexts, it is not surprising that these items can be retained. However, their retention is characteristic of informal spoken Welsh, and they are unlikely to occur in formal styles. Further, their retention supplies a final item which can take extra stress, and examples like those in (106b), (107b) and (108b) typically occur in emphatic responses. Thomas C.H. (1973174) observes that responsives do not take a complement, unlike nonresponsives, but do select adverbials. No direct illustrations arc offered to demonstrate these points, but one of her examples, in relation to another point, is: (109) a.

b.

ddoid di gydafi? come+fut+3sg you+sg with I 'will you come with me?' dcloia ' i, yn y jimud. come+fut+lsg I, in the minute 'yes, in a minute.'

Other examples which contain adverbials can be devised as follows: (110) a.

oedcl, wrth gwrs. was by course 'yes, of course.'

Responsives and Vl'le.rs sentences 179

b. nac ydy, yn an./Jodus. neg is pred fortunate 'no, unfortunately.' c cei, Tad. may Father (heavenly Father, used as reinforcing exclamation) 'yes, certainly.' d. bydd, fory. bc+fut+3sg tomorrow 'yes, tomorrow.' But there arc two difficulties with a view that responsives can be expanded to contain adverbials. First, the term adverbial, when used in a general sense, involves a variety of functions which could be further detailed in terms of adjuncts, conjuncts and disjuncts. As Quirk eta/. (1985: 49-52) make clear, their relationships with the rest of the sentence vary from central categories (such as adjuncts like fory 'tomorrow') to more peripheral ones (such as attitudinal disjuncts like yn an./Jodus 'unfortunately'). Second, and more significantly, it is not necessarily the case that the responsive and any adverbial are related within the same sentence. The outline of complex responses given in 1.1.4 lists three parts to a response: a responsive, a sentence answer and an additional answer. Adverbs in responses such as those in (109b) and (llOa-d) can be interpreted as fragments of the sentence answer or the additional answer, which are in a paratactic relation with the responsive: (111) a.

b.

c.

oedd, wrth gwrs [ei fod oj. was by course [his be he] 'yes, of course [he was].' nac ydy, yn anjJodus [ d ydy 0 ddimj. neg is pred fortunate [ neg is he not] 'no, unfortunately he isn't.· hyde/, [mi fydd 0 ymaj fory. be+fut+ 3sg [pt will+be he here] tomorrow 'yes, [he'll be here] tomorrow.'

From this point of view, the adverbial can be interpreted not as a coconstitucnt of the responsive but as a remnant of a cooccurring sentence. These are reasonable suggestions which preserve the view that rcsponsives cannot have overt phrases beyond the subject except for emphatic dim.

180 Afomral ana(vsis of Welsh responsi1•es

5. 2. 6 Subordination In respect of subordination, VPless sentence can occur as a noun clause complement: (112) a.

b.

c.

d.

meddwl dw i 'n hi. b.""·dd be+fut+3sg she am I prog think 'I think that she will be.' hi ddim. (na) fvdd meddwl dw i 'n neg be+fut+ 3sg she not am I prog think 'I think that she won't be.' 'i bod hi. meddwl dw i 'n her be she ami prog think 'I think that she is.' 'i bod hi ddim. meddwl dw i 'n her be she not ami prog think 'I think that she is.'

Welsh noun clauses are descriptively quite complicated. The following points can be noted: In formal Welsh, a preverbal particle y would occur in positive noun clauses so that an example like (112a) would contain y bydd hi. This is very rare in informal Welsh but the nonmutational consequences of y can survive, as in (112a). In formal Welsh. the negative version of (112b) would be na fydd hi- that is, the preverbal negator na occurs without post-subject ddim (na before consonants and nad before vowels, and na causes the soft mutation). This pattern is heard in spoken Welsh, too. But other frequent alternatives arc the use of post-subject ddim without the overt preverbal particle na as in fydd hi ddim, and a combination of both as in na fvdd hi ddim. In the case of the present tense forms of bod 'be', such as mae 'is', and the past imperfect forms such as oedd 'was', the verbnoun form bod occurs in their place in positive noun clauses as in ( 112c) above; and, in informal vernacular style, this is also possible in negative noun clauses as in (112d). It can also been seen that a prefixed pronoun can also be part of the pronominal subject when the verbnoun form bod 'be' occurs (although in informal Welsh it is omitted by some speakers). These points arc themselves descriptively interesting but the main conclusion to be drawn is that VPless sentences can occur as noun clauses.

Responsives and VP/ess sentences 181

Turning now to rcsponsives, it is found that they do not occur as noun clauses, unlike the French rcsponsivcs as outlined in 1.2.1. The illustration of this point, however. is plagued by instances of VPicss sentences which look like responsives due to the influences of prodrop and unmutated forms as illustrated in examples (104-105), and homonymous forms. Examples can be supplied as follows: (113) a

* clw i

'11

meddwl

ami prog think 'I think that yes.'

b

* clw i

'11

meclclwl

am I prog think 'I think that no.· c

* clw i

'n

meclclwl

ami prog think 'I think that yes.· d

* dw i

'11

meddwl

am I prog think 'I think that no.'

hyde/.

be+fut+3sg 110

fydd.

neg

be+fut+3sg

l!C~V.

is nac neg

l'l~V.

is

The responsive in (113a) becomes identical to the VPless sentence in (112a) if prodrop is applied to the latter. Similarly. the responsive in (113b) becomes identical to a stylistic version of the VPless pattern in ( 112b), which drops post-subject dim, on hvo grounds, namely: not only because of prodrop but also because the negative noun clause complemcntizer 110 is homonymous with the responsive negator 11a. 54 However, it is the interpretation of the forms in (113) as rcsponsivcs that we are mainly concerned with here, and the examples of the present tense of bod 'be' in examples (113c-d) give clear illustrations of the restraint which prevents a responsive occurring as a noun clause.

5.2. 7 Verb forms

There are a limited number of more particular diiTerences between responsives and VPless sentences which arise because of the distinctive shape of a small number of forms of finite verbs. The third person present tense forms of hod 'be' arc different in VPless sentences in certain contexts, as already discussed in 2.5.1. The differences can be seen when a responsive and a VPless sentence occurs in .the same response: (114) a.

oes

'no

ddigon yna?

is there enough there 'is there enough there?'

182 Afom/CII cmalysi.~ of IJ'e/.~11

b.

(115) a.

b.

(116) a.

b.

re.~po11sives

oes, mae 'na. is is there 'yes. there is.' yt~v Sioned yna? is there 'is Sioncd there?' .w(v, mae hi. is is she 'yes, she is.' yt(yn' nhw yna? arc they there 'are they there?' ydyn ', ma 'n nhw. arc arc they 'yes, they arc.

The contrast of these forms clearly distinguishes the responsive from the VPiess sentence even when prodrop occurs in the latter- yt~V. mae 'yes. (she) is'. However. these differences only occur when the VPicss sentence is positive. In the case of negative responsivcs. the same forms occur in both rcsponsivcs and VPicss sentences: ( 117) a.

b.

(118) a.

b.

(119) a.

b.

oes 'na ddigon yna? is there enough there 'is there enough there?' nac oes, d oes 'na cldim. neg is neg is there not 'no. there isn't. ' y~v Sioned yna? is there 'is Sioncd there?' llllC yt(V, d yt(V hi ddim. neg is neg is she not 'no, she isn't.· yt(vn ' nhw yna? arc they there 'arc they there?' yt{VIl' nhw dclim. llllC yt~VIl ', d they not neg arc neg are 'no. they arc not. '

Responsi1•e.v and Vl'less sentences 183

There arc, then, only partial differences bcl\vccn responsivcs in VPless sentences in respect of the third person forms of bod 'be'. It is shown in 2.5.1 that the oand y- forms occur in negatives and I or interrogatives. It is also shown in 2.5.3, on the basis of the description by Thomas C.H. (1973/74) of the Nantgarw dialect. that there is also the possibility that, in some dialects, the forms of the present tense of bod 'be' in positive responsivcs are based on -d- stems while those in VPlcss sentences can occur without -d-. Again, this is a partial difference as in negative rcsponsives the forms without -d- can occur: (120) a.

y n nw :vna? are they there 'are they there?'

b.

O(~VIl '.

arc 'yes.· c.

nag y 'n '. neg arc 'no.'

(121) a.

yw e yna. is he there 'is he there?'

b.

0(~\1.

is 'yes.·

c.

nag yw. neg is 'no.·

Final dental and labiodental fricatives in Welsh arc frequently omitted in spontaneous speech. Thus, araf 'slow' becomes ara and ffordd 'road, way' becomes Jfor. The first person singular ending of the future tense [av] -af ends in a labiodental fricative and is subject to this omission. However. this consonant is more likely to be dropped in VPlcss sentences than in the responsives: (122) a.

b.

byddaf be+fut+ lsg 'yes.· i. fydda' be+fut+ 1sg I 'I will be.'

184 Afomwl analysis ofll'el.fh responsives

( 123) a.

b.

gnaf do+fut+lsg 'yes.' na' i. do+fut+ lsg I 'I will do.'

All the above differences of the form of the verb in the responsive are very restricted and do not characterize responsives as a class.

5.3 A generalized analysis This section attempts to provide a formal analysis which accounts for the descriptive obsef\•ations which have been given in previous chapters and the current one. It accounts for: -

the relationship between a finite responsive and a VPiess sentence - in effect, the relationship between a responsive and a sentence answer, the major choice between a nonecho responsive and an echo responsive, the choices between different types of echo responsives.

The aim will be to present a generalized account of these different aspects of responsives.

5. 3. 1 111eoretica/ background

The analysis of the Welsh clause which is used in this formalization draws upon X-bar syntax, and can be initially illustrated as follows:

A generalized analysis 185

(124)

CP

~ Spec

c

IP

~ Spec

NegP

~ Spec

I

NP

Neg•

---------

Neg

VP

It is broadly based on Tallerman (1996) for the CP and Rouveret (1994: 51-90, 127-141) for the IP. Their presentations are adapted to account for data which they do not consider but which is relevant to the specific aims of this study. It is not consistent with those aims to justify the details of the adaptations here, and they arc presented largely without comment. The head of the CP accounts for particles of mood and polarity, e.g. positive-declarative particles like mi and negative particles like d. A more complex analysis of the CP is offered in a later section to account for fronted clauses. The head of the IP accounts for finite verbs, like ydy 'is'. The treatment of the NegP here is much simpler than the analysis in Rouveret (1994: 127-141). Its head, Neg, accounts for the occurrence of the postsubject negator dim 'not'; it remains empty in positive sentences (the symbol@ is used to represent empty constituents rather than the conventional e as the latter is a form of the 3rd person singular masculine pronoun in Welsh). The Spec of the NegP is also the site for the subject of the clause. The crucial aspect of this approach is the use that is made of C and I to account for responsivcs.

5.3.2 The Complementizer: responsives and VP/ess sentences The relationships between a responsive and a VPless sentence are explored in 5.2, and the similarities and differences between responsives and VPicss sentences can be listed as follows. They are similar in that:

186 Afomlal analy.si.s ofWel.sll re.spon.sive.s

I. 2. 3.

They are both subject to the same influence of verb types (but VPless sentences maintain this influence with the perfect tense). They both have the same propositional content as their anaphoric targets. They both have similar discourse functions: they can occur as answers (although VPless sentences arc the marked answer), agreements, disagreements, and response questions; and they are both largely excluded from supplying acknowledgements and corrections.

Other criteria show that they arc different: 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

Only VPless sentences can contain a grammatical subject which is different to the one in the related anaphoric sentence (and can convey coordinated modification and occur in coordinated, comparative, and correlative sentences). Responsives and VPlcss sentences form negatives and positives differently. VPless sentences can contain overt post-subject constituents while rcsponsivcs cannot except for emphatic dim. VPless sentences can occur as noun clauses while rcsponsivcs cannot. Responsives and VPless sentences have different verb forms in some instances, but these differences do not characterize responsives as a class.

And two critera show that they are subject to different norms rather than absolute differences: 9.

Responsives can be reduplicated while VPless sentences tend not to be reduplicated. 10. Null subject is the norm for responsives while overt pronominal subject is the norm for VPless sentences (but only VPless sentences can contain an overt nominal subject).

The similarities in points 1 to 3 emphasize that both responsives and VPless sentences have an anaphoric source, and relate to that source in the same manner (with the exception of targets which contain the perfect tense). In the case of VPicss sentences, the general view is that they are derived from full sentences, as is indicated by the analysis in (3) in 5.1. Given the same general anaphoric relationship between a responsive and a previous sentence, it is reasonable to claim that rcsponsives are also derived in some way from full sentences, so that the analysis of VP ellipsis given in (3) in 5.1 is also the source for responsives. To this extent, then, responsivcs and sentence answers are derived from the same clausal structure. For this explanation to be successful, it must also be able to account for the grammatical differences which are listed in points 4 to 8. Some of these differ-

A generalized analysis 187

ences can be accounted for by establishing sets of features on C. The different influence of the perfect tense on responsives and VPiess sentences (part of point I), and the forms of responsives which are referred to in point 8 are discussed in 5.3.4. In the feature approach, responsives are assigned [responsive) and the VPiess sentences are assigned [indicative]. There is a third feature, [imperative], which has not been discussed here but which is a familiar type of mood. Responsives, indicatives and imperatives can also be assigned polarity features in C:

c

(125)

l [ ~rimperative responsive ~ lindicative

[

{positive lnegative

J

J

1J J

A clause is imperative, indicative or responsive, and any one of these can be positive or negative. Our interest here is in responsives and indicatives, and no more will be said about imperatives. ss We shall consider first the differences of polarity between responsives and VPiess sentences. It will be recalled from 5.2.3 that they make different uses of preverbal particles and, in the case of negatives, post-subject dim. The realization of the preverbal particles can be controlled with reference to the mood and polarity features of C, thus: (126) a. b. (127) a. b.

c c c c

[indicative, positive [indicative, negative ) [responsive, positive I [responsive, negative]

--+ --+ --+ --+

0/ mi I fe 0/ ni(d) 0 na(c}

The preverbal particles are also triggers for mutations. In the case of the indicative, the positive particles mi or fe can be omitted but the mutation remains - this is very common in vernacular Welsh. The negative particle ni(d) is invariably omitted in vernacular Welsh but, again, the mutational effects can remain. It can survive as the remnant d preceding a very small number of verb forms with initial vowels. The responsive positive C is never phonetically realized, and the responsive negative particle is never omitted. Turning now to the post-subject negator dim, we shall look first at VPiess sentences. It is accounted for here by setting up a Negative Phrase (NegP) as the complement of I:

188 A fomwl analy.ris of ll'e/.rh responsi\•es

Jl

(128)

~ NegP

~ NP

Neg 1

----------------I

Neg

AspP

Asp

VP

~

oedcl oedcl

Sioned ddim Sioned 0

yn yn

go/chi clillad go/chi clillacl

In negatives. dim fills Neg. In positives. Neg is empty- the lack of overt material indicates that the clause is positive. The features of C can be used to control the filling of Neg: when C is positive, Neg remains unfilled; when C is negative, Neg is filled with dim. In responsives. 5.2.3 shows that nonemphatic dim docs not occur. Again C can be used to prevent this: when [responsive, negative]. na fills C as in (127b); but the feature [responsive] stops nonemphatic dim occurring in Neg. However. there is an alternative approach which exploits ellipsis. As is shown in 5.2.4 and 5.2.5. rcsponsives and VPiess sentences are different in terms of the realization of the subject and post-subject constituents. Expressed differently, this amounts to establishing the different domains of ellipsis in the two. The possibilities for an indicative sentence can be summarized as follows: (129) a.

b.

c.

d.

mae is 'she mae is 'she mae is 'she mae is 'she

hi wedi go/chi clillacl. she after wash clothes has washed clothes.' hi wecli go/chi I clillaclj. she after wash [clothes] has washed [clothes].' hi we eli I go/chi clillacl]. she after [wash clothes) has [washed clothes].' hi [wedi go/chi dillacl]. she Iafter wash clothes] has [washed clothes].'

A generalized analysis 189

e.

mae [hi wecli go/chi dillacl]. is [she after wash clothes] '[she] has [washed clothes].'

Our interest is in VPiess sentences in (l29c--e), and their derivation through ellipsis can be illustrated by the following: (130)

I'

~ NegP

~ NP

--------------Neg•

Neg

AspP

Asp

I

mae

hi

0

VP

~

we eli

It can be seen from ( 130) that the NegP has now been developed to include the Aspect Phrase (AspP) as the complement of Neg. Its head. Asp, is filled with aspect markers like yn (progressive) and wecli (perfect), and its complement is the VP. The illustration shows that there are three domains of ellipsis: the VP alone to produce an example like (l29c); the AspP to produce an example like (l29d), and the NegP to produce an example like (l29e). The last of these is the most severe as it extends up to and includes the NP subject, although the norm is to keep an overt subject. The least severe is the ellipsis of the VP as this leaves aspect marker~. As mentioned in 5.2.5, deleting the VP alone in the presence of aspect markers is mainly used in emphatic statements. Outside emphatic contexts, AspP ellipsis is the norm. In this study, we have used the terms VP ellipsis and VPiess sentences. But it can be seen from ( 130), that it is more accurate to refer to differenttypcs of elliptical sentences and different domains of ellipsis (that is, NegPiess

190 A fom1al analysis of lf'e/sl! responsives

sentences and NcgP ellipsis, and so forth). But the terms VPlcss sentences and VP ellipsis can serve as convenient generic labels for the different possibilities. In the case of a responsive, the domain of ellipsis must be more strictly defined, as illustrated by the following: (131)

J1

~ NcgP

~ NP

Neg•

----------------I

Neg

AspP

Asp

VP

~

............................................................ ydy

hi

wedi

go/chi dillacl~

There is an obligatory and optional element to ellipsing clements in a responsive: ellipsis must include all of the Neg•; it optionally includes the subject NP. But the norm is for a null subject so that ellipsis is based mainly on the NegP. These possibilities are more limited than those in VPless sentences where different domains of ellipsis arc available. Significantly, the obligatory ellipsis Neg• in responsives can prevent nonemphatic dim from occuring in them. It is shown in 5.2.4 that prodrop does not occur in negative VPless sentences (and in full sentences). The tree diagram in ( 130) for a positive VPless sentence shows ellipsis focuses singularly on one phrase- all of the NegP, or all of the AspP or all of the VP. In each case, no fragments of the phrase remain. But the omission of the subject in a negative VPless sentence would see nonadjacent parts of the same phrase omitted to leave ddim as an intervening fragment:

A generalized analysis 191

(132)

Jl

~ NcgP

~

Neg

AspP

~ Asp

I ydy

hi

ddim ~ wedi

VP

~ go/chi dillad

The subject hi 'she' and wedi go/chi dillacl 'washed clothes' are nonadjacent phrases of the NegP. On this basis, it can be argued that ellipsis in Welsh has to focus on all of a phrase and cannot omit nonadjacent parts which leave intervening parts. Responsives do not use nonemphatic dim and subject omission satisfies the adjacency condition. Point 7 refers to the restriction that responsives do not occur as noun clauses while VPless sentences can. This restriction can also be characterized with reference to the features of C: a clause specified with [responsive] can be prevented from occurring as a complement clause. This account uses the same clause structure for both responsives and VPless sentences. Within this configuration, a feature analysis on C is used to control the various crucial differences relating to polarity, the domain of ellipsis, and noun clauses. This gives a generalized account which characterizes the similarities and differences between the two types of patterns. In Welsh, then, finite verbal responsives are not examples of a distinct syntactic category. The term responsive represents a feature on C which indicates the function of a clause. But a clause which fulfils this function is subject to the distinctive syntactic characteristics which are described in the foregoing discussion.

192 A fomwl ana(vsis af Welsh 1·esponsives

5. 3. 3 111e Complementizer: nonecho and echo responsives

Chapter 3 explores the various factors which can account for the choice of an echo or nonccho responsive in Welsh. One of the most interesting factors is word order, and the formalization can begin by examining its influence. In order to account for the choice of a nonecho responsive, we must refer to the focus of the interrogation. Using an analysis proposed in Tallcrman (1996: 107-110), Welsh fronted clauses can be explained by developing a complex CP as follows: (133)

CPl

.......-..... Spec

C!l

.......-..... Cl

CP2

.......-..... Spec C2 .......-..... C2 IP .......-..... Spec Jl .......-..... 1

NegP

.......-..... NP

Neg•

.......-..... Neg

AspP

.......-..... Spec Asp• .......-.....

lsp A

(a) (b)

hi

oedd hi oedd was she

yn yn prog

gweithio gweithio work

A

........................... : ~

The head of the higher complementizcr phrase, Cl, is specified for the features which arc described in (125) in 5.3.2 The lower CP2 has two functions: its Spec provides a landing site for the fronted constituent, in this case the subject NP. Its head. C2, accounts for preverbal particles which occur in the formal language but which arc rare in spontaneous speech. It is suggested here that the interrogative

A ge11eralizecl a11alysis 193 feature has different domains of focus according to the word order of the clause. When the Spec of CP2 is occupied by a fronted constituent, the interrogative feature focuses on the Spec. For example, when a subject NP is fronted, the latter comes under the focus of the mood feature ofC1:

( 134)

CPI [

c I cp2[ Spec C2 w[ I NegP[ NP Neg AspP[ Spec Asp VP [ ... I

When the Spec of CP2 is empty in a normal clause, the mood feature focuses on the next overt constituent, namely I. For example: ~----------~

(135)

CPI [

c 1 cp2[ Spec C2 JP[ I NegP[ NP Neg AspP( Spec Asp VP [ ... J

In this way, we can account for the choice of verbless and finite constituents: focus on Spec CP2 demands a nonccho responsive, I focus demands an echo responsive. As Chapter 3 makes clear, there arc other contexts in which a nonecho responsive can be selected. A generalization can be made that the default is to select a nonccho responsive unless C 1 focuses upon I. This will confine echo rcsponsives to being used with finite clauses of normal word order.

5. 3.4 111e Complementizer and/: types of echo responsives This section presents an account of the forms. described in Chapter 2, which can occur as echo responsivcs: full echo responsives. the substitute responsive, the perfect responsive, and the special forms of bod 'be·. It will be recalled that the main choices arc bod 'be', modal auxiliaries and the carrier auxiliary gwneud 'do'. The majority of lexical verbs are not used as responsives with the exception of those which arc unique in terms of tense functions or morphophonemics. One way of accounting for the different forms of echo responsivcs is to exploit the feature specification on C, and features on I. There are two aspects of this approach. First, it is suggested that the feature [responsive) on C controls the finite \!erbs which can occupy the constituent I. Second, the lexicon records all those verbs which can occur as rcsponsives; bod 'be', modal auxiliaries and the carrier auxiliary gwneud 'do' can all be subcategorized with [ C [responsive)]. A rule can then say that when C is specified with [responsive], the category I can only be

194 A .fcm11al ana(vsis of ll'el.rh responsil•es

filled by those verbs which have [ C [rcsponsivcJ( in their lexical entries. All verbs which lack this feature arc prevented from filling I in a responsive. It will be recalled from 2.2.4 that cael 'have. get'. dod 'come' and mynd 'go' can optionally occur as echo rcsponsivcs or can be substituted with gwneud. The basic lexical entry for these words would be the same as that for bod 'be·. the modal auxiliaries and the carrier auxiliary gwnerul but it will have to be marked as being optional. If this option is not used. then they will fall in with the majority of lexical verbs. and gwneud will be used as the substitute responsive. The lexical entry for those verbs which can occur as responsives under certain conditions is more complex. It will be recalled from 2.2.3 that certain general lexical verbs arc unlike the majority of such verbs in that they can be used with a present tense reference. In the case of g11:riJOd 'know', this is achieved through a unique morphological paradigm: and in the case of c~vwed 'hear' and gweld 'see', this is achieved by using the future tense forms with a present tense function. In these cases. it is argued that they can be used as responsivcs as long as a present tense feature occurs. The responsive mlc must take account not only of features on C but also features on I. The lexical entry for such verbs would include [C[rcsponsivc) l[present)). and a mlc would allow these verbs to occupy I in responsives given that this contextual restriction were satisfied. The feature specification of C and I can also be used to determine the occurrence of the perfect rcsponsives c/o and naddo. It will be recalled from 2.1.2 that these responsives are used when the target contains the perfect tense. The features which determine their usc are as follows: C (responsive] and I [perfect). The lexical entry will therefore include [ C [responsive) I (perfcctJ(. and a rule will say that they can be inserted into the clause stmcturc when the context includes these features The lexicon contains only one form. namely do. The form naddo is a product of na + do, with na triggering the soft mutation to produce ddo. Coalescence then works to produce 11{1(/c/o. There is one striking feature of this approach. It entails inserting do into I and thus treating the perfect responsives as finite verbs. In all other respects, these forms are very unvcrb-like. But the approach can be justified on the grounds that: -

They respond to finite verb targets. They can be preceded by na like finite verbs: and. also like finite verbs, they can be preceded by oni in tags (its spoken realization is yn): ma' hi wedi cyrredd, yn do? 'she has arrived, hasn't she?'. -As shown by Thomas P.W. (1996: 523). in southern dialects. in questions and tags. do can be followed by a personal pronoun which agrees with the person features of the verb in the target. just like finite verbs: Aeth hi at y rheolwr i aclm:vn? Do hi? 'Did she got to the manager to complain?- Yes [lit. 'yes shcJ'. Thomas also shows that the pronoun.fe 'he' can occur as a general pronominal clement in response to a range of person features: Buon ni 'n siarad

A ge11era/ized mw~~·sis 195 ti 'r Pah. -Do fe, wir 'We were speaking with the Pope. -Yes [lit. yes he],

truly'. These points suggest that, in distributional, terms the perfect responsives behave like finite verbs.

It can be argued that the perfect rcsponsives arc like dummy forms which indicate tense features in a responsive when verb forms arc prevented from occupying I. In this very general sense. do is a carrier of finite verb features like gwneud 'do'. The feature specification which produces the perfect responsivcs has to be more complex than this. It will be recalled from the description in 2.1.3 that they can be used when the perfect aspect occurs with the present tense. It will also be recalled that in Welsh. the preposition wedi 'after' precedes the main nonfinite verb to produce the perfect aspect. For convenience of presentation here, we can usc ... wedi ... as a shorthand for this configuration. The additional context in which the perfect responsivcs can be used can now be given as follows: [ C[rcsponsive] I[prcsent] ... wedi ... ]. A nile can insert do into I when this context occurs. It will be recalled from the description in 2.5.1 that the third person singular and plural of the present tense of hod 'be· use different forms for nonresponsives and responsivcs, namely: mae (is) and ma 'n 'are· for nonrcsponsivcs, and ydy 'is', oes 'is', and y(~vn 'arc· for responsivcs. The contextual restrictions for these forms are a combination of the features of C. tense and person. The subcategorization frame is as follows: ( 136)

[ C [responsive] I [present. 3 rd person J]

These forms are not unique to responsivcs. As prc,·iously described. they also occur in interrogatives and negatives.

5.3.5 VP phrases: (lpes of echo responsives

An alternative to the feature analysis is to exploit analyses of Welsh clauses which claim that the forms which occur in pre-subject positions as finite verbs originate in post-subject positions.~,; The illustrations in ( 137) outline the general idea. The example in (137a) can be accounted for by introducing another VP as the complement of Neg: for convenience, we shall refer to this as the Auxiliary Verb Phrase (AuxVP). The finite verb form all originates as the head of AuxVP ga/111 'can', but it is moved into I to carry features of tense and agreement. A similar movement analysis also accounts for bod 'be' as an aspectual auxiliary in (l37b). The finite verb form originates as the head of AuxVP bod 'be', but it is moved into I to carry features of tense and agreement where it occurs as oedd 'was'. This configuration can be used to characterize the different verb types that can occur as responsivcs. It can be claimed that only those verbs which originate in AuxVP can

196 A fomwl analysis of Welsh responsil'es

be used in responsives. Where a verb originates from the lower VP. that is the majority of lexical verbs, the substitute responsive gll'lletul 'do' is used. This suggestion introduces another question, namely: what is the source of i:'''nell(n One obvious possibility is that it can be introduced directly from the lexicon into I. But another intriguing possibility is that i:'''llelld is accounted for within the basic stmcturc of the clause, possibly by introducing another VP which can dominate the AuxVPs in (137a) and (137b). A detailed consideration of these matters would entail a comprehensive examination of the Welsh clause and all occurrences of gwne11d, and cannot be adequately attempted here (discussion can be found in Rouveret 1994: 71-82). Exploiting verb movement has some merits when applied to account for hod 'be', modal auxiliaries and the majority of lexical verbs. But it will not account for those lexical verbs which originate in the lower VP but which have unique tense uses and which can be used as responsives- g11:vhod 'know·, gwe/d 'see', c(vwed 'hear', and hoffi I licio 'like'. We could say that that there is no other form which can be used as the finite verb: hod 'be· and the modal auxiliaries cannot be used because they arc not present in the clause, and gll'ne11d cannot be drawn upon because it cannot occur with the tense uses of these verbs. It could therefore be argued that these unique verbs have to be moved into I to occur as responsives because there is no other form which can be used. (137) a.

Sioned ddim gll'eithio all work not can+fut+ 3sg 'Sioned cannot work.'

IP /"'...... Spec

Jl /"'...... NegP

/"'...... NP

Neg'

/"'...... Neg

AuxVP

/"'...... Spec

hi ddim

AuxV 1 /"'...... VP AuxV

gall11

...............................:

gll'eithio

A generalized analysis 197

b.

oedd Sioned ddim yn gweithio not prog work was 'Sioned was not working.'

IP /'-.... Spec

1' /'-.... NegP /'-.... Neg 1 NP /'-.... AuxVP Neg

/'-.... Spec

...

hi ddim

AuxV 1 /'-.... AspP AuxV /'-.... Asp 1 Spec /'-.... VP Asp

hod

yn

gweilhio

. '···························

Further, we have seen that certain lexical verbs which have irregular morphophonemics- cael 'have', dod 'come', and mynd 'go'- can optionally occur as full echo responsives or be substituted with gwneud. This observation and the immediately preceding one shows that an account which depends on configurational context must be able to allow for verb types, and the usc of features as suggested in 5.3.4 would appear to be necessary in this approach, too. This emphasises the importance of the role of features in a discussion of responsivcs, and essentially promotes a features-based approach rather than a configurational one. Finally, we have also seen that regular lexical verbs which do not normally occur as rcsponsives can be so used for reasons of semantics (e.g. emphasis) or style. These factors, too, need to be built into an account of responsives, whether a fca.ture approach or a configurational approach. Theoretical syntax has not given high priority to such matters, and these issues will not be considered here beyond these basic observations.

6. Children's use of Welsh responsives 6.1 Introduction Having outlined the main features of the system of responsives in Welsh, this chapter and the following chapters analyse the use of this system by Welshspeaking children. The aim of this chapter is to provide descriptive observations which establish whether the children adhere to or deviate from the perceived norms of adult usage, in particular whether they maintain the differences between the two major types of responsives - nonecho and echo. These observations are supported by elementary descriptive statistics, based on frequency counts and percentages, which will give a quantitative profile of the usc of responsives by the children. We shall not at this stage attempt to explain the children's usc of responsives. Chapters 7 and 8 use more sophisticated linguistic and statistical analyses which offer explanatory accounts of the trends of usage which arc established here.

6.1.1 111e database

The analysis is based on a corpus of spontaneous conversational discourse produced by children who were between three and seven years of age inclusive, and who came from a variety of language, regional, and social backgrounds. Details which indicate the scale of the corpus arc given in Table 3. Table 3. The corpus

Numbers of children Hours of recording Numbers of word forms Frequencies of word forms

J\ge Groups Five

Six

Seven

79

90

98

II

21

24

26

2224

2516

3236

5475

4913

20340

28255

55293

83727

92966

llrree

Four

37

37

12.5

The children were recorded over open microphones while playing in pairs mainly in a sandbox containing sand, toys, and other play objects. The recording took place in the presence of a researcher in the children's own school environ-

200 Children's use of Welsh responsives

ments (classrooms, corridors, TV rooms, etc.). The researcher was often involved in the conversation. This combination produces three participant roles in the speech event - speaker, addressee, and listener. This study is only concerned with responses produced by the children. But it is relevant to distinguish responses to another child and responses to an adult, as is seen in 8.2.3. The programming language Icon (Griswold-Griswold 1997) was used to extract, from the main corpus, the data which is the immediate base of this study. This subcorpus was made up of pairs of targets and their responsives along with any intervening utterances; each utterance was preceded by a code identifying the speaker. Each pair of target and responsive was assigned another code detailing: the type of responsive on the basis of Chapter 2; the type of target on the basis of Chapters 2 and 3; the discourse function of the responsive on the basis of Chapter 4; the type of addressee (child or adult)- this information is used in 8.2.3; any further observations about the pairing. e.g. interpolations. The same programming language was also used to obtain finer analyses for the descriptions given in this chapter.

6. 1. 2 Other studies of children's use of responsives In the literature on naturalistic acquisition of a first and I or second language, there is a relatively small number of studies which investigate the emergence and development of responsives. 57 Direct comparisons with these works are difficult because of differences of research aims, methods and age of the subjects. The ages vary from children who are younger than those in this study, as in Choi (1991) and Steffensen ( 1978), those who are mainly older as in van Hekken-Roelofsen (1982), and those whose ages roughly coincide with the children in this study, as in Akiyama ( 1979). Like this study, naturalistic observation through audio and I or video recordings of spontaneous conversations is used in van Hekken and Roelofsen ( 1982}, Berninger-Garvey ( 1981 }, and Steffensen ( 1978). A study by Choi ( 1991) deliberately introduces questions, asked by an adult, into recorded conversations with one group of children, and uses test questions supported by pictures with another group of children. Akiyama ( 1979) employs an experimental approach by using a set of questions to elicit responses. It is the research aims which present the most serious difficulties for comparisons. Welsh has mainly a polarity-based responsive system, and it is interesting because of the range and distribution of the forms of responsives. There appear to be no existing studies which pursue a similar interest. A common and interesting consideration in the literature is the respective emergence of the polarity-based

Introduction 20 I

system and the truth-value system. Choi ( 1991) and Akiyama (1979) present studies which compare the acquisition and development of the two systems in a polarity-based language (like English and French) and a truth-value language (like Japanese and Korean). As truth-value languages also use the polarity-based system with positive questions, these studies can also compare the two systems within the same language. The general view which emerges is that the polaritybased system is acquired before the truth-value system, although Choi ( 1991) presents a description of development which shows that the acquisition of both language types goes through different stages. 58 Steffensen ( 1978) looks at the emergence of the semantics of responsives in two English-speaking children, and reports that children arc aware of their interactive value before they display an awareness of their semantics (a finding which is confirmed by Choi 1991 ). That is, very young children usc a responsive to complete an exchange with an adult but do not select the appropriate polar form to give a proper semantic answer. The study by van Hekkcn-Roelofsen ( 1982) of Dutch-speaking children examines the influence of the form and content of a question on the tendency to supply an answer, and is not primarily concerned with the semantics and form of rcsponsivcs. Because of these various differences of research aims and design, no major comparisons between this study and existing studies can be sustained. But individual points of comparison sporadically emerge, and these will be exploited in the body of the discussion in this chapter and, in particular, the remaining chapters.

