Habitual and continuous aspects in Sakha

In discussing habituality and continuousness, it is easiest to start by giving a positive definition of habituality, leaving continuousness to be defined negatively as imperfectivity that is not habituality.

In some discussions of habituality, it is assumed that habituality is essentially the same as iterativity, i.e. the repetition of a situation, the successive occurrence of several instances of the given situation. Habituals describe individual persons’ habits [1].

Comrie finds this terminology misleading in two senses. Firstly, the mere repetition of a situation is not sufficient for that situation to be referred to by a specifically habitual (or, indeed, imperfective) form. If a situation is repeated a limited number of times, then all of these instances of the situation can be viewed as a single situation, albeit with internal structure, and referred to by a perfective form. He gives an example of a scene where a lecturer stands up, coughs five times, and then goes on to deliver his lecture. In English, this could be described as follows:

• (1)    The lecturer stood up, coughed five times, and said . . .

It would not be possible to use the specifically habitual form with used to : (1a) *The lecturer stood up, used to cough five times, and said . . .

In Russian we can use the Perfective here:

• (2)    Dokladčik vstal, kašljanul pjat' raz i skazal . ..

In Sakha it looks as follows:

• (3)    Āghāchchy turda,       bieste sӧtӧllӧn        baran

• 3SG.     stand.PST. fivetimes cough.PF.CVB go.CVANT

(3a) Āghāchchy tur-da           bies-te    sӧtӧll-ӧbüte

3SG.      stand-PST3SG. five-times cough.-PST.3SG.

uonna et-te … and     say-PST.1SG.

The verb sӧtӧlün (impf. to cough, have a cough, give a cough) itself has a meaning of a multiple, vibrating action.

Secondly, a situation can be referred to by a habitual form without there being any iterativity at all.

• (4)    Semen abāhy-ny       iteghey-er     ete

(4a) ‘ Simon abāhyny        itegheyechchi ete.

The (4) form itegheyer ete is an analytical form with a participle –er (ar-) and a conjugated defective verb e-. Verbs in such form can express past actions and also iterative feature, i.e. repeated actions on a regular basis. In both languages there is no necessary implication that there were several occasions on each of which Simon believed in ghosts, with intervening periods when it did not; with this particular sentence, the natural interpretation is precisely that Simon believed in ghosts throughout a certain single period, without intermission.

Another example of this form:

• ( 5)    Agham          türgen-nik     kӯhyr- ar a,                      ol gyn-an

fatherPOSS.3SG quick-ADV. get angry-CVANT3SG.         but do-CVANT baran          türgennik aharara go-CVANT   quick-ADV. pass.CVANT3SG.

‘My father used to get angry quickly but quickly calmed down’ (this was his character, which was seen every time when similar situations occur) [2].

• (6)    Synn’alang künneriger kini kinige āghar         ete

restPL. dayPL. 3SG. bookACC readPST.3SG. AUX-PST.3SG

‘On his days off he used to read books’ (this happened regularly, i.e. every day off)’.

The (4a) itegheyechchi ete is formed with an affix- chchi (achchy) to the base verb iteghey + auxiliary verb e-. With an auxiliary verb e- such sentences can refer to Past.

According to Grammatika of modern Yakut language [2], the form of a base verb + affix –āchchy (-chchy) is called the mood of a usually performed action. It was first recorded by E. I. Ubryatova in her work on the Norilskiy Dolgan language. Bӧhtlingk thought that “verbal name with –āchchy is always the one who does the action and is used as an adjective with a noun and also as a noun” [3]. The above form is quite unlimited in time, i.e. has a timeless feature, meaning the action occurs habitually or always. The examples (4a), (7), (8), (9) with affixes – āchchy are phonetic variants of the same participial form that has an analogy in other Turkic languages of North-Eastern group. In contrast to other Turkic languages, the participle with –āchchy has preserved its verbal meaning.

The forms with – ar (5), (9), (10) and (11) and forms with – āchchy (4a), (7), (9) are very close in their semantics. A participle with –ar is used to express an action that happens regularly, usually, always. A participle with - āchchy is used to express actions that occur usually, regularly or more or less regularly.

In the above mentioned examples we can see that affix- āchchy has a constant character of actions and is of a more accentuated character than examples with an affix – ar .

