Re: Waylon Jennings & obviation

[Mike Keene <mkeene@utkux.utcc.utk.edu>]

Howdy folks,

"Fourth person" could be referring to Waylon Jennings (thus "write the
paper in fourth person" could mean "write it as Waylon Jennings might"),
who is said to have been the fourth person (the one who didn't take the
plane) scheduled for the flight on which the Big Bopper died.

Perhaps more likely to be the meaning in this context, it's a feature of
some languages (Ojibwe, Navajo) that occurs when two third person usages
occur together and occasion some additional linguistic marking on one of
them (and maybe a different form of the verb, too. This situation may be
called "fourth person marking" or "obviation." Check out these two web
sites and you'll know as much (or more) about it as I do: 


http://bioc09.uthscsa.edu/natnet/archive/ng/95/0356.html
http://www.webslingerz.com/mstrickl/optimality/papers/238-0198/abstract.txt


Mike

Mike Keene
mkeene@utk.edu

Office Phone: 423-974-6969
Department Phone:  423-974-5401