6./.3 Negative responsives

It will be recalled from 2.6 that the negative particle na occurs as a general negative responsive. There may be a tendency to think that na is an alternative mainly to verbal responsivcs. In these terms, the competing forms arc as follows : rna+ finite verb

~ lna

1 ~

vs.

nage

vs.

naclclo

J

But there arc statistical and linguistic reasons for challenging such a view. Statistically, the tables referred to in the following sections show that all negative rcsponsivcs lose ground in the face of competition from na. Linguistically, there is no reason why the na element in verbal responsives should be distinguished from the na element in nage and nacldo. Literate bias may point to the fact that the standard orthography leaves a space between the negative particle and the finite verb (e.g. nafydd) while the other two are written as one word. But standard linguistic principles of analysis would quickly emphasize that this corpus is based on

202 Chilclre11 's use of Welsh respo11sives

spoken language where no such gaps exist. Also, linguistic analysis would stress the functional equivalence of the na element in verbal responsives and the na portion of nage and naddo. Consequently, it is better to see na as a competitor with negative verbal responsives, the negative perfect naddo and the negative nonecho nage. It will be seen below that this range of alternatives complicates the task of interpreting trends in the use of negative responsives: an occurrence of na could be derived from any one of the other three. In view of the above complexities, in the following sections, positive and negative responsives are considered separately.

6. /.4 Responsives and their targets: preliminary statistics Table 4 gives the numbers of different types of targets over the five ages, along with the numbers of children in each age group. As can be seen, of the sixteen types of targets, finite sentences of normal word order are the dominant type: in the case of the totals for all ages, they account for 44% of all targets and are 25% ahead of their nearest rival - verbless fragments, which account for 19% of the total. The other targets individually account for 0% to 6% of the total, and are clearly minor frequency types in comparison with normal finites and verbless fragments. It is interesting to note that finite sentences of fronted order are in this latter low frequency category, although in any syntactic discussion of responsives, they would be far more prominent than these statistics would otherwise suggest. Table 4. Frequencies and percentages of targets over the children's ages Targets

Ages Three

Five

Four

Six

Seven

Normal clause

383

47

265

35

988

47

1135

46

1091

40

Verbless

202

25

180

24

415

20

458

18

439

16

Fronted clause

50

6

57

8

129

6

159

6

180

7

Situational

11

34

5

62

3

115

5

232

9

bnpcratives

13

2

50

6

41

2

99

4

178

7

Auxi1iary1ess

57

7

33

4

101

5

81

3

76

3

Introduction 203

Nonecho resp.

26

Na

6

Demonstrative

5

Perfect resp.

3

0

13

2

31

31

31

3

0

22

30

38

12

2

29

23

17

0

Textual chunk

0

Beth am?

0

Pardon quest.

0

Efallai

0

3

0

English

2

0

Running totals

31

Grand totals

807

0

2

4

73 756

0

6

0

19

3

0

2

2

0

0

26

0

4

0

5

0

20

0

2

0

2

0

8

0

0

2

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

3

0

1912 .

0

2390

2212

0

3

0

0

0

2

0

0

3

0

9

0

6

0

10

201 2119

2398

2221

1918

683

776

Missing data

0

8

680

X-questions

54

13

0

771

3

52

Echo question

Rmming totals

66

3

7

0

2

24

0

Subord. clause

Seven

Six

Five

Four

Three

9

252 2473

10

280

10

2678

The percentages are based on the grand total for each age group 8ltd are indicated by the right member of each pair of numbers. Table 5 gives the frequencies for the responsives to the targets. Over all ages, the proportion of positive to negative responses is roughly 60:40 - ages four, five, and six are within 2% of these proportions but a greater proportion of negalives is seen at age seven while a lesser proportion of negatives is seen at age three. These trends compare with a tendency revealed by Bald (1980: 182) for yes to occur more frequently than no. In his data, however, the proportion of the oc-

204 Children's use of Welsh responsives currences of yes to the occurrences of no is far greater, roughly 83: 17. Bald's statistics show that yes is particularly frequent in responses to positive statements, and we return to this matter in Chapter 8. 59 Table 5. Frequencies for types of responsives

Ages

Positive

Drree

Four

Five

Six

Seven

All ages

Verbal

222

163

542

534

491

1952

Perfect

36

24

94

79

83

316

Nonecho

307

263

653

818

869

2910

Nominal

0

0

0

0

0

0

565

450

1289

1431

1443

5178

Verbal

57

48

147

172

134

558

Perfect

IS

II

23

22

23

94

Nonecho

34

49

129

171

129

512

Nominal

0

0

0

0

Na

136

198

530

677

949

2490

All

242

306

830

1042

1235

3655

807

756

2119

2473

2678

8833

All Negative

Totals

Separate statistics for targets and responses fail to convey their pairings in conversational exchange. The latter can be given by crosstabulating targets and their given responses, and by supplying the frequencies and percentages for each pair. This is undertaken in the following sections. The appropriateness of the pairing is assessed on the basis of the analyses of responses to types of targets which are given in 3.2 and 3.3. We shall not at this stage take into account the influence of logical form as discussed in 3.4. This influence and the influence of discourse acts is considered in Chapter 8. As explained in 3.1, appropriateness is judged on the basis of perceived norms, either in terms of traditional statements or my own

lntrodllction 205

views. The discussion concentrates mainly upon the two major systems, the echo and nonecho responsives. But the penultimate section examines the matter of choosing the appropriate forms for the verbal subtypes of echo responsives. There are targets which do not systematically relate to the analytic framework which is used in the following sections: targets wholly or partly in English, proper x-interrogatives, and targets whose phonetic form is unclear in the corpus. The statistics for these arc given in Table 6. These targets and their responsives do not figure in the discussion which follows. Table 6. Frequencies for responsives to missing and inappropriate data

Responsi ves

Positive

Verbal

Targets X-questions

English

Missing

All

2

0

97

99

0

26

29

Perfect

Negative

Nonecho

4

12

274

290

Totals

7

12

397

418

0

42

43

0

2

2

62

63

9

332

342

10

438

450

Verbal Perfect

0

Nonecho

0

Na

Totals

2

6.2 Echo responsives In this section, we shall examine responses to targets which, on the basis of perceived norms, expect an echo responsive. The significant and interesting point is whetlier the children maintain the use of echo rcsponsivcs or whether they are replaced with nonecho rcsponsives.

206 Children 's 11se of Welsh responsi\•es

6.2. I Finite targets of norma/wore/ order The reader will recall from 2.1 and 2.2 (and the summary in 2.7.1) that there arc two main types of echo responsive - verbal and perfect. The verbal responsives arc further subdivided into two types. full echo and substitute, but at this stage this distinction can be ignored (it is considered in 6.5.1). It may be convenient to briefly recap the usc of verbal and perfect rcsponsivcs as follows: a verbal responsive responds to a finite sentence of normal word order which does not contain the perfect tense: for instance. oedd 'was' responds to oedd hi yna? 'was she there?': a perfect responsive responds to a finite sentence of normal word order which contains the perfect tense: for instance, do 'yes' responds to fuodd hi yna? 'was she there?'. normal finite sentences of normal order which contain the present tense and the perfect aspect can meet with either a verbal or perfect responsi\'e: for instance. either yc{v 'is' or c/o can respond to yc{l' hi we eli bod yna? 'has she been there?'. Consequently. we can summarize the expected and unexpected pairings of echo responsivcs with their targets as in Figure 20. Targets expected

unexpected

non perfect perfect aspect perfect tense nonperfect perfect aspect perfect tense

Responsives ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~

verbal verbal or perfect perfect perfect or nonecho nonecho verbal or nonecho

Fig11re 20. Expected and unexpected pairings of responsives and targets

Corpus examples of expected rcsponsi\'cs to normal finites can be seen in the following: (l)

a.

ni? weld e, yc{vn H: dan ni 'n dal he be+pres+ 1pl we bc+prcs+ 1pl we prog continue to sec 'we still see it, do we?' G: ydyn. be+pres+ 1pl 'yes.'

Echo responsives 207

MJ: 's ge11 ti (~fre adre? is with you books home 'have you got (any) books at home?' H: oes. is 'yes.' c. MJ: oedd laic/ yn gorfod deffro? was grandfather prog oblige wake 'did granddad have to wake up?' R: oedd. was 'yes.' d. 1: eilh i /awr i Janna, gneilh? go+fut+ 3sg down to there do+fut+ 3sg '(it) will go down to there, will it?' A: gneilh. do+fut+3sg 'yes.· c. G: stopoclcl e Janna? stopped he there 'did he stop there?' A: c/o. 'yes.'

b.

Corpus examples of unexpected pairings arc as follows: (2)

a.

b.

c.

MJ: 'li '11 licio chware efo peth fel hyn? you+arc prog like play with thing like this 'do you like playing with a thing like this?' H: ie. 'yes.· c/osharth hefvd? MJ: ma 'r mach yn y is the pigs in the class also 'the pigs arc in the class too?' E: ie. 'yes.' 'n cal ffiseg tagu, wyt? MJ: 'ti be+prcs+2sg+pro prog have medicine cough be+pres+2sg 'you have cough medicine, do you?' Y: ie. 'yes.'

208 Chilclren 's 11se of Welsh responsives

d.

S:

R:

gnnlclon ni chi yn y Ira 'th. met we you in the beach 'we met you on the beach.' ww, ie. 'oh, yes.'

Table 7 gives the statistical frequencies for all positive responsives to finite sentences of normal word order. For all targets over all ages, 23% of such responsives are erroneous by traditional standards. A more detailed picture is given in Table 8 Table 7. Frequencies for expected and unexpected positive responsives to perfect and nonperfect targets Targets

Expected Unexpected Totals

Nonperfect

Perfect aspect

Perfect tense

All targets

1566

164

49

1779

481

26

18

525

2047

190

67

2304

All the targets are finite clauses of normal word order.

Table 8. Frequencies for types of positive responsives to perfect and nonperfect targets Targets Perfect aspect

Verbal

1566

41

Perfect

II

123

49

183

470

26

17

513

2047

190

67

2304

Nonecho Totals

All the targets arc finite clauses of normal word order.

Perfect tense

All targets

Nonperfect

1608

Echo responsives 209

which examines specific types of responsives. It can be seen from Table 8 that the main mispairing involves the selection of the nonccho ie instead of a verbal or perfect responsive. On this basis, it can be reasonably claimed that in positive responses there is a tendency to use a nonecho responsive in place of an echo responsive. Table 9. Frequencies for expected and unexpected negative responsives to perfect and nonperfect targets

Targets

Expected Unexpected

Na Totals

Non perfect

Perfect aspect

Perfect tense

All targets

425

55

22

502

66

6

5

77

884

61

33

978

1375

122

60

1557

All the targets arc finite clauses of normal word order. Table 10. Frequencies for types of negative responsives to perfect and nonpcrfect targets

Targets Nonperfect

Perfect aspect

Perfect tense

All targets

Verbal

425

13

0

438

Perfect

4

42

22

68

62

6

5

73

884

61

33

978

1375

122

60

1557

Nonecho

Na Totals

All the targets arc finite clauses of normal word order.

210 Children's use of Welsh responsi\•es

Using the same method of generalizing expected and unexpected pairings. Table 9 presents a portrayal of negative rcsponsivcs. The expected pairings for negatives arc much lower than for positives: they account for only 32% for negatives in comparison with 77% for positives (Table 7). It can be seen that this decrease is not because of competition from the nonecho responsive, in this case nage. but arises because of the usc of tw which emerges as a general negative responsive to normal finite targets. A more specific account is provided by Table 10 which lists types of rcsponsivcs. More detailed points now emerge: na accounts for 63% of rcsponsivcs to all targets. A comparison of positive verbal rcsponsivcs in Table 7 with negative verbal responsivcs in Table 9 shows that the negative ones arc far less common than positive ones: only 28% as negative rcsponsivcs but 70% as positive rcsponsives. This is due to the widespread usc of m1 as a general negative responsive. Tables 7 and 9 show that the usc of the negative nonccho responsive nage is much lower than its positive counterpart ie - 5% for the former and 22% for the taller. This is also due to the widespread usc of na as a general negative responsive.

The dominant usc of m1 is also seen in negative responses to other types of targets, as is discussed below. The variety of forms for echo rcsponsives arc considerably reduced in the children's Welsh. The positive responsive ie and, in particular. the negative form na arc used in place of verbal and perfect rcsponsivcs. We shall allempt to establish in the following chapters whether this is a significant tendency. statistically and linguistically.

6. 2. 2 Imperative targets

Insofar as imperatives exhibit finite features. they can be regarded as finite targets. The following imperative forms can be classed as finite verbs: forms with the regular singular and plural imperative endings -a and -wch as in steele/a 'sit' and steddwch 'sit'. and irregular imperative forms such as (vel 'come'. rhecl 'nm', clere 'come· and so forth. But in the vernacular variety of Welsh. the verbnoun form (or infinitive) is also used with imperative functions. The following examples from the corpus illustrate the same lcxcmc. gwneucl 'do, make' being used in both ways:

Rclw responsi1•es 211

(3}

a.

b.

A: gna

hi Janna. do+imp she there 'do it there.' F: naci. 'no. S: neue/ 0 Janna i gyd, ia. do he there all yes 'do it all there. yes.· R: ia. 'yes.'

In (3a). the finite imperative form gna occurs. while in (3b) the verbnoun form neue/ occurs. Traditionally. the imperative is associated with a number of meanings ranging from command at one extreme to much weaker forms of direction such as suggestion. recommendation. or advice at the other extreme. In formal styles, only the finite form is used. and the occurrence of the verbnoun form is limited to vernacular contexts. In the latter style. the relationship between the two forms is difficult to gauge. They may be in free variation. covering the same range of meanings. However. I have tentatively suggested elsewhere (Jones B.M. 1988: 13-14) that the use of these two forms may allow a functional difference which reflects the two extreme meanings of the imperative. That is. whereas the finite form can be used with different strengths of direction. the vcrbnoun form can be purposefully used with weak directive strength. and serves merely to put forward actions for consideration. The force of the vcrbnoun is similar to recommendations which impose no obligation on the addressee and which arc given without authority on the part of the speaker. Further. the verbnoun forms may have mutual reference - the recommendation involves action by the speaker as well as the addressee. Table II gives the frequencies for the two formal types of imperatives as targets for responsivcs. The frequencies show that the nonecho ie is the most frequent positive responsive to both finite and vcrbnoun imperatives. From the frequencies in Table 11, it can be worked out thatna accounts for 86% of negative responsives to imperatives. Again. it is the dominant form of negative responsive whose sclec!ion considerably reduces the role of any other type of responsive. There arc two mteresting points which emerge from the statistics. First, the use of echo responsives to respond to imperatives is very much lower than their use to respond to either statements or questions. as described in 6.2.1: 17% of positive responses to the latter arc echo forms while only 4% of positive responses to imperatives are echo forms; 32% of negative responses to statements and questions are echo forms while only 3% of negative responses to imperatives arc echo forms. In the light of these differences, the relationship between impera-

212 Children's use of Welsh responsil•es Table I I. Frequencies for types ofresponsives to imperatives

l.mperati ves

Positive

Negative

Finite

Verbnoun

Both

4

4

8

Nonecho

85

94

179

Totals

89

98

187

Verbal

6

0

6

Nonecho

9

13

22

99

67

166

114

80

194

Verbal

Na

Totals

lives and echo responsives needs to be carefully assessed. We have noted in 3.4.1 that utterances with diffe&ent illocutionary forces determine different sorts of responses. Chierchia-McConnell-Ginet (1990: 175-176) say: "With ordinary statements, which Austin called constatives, it is appropriate to challenge or confirm them with a 110 or yes. The 110 or yes is an assessment of whether the statement fits the circumstances being described ... But it would generally be absurd to say "Yes" or "No" or "That's right" or "That's wrong'' to a performative utterance of the kind illustrated in (29) [for example, You're fired]. Such utterances actually create the circumstances they speak of, so the question of whether they fit these circumstances seems quite irrelevant." Although these authors are concerned with different sorts of illocutionary force. this general line of argument can be applied to imperatives: that is. they are concerned with bringing about events or actions, and their directive force expects compliance through action and not confirmation of the polarity of a proposition. The rarity of an echo responsive can be attributed to their illocutionary force. The nonecho responsives can be used because, as we have seen in Chapter 3, they can occur in a broader range of semantic and discourse contexts, and they can be used to acknowledge or reject different sorts of illocutionary force, including the appropriateness of issuing a command. Second. a comparison of positive and negative responsives in Table II shows that, in this corpus, finite forms of imperatives are proportionally higher as targets for negative responsives (1I4 I I 94 = 58. 76%) than for positive ones (89 I I87 == 47.59%). As a speculative explanation as to why this should be, we can reconsider

Echo responsives 213

the functional difference between finite and verbnoun forms referred to above. It can be tentatively suggested that an addressee is more likely to disagree with a command which is strongly directive than a weak one lacking directive force the latter can be left unacknowledged or even acknowledged without obligation. On this basis, it is suggested that strong directives conveyed by finite imperatives arc more likely to provoke disagreement and thus are more likely to occur as targets for negative responses.

6. 2. 3 Pelfect responsives as targets

In this section. we shall examine responses to perfect rcsponsives when they themselves occur as targets. From the frequencies in Table 12, it can be shown that 91% of positive responsivcs use do, and arc well-formed. Further. from the frequencies Table 12. Frequencies for rcsponsives to perfect responsivcs as targets

Rcsponsivcs

Targets

Positive Negative

Verbal

Perfect

Nonecho

2

60

4

16

Na

Totals 66

10

28

in Table 12 it can also be shown that, although the usc of the perfect responsive naddo falls to 57%, the usc of 1za is not as dominant as seen so far: this table shows that the usc of naddo is proportionally greater than the use of na. A tentative explanation for this may be that the responsive targets themselves prompt the appropriate responsive, and ward ofT competition fromna and the nonecho ie and nage.

6.2.4 111e choice of a variable or invariable echo responsive In this section, we shall consider free choices within the echo system between a variable verbal form and an invariable form. The full echo responsive and the ~ubstitutc responsive are variable forms in that they can change their shapes to indicate tense and agreement features. The shapes of the perfect responsives do and naddo (discussed in 2.1) and the indefinite forms oes and nac oes (discussed in 2.5.1 and 2.5.2) remain constant. Given that the nonccho responsives arc invariable forms, and given that the latter are used to some extent in place of the

214 Children's use of Welsh respunsives

echo rcsponsivcs, it is interesting to establish how the variable echo rcsponsivcs fare against the invariable echo responsives. The description in 2.1.3 shows that. with a target that contains the present tense and the perfect aspect - such as mae·,. hws wedi cyrraedd 'the bus has arrived', there is the choice of using a verbal responsive or a perfect responsive. It is interesting to look at the choices made in this corpus: Table 13 gives the frequencies for both types of rcsponsivcs. Unlike tables discussed so far. this table combines positive and negative rcsponsivcs. Tahle /3. Frequencies for positive and negative responsivcs to perfect aspect targets

Targets

Responsives Present Tense

Auxiliaryless

Obscure

All Targets

Verbal

54

7

J

64

Perfect

165

6

4

175

Nonechn

32

14

7

53

Na

61

10

2

7J

Jl2

J7

16

J65

Totals

Our main interest is in the selection of either a verbal or perfect responsive to a finite target which contains the present tense and the perfect aspect. As can be seen. the favourite choice is the perfect responsive. Indeed. if the statistics are based solely on a comparison of either a verbal or perfect responsive. then the usc of the latter is even higher (165 I (165+54) = 75%). It would need a purposeful analysis of present perfect aspect patterns to determine whether this choice is semantically-based. as tentatively suggested in 2.1.3. or whether the children simply prefer the simplicity of the perfect responsive. Such an analysis would require a level of detail which goes beyond the aims of this research and will not be attempted. The description of forms of hod 'be' in 2.5.2 shows that patterns which contain the nominal eisiau 'needs' can have either a definite form or an indefinite form as a responsive: for example, respectively:

Echo responsives 215

(4)

a.

b.

G: 'ti isie sand? be+pres+ 2sg+pro needs sand 'do you want sand?' A: ydw. be+ pres+ 1sg 'yes.· E: 'ti isio 1/l_llllc/ o be+pres+ 2sg+pro needs go from 'do you want to go from here?' A: nac oes. neg is 'no.·

'ma? here

Table 14 gives the frequencies for the selection of either a definite form of bod 'be' or the indefinite oes. Table 14. Frequencies of definite and indefinite limns to targets containing eisia11 'needs'

Finite target

Verbless target

All

Definite forms

26

0

26

Indefinite oes

75

15

90

As can be seen. there is a clear tendency to select the indefinite oes rather than the variable definite forms. The vernacular usage of these children contradicts received prescriptive attitudes which promote the use of definite responsives where a definite form occurs in the target. Unfortunately, there is no data about adult vernacular norms to compare with the usage found in this corpus.

6.3 Nonecho responsives Table 15 lists those types of targets which are expected to determine a nonccho responsive. It can be seen that some targets arc so infrequent in the corpus that no useful generalizations can be made. The interesting and significant point, however, is whether the nonecho responsives are regularly used. In view of the fact that section 6.2 shows that they are used in place of echo ones, we should expect to find that they are used as expected in their own contexts. The statistics in Table I 5 show that this is indeed what happens with positive responsives.

216 Chilclren 's 11se of Welsh responsives Table 15. Frequencies for positive responsives to targets which expect nonecho responsives

Targets

Responsives Non echo

Verbal

Perfect

Fronted finite clause

346

15

0

Nonecho responsive

151

4

3

Demonstrative clause

54

4

Situational

52

Adverbial clause

28

Echo question

30

0

Text chunk

20

0

Suggestion question

7

0

Efallai 'perhaps' •

2

0

0

690

31

4

All targets

0 4

0

• It will be recalled from observations in 1.3.1 that efallai 'perhaps' may arguably be interpreted as an echo responsive. This lexeme is problematic and is, at best, only a marginal member of the class of echo responsives. To err on the side of caution in the statistical analysis of the usage of the children, it is treated here as a target which expects a nonecho responsive. This table and Table 16 show that, as the frequencies of efallai are so low, this is hardly a critical decision in quantitative terms.

In positive responsives to finite sentences of fronted word order, the traditional usc of ie is closely followed. Here are examples of its appropriate usc according to traditional rules:

Nonec/10 responsives 217 (5)

a.

b.

MJ: organ u:vt ti 'n chware? organ be+pres+2sg you prog play 'is it an organ that you play?' A: ie. 'yes.' MJ: fo 'c~v 'r muya? he is the biggest 'is it him who's the biggest?' R: ia. 'yes.'

As can be seen from Table 15, for all ages, only a small percentage (4%) of positive rcsponsivcs to fronted finite targets are inappropriate. These statistics obviously invite comparison with those given for positive echo responsivcs to finite sentences of normal word order given in Tables 7 and 8. It would appear that the latter arc more open to variation than the positive nonccho responsive. Table 16. Frequencies for negative responsives to targets which expect nonecho responsives

Targets

Responsives Nonecho

Verbal

Perfect

Na

Fronted finite clause

95

2

0

117

Nonecho responsive

23

6

34

9

0

29

50

2

Demonstrative Situational Adverbial clause

0

349

0

3

0

0

0

4

Echo question Text chunk

0

0

0

10

Suggestion

0

2

0

3

Efallai 'perhaps'

0

0

0

2

182

13

2

547

All targets

218 Children's 11se of Welsh responsi\•es

The corpus shows that responsivcs themselves can act as targets, as we have already seen. Generally speaking, it is expected that such targets would determine the usc of rcsponsivcs of a similar type. Table 15 shows that this is the case with the nonccho responsive ie and nage when they occur as targets: for positive rcsponsivcs, ie is the most frequent form. Echo questions arc interesting in that they exhibit either polar or xinterrogativc form. But they arc not subject to the rules of these interrogative types as echo questions basically imply did you say ... ?. They are questions about language, and arc thus part of the informal mctalinb'llistic use of language. Table 16 gives the statistics for negative rcsponsivcs to targets which expect a nonccho form, i.e. nage. As with positive rcsponsives. again it can be seen that the frequencies of some of the targets arc so low that they do not allow any generalizations to be made about them. Looking at the totals for all these types of targets, we can sec the familiar pattern of the dominant usc of na rather than nage. But the targets which are either finite clauses of fronted word order or arc themselves nonccho responsivcs exhibit a greater usc of nage than the average for all targets. Compared with responses to normal finite clauses (given in Tables 9 and 10), na is not as dominant - the responsive nage is holding its ground better than the verbal responsives.

6.4 Nonecho or echo responsives In this section, we shall examine responses to targets which can be responded to with either an echo responsive or a nonecho responsive. Two main distinctions are made: on the one hand. there are targets which allow a free choice - mainly sentence fragments and na (as a target): and. on the other hand. there are targets which limit the choice to a particular type of responsive. The free choices arc particularly interesting as they can be interpreted as indicating the children's preferences. Given that the account in 6.2.1 shows that there is a tendency for nonccho rcsponsivcs to displace echo ones. it is significant to establish whether or not nonecho responsivcs arc more frequent than echo ones where an open choice is possible.

6. 4. 1 Sentence fragments Traditional grammars of Welsh generally neglect sentence fragments. and, in the absence of existing judgements, I have claimed in 3.3.4 that auxiliaryless and verbless targets allow a choice of either echo or nonccho responsives. In the case of positive responses, Table 17 shows that the usc of the nonccho responsive ie is clearly in the majority. In the case of negative responsives to sentence fragments,

No11echo or echo respo11sives 21 9

Table 17 shows that that na is again more frequent than either verbal responsives or the nonecho responsive nage. Table 17. Frequencies for responsives to sentence fragments

Targets

Positive

Sentence fragments Auxiliaryless

Verbless

Na

All targets

44

137

21

202

182

1000

52

1234

Perfect

15

24

Totals

241

1161

74

1476

Verbal

9

42

4

55

18

151

Verbal Nonecho

Negative

Nonecho Perfect

Na Totals

3

40

170 2

6

77

337

31

445

107

531

38

676

Interestingly, it can be noted that the use of verbal responsives is proportionally greater than nonecho ones in responses to auxiliaryless targets. It may be that the occurrence of the main verb and. frequently, aspectual prepositions in auxiliaryless targets is a greater prompt to retain contact with the full form of the elliptical sentences. This trend is not evident with negative responsives because of the influence of na, as outlined above.

6. 4. 2 The responsive form na The form na, like all the other responsive forms, can itself be a target. As such, it could be discussed along with the nonecho responsive forms ie and nage. But, as it has already been shown that na can also be derived through ellipsis from the verbal responsives, from the perfect responsive naddo, and from nage, it is more appropriate to discuss na as an elliptical target. The statistics in Table 17 tend to

220 Children's 11se of Welsh responsives

support this decision. These tables show that na as a target has a higher proportion of verbal rcsponsives than is found with the nonecho responsivcs when they occur as targets (given in Tables 15 and 16).

6. 4. 3 Targets which allow a conditioned choice Rcsponsivcs to pardon questions vary but arc themselves determined by the original utterance: the addressee (who was the previous speaker) is being asked to repeat what he or she has just said. Table 18 shows that the frequencies are so low that it is not possible to make reliable generalizations. Table 18. Frequencies for responsives to pardon questions

Verbal

Perfect

Nonccho

Positive

2

0

0

Negative

2

0

Na

Totals 0

2

s

6.5 Forms ofverbal responsives: positive and negative In this section. \Ve shall examine the extent to which the children deviate from the appropriate matching of verbal rcsponsives to finite targets. Table 19 shows that there are a total of 2045 exchanges involving pairs of finite targets and verbal responsivcs and that, of these. 93% arc appropriate pairings. Clearly, in comparison with the details given in Tables 7 to 10, verbal rcsponsivcs sutTer more from the competition from ie, nage and na than from mismatching within their own system. However, Chapter 2 shows that the selection of a verbal responsive depends upon a complex interplay of lcxis and morphology, and it is worth examining the mismatches in an attempt to assess whether some factors arc more influential than others, and whether there arc systematic explanations for mismatches. In this section, we shall concentrate upon those responsives which arc deemed to be inappropriate. In assessing the appropriateness of verbal responsives to finite targets, all the lexical and morphological factors outlined in Chapter 2 are considered. For convenience, they can be relisted here: tense, verb types (or verb lexemcs), number, person, and definiteness.

Fomu ofverbal responsives 221 Table 19. Features in mismatches of finite targets and verbal responsives

Totals

Lexeme

Paradigm

Number

Person

Definiteness

+

+

+

+

+

1899

93%

+

+

+

+

33

2%

+

+

+

32

2%

+

27

1%

+

15

1%

12

I%

10

0%

6

0%

+

4

0%

+

2

0%

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

+ +

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

+ +

+

+

+

(9)

(38)

(72)

(61)

+

+

0%

+

0%

+

0%

+

0%

+

0%

(28)

2045

The numbers in brackets on the bottom line give the total frequencies for mismatches. The symbol (+) denotes a proper match, and the symbol (-) denotes a mismatch. The percentages are based on the grand total and are rounded up or down to the nearest whole number including zero. Table 19 shows that there are both singular and multiple instances of the inappropriate matching of these factors. With the exception of combinations of number and person, multiple mismatches are mainly in the minority (reasons for the greater frequency of number and person mismatches are discussed in 6.5.3 and

222 Children ·.f rue of ll'el.fh respmr.fives

6.5.4). It can be seen from Table 19 that these two factors arc also the two most prominent in all mismatches. In the following discussion, each factor will be considered separately, and combinations with other factors will be referred to where appropriate.

6.5. I J'erb types

In this subsection, we shall consider whether the verb type (or lexeme) in the responsive is the same as the one in the target. Table 19 shows that matching verb types is not a serious problem for the majority of the children. This may be because the majority of verb lexemes used in finite targets allow the full echo responsive. Table 20 gives the verb types that occur in targets and their frequencies. Table 20. Frequencies for types of finite verbs in targets for rcsponsivcs

b(}(l 'be'

34!!7

cael 'have, receive'

92

gwnertd 'do, make'

92

gal/11 'can'

34

Regular verbnoun

I!!

medn1 'can'

7

mynd 'go'

3

dylai 'should' Verbs in perfect tense are excluded as they arc responded to with a perfect responsive and not a verbal one.

As can be seen, there arc only 18 occurrences of regular lexical verbs which usually have a substitute responsive: this amounts to only 0.48% of the total of 3734 occurrences of finite verbs for all ages. Of the latter, bod 'be' accounts for 93.39% thus considerably simplifying the matching of lexemes in targets and responsives. Table 20 also shows that many of the lexemc types discussed in 2.2 have not occurred in targets in the corpus: for instance, those verbnouns which have special paradigmatic characteristics. These frequencies do not allow us to say whether their absence is due to competition from the more productive compound patterns

Fom/S of\'erbal responsives 223

involving bod 'be'- but this is likely to be the case. It should be noted that Table 20 only gives finite verbs which occur in targets for responsives and docs not represent a statistical profile for the occurrences of finite verbs in all sentences. The description in 2.2 refers to the use of gwneud as a substitute responsive for the majority of lexical verbs. This type of lexical mismatch is not. of course, a deviation from standard vernacular usage. There arc only four clear examples in the corpus (with a further three responding negatively to an imperative, five responding to unclear data. and one responding to a verbless fragment). The analysis of the corpus has thrown out another interesting use of gwneud as a responsive to the usc of the auxiliary cael with suggestive force:

(6)

di neud y (3) gynta. have+fut+2sg you do thc(3) first 'you can do the (3) first.· M: (na na' i). (neg do+fut+ lsg I) 'no.·

S: gei

There is some missing or questionable data in this example. but it does draw attention to the relationship of cael to make suggestions and gwneud. The use of cael to suggest that the addressee undertakes some activity has directive force: the initiative for the proposed action comes from the speaker. In order to reject the suggestion. the (old) addressee as (new) speaker adopts the same strategy as that which can be used with directives conveyed by imperatives - gwneud is used in a negative response. An attempt to respond by repeating the lexcme docs not achieve the same force of rejection. as the following devised illustration indicates:

(7)

Speaker I:

Spcaker2:

1/estri gynta. gei di neue/ v dishes first have+fut+2sg you do the 'you can do the dishes first.' na c:ha' i. neg havc+fut+ lsg I 'no·.

Thus, the pairing of gwneud in a responsive with cael in a target is not a mismatch but follows a general convention in the language. There are other mismatches which can be explained rationally but which cannot lx: entirely justified in terms of wider conventions - although, as I have indicated elsewhere in this study, we do not possess comprehensive data-based studies of vernacular usage; thus, it is an assumption to conclude that the conventions of the children are unique. All of these mismatches involve the lexical auxiliary verbs cae/ 'have', medru 'can', and ga/111 'can'. There arc two points which arc relevant

224 Chilclren 's use of Welsh responsil'es

to a consideration of mismatches involving these lexemes: synonymy and syntactic analogues. These lexemes are variously synonymous: the two lexemes medru and gallu can both convey meanings like ability and physical possibility, and the two lexemes gal/u and cael can convey permission. It is thus possible to replace one with the other but retain the same meaning (there are other differences in the following example):

M:gei di isla i lawr. have+fut+2sg you sit down 'you can sit down.' B: gal/an. can+fut+ lpl 'yes.'

(8)

These lexical auxiliaries can occur as inflected verbs in periphrastic patterns or as verbnouns in compound patterns in which the finite verb is realized by a form of bod, e.g. (9)

geilh hi aros. have+fut+ 3sg she stay 'she can stay.' 'n cal aros. b. ma' hi is she prog have stay 'she can stay.'

a.

