Cadernos de Etnolingüística
Série Monografias, 6, Dezembro/2022
ISBN 978-0-9846008-5-4
A Typology of Finite Subordinate Clauses in Jarawara
It is proposed that there are finite and non-finite subordinate clauses in Jarawara. There are several aspects of verb morphology that characterize finite clauses, whether main or subordinate: (a) tense-modal suffixes with an initial -hV syllable, (b) secondary verbs ama and awine/awa, (c) a/e gender agreement at the end of the verb stem, (d) plural pronominals in the third pronominal position, and (e) possessor agreement in the third pronominal position. The presence of any of these identifies a clause as finite, and two or more features often occur together. There are several types of subordinate clauses that are distinguished by these features: medial clauses, juxtaposed clauses, postposed finite clauses, relative clauses, and indirect quotes. Features (a)-(e) are not present in non-finite subordinate clauses, of which there are several types: complement clauses, nominalized clauses, and list clauses. The existence of an inflectional category Tense is proposed, which is present in finite subordinate clauses and absent in non-finite subordinate clauses. It is noted additionally that the category of Tense is not present in many main clauses, which nevertheless must be recognized as finite, and the possible implications of this fact are considered.