Grounding objects in space and place: locative constructions in Tidore

Abstract

This article discusses the contribution of the verbal element in static locative descriptions in Tidore, a Western Papuan outlier spoken in the North Moluccas of Indonesia. Where in most languages the verbal element in these constructions can be characterized as pertaining to aspects of disposition or posture of Figure or Ground, or to the topological relation between Figure and Ground, in Tidore the verbal element is one of a set of verbs. These locational verbs express the Ground space in which the Figure can be found in relation to the Deictic Center. Dispositional verbs may also be used in locative descriptions, but only in restricted contexts, requiring the expression of a human agent to bring about the locative relation.