There arc a very small number of examples where one of these auxiliaries in a periphrastic pattern is responded to by bod from a compound pattern; and vice versa: (10) a.

b.

'li 'm yn cal 'im mu:v. bc+pres+2sg+pro not prog have not more 'you can 't have any more.' na chei. neg have+fut+2sg 'no.' MJ: 'li ·, medru gneud carra? be+prcs+2sg+pro prog can do shoelaces 'can you do laces?' P: 110 fedra '. neg can+fut+ lsg 'no.'

E:

Fom1s of verbal responsives 225

c.

N:

T:

na chei. neg have+fut+2sg 'no.' yndw. am 'yes.'

Synonymy and syntax can work together to produce even greater mismatching: (11)

w i 'n gal/u cysgu ; fan hyn. pt am I prog can sleep place this 'I can sleep here. ' G: cei. have+fut+ 2sg 'yes.'

N: r

It could even be argued that the relationship of compound and periphrastic is behind the following mismatch involving a lexical verb (which happens to be cael

-already discussed as an auxiliar)'): (12)

E: 'eclyn gawn

ni cldigon o sanclweclyn. then have+fut+ I pi we enough of sand after 'then we can have plenty of sand then.' N: hyde/. will+be 'yes.'

The analyst faces a difficult task in trying to interpret data such as the above. On the one hand, a strict prescriptive approach, on the basis of assumed vernacular usage, would classify the examples as mismatches. But, on the other hand, an awareness of the semantic relationships of the lexical auxiliaries and the syntactic relationships of the verbal patterns in which they occur, provides a rational basis for a discussion of the above pairings which it would be wasteful to ignore. Any discussion of lexical auxiliaries in targets and responsives should at least refer to these issues even if it is difficult to reach positive conclusions. 6.~.2

Tense

In this subsection we shall examine the extent to which the responsive and the target maintain the same tense. There are several examples which exhibit mismatching of tense:

226 Children's use ofiVelsll

( 13) a.

b.

c.

d.

c.

f.

respomi1•e.~

licio yn y neuadd? 'n you prog like in the hall was 'did you like the hall?' C: ydw. am 'yes.· 11ethon ni ddod pall cofio MJ: 'ti '11 we come be+ pres+ 2sg+pro prog remember when did l~vnedd, H-? last+ycar 'do you remember when we came last year, H-?' H: o 'n. was 'yes.· 'di '11a. stye W: oo, 'ti m.vnd yn pred stuck there oh bc+prcs+2sg+pro perf go 'oh, you 'vc got stuck there.' R: nac o 'n. neg was 'no.· D: o 'dd e wedi totTi, o 'dd e? was he perf break was he 'it had broken. hadn't it?' M: Yl~l'. is 'yes.' licio byw ar .!Jerm, D-? 'n ti MJ: 'sat be+plup+2sg you prog like live on farm 'would you like to live on a farm. D-?' D: ydw. am 'yes.' '11 mynd i weld anifeilied jferm wei/hie? di HJ: fv' farm sometimes to see animals be+fut+2sg you prog go 'do you go to sec farm animals sometimes?' D: ydw. am 'yes.·

MJ: oeddet ti

On a tentative basis, it is possible to identify some factors which o:an explain some of these mismatches: a feature of past time may influence the selection of a past time responsive as in (l3b) and (l3c); and dialectal differences may produce con-

Fomu of verbal respo11sives 227

fusion as in (13c) or readjustment as in (130. But, generally, it is difficult to present rational explanations for paradigmatic mismatches of the calibre of those available for the mismatches of lexemes discussed in the preceding subsection. The view of the mispairings of tenses is clouded by a degree of obscurity which often accompanies studying linguistic performance. Although we cannot consistently and clearly find grammatical reasons for the mismatches, we should not necessarily attribute them to a lack of competence, as they may be due to performance errors.

6.5.3 Number

In this subsection. we shall consider the extent to which responsives and targets match each other in terms of number. The description in 2.4 notes there are two types of exchanges which do not maintain the same number features: in the case of first and second person exchanges, the number features are not always maintained if the polite plural form is involved - it is possible to haveydw '(I) am·<=> yc~vch '(you) arc' and. vice vcrsa,yc{vch <=> ydw; in the case of subjects which arc plural or collective nouns, it is possible to respond to a singular verb with a plural one- mae 'is' <=> ydyn' '(they) are'. Such relationships arc not mismatches and are excluded from the following discussion. There arc a total of 72 mispairings of number in the corpus but, of these, 34 are due to one speaker who was a second-language speaker of Welsh, and who responded to finite targets of many types with the form yc~vn' '(they) arc' (it could just as well be written yc~vn '(we) arc· as it is impossible to distinguish whether it is first or third person plural). Many of the remaining mismatches of number exhibit appropriate person exchanges, namely: third <=> third and second <=> first. In the case of third <=> third, we find examples of a singular responsive to a plural target: (14) a.

MJ: J'cryn ' nhw '11 be+prcs+3pl they prog 'do they go to school'!' H: ody. be+pres+3sg 'yes.'

'r ysgol? my11d go to the school

228 Children's rtse of Welsh responsi1•es

b.

N:

D:

c.

N:

G:

d.

S:

T:

'n ond ma'n nlnv 'n galw hi but be+pres+3pl they prog call she pred 'but they call her L-. ' yndy. be+pres+3sg 'yes.' ma'n nw /an i lop. be+pres+ 3pl they up to top 'they're up to the top.' nac 'c~y. neg be+pres+ 3sg 'no.' fedran' 1111' c~v /add eli. can+fut+3pl they yours kill you 'they can kill you.' medrilh. can+fut+3sg 'yes.'

L-.

In the case of second e first exchanges, we find the reverse number mismatch; that is, a plural responsive responds to a singular target: (15) a.

b.

c.

MJ: 'li

'n cal slori be+ pres+ 2sg+pro prog have story 'do you have a story sometimes?' H: ydyn. be+ pres+ I pi 'yes.' MJ: 'li ISIO hwnna? be+pres+2sg+pro needs that 'do you want that?' A: odyn. be+ pres+ I pi 'yes. 'n ffili crasho PA: 'li bc+pres+2sg+pro prog fail crash 'you can't crash through the dam.' W: ydyn. be+pres+ I pi 'yes.'

wei/hie? sometimes

'r dam. tn1y through the dam

Forms of verbal respo11sives 229

d. MJ: nyl li 'n gwbod be 'dy microffon? bc+prcs+2sg you prog know what is microphone 'do you know what a microphone is?' A: yndan. be+pres+ 1p1 'yes.' e. MJ: 'ti 'n brysur yn gneud pelha Nadolig be+pres+2sg+pro pred busy prog make things Christmas 'wan, nyt? now be+pres+2sg 'you're busy making Christmas things now, are you?' R: ydyn. be+ pres+ 1pi 'yes.' Table 21 shows that both sets occur more often than other number mismatches. This frequency may indicate a usage that is based on regular linguistic conventions. We shall consider the latter in the following paragraphs. Table 21. Number mismatches and their person features

Number Plural

Singular

=>

=>

Singular

Plural

Person 3rd

=>

3rd

9

23%

1st

=>

3rd

3

8%

2nd

=>

3rd

2

5%

3rd

=>

lsl

2nd

=>

1st

13

34%

lsi

=>

lst

6

16%

3rd

=>

lst

3

8%

1st

=>

3rd

3%

3%

The percentages are based on the total for all mismatches of number, namely 38.

230 Cllilclren 's use of We/sll responsil•e.f

In the case of second singular <=> first plural exchanges, some intriguing possibilities arise. First. many of the examples suggest that the speaker has reinterpreted the original singular subject as a plural one to include other children or adults (sec examples ( 15a) and (15c) in particular). That is. the questioner may have intended singular intimate reference to the addressee only, but the latter may feel that other persons arc involved and selects a plural responsive to create a wider reference. Second, and more speculatively, the mismatch may be due to children's interpretation of the intimate I nonintimate contrast on a much wider basis. Traditional descriptions of Welsh say that the language. like other European languages. only makes the distinction between intimate and nonintimatc with singular reference i.e. ti vs. chi (and their related forms): all plural references involve chi and the intimacy contrast is lost. Tentatively speaking. some children may abandon the differences of number but retain the contrasts of intimacy: that is. the li set is intimate while the chi set is nonintimatc; and both can be singular or plural. As a result. a plural form can be used in response to a form which is based on ti. Third. and speculatively again. we may have an erosion of the use of chi forms by the generalization of the ti forms: that is. some speakers abandon the distinctions of intimacy and number. and usc ti in all circumstances. In this light, ti can then be responded to with a plural pronoun. In support of this wider usc of ti either as an intimate pronoun or a general pronoun, we can note that it enjoys widespread usc in the vernacular as a generic second person equivalent to c{vn 'man'. as can chi (as discussed in 2.3.3). This lends tentative support for the view that ti is developing beyond the usage which is traditionally attributed to it as a singular intimate pronoun. In the case of the third plural <=> third singular exchanges. the situation is less clear-cut. We have already noted in 2.4.2 that a singular third person verb which has a plural nominal subject can be responded to with a plural responsive: yc~v 'r c~rnion yna? <=> yc{vn' (='is the men there?'<=> '(they) are'). But in the corpus we have instances of the reverse number change: ydyn' nhw yna? <=> :vc{v 'arc they there?<=> is'. Given that the first type of change is motivated by a plural subject, one would expect a plural pronominal su~jcct in the second type to maintain plural reference. One possible explanation is that the choice of a singular or plural responsive with plural nominal subjects has been extended to plural pronominal subjects. The third singular figures as a responsive in a number of mismatches sec Table 21 - and it may be that this form is overgcneralizcd by some children.

6. 5 . .f Person

The most frequent interaction is that of direct exchange between previous speaker and addressee, who exchange roles. There are only twenty seven instances of interpolations by the listener (there are slightly more than this but we shall concen-

FomJS of verbal responsives 231

trate upon those which involve person changes) Table 22.

statistical details arc given in

Table 22. Interpolations in exchanges involving finite targets and verbal responsives

1st

::)

3rd

e.g. yclw 'I am'

::)

ydy 'he is'

3

2nd

::)

2nd

e.g. uyt 'you are'

::)

"llyt 'you are'

4

2nd

::)

3rd

e.g. uyt 'you are'

::)

ycly 'he is'

8

3rd

::)

1st

e.g. yc~v 'he is'

::)

yclw 'I am'

12

llte percentages arc based on the total for all interpolations, namely 27.

In the majority of cases, the listener responds to the previous speaker. In twelve of these, the original grammatical subject is the listener - the person change, therefore, is third singular <:::> first singular: (16) a.

b.

R:

dar/len rhain, S-. read these 'read these, S-.' ma ' ,')' yn met/111 dar/len o. is prog fail read he 'S-can 't read it.' S: vndw, Tad. ·am, Father (heavenly Father, used as reinforcing exclamation) 'yes, of course'. MJ: Yl~V S- yn hyw yn agos? is prog live adv close 'does S-live near?' R: ydy. is 'yes.' MJ: yndy? is 'does he?' S: ydw. am 'yes.'

232 Children's 11se of Welsh responsives

wirion, R-? bod yn 'n ti MJ: uyt be+pres+2sg you prog be prcd silly 'arc you being silly, R-?' ee? 'eh?' S: ync~v. bc+pres+ 3sg 'yes.' R: nac dw. neg bc+pres+ 1sg 'no.' 'dy dy enw di? be d. MJ: your name you is what name?' your 'what's 0: 0-. '0-.' MJ: 0- be? '0- what?' [intervening exchanges] bachgen dn1•g. mae o 'n 1: bad he pred boy is 'he's a naughty boy.· 0: nac ydw. neg am 'no.' MJ: ydy? is 'is he?' pam hynny? why that 'why's that?' ddn1•g. 0: dw i deli 111 yn pred bad am I not 'I'm not naughty.'

c.

In eight exchanges, the original grammatical subject is the addressee and the person change is second singular <=> third singular :

Fom1s of verbal responsives 233

(17) a.

b.

c.

MJ: 11yt

ti 'n byw yn 1'-,L-? be+pres+2sg you prog live in 'do you live in T-, L-?' S: nac ydy. neg be+pres+3sg 'no.' S: 'li 1s1e lillY i byta. be+pres+2sg+pro needs spoon to eat 'do you want a spoon to eat?' L: nac ydy. neg is 'no.' S: Janna mae e. there is he 'that's where it is.' MJ: yn y gornel. in the corner 'in the corner.' S: ie. 'yes.' ls:vt li 'eli (3} yn y gornel. be+pres+2sg you perf in thecorner 'you have (3) in the corner.' ":vt ti? be+ pres+2sg you 'have you?' 1: ody. be+pres+ 3sg 'yes.' dipyn bach. piece little 'a little bit.'

In three instances, the original grammatical subject is the speaker and the person change is first (:) third: (18) a.

MJ: oo ie,

S:

ond dw i isio 'r papur 'na i gyd oh yes but am I needs the paper there all 'oh yes, but I want all that paper.' ody. is 'yes.'

234 Children's use of Welsh respo11sives

b.

I:

0:

c.

R:

C:

dw i ddim yn gas. am I not pres nasty 'I am not nasty.' ydy. is 'yes.' a dclim yn #. 'fi and be+pres+ lsg+pro not prog 'and I'm not#.' yndy. is 'yes.

Only four interpolations respond to the previous addressee, for example: (19) a.

b.

'n li gweiddi fel 'na ohyd, J-? MJ: nyt bc+pres+2sg you prog shout like that always 'do you always shout like that J-?' S: ym{v. is 'yes.' n:vt. be+prcs+2sg 'yes.' MJ: n:vt li 'n licio dawnsio? be+pres+2sg you prog like dance 'do you like dancing?' R: n:vt. be+prcs+2sg 'yes.'

Example (l9a) supplies a double interpolation: the first response addresses the (old) speaker while the second response addresses the (old) addressee. In all the above interpolations, the relationship of the person features of the verb in the target and the responsive are consistent with the speech participants involved in the exchange, and the rcsponsives arc well-formed. There are, however, instances where it is not possible to find any rational explanations for mismatches of person, even on a tentative basis. There arc only fifteen instances of mismatches on the basis of person alone (see Table 19). Here are some examples:

Fom/S of verbal responsives 235

(20) a.

b.

c.

'ji 'n rhoi y peth lawr. be+pres+lsg+pro prog put the thing down 'I'm putting the thing down.' A: nac ydy. neg is 'no.' s 'o i moyn pen mawr. be+pres+neg I want head big 'I don't want a big head.' MJ: 'ti 'm yn licio garddio, 0-? be+pres+2sg+pro not prog like garden 'do you like gardening, 0-?' 0-?

D:

'0-?' u:vt ti 'n licio garddio? be+pres+ 2sg you prog like garden 'do you like gardening?' 0: ydy. is 'yes.' HJ: ydy o 'n edrych ar news? is he prog look on news 'does he look at the news?' M: ydw. am 'yes.'

It is more than likely that the majority of mismatches are due to performance errors, mishearing or misinterpretation (as in (20b) which may be an unusual question to ask a child) rather than to any systematic change in the language.

6.5.5 Definiteness

In this section we shall consider to what extent the definiteness of the target is maintained in the responsive. It will be recalled from 2.5.1 that Welsh possesses definite and indefinite forms of the third singular of the present tense of bod 'be': ~11ae for both, ydy for the former and oes for the latter. These forms are used in different grammatical contexts as already discussed. There are a total of 28 mismatches involving definiteness: 12 are due to definiteness alone while the remainder are combined mismatches involving the other features of responsives (10 with mismatches of person, four with mismatches of number, and two with mismatches

236 Children's use of Welsh responsives

of tense). The majority arc caused by a failure to respond appropriately to the indefinite responsive of bod 'be· rather than the definite one ( 17 for the former and nine for the latter - of the latter, two are past indefinites which do not have any formal distinction of indefiniteness like the present tense). Another possible systematic mismatch may occur with the existential present in possessive sentences. In Welsh, possessive sentences are formed by using a copular sentence which has a noun phrase subject and a prepositional phrase predicate. A devised example is as follO\vs:

mae afal gyda Sioned is apple with 'Sioncd has got an apple.'

(21)

In this example, the subject noun phrase, afal 'apple', is the thing possessed, and the prepositional phrase indicates the possessor, Sioned. A possible explanation for some mismatches in the corpus is that the responder has formed the responsive on the basis of a definite possessor rather than on the basis of an indefinite thing which is possessed, thus: (22) a.

b.

mae 1111 nell~vcld gyda 'r ysgol, ynd oes e, G_'J. is one new with the school q-tag is he 'the school's got a new one, hasn't it, G-?' G: yc(v. ne11~vdd. is new 'yes. new.' MJ: 's gen li (vfre aclre, M-? is with you books home 'have you got any books at home, M-?' M: yndw. am 'yes.'

H:

In the language of children, there is a variant pattern which shows the possessor in the subject position and the thing possessed in the prepositional phrase: (23) a.

mae .S'ioned gyda afal is with apple 'Sioned has got an apple.'

This mismatch may link up with this variant pattern. Thus, (22a-b) may have been interpreted by the responder as mae 'r ysgol gyda un newydd 'the school is with a new one' and wytti gvda llyfre adre? 'are you with books at home?', and

Fom/S of verbal responsives 237

the responsives given in (22) would be appropriate for these variant possessive patterns (the latter arc discussed in Jones B.M. 1988: 8-10; 1994).

6.6 Summary In acquiring the perceived standard system of Welsh responsives, it is clear from this chapter and previous chapters that the children face a formidable task: different subsystems of responsives have to be paired with different types of targets. From the description of their usage given above, the following main points emerge: i. ii.

iii.

iv.

v.

The positive nonecho responsive ie is encroaching into the territory of the positive verbal responsives while maintaining its usc in its own territory. For negative rcsponsivcs, the form na by itself emerges as a general responsive in place of all types of responsives, but there is some statistical evidence which may suggest that the spread of na meets with sterner resistance from the nonecho nage. Where there is a choice of either an echo responsive or a nonecho responsive, there is a tendency to choose the nonecho responsive; this is seen in responses to sentence fragments. where the positive nonecho responsive is more frequent than positive echo responsivcs. Where there is a choice of either a variable echo responsive or an invariable echo responsive, there is a tendency to choose the invariable responsive; this is seen in responses to: a. present tense and perfect aspect patterns, where the invariable perfect responsive is more frequent than the variant verbal one; b. eisiau 'needs' patterns involving the present tense of bod 'be', where the invariable indefinite oes is more frequent than the variant definite forms. Where a verbal responsive is appropriately used, the pairing of target and responsive is generally well-formed, and erroneous pairings are due mainly to mismatching of number; but these mismatches may be explicable in systematic terms.

The generalization of na makes it impossible to assess trends of usage with negative responsives, apart from the obvious point that it exists as a general form. Because na neutralizes the differences between the various types, it is not possible to say whether it is a reduced version of a particular type and, further, whether that type would othenvisc be a well-formed or erroneous pairing. It is with the positive responsives that trends of usage clearly emerge, and the main point here is that the echo responsives lose ground to the positive nonccho ie.

238 Children 's 11se of Wel.fh responsives

In the next two chapters, we shall attempt to explain why this variation exists. Two main approaches are adopted, which are seen in discussions of language change. McMahon (1994: 13) notes: "Whatever our views on the cxplicability of changes, it seems clear at least that some have internal motivations, within the linguistic system itself, while others are motivated by external factors, and notably by contact between languages." Welsh is used by speakers who arc bilingual, and the language is therefore open to both internal and external causes of change. External change through language contact with English is considered in Chapter 7, and internally-driven change is considered in Chapter 8. They are discussed separately for convenience and simplicity of presentation. But in handling these two sources of change, the view of Dorian ( 1993) is adopted that they are not exclusive influences, and that both may be in operation. More is said about the relationship between internally- and externally-motivated change or variation in 8.4.

7. Language contact: the influence of English

7.1 Introduction The aim of this chapter is to examine evidence which suggests that the children's deviations from perceived adult norms can be attributed to the contact of Welsh with English. This is undertaken against the view which is voiced by writers such as Aitchison (1991 : 116-117). Dorian ( 1993) and McMahon ( 1994: 21 0) that language contact should not necessarily be viewed as the sole cause of change. Other causes of change arc considered in the next chapter. Here we shall concentrate upon explanations which can be put forward on the basis of language contact. In referring to the languages of the children, this study will follow the common convention of using the abbreviations LI and L2 for first language and second language. respectively. Language change through the influence of one language on another is a muchdiscussed phenomenon which is seen in early treatments such as those in Jespersen (1922: 191-215) and Bloomfield (1935: 444-475), and in contemporary writers such as McMahon (1994: 200-224). 60 Language contact is offered as the typical illustration of externally-motivated change. with the result that the internalexternal contrast can be commonly considered to be based on the linguistic systems of two different languages. But there is another view of the internal-external contrast which centres on a single language and which arises from the distinction between the language system and the speakers who usc that system, as found in Milroy J. (1992: 22-28, 165-168). Change in terms of the characteristics of the system can be seen as internally-based change. while change in terms of the characteristics of the speakers can be seen as externally-based change. We would now appear to have two different uses of the internal-external contrast: one refers to the relationship between two different languages. and the other refers to the relationship between one language's linguistic system and its speakers. However, following the general view in Milroy (1992). these two uses of the internal-external contrast arc not incompatible. but can be unified by emphasizing the role of speakers in language change or variation, and by treating language contact as a speaker variable. Along with other speaker variables like sex, age, region, social class and cthnicity, language contact is thus an aspect of the sociolinguistic context which is external to the linguistic system. Language contact can be used as a speaker variable by adopting the common view, as seen in McMahon (1994: 200), for instance, that "... language contact, and therefore borrowing, relics on bilingualism." Speakers can be characterized by the nature of their bilingualism, specifically by identifying their L1 and L2. In the case of this study, we arc specifically concerned with Welsh, and the children can be grouped into LI Welsh speakers and L2 Welsh speakers. The external-internal contrast which is often seen as the contact of (speakers of) languages is thus a particular example of the

240 Language contact: the influence of English

general internal-external contrast which is based on the distinction between the linguistic system and the speakers of the system. This is the view of externallymotivated change which is adopted in this study.

7.1.1 111e preliminm:v evidence for the influence of English There is a strong prima facie case that the children's use of Welsh rcsponsivcs is influenced by English. First, the dominant use of na as a general negative responsive and the spread of ie into echo contexts bear clear similarities with English no and yes. Two other points can also be noted: a variant form of yes in vernacular English is [je;,] (informally spelled in the orthography as .veah). and this form bears some similarity with rcali7..ations of ie in Welsh as [iE]; likewise, no sometimes occurs as [na] (informally spelled in the orthography as nah). All this amounts to the use of ie and na very like the use of English yes and no. Secondly, the children use language within a sociolinguistic context which is widely recognized to promote change through language contact. namely bilingualism. This bilingual context is also of a type which explains why English should influence Welsh and not vice versa: English has overall higher prestige and this factor, too, is widely recognized as a crucial aspect of language change and variation. Thirdly, the influence of English is seen in other areas of Welsh. The most obvious indication of this is in the texis of Welsh which has borrowed extensively from English over the centuries. Parry-Williams (1923) shows that there arc wellestablished loanwords, and the spontaneous conversational Welsh today of some individuals demonstrates extensive rclexification which goes well beyond the use of established borrowings. English influence is also seen in the phoneme stock of contemporary Welsh. The phonemes N! and lil5! occur only in borrowings such as in initial position in the two well-established loans, lsaen 'chain' and jam 'jam' where they have been preserved from English (however, both sounds can occur as allophones in indigenous words in certain dialects). The influence of English is also found on the morpholO!,'Y of Welsh. a clear example being the use of /s/ as a plural marker which, in the spontaneous speech of some speakers, competes or combines with native plural markers: the singular chwarelwr 'quarryman' forms its plural indigenously by replacing -wr with -11:~,,. as in chwarelwyr, but chwarelwrs is also commonly heard. Taking all these points together, there is a preliminary basis for examining the view that the mixed nonecho I echo responsive system of Welsh is being brought into line with the nonecho system of English through contact with the latter. This issue will be examined by comparing the use of rcsponsives by children who have different linguistic backgrounds, specifically mother tongue and school backgrounds. But before looking at the analyses, general points will be made about the method of analysis.

Introduction 241

7. 1. 2 Afethodological considerations Comparative analyses of groups of speakers are ambitious studies. They attempt to make generalizations about users of language, and their success depends in part on the extent to which the data is representative of the groups which are examined. The original data was collected in welcoming and helpful infant and primary schools, 61 but proper sampling was difficult. Ultimately, the statements made in this chapter arc an adequate account of the performance of the children in this corpus. It is a huge jump, of course, to move from the performance of particular children to the competence of general groups to which these children belong. In some instances. the analyses given below indicate trends and possibilities rather than firm generalizations. Nevertheless, they provide useful accounts of the sociolinguistics of vernacular Welsh, and they arc offered as a contribution to the wider consideration of the relationship between language variation and groups of users. Target

I. Finite, nonnal order

2. Perfect tense

Responsive a.lexeme b. paradigm c. number d. person c. definiteness total positives f. for 1w if negative totalnegati ves g. none of the above a. positive do b. negative naddo

Scoring

4 3

2

II 12 0 II (weighted) 12 (weighted)

I 0

/Ia

3. Present tense and perfect aspect 4. All other targets

c. none of the above a. verbal responsive b. perfect responsive ie a. positive nage b. negative

as I above as 2 above

/Ia

c. none of the above

II (weighted) 12 (weighted) I

0

Figure 21. Scoring of the pairing ofresponsives and targets

In order to make comparisons between groups of children, the statistical approach in this chapter must be different to that used in Chapter 6 on four counts.

242 1-emguage contact: the influence of English

First, mere frequencies and percentages arc inappropriate, as they do not take account of individual variation within the groups which arc compared. Consequently, t-tcsts arc used to compare groups. using the statistical computer package Mini tab. Second, in view of the complexity of the pairing of rcsponsivcs and their targets. it is not enough to describe a responsive as simply correct or incorrect, and score it as I or 0 respectively. Instead. a scale is used which reflects the set of grammatical features that characterize a responsive, and which provides a score for the extent of well-formcdncss of each pairing of responsive and target (the details arc given in Figure 21 ). Third. consideration must be given to the fact that the linguistic analysis of child usage is based on a naturalistic corpus and not on standardized experimental tests. The children do not all produce the same number or type of rcsponsivcs. and absolute scores would be misleading: a talkative child who produces a large number of rcsponsives could have a higher score than a less talkative child (Table 23 gives a frequency table of numbers of responsivcs used in relation to numbers of users). Consequently. the score for each child is given as a proportion of the actual score for his or her responsivcs to the potential total score for those responsivcs: for example. let us say that a child produces 10 rcsponsivcs which have a potential total score of 110 but which actually score 55 - the proportion of actual to potential is 55 I 110. namely, 0.5 or 50%. This approach has the disadvantage, of course. that a child whose actual score is 22 out of 44 for a small number of examples is proportionally identical with a child who scores 55 out of 110 for a greater number of examples. Fourth, itemized scoring along a scale of grammaticality gives the more complex verbal rcsponsives a higher potential total than the simpler nonccho and perfect rcsponsivcs. If the scores for the latter were itemized on the basis of the extent of their own grammatical complexity. the potential total score would be considerably lower and the proportions would be considerably higher. Clearly. children who may use numerous verbal ones would be given lower scores than children who may usc the other types. Consequently. nonccho and perfect rcsponsivcs are weighted so that their total scores arc the same as the verbal rcsponsives. There still remains the problem that there is more opportunity to obtain a lower score with the more complex verbal ones than with the other types. But there is little that can be done about this in terms of scoring. The only way of achieving greater standardization is to restrict comparisons to rcsponsives of the same degree of complexity. But the tables which arc referred to in this chapter show that the numbers in some of the cells in the comparisons arc quite low, and any matching of the responsivcs would reduce their numbers even further. In addition. separate comparisons for different types of rcsponsivcs would add to the level of detail of the statistical analyses (which is already substantial) and would make it even more difficult to make generalizations about the data. Consequently, no attempt will be made to allow further for the uneven scores which the different types of responsives can produce. However, it has already been seen in Chapter 6 that the main cause of variation is the choice

lntrocluction 243

of either an echo responsive or a nonecho one and, in the case of negatives. the selection of na alone. The standardization of the scoring as outlined above caters for the main causes of variation. Table 23. Numbers of users ofresponsives

Numbers

Ages ·nuce (37)

Four(37)

Five (79)

Six (90)

Seven (98)

0-5

10

2

4

2

3

6-10

3

6

6

4

14

11-15

5

3

12

10

8

16-20

6

6

6

20

14

9

9

9

15

of responsi ves

21-25 26-30

0

6

12

n

13

31-35

4

3

II

10

9

36-40

2

5

7

6

7

3

3

41-45 46-50

0

0

4

4

4

51-105

5

()

3

8

9

The numbers in brackets give the numbers of children in each age group. The programming language Icon (Griswold-Griswold 1997) was used to go through the database of responsives referred to in 6.1.1, and set up a data file suitable for Minitab analyses. This data file contained the scores for each child in the main corpus along with details about his or her background . . Discussion in Chapters 3 and 6 has shown that the relationship between some targets and rcsponsives is not always clear-cut. An obvious instance occurs with sentence fragments as both echo and nonecho ones can occur. The occurrence of na alone as a target is also problematic because of the possible choice of recovering different full forms. Less obvious arc rcsponsivcs to imperatives where the statistical trends in the corpus suggest that we should revise our notions about

244 Language contact: the influence of English

imperatives and their rcsponsives. Rcsponsives to pardon targets arc exceptional in that the latter recall responsives given to other targets and do not themselves have any systematic relationship with types of rcsponsivcs. For the purposes of the statistical comparisons, these types of targets are excluded from the analysis. Also excluded for quite obvious reasons are responsives to English targets, responsivcs to bona fide x-interrogatives, and responsivcs to obscure targets. The targets which arc included, therefore, arc as follows: -

-

those which expect a verbal or perfect responsive: normal finite clause targets; - normal finite clause targets with the perfect tense; - perfect responsivcs as targets ; those which expect a nonccho responsive: fronted finite clause targets; demonstrative targets; nonecho responsives as targets: unaccompanied adverbial noun clauses; echo questions; suggestion questions; efa/lai 'perhaps'; chunks of text; situational targets.

This chapter is especially concerned with the language backgrounds of the children. But before looking at these matters. two other factors will be considered, namely age and sex. They arc interesting in themselves and have figured prominently in sociolinguistic studies of variation. But within the specific aims of this chapter, they arc of more general interest. Consequently, the discussion will first consider these latter two, thus clearing the way to engage upon the more relevant discussion of the influence of language factors. In all comparisons, however, an attempt should be made to compare like with like. For instance, in comparing language backgrounds, attention must be given to the composition of the compared groups in terms of the other factors - it CIJUid be misleading to compare language groups if they are markedly different in terms of age. Consequently, where the data allows, the comparisons of groups within one factor will match those groups in terms of the other factors: thus, if language backgrounds are being compared, the different groups should be as similar as possible in terms of age and sex. The nonstandardized data of the corpus, however, docs not allow matching in sufficient numbers in all instances. All these points will emerge in greater detail in the following sections.

/ntrmluction 245

7. /.3 Age The corpus covers the range from three to seven years of age. In schools in Wales, as in England, the compulsory age for attending school is five years old. But many local authority schools accept children at four years of age. and some accept children at three years of age. for different periods of time (perhaps for one full morning or afternoon every school day, or even for a full day). Table 24 gives the numbers of children in the five age groups. It can be seen that there arc more children aged over five than there arc children under five. Table 24. Numbers of children in the main corpus, with additions and losses Ages

previous year additions

lltree

Four

Five

Six

Seven

0

17

0

70

77

+0

+20

+0

+ 20

+ 15

+6 losses

-0

-20

-0

-9

- 13

totals

37

37

79

90

98

"Iltc corpus is based on two cohorts of children: three to four years of age, and five to seven years of age (hence the zero entries for the starting ages of each cohort). The additions to the seven year olds arc made up of 15 children who were new to the project and 6 who were missing at six years of age but present at five years of age.

This is due to the way that the data collection was designed in the original research project. 62 The project was funded for only three years, and it was only possible to cover the age range of three to seven by having two cohorts - a younger one from three to four and an older one from five to seven. The difference of numbers is due to the fact that there are fewer three-year olds present in schools than there arc five-year olds. An attempt was made to follow the same children, and the numbers of four-year olds was partly determined by the numbers of threeyear olds. It should be emphasized that the aim of following children from year to year is easier to state than it is to achieve - absenteeism, family movements and so forth frustrate the best of intentions. Furthermore, the composition of the children in the original project was continually under review, and a deliberate attempt was made both to make up losses and to add to existing types of children. The

246 Lang11age contact: the injl11e11ce of Hnglis/1

longitudinal nature of the study is based on a core of children present at all ages within their cohort but there arc also additions of new children. as given in Table 24. It can be seen that losses were at their greatest from three to four years of age. This was due to the difficulty of following children from voluntary preschool groups to the schools of the local education authority. A further point can be added about the numbers of children in Table 24. These arc the numbers of children in the project but it is not necessarily the case that these numbers tally with children using rcsponsives as not all children have used one - details of the latter arc given in the relevant tables referred to in this and the following sections. It is reasonable to suppose that the older children would outperform the younger ones because of the effects of greater linguistic maturation. Tables 25 and 26 show that this is not the case. These tables match the children for language background and school background. Table 25 compares children who all speak L I Welsh and who all attend a designated bilingual school (sec 7.2.1 for an outline of the types of schools). Table 26 also concentrates on children who speak Welsh Ll but who attend unstreamcd mixed schools. A comparison of the means of the different age groups which arc given in these tables docs not produce a clear and definite development that shows the use of the expected rcsponsivcs increasing. Indeed. in both types of schools. the three-year olds in some cases have higher means than the older children (in fifteen out of twenty four comparisons). There arc a total of sixty comparisons in both tables combined: of these. forty show that children of a younger age have higher means than children of an older age (that is. three-year olds in comparison with those older. four-year olds in comparison with those older, and so forth): only twenty show the reverse. There arc thirteen comparisons which arc statistically significant. and they all show that children of an older age have lower means than children of a younger age. These occur mainly in unstreamcd mixed schools. But of these thirteen significant differences. five of them show that the six-year olds have lower means while seven of them show that the seven-year olds have lower means: the thirteenth shows the five-year olds with lower means. There is, then, a trend for older children to have lower means than younger children. But this trend is the reverse of what might be expected. Superficially, it would appear that age undermines the perceived norms of the usc of rcsponsivcs. At this stage. it is difficult to explain why this should happen. It may be that, as children become older, peer-group influences exert themselves more than the influences of the family. in particular, and the teachers. This study is not specifically concerned with age, and no more will be said about this factor. But these observations underline the importance of matching compared groups in terms of their ages.

