Abstract
This chapter is organized into two parts. In the first one, we discuss methodologies for studying modality of underdescribed and endangered languages, focusing on Lung’Ie, a Portuguese-lexifier creole language spoken in São Tomé and Príncipe, located in the Gulf of Guinea. Initially, we present the social historical context of the emergence of this language and some issues regarding fieldwork. Then, we present the methods employed in this work for the study on modality: (i) storyboards and (ii) traditional stories, discussing the benefits and the drawbacks of these methods. In the second part of the chapter, we discuss the use of ka and its relation to tense, mood, and aspect categories in Lung’Ie. From the analyzed data, we find that ka appears in prototypical irrealis contexts, such as counterfactual, conditional, and hypothetical constructions, as well as constructions in the future tense and in the habitual aspect; while constructions in the past or at the moment of utterance show restrictions on the occurrence of ka. Based on these data, we propose that ka is an irrealis marker in Lung’Ie. Finally, we present some issues that need to be further investigated within the TMA system of Lung’Ie.
Abstract
This chapter is organized into two parts. In the first one, we discuss methodologies for studying modality of underdescribed and endangered languages, focusing on Lung’Ie, a Portuguese-lexifier creole language spoken in São Tomé and Príncipe, located in the Gulf of Guinea. Initially, we present the social historical context of the emergence of this language and some issues regarding fieldwork. Then, we present the methods employed in this work for the study on modality: (i) storyboards and (ii) traditional stories, discussing the benefits and the drawbacks of these methods. In the second part of the chapter, we discuss the use of ka and its relation to tense, mood, and aspect categories in Lung’Ie. From the analyzed data, we find that ka appears in prototypical irrealis contexts, such as counterfactual, conditional, and hypothetical constructions, as well as constructions in the future tense and in the habitual aspect; while constructions in the past or at the moment of utterance show restrictions on the occurrence of ka. Based on these data, we propose that ka is an irrealis marker in Lung’Ie. Finally, we present some issues that need to be further investigated within the TMA system of Lung’Ie.
