This study investigates verb-final morphemes in Southern Nambikwara — a polysynthetic language spoken in the Mato Grosso region of southwestern Brazil. The verb-final morphemes -wa2 and -ɾa2/-la2 have previously been described as denoting an aspect distinction between imperfectivity and perfectivity (da Silva 2021; B. Kroeker 1982; M. Kroeker 2001; Lowe 1999). However, upon closer examination, this description appears flawed. By revisiting the data found in the previous literature as well as analyzing new first-hand data and the responses to a questionnaire, this study aims to describe the function and meaning of -wa2 and -ɾa2/-la2 with a focus on patterns of co-distribution with other verbal categories. The results suggest that -wa2 and -ɾa2/-la2 are markers of subjectivity and non-subjectivity, respectively. The present definition of subjectivity is based on Du Bois (2007) and Nuyts (2001), who emphasize that the distinctive factor between these categories is whether knowledge or evidence, and by extension the conclusion drawn from them, is exclusive to the speaker (or the speech act participants) or shared by a larger group. In addition, the shared or exclusive responsibility for an utterance as well as its sequential context are also of importance to the marking of subjectivity. Conclusively, the distribution of -wa2 and -ɾa2/-la2 varies with many grammatical categories, such as tense, person, mood/aspect, engagement, and polarity. The subjectivity marker -wa2 encodes exclusive knowledge and epistemic responsibility, while the non-subjectivity marker -ɾa2/-la2 denotes its counterpart, shared knowledge and shared epistemic responsibility.

Egophoric marking as a potentially categorical expression in language is conceived of as a binary semantic contrast that marks an event as either involving one of the speech act participants (egophoric), or as one that does not (non-egophoric). Prima facie, the egophoric marking pattern resembles person indexing and has been interpreted as such. However, it appears that what is marked does not simply correspond to indexing the speech act roles of speaker and addressee. Rather, egophoric marking appears to encode the speech participant’s respective access to events/information in terms of ‘involvement’ and is therefore more akin to epistemic categories, such as evidentiality. This thesis presents a comparative study of egophoric marking on the basis of data from descriptions of relevant languages from the Barbacoan (South America), Nakh-Daghestanian (Caucasus) and Tibeto-Burman (Himalaya) language families. The study covers grammatical and functional properties, as well as diachronic aspects of egophoric marking systems. The findings are discussed in relation to typological studies on person and evidentiality in order to determine similarities and differences between egophoric marking and these associated categories. / Egoforicitet som en potentiell språklig kategori innebär en semantisk kontrast mellan händelser som involverar någon av taldeltagarna (egoforisk), och händelser som inte gör det (icke-egoforisk). Vid första anblick kan egoforicitet verka snarlik personkongruens (personböjning), och egoforicitet har ibland analyserats som sådan. Vid närmare undersökning uttrycker egoforicitet deltagarnas tillgång till en händelse med hänsyn till deras respektive delaktighet i denna, snarare än deras roller som talare eller mottagare. Detta gör att egoforicitet är mer lik en epistemisk kategori som t.ex. evidentialitet än personböjning. Uppsatsen diskuterar grammatiska, funktionella och diakrona egenskaper hos egoforicitets- markeringssystem. En typologisk-jämförande studie av egoforicitet görs baserad på data från beskrivningar av relevanta språk ur de Barbakoanska (Sydamerika), Nakh-Dagestanska (Kaukasus), och Tibetoburmesiska (Himalaya) språkfamiljerna. Resultaten jämförs med typologiska studier av personböjning och evidentialitet med syfte att identifiera likheter och skillnader mellan egoforicitet och dessa närbesläktade kategorier.