Introduction 247 Table 25. T-test comparisons of the different ages in designated bilingual schools

Polarity

Ages

Positive

Negative

Both

Numbers

Mean

St Dev

SEMean

Three

8

0.818

0.223

0.079

Four

10

0.9645

0.0732

0.023

Five

21

0.834

0.221

0.048

Six

27

0.779

0.197

0.038

Seven

27

0.780

0.211

0.041

Tirrcc

9

0.292

0.308

0.10

Four

II

0.248

0.288

0.087

Five

20

0.346

0.287

0.064

Six

27

0.360

0.221

0.043

Seven

27

0.295

0.185

0.036

"lbree

9

0.593

0.309

0.10

Four

II

0.565

0.254

0.076

Five

21

0.609

0.240

0.052

Six

27

0.587

0.177

0.034

Seven

28

0.511

0.189

0.036

Titese comparisons arc matdtcd for L1 (Welsh) and school type (designated bilingual). Significant differences at the 5% level are found \Vith: positive responsives - four versus five, four versus six, and four versus seven.

248 Lang11age contact: tile inj111ence of English

Table 26. T-test comparisons of the different ages in mixed unstreamed schools Numbers

Mean

StDev

SE Mean

Three

II

0.886

0.120

0.036

Four

25

0.863

0.131

0.026

Five

37

0.908

0.140

0.023

Six

34

0.801

0.218

0.037

Seven

33

0.835

0.147

0.026

Three

II

0.633

0.300

0.090

Four

23

0.489

0.310

0.065

Five

35

0.501

0.288

0.049

Six

34

0.408

0.215

0.037

Seven

31

0.333

0.194

0.035

Three

II

0.729

0.222

0.067

Four

26

0.740

0.191

0.037

Five

37

0.731

0.187

0.031

Six

34

0.631

0.157

0.027

Seven

33

0.600

0.178

0.031

Polarity

Ages

Positive

Negative

Both

These comparisons are matched for L1 (Welsh) and school type (mixed unstreamed). Significant differences at the 5% level are found with: positive responsives -five versus six, five versus seven, and four versus seven; negative responsivcs - three versus six, three versus seven, four versus seven, five versus seven; and positive and negative responsives combined- four versus six, four versus seven, five versus six, and five versus seven.

/ntroclllclioll 249

7.1.4 Sex Studies of adults have shown that the sexes use language differently. But the comparisons arc by no means straightfonvard: in speech communities in England, sex differences are linked with social class, and show that working-class women adopt the higher status variants of middle-class speakers. while middle-class males adopt the masculine-oriented variants of working-class males (Trudgill 1974). Research into the Welsh of adults has also found differences but Ball (1988) and Thomas B. ( 1988), unlike the English studies quoted above, have shown males more likely to usc status variants. Studies of children have been less conclusive but Romaine (1984: 111-123) reviews work, including her own, which suggests that sex may be a differentiating factor amongst young children. In the corpus under study. there arc 166 boys and 175 girls. But the nonstandardizcd nature of the corpus results in a very uneven distribution when the sexes are matched for the other categories: the most numerous groupings occur amongst Welsh L I speakers in designated bilingual schools and unstrcamed mixed schools, particularly in the older cohort. Welsh L2 speakers and other school types are smaller in numbers. and are excluded from the following analyses. The statistical details for a comparison of the use of rcsponsives by boys and girls arc given in Tables 27-28. They present a total of twenty-nine comparisons, and the performances of the boys and girls arc well-matched: the means of the boys arc higher in thirteen instances while those of the girls arc higher in fourteen instances (with one comparison equal - not shown on the charts). However, if we concentrate on the older cohort of five- to seven-year olds, where there are larger numbers in the cells, a different picture emerges. Of the eighteen comparisons, the girls have higher means in thirteen of them while the boys have higher means in only four (boys and girls arc equal in the remaining comparison). But these differences arc statistically significant at the 5% level in only one comparison. Given that we have already seen a trend for older children to have lower means than younger ones, there now exists the possibility that this is due to the linguistic development of boys rather than girls. These differences arc in line with other findings as seen in Romaine (1984: 111-123). But there appears to be no obvious explanation why these differences should emerge in the Welsh data on responsives.

) Lo11guage coil tact: the illjlllellce of E11glish ble 27. T-test comparison of boys' and girls' use ofresponsives (bilingual schools)

'ositive

Age

Sex

Three

Five

Six

Seven

Negative

Three

Five

Six

Seven

Both

Three

Four

Numbers

Mean

StDev

SEMean

Boys

4

0.891

0.147

0.073

Girls

4

0.745

0.284

0.14

Boys

12

0.784

0.259

0.075

Girls

9

0.902

0.145

0.048

Boys

15

0.751

0.255

0.066

Girls

12

0.8125

0.0791

0.023

Boys

13

0.699

0.252

0.070

Girls

14

0.854

0.132

0.035

Boys

5

0.267

0.253

0.11

Girls

4

0.323

0.406

0.20

Boys

12

0.283

0.277

0.080

Girls

8

0.440

0.294

0.10

Boys

15

0.391

0.273

0.071

Girls

12

0.320

0.133

0.038

Boys

13

0.252

0.174

0.048

Girls

14

0.335

0.192

0.051

Boys

5

0.607

0.338

0.15

Girls

4

0.576

0.320

0.16

Boys

9

0.633

0.210

0.070

Girls

2

0.257

0.246

0.17

/lltrodllctioll 251

Age

Sex

Five

Six

Seven

Nwnbers

Mean

StDev

SEMean

Boys

12

0.528

0.238

0.069

Girls

9

0.717

0.209

0.070

Boys

IS

0.577

0.210

0.054

Girls

12

0.599

0.134

0.039

Boys

14

0.421

0.173

0.046

Girls

14

0.601

0.164

0.044

The children in these comparisons are matched for Ll (Welsh), school (designated bilingual) and age (see table). Significant differences at the 5% level: positive- none; negative - none; both positive and negative combined - seven-year olds. Table 28. T-test comparison of boys' and girls' use ofrcsponsives (mixed unstreamed)

Positive

Age

Sex

'Iltree

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Nwnbers

Mean

StDcv

SEMean

Boys

6

0.878

0.144

0.059

Girls

5

0.8951

0.0980

0.044

Boys

16

0.885

0.120

0.030

Girls

9

0.825

0.150

0.050

Boys

12

0.874

0.127

0.037

Girls

25

0.925

0.145

0.029

Boys

10

0.801

0.309

0.098

Girls

24

0.801

0.176

0.036

Boys

12

0.802

0.159

0.046

Girls

21

0.855

0.139

0.030

252 Lang11age contact: the inj111ence of English

Negative

Mean

St Dev

SE Mean

Boys

6

0.639

0.323

0.13

Girls

5

0.626

0.308

0.14

Boys

14

0.518

0.331

0.089

Girls

9

0.444

0.286

0.095

Boys

II

0.571

0.301

0.091

Girls

24

0.469

0.283

0.058

Boys

10

0.401

0.295

0.093

Girls

24

0.410

0.179

0.037

Boys

12

0.294

0.163

0.047

Girls

19

0.357

0.211

0.048

Boys

6

0.731

0.256

0.10

Girls

5

0.727

0.202

0.090

Boys

17

0.787

0.175

0.043

Girls

9

0.651

0.197

0.066

Boys

12

0.757

0.158

0.046

Girls

25

0.718

0.201

0.040

Boys

10

0.645

0.170

0.054

Girls

24

0.625

0.155

0.032

Boys

12

0.542

0.160

0.046

Girls

21

0.633

0.183

0.040

Sex

llucc

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Both

Numbers

Age

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

The children in these comparisons arc matched for Ll (Welsh), school (mixed unstreamcd) and age (sec table). Significant differences at the 5% level: positive -none; negativenone; both positive and negative combined- none.

La11g11age backgro1111d 253

7.2 Language background This section examines the relationship between variation in the usc of responsives and the language backgrounds of the pupils. Their language backgrounds are assessed in terms of their first language and the language which was used as the medium of teaching in their schools. The latter is examined in outline mainly to establish a background against which the effects of the first language can be considered. as is explained in 7.2.2. As already indicated in the Preface to this study, the influence of English is frequently proclaimed as a factor which brings about changes in the structure of Welsh. Indeed. it is sometimes suggested that the result is language decay rather than language change. The Welsh word hratiailh 'ragged language' is often used disparagingly to describe Welsh which is deemed to be heavily influenced by English. In the case of Welsh responsives. the incursions of the simple nonecho responsivcs into the territory of the more complex system of echo responsives could be explained by suggesting that the invariable system of English is influencing children to adopt the invariable nonecho system in Welsh.

7.2. 1 Medium of teaching For the purposes of this study. schools are grouped according to the language of the medium of instruction. The following categories can be established. First, there arc designated bilingual schools which arc established through central and local government specifically to maintain the Welsh language. These schools usc Welsh as the medium of instruction up to the age of seven, which covers the age range of this study. and then introduce English in addition to Welsh from seven onwards. They are commonly referred to as Welsh schools. Second, there are mixed schools in which the extent of the use of Welsh as a medium of instruction is determined by local factors. especially the balance of the intake of Welsh and English speakers. the attitudes of the hcadteachcr and the staff, and parental desires.63 Mixed schools can be further subdivided into those which involve language streaming and those which do not. In streamed schools, as the label indicates, Ll Welsh speakers arc taught in Welsh in one class and Ll English speakers arc taught in English in another class. In unstreamcd schools, Ll Welsh and Ll English speakers are taught in the same classes but the medium of instruction may vary along a scale of Welsh-only to English-only with bilingual combinations between the two extremes (according to local conditions of the sort already given above). The original research project wl_tich collected the data possessed no precise details of the medium of instruction in unstreamed schools but the field workers gained impressions that there were two main possibilities: predominantly Welsh with all pupils, or Welsh with L1 Welsh speakers and English with Ll

4 Lang11age contact: the inj111ence ofEnglish

tglish speakers. Where the intake was predominantly Ll Welsh children, the edium of instruction was Welsh, and such schools arc often referred to as natu1 Welsh schools. For the three-year olds, in the event of the absence of provision by the local eduation authority in one of its primary or infant schools, a voluntary preschool 1aygroup was provided in many areas by Afudiad Ysgolion .Meilhrin 'movement 1r nursery schools' (Stevens 1996 offers a history of Welsh-medium playgroups). hesc groups organized their sessions through the medium of Welsh only, but tey met for only two hours per morning, five mornings per week. Table 29 gives the numbers of children in the various school types over the dif:rent age groups. As can be seen, there arc two dominant types in the project: .esignated bilingual and unstreamcd mixed. Consequently, this study will conccnrate upon designated bilingual schools and unstreamed mixed schools. But the .nalysis will also supply details, where fruitful, about Welsh streams in streamed chools, and Welsh-medium preschool playgroups of Mucliad Ysgolion Meilhrin. rable 29. Numbers of children in the different school types

Bilingual

144

Unstreamcd

149

Streamed

32

M11diad

12

Others

4

Total

341

Both these school types are unevenly distributed over the other background factors and some of the matched groupings have very low numbers: in particular, the playgroups are only relevant to three-year olds, and the Welsh streams do not contain any children under five. The latter also have quite low numbers. There are other types of schools in which Welsh-speaking children arc to be found - but the numbers of children are so small that statistical comparisons are not feasible. 64 Tables 30-32 give t-test comparisons of the school types matched for Ll and age - only Ll Welsh speakers are used as there are insufficient numbers of L2 speakers to support adequate analyses. There are a total of thirty-nine individual comparisons over the five ages. The Mudiad groups appear in six comparisons

La11g11age backgro1111d 255 Table 30. T-test comparisons of children's use of positive responsives in school types

Age

School

Titree

Bilingual

Number

Mean

StDev

SEMean

8

0.818

0.223

0.079

II

0.886

0.120

0.036

8

0.701

0.319

0.11

Bilingual

10

0.9645

0.0732

0.023

Unstreamed

25

0.863

0.131

0.026

Bilingual

21

0.834

0.221

0.048

Unstreamed

37

0.908

0.140

0.023

Streamed

6

0.796

0.284

0.12

Bilingual

27

0.779

0.197

0.038

Unstreamed

34

0.801

0.218

0.037

Streamed

7

0.856

0.176

0.067

Bilingual

27

0.780

0.211

0.041

Unstreamed

33

0.835

0.147

0.026

7

0.741

0.269

0.10

Unstreamed M11diad

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Streamed

These comparisons are matched for Ll (Welsh) and age (see table). There is a statistically significant difference at the 5% level with bilingual schools versus unstreamed schools at four years of age.

:56 Lang11age contact: the illj111e11ce ofEnglish

fable 31. T-test comparisons of children's usc of negative rcsponsives in schoolt}pes Number

Mean

StDcv

SE Mean

9

0.292

0.308

0.10

II

0.633

0.300

0.090

6

0.422

0.357

0.15

Bilingual

II

0.248

0.288

0.087

Unstrcamed

23

0.489

0.310

0.065

Bilingual

20

0.346

0.287

0.064

Unstrcamcd

35

0.501

0.288

0.049

Streamed

6

0.264

0.124

0.051

Bilingual

27

0.360

0.221

0.043

Unstreamed

34

0.408

0.215

0.037

Streamed

7

0.244

0.250

0.094

Bilingual

27

0.295

0.185

0.036

Unstreamcd

31

0.333

0.194

0.035

7

0.218

0.138

0.052

Age

School

Three

Bilingual Unstreamcd

M11diacl Four

Five

Six

Seven

Streamed

·n1cse comparisons arc matched for Ll (Welsh) and age (sec table). 1berc arc statistically significant differences at the 5% level with: bilingual versus unstrcamed at three and four years of age, and unstrcamed and streamed at five years of age.

at age three only. The Welsh streams appear in eighteen comparisons at ages five, six and seven. But comparisons involving these two types are very limited - the latter type, in particular, has low numbers. The remaining fifteen comparisons arc based on the performance of children in designated bilingual schools and unstreamed schools, and the analysis will concentrate on these (three comparisons in each age group). The unstreamed schools have the highest means in fourteen of the fifteen comparisons (in comparisons with the other school types, too, it emerges that the unstreamed schools emerge with the highest means overall).

La11g11age backgro1111d 251 Table 32. T-test comparisons of children's use of positive and negative responsives in school types Age

School

11rree

Bilingual

Number

Mean

StDev

SEMean

9

0.593

0.309

0.10

II

0.729

0.222

0.067

9

0.623

0.276

0.092

Bilingual

II

0.565

0.254

0.076

Unstreamed

26

0.740

0.191

0.037

Bilingual

21

0.609

0.240

0.052

Unstreamed

37

0.731

0.187

0.031

Streamed

6

0.580

0.181

0.074

Bilingual

27

0.587

0.177

0.034

Unstreamed

34

0.631

0.157

0.027

Streamed

7

0.592

0.185

0.070

Bilingual

28

0.511

0.189

0.036

Unstreamed

33

0.600

0.178

0.031

7

0.523

0.192

0.073

Unstreamed

Mmliad Four

Five

Six

Seven

Streamed

These comparisons are matched for L I (Welsh) and age (see table). Titere is a statistically significant difference at the 5% level with bilingual versus unstreamed at five years of age.

However, of the total of fifteen comparisons, only five of them are statistically significant at the 5% level. Four of these favour the unstreamed schools: at age three (negative responsives), at age four (negative responsives, and positive and pegative responsives combined), and at age five (positive and negative responsives combined). The only one which favours the designated bilingual schools occurs at age four (positive responsives) - but it is interesting to note that at the same age, it is the unstreamed schools which enjoy a statistically significant difference with the negative responsives. Other differences approach the 5% level of statistical

258 Lang11age co1/lact: the inj111e11ce of English

significance at age five (negative responsives) and at age seven (positive and negative responsives combined), and these favour the unstreamed schools. Overall, then, there is a trend for the unstreamed schools to have higher means than the other school types. Tables 33-38 also give t-test comparisons of school types but match the children for sex as well as Ll and age. Because this extra matching reduces the numbers in the comparisons, the Mucliad schools and the Welsh streams are excluded from some of them. It can be seen from these tables that the numbers are very low with the three-year olds, and analysis here cannot support any useful conclusions. Table 33. T-test comparisons of positive responsives in different school types (boys)

Age

School

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Number

Mean

St Dev

SE Mean

Bilingual

4

0.891

0.147

0.073

Unstreamed

6

0.878

0.144

0.059

A!ruliacl

7

0.673

0.333

0.13

Bilingual

9

0.9606

0.0765

0.026

Unstreamed

16

0.885

0.120

0.030

Bilingual

12

0.784

0.259

0.075

Unstreamed

12

0.874

0.127

0.037

Streamed

5

0.755

0.297

0.13

Bilingual

15

0.751

0.255

0.066

Unstreamed

10

0.801

0.309

0.098

Streamed

5

0.799

0.179

0.080

Bilingual

13

0.699

0.252

0.070

Unstreamed

12

0.802

0.159

0.046

4

0.661

0.322

0.16

Streamed

Matched for Ll (Welsh), age and sex (boys). No statistically significant differences.

La11g11age backgro1111d 259 Table 34. T-test comparisons of negative responsives in different school types (boys) Age

School

llrree

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Number

Mean

St Dev

SEMean

Bilingual

5

0.267

0.253

0.11

Unstreamcd

6

0.639

0.323

0.13

Mudiad

5

0.348

0.344

0.15

Bilingual

9

0.285

0.309

0.10

Unstreamed

14

0.518

0.331

0.089

Bilingual

12

0.283

0.277

0.080

Unstreamed

II

0.571

0.301

0.091

Streamed

s

0.2999

0.0968

0.043

Bilingual

IS

0.391

0.273

0.071

Unstreamed

10

0.401

0.295

0.093

Streamed

s

0.181

0.160

0.072

Bilingual

13

0.252

0.174

0.048

Unstreamed

12

0.294

0.163

0.047

4

0.186

0.167

0.084

Streamed

Matched for Ll (Welsh), age and sex (boys). 1bere is a statistically significant difference at the 5% level: bilingual versus unstreamed at five years of age.

260 Language contact: the influence of English Table 35 T-test comparisons of both positive and negative rcsponsives in different school types (boys)

Age

School

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Number

Mean

St Dcv

SE Mean

Bilingual

5

0.607

0.338

0.15

Unstreamed

6

0.731

0.256

0.10

Alruliad

8

0.596

0.282

0.10

Bilingual

9

0.633

0.210

0.070

Unstrcamed

17

0.787

0.175

0.043

Bilingual

12

0.528

0.238

0.069

Unstreamed

12

0.757

0.158

0.046

Streamed

5

0.592

0.200

0.089

Bilingual

15

0.577

0.210

0.054

Unstrcamed

10

0.645

0.170

0.054

Streamed

5

0.574

0.122

0.055

Bilingual

14

0.421

0.173

0.046

Unstreamcd

12

0.542

0.160

0.046

4

0.464

0.240

0.12

Streamed

These comparisons are matched for Ll (Welsh), age (sec table) and sex (boys). There is a statistically significant difference at the 5% level with bilingual versus unstreamcd at five years of age.

La11g11age backgrormd 261 Table 36. T-test comparisons of positive responsives in different school types (girls) Age

School

Tirrcc

Five

Six

Seven

Number

Mean

StDev

SEMean

Bilingual

4

0.745

0.284

0.14

Unstreamed

5

0.8951

0.0980

0.044

Bilingual

9

0.902

0.145

0.048

Unstrcamcd

25

0.925

0.145

0.029

Bilingual

12

0.8125

0.0791

0.023

Unstrcamed

24

0.801

0.176

0.036

Bilingual

14

0.854

0.132

0.035

Streamed

3

0.847

0.178

0.10

21

0.855

0.139

0.030

Unstreamcd

These comparisons are matched for Ll (Welsh), age (sec table) and sex (girls). There arc no statistically significant differences at the 5% level.

Table 37. T-test comparisons of negative rcsponsives in different school types (girls) Number

Mean

StDev

SEMean

Bilingual

4

0.323

0.406

0.20

Unstreamcd

5

0.626

0.308

0.14

Bilingual

8

0.440

0.294

0.10

Unstrcamed

24

0.469

0.283

0.058

Bilingual

12

0.320

0.133

0.038

Unstreamcd

24

0.410

0.179

0.037

2

0.401

0.449

0.32

Age

School

Tirree

Five

Six

Streamed

)2 Lang11age contact: the inj111ence ofEnglish

Age

School

Seven

Number

Mean

St Dev

SE Mean

Bilingual

14

0.335

0.192

0.051

Unstreamed

19

0.357

0.211

0.048

3

0.2616

0.0998

0.058

Streamed

hese comparisons are matched for Ll (Welsh), age (see table) and sex (girls). There are o statistically significant differences at the 5% level.

'able 38 T-test comparisons of both positive and negative responsives in different school rpes (girls) Age

School

lbree

Four

Five

Six

Se\·en

Number

Mean

St Dev

SE Mean

Bilingual

4

0.576

0.320

0.16

Unstreamed

5

0.727

0.202

0.090

Bilingual

2

0.257

0.246

0.17

Unstreamed

9

0.651

0.197

0.066

Bilingual

9

0.717

0.209

0.070

Unstreamed

25

0.718

0.201

0.040

Bilingual

12

0.599

0.134

0.039

Unstreamed

24

0.625

0.155

0.032

Streamed

2

0.636

0.374

0.26

Bilingual

14

0.601

0.164

0.044

Unstreamed

21

0.633

0.183

0.040

3

0.6011

0.0906

0.052

Streamed

fltese comparisons are matched for Ll (Welsh), age (see table) and sex (girls). lltere are statistically significant differences at the 5% level.

110

J..anguage hackgrowul 263

It can also be seen that, with the older cohort (five and older), there arc more girls in the unstreamcd mixed schools than there arc in the designated bilingual schools. There are a total of twenty-eight comparisons and the same trend again emerges: the unstrcamcd schools have higher means in twenty-five of them. But the number of statistically significant (and near significant) differences is lower. We shall return to examine the differences between the performances of children in different school types in the next section.

7. 2. 2 First language

Figure 22 outlines a typical method of assessing the L I and L2 of bilingual speakcrs.65 This approach is based on the children's language choices when conversing with other speakers in the extralinguistic context. It asks which language is used in interactions between the child and various classes of individuals which he or she regularly encounters. This type of assessment of language choices has two uses. First, it can establish a child's predominant choices. Those within the family are taken to be the primary indication of a child's Ll: for example. if a child speaks mainly Welsh with parents and siblings, then Welsh is taken to be the child's LI. Second. this approach can also be used to indicate the extent of usc of the Ll and also the L2 with different types of interlocutors. In this study. we shall concentrate upon the two extreme contrasts of Ll Welsh and Ll English, and make only limited use of the strength of usc of the two. 66 Mother ( 10)

Father (10)

Sibling

t

(10)

"

II;

Child Friends

Neighbours

(6)

(2) Grandparents (2)

Figure 22. A contextual measure ofLI usc

.64 Lcmgrwge contact: tire inj111e11ce of Rnglislr

The above method was used in a postal questionnaire which was completed by >arents to establish Ll and L2 speakers of Welsh. It revealed that there arc 271 Ll Nelsh speakers and 70 Ll English speakers. We arc essentially concerned with hesc two groups' use of Welsh, and henceforth we shall refer to them as Ll Nclsh and L2 Welsh respectively. The children in the Ll group acquire Welsh in he naturalistic fashion through exposure to the language in their homes and, in ;omc instances, the wider society. The L2 group acquires Welsh mainly through .he schools and, for many, the school is the only domain of usc for Welsh. This iifTcrence between the two groups is seen in the strength of their respective uses Jf Welsh as given in Table 39. As might be expected, the Ll speakers use Welsh Ill a far greater number of interactions. The difTcrcnces over the three ages are mbstantial, and in each case are highly statistically significant. It is clear from these comparisons that the L2 speakers' experiences in the use of Welsh arc very restricted. Table 39. T-test comparisons of Welsh Ll and L2 speakers' strength of use of Welsh Age

Ll/ L2

Five

Six

Seven

Numbers

Mean

StDev

SE Mean

Welsh L1

59

37.92

3.9R

0.52

Welsh L2

12

10.92

5.6R

1.6

Welsh Ll

63

37.30

4.92

0.62

Welsh L2

19

10.32

6.22

1.4

Welsh L1

66

37.41

4.84

0.60

Welsh L2

29

9.17

6.37

1.2

These comparisons arc matched for age (see table). Statistically significant differences occur at live, six, and seven years of age.

The distribution of these two groups over the other background factors is uneven: L2 Welsh speakers arc few in number under the age of five and, above five, they are located mainly in designated bilingual schools. The statistical comparisons given here therefore concentrate upon children between the ages of five and seven who attend designated bilingual schools. The details arc given in Table 40.

Language background 265

Table 40. T-test comparisons of Welsh LI and Welsh L2 speakers' use ofresponsives

Positive

STDcv

SE Mean

WelshLI

21

0.834

0.221

0.048

WelshL2

7

0.668

0.223

0.084

WelshLI

27

0.779

0.197

0.038

WelshL2

15

0.557

0.313

0.081

Welsh Ll

27

0.780

0.211

0.041

Welsh L2

21

0.604

0.303

0.066

WelshLI

20

0.346

0.287

0.064

WelshL2

8

0.169

0.106

0.038

Welsh Ll

27

0.360

0.221

0.043

Welsh L2

15

0.224

0.190

0.049

Welsh Ll

27

0.295

0.185

0.036

Welsh L2

22

0.163

0.139

0.030

WclshLI

21

0.609

0.240

0.052

WelshL2

8

0.414

0.213

0.075

Welsh Ll

27

0.587

0.177

0.034

Welsh L2

16

0.404

0.252

0.063

WelshLI

28

0.511

0.189

0.036

WelshL2

23

0.356

0.205

0.043

Five

Seven

Five

Six

Seven

Both

Mean

Ll/L2

Six

Negath•e

Nwnbers

Age

Five

Six

Seven

These comparisons are matched for age (see table) and school type (designated bilingual). Statistically significant differences at the 5% level occur: for positives - at six and seven years of age; for negatives - at five, six, and seven years of age; and for both positives and negatives combined - at five, six, and seven years of age.

268 Langr10ge contact: the inj111ence of English

tern of their Ll. Akiyama's finding can be compared reasonably with the Ll Welsh bilingual children using the nonecho system of their L2 to respond to targets in their L I. The classical version of interference, which was put forward mainly to account for the learning of an L2 as a foreign language, does not predict that the L2 influences the Ll. We shall now consider three possible explanations which are based on language contact and which can explain the Welsh data, namely: dominance, the influence of speaker contact and accommodation, and the strength of the use of Welsh amongst Ll bilinguals. There is a well-established view in discussions of language contact that one of the languages enjoys greater prestige or power than the other languagc(s), and that the dominant language influences the dominated language. This type of view is seen in Bloomfield ( 193 5: 40 I) who, speaking of word borrowing in particular, says: "The borrowing goes predominantly from the upper language to the lower, and it very often extends to speech forms that are not connected with cultural novelties." This same view is found in contemporary writers such as McMahon (1994: 202) who echoes Bloomfield's words: "In such linguistic relationships of unequal prestige, borrowings generally move from the more to the less prestigious language, and will be concentrated in the semantic fields where the more prestigious speakers wield the greater influence." The dominance factor is also seen in studies of the relationships of varieties within a single language, such as the work of Labov-Harris (1986) and Ash-My hill ( 1986). This type of view tends to attach prestige to the linguistic system, because of the prestigious domains in which it is used. For the purposes of this study, this approach can be referred to as institutional dominance or prestige. Overall, it is reasonable to claim that English is the dominant language in Wales in these terms: it is the language of political dominance, it is used in a greater number of social and commercial domains, and there is a greater number of English speakers. Political, commercial and social dominance is reflected, as indicated in 7.1.1, in extensive English influence on the Welsh linguistic system. Given the theoretical usc of dominance in sociolinguistic studies and the status of Welsh in Wales, it is reasonable to turn to it to explain why the children bring the characteristics of the English responsive system into their Welsh. However, it may be judged inappropriate to attribute to young children an awareness of dominance which is often measured in institutional terms which underline commercial, social and political status. But it is more reasonable to suggest that they arc aware of everyday commercial and social interactions in their local communities, either directly through their own actions or indirectly in the company of their parents and others, which demonstrate a more extensive use of English. For the data under consideration here, this general awareness of English as a dominant language may lead them to introduce aspects of English into their Welsh, including the nonecho system of rcsponsivcs. Milroy J. (1992: 192) refers to the view that dominant varieties do not always dominate. This point reminds us that language change is subject to constraints of stability as well forces

Lang11age backgro1111d 269

of innovation. But there are circumstances in which dominance is a reasonable explanation for the influence of one variety on another or for one language on another. It can be reasonably applied to the influence of English on Welsh in Wales. Unlike interference, which is essentially a cognitive process, dominance is a sociolinguistic process. For dominance to work, a speaker must have control over the L2. In this respect, it can be noted that Ll Welsh bilinguals acquire their L2 mainly in the naturalistic fashion through exposure to English in the wider society and, in some instances, their families. Dominance overrides the influence of classical interference to ensure that the L2 influences the Ll and not vice versa. Another explanation can be offered in terms of speaker contact or accommodation. Milroy-Milroy ( 1985) and Milroy J. ( 1992) are strong advocates of speaker contact as an agency of both change and stability, depending upon the nature of the relationship. Milroy-Milroy (1985: 345) support the view that the expression language change is misleading as "... it is not languages that innovate; it is speakers who innovate." As Milroy (1992: 199) points out, the same can be said about language contact: "... strictly speaking, it is not really language contact at all, but speaker contact." This view of language contact certainly applies to Wales where Welsh and English speakers are in direct contact \Vith each other, and this includes children. According to the Milroys, close contact in a community of strong tics preserves community norms. Weak ties between speakers of different speech communities can introduce innovations which can lead to change. It is not clear that the contacts of Ll and L2 speakers of Welsh in schools fit in with the Milroys' view of weak ties in the community. As classroom peers, there is no obvious reason to believe that their tics are weak. But their direct contact with each other provides a conversational context in which speakers of two language groups can experience each other's linguistic norms and for one group to influence the other. The Ll speakers' usc of responsivcs is determined not by their perceptions of the dominant status of English on an institutional level but by the norms of L2 speakers' Welsh. 67 Trudgill ( 1986), in a study of dialects in contact, addresses the influence of speaker contact by using the concept of accommodation which is especially associated with the work of Howard Giles, as in Giles (197 3) and Giles ( 1984), but has also been applied and developed by other scholars as in Giles-Taylor-Bourhis ( 1973), Giles-Smith ( 1979), Giles-St. Clair ( 1979), and Giles-CouplandCoupland ( 1991 ). In essence, accommodation refers to one speaker adapting his or her language variety in order to reduce differences with the language variety of another speaker. Although much of the work on accommodation theory, including Trudgill's work, is based on accent, it can also apply to other levels of linguistic analysis. Similarly, although the development of accommodation theory was based mainly on the relationship of speakers who usc different varieties of the same language, it can also be applied to the encounter of speakers who have different mother tongues. Trudgill cites work by Nordcnstam ( 1979) which demonstrates

270 lnnguage contact: the it!fluence of English

both points: this latter work looks at lexical and morphological accommodation between two Scandinavian languages. In his discussion of accommodation, Trudgill reviews both linguistic and sociopsychological factors which motivate speakers to accommodate or which constrain accommodation. The linguistic factors which Trudgill considers relate to phonology. and arc not relevant in detail to the Welsh data which is being discussed here. Of course. this is not to say that broadly equivalent points could not be made about other linguistic levels. But of more immediate application to this study arc the sociolinguistic motivating factors. of which Trudgill mentions three. First. there arc the well-known phenomena of status or prestige. Speakers accommodate because they believe that the language conventions of other speakers accrue kudos. In a broad sense. this motivating factor is similar to institutional dominance which is discussed above. But here the emphasis is not on the institutional level (where it can be said that speakers arc aware of the status of a language) but on the personal level where speakers arc aware of the status of the users of a language. For accommodation to work for these reasons. Welsh children must recognize that English speakers have a desirable status. Whereas it is argued for institutional dominance that children can become aware of the way in which the two languages arc used in the local community, it is less convincing to hold that they believe that their L2 classroom peers have greater prestige or status as individuals. An answer to this objection is to argue that the L2 speakers have status because their LI. English. has institutional status. The mutual interplay of the status of speakers and language varieties is well-known, and this is not an unreasonable view. It is. of course. not easy to differentiate between speaker status, on the one hand. and institutional dominance. on the other hand: the former can arise because of the latter. and vice versa. This is not a crucial matter for this study. Either way. English has the edge over Welsh. and this can motivate some speakers to adopt conventions of English in their Welsh. Second. a speaker may not feel that other users arc necessarily more prestigious, but they may be moved by a desire not to be different: that is, they may want to conform with prevailing consensus norms. whether high status or low status. For Ll speakers to accommodate to L2 speakers on these terms. the prevailing consensus norms would have to be determined by greater numbers of L2 speakers who use a nonecho responsive system. This second motivation thus depends upon the numerical mix of speakers. Where Welsh L2 speakers are in the minority, then their norms would not be the prevailing norms. and it is unlikely that the Ll Welsh speakers would want to change their own prevailing norms, if dissimilar, in order not to be different to the minority L2 speakers. Overall in the corpus, L2 speakers arc in the minority (it will be recalled that the contextual measure of the usc of Welsh which is discussed at the beginning of this section established that there arc 271 L I speakers and 70 L2 speakers). But this study does not have sufficient information about the numerical mix of speakers in individual schools, and

