Meaning of mirative | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A grammatical mood that expresses (surprise at) unexpected revelations or new information.
   uncountable
2. (An instance of) a form of a word which conveys this mood.
   countable

Equivalents

Examples

“Although the Maidu 'evidential' -wéw (Shipley 1964:45) might correspond somewhat to the Washo visual, and the (unexemplified) Sierra Miwok 'circumstantial evidence' marker taˀ, tat, ˀiš- (Freeland 1951:169) may correspond to the Washo inferential (mirative).”

“In Archi mirativity is grammaticalized as part of the verbal category of evidentiality, so the study⟳ of the mirative in Nakh-Daghestanian languages might help⟳ to identify⟳ the meaning of exclamatives more precisely.”

“The Tarms Quechua Mirative often refers to information that is withheld from the addressee until the speaker sees fit to reveal⟳ it, a frequent strategy in narratives of which the unexpected outcome is reserved for the end⟳. By consequence, the speaker him/herself need⟳ not be under the impact of surprise⟳ any longer when using the Mirative. […] Characteristically, actions performed during one's sleep⟳ or in a state of unconsciousness are expressed in the Mirative[…]. The Mirative can also be used in recounting dreams[…].”

“[T]he speaker had heard on the radio that a bear⟳ had attacked a woman. From the description of her wounds on the radio, he infers, using the mirative/inferential particle lą̄ą̄, that she was dragged by the bear⟳. […] This particle also implies that the speaker was surprised at the event. Bear⟳ attacks are uncommon in Arizona, and the woman was someone the speaker was acquainted with. In fact, lą̄ą̄ is more fundamentally a mirative than an inferential, […]”

“He [Timothy Jowan Curnow] points out that miratives are very rare with first person, more common with second, and most common with third person. In all cases, however, non-miratives are more common than miratives.”

CEFR level