(32) Ngarrka ka- rna nya- ny. [...] The PS nominal expression in this sentence, "ngarrka" "man, adult male", being absolutive is linked to the object argument in LS. It is open to two interpretations. On one, it functions, loosely speaking, as a "referential expression", definite or indefinite, referring to some entity which has the property of being an adult male. In this use, "ngarrka" corresponds more or less exactly to the use of its English counterparts ("the man, a man") in their function as arguments in the appropriate translations: (32') I see the/a man. I will refer to this as the ARGUMENTAL interpretation of the nominal. In a second interpretation of (32), "ngarrka" is simply predicated of the LS argument to which it is linked. In this case, only the LS argument itself can be said to refer to an entity, in the sense in which a definite pronoun can be said to have reference. In this use, "ngarrka" corresponds in its interpretation to a variety of dependent predicative expression in English, including those appearing in parentheses in the following two rough translations: (32'') I see him (as a man). I see him (and he is a man). I will refer to this as the PREDICATIVE interpretation.
- Hale (2004), Pag. 94