Language background 271

no reliable analysis can match the prevailing consensus norms with numbers of speakers in their schools as opposed to frequency counts in the corpus. But given a situation where the classroom peers of Ll speakers involve a substantial presence of L2 speakers. then the force of conformity could sec Ll speakers adopting the norms of the latter. The numbers in individual schools in this corpus do not supply an adequate database to investigate this possibility in statistical terms. Third. Tmdgill ( 1986: 23) highlights a study by Shocky (ms) which emphasizes mutual intelligibility as a cause of accommodation: "Shock)• rightly makes the point ..... that students of accommodation must recognize that. in addition to the sociopsychological factors which lie at the root of accommodation (such as the desire not to be different). the desire to be intelligible is also an important factor." It is this third factor which has the greatest appeal in explaining why L1 speakers adopt the conventions of their L2 and why they appear to be accommodating to the norms of an overall numerical minority. The Ll speakers have the ability to usc either the echo or nonccho system -both systems arc used in Welsh. In contrast, the L2 speakers arc familiar with a nonccho system and have to acquire the echo system as a new linguistic convention. If interference comes into play as discussed above. the acquisition of the echo system will be held back. The L 1 speakers can accommodate to the grammar of the L2 speakers by generalizing the nonecho system in order to promote mutual intelligibility. Unlike prestige I status and dominance. this explanation docs not have to rely upon young children being aware of social conventions in domains beyond their own immediate interactions (although it is reasonable to believe that their wider experience of the usc of Welsh and English promotes familiarity with the status of the two languages). This explanation relates directly to the face-to-face encounters of children in school as they attempt to communicate effectively with each other for their own purposes. This strategy in the context of the Welsh data being considered here bears comparison with the unfortunatcly-labcllcd concept of foreigner talk which has been developed in the study of second I foreign language teaching and learning. This concept is associated with the work of Ferguson (1971. 1975, 1981), and an example of its application to Welsh is available in James C. ( 1986). According to James C. (1986: 41), foreigner talk "is that simplified version of a natural language which its native speakers usc for facilitating communication with nonproficicnt learners of their language". Using experimental data elicited from university students, James C. ( 1986: 45-50) lists features of Welsh foreigner talk. These features arc based on a small set of sentences which the subjects of the experiment were asked to modify for the purpose of talking to learners of Welsh, and, although interrogatives were investigated, responsivcs were not part of the experimental design. I make no claims for the status of foreigner talk here or the possible inclusion of rcsponsivcs as another feature of Welsh foreigner talk. nor do I wish to claim that the Ll Welsh children arc demonstrating foreigner talk. But

272 Language contact: the influence of English

accommodation which is based on mutual intelligibility or foreigner talk arc similarly motivated in that both can be seen as strategies which arc used by speakers to negotiate communication with other speakers. There is some evidence for the influence of speaker contact and accommodation if school type and first language are related. The analysis of school types which is given in 7.2.1 focuses upon Ll users of Welsh in different school types. and shows that unstreamed schools have higher means than designated bilingual schools. The comparison of L l and L2 users of Welsh given above is based on children in designated bilingual schools only. and it shows that L l users have higher means than L2 users. Taking into account both comparisons. it can be suggested that \Ve have three groups of speakers based on Ll and school type, and that their performances justify the following ranking: Ll speakers inunstreamed schools L l speakers in designated bilingual schools L2 speakers in designated bilingual schools

highest rank middle rank lowest rank

A similar picture emerges in an analysis of pronominalization by Jones B.M. ( 1990a). This ranking of types of speakers provides a basis for suggesting that there are two extreme norms of usage represented by the Ll speakers in unstreamcd schools and L2 speakers in designated bilingual schools. Further. and tentatively. the view can be put forward that the mid-way position of the Ll speakers who share designated bilingual schools with L2 speakers shows that they accommodate to some extent to the norms of the L2 speakers. There is. then. a tentative basis for suggesting that L I speakers accommodate to the norms of L2 speakers when the latter arc present in sufficient proportions. 68 In this way. accommodation. facilitated by school type. is a possible source of variation in the usc of rcsponsivcs. This view of accommodation is necessarily tentative as accommodation cannot be directly observed but is based upon inferences relating to statistical comparisons of language performance. 69 However. the ranking of the Ll speakers in different types of schools can be interpreted in another way. namely. in terms of the strength of the use of Welsh. It is suggested here that the trends of performance of the L I speakers in the different schools are due to the nature of the speech communities in which the schools are located. The unstrcamed mixed schools arc found mainly in the stronger Welshspeaking areas whereas the designated bilingual schools are mainly established in urban areas where the usc of the language is felt to be weaker. Generally, then, unstreamed mixed schools accept an intake of L I Welsh speakers from communities where Welsh is more widely used. The comparison of school types is essentially a comparison of the speech communities outside the school. The higher means of the unstreamed mixed schools reflect the greater use of Welsh by their pupils outside the school walls. The means of the designated bilingual schools

1Ang11age backgro1111d 273

have to be set against the type of speech communities in which they arc located. There is statistical evidence to support these views. Table 41 provides the means of the use of Welsh by Ll speakers in the two school types. As can be seen the pupils who attend mixed unstrcamed school use Welsh in more interactions than the pupils in designated bilingual schools. Further, in all three ages the differences are statistically significant. The possible influence of the speech community leads us to reconsider the influence of accommodation. In addition to the possibility of adopting the norms of L2 speakers, the usage of Ll speakers in bilingual schools may also be influenced by the more limited domains of use for Welsh outside the school. The extracurricular domains may promote their English, and this in turn may encourage the influence of the latter on their Welsh. That is, the linguistic systems of the two languages are brought into contact within the head of Table 41. "Ibe strength of the usc of Welsh by Ll speakers in bilingual and mixed unstreamed schools

Five

Six

Seven

Number

Mean

StDev

SE Mean

Bilingual

20

35.95

5.48

1.2

Unstreamcd

34

39.18

2.18

0.37

Bilingual

25

35.44

6.44

1.3

Unstrcamed

33

38.73

3.04

0.53

Bilingual

27

35.70

6.27

1.2

Unstrcamed

32

38.72

3.09

0.55

Statistically significant differences at the 5% level occur with the comparisons at each age.

the Ll speaker, and this facilitates the influence of their L2 on their Ll. All this is speculative, but reviewing different possibilities does at least remind us that there may not be a single cause for variation but a battery of causes which may well interact with each other to promote change.

7.3 Conclusions The main findings can be listed as follows. In terms of the general speaker variables of age and sex, we have seen that there are trends such that:

272 Language contact: the influence of English

accommodation which is based on mutual intelligibility or foreigner talk arc similarly motivated in that both can be seen as strategies which arc used by speakers to negotiate communication with other speakers. There is some evidence for the influence of speaker contact and accommodation if school type and first language are related. The analysis of school types which is given in 7.2.1 focuses upon Ll users of Welsh in different school types. and shows that unstreamed schools have higher means than designated bilingual schools. The comparison of L l and L2 users of Welsh given above is based on children in designated bilingual schools only. and it shows that L l users have higher means than L2 users. Taking into account both comparisons. it can be suggested that \Ve have three groups of speakers based on Ll and school type, and that their performances justify the following ranking: Ll speakers inunstreamed schools L l speakers in designated bilingual schools L2 speakers in designated bilingual schools

highest rank middle rank lowest rank

A similar picture emerges in an analysis of pronominalization by Jones B.M. ( 1990a). This ranking of types of speakers provides a basis for suggesting that there are two extreme norms of usage represented by the Ll speakers in unstreamcd schools and L2 speakers in designated bilingual schools. Further. and tentatively. the view can be put forward that the mid-way position of the Ll speakers who share designated bilingual schools with L2 speakers shows that they accommodate to some extent to the norms of the L2 speakers. There is. then. a tentative basis for suggesting that L I speakers accommodate to the norms of L2 speakers when the latter arc present in sufficient proportions. 68 In this way. accommodation. facilitated by school type. is a possible source of variation in the usc of rcsponsivcs. This view of accommodation is necessarily tentative as accommodation cannot be directly observed but is based upon inferences relating to statistical comparisons of language performance. 69 However. the ranking of the Ll speakers in different types of schools can be interpreted in another way. namely. in terms of the strength of the use of Welsh. It is suggested here that the trends of performance of the L I speakers in the different schools are due to the nature of the speech communities in which the schools are located. The unstrcamed mixed schools arc found mainly in the stronger Welshspeaking areas whereas the designated bilingual schools are mainly established in urban areas where the usc of the language is felt to be weaker. Generally, then, unstreamed mixed schools accept an intake of L I Welsh speakers from communities where Welsh is more widely used. The comparison of school types is essentially a comparison of the speech communities outside the school. The higher means of the unstreamed mixed schools reflect the greater use of Welsh by their pupils outside the school walls. The means of the designated bilingual schools

1Ang11age backgro1111d 273

have to be set against the type of speech communities in which they arc located. There is statistical evidence to support these views. Table 41 provides the means of the use of Welsh by Ll speakers in the two school types. As can be seen the pupils who attend mixed unstrcamed school use Welsh in more interactions than the pupils in designated bilingual schools. Further, in all three ages the differences are statistically significant. The possible influence of the speech community leads us to reconsider the influence of accommodation. In addition to the possibility of adopting the norms of L2 speakers, the usage of Ll speakers in bilingual schools may also be influenced by the more limited domains of use for Welsh outside the school. The extracurricular domains may promote their English, and this in turn may encourage the influence of the latter on their Welsh. That is, the linguistic systems of the two languages are brought into contact within the head of Table 41. "Ibe strength of the usc of Welsh by Ll speakers in bilingual and mixed unstreamed schools

Five

Six

Seven

Number

Mean

StDev

SE Mean

Bilingual

20

35.95

5.48

1.2

Unstreamcd

34

39.18

2.18

0.37

Bilingual

25

35.44

6.44

1.3

Unstrcamed

33

38.73

3.04

0.53

Bilingual

27

35.70

6.27

1.2

Unstrcamed

32

38.72

3.09

0.55

Statistically significant differences at the 5% level occur with the comparisons at each age.

the Ll speaker, and this facilitates the influence of their L2 on their Ll. All this is speculative, but reviewing different possibilities does at least remind us that there may not be a single cause for variation but a battery of causes which may well interact with each other to promote change.

7.3 Conclusions The main findings can be listed as follows. In terms of the general speaker variables of age and sex, we have seen that there are trends such that:

274 !.tmgrtage contact: the inflrtence of English

-

younger children have higher means than older children. older girls have higher means than older boys.

In terms of the speaker variables which arc relevant to a discussion of language contact. we have found that: -

unstrcamcd mixed schools have higher means than designated bilingual schools. Ll speakers of Welsh have significantly higher means than L2 speakers. Ll Welsh speakers in mixed unstreamcd schools outperform Ll Welsh speakers in designated bilingual schools who outperform L2 Welsh speakers in designated bilingual schools.

In the main. the above analyses have revealed trends rather than statistically significant differences. But in the case of Ll influence. a firmer picture emerged which showed statistically significant differences between Ll and L2 speakers. It was found that there arc grounds for suggesting that the influence of English is to be found in Ll Welsh as well as L2 Welsh (although it is much stronger in the latter). In attempting to explain how language contact can bring about change or variation, known explanations were reviewed. Interference can be exploited as an explanation of how L2 speakers can bring the influence of English into their Welsh. Dominance can be suggested as an influence which introduces the influence of English into Ll Welsh. Another explanation for the latter is speaker contact and accommodation. whereby Ll speakers are influenced by the norms of L2 speakers. But another explanation for the emergence of English influence in Ll Welsh is the concept of the strength of usc of Welsh, ,,·hereby some Ll speakers have weaker interactive experiences in the language and arc more exposed to the influence of English. Even if a statistical correlation between bilingualism and variation is apparent, it docs not provide conclusive evidence that English is solely responsible for innovations in Welsh. It is extremely difficult to establish with certainty that changes in a language arc brought about mainly by the external influence of another language. There are very often competing explanations which are based on other factors. Interference is not the only explanation which scholars put forward for L2 innovations. Both Corder (1973: 282-292) and Mackey (1965: 111) refer to other factors which can cause deviations from L I norms such as incomplete learning, confusion. and Mackey refers to "the extension by analogy of patterns one has already learned in the language." The latter is particularly relevant to this study, and we return to it in the next chapter. In respect of Ll innovations, Akiyama's ( 1979) study of Japanese bilinguals may suggest that that the responsive system of their L2, English, influences their Ll, Japanese. But Akiyama also shows that monolingual Japanese children do not acquire the truth-value system as early as

Conclusivm 275

monolingual English children acquire the polarity-based system. Thus, it may be that the Ll system is delayed in Japanese, anyway. and that the L2 influence is able to exert itself because of this. Choi-Zubin (19R6) and Choi (1991) show that young speakers of both polarity-based language and a tmth-value language share common developmental stages. These developmental factors suggest that language contact alone is not at work. Given the sociolinguistic status of Welsh today, the influence of English cannot be discounted. But it must also be acknowledged that there arc compelling reasons to look for other influences, too. It could be argued that the dominance of English provides the circumstances for other factors to create change which would otherwise be held in check if Welsh \Vere not so subordinate. The next chapter examines system-internal explanations for variation.

8. Internal causes of variation The aim of this chapter is to examine the possibility that there arc internal causes of change and variation in the Welsh responsive system. Following from the discussion of the internal-external contrast in 7.1, internal causes refer to causes of change which can be explained in terms of the linguistic system. The latter is interpreted to include aspects of discourse as well as grammar and semantics. Particular attention is given to isomorphism and discourse acts. and aspects of semantics and focus are also reviewed. Each aspect is discussed independently, and the analysis concentrates on the potential of each one to cause change and variation. A concluding section attempts to present an overall view not only of the internal causes of change and variation which arc discussed here but also the external causes which are discussed in the preceding chapter.

8.1 Isomorphism The description of the children's language in Chapter 6 demonstrates two main points about their usc of rcsponsives: one is that the positive nonecho responsive ie and the negative particle 110 arc used as generalized rcsponsives in contexts where they are not expected on the basis of the assumed norms of adult Welsh; but the other is that 11a is used far more frequently than ie. This section attempts to account for both points. In respect of the emergence of change or variation such as this, simplification, analogy and redundancy arc oficn put forward as linguistic explanations. There is prima facie evidence for such explanations. Simplification seems particularly appropriate in that the choice from a wide range of forms of echo rcsponsives is replaced by the choice from a very much narrower range of forms. Analogy also seems to present a reasonable explanation as the nonecho responsive ie is already well-established in Welsh. and its spread docs not represent a novel innovation. In particular, analogical extension seems especially relevant. McMahon (1994: 71) gives a characteristic definition of analogical extension as "the generalization of a morpheme or relation which already exists in the language into new situations or forms." She lists the spread of the English plural marker -s in place of other plural markers as a well-known illustration of this type of analogy. Redundancy seems to provide an acceptable explanation for the emergence of 11a as a generalized negative responsive in that 110 by itself is sufficient to convey negation. However, unless these notions of simplicity, analogy and redundancy can be expressed in terms of principled grammatical analyses, they remain as subjective impressions whose status as explanations of change and variation is based on their intuitive appeal. A more detailed and explicit view of change, which underlies these notions, can be achieved by exploiting the concept of isomorphism, on the one hand, and the

278 lntema/ cww!.f ofmriation

grammatical analysis of rcsponsivcs which is given in 5.3, on the other hand. Isomorphism is discussed in Haiman ( 1980) and is part of the wider issue of iconicity in language. It refers to the uniqueness of the relationship between form and meaning. The ultimate isomorphic state is one where there is an exclusive relationship between one form and one meaning: that is, the same form always conveys the same meaning, and this meaning is always conveyed by the same form. In terms of the Welsh responsive system, an isomorphic relationship would exist when the function of a responsive is uniquely conveyed by one and the same form. This section explores the relationship between the forms of rcsponsivcs and the functions of rcsponsives. exploiting the feature analysis which is put forward in 5.3.2. On this basis, grammatical arguments arc put forward to support the view that the spread of the nonccho system ie and the negative particle na is the result of a tendency towards isomorphism in the Welsh responsive system. The essential function of a responsive can be recalled from the points which are made in 1.1 and 1.3.2. Welsh uses a polarity-based system. and the function of a responsive is that of indicating the polarity of a sentence answer: in short. a responsive indicates whether the sentence answer is positive or negative. We shall ignore at this stage the relationship of Welsh rcsponsivcs with tmth value and illocutionary force, and return to these issues in 8.3. It can also be recalled from 5.3.2 that this function is represented by a feature specification on the Complementizer. The feature specification for a positive responsive is [responsive, positive] and for a negative responsive is [responsive, negative). In this way, the semantic core of [responsive, {positive, negative}), where {positive. negative} conveys the choice of either positive or negative. represents the necessary and sufficient feature specification for the basic function of all rcsponsives. The degree of regularity between meaning and form can be assessed by comparing these core features with the actual features which can be attributed to the total range of Welsh rcsponsivcs. On the basis of 5.3.2. the following illustrations show the features that can be given to the main types of echo rcsponsivcs, and the nonccho responsive: (I)

a. b. c.

bydd bc+fut+3sg do yes ie yes

[responsive. positive] [future, singular, third] [responsive. positive] [perfect]

lresponsive, positive]

The negative equivalents of the illustrations in (I a-c) have the same set of feature specifications except, of course, for the change of the polarity feature:

Jsomorpllism 279

(2)

a. b.

c.

na fvdd [responsive, negative] neg be+fut+ 3sg naddo (responsive, negative] no nage [responsive, negative] no

[future, singular, third] [perfect]

In the case of echo responsives, the feature specification depends on whether the responsive is a verbal one, as in (Ia) and (2a), or a perfect one. as in (lb) and (2b). As can be seen, the verbal responsive echoes all the features of the finite verb: these include tense and agreement features. A perfect responsive lacks the agreement features and, as outlined in 2. I, has restricted tense features: it responds to targets of normal order whose verb is in the perfect tense. The feature specification which is given for the nonccho responsive in (I c) and (2c) could be challenged on the grounds that it says nothing about focus. In traditional accounts of responsivcs. such as the works referred to in 2.2.1, there is exclusive emphasis on its usc in responses to targets which arc finite clauses of fronted order. In these terms, it could be claimed that the feature specification of a nonccho responsive should include a feature which conveys information about focus. But. as Chapter 3 shows. a wider consideration of the types of targets to which nonccho responsives can respond demonstrates that fronted clauses arc only one of a number of possible targets. In comparison. the echo rcsponsives arc very restricted: they occur only in response to finite clauses of normal word order. Taking into account the full range of targets for both echo and nonecho responsivcs. it is reasonable to interpret the nonccho responsive as the default responsive. as suggested in the formal analysis in 5.3.3. whose use is overridden in one particular context, namely when the target is a finite clause of normal word order. The feature specification of nonecho responsivcs. then. need not include any details about focus but can remain as it is in (lc) and (2c). It is clear from the illustrations in (I a-c) and (2a-c) that there are features which arc common to the different types of responsivcs and features which distinguish them. They all contain features about mood and polarity, namely [responsive, {positive, negative }J. But they differ as to the extent to which they contain features relating to the category I, that is features of tense and agreement. It is against this background of core and peripheral features of Welsh responsives that we can consider grammatical explanations of change and variation in terms of isomorphism. These comparisons allow us to develop in detailed grammatical terms the notions of simplicity, redundancy and analogical extension. The feature specification allows us to define simplicity in terms of the number of features which are associated with the different types of rcsponsives: verbal responsivcs have the most number of features associated with them, next are the perfect responsives, and the nonecho responsives ie and nage have the fewest

280 lntemal causes of Wlriation

features associated with them. In terms of numbers of features. the verbal rcsponsivcs arc the most complex and the nonccho rcsponsives arc the simplest. It is. however. the more significant matter of isomorphism and redundancy which supplies the most useful insights into change and variation in the Welsh rcsponsivcs system. In the case of echo responsives. the array of information conveyed by their feature specifications far exceeds that which is needed for a polarity-based response. The features about tense and agreement arc not needed. and in this sense they arc redundant. But they are also redundant in another respect: within the anaphoric relationship between a responsive and its target sentence. they arc recoverable from the latter. All that is needed from the responsive is information about polarity. and the additional information about tense and agreement features is unnecessary. Because of the additional features which the echo rcsponsivcs convey. they also produce nonisomorphic relationships between form and meaning. Differences of tense. number and person. along with differences due to the range of lcxcmcs which carry these features. mean that a large range of finite verbal forms can occur as rcsponsivcs. The central function of a Welsh responsive. [responsive. {positive, negative }J, is thus conveyed by more than one form from the full range of echo rcsponsivcs. In the case of nonccho rcsponsivcs. the same forms ie and nage uniquely convey positive and negative respectively. That is. they are isomorphic. In terms of a tendency to isomorphism. these points all support the development of a rcsponsives system which is uniquely based on the feature assignment Iresponsive. {positive. negative}]. This development can be most obviously demonstrated by considering first the usc of na as a generalized negative responsive. It will be recalled from Chapter 5 that na is the overt realization of the feature [responsive. negative). It occurs in all negative responsives either as an independent word form as in (2a) or. because of phonological processes. as an internal part of the responsive form itself as in (2b-c). Thus. when the redundant features which arc associated with I arc abandoned for isomorphic reasons. the overt realization of the negative as na still remains:

nafvdd nat ddo

na na

The emergence of na as a negative responsive is a classic example of the simplification of a complex linguistic system motivated by redundancy. It is shown in 2.6 that this use of na is commented upon by Fyncs-Clinton ( 1913: 389), Greene (1972). King (1993: 325), Morris-Jones (1913: 423) and Thomas P.W. (1996: 522) in their descriptions of adult Welsh. Following from comments made there, it can be safely concluded that the use of na as a general negative responsive is not

/somm11hism 281

confined to children's contemporary Welsh but is a reflection of long-standing vernacular usage. In the case of positive echo responsives, the feature (responsive, positive] has no overt realization: this feature is unmarked, or empty. In the case of polarity, zero realization is contrastive. There are only two possible ways of indicating polarity: [negative) is realized with na, and (positive] is conveyed by the absence of a particle. Thus, if the tense and agreement features are dropped, no form remains to realize rresponsive, positive]. But ie is available with the same feature specification. and, in the absence of a form to realize I features, it can be extended to the echo contexts as a generalized positive responsive. This interpretation of the development of ie as a generalized positive responsive calls for a reconsideration of the development of na. If [responsive, positive] leads to the extension of ie, on the same basis, rresponsive, negative] should lead to the extension of nage. But. as we have already seen, [responsive, negative] is already realized by the particle na, which remains in place when the realization of I is abandoned. The existing occurrence of na discourages the extension of nage to realize these features. Indeed, as na is a common clement in all negative responsi\'es it can itself be extended as a general marker of [responsive, negative] to displace nage: nafvdcl na +ddo nag+e

na na na

The form na is the supreme example of a generalized responsive in Welsh. These points about the realization of mood and polarity features can also be exploited to explain the different frequencies of the use of ie and na as generalized responsives. The statistics given in Chapter 6 show that na is far more frequent as a generalized responsive than ie. It is the presence of na as a realization of [responsive, negative] in all responsives which can account for its wider use: a verbal responsive such as na fvdd 'will not be', the perfect responsive naddo, and the nonecho responsive nage can all be directly reduced to na. We have seen that equivalent positive responsives do not have an overt realization of [responsive, positive], so that when bydd '"··ill be' and do are dropped, no phonetic material remains. As already emphasized. the features of ie, rresponsive, positive], match the mood and polarity features of all positive responsives, and ie can, by analogical extension, realize these same features when they occur as the remnants of re·duced echo responsives. But, in contrast, na does not have to rely on analogical extension: its direct availability in situ can explain why na is more generally used. There is support for the influence of isomorphic simplification in other areas of the Welsh responsive system. In all areas of the system where there is a choice of either a more or less isomorphic form, the more isomorphic form is preferred. An

282 l11temal cause.f ofmriatioll

example is seen with sentence fragments. As discussed in 3.3.4. there is a choice of either recovering the full form of the sentence and responding accordingly, or using ie and na. The statistical outline in 6.4.1 shows that a ie or na is preferred to the less isomorphic and more complex echo responsives. A tendency towards isomorphism is also seen with other choices that do not involve ie and na. As is explained in 2.1.3. normal finites which contain the present tense and perfect aspect can be responded to with either a verbal responsive or perfect responsive. Comparisons of (Ia) with (lb) and (2a) with (2b) show the perfect responsive is more isomorphic: the forms do and naclclo can be used where a range of different verbal responsives would occur. The outline of statistics in 6.2.4 shows that the simpler perfect responsive is used more frequently than the more complex verbal responsive. It is shown in 2.5.2 that normal finite clauses which contain the present tense of hoc/ 'be' and eisiau 'needs' can be responded to either with one of several definite forms or the indefinite form. oes. Compared with the definite forms. which vary for number and person. the indefinite form is an invariable form and is more isomorphic. The statistics which are given in 6.2.4 show that there is a tendency to select oes rather than the variant definite personal forms. In all these cases. where the children are faced with a choice of a complex variant responsive or a simple invariable one. they prefer the latter. A comparison of the feature specification of responsives has revealed that ie and na are more isomorphic than echo responsives: they realize a necessary and sufficient feature specification of the core function of a responsive. In this sense. they can be thought to be simpler, less open to redundant feature specification. and more open to analogical extension. Their development as generalized responsives is semantically and formally well-motivated from within Welsh itself. and introduces into the responsive system a consistent isomorphic relationship of form and function: ie and na emerge as a two-term nonecho system which. in the children's data. is challenging the non isomorphic echo system. io

8.2 Discourse 8. 2. 1 Discourse acts

As explained in Chapter 4. a discourse act refers to the inte.-active function of an utterance: it is based on the relationships of utterances which are directly linked in conversational exchanges between different speakers (and can include instances where one speaker responds to his or her own utterances). Straightforward examples of discourse acts are that of a question which is asked by one utterance and an answer which is provided by another utterance. This particular pairing of related discourse acts is, of course. a classic context for the use of responsives, and it is clear that the notion of a discourse act is very relevant to an understanding of

Disco11rse 283

them. But discussions of responsives in general do not present a comprehensive and focused treatment of their discourse functions, being limited in the main to question and answer exchanges. It is shown in the analyses which follow that an analysis of rcsponsives in terms of discourse acts is very relevant to an understanding of Welsh rcsponsivcs. It presents insights into the relationship of echo and nonecho responsives, and indicates sources for the emergence of change and variation. Chapter 4 shows that there are several discourse acts which can be attributed to responsives. which can be relisted here for convenience: answers agreements disagreements response questions acknowledgements corrections The Icon programming language (Griswold-Griswold 1997) was used to investigate the distribution of echo and nonccho responsivcs over these different discourse acts. Using the main database of rcsponsives referred to in 6.1.1 and the scoring system which is explained in 7.1.2. an Icon program established each child's scores for the usc of a responsive with each discourse function. A Minitab file was established which contained the scores and the background details about the children. Table 42 gives the percentages for the functions of responsives. It can be seen that there are three main functions. which together make up 97% of all interpretable occurrences of responsives over all ages: answers, disagreements and agreements. In contrast. response questions. acknowledgements and corrections arc relatively infrequent. Over all ages. of the three most frequent, answers occur more than the other two, accounting for 4 7% of all known rcsponsivcs in contrast to 27% for disagreements and 23% for agreements. It could reasonably be argued that agreements and disagreements arc contrasting terms in the same system. As a combined system, these two terms then account for 50% of all interpretable instances of responsivcs. There arc then two major and statistically well-balanced functions which account for the vast majority of occurrences of rcsponsives: answers on the one hand, and agreements and disagreements on the other hand. It will be shown below, however. that there are good reasons for distinguishing bet.wecn agreements and disagreements. It is interesting to compare these statistics with those which arc given in Bald ( 1980), despite differences in the size and nature of his database and the one which is the basis of this study. Bald· s data shows that positive statements arc the most frequent target, and questions are relatively

284 /ntenwl causes of variation Table 42. Percentages of the discourse acts fulfilled by responsivcs Ages "lbrcc

Four

Five

Six

Seven

(807)

(756)

(2118)

(2473)

(2678)

Answers

76

45

52

45

36

Agreements

12

22

20

23

26

Disagreements

10

30

23

28

35

2

4

2

2

Response questions

2

Acknowledgements Cataphora

0

0

0

0

0

Corrections

0

0

0

0

0

TI1e percentages arc based on the total number of responsives for each age (given in brackets above), excluding those instances where the discourse act is obscure.

infrequent. This can be attributed to the different conversational settings and the different relationships of the participants. The Welsh data is based mainly on peer-group interaction with occasional input from an adult. Bald's data is based on interviews involving adults. The greater incidence of answers in the Welsh data is due to the typical way in which adults converse with young children, and further discussion about this is given in 8.2.3. Positive statements are discussed in another respect below in this section. Table 43 looks at the relationships between the forms of responsives and discourse acts. There arc two interesting points which emerge from this table. First, 60% of disagreements use na as a responsive. This is a consequence of the fact that disagreements in the corpus are mainly negative and, as such, become primarily associated with the simple na form which, as we have seen in Chapter 6, is the main negative responsive. As is underlined in 4.6, there is no exclusive relationship between disagreement and negative polarity. Disagreement rests on the relationship of the polarity of the target sentence and that of the responsive: it arises where the responsive reverses the polarity of the target, and disagreement can be conveyed by either a positive or negative responsive. It happens that in the corpus most targets for disagreements arc positive and, thus, the responsive is

Disco11rse 285

negative. On the basis of the frequencies in Table 44 (which is discussed below). it is found that most disagreements involve the relationship of positive target and negative responsive (885 out of 1084, or 82%), and most agreements arc positive target and positive responsive (816 out of 941, or 87%). This lends statistical support to the claim by Pope ( 1976: 111) that: "We tend to use yes to agree and no to disagree, although the former tendency is stronger." Pope goes on to say: 'The functional explanation for this tendency is the difficult to express but strongly felt semantic bond between negation and contradiction or opposition on the one hand. and positive phrasing and agreement or similarity on the other." It seems to me that the relationship is due to frequency of use rather than a semantic bond: the regular occurrences of positive and negative responsivcs to convey agreement and disagreement respectively creates an association of form and meaning. Table 43. Frequencies of the discourse acts and types ofresponsives Verbal

Perfect

Nonecho

Na

All

1658

260

1205

695

3818

Disagreements

322

50

493

1323

2188

Agreement

320

39

1265

142

1766

76

31

80

II

198

93

0

95

()

3

4

Answers

Response questions Acknowledgements Corrections

0

Cataphora

2

()

4

2

8

131

28

281

314

754

Obscure

Second. some interesting contrasts emerge when the statistics for the Welsh data are compared with those which arc provided in Bald ( 1980). The conversational settings in the two studies arc different: the Welsh data is based on peergroup conversations while the English data is based on interviews between adults. Ocspite differences in the size of the databases, the proportion of positive to negative statements is quite similar: 170 I to 324 (roughly 84: 16) for the Welsh data, and 133 to 24 (roughly 85:15) for the English data. But the use of positive and negative rcsponsivcs after these statements is very different. In the Welsh data, positive statements are followed by 816 positive rcsponsives and 885 negative

286 lntemal causes

c~{ mriation

rcsponsivcs (roughly 48:52). while the negative statements arc followed by 199 positive rcsponsivcs and 125 negative rcsponsivcs (roughly GI :39). But in the English data, the positive statements arc followed by 130 positive rcsponsivcs and only three negative rcsponsivcs (roughly 98:2), while the negative rcsponsivcs arc followed by nine positive rcsponsivcs and 15 negative rcsponsivcs (roughly 37:63). There arc two major diiTcrcnccs. One is the rarity of a negative responsive after a positive statement in the English interview data compared with its more frequent occurrences in the Welsh data. The other is the greater proportion of negative rcsponsivcs after negative statements in the English data. Bald (1980: 182) attributes the rarity of a negative responsive after a positive statement to the influence of the interview situation where the interviewee may be more prone to agree with the interviewer. Bald ( 1980: 185) draws attention to the greater occurrences of negative rcsponsivcs after negative statements but otTers no explanation. But it can be suggested that these. too. arc agreements. and the greater usc of a negative responsive in this context can be given a similar explanation. (Bald 1980: 184 also shows that the positive responsive can agree with a negative statement, as outlined already in 1.1.3.) There arc. of course. diiTcrcnccs of age between the participants in the two sets of data. But the contrasts which arc outlined above can be exploited to emphasize the influence of the conversational setting on the usc of language: the peer-group setting allows the participants to agree or disagree relatively freely. while the unequal relationships in an interview setting constrains the participant who is the interviewee. These points arc discussed further in 8.2.3. Third. 72% of agreements arc conveyed by the nonccho rcsponsivcs, and this proportion is far higher than that shown by the other functions: answers, for instance. show that only 32% usc a nonccho responsive while 50% usc an echo one (43% arc verbal rcsponsivcs and 7'Yo arc perfect responsives). On this basis, there is some evidence to suggest that the selection of a responsive is related to its discourse act: answers arc more likely to usc an echo responsive than arc agreements, which arc more likely to usc a nonecho responsive. As already indicated, the selection of 1w for disagreements is a consequence of their polarity rather than their function and. unfortunately. we lose sight of the competition between echo and nonccho rcsponsivcs. Table 43 docs not indicate whether the selection of a responsive produces an appropriate pairing with its target: it docs not show whether agreements use nonccho responsivcs because their targets condition their selection or otherwise. The analysis will now take into account the nature of the pairings of rcsponsives and their targets. Table 44 gives the frequencies for the functions of rcsponsives within a framework of appropriate and inappropriate pairings of targets and responsives. The frequencies in these tables are diiTcrcnt to those given in Table 43. It will be recalled from Chapters 3, G and 7 that not all targets condition a systematic choice of the formal types of responsives. Thus, Table 44 concentrates

Disco11rse 287

upon those pairings where types of rcsponsivcs arc in complementary distribution, and exclude those pairings where there is freedom of choice (such as sentence fragments) and also those pairings which arc totally deviant or obscure. It can be seen from these tables that negative rcsponsives do not produce any differences because of the availability of na, which neutralizes the distinctions between the different formal types. But the positive rcsponsivcs confirm the view that agreements behave differently to the other functions. Whereas 90% of answers and 89% of disagreements have expected pairings. a much lower 60% of agreements pair rcsponsives and their targets appropriately. Looked at in another way, only 10% of answers and ll% of disagreements are mispairings while 40% of agreements arc used erroneously. Thus, if we reconsider the original statistical observation in 6.2.1 that 23% of positive responsivcs arc erroneous on the basis of assumed norms. it now emerges that this is largely due to the use of responsivcs which agree with a previous utterance. Table 44. Frequencies of the discourse acts of responsives and their pairings with targets

Positive

All

Unexpected

1715

191

1906

Disagreements

177

22

199

Agreements

487

329

816

Response questions

82

19

101

Acknowledgements

14

0

14

3

4

Answers

Obscure Negative

Na

Expected

Answers

321

23

535

879

Disagreements

268

66

551

885

Agreements

46

2

77

125

Response questions

14

0

5

19

Acknowledgements

0

0

0

0

0

15

16

Obscure

288 lntemal causes of mriaticm Table 45 supplies t-test comparisons of the influences of discourse acts on the pairings of responsives and their targets. Concentrating on positive responsives in Table 45, it can be seen that agreements have lower means than the other discourse acts, and answers have the highest means. Further, in aU comparisons involving agreements, the differences are statistica11y significant at the 5% level. Table 45. T-test comparisons of discourse acts conveyed by responsives Numbers

Mean

St Dev

SE Mean

Answer

300

0.886

0.203

0.012

Agreement

230

0.537

0.397

0.026

Disagreement

105

0.864

0.309

0.030

61

0.830

0.335

0.043

265

0.386

0.323

0.020

92

0.388

0.388

0.040

229

0.313

0.304

0.020

17

0.686

0.402

0.098

Answer

323

0.699

0.255

0.014

Agreement

246

0.504

0.363

0.023

Disagreement

250

0.417

0.340

0.021

71

0.829

0.312

0.037

Discourse Acts Positive

Response question Negative

Answer Agreement Disagreement Response question

Both

Response question

The mean scores are based on the children's scores for the appropriateness of the pairing of responsives and targets. The numbers give the numbers of children over all the years who have used the discourse act, and includes the same child at different ages. Statistically signilicant diiTerences at the 5% level are as follows: for positives - wiUt every comparison that involves agreements; for negatives - with every comparison which involves response questions and answers versus disagreements; and for boUt positives and negatives combined - with every comparison.

