A mirative is a grammatical device used to indicate surprise and evidence in some languages, but not in English. English uses words like “even” and “still” to express surprise, and lacks a specific mirative element. Other languages, such as Turkish and Korean, use inflections or suffixes to convey surprise. The presence of the mirative in some languages has led to a discussion of its presence in English and its influence on other languages.
A mirative is a grammatical device used to indicate surprise. It is not used in all languages and is only a theoretical piece of English grammar. Miratives are contained in the grammar category of mirativity. The use of a mirative can be found in languages such as Albanian, Ainu, Turkish and Korean. It can also be found in some Native American languages such as Western Apache.
The second function of the mirative is to indicate the evidence. This is the case for Tibetan, but not for Western Apache, which has separate syntax units for each. Eventiality is the presence or lack of evidence in a sentence. This evidence appears in English in the form of modal verbs such as “apparently”. Languages such as Eastern Pomo in California use suffixes to indicate different degrees of evidence.
Some linguists argue that miratives are present in English. Surprise is demonstrated in spoken English by a rising intonation or accent. In written English, an exclamation point is often used at the end of the sentence to achieve the same effect.
There are also a number of words that can demonstrate some surprise. These words are “even”, “still”, “already” and “only”. For example, “Is Jane still in Budapest?” indicates that the speaker is surprised that Jane is where she is. Stressing verbs when speaking is another means of indicating surprise, but other constructions are needed to convey this sense of surprise when writing.
English, therefore, applies a mirative meaning to some words to express a certain kind of surprise. They express surprise at something that is more or less than expected. There is no element of syntax such as a suffix or inflection designed to demonstrate general surprise as there is to make a sentence accusative. English is not the only one to lack specific mirative elements, Spanish uses the word ‘solo’ instead of ‘only’ and with the same function.
The mirative is a regular part of Turkish and Korean sentences. It allows languages that don’t rely on intonation or stress to convey the emotion of surprise. Korean uses the inflection “ney” to indicate surprise, while Turkish uses the suffix “mus”, for example. Tarma Quechua, a Native American language spoken in the Andes, also uses a suffix ‘na’ to convey surprise.
Languages often influence each other. The presence of the mirative in some languages has led to a backward discussion of its presence or absence in English. As Western languages influence native languages in the Americas, the same can be said in reverse. Plateau Spanish in the Andes has been influenced by the native languages, which has led to the inclusion of the mirative as a grammatical unit.
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