PROSPECTIVE ASPECT IN THE WESTERN DIALECTS OF CREE.

This paper seeks to clarify the difference between two markers of future time reference in the Cree language. The preverbal particles ta- (∼ ka-) and wî- have both generally been treated as future tense markers. While future tense is found to be sufficient characterization for ta-, wî- requires further consideration, resulting in the conclusion that, rather than simple tense, it marks prospective aspect. The characterization of wi in this way ties together a number of alternate interpretations as secondary semantic and/or pragmatic offshoots of the basic category of the prospective. Though data are presented in the Plains Cree dialect, native-speaker judgments confirm the arguments for all the major western dialects, Plains, Woods, and Swampy Cree, as spoken in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]