Tables 43, 44, and, in particular, 45 show that distinguishing types of discourse acts reveals marked differences in the use of the positive responsives. These sta-

Disco11rse 289

tistics support the possibility that the children select responsives within a framework of discourse functions. The traditional system is more likely to be retained when the children give an answer or venture a disagreement. But there is a pronounced tendency to favour a nonecho responsive when they agree with a previous target. This interpretation clearly implies that there are both formal and functional factors which explain the children's use of responsives. As answers and disagreements. responsivcs pair more appropriately with their targets. As agreements, types of targets have less influence on the selection of the form of a positive responsive. and ie emerges as a general responsive form. The question arises as to why different discourse acts influence the choice of responsives. There arc two speculative answers - the first relates to the nature of interactive discourse, and the second considers the relative status of the questioner and the answerer. They are discussed in the following sections.

8. 2. 2 Interactive COili{ruence In interactive terms, answers. on the one hand. are different to agreements and disagreements, on the other hand: the former are elicited by a previous utterance, namely a question; but agreements and disagreements are volunteered without any prompting by a previous speaker. In these terms, it can be speculated that the relationship between the expectancy of a question and the compliance of an answer underlines a greater bond between interrogatives and responses. This association reinforces and maintains their stmctural relationships. However. the contrast with answers applies to both agreements and disagreements. and does not explain why differences also emerge between the latter two. We can explore the possibility that there are interactive differences between the two which may relate to the differences in their pairings. Comments which arc found in Pope ( 1976: 118-119, 132) can be developed in an attempt to explain the different usc of responsives to convey agreement. Pope (1976: 118-119) talks about "semantic content". and claims that disagreement has semantic content while agreement does not. This is not a justifiable view as both agreement and disagreement are meaningful. At this point in her discussion, Pope provides a footnote which reminds readers of her use of the terms agreement and disagreement. Pope (1976: 132) says that "by agreement is meant that the negativity of question and answer are the same, and by disagreement, that they are different." In the same footnote, Pope concedes to a possible objection that her notion of disagreement is a syntactic one and not necessarily a semantic one, and that semantic content can be thought of as "incongmity of question and answer", or more specifically, "negativity switch between question and answer". These may be unwieldy expressions but they are far more informative than the bland "semantic content". It is now clear that her ideas are based on the congruity of the polarity of

290 lntemal cause.f of variation

question and answer. It can be said that agreement has no semantic content in the sense that it maintains the polarity of the target utterance and brings nothing new to the discourse. On the other hand, disagreement changes the polarity and brings a new semantic feature into the discourse. A comment by Pope ( 1976: 119) reflects this: "Saying that disagreement is marked is a fairly normal sort of semantic ntle. There is no doubt that the act of disagreeing is more marked than the act of agreeing. It constitutes a departure from what is expected." It is the reference to departure from the expected which is the basis to the concept of the dynamics of interaction which is being put forward here. Agreement and disagreement contribute differently to the dynamics of interaction. Agreements maintain the views of a previous speaker and. in this sense. arc unobtmsive and nonargumcntativc. It can be speculated that the simplicity and generality of the nonecho responsive ie is well-suited to the task of maintaining alignment with the previous speaker with the minimum of fuss. In contrast. disagreements are communicatively dynamic in that they replace the accord of the speech participants with discord. They arc more emphatic and obtmsive than the bland uncontroversial agreements. Tables 44 and 45 show that positive disagreements pair more appropriately with their targets than positive agreements. It can be suggested that the greater communicative dynamism of disagreements can be marked by using a corresponding echo responsive rather than the simpler and. possibly. less emphatic ie. The dynamics of interaction. in the sense of accord and discord or continuity and discontinuity. arc an important explanatory factor in accounting for the selection of an echo or nonccho responsive in Welsh. If the above interpretations arc acceptable. it would appear that there arc functional restraints on the ability of isomorphism to bring about language change. In the case of disagreements at least. the more complex echo rcsponsives arc protected from the competing simpler forms of nonccho rcsponsives by their suitability to convey a more emphatic discordant note in discourse exchange.

8. 2. 3 111e influence of the addressee

There arc a number of studies which use the status of the addressee to explain the way in which responders answer questions. Choi ( 1991: 418) lists works which claim that young children before two years of age use the cooperative principle when answering adults' questions. Choi is especially concerned with this phenomenon to explain why children acquiring a tmth-value system (or the AID system for Agreement or Disagreement as Choi refers to it) respond differently to tmc and false negative questions. For instance. a negative question such as is11 't this a cup? can have an implied negative proposition this is 1101 a cup. Choi's work shows that children arc able to use the truth-value system when they respond to a negative question whose implied negative proposition is true (asking is11 't this

lJi.rcn11r.w! 291

a cup? when it is not a cup) but are not able to respond to a negative question whose negative proposition is false (asking isn't this a cup? when it is a cup). Choi suggests children assume that the proposition in an adult's question is true and is relevant to the situation, and cooperate on this basis. We arc not here concerned with the details of Choi's arguments but only with the principle that the addressee can influence the answer (although, briefly. it can be added that Choi considers another influence here, namely: that adults do not ask negative questions whose propositions are false, and that unfamiliarity with such questions results in confusion when they are asked in elicitation experiments). Bald ( 1980: 182). in a corpus-based study of the English of adults in interviews. demonstrates that the usc of rcsponsives can be influenced by the addressee. His statistics show that .res occurs more frequently that no, especially after positive statements. and one factor which can explain this is that "the interview situation prompts the interviewee to agree rather than disagree with the interviewer ... There are differences of aims and subjects between this study and the studies of Choi (and others quoted there) and Bald. But the notion of the addressee influencing the speaker is of general relevance. and will be explored here as an explanation for the different choices of responsives with different discourse acts. We can contrast responses to questions asked by an adult with responses to questions asked by another child. The researcher supervising the recording session was instructed not to interview the children in order to elicit examples of their language. Nevertheless. the researcher was sometimes involved in the conversation for a variety of reasons: to establish the identities behind the children's voices at the beginning of the recording session: to display common courtesy while sharing the same space as other individuals - in particular. to respond to the children when addressed; to try to encourage quieter children to speak or to raise a flagging conversation: and to maintain order in the event of unruly or overboisterous behaviour. The analysis of rcsponsivcs distinguishes between responsivcs to an adult (mainly the researcher but sometimes a teacher) and responsives to a child (mainly the other partner in the play). Table 46 gives the percentages for the addressees of responsives. It shows that in the majority of cases the addressee is more often another child but in the case of the three year olds and. less so, the five year olds. the addressee is more often an adult. More significantly, Table 47 shows that the addressee is more likely to be an adult in the case of answers for all ages but, again, particularly with the three year olds and the five year olds. The majority of questions which arc answered have been asked by an adult. The children ask many questions of each other, but a great number of them have not been answered (this is a common observation in studies of child language and is seen in van Hckkcn-Roelofsen 1982: 458-459 who also quote a similar observation in Dore 1977).

292 Imemal ca11ses of variation Table 46. Addressees ofresponsives expressed in percentages

Ages lltree (807)

Four(756)

Five (2118)

Six (2473)

Seven (2678)

Child

20

66

45

63

72

Adult

74

24

47

28

19

Self

6

10

8

9

9

The percentages are based on the total number of responsives for each age (given in brackets above) Table 4 7. Addressees of discourse acts of responsi ves expressed in percentages

Ages

Answers

Disagreements

Agreements

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

(589)

(307)

(1022)

(1017)

(884)

Child

2

4

3

3

Adult

89

51

79

56

53

Self

9

45

20

41

44

Child

69

90

85

86

91

Adult

14

6

4

0

Self

17

9

9

10

9

Child

38

78

60

77

87

Adult

47

II

33

13

4

Self

15

II

7

10

9

The percentages are based on the total number of responsives for each age (given in brackets above)

Discourse 293

Table 47 also shows that most disagreements and agreements are made in response to other children rather than to an adult. These points about answers, agreements. and disagreements reflects normal classroom discourse as described in the work of Sinclair-Coulthard ( 1975) and Sinclair-Brazil ( 1982). Adult I child questions and child I child questions involve a difference in the status of the participants involved. The researcher is also located within a school environment and may, in the minds of the children, be identified with teachers. As addressees. adults and teachers arc superiors while other children arc equals. It should therefore be borne in mind that children may form their answers to suit an adult while their agreements and disagreements are aimed at their peers. In this light, there may be greater prescriptive pressure on pairing answers with their targets than on pairing them with agreements and disagreements.

8. 2.4 Age, discourse acts, and addressees

It is shown above that the occurrence of answers to questions asked by an adult arc more frequent with three year olds and five year olds than with the other ages. It is also found in Chapter 5 that the means for the appropriate pairing of responsives \Vith their targets are higher with younger children than older children. In the light of the differences of discourse which emerge in this chapter, we shall review the comparisons of the different ages. We shall now match the children for discourse acts (along with other matchings of background factors) and compare different ages. In order to avoid too much detail, we shall concentrate upon rcsponsives which are answers. The details arc given in Tables 48 and 49: both tables match for answers and Ll Welsh, but Table 48 concentrates upon designated bilingual schools while Table 49 looks at mixed unstrcamed schools. There are a total of 60 comparisons. and in 44 cases. children of a younger age have higher means than children of an older age. The analysis of age given in Chapter 5 also shows that the majority of the differences favoured younger children. In this respect. the introduction of discourse acts into the analysis makes little difference. In Chapter 5, there arc thirteen differences which are statistically significantly different. But the comparisons of ages which matches them for answers presented here shows that there are only three difTcrences which arc statistically significant at the 5% level (fives and sixes do better than sevens in mixed schools with the use of positive responsivcs - Table 49; and fours do better than sevens with the combined score for positives and negatives in mixed schools - Table 49). Two other comparisons approach the 5% level in Table 48 (designated bilingual schools - fours do better than sixes and sevens). These facts do not greatly alter the previous conclusion that older children have lower means, but the introduction of discourse acts into the analysis does reduce the number of differences which are statistically l!ignificant.

294 lntemal ca11ses ofvatiation Table 48. T-tcst comparison of the children's usc of answers over different ages

Numbers

Mean

St Dev

SE Mean

llrree

8

0.763

0.349

0.12

Four

10

0.9844

0.0449

0.014

Five

19

0.9445

0.0834

0.019

Six

25

0.890

0.146

0.029

Seven

26

0.900

0.223

0.044

Three

7

0.421

0.375

0.14

Four

8

0.389

0.385

0.14

Five

19

0.352

0.330

0.076

Six

22

0.268

0.260

0.055

Seven

22

0.295

0.268

0.057

lhrcc

9

0.678

0.349

0.12

Four

II

0.770

0.288

0.087

Five

21

0.653

0.266

0.058

Six

26

0.648

0.240

0.047

Seven

27

0.646

0.245

0.047

Rcsponsives

Age

Positive

Negative

Both

These comparisons arc matched for language (Ll Welsh), school (bilingual), and age (sec table). Statistically significant differences at the 5% level occur for positive responsivcs with four-year olds versus six-year olds; for negative rcsponsives, there are no statistically significant differences; and there are no statistically significant differences for positives and negatives combined.

Disco11rse 295 Table 49. T-test comparison of the children's use of answers over different ages Rcsponsives

Age

Positive

Negative

Both

Numbers

Mean

StDev

SE Mean

Three

II

0.891

0.159

0.048

Four

25

0.903

0.173

0.035

Five

33

0.9577

0.0703

0.012

Six

31

0.934

0.123

0.022

Seven

30

0.833

0.248

0.045

Three

II

0.638

0.307

0.092

Four

15

0.497

0.388

0.10

Five

30

0.515

0.319

0.058

Six

29

0.490

0.325

0.060

Seven

27

0.471

0.302

0.058

Three

II

0.746

0.233

0.070

Four

25

0.823

0.206

0.041

Five

35

0.777

0.213

0.036

Six

33

0.777

0.165

0.029

Seven

31

0.725

0.160

0.029

These comparisons arc matched for language (Ll Welsh), school (unstreamed), and age (sec table). Statistically significant differences at the 5% level occur for positive responsives with five-year olds versus seven-year olds, and six-year olds versus seven-year olds; for negative responsives with four-year olds versus seven-year olds; but there arc no statistically significant differences at the 5% level for positives and negatives combined.

296 /ntemal cau.res of variation

8.3 Semantics The previous section has been able to provide quantitative analyses in support of qualitative interpretations. This section draws attention to other influences which can also account for change or variation to Welsh rcsponsives from within the linguistic system itself. But they arc offered without statistics from the corpus. The discussion of Welsh rcsponsives in 3.4 underlines the role of semantics in determining the selection of either an echo or nonccho responsive. It should therefore be borne in mind that any unexpected pairings of responsive and target are not necessarily the result of change in syntactic rules but may be well-motivated selections which arc based on semantic distinctions. That is. nonecho responsivcs may be selected in a syntactic context which expects an echo responsive because they can convey the sorts of illocutionary forces which are outlined in 3.4.1 or to counter the truth value of the proposition of a target sentence as described in 3.4.2. On the basis of semantic distinctions. the responsive can be selected to focus on different aspects of the logical form of the sentence: an echo responsive can focus on the finite verb in the proposition. while a nonccho responsive can focus upon either its illocutionary force or its truth value. These remarks can also be related to the notion of focus which is sometimes used when discussing interrogation or negation: that is. we can refer to the focus of the negative clement or the interrogative clement within the sentence. Hocpclman ( 1983: 195), Hajicova (1983: 85-96) and Yadugiri (1986: 200) are examples of writers in the literature on questions who variously note that a question may focus on different parts of a sentence. Thus. to take an example from Hoepclman (1983: 195). the question did John meet Mm:v in the park? can be delivered in such a way that it presupposes that John met Mary and enquires whether the meeting took place in the park: that is. the focus of the question is on the park. The idea of focus can be exploited to discuss Welsh nonccho responsives which arc used in a context where assumed norms expect an echo responsive. Consider the following devised illustration: (3)

'r neuadd? mynd 'n ti ll)'t to the hall be+prcs+ 2sg you prog go 'arc you going to the hall?' l~vji·ge/1. Spcaker2: nage, i 'r to the library no 'no. to the library.' Speaker I :

Speaker 2 happens to be going somewhere but not to the place mentioned in the question. Thus, the answer can deny a part of the proposition but not all of it. As is emphasized by Hajicova ( 1983: 85-96), a minimal answer involving a responsive by itself is not enough in response to a focused question. Similarly, when a

Semantics 297

speaker chooses to provide a focused answer, an expansion on the responsive is provided. This interpretation connects with the discussion of fronted sentences (3.3.1) which focus on a constituent by fronting it to initial position:

(4)

A: i 'r neuadd wyt ti 'n mynd? to the hall are you prog go 'to the hall are you going?' B: nage, i 'r l~v.frge/1. no to the library 'no. to the library.'

It could be. then. that nonecho responsives can replace echo ones when the response focuses upon a part of the question and not all of it.

8.4 Overall summary and conclusions This study has had two main aims. namely. to develop a comprehensive analysis of the Welsh responsive system and. using this analysis to represent the perceived norms of adult Welsh. to describe and explain the use of responsives by young children in a corpus of spontaneous speech. In order to produce an analysis of the perceived norms of adult Welsh, the study passed through a number of stages First. Chapter 1 established a general view of the semantic and formal characteristics of answering systems based on published descriptions of some of the world's languages and much-appreciated help from informants who provided details about other languages. This survey revealed two sorts of semantic systems. a singular polarity-based system and a mixed polarity and truth-value system (which, for convenience, has been referred to as the truthvalue system). The survey also revealed two types of formal systems, the nonecho system and the echo system. The survey suggested that there were no pure examples of semantic and formal types: a particular language may favour one semantic system or one formal svstem. but there were many instances of the same language ~sing the alternative ~·stem to some extent. Sc~ond. a linguistic description of Welsh responsivcs was established in 1.3 and Chapters 2, 3 and 4. This description showed that the perceived system of responsives is a complex area of Welsh grammar. Chapter 1. 3 established that Welsh is basically a polarity-based system which uses both echo and nonecho responsives, and Chapter 2 described the forms Qf Welsh echo responsives. Chapter 3 outlined the appropriate choice of either an echo or non-echo responsive. It was shown that the two systems arc not free choices but that the selection of either an echo or nonccho responsive is controlled by aspects of sentence-grammar, discourse and semantics. The echo system is based mainly on the finite verb and has subsystems in terms of verbal (full echo

298 /ntemal causes of variaticm

and substitute) and perfect: their selections arc determined by characteristics of morphology and types of finite verbs. There arc other echo rcsponsivcs involving certain nominals and adjcctivals but. in performance at least. these arc minor ones. Chapter 4 described the types of discourse acts that rcsponsivcs can fulfill. These include not only polar answers but also agreements. disagreements, response questions and corrections. Third. Chapter 5 attempted to formalize the grammar of mood and rcsponsivcs within an explicit theoretical framework. This chapter emphasized grammatical differences between rcsponsives and VPlcss sentences. It characterized rcsponsivcs in terms of a feature specification on the Complcmcntizcr. and claimed that the selection of types of rcsponsives is controlled by the focus of C and another feature specification on I. The formalization in this chapter reveals the complexity of the grammatical system of Welsh rcsponsivcs. It suggested a simple generalization: the default responsive is the nonecho responsive; the echo responsive is only used when the interrogative feature in C focuses upon I. The account of the children· s usc of rcsponsivcs was also presented in stages. First, in Chapter 6. variation in child usage was identified by applying the analysis of Welsh rcsponsivcs to a description of the corpus of school children· s performance. This chapter showed that there arc two main areas of variation: in respect of positive responsivcs. the nonccho ie is a competitor to the echo rcsponsives, both verbal and perfect; in respect of negative responsivcs, the ncgator na is an even stronger competitor to the negative versions of all types of responsivcs. Second, Chapter 7 and this chapter sought to identify sources of variation and, where possible, to explain them. Chapter 7 did so in terms of externally-motivated change which reflected the influence of English on Welsh. Here it was found that the bilingualism of both Ll speakers of Welsh (Welsh-English bilingualism) and L2 speakers of Welsh (English-Welsh bilingualism) is a major cause of variation. It was shown that L2 Welsh speakers deviate more from perceived norms than Ll Welsh speakers. This is not an unexpected development and was attributed to the notion of negative transfer. which is widely exploited to explain the influence of speakers' Ll on their L2. Of particular interest. however, was the observation that deviations from assumed norms were also found amongst L l Welsh speakers. In terms of externally-motivated change. this was explained partly in terms of dominance and accommodation. But of relevance here was school type which showed that designated bilingual schools in more English-speaking communities varied more than mixed schools in stronger Welsh-speaking communities. Trends of differences also emerged with age and sex: there was a tendency for older speakers to deviate more than younger ones, and older girls adhered to the perceived norms more than older boys. Third, the current chapter has outlined well-known internal sources of change and variation, and it has been shown that a tendency to isomorphism promotes the development of ie and, especially, na as generalized responsives. But more interesting has been the emergence of discourse as a source

Overo/1 s11mmary a11d collclllsiolls 299

of variation. Using the description supplied in Chapter 4, it has been shown that agreements encourage variation more than do disagreements and answers. It was seen that the latter arc also intended in this corpus mainly for adults, and the status of the addressee arises as a possible influence on the pairing of targets and responsivcs. Another intriguing speculation was based on the underlying semantics of sentences which suggested that the focus of a question or answer on different parts of the logical and syntactic form of a sentence may also influence the selection of a responsive. Throughout this study, the description of responsives in adult Welsh has been based on noncorpus studies. and their usage has been presented in terms of perceived or assumed norms. In several places, a word of warning has been offered to the effect that the apparent innovations in the usage of the children may, in fact, reflect adult usage which has not hitherto been described. There are several references to this possibility in studies of the use of responsivcs in other languages. Reference has been made in 7.2.2 to the experimental study of college students by Baik-Shim ( 1993 ). which examined responses to negative questions. It will be recalled that Korean is said to usc a truth-value system. Amongst their results, Baik-Shim found that Korean speakers were less than proficient performers in terms of the assumed norms for Korean. In reviewing explanations for the performance of Korean speakers. Baik-Shim ( 1993: 54) consider whether the perceived lack of proficiency may reflect ordinary usage: "Koreans, too, may give answers following the positive-negative strategy while communicating with other Korean speakers. Although further studies need to be done to confirm our belief, observations of language usc in real-life contexts lead us to believe that this is what is reflected in our data." Choi (1991: 417) makes a similar comment about Korean children· s usc of an elaborated response rather than a responsive in answering negative questions in comparison with English- and French-speaking children: "Such a result may reflect the response pattern of Korean adult speakers. That is. although it is widely assumed that Korean uses the AID [Agreement/Disagreement - or truth value) system. it may be that the ER [elaborate response) strategy is used frequently for FN questions rnegative questions whose negative proposition is false) by adult speakers in their colloquial speech." These are opportune reminders that. so often in studying child language, we have to usc models of adult speech which arc not necessarily based on real adult language but on the subjective approach of reference grammars. Until extensive corpus-based descriptions emerge, they are all we have but it is prudent to treat them cautiously . . An attempt has been made to explain the innovations in the children's language in terms of internally- and externally-motivated change: evidence for externallymotivated change was analysed in Chapter 7 and evidence for internallymotivated change has been discussed in this chapter. There are echoes of this separate treatment in wider discussions of change and variation. Amongst lay

300 llllemal causes of variation

views, there may be a tendency to adopt an either-or approach out of linguistic pride: speakers of a borrowing language may feel happier to proclaim internallymotivated change; and speakers of the language which appears to be producing the changes may be more prone to emphasize externally-motivated change. However, for methodological and theoretical reasons. the literature on change and variation pursues the task of determining how to distinguish between internallyand externally-motivated change. McMahon ( 1994: 210) offers some discussion on the approaches to distinguish the two. McMahon (1994: 210) is prudent enough to mention the difficulty of distinguishing sources of change and variation. More forthrightly. Dorian ( 1993) writes at length on the dangers of a dichotomous approach. The separate treatment of internally- and externally-motivated change or variation in this volume has been undertaken for case of presentation alone. It should be clear from Chapters 7 and 8 that Welsh is open to both internal and external causes of change. It is not unusual to come across a view of change which is based on a multiplicity of causes in the literature. More interesting. however. is to develop the view that various causes can be said to be mutually supportive. There arc two aspects of such an approach. On the one hand, following Thomason-Kaufman ( 1988: 17) it can be said that " ... a language accepts foreign structural clements only when they correspond to its own tendencies of development.·· Both the internal and external agencies of change are promoting ie and na as generalized responsivcs. On the other hand. and more intriguingly, the influence of English can be interpreted as coming to bear not directly on the Welsh linguistic system but on the sociolinguistic context in which Welsh is used. Bilingualism can be seen as an agency which weakens attitudes to the consensus norms of communities where Welsh is used, and this weakening allows latent change to occur. In other words. ie and na have always been potentially available as potential general rcsponsives, but consensus norms have held their development in check. (In view of the greater use of na as discussed above. these consensus norms have been more effective in containing ie.) We have already examined. in Chapter 7. changes in norms due to the influence of English through speaker contacts. What is now being suggested is that the attitudes of Welsh speakers to the traditional consensus norms change because of greater experience of English-medium interaction. There occurs a process of acceptance of different grammatical conventions which results in the abandonment of traditional norms and the acceptance of internal causes of innovation. In this way, the influence of English on the sociolinguistic context of Welsh facilitates internally-motivated change. In considering different explanations and rehearsing the arguments for each one, Chapter 7 and this chapter show that linguistics and sociolinguistics can together reveal the array of factors that could be influencing the Welsh answering system. The overall picture which emerges suggests that Welsh is surrounded by innovatory influences. There is no simple account for the trends of usage which

01'erall .fllmmary and concl11sions 30 I

this study has revealed in the children's use of responsivcs, and rather than to attempt to decide whether the changes are either external or internal, it is more reasonable to acknowledge that both sources of causation could be influencing the language. Contemporary speech communities in Wales are undergoing demographic change, and it remains to be seen how the vernacular Welsh of today's youngsters will balance, on the one hand, conservative restraints and, on the other hand, innovations which arc promoted internally and externally.

Appendix I. Conventions in the corpus examples The orthography is used to spell spoken forms; the spellings, however, are based on vernacular pronunciations, e.g. cal for formal cael 'get, receive'. The phonemic values of letters and digraphs in the examples are as follows: a b c ch d dd e f

tal

IT

fbi

g ng h

lkl lxl /dl lfJ/

/c, E/ /vi

j I II

Iff lgl

Ill

IIJ, IJg/ /hi /i, I, j/

0

/o, 'J/

p ph r rh s

/p/ /f/ /r/

ldr,l

/1/ Iii

n

lml In!

lrl

/s/

sh si I th ts u w y

!JI !JI /I/

/9/ !If/ /i- if /u, u, w/ /a, i - i, 1 - t/

The following vowel digraphs represent diphthongs: ci ai oi wy

lei/ fail

!:Ji! lui/

iw ew aw ow

/iu/ /ru/ /au/ lou/

yw uw yw eu

/iu - iu/ /iu - iu/ /au/ lei- ei/

au ac oc wy

/ai- ail /a:i- ail /o:i- o:i/ /u:i- u:i/

Commas indicate another value, and - indicates dialect variants. These listings arc not rigorous phonemic analyses. but they will guide a reader who is not familiar with Welsh. The circumflex is used in some word contexts to indicate a long vowel. Phonetically, trt may be [rh]. Awbery (1984: 274-276) and Jones G.E. ( 1984) provide useful introductory outlines to the phonetics of Welsh and, in the case of Awbery in particular. the orthography. For those who read Welsh, an extensive account of the orthography is available in Thomas P.W. (1996: 747-798). Upper case letters before utterances indicate different speakers; this identifies exchange boundaries, and helps to distinguish corpus examples from devised examples. Names of individuals and places in the data arc denoted by an initial letter in upper case followed by a dash to preserve confidentiality, e.g. T -. Special conventions are as follows:

#

indicates the omission of a sound , a syllable or even a word, e.g. 'na for yna 'there', 'di for wedi 'after' and 'ti for n:vtti 'you arc'. at the beginning of a word denotes an unfinished word; at the end of an utterance, it denotes an unfinished utterance.

304 ConvetJtions in the corpus e:camples

indicates nondeliberate repetition of one word; any numerals indicate the number of words repeated if more than one. indicates unusually long pause in mid-utterance. [ ] connecting whole or parts of utterances denote overlapping speech. ( ) surround obscure or doubtful data: numerals within them give number of beats; orthographic material represents what is thought to be said. (( )) surround analyst's comments on the data or the situation. { } indicate old material after revisions in mid-utterance. yy indicates verbal pause. ymm indicates verbal pause. oo represents paralinguistic noise, usually exclamatory. ee represents paralinguistic noise, usually exclamatory.

Appendix II. Conventions in the interlinear glosses 1, 2, 3 addr adv afT aux comp con det exp fem hab imp imperfv impers inf Joe masc neg pas past past part perf perfv pi pol prcd pres pro pt q q-tag sg

first. second, third person addressee particle marker of an adverb of manner affirmative particle auxiliary verb complementizer conjunctive pronoun determiner experiential aspect (used by Matthews-Yip 1994 for Cantonese) feminine habitual imperative imperfective impersonal infinitive locative masculine negative particle past imperfect past tense past participle perfect tense or perfect aspect perfective plural politeness particle predicative adjective or predicative noun marker present tense used when the copula is contracted to pronominal subject particle interrogative particle question tag singular

Appendix III. Additional examples of responsives The main purpose of this appendix is to give further examples of the types of formal and semantic responsive systems which have been established in the main text. The emphasis is on illustrating the responsive forms, and no attempt is made to establish a proper answer, in particular, whether counter responsives and negative answers need to be accompanied by sentence answers and I or other explanations. (I)

(2)

(3)

Amharic. Leslau ( 1962: 147). a. mdkina mc7ndat yil:Jial? 'does he know how to drive a car?' b. awon yal:J/al. 'yes, he knows.' c. .ralldm ayca/am. 'no, he docs not know.· d. makina mandai attal:alam? 'don't you know how to drive a car?' e. awon alal:alam. 'no. I don't know.' (lit. 'yes, I don't know.') f. yalliim al:Jialluh. 'yes, I know.' (lit. 'no. I know.') Cantonese, based on Matthews-Yip ( 1994: 314-315), answers to meih 'not-yet' questions. a. louhbaan j(m-jo meih? boss leave-perf not-yet 'has the boss lcfi yet?' b. Jaii-.JO Ia. leave-perf pt 'yes, she's lefi.' c. (julmg) meih a. (still) not-yet pt 'not yet.' Chaha, Leslau (1962: 147-148). a. naga gahaya titan-sa we? 'will you come tomorrow to the market?' b. iink aUin-sd. 'yes, I will come. ' c. bd ancdn. 'no, I won't come.' d. nagd gtibdya atcdn? 'won't you come to the market tomorrow.'

308 Additional example., of responsives

c.

aliin-stJ.

f.

e anl:tin. 'e, I won't come.'

'I will come. '

(4)

Danish, based on Allan-Holmes-Lundskrer-Nielsen (1995: 446-47). a. har du Ires/ "Den grimme relling "? 'have you read "The Ugly Duckling"?' b. ja, del her jeg. 'yes, I have.'

c. nej, del har jeg ikke. d.

(5)

'no, I haven't.' har du ikke Ires/ "Den grim me relling "?

'haven't you read "The Ugly Duckling"?' e. jo, del har jeg. 'yes, I have. ' f. nej, del har jeg ikke. 'no, I haven't.' Dutch, based on Donaldson (1996: 49-50). a. hen/ u ooil in Amslerdam geweesl? 'have you ever been in Amsterdam before?' b. ja.

'yes.' c.

nee, nooil.

d.

hen/ u ook nog nooil in Nederland geweesl?

'no, never.' 'have you never been in Holland before?' c. }awe/, vier jaar geleclen. 'yes, four years ago.' f.

(6)

nee.

'no.' German, Eckhard-Black-Whittlc (1992: ll9). a. inleressieren Sie sich filr Compuler? 'are you interested in computers?' b. ja.

'yes.' c. nein. 'no.' d.

inleressieren Sie sich nichlfilr Compuler?

e.

doch.

'aren't you interested in computers?' 'yes.'

Additional e.tamples of responsives 309

f.

(7)

nein. 'no.' Gwa, Painter (1975: 19). a. a ana ci? he has-gone q 'has he gone?' b yeeye. 'yes (he has gone).' c daahi. 'no (he has not gone).' a? d a hewe he not-went q 'hasn't he gone?'

e

(8)

(9)

aima.

'he has gone.' • daahi, a ana. lit. 'no, he has gone.' e yeeye (ci bewe). lit. 'yes (he has not gone).' Harari, Lcslau (1962: 147-148). a. gls tidl@niix? 'will you come tomorrow?' b. i icligiix. 'yes, I will come.' c. me. idigumex. 'no, I will not come.' d. gls tidlgumexl? 'won't you come tomorrow?' c. I idigumex. 'yes. I won't come.· f idigiix. 'I will come.' Hausa, Kraft-Kirk-Greene (1973: 67-68). a. ka tafi jiyci? 'did you go yesterday?' b. i. 'yes.' c. ii 'a. 'no.' d. Kcincle bci tci diiwo ba? 'isn't Kande back?'

310 Arlrlitional examples of responsives

e.

i (bci til diiwo ha). 'no, (she has not come back).·

f.

ii 'a (til di"iwo).

'yes, (she has come back).' (10) Hebrew, Pope (1976: 121). a. ha 'im hu ha? 'is he coming?' b. ken. 'yes.' c. lo. 'no.' d. ha 'imlm /o ba? 'isn't he coming?' e. /o. 'no (he isn't).' f. lm ken ha. 'yes, he is.· (11) Hidatsa, Pope (1976: 122). a. no data for positive question supplied. b. e. 'yes.· c. reca c. 'no.' d. no data for negative question supplied. e. e. 'no [lit. 'yes, I didn't).' f. reca c. 'yes [lit. 'no, I did'].' (12) Korean, Kim (1962: 28-29) and Choi (1991: 408). a. kikat coa hasimniKa? 'do you like it?' b. ne, l:oa hamnita. 'yes, I do.' c. ani_vo, an coa hamnita. 'no, I don't.· d. kikat an l:oa hasimniKa? 'don't you like it?' e. ne, an coa hamnita. 'no, I don't.· f. aniyo, coa hamnita. 'yes, I do.' (Kim 1962: 28-29)

Additiot1al examples of respo11sives 311

mace, coa hamnita. 'yes. I do.· (based on observations in Choi 1991: 408 and data in Kim 1962: 28-29) Mandarin Chinese, based on Yip Po-Ching-Rimmington (1997: 106), answers to affirmative-negative questions. a. tii mlngtiiin lcii bu /ai? 'iss/he coming tomorrow?' b. lili. come 'yes.· c. bri hii. not come 'no.· Mandarin Chinese, based on Yip Po-Ching-Rimmington (1997: 106), answers to affirmative-negative questions. a. mir iin(jing) hri iinjing? 'is it quiet there?' b. iinjing quiet 'yes.· c. hri iinjing. not quiet 'no.· Mandarin Chinese. based on Yip Po-Ching-Rimmington (1997: 106), answers to affirmative-negative questions: verb I adj. hri 'not' verb I adj .. a. yinluing yuan hri yuan. 'is the bank far [from here)?' b. hl!ll yuan. 'yes.· c. hri hi'm yuan. 'no.· Mandarin Chinese. based on Yip Po-Ching-Rimmington (1997: 107), answers to questions containing meiyou or younu?iyou 'have not'. a. Ill chl/eyiw meiyiJu? 'did you take your medicine?' b. chile. 'yes.· c. mei you. 'no.' mei(.vou) chi. 'no.' g.

