A'ingae =sa'ne 'APPR' and the semantic typology of apprehensional adjuncts

Abstract

We explore the semantics and typology of functional morphemes encoding apprehensional, i.e. negative prospective, meanings through a detailed case study of the adjunct uses of =sa'ne 'APPR' in A'ingae (or Cofán, ISO 639-3: con, an Amazonian isolate). We provide one of the first formal accounts of apprehension: In a structure [p [q=sa'ne]], =sa'ne 'APPR' encodes a modal semantics where the goal worlds of the actor responsible for p avoid a salient situation r=>q. Finally, we reveal two inherent asymmetries among apprehensional functions (precautioning asymmetry and timitive asymmetry), thus making substantial predictions with regards to typological patterns in apprehensional morphology.