The Grammatical Expression of Dialogicity in Muylaq'Aymara Narratives

Apr 1, 2014·

Matt Coler

· 1 min read

Abstract

The Aymara oral narratives of the Peruvian village of Muylaque make explicit and implicit reference to the personal knowledge of the narrator, the shared knowledge of the community, and the existence of other narratives. They are, accordingly, considered dialogic (Bakhtin). This article uses excerpts from a variety of narratives to show how dialogicity is indicated grammatically through an analysis of tense and evidentiality as well as arguments of the verb ‘say’.

Type

Journal Article

Publication

International Journal of American Linguistics

This article explores the concept of dialogicity in oral narratives from the Aymara-speaking community of Muylaque in Peru. Drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of dialogism, I examine how Aymara narratives incorporate references to the narrator’s personal knowledge, the community’s shared knowledge, and other existing narratives.

The analysis focuses on the grammatical mechanisms through which this dialogicity is expressed, particularly through the linguistic systems of tense and evidentiality. I also provide a detailed examination of how the arguments of the verb ‘say’ function in narrative discourse to create dialogic relationships.

Through excerpts from various Aymara narratives collected during fieldwork, I demonstrate how these grammatical features work together to create a rich intertextual network, positioning each narrative within a broader cultural and discursive context. This research contributes to our understanding of both Aymara grammar and the relationship between grammatical structures and narrative practices in indigenous languages.

Last updated on Apr 1, 2014