(13)

(14)

(15)

(16)

312 Aclclitional examples of re.vpotuive.v ( 17) Navajo, Pope ( 1976: 129). a. ch 'eehish diniya? 'are you tired?' b. aoo ·. ch 'eeh deya. 'yes, I am tired.· c. dooda . doo ch 'eeh deyaada. 'no. I'm not tired'. d. doosh ch 'eeh din~vaada? 'aren't you tired?' c. aoo ·. doo ch 'eeh c/eyaada. 'yes. I'm not tired. • f. dooda. ch 'eeh deya. 'no, I'm tired.· (18) Norwegian, based on Marm-Sommcrfclt (1967: 53-54). a. heter duPer? 'is your name Peter?' b. ja. 'yes.' c. nei. 'no.' d. heter du ikke Per? 'isn't your name Peter?' e. jo. 'yes.' f. nei. 'no.' (19) Soddo, Leslau (1962: 147-148). a. niigti tamiitaw? 'will you come tomorrow?' b. I iimiitaw. 'yes, I will come.' c. yiillii ltimiila. 'no, I will not come.' d. niigii IJI/Jmiita? 'won't you come tomorrow?' e. yiillii iimiitaw. lit. 'no. I will come.' f. aw ltimtita. 'm1•, I won't come.' (20) Swedish, based on Holmes-Hinchcliffc ( 1994: 486-87). a. ska vi gci pci bio ikvtil? 'shall we go to the cinema tonight?'

Additional examples of responsives 313

ja, del ska vi. 'yes, we shall.' c. nej, del ska vi inle. 'no, we won't.' d. liinker du inte ga pii bio? 'aren't you thinking of going to the cinema tonight?' c. jo, del gor jag fakliskl. 'yes, I am actually.' f. nej. 'no.' (21) Tigrinya, Les1au (1962: 147-148). a. sarah yabiizhakka dayyu? 'do you have too much work?' b. 'awwa yahiizhanniyyu. 'yes, it is too much for me.' c. yalltin aybt1zhannan. 'no, it is not too much for me.' d. sabah aylamassa 'an dixa? 'won't you come tomorrow?' e. 'amassa ' 'abba. 'I will come, on the contrary.' f. yalliJn aynu1ssa 'an. 'no. I will not come.' (22) Yoruba, 01adcjo (1993: 320). a. o ko wa si i/e-iwe Janna, ahi o wa? 'you didn't come to school yesterday, did you?' b. beeni, n ko wa. 'yes, I didn't come.' b.

Appendix IV. Examples of formal answering systems

Negative question

Positive question Sentence Answer:

Positive

Negative

Positive

Negative

English Hebrew

yes ken

no /o

yes ken

no /o

Japanese Hidatsa Amharic Navajo Hausa

hai e a won aoo'

iie recac yalltim dooda

iie recac yalltim dooda

hai e awon aoo'

I

ii'ii

ii'ii

1

French German Tigrinya

oui ja 'awwa

non nein ytilldn

si doch V 'abba

non nein ytilldn

Korean Harari Gwa Soddo

ne

aniyo I mace

ne

v v

I

yeeye

1

aniyo me daabi ytillti

yallti

mv

~k

btl

v

e

Two-form system:

Three-form system:

1

yeeye

Four-form system Chaha

This selective typology concentrates on the responsive forms and does not take account of accompanying items which a proper answer would require.

Notes

1.

2.

3.

According to Greene ( 1972: 59), this term was first applied to Celtic researches in a historical study by Watkins C. (1963: 43) to refer to the Welsh equivalents of yes-no answer words. It was adopted and refined by Greene himself and also used by Thomas C.H. (1973/4: 281-283). Hausser (1983: I 0 I, 122-13 9) uses the term as a label for a fourth mood in addition to declarative, imperative and interrogative. Hauser's responsive mood characterizes elliptical answers to both yes-no questions and wh-questions. We shall, however, return to a consideration of a responsive mood in respect of Welsh in Chapter 5. Standard reference grammars on languages have whole chapters devoted to questions, but discussions of answers frequently have to be tracked down via the index. However, informative and illustrated treatments are available, and I have found the following works variously useful as sources of data and I or analysis: Akiyama (1979), Baik-Shim ( 1993 ), Bald ( 1980), Bauerle (1979), Berninger-Garvey (1981), Boslego (1984), Choi (1991), Choi-Zubin (1986), Gui'lmundsson (1970), lwanicka (1976), Kim (1962), Leslau (1962), Oladejo (1993), Painter (1975), Pope (1976). Szwedek (1982), Takashima (1989). and Yadugiri (1986). Works which reflect a logician's interest in answers have also been useful but less relevant to addressing matters of form: Hiz (1978) and Kiefer (1983) arc convenient sources for a number of articles. Taken together, these accounts help to build up a universal view of responsive systems against which the study of Welsh can be placed. I know what it has taken for me to develop an understanding of Welsh, a language which I use daily and study professionally, and I could not hope to match that achievement over several languages. The general points in this chapter, then, arc offered as a contribution to the study of responsives and, clearly, not as a definitive and exhaustive study. Their main aim is to supply a general framework against which Welsh rcsponsivcs can be considered. In theoretical discussions of the semantics of questions, the general relationship between yes-no questions and their sentence answers is used to explain the meaning of positive questions. By this approach, it is claimed that is it raining? means 'is it raining or is it not raining?'. and that it is answered by choosing one of the equivalent statements. That is, the meaning of a question involves, in part, the selection of one of two propositions: one negative and the other positive. Not surprisingly, this view of yes-no questions is referred to as the propositional approach. Other possible labels arc disjunctive and alternative, given the disjunctive relationship between the two propositions as alternative answers. Bauerle ( 1979) traces the propositional approach through Hamblin (1973), Egli (1976), and Karttunen (1977a, 1977b). It is a common explanation which is also discussed in Iwanicka ( 1976) and

318 Notes

4. 5. 6.

7.

8. 9.

Hoepclman ( 1983 ). Some scholars question whether disjunctive questions can really be the source for yes-no questions. Bauerle ( 1979: 66) claims that real disjunctive questions like will Peter cmne or not? cannot be answered by yes and no but only by elliptical statement answers he will and he will not and arc thus different to simple yes-no questions. Bolinger ( 1978) also challenges the disjunctive explanation. These matters arc more relevant to a consideration of questions. and they will not figure further in the discussion. Pope (1976: 71-78. 113-117, 125-129) offers discussion of nonsentcntial negation. Such as Allwood-Andcrsson-Dahl (1977), Cann (1993), ChierchiaMcConneii-Ginct ( 1990), Hurford-Heasley ( 1983), and Lyons ( 1995). Boslego (1984: 74) supplies data on Thai which indicates that a particle chciy, glossed as 'right' or 'it is tme·. and its negative version may [neg] chciy may be added to declarative sentences. But there is insufficient data to indicate whether these are options or not, although the overall impression is that their addition is optional. These items arc of particular importance in the Thai responsive system. as is shown later in this chapter. Similar views are found in Lyons (1995: 141) who says that propositions can be associated with what is believed or doubted as well as with what is known. Allwood eta/. (1977: 47) says that "we can characterize an important part of the meaning of a sentence by formulating the conditions the world must meet for the sentence to be true (in other words, we say in what worlds the sentence is true)". Cann ( 1993: 15) makes a similar point about "what the world must be like" for propositions to be tmc. This is a common interpretation which is found in Hocpclman (1983: 194 ), Pope (1976: 68), Choi (1991: 407), and Quirk eta/. ( 1985: 808). Most accounts point out that positive questions can be neutral in respect of the sentence answer which they expect. i.e. it can be positive or negative. But Pope (1976: 71-78) and Quirk et a/. (1985: 808) note that when certain words are used in positive questions they can be "biased" towards either a positive or negative sentence answer. A good example of this in English is found with assertive and nonassertivc items such as the some and any series of words, and the contrast between alreac~v and yet: (i) (ii) (ii)

did someone I anyone call last night? do you live somewhere I anywhere near Dover? has the boat left alrea~v !yet?

It is claimed that assertive items like someone, somewhere and already favour a positive sentence answer more than do nonassertive items. Positive questions are discussed in this study as neutral ones.

Notes 319

10. A rhetorical question is the ultimate example of a negative question being used in this way, as only a positive answer is possible. They are discussed at length in Pope ( 1976: 36-67). 11. Explanations which amount to truth value interpretations arc found in: Lcslau ( 1962) on the Ethiopian languages Amharic, Harari and Soddo; Alciyama (1979: 487-488), Choi (1991: 407-409) and Baik-Shim (1993: 46) on Korean; and Oladejo (1993: 320) on Yoruba. Other accounts of languages which usc responsives in this way can be vague and unclear. Kim ( 1962: 27), for instance, talks of "the status of the fact" and "the relationship between the fact and the form of the preceding stimulus sentence''. 12. Discussion on answerhood can be found in Athanasiadou (1994), Bauerle (1979), Belnap (1982: 168-177), Bcrninger-Garvcy (1981: 403-409, 412313, 417), Hajicova (1983: 92-94), Hausser (1983: 139), Hausser-ZaefTerer (1978: 340-341, 349-352), Hintikka (1978: 180-186), Iwanicka (1976: 6775), Kiefer (1983: 3-5), Moeschler (1986), Philips (1987: 88-89), PoggiCastclfranchi-Parisi (1981), Pope (1976: 111-112, 121-122, 124), and Yadugiri (1986). Other labels arc found in the literature for the various parts of an answer. Bauerle ( 1979) is the source for my use of sentence answer, but he uses "catcgorial answer" as a generic label for yes, no, and answers to witquestions. Hausscr-ZacfTcrcr ( 1978: 340-341) use "minimal or nonredundant" answer to refer to a responsive alone. and "redundant answer" to refer to a full sentence answer alone without pronominalization. Elliptical sentence answers and full sentence answers with pronominalization arc referred to as "partially redundant". They also allow for combinations of these. Pope (1976: 112) uses "minimal answer" to refer to the minimal number of parts which are needed to adequately answer a question. The expression "supplementary sentence" is also used in the literature to refer to sentence answers. The account has not mentioned responses to yes-no questions which do not supply what the questioner seeks. Thus. given a question like does Aliriam Percival-Smythe live nearby?, we exclude responses such as: (i)

a. why ask me? b. blowed if I know. c. no idea.

(ii)

a. /'mnot saying. b. mind your own business.

(iii)

I don 'I know any Nfiriam what's-her-name.

In (i), the speaker has no knowledge or belief about the truth conditions. In (ii), the speaker has the knowledge or belief but does not want to impart it. In the case of (iii), the speaker responds to a presupposition which is behind the question. This response indicates that the speaker is really in the "don't

320 Nott•s

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

I R.

know'' category. Discussion of responses in this wider sense can be found in Berninger-Garvcy ( 1981 ). Goffman ( 1976 ), and Poggi et a/. ( 1981 ). The term echo is extensively employed in this study to discuss rcsponsives, and in this sense it may be novel in comparison with the descriptions of the answering systems of the major codified languages. But the same term is used on a similar basis. as in Quirk et a/. (1985: 835-838) and Radford ( 1988: 462-466). to refer to utterances which repeat part or all of a previous utterance in interactive discourse. A particularly common example of this type of echoing is provided by questions, which arc known as echo questions for obvious reasons. They arc referred to in this study in 3.3.6 and 4.3. I am very grateful to Nadin Rcshkc for checking my glossing of the German examples. I remain entirely responsible for any errors of interpretation which may emerge here. Two points may help to interpret some of these examples. Dodds (1977: 8, 21) says that intonation alone can change a declarative into an interrogative; or the particle apa can introduce a question. Dodds ( 1977: 23) notes that kah and lah are affixes which can be used to emphasize words: the former is used in questions and the latter oficn in statements. The data and explanations arc based on Whitney (1956: 40, 62-63) and Aaltio ( 1975: 23-24). For economy of presentation, I have translated the Finnish verb form into the English present simple verb, but the progressive and the future arc also equivalents of the Finnish pattern. For simplicity of presentation, han has been rendered as 'he· but it can also represent 'she·. The illustrations in the text concentrate upon the usc of repetition. But Finnish can also use kyllii. niin and joo (or }1111) as invariable words for affirmative answers - joo or }1111 are particularly colloquial. There would appear to be restrictions on the usc of niin. as it is appropriate for (59c) but not for (59c). I am extremely grateful to Virpi YHinnc-McEwcn who made detailed comments on these examples and on other aspects of Finnish. Any inaccuracies in their treatment here arc due to me. I must thank Dick Skerrit and Michcal 6 Flaithcarta for explaining Irish rcsponsivcs to me in considerable detail. This example provides an oversimplified view of the main process of verb-based rcsponsives in Irish. and docs not take into account the complexities of the copula or those dialects which usc personal forms of the verb. Any imperfections in the highly simplified version that I have reproduced here are all my fault. From the accounts in Gros and Press. it would appear that dialectal. stylistic and syntactic factors influence the usc of this type of responsive, and the account given here merely indicate its availability in some variety of Breton at least. I am indebted to Janig Stephens who kindly helped me with the Breton data in this section. I am entirely responsible for its presentation here.

Notes 321

19. I am very grateful to Carl James for first bringing Portuguese responsives to my attention, and to Ian Roberts for further discussion. I am particularly indebted to Terry Shortall who supplied me with Brazilian Portuguese illustrations, and to Heloisa Salles who provided detailed comments. I am entirely responsible for any faults in the way that the material has been presented here. For some speakers, repetition of the verb may be more frequent in positive rcsponsivcs, and niio by itself may be preferred in negative responsives. Some speakers place niio after the verb - e.g. vou niio - and this pattern is retained in full in negative responsives. 20. I am grateful to Professor Ian Press for introducing me to rcsponsives in the Slavic languages. I must record my gratitude to Alena Czerna who provided the Czech data and patiently explained the Czech system of responsives, and also to Vladimir Porubcan who kindly checked my interpretations and illustrated the differences between Czech and Slovak. Professor Gareth Jones kindly supplied me with the Russian data and helpful comments. Any errors in the presentations of both sets given here are due to me. The account of the verb in Czech is simplified for the purposes of this study; it makes only passing reference to the contrast of perfective and imperfective, and ignores the formation of participles, word order. and the marking of gender. But the presentation, as it stands. clearly demonstrates the repetition of verbal expressions. wholly or partly, to provide responsives. Examples (79m--o) of the Russian data involve a periphrastic pattern and show that it is not the finite auxiliary (buclete 'you will be') which is repeated but the nonfinite main verb. Further, the main verb in the responsive undergoes changes of aspect (imperfective ~ perfective) and finiteness (nonfinite ~ finite): thus ostavat'sja (stay+impv) ~ ostanus' (stay+perfv+pres +I sg). 21. I am very grateful to Indra Sinka for supplying these examples and for explaining them to me. I am entirely responsible for their presentation and interpretation here. Various degrees of omission arc possible in these sentences, as the parentheses in the examples suggest. More explicit illustrations of the omissions can be given by the following renderings for examples (SOb) and (Sib): (i)

a. jii, es paliksu gan. b. jii, es paliksu. c. jii, paliksu gan. d. jii, palikliu. yes stay+ 1sg+fut indeed 'yes, I am staying indeed.'

322 Notes

(ii)

a. b. c. d.

es paliksu gan. es paliksu. palikSu gan. pa/iksu. stay+ lsg+fut indeed 'I am staying indeed.'

Omissions are also possible in the question itself. which can occur as: (iii) a. vai lu b. vai c. lu

paliksi? paliksi? paliksi? d. paliksi? q you+2sg stay+2sg+fut 'are you staying?'

Where the finite verb alone remains in an answer. Latvian gives the appearance of a verb-based echo system. 22. Baik-Shim (1993: 44) list the form ye as the positive responsive and aniyo as the negative one. Choi (1991) gives very few illustrations of Korean apart from listing the responsive forms. They are different to those of Kim (1962) and Baik-Shim (1993): ing is listed instead of Kim's positive form, ne, and ani occurs instead of aniyo. 23. Gu6mundsson (1970: 345-346), drawing on NE"D 6.2.50, and Bald (1980: 178-179) note that sixteenth century English had a more complex four-form answering system than modern English for answering positive and negative questions, involving the forms yes, yea, no and nay. Bald gives a quotation from Sir Thomas More which contains the following examples: (i)

(iii)

a. b. a. b. a.

(iv)

b. a.

(ii)

b.

ys an here/ike mete to translate holy scripture into englishe nay is not an herelyque mete to translate holy scripture into english no if an heretique false~y translate the newe testament into englishe ... be hys bookes worthy to be burned ye if an here/ike falsely translate ... be not his bokes well worthy to be burned yes

As can be seen, nay and yea are used to respond to positive questions and no and yes are used to respond to negative questions. Sir Thomas More's tone in

Notes 323

the quotation supplied by Bald is prescriptive and, as the latter suggests, the four-form system may have been part of conservative usage even when More was writing. 24. Other dialects use zero realization and the negator dim 'not' respectively for interrogation and negation in fronted clauses: (i)

(ii)

Sioned

~v

'n aros? is prog stay 'is it Sioned who is staying?' dim fi yw 'r broblem. not I is the problem 'it's not me who is the problem.'

In formal styles, the particles ai (an interrogative particle in fronted sentences) and nicl'not' are used: (iii)

(iv)

ai Sioned ~V 'n aros? q is prog stay 'is it Sioned who is staying?' nid fi yw 'r broh/em. not I is the problem 'irs not me who is the problem.'

There arc considerable differences between formal and informal styles of Welsh, and realizations of mood and polarity provide extensive variation of the sort which is illustrated by the above examples. Fronted clauses arc discussed in greater detail in Chapter 3. 25. An oft-quoted feature of Welsh is the systematic changes which initial consonants of words undergo in certain grammatical contexts or following certain words. The changes. or mutations, arc as follows, along with their traditional names (the radicals arc the basic initial consonants before mutation):

324 Notes Soft

Radical I'

Aspirate

Nasal

(p]

h

(b]

[t]

d

(d]

"'''

[nJh] [Qh]

t~gh

[!Jh]

p/1

(f]

,,,

[0]

ch

[x]

c

(k]

g

[g]

""

h

[b]

f

(v]

m

[m]

no change

cl

(d]

dd

(a]

[n]

no change

g

[g]

dropped

"fig

[!)]

no change

II

[i]

I

[I]

no change

no change

m

[m]

f

[v]

no change

no change

rh

!rl

r

[r)

no change

no change

The grammatical contexts and words which trigger the mutations, such as the negator na, arc too numerous to list here. Interested readers can find a detailed account of the Welsh mutations in Ball-Mtiller ( 1992). 26. An outline of X-bar syntax and the IP can be found in Radford (1988: 303313, 508-515). 27. Detailed analyses of the paradigms can be found in Jones M. ( 1970), JonesThomas (1977: 72-113), Fife (1990), and Thomas P.W. (1996: 79-124). 28. A detailed description of aspect in Welsh can be found in Jones M. ( 1970) and Jones-Thomas (1977: 114-145). For the aims of the analysis being presented here, the system can be outlined selectively as follows: bod 'be'

Subject

Perfect

(i) mae (ii) mae (iii) mae is

Gwyn Gnyn Gnyn

wedi wedi after

bod 'be'

Progressive

Verbnoun

bod be

yn yn prog

gweithio gweithio gweithio work

.

(i) ='Gwyn has sung. (ii) = 'Gwyn is singing.' (iii) = 'Gwyn has been singing.' The main aspectual markers are wedi andyn, and they are accompanied by a form of bod, either a finite form like mae 'is' or the nonfinitc form bod 'be'. The form wedi can be translated as 'after' and is a preposition. There are a number of lcxemcs of the form yn in Welsh, the characteristics of which are beyond the scope of this study. It is difficult to give aspectual yn a literal translation in this context.

Notes 325

29. Thorne (1993: 361) suggests that the choice of the perfect responsive in the vernacular is confined to varieties of northern Welsh; he also states that it is found in earlier Biblical prose. 30. Discussion of Welsh auxiliaries is available in Jones M. (1970), JonesThomas (1977: 72-113, 298-302). and Fife (1990). For the purposes of this study, it is useful to usc the terms periphrastic and compound to refer to different sorts of verbal patterns in Welsh. Periphrastic is used to refer to a verbal pattern which contains a finite modal auxiliary verb: (i)

mi all Jolm nofio. pt can+fut+ 3sg swim 'John can swim.'

The discontinuous cooccurrencc of the finite verb all 'can' and the vcrbnoun nofio are traditionally said to form a periphrastic pattern. Compound is used to refer to a verbal pattern which contains a finite form of hoc/ 'be'. an aspect marker. and a vcrbnoun: (ii)

mae Jolm yn nofio. be+ pres+ 3sg prog swim 'John is swimming.' Or 'John swims'.

The occurrences of a finite form of hoc/ 'be· and an aspect marker are characteristic of so-called compound tense patterns (aspectual patterns arc outlined in note 28). Labels involving periphrastic and compound are based on traditional practice. They have no theoretical significance but simply serve to idcnti(v and name patterns in Welsh which are relevant to this study. 31. This comment is adequate for the purposes of this study. But there are different views on using gwneud as an auxiliary with these verb lexcmes in periphrastic patterns. We cannot explore the descriptive details adequately without following a lengthy detour from the specific aims of this study, and the following comments are necessarily brief. The use of gwneucl as an auxiliary is out of the question with c{vlai 'should. ought to'. as this verb only has finite forms. But there arc uncertain views about its occurrences with cael 'have. receive', gallu 'can' and meclru 'can'. Jones M. (1970: 146) attests rare occurrences, but Jones-Thomas (1977: 106) and Fife (1990: 238-239, 302) arc more circumspect. However. the significant point is that gwneud, whether plainly acceptable or questionably so, is not a straightforward alternative for these inflected verbs: it introduces differences of meaning which are based on the subject as a dynamic agent. If the meanings which can be associated with the original examples are maintained, gwneud definitely does not occur as a carrier auxiliary.

326 Notes

32. The membership of the class of verbs which can use the future tense with present reference is very small. But it is difficult to pin down definitively. I have provided common examples which could occur in the vernacular. But if one allows for stylistic variability within the vernacular by speakers with an adequate stylistic repertoire, it is credible to include a verb like deal/ 'understand' in this class. as in:

fod y bob/ ne11:vdd wedi pr_rnu 'r hen c~v. deallaf the old house perf buy undcrstand+fut+ lsg be the people new 'I understand that the new people have bought the old house.' The more formal stylistic nature of this verb is reinforced in the above illustration by the use of the null subject and the full form of the inflection. as opposed to the more colloquial deal/a' i 'I understand'. But deal/ 'understand' in this use is likely to be confined to the first person. and, in ciTcct, there is no opportunity for the usc of responsive forms based on it. 33. Judgement as to which verbs can occur in a simple pattern with AI I ASAI in these uses is difficult because of variation due to region and age. In those dialects with which I am most familiar. these uses arc mainly conveyed by a compound verbal pattern with hod 'be·. inflected for AI I ASAI, and the progressive marker yn. as already suggested in the text, thus: (i)

(ii)

'n fvcldech chi aros am ei/iad? you+pl prog wait for second be+ AI 'would you wait for a second?' gweilhio idc~vn' chi fasech for+3pl work be+ASAI you+pl prog 'would you work for them again?'

·,

nhw they

eto? again

And, as already indicated in the text. the bod forms arc repeated as the rcsponsives. But some speakers may be able to use AI I ASAI in simple patterns more productively: in southern dialects the verb gweud 'say, tell' (which is dweud in northern dialects) is a likely candidate for this pattern and it can be used as a responsive:

gyjfrous? fod criced yn chi (iii) a. wedech cricket pred exciting say+ AI+ 2pl you+pl be 'would you say that cricket is exciting?' b. gwedwn. say+AI+lsg 'yes.·

Noles 327

c. na wedwn. neg say+ AI+ I sg 'no.'

It needs an extensive survey of Welsh on the ground to sec how many verbs can behave like hoffi I licio 'like', and to establish where and by whom they are used. 34. Thomas P.W. gives the examples A gymenl'ch chi un ara/1?- Cymera' i, diolch ynfawr 'Will you take another one?- I will take, thank you', which illustrates politeness, and A ddarllenech chi ddyddiadur rhywun ara/1? - Na ddarllenwn i 'Would you read someone else's diary?- I would not read', which illustrates strong denial. He also suggests that cyd-destun defodo/ 'ritualistic context' call for the use of the echo responsive, and gives an interesting example from the service for the ordination or consecration of a bishop in the L(vfr Gweddi Gyjfredin 'The Book of Common Prayer' (page 349): Yr Archesgob: A ymddygwch chwi yn addfis:vn ac yn drugarog er mwyn Crist i 'r tlawd a'r anghenus ac i bob dieilhr diymgeledd? Ateb: Mi a ymddygaffelly, tns:v gymorth Duw 'The Archbishop: Will you behave gently and mercifully for the sake of Christ towards the poor and the needy and every stranger lacking succour? Answer: I will behave so, with God's help' (my translation]. This is a pcrformative speech act whereby the response performs the act of accepting the obligation laid by the question (compare the usc of echo rcsponsivcs in English in ritualistic contexts referred to at the close of 1.2.2). 35. The outline of the distribution of tenses over simple patterns and periphrastic patterns reflects common usage in the dialects: both patterns are commonly used with the future and perfect tenses, and gwneud as a substitute responsive occurs with the future tense. But the analysis can be extended by considering a particular past time use of AI and ASAI which is reported in Jones M. (1970: 127-129) and Jones-Thomas (1977: 86. 90) which, unlike their other uses, is not fulfilled by equivalent compound patterns. It conveys the lack of dynamic agency of both animate subjects (unwillingness) and inanimate subjects in negative sentences (sec also note 49): (i)

(ii)

(iii)

ai 0 ddim. go+pas+ 3sg he not 'he wouldn't go.' 0 ddim aros. nai stay do+pas+ 3sg he not 'he wouldn't stay.' 'r car ddim cychuyn. nai start do+pas+ 3sg the car not 'the car wouldn't start.'

328 Notes In the above illustrations, the forms ai and nai have been used. but other forms - such as nythe or nyse for nai- arc variously encountered in the dialects. Typically, this usc of AI and ASAI occurs in periphrastic patterns with the auxiliary verb gwne11d 'do' rather than simple finite verb patterns, although the morphophonemically irregular verbs may occur in simple patterns. Such examples refer to the nonfulfilment of an action. When examples of this type are rendered as questions. Welsh speakers whom I have consulted as informants variously report that they would either usc na by itself or na nai (nythe, nyse or equivalent form) 'would not do· as a negative responsive. On this basis, it can be argued that simple verbs with this usc of AI and ASAI behave in the same way as their occurrences with ITH: substitute or full echo responsive. But it may be that this usc of the imperfect and pluperfect forms is more characteristic of older speakers. In this respect. there is a related consideration. For both animate and inanimate subjects, northern and southern dialects have alternative expressions involving compound tense patterns which show bod 'be· in the imperfect tense and the verb lcxcmcs pal/u 'refuse' in the south and naca11 'refuse', which is contracted to 'call, in the north: (iv)

oedd John yn pa/111 I 'call mynd. bc+pas+ 3sg prog refuse go 'John refused to go I John wouldn't go.' (vi) oedd John yn pa/111 I 'call aros. be+pas+ 3sg prog refuse stay 'John refused to stay I John wouldn't stay.' (vii) oedd y car yn pa/111 / 'call cyclm:vn. bc+pas+3sg the car prog refuse start 'the car refused to start /the car wouldn't start.'

These expressions can also be converted into questions. It can be seen that they contain bod 'be'. which is a central and productive responsive, and it should be borne in mind that these patterns may be ousting gwnerul both as a carrier auxiliary and a responsive in the sorts of examples which have been discussed here. Clearly. however, more detailed research is needed to gain a fuller picture of the use of the finite lexical verbs and gwnerul in this usc with AI and ASAI. 36. Goffman ( 1976: 260) makes these distinctions but he uses different labels: ratified participants who arc specifically addressed (addressee), ratified participants who arc not specifically addressed (listener), and unratified participants (ovcrhearer). 37. In passing, I can add that I have come across this usage in the Welsh of a speaker originally from the Llansilin area in north cast Wales, based on the

Notes 329

38. 39. 40.

41.

third masculine singular form o I fo (not being familiar with this use of o I fo, I did not recognize myself as the addressee). A discussion of the use of this system in young children's Welsh can be found in Jones G. E. (1988). Thorne (1993: 357) and Thomas P.W. (1996: 524) give a much tighter rule for plural nominals, stating, in effect, that the responsive must be plural. There arc four sets if we also consider the forms sydd and its contracted variant sy which arc used in sentences where the subject has been fronted. But this set is not relevant to a discussion of responsives. It is not within the aims of this study to analyse eisiau 'needs' patterns in detail but we can briefly refer to an explanation for the choice of a definite and indefinite responsive along the following lines. There is an alternative pattern for eisiau 'needs' as follows: (i)

(ii)

a. mae etstau hu:vd gan be+prcs+3sg needs food 'Gwyn wants food.' b. oes. bc+pres+ 3sg 'yes.' c. nac oes. neg be+pres+ 3sg 'no.' a. mae gan Gu:vn be+pres+ 3sg with 'Gwyn wants food.· b. oes. be+pres+ 3sg 'yes.' c. nac oes. neg be+pres+ 3sg 'no.'

Gu:vn. with

eisau bu:vd. needs food

The pattern in (ia) follows the regular syntax of a Welsh clause of normal word order, namely, a finite verb, followed by a subject NP, followed by the remainder of the predicate - in this case a prepositional phrase. In the formallanguagc, ar 'on' is the prepositional form which would be selected. But gan 'with, by, from' occurs in northern dialects. The subject NP is indefinite and, as the discussion in the text makes clear, an indefinite responsive is used. The pattern in (iia) is a variant of (ia) - in this case, the prepositional phrase precedes the NP. But the same rules for forming the responsive apply. It can be argued that the variant pattern in (iia) is the source for the patterns

330 Notes

in the text through the deletion of the preposition: mae gan Gwyn eisiau h11:vd =:> mae G11:vn eisiau h11:vd. This pattern now resembles a regular clause with a definite subject, and a definite responsive is thus possible. But the indefinite responsive associated with its related patterns continues to be used. 42. Further contractions in rapid speech: a) b) c)

dropping of the initial y, schwa. of the northern forms to give dw, dy etc.: in both the north and the south. o 'sis contracted to 's; for those forms whose final consonant is phonetically similar to the initial consonant of the following subject pronoun, the contraction can be so severe that only the final consonant remains. and this elides with the pronoun: wyl be+pres+ 2sg vc~vn

be+pres+ 1pi yc~vch

be+pres+2pl V~VII

be+ pres+ 3pi

11:vt be+ pres+ 2sg y'n be+pres+ I pi y'ch be+pres+2pl y'n be+pres+ 3pl

li you ni we chi you nhw they

li you ni we chi you nhw they

=>

li

=>

IIi

=>

chi

=>

nhw

For some speakers, this can even occur with ma ·and ma 'n: ma be+pres+ 3sg ma 'n be+pres+ 3pi

fe he nhw they

=> fe => nhw

43. Both writers suggest that na tends to be used when accompanied by other expressions (such as an additional sentence). Morris-Jones (1913: 423) says "it may be used alone, but is generally followed by a neg. part., as na. nid hynny 'no. not that"'. Fynes-Clinton (1913: 389) says "When the answer consists of more than a mere negative. na:. by itself, is often used alone to express 'no'. e.g. [gvmwch chi chwanag?- na, dw i wedi cael digon] 'will you have some more?' - 'No, I have had enough"'. (The material in square brackets is my rendering in the conventional orthography of the notation which is used by Fynes-Clinton.) It can be seen from the examples in (63) in the body of the text that the children can use na unaccompanied by either a sentence ans\ver or additional sentence. But the significance of the observa-

Notes 331

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

lions by Morris-Jones and Fyncs-Clinton is that they show that na can occur as a generalized negative responsive. Verbnoun is the term in traditional Welsh grammars for the nonfinite form of the verb. Formally, it is equivalent to the plain infinitive in English but can occur in contexts where English would use a participle or the to infinitive. Quirk eta/. (1985: 501-653) give a discussion of the differences between adjunct, conjunct, and disjunct; and Jones B.M. (1986: 221-278) describes their occurrences in the Welsh of five year olds. Interested readers might like to consult Jones-Thomas (1977: 289-295), Watkins T.A. (1977), Fife (1986), and Fife-Poppc (1991) if further details are required. Such reduced patterns arc sometimes referred to as minor sentences (e.g. Bloomfield 1935: 71, 176) or, more appropriately, sentence fragments (e.g. Bloch 1946; Lyons 1977, 2: 589). Discussion can be found in Lyons (1977, 2: 725-786; 1995: 234-257) and Chierchia-McConncii-Ginct (1990: 170-187). for instance. Lyons (1977, 2: 749-751) describes three distinctions by Hare (1970) which can be introduced by the devised English examples below, and which arc relevant to illocutionary force and truth value. They are given here without comment. Commitment (i) (ii)

a. b. (iii) a. I say b. I say c. I say

Mood

it is so so be it it is so so be it

Proposition you are quiet that you are quiet that you are quiet that you are quiet that you are quiet that you are quiet

Using a simplified version of Lyons's ideas, it can be said that these examples indicate three aspects of the more abstract meaning of a sentence: the basic proposition as in (i) -you are quiet (which is also present in the other examples); the mood of the sentence as in (ii) - it is so indicates a factual statement (formally, a declarative) while so be it indicates a command (formally, an imperative such as be quiet); the speaker's commitment to the mood of the sentence such as, for factuality, I say as in (iii).

