What is it about?
Subjects in Dogon indicative clauses can bind reflexive objects. Imperative "subjects" cannot; contrast English kill yourself! It is therefore necessary to distinguish subjects (in indicatives) from addressees (in imperatives). Hortatives ('let's go!') have both true subjects ('we') and addressees (singular or plural).
Featured Image
Why is it important?
Shows that "subject" is not universally valid for imperatives. Also shows that transpersonal reflexives (like Russian s'ja) are true reflexives, as opposed to possessed quasi-reflexives like English yourself.
Perspectives
An interesting collaboration with a young Russian linguist. Russian and Dogon were made for each other.
Jeffrey Heath
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Subject versus addressee in Dogon imperatives and hortatives, Studies in Language, October 2015, John Benjamins,
DOI: 10.1075/sl.39.3.02hea.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