However, with the auxiliary verb e- (4), (4a), (6) such actions can be expressed in the Past Tense, the actions are completed or incompleted in the past.

• (7)    Min erde        tur āchchy byn

‘I usually wake up early’.

• (8)    Ehigi kihini             kyragha da   mӧgh ȫchchü güt

‘You usually tell off others for little things’.

• (9)    Ardakh saiyn          tügh er

‘In rains in summer’ (that is its mature).

• (10)    Kini buldu olus sӧbül ǖr

‘He loves to hunt’ (it is his constant quality, feature).

• (11)    Pochtany     samolӧt      tah ar

‘Mail is brought by plane (routine).’

The feature that is common to all habituals, whether or not they are also iterative, is that they describe a situation which is characteristic of an extended period of time, so extended in fact that the situation referred to is viewed not as an incidental property of the moment but, precisely, as a characteristic feature of a whole period. If the individual situation is one that can be protracted indefinitely in time, then there is no need for iterativity to be involved (as with Simon example), though equally it is not excluded. If the situation is one that cannot be protracted, then the only reasonable interpretation will involve iterativity.

Iterativeness or recurrence of actions, according to some researchers, expresses ‘the repeated playback of the action in time and space, regardless of the number of repetitions and transmitted in the language by means of different levels’ [4].

Continuous aspect is an imperfective aspect that expresses an ongoing, but not habitual, occurrence of the state or event expressed by the verb. Progressive aspect is a continuous aspect that expresses processes, not states.

Continuous verb forms describe activities in progress. They suggest that the activity is temporary, and may not be complete. Compare:

• (13)    Min biligin tӧrӧppütterbin

‘I’m living with my parents. (temporary period only)’.

Here we can see that the only difference between (12) and (13) is the word biligin that means

‘now’.

1SG. you side      think. PROG.

‘I’m thinking about you’.

Here in (13), I assume that Continuous aspect (now) is expressed by the participle –ar (-ӯ) with an affix of person marking. In (14), (15) the Continuous aspect is formed by an analytical process, i.e. with an auxiliary verb syryt - and syt -. Such combinations can be formed by other auxiliary verbs: tur - ‘stand’, olor - ‘sit’, is - ‘go.

• (15)    Min d’ieber      kelbipper kini utuia          sytar           ete

‘When I came home, he was sleeping’.

• (16)    Tokhsunn’uga min byrappar     olor og hum.

• (17)    Min en tuskunan tokkuidōghum.

‘I’ll be thinking about you’.

In (16) and (17), I assume that Continuous aspect (future) is expressed by affixation but it is not possible to make a negative form in a synthetic way. The peculiarity of this form is that it does not have a constant temporal meaning, it depends on the context of each situation.

The Habitual Aspect which is a subdivision of an Imperfective aspect is formed with an affix- chchi (achchy) to the base verb iteghey + auxiliary verb e-. With an auxiliary verb e- such sentences can refer to Past. It is called the mood of a usually done action. It was first recorded by E. I. Ubryatova in her work on Norilskiy Dolgan language. Bӧhtlingk thought that “verbal name with – āchchy is always the one who does the action and is used as an adjective with a noun and also as a noun” (Bӧhtlingk O., 1851: 373). The above form is quite unlimited in time, i.e. has a timeless feature, meaning the action occurs habitually or always.

The forms with –ar and forms with – āchchy are very close in their semantics. A participle with –ar is used to express an action that happens regularly, usually, always. A participle with -āchchy is used to express actions that occur usually, regularly or more or less regularly. Affix- āchchy has a constant character of actions and is of a more accentuated character than examples with the affix – ar. However, by the auxiliary verb e- such actions can be expressed in the Past Tense, the actions are completed or incompleted in the past.

Continuous aspect is an imperfective aspect that expresses an ongoing, but not habitual, occurrence of the state or event expressed by the verb. I assume that Continuous aspect (now) is expressed by the participle –ar (-ӯ) with an affix of person marking. In some cases the Continuous aspect is formed by an analytical way, i.e. with an auxiliary verb syryt -and syt -. Such combinations can be formed by other auxiliary verbs: tur - ‘stand’, olor - ‘sit’, is - ‘go. In cases of future semantic I assume that Continuous aspect is expressed by affixation but it is not possible to make a negative form by synthetic way. The peculiarity of such form is that it does not have a constant temporal meaning, it depends on the context of each situation.