Three-participant events in the Wagi dialect of Beria

Abstract

This study investigates how three-participants events such as transfer events (e.g. GIVE or
SEND) or communicative events (e.g. TELL) are encoded in Wagi, a yet underdescribed
dialectal variety of the Nilo-Saharan language Beria. With reference to Margetts & Austin’s
(2007) seminal typology of event types and encoding strategies the following strategies were
found in Wagi: (1) three-place predicate strategies with the subtypes direct-argument
strategy and causative strategy, (2) oblique and adjunct strategies, (4) converb strategy, and
(5) directional strategy. A special focus of this study lies on the converb strategy, as it
constitutes an addition to the typology established by Margetts & Austin. It features a
compound verb consisting of a converb expressing the main action and a verb form with the
literal meaning ‘give’, and is used to express benefaction. The two verb forms jointly
determine the argument structure of the expression.