Part 4 · grammar — Chapter 16 · evidentiality
Reported ti
The particle ti marks information as received from another source. The speaker is passing along what they have heard, read, or been told, and honestly acknowledges its secondhand nature.
Basic usage
shia to ti wepu. — They left. (I was told.) lo miona ti naphe. — People helped. (I heard.) ha shelira ti phelora nai. — This forest is beautiful. (so I'm told.)
With ti, the speaker signals that they're reporting information from an external source rather than personal experience or inference.
What counts as reportative
Reportative evidence includes: - What someone told you verbally - What you read in a book, article, or message - News reports or broadcasts - Rumors, gossip, or community knowledge - Traditional stories or passed-down information
The common thread is that the information came from outside the speaker's direct experience or reasoning. Someone else is the original source.
Distinguishing ti from quotation
The reportative ti marks knowledge source. It says "someone told me" without quoting their exact words.
shia to ti wepu. — They left (I was told).
For direct quotation, use the quotative complementizer shola:
melu shola mia wepu sholo to haolu. — The friend said "I'm leaving."
The first reports the content; the second quotes the words. Both involve information from others, but they do different grammatical work.
The responsibility of transmission
Using ti acknowledges a chain of information. You received knowledge from someone else and are passing it on. This creates an implicit responsibility:
- You don't claim to have witnessed what you're reporting
- You acknowledge the possibility of transmission error
- You leave room for the original source to be wrong
This honesty serves communication. A listener who hears ti knows not to ask "How do you know?" expecting direct evidence. They know the speaker is relaying.
When to omit ti
Not every secondhand claim needs to be marked. For general knowledge or well-established facts, evidential marking may be unnecessary:
sorae ru whalo nai. — The sun is very large.
This is technically something you learned from others (unless you measured it yourself), but marking it with ti would be odd. Use ti for information where the secondhand nature matters.
Sound and meaning
The ti particle is soft and brief: a gentle dental stop followed by a high vowel. The sound suggests transmission, the quick passing of information from one person to another. It's lighter than the crisp ke of inference. That fits: passing along a report takes less cognitive work than a deduction.
Rumor and reliability
Marking something with ti doesn't validate or invalidate it. It simply identifies the source type. The information might be perfectly reliable (a trusted friend's eyewitness account) or highly dubious (third-hand gossip). The particle enables honest communication about sourcing without prejudging accuracy.