332 Notes

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

Hare referred to these components of meaning respectively as the phrastic, the tropic, and the ncustic. They arc not necessarily overt in the structure of the sentence, as the above illustrations may suggest, but arc abstract clements in its logical form. Lyons suggests that the speaker's commitment (neustic) and the mood (tropic) arc both involved in the phrase it is the case that which prefixes the formulae of propositional calculus, although he adds points which argue for their separate existence. Sentences like these involve "an affected participant as subject'' (Quirk et a/. 1985). They occur with verbs which can take the same noun phrase in the affected role as subject or as object: mae 'r car wedi cychwyn 'the car has started' or mae Sioned wedi cyclmyn y car 'Sioncd has started the car'. Sentences which contain an affected subject arc also referred to as ergative sentences (as in Radford 1988: 374). Fuller discussion of roles, illustrated with English data, is available in Quirk eta/. (1985: 740-754). It is useful to usc the expression "inanimate volition" in the context of the current study to refer to uses of the future tense in Welsh. But a more careful presentation, which is beyond the scope of this work, would want to discuss thematic roles, especially ergative sentences, in more careful terms. IntroductOI)' discussion is available in Radford (1988: 372-392). Quirk et a/. ( 1985: 893-894 ), in their typology of formal types of ellipsis in English, refer to this type of ellipsis in English as final ellipsis. Briefly, they analyse English clauses such as he will wash the dishes, in terms of subject, he, operator, will, and predication, wash the dishes. and final ellipsis refers to the omission of the predication. Williams S.J. (1959) gives an account of the conventions of formal Welsh. Ball (1987) and Thomas-Thomas (1989: 74-81) give accounts of spoken Welsh. Thomas P.W. (1996: 84-90. 518-521, 537-555) gives a comprehensive description of preverbal particles over formal and informal styles. In general, it is descriptively adequate to say that a preverbal negative particle without an accompanying medial ddim is untypical of spontaneous spoken Welsh. But such patterns arc attested in two contexts: in certain southern dialects as in an example like nagy 'n ni 'n aros 'we are not staying' and, in all dialects subject to the stylistic repertoire of the speakers, in noun clauses as in an example like gan na ddaw Sioned wedyn 'because Sioned will not come afterwards·. This study cannot pursue a detailed discussion of these matters as it would involve a lengthy description of the complexities of the realization of negation in Welsh. Informative accounts of negation in a Welsh dialect can be found in Awbery (1988, 1990). Welsh mutations arc briefly described in note 25. The preverbal ncgator ni is one of a number of items which can cause a mutation. But it causes two mutations. Verbs beginning with [p t k] undergo the aspirate mutation, while the

Notes 333

54. 55.

56.

57.

58.

other consonants listed there undergo the soft mutation. Thus, cei becomes chei and bydd becomcsfil(/c/. In formal styles, at least, the negative noun clause complcmentizer and the responsive negator are diiTcrent before vowels: nad and nac, respectively. The set of features which are presented here arc partly similar to the traditional moods, and Hausser (1983: 101. 122-139) also uses the term responsive for a fourth mood in addition to declarative, imperative and interrogative. Hauser's responsive mood. however. characterizes elliptical answers to both yes-no questions and wh-qucstions. The view that verbs which are inflected for tense originate in a post-subject position was first proposed for Welsh in Jones-Thomas (1977: 19-26). A more recent account of this approach can be found in Rouvcrct (1994: 5190). Accessible examples arc Akiyama (1979). Berningcr-Garvey (1981), Choi (1991 ), Choi-Zubin (1986 ). Steffensen (1978), and van Hckken-Roelofsen (1982). Other studies concentrate upon learning English as a foreign language through formal teaching. such as Takashima ( 1989), Baik-Shim (1993) and Olad~jo (1993). and will not be considered here, although they are referred to in Chapter 7. Bald ( 1980) presents a corpus-based study of the adult use of yes and no in English and is also occasionally referred to in this study. Choi ( 1991) sets up four stages on the basis of a study of English-speaking, French-speaking and Korean-speaking children. In the first stage, children respond in order to complete an exchange either by using a responsive or by copying part of the initiating sentence. In this stage. neither strategy supplies a proper semantic answer by adult standards. In the second stage, children begin to supply proper answers to positive questions either by using a responsive or by providing an elaborate response (that is, a correct predicate or sentence which supplies the information required by the question). It is a characteristic of this stage that the elaborate response is used extensively. For negative questions. both responsivcs and elaborate responses are used, with the latter being more extensively used by Korean children. When they used responsivcs. both Korean and English children appear to use the polaritybased system (which Choi refers to as the PIN system for Positive and Negative). In the third stage, the responses to positive questions continue to provide proper semantic answers with the development that the responsives are used much more than the elaborate responses. But the main characteristic of the third stage lies in the way that negative questions are answered. For those questions whose implied negative propositions arc true. both Korean and English children use the truth-value system (or the AID system-for Agreement and Disagreement). English, of course, is primarily a polarity-based system and it is a distinctive feature of stage three that these young children

334 Notes

59.

60.

61.

62.

63.

64.

should usc rcsponsivcs differently in comparison with adult usage. That is, they address the implied proposition in the question and not the polarity of the sentence answer. But for negative questions whose implied negative proposition is false. the children continue to use responsivcs on the basis of the polarity-based strategy or they use an elaborate response. At stage four, the features of the adult systems of the various languages begin to emerge. This is only an outline of Choi's interpretations of her data and there are many points. including cross-linguistic differences over the three languages, which arc discussed in the original work. Bald's data is based on corpus material from the Survey of English Usage, University College London and a computerized version from the Survey of Spoken English at Lund University. Bald ( 1980: 179) describes his data thus: "For the investigation we selected five texts which consisted of approximately 5,000 words each of surreptitiously recorded unscripted conversation between disparates, interviews of senior university staff with students or staff applicants." Well-known treatments of language contact are to be found in Lehiste ( 1988) and Weinreich (1974). Discussion of language contact specifically within the context of bilingualism can be found in Appel-Muyskcn ( 1987). Beardsmore (1986). Hoffmann (1991). and Romaine (1995). Trudgill (1986) provides a discussion of dialects in contact. In Wales, and England, children compulsorily enter primary school at age five and leave for a secondary or middle school at age eleven. An infant school covers the age range five to seven (and then children can move to a junior school where they stay until age eleven). But parents can optionally send their children to primary or infant school at age four, and some schools accept children at age three. The original project. entitled Concept and language development. was located in the Department of Education. University of Wales, AbcryshV)1h, where it was directed by Professor C.J. Dodson. It was funded by the Welsh Office and collected data over three years from 1974 to 1977. The essential difference between mixed schools and designated bilingual schools is that the former have not been specifically established by the Welsh Office to usc Welsh as a medium of instruction. As such, the label nondesignated bilingual school would be appropriate for them. It so happens that the label mixed was used as a label in the original research project which collected the data. and this labelling has been carried over into this study. These are: English-medium streams which are English-medium classes in streamed mixed schools; bilingual project schools which arc schools with an English-speaking intake which took part in a project in the 1970s which promoted bilingual teaching; and English-medium schools which are schools in which the teaching is entirely through the medium of English.

Notes 335

65. An example of its l~sc in a Welsh context can be found in Sharp eta/. (1973), and further dtscusston of this method is available in Baker ( 1985). 66. In the original project, strength of usc was calculated in quantitative terms as follows. First. a potential score for language choice varied according to the perceived influence of the class of interlocutor on the child: immediate family members were scored 10 each, friends were scored six, neighbours and grandparents were scored two. Second, the actual score can be assigned to a language as follows: if it is exclusively used, a full score is given; if the encounters arc bilingual. the score is halved; if a language is not chosen, the score is zero. The use of Welsh and English were each measured out of a total score of 40. This not only helps to establish the Ll but also the extent and strength of its usc. It can be emphasized that this approach docs not establish the first language on the basis of linguistic ability in terms of control of grammar or discourse (which could claim to assess performance and, more ambitiously. competence). 67. This reflects a popular belief that the L2 Welsh of English speakers becomes a model for Ll Welsh speakers. This explanation is popularly proclaimed for errors in the Ll Welsh of young schoolchildren in designated bilingual schools which arc also attended by L2 speakers. It is commonly believed that the L2 learners of Welsh influence the Ll speakers and not the other way round. 68. It is not known what proportion constitutes a sufficient proportion. In this corpus. there arc L2 speakers in unstrcamcd mixed schools which have different proportions of Ll and L2 speakers. But, whereas they provide a desirable contrast with L2 speakers in designated bilingual schools, their numbers arc so low that comparisons become unreliable. 69. A study of this type of influence could be based on a comparison of native Welsh speakers who arc monolingual and other native speakers who are bilingual. But it is difficult to achieve such a comparison both in practice and in principle. Welsh children rapidly become bilingual to some extent at an early age. The search for monolinguals would have to concentrate upon very young children and the comparison would thus tend to involve very young monolingual children and older bilingual children, and become complicated by factors of language acquisition and development. Further, such a study would need a prior assessment of the competence of Welsh speakers in both languages in order to determine when monolingualism ends and bilingualism is achieved. 70. At the time of preparing the final draft for this work, the people of Wales were asked to take part in a referendum on a modest devolution of power from the central parliament in London to a democratically-elected assembly which was to be located in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. English-medium campaigning for and against the assembly divided itself into a yes vote and a

336 Notes

no vote. In strict grammatical terms. Welsh-medium campaigning should have divided itself into an ydw 'I am' and nac ydw 'I am not', based on a question which roughly asked 'do you agree that Wales should have an assembly'. Wisely, the campaigners on both sides opted instead to talk about an ie vote and a na vote, thus mirroring the influence of isomorphic simplicity which we have seen in the children's language. For those readers who arc interested, after centuries of dependence, the ie campaign won a narrow but historic victory on the basis of a simple majority amongst those who voted, and made me very happy.

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Index Aaltio 320 ability 224 accent 269 acceptance 134 acconunodation 268, 269-272, 274, 298 acknowledgement 140, 141-144, 145-146, 156,159,164,186,283,284,285,2 87 acquisition, foreign language 266, 271 formal264 naturalistic 264, 269 responsives 200-20 I second language 266, 271 address 77-78 addressee 71-75, 116,200,211,230,230235,290-293,299 adjacency 190-191 adjective 26, 30, 45-47 adjunct (see adverbial) adverbial (see also clause) 178-179 adjunct I 0 I, 179 conjunct 20, 10 I, 179 disjunct 17, 18-19,20, 101, 179 advice 211 afiinnative-ncgative (see question) agc64,66, 70,202-204,239,244,245248,249,274,293-295,298 agreement 16, 18, 53, 68,71-79, 112, 123, 129, 129, 130, 133-138, 141, 142, 145, 156, 157-158, 164, 174, 186,279,283290,285,299 agreement-disagreement (see answering system) ai (see particle) Aitchison vi, 239 Akiyama 200,201,267-268,274-275,317, 319,333 Allan et a/ 308 All wood eta/ 318 Amharic II, 307,315,319 analogical extension277, 279, 280-282 analogy vi, 70, 274, 277 anaphora (see also discourse; target for responsive) 186 answer 112, 129, 130-133, 144, 156-157, 164,186,282,283-295,299

additional 5, 16, 179 counter 17 hesitant 2 negative 7 proper 16-1 7 qualified 3, 17, 19 sentence 1-3,34-35, 179,278 elliptical 2, 35, 49, 148 full2 answerhood 17 answering system formal types 41-42 echo 17,22-36 four-form 42 nonecho 17, 18-22 three-form 42 two-form 4, 42 semantics vi, 1-17, 277, 296-297 agreement-disagreement 13-14, 134, 290 mixed 93 polarity-based 4-8, 50,200-201, 297 positive-negative 13-14 tmth value 8-14, 200, 290, 297 Anwyl 58, 102, 120 Appcl-Muysken 334 approvall18-120, 133, 134 ascriptive (see sentence) Ash-Myhill 268 aspect (see also verb) 53, 56-58, 64, 89, 101, 110-111, 177-178, 189, 195,206, 219,282 assent 18, 130 assertiveness 79-83, 318 Athanasiadou 319 Austin 116,213 auxiliary(seea/soverb) 116,173,193 Awbery vi, 303, 332 back channel 14 I Baik-Shim II, 14,267,299,317,319, 322,333 Baker 335

352 /nde:c Bald 12,21,41,96-97,99, 129,145,165, 203,283-284,285-286,291,317,322322,333,334 Ball 249, 332 Ball-Muller 324 Bauerle 2, 6, 7, 19,317,318,319 Beardsmore 334 Belnap 319 Berninger-Garvey 200, 317, 319, 320, 333 beth 'what' (see also question) 114 beth am 'what about' (see question) bias, negative 37 positive II, 37 question 8-9 bilingualism (see also schools) vi, 238, 239, 240,298 Blacklaw28 Bloch 331 Bloomfield 131,239,268,331 bod'be'45-46,56-58,60-61,62,64-65, 65-66,70-71,79-87,85-86,89,98, 104, 151, 153, 169, 174, 180, 181-184, 193,213-215,222,224,235-237,282 Bokamba II, 267 Bolinger 318 Boslego 9, 27, 317, 318 Breton 22, 28, 29-30 Brown-Gilman 77 Burton 129 Byrne-Churchill 19 C (see Complementizer) cael 'have' (see also verb, auxiliary, modal) 60-61,66-67,67-70,153,194,222225,223 calll30, 141, 145 Campbell vi Carm 318 Cantonese II, 26,38-39, 51, 307 carrier (see verb) cataphoric (see discourse) Celtic languages 28-30, 51 census figures vi Chaha 21, 28, 41, 93, 125,307-308,315 change (see also variation)

external238, 239, 239-274, 298, 299301 interna1238, 239, 277-301 Chierchia-McCotmell-Ginct 7, 116,212, 318,331 children's responsives in languages other than Welsh 200-20 I in Welsh 200-299 Choi-Zubin 275,317, 333 Choi2-1,8,38,41,200,275,290-291, 299,311,317,318,319,322,333-334 clarifying function 97 clause, subordinate 12-13, 142, 203 adverbial103, 104-107,216,217,244 conditional 121 noun 103-104, 180-181, 186, 191 clitic 122 clywed'hear' 62-65,71, 194 code 148 coelio 'believe' 62-65, 71 collective noun (see subject) command (see also imperative) 123, 134, 137-138, 140, 143,211 comparative construction (see also sentence) 161-164 comparative studies 241 complement 10 I, 178 Complementizcr (see complementizer) complementizer v, 148, 185-197,278, 298 Complementizer Phrase 185 compound tense (see verb) conditional (see clause) confirmation 134 conformity 270-271 confusion 274 congruence 134 interactive 289-290 conjunct (see adverbial) conjunctive (see pronoun) constative 116,212 constituents, post-subject 177-179, 186 sentence 10 1 contradiction 126, 134 cooperative principle 290-291 coordinated modification 159-161, 186 copular (see sentence; question)

Index 353

Corder 266, 274 coreference 172 corpus (see also database) vii, 245 naturalistic 239 correction 129, 144, 156, 159, 164, 186, 283,284,285 correlative construction (see also sentence) 161-164 Coulthard 14-15, 129 CP (see Complemenlizer Phrase) credu 'believe' 62-65, 71 Crystal v Czech 31-32,35,51 Danish 37, 308 data 93 experimental 200, 242 missing 205 naturalistic 199, 200 database (see also corpus) vi-vii , 199200 Davison 116 declarative (see mood) definiteness (see also responsive) 79-84, 220-221,235-237,282 deixis 71-77 demonstrative (see sentence) denial 18, 134, 174 direction 211 disagreement 18, 69, 112, 129, 130, 133138, 145, 146, 156, 157-158, 164, 186, 283-289,283-290,299 discourse v, vi, 36, 129-145, 298 act (see also acknowledgement; agreement; answer, correction; disagreement) 129-145, 155-167, 186, 277,282-295,298 elicited 130 unelicited 130 analysis 93-100 classroom 129, 134,293 context, anaphoric 7, 138-139, 155, 172 cataphoric 139 endophoric 94 exophoric 94 interactive 96-1 00

noninteractive 96-98 situational94-96, 108, 110, 143 lexlual94, 96-100, 108, 110 exchange 72-75, 129 direct 73 interpolation 73, 230-235 question-answer 132 self- 74 meetings 129 roles 71-72 therapy sessions 129 disjunct (see adverbial) disjunctive (see question) dod 'come' 67-70, 153, 194 Dodd et al20 Dodds 22-23, 320 dominance vi, 268, 270, 271, 274, 298 Donaldson 308 Dore 291 Dorian 238, 239, 300 Dunn-Yanada4, 11 Durrell20 Dutch 37, 20 I, 308 dylai 'should' (see also verb, auxiliary, modal) 60-61,222 dynamic agency 327-328 echoing (see also answering system; question; responsive) 22 Eckhard-Black-Whittle 308 efallai 'perhaps' 47-49,203,216,244 Egli6,317 eisiau 'needs' 79,83-84,214,282 elicitation lest 70 ellipsis (see also answer; sentence fragment) 2, 17, 19, 107-111, 113, 147-184, 188-191 domains 18 9-190 VP I, 147, 186 emotion 55, 68, 174 emphasis (see also response and responsive) 102, 173, 174, 178, 189 contrastive I 02 empty categories 185 endophoric (see discourse) endorsement 134

354 lnde.t English 1-19,35-36, 165,201,240,253, 266,267-268,315,322,333 African II, 267 Old21 ergative 332 errors (see performance) exchange (see discourse) exclamatory surprise 12 9 existential (see sentence) cxophoric (see discourse) extraction site 122 features 187-197 analysis 278-282 specification 298 Ferguson 271 Fife 62, 324, 325, 331 Fifc-Poppc 331 Finnish 24-25, 5 I first language 263, 263-273, 274 contextual measure 263-264 strength of usc 263-264 Welsh 263-273 Firth 148 focus 102,277,279,296-297,299 foreigner talk 271-272 French 13, 18, 19-20,21-22, 36-37, 38, 41, 42,49, 51, 124,201,315 Fyncs-Ciinton 49, 68, 88-89, 174, 280, 330-331 Gaelic 28-29 ga/111 'can' (see also verb, auxiliary, modal)

60-61,222-225 generic (see pronoun and reference) German 20-21, 37, 308-309, 315 Giles 269 Giles-Coupland-Coupland 269 Giles-Smith 269 Giles-St. Clair 269 Giles-Taylor-Bourhis 269 Goffinan 320, 328 Greene 22, 55, 70, 88, 93, 151,280,317 Gregor 102 Grevisse 13, 37 Griswold-Griswold 200, 243, 283 Gros 29-30

Gul)mundsson 21 , 41 , 317, 322 Gwa II, 28, 41, 93, 125, 130, 141, 309, 315 gwaeth 'worse' 45-46 gwe/cl'sec' 62-65,71,102,194 gwiw 'filling' 45-46 gu71e11d 'do, make' 58-60, 64, 65-66, 6667,67-70, 116-118, 124, lSI, 152, 153, 153, 154, ISS, 193, 196,222,223 glsybod 'know', 62-65,71, 194 Haiman 278 Hajicovli 296, 319 Halliday 131 , 14 8 Hamblin 317 Harari 11,28,41,93,125,309,315,319 Hare 331 Hausa II, 266-267,309-310,315 Hausser 317,319,333 Hausser-ZaciTcrer 319 Hebrew 310,315 Hidatsa 310,315 Hiz317 Hoepelman 7, 9, 296,318 hoffi 'like' 62-65, 71 Hoffinamt 334 Holmcs-llinchcliiTe 312 homonymy 181 Ilurlord-Heasley 318 lmymch 'perhaps' 47-49 I (see Inflection) imm 'right' 124, 143 Icon programming language 200, 243, 283 ie 'yes' (see also nonecho responsive) 240,

277-282 Illinois 267 illocutionary force liS, 116-124,211-212, 296 imperative (see mood) incomplete learning 274 indeterminacy (see also target for responsive) 99, 106 indicative 187 Inflection v, 53, 148, 279, 280, 298 Inflection Phrase 53, 185

buie:c 355

interaction 129, 263 interactive (.~ee congruence; discourse) interference 266,268,271,274 interlocutor 263, 284, 286, 290-293, 299 interpolation (see discourse) interrogative (see mood) interview 284,286,291 intimacy (see also pronoun) 230 lP (.~ee Inflection Phrase) Irish 28, 29 isomorphism 277-282, 290, 298 Iwanicka 2, 317, 319 James C. 271 James C.J. 20 Japanese 4-5, 10-11, II, 13-14, 37-38, 42,134,201,266,267-268,274-275, 315 Jespersen 122, 130-131, 239 JonesB.M. vii, 83,129, 134,159-160, 211,237,272,331 Jones G.E. 329 Jones M. 62, 324, 325, 327 Jones-"Iltomas vi, 46, 62, 324, 325, 327, 331, 333 Judge-Healey 21, 36 juncture 175-176 Karttunen 7, 317 Kiefer 317,319 King vi, 38, 88, 129,280,310,317,319, 322 Kintikka 319 Korean 9, II, 38, 41, 42, 201, 267, 299, 310-311,315,319,322,333-334 Kraft-Kirk-Greene 267, 309 Labov 15 Labov-Fanshel 129 Labov-Harris 268 Langendonck II , 12 language background 253-273 contact vi, 239-274 death vi decay vi decline vi Latin 21,22

Latvian 34, 5I Lehiste 334 Leslau 21, 28, 41, 307, 309, 312, 313, 317, 319 Iexeme (see verb type) texis v, 240 licio 'like' 62-65, 71 Lingala I l linguistic system 239, 277, 300 listener 71-75, 143, 200, 230-235 Llansilin 328 logical form v, 13, 93, 115-126,296 longitudinal study 245-246 loops 114, 133 Lund 334 Lyons 6, 75, 118, 120, 318, 331, 332 Mackey 266, 274 Malay 22-23, 51 Mandarin II, 25-26, 40-41, 51, 311 Marrn-Sommerfelt 312 Martinet37 Matthews-Yip 26, 38-39, 307 McMahon 238, 239, 268, 277, 300 medium of teaching 253 mednt 'can' (see also verb, auxiliary, modal) 60-61, 222-225 Milroy J. 239,268, 269 Milroy-Milroy 269 Minitab 242, 243, 283 minority language vi modality 47-49 modifier (see responsive) Moeschler 319 mood 2, 43, 80, 135, 149, 185,333 declarative 5, 116, 139, 140 imperative (see also conunand) 102, 116, 123-124, 140, 187,202,210-213, 223,243 interrogative (see also particle; question) 296 A-nol-A 26 Morgan Llwyd 55 morphology v morphophonemics65-70, 151,153,183184

356 Index Morris-Jones 46, 49, 53, 58, 88-89, 102, 280,330-331 movement of verb (.fee verb) Mruliacl Ysgolimr Meitlrrin 254 mutation 167-171, 177, 181, 186 mutual intelligibility 271 mynd'go'61-10, 153,194,222 na 'neg' 45, 68, 87-89, 89, 113, 201-202, 203,209,211,218,219-220,240,243, 277-282 nacci11 'refuse' 328 nage 'no' (see also noneeho responsive) 125-126,210 Nantgarw68, 85,168, 174, 183 naturalistic (see acquisition; corpus; data) Navajo II, 12,312,315 Neg 148, 188 negation (see also answer; bias: na: polarity, question) 25, 45, 78, 79, 86-89, 296,317 Negative Phrase 185 negative transfer 266, 298 NegP (see Negative Phrase) neustic 332 110 (see abo English) 203-204, 240 nominals 45-46 Nordenstam 269 norms, community 269 consensus 270-271, 300 perceived 299 Norwegian 37, 312 number 53,77-79,89,123,220-221,227230

otTer 116 ok 124 Oladejo II, 266,313,317,319,333 oni (see particle) onid (see particle) operator 148 orthography 303 o'rgora11 'alright' 124, 143 overhearer 73, 74 Painter28, 130,141,309,317

pa/111 'refuse' 328 Palmer 148 pam 'why' 121 paradigm 220-221 paradigmatic uniqueness 151, 153 paralinguistic form 96, 114, 115, 141 pardon (see question) Parry-Williams 240 particle, interrogative a I 02, interrogative ai I02 interrogative oni(cl) I02 interrogative onicl I02 preverba1102, 167-171, 177, 180, 185 predicatival J'" 177 peers 269 performance errors 120, 235 performative 36, 116, 327 periphrastic (see verb) permission 224 person 2, 53,71-77,89, 123,220-221, 230-235 Philips 319 phonology 240 phrastic 332 physical possibility 224 Poggi et al 319, 320 polarity (see also answering system; negation; responsive) 2, 4-14,43, 5051,80, 125, 131, IJ4, 144-146, 158159, 159, 167-171, 175, 180, 182, 185, 186, 187-188,201-202,203, 278,284-290 derivational 4 lexical4 sentence 4 politeness (.fee also pronoun) 62, 68, 138, 174 Pope 8, 10, 12, 13-14,41, 133-134, 145, 285,289,310,312,317,318,319,319 Portuguese 30-31,35,51 positive (see bias; polarity; question) positive-negative (see answering system) possessive (see sentence) pragmatics 14-17, 94 predicate 149 predication 148

lncle:c 357 prediction 116, 118-120 preposition 123 prescription vii, 84 Press 22, 29-30 prestige 270, 271 preverbal (see particle) prodrop (see subject) proform4, 17,102 promise 116 pronominalization 2, ISO, 172, 272 pronoun (see also subject) 194 conjunctive 163 exclusive 76 generic 230 inclusive 76 intimate 77-78, 230 nonintimate 77-78 polite 227 possessive 122 pre posed 122, 180 resumptive 122-123 proposition 5-7, 131 propositional content 2, 5-7, 116, 119-120, 146, 164 propositional logic 5 prosentence (see responsive) prosodies 95, 140, 141, 145, 174 quantifier 4 query 140 question 112, 121, 129, 129, 130, 130, 140, 282,283,283 affirmative-negative 26 alternative 131 beth 'what' 116, 120-123, 203 beth am 'what about' 120-121 conducive 131 content 131 copular 39 deliberative 120 direct 130 echo203,216,217, 113-114,138-141, 244,320 factual 120 information-seeking 15, 120, 122, 138139 interpretation of

alternative 317 disjunctive 317 propositional 317 negative 8-14,25,28,36-41,49,50-51, 144,266-267,299,333-334 tme and false 290-291 nexus- 131 open 131 pardon 133, 203, 114-115, 220, 244 polar 131 positive 4-8, 37 response 138-141, 142, 145, 156, 158, 164, 186, 283, 284, 285, 287, 288 rhetorical 319 suggestion 122, 131, 133,216,217,244, 203 supplement 130 tag 131, 144 wh- 131, 140 X- 122, 130, 133, 203, 205, 244 yes-no 1-17, 130, 138-141, passim Quirk et a/6, 7, 8, 18, 19, 80, 140, 320, 145, 148, 179,318,331,332 Radford 140, 147, 320, 324, 332 reaction signals 18 recommendation 123, 211 redundancy 277, 279, 280 reduplication 164-165, 186 reference, generic 77 refusals 134 register 36-37 reit 'right' 124, 143 rejection 134 request 15,62,123 residue 149 response, elaborated 299 emphatic 55, 68, 126 exclamatory 96, 146 unclicited 134 responsive I , 17-91 , passim as a feature 187 as n grammatical function 17-18 as target 1 11-113 counter28, 37-41,51,124-126 default 193, 298

358 /11de:c echo 22-36, 44-49, 53-91, 93-127, 192193,205-220 definite 82 finite 89 ful158-71, 101, 125 indefinite 82, 213-215 invariable 213-215 nominal89 perfect 53-58,89, 101, 113, 125, 194195,203,206,213,213,244 substitute 58-71, 101, 125, 151, 154, 223 types 193-197 variable 213-215 verbal56,89, 113,125,206,220-237 emphatic 169-170 fom1s 17-42, 43-49 negative 43, 45, 209-210 nonecho 17, 18-22,24,30,32, 34,4344,56,93-127, 192-193,203,215220 and clausal constituents 18-22 as conjunct 20 as disjunct 18-21 as modifier 19 as nominal 19 as prosentence 19-20 et ~1110logy 21-22 polarity-based 4-8, 266-267 positive 208-209 semantics 1-17,50-51, 115-126,278, 296-297 truth-value 8-14, 266-267 types 204 rlwicl 'necessity' 45-46, 98 Richards 47, 55, 58, 73, 74, 102 Roberts 70 roles (see also discourse) participant (thematic) 332 Romaine 249, 334 Rouveret vi, 185, 196, 333 Russian 31, 32-34, 51 Sadler vi sampling 241 sanction 118-120

schools 245, 246-248, 249-252, 253-263, 253,254,272,274,298 bilingual 253 mixed, streamed 253 mixed, unstreamed 253 preschool254 scoring 241-24 3 Searle 116 second language 274 Welsh 263-266 semantics (see also answering system; responsive) linguistic 5 sentence, comparative 186 complex 142 coordinated 131, 161-164, 175, 186 copular ascriptive 177 existential 236 correlative 186 demonstrative 102-103,203,216,217, 244 finite 101-102, 108 fronted word order 43-44, 47, 78, 101-102, 122, 192,202,216,217, 244,297 nonnal word order 10 I, 202, 244 lragment 179, 218-219, 243 auxilinryless 107-111, 149,202,218219 subject-only 163 verbless 107-111, 149,202,218-219, 223 minor 331 possessive 236-237 VPiess 129, 130, 147-184, 185-197,298 sex 239, 244, 249-252, 258-263, 274, 298, Sharp et al 335 shilling 71, 72, 75 Shocky 271 simplification vi, 277,279-280,281-282 Sinclair-Brazil 129, 141,293 Sinclair-Coulthard 129, 134, 293 situational (see discourse; target for responsive) social values 138 sociolinguistic context 239, 300

Index 359 Soddo21,42, 312,315,319 syntactic analogues 224-225 speaker (see also variation) 16,71-75,200, syntactic category 17 211' 230-235 syntactic form v, 93, 101-127 speaker contact 268, 269-272, 274 Szwedek I, 317 speaker variables 239 tag 90-91 , 194 Specifier Negative Phrase 148 Takashima 10, 266, 317, 333 speech act 118-120 Tallemtan 185, 192 speech conununities 272 target for responsive 93-127, 202-205, 243 Stainer-Russell 36 general anaphoric (see also textual statemcnt5, 116, 134, 135-137, 140, 145, chunk) 98-100, 131, 135 204,285-286 indeterminate 132 positive 283, 291 responsive as target (see responsive) statistics, comparative 241-274, 288-289, situational 134,202,216,217,244 293-295 specific anaphoric 98-127, 132, 135 comparisons, matched 244 textual chunk 203,216,217,244 descriptive 199-238,284-287,291-293 tense 53,53-58,62,65-66,89, 151, 180, status 270, 271 194,206,225-227,279 Ste!Tensen 200, 20 I, 333 future 116-120 Stevens 254 imperfect 121, 327-328 stranding 148 perfect 151, 153, 186, 194, 244 streaming (see schools) pluperfect 121, 327-328 strength of use of language 268 tcntativity 62, 121 of Welsh 264,272-273,274 text (see discourse; target for responsive) Stubbs 129 Thai 9, 27, 51,318 style 53-54, 58, 59, 67, 79, 90, 102, 122, Thomas A.R. vi 123, 167-171, 178, 180, 186, 192,323 ll10mas B. 249 subjcct71-72, 75,79-83, 101, I 10, 149, Thomas C.H. 22, 45, 55, 58, 59, 60, 68, 77, 159-160, 164, 171-177, 180, 186 85, 93, 102, 130, 131, 151, 168, 174, a!Tected 332 178, 183,317 collective noun 78, 227 Thomas P.W. vi, 55, 60, 68, 88, 99, 138, nominal 171 129, 174, 194,280, 327, 329, 332 overt 55 "lbomas-Thomas 86,332 plura178 Thomason-Kaufman 300 plural noun 227, 230 prodrop 34, 123, 171-177, 181, 182, 186, l110me vi, 325, 329 threat 116 190 ties, strong 269 pronominal 171, 172-177 weak 269 subjunctive 54, 65-66 Tigrinya 21, 28, 41, 93, 125, 313, 315 subordinate language vi traditional grammars of Welsh vii, 53, 58, subordination 19-20,48, 103-107, 18083, 93, 102, 218 181 tropic 332 substitution 19 Trudgill 249, 269-271, 334 suggestion (see also question) 211, 223 truth condition 7 summarizing function 96-97 truth value (see also answering system; surprise 140, 146 responsive) 5-14, 50-51, 115, 124-126, Swedish 37,312-313 131,296 synonymy 224-225

360 l11dex University College London 334 unreality 62, 121 unwillingness (see volition) van Hekken-Roclofsen 200,201,291, 333 variable (see responsive; speaker) variation (see also change) 64 dialectal 66 intemal vi speaker 66 verb 24-25, 26, 28-35, 44-45 compound tense pattem 60, 65-66, I 53, 224-225,327 finite (see also types) v forms 181-184, 186 inflectional paradigms 62-65 main 101 movement 195-197 periphrastic pattem 59, 65-66,70, 116, 224-225,327-328 simple 62, 70, 116, 327-328 types 53, IS I, 186, 222-225 auxiliary 59-60, 101, 108, 110, lSI, aspectual 60, 222 carrier 61, 70 lnoda]60-6J, 151,223-225 lexical62-70, 193 irregular 65-70, 222 regular 65-70, IS I, I 52, 222

verbnoun 123-124,210-213,331 vocative 141 volition 118-120, 327-328 VP ellipsis (see ellipsis; sentence) Wason 7 Watkins C. 130, 131, 317 Watkins T.A. vi, 331 wedi (see aspect) Weinreich 334 West Flemish II, 12 wh-words (see also beth 'what' and question) 131 Whitney 320 Williams S.J. 53, 58, 97, 100, 102, 138, 332 willingness (see volition) word borrowing 240, 268 word order (see sentence) X-bar syntax v, 53, 184-197 Yaduguri296,317,319 ye.f (see also English) 203-204, 240 Yip Po-Ching-Rimmington 25-26, 40, 311 Y" (see particle and aspect) Yoruba 11,266,313,319

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