The evidential category of mutual knowledge in Quechua (2017)

In this paper we examine the notion of mutual knowledge, an evidential category that has remained largely unexplored in the relevant literature. Mutual knowledge principally refers to knowledge which is jointly constructed through linguistic interaction and shared perceptual experience. Sources of information for mutual knowledge include the contributions of conversational participants, together with their jointly-held beliefs and assumptions. Interlocutors use individual knowledge evidentials to introduce information and use mutual knowledge evidentials to establish facts by consensus. Once established, this shared knowledge is marked as such in subsequent speech. Evidentials are thus shown to be part of a system for building up the epistemic base shared between speakers in dynamic, interactive discourse. In South Conchucos Quechua and in Sihuas Quechua, the individual and mutual knowledge categories are formally distinguished via dedicated enclitics in paradigmatic contrast. We describe and illustrate the five-choice evidential system of South Conchucos and the six-choice system of Sihuas, then compare the two systems with each other and with the more well-known three-choice system of Cusco Quechua, a system in which mutual knowledge forms have not been attested. The comparison of the three evidential systems suggests a sequence of stages in the development of mutual knowledge as a grammatical category. The findings presented here are primarily based on spontaneous conversation, the setting in which mutual knowledge forms principally reside and in which epistemic authority is carefully negotiated.

2002

This dissertation explores the semantics and pragmatics of evidentiality through a detailed study of three evidential markers in Cuzco Quechua (spoken in Cuzco, Peru), the Direct -mi, the Conjectural -chá and the Reportative -si. I adopt a narrow definition of evidentiality as the linguistic encoding of the speaker's grounds for making a speech act, which in the case of assertions corresponds with his or her source of information. The meaning of each of the three Cuzco Quechua evidentials, as well as their absence, is described based on data collected by the author and from published sources.

1999

This paper deals with evidentiality in Ecuadorian Quechua (EQ) from a pragmatic perspective in the frame of FDG. After a brief sketch of evidentiality in EQ and the relevance of participants for the correct interpretation of evidential values, I address three controversial issues, namely: reportativity versus quotativity; direct evidence versus reportativity; and inference with respect to participants. It is suggested here that evidential values are the result of an interlinking of the speaker’s assumption about his/her interlocutor’s knowledge of the information source and the identity of participants in the speech event.

Functions of Language, 1996

Evidentiality is traditionally discussed in terms of information source and its relation to the degree of commitment a speaker has with respect to a proposition. Furthermore, it is a notion that is usually thought to apply principally to assertions. A consideration of the full range of uses of the Wanka Quechua direct evidential shows that while these concepts are generally sufficient for the description of prototypical usage, understanding other uses requires explanation along different lines. Certain non-prototypical uses exemplify a type of subjectification, a process of semantic change that has been observed cross-linguistically (cf. Traugott 1989, Langacker 1990). The use of the direct evidential as a grammaticalized marker of content (WH) questions is particularly anomalous from a traditional perspective. However, it can be shown to be a well-motivated extension from other uses within the semantic network.

Linguistische Berichte, Sonderheft 14., 2007

Impact, 2007

This paper presents an interactional approach to the evidential discourse markers por lo visto 'seemingly' and al parecer 'apparently'. It is shown that these markers show a clear preference for interactional actions which involve exchange of information (tell, ask and reply). Moreover, it is argued that socioepistemic status of the speaker and organization of the sequence are related. Primary knowers usually use evidential markers in second parts, with a reportative interpretation and a distancing effect, whereas non-primary knowers use evidential markers in first parts. Thus, the speaker seeks a confirmation in the next turn, which has a mitigation effect. Our interactional analysis offers a more contextualized and detailed characterization of evidential discourse markers and allows us to understand the type of activities speakers are engaged in when using these linguistic means.

Interactional Linguistics, 2022

This article discusses how evidential and egophoric making is used to manage knowledge in interaction. To this end, it analyzes interactional data from Wutun (mixed Sinitic, Northwest China) and Upper Napo Kichwa (Quechuan, Ecuador). Wutun has an egophoric marking system, which, according to the definition of egophoricity, encodes involvement/lack of involvement in the described event. Upper Napo Kichwa has a set of evidentials, which, according to theory, encode the source of evidence for a given proposition. The two languages are typologically unrelated. However, when we look closely at how speakers of Wutun and Kichwa use epistemic markers, we discover functional similarities not predicted by the dominant definitions of epistemicity and evidentiality. In both languages, the use of the markers is conditioned by the interpersonal context of the interaction, and speakers use egophoric and evidential marking to signal their epistemic rights and responsibilities with respect to other speech-act participants.

2009

The present MA dissertation investigates some of the interactional resources that Mexican Spanish speakers use to express agreement and it looks at some ways in which epistemic rights are index in interaction.