In a number of languages, the speaker must specify the evidence for every statement whether seen, or heard, or inferred from indirect evidence, or learnt from someone else. This grammatical category, referring to information source, is called ‘evidentiality’. Evidentiality systems differ in how complex they are some distinguish just two terms (eyewitness and noneyewitness, or reported and non-reported), while others have six (or even more) terms. Evidentiality is a category in its own right, and not a subtype of epistemic or some other modality, or of tense-aspect. The introductory chapter sets out cross-linguistic parameters for studying evidentiality. It is followed by twelve chapters which deal with typologically different languages from various parts of the world: Shipibo-Conibo, Jarawara, Tariana and Myky from South America; West Greenlandic Eskimo; Western Apache and Eastern Pomo from North America; iang (Tibeto-Burman); Yukaghir (Siberian isolate); Turkic languages; languages of the Balkans; and Abkhaz (Northwest Caucasian). The final chapter summarises some of the recurrent patterns.

Table of Contents

Table of contents Contributors vii Preface ix 1. Evidentiality in typological perspective Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald 1 2. Evidentiality in Shipibo-Konibo, with a comparative overview of the category in Panoan Pilar M. Valenzuela 33 3. Evidentiality in iang* Randy J. LaPolla 63 4. Evidentiality in Western Apache (Athabaskan) Wilhem J. de Reuse 79 5. Evidentials in Eastern Pomo with a comparative survey of the category in other Pomoan languages Sally McLendon 101 6. Evidentiality in Tariana Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald 131 7. Evidentiality in Jarawara* R.M.W. Dixon 165 8. Evidentiality in the Balkans with special attention to Macedonian and Albanian* Victor A. Friedman 189 9. Evidentiality in Yukaghir Elena S. Maslova 219 10. Evidentiality in Mỹky Ruth Monserrat and R.M.W. Dixon 237 11. Evidential category and evidential strategy in Abkhaz Vjacheslav Chirikba 243 12. Evidentiality in Turkic Lars Johanson 273 13. Evidentiality in West Greenlandic: A case of scattered coding Michael Fortescue 291 14. Evidentials Brian D. Joseph 307 Index of authors 329 Index of languages and language families Index of subjects