Himalayan Linguistics

The evidential or egophoric systems of various modern Tibetic languages are described as containing a ‘factual’ copula and a complex ‘factual’ existential, in opposition to the egophoric copula yin and the egophoric existential linking verb yod, e.g., Central and East Tibetan red and yod.red. Other descriptive terms are ‘assertive’ or ‘statemental’. These two markers are also described as being ‘neutral’, falling thus outside the ‘evidential’ system. In my opinion, the terms ‘actual’ and ‘neutral’ are not very well defined. They are used as cover terms for various functions, such as referring to generic facts and shared or shareable knowledge, as indicating inferences and assumptions, even as describing mere hypothetical situations, as expressing or highlightening the speaker’s non-involvement, or for other socio-pragmatic strategies. The terminological choice poses quite some problems, both with respect to the crosslinguistic use of ‘factual’ in the sense of realis mood (as opposed to various irrealis moods) and with respect to the position of the respective marker inside or outside the Tibetic evidential or egophoric system. Part of the problem may be connected also with the current understanding of the Tibetic evidential or egophoric systems.