Small group meeting with Harsha 9/30/15

We met with Harsha a day later than usual in the Psi Phi library in Parrish basement.  Our goal was to examine locatives in greater depth.  Harsha was very tired.

First, we checked relative positioning.  We used a stuffed cat and a stuffed bunny.
First, we placed the cat behind the bunny so both were facing away from Harsha.  We asked the location of the cat.

ber2al khɔrgosh-er petshone
cat bunny-of behind

Next, we swapped the bunny and the cat but kept them facing the same direction relative to Harsha.

ber2al kɔrgosh-er shamne
cat bunny-of in front of

Next, we put the cat with its back to Harsha, facing the bunny.

ber2al khɔrgosh-er mukhomukhi
cat bunny-of face-to-face

Harsha said it was also possible to say ber2al khɔrgosher shamne.
petshone was also valid if his line of sight were in line with the stuffed animals.

Next, Sam made the cat crawl into a small bowl.  We asked Harsha to narrate.
beɽal-ta tebel-er opur-e hete bati beebee (ar) dar-moddhe dhuke porlo
cat-the table-on top-of walked bowl climbed (and) it-inside entered completion marker

Afterwards, we asked where the cat was.

bat-ir bhetor-e / moddh-e
bowl-of inside-of / within-of

Harsha said that bhetor-e and moddh-e were interchangeable in this context and in the above sentence and occurred with the same frequency, although they do have the different meaning.

Next, we dropped the bunny over the table and asked about its location.

khɔrgosh 'por2.tshhe
bunny falling

khɔrgosh tebel-er opur-e 'por2.tshhe
bunny table-of top-of falling


Assuming that the bunny and the table were both falling, Harsha said
khɔrgosh ar tebel ɖutoi 'por2.tshhe
bunny and table both falling

He said he could not say khɔrgosh tebel-er opur-e 'por2.tshhe to describe the location of the tiger because that would be misleading.

Next, we said the tiger flew up to stick to the ceiling.
Harsha could not think of a word for "hurtle" in Bengali but would have rather used that than "fly".

bagh-ta siling-er ɖike uɽe gælo / gelo
tiger-the ceiling-on in that direction flew went / came
gelo would be used from the perspective of someone on the ceiling.

Next, the cat went out of the bowl and walked over to a piece of paper and stood on top of it.

bat-ir teke berie ber.al-'ta (tebel-er opu-re hete) kagodj-er opu-re boshlo / daɽalo
bowl-of from having left cat-the (table-of top-of walked) paper-of top-of sat / stood

Next, we checked destination of gifts versus destination of travel.

Sam made the cat walk to me (onto my hand).

beral-ta mol-ir hat-er opu-re ute poɽlo
cat-the Mollie-of hand-of top-of risen completed action

He added more description.
tebel-er opur die hete
table-of top over walked
Differently from tebeler opure hete, the above sentence has "purpose," a destination.

Next, we tried putting the tiger on top of the bowl, completely inside the bowl, and then halfway in the bowl.
Harsha's first description for the location of the tiger was:
bagh-ta bat-ir mukh-er
tiger-the bowl-of lip-of,
although opure was also possible.
bagh-ta bat-ir bheto-re
tiger-the bowl-of inside-of
is valid if the tiger is completely in the bowl or only partially in the bowl.
his original thought when the tiger was half in the bowl was to describe what it was looking at.
bat-ir bheto-re Sam-er ɖike takia
bowl-of inside-of Sam-of in that direction ??? looked

Finally, Sam passed me the cat.
Sam Moli-ke beral-ta dilo / die dilo
Sam Mollie-to cat-the give / give

Note that, here, the indirect object construction is different from the dative construction; it uses the indirect object marker ke.