Dependent clauses with a no-finite predícate in Purepecha

International audienceIn the continuum of finiteness which may characterize the clauses of a language (Givón 2001: 327-387; Bisang 2001: 852-891), Purepecha is positioned on the side of the languages in which the predicate of the dependent and of the independent clauses is generally finite (Chamoreau 2009 y 2009b). Purepecha shows a morphological asymmetry between dependent and independent clauses (Bisang 2001: 1408). For example, unlike independent clauses, dependent clauses, as in adverbial clause, relative clause , and completive clause are generally introduced by a subordinator, ximpoka, énka and éska - The predicate is always modified by the mood -ka called 'subjunctive' - TAM have distinctive forms: for example aorist is codified -s in an independent clause and -ø in a dependent clause At the typological level, Purepecha is not located at the end of the continuum as the Tolowa Athabaskan finite language illustrated by Givón (2001: 29-32) but in an intermediate position, although it is closer to finite languages than to nominalizing languages. This position is justified because some non-finite dependent clauses have been observed, with an infinite predicate and with a participial predicate. This talk constitutes a first report of a work in progress on the study of these non-finite dependent constructions. The aims are: - to describe constructions with infinitive and participial predicates, to analyze their synchronic distribution and to show their common denominator. - to explore the sources for the infinitive and for the participial markers - to draw a hypothesis for the evolution of Purepecha in the continuum of finitenes