Pragmatic demotion and clause dependency: On two atypical subordinating strategies in Lo Toga and Hiw (Torres, Vanuatu)

Abstract

Among the many grammatical features which are shared between Hiw and Lo-Toga – the two Oceanic languages spoken in the Torres Islands of Vanuatu – are the semantics of Tense-Aspect-Mood markers, and their effects on the syntax of clause dependency. Even though these two languages possess a wealth of subordinators such as conjunctions or relativizers, two TAM markers show a clear propensity, in fluent speech, to do without these overt morphemes. Instead, these two TAM categories – labelled respectively "Subjunctive" and "Background Perfect" – tend to encode clause dependency by themselves, in a way that makes overt subordinators superfluous. Besides providing firsthand empirical data on two hitherto undescribed languages, this chapter proposes a functional hypothesis to account for the clause-linking power of these two TAM markers. The Subjunctive differs from other irrealis categories insofar as it lacks any specific illocutionary force. As for the Background Perfect, it labels its predicate as informationally backgrounded. In both cases, the clause lacks certain essential properties (illocutionary force; informational status) which are normally required to constitute a pragmatically well-formed sentence. This form of "PRAGMATIC DEMOTION" operated by the TAM marker thus makes the clause dependent on external predications, resulting in a genuine form of clause dependency and subordination. These two case studies illustrate how the syntax of clauses can be directly affected by the pragmatic parameters of discourse.