Baraïn is an East Chadic (Afroasiatic) language spoken by about 6,000 people in the Republic of Chad. Lovestrand (2012) discusses the contrast between perfect vs. perfective in Baraïn. He shows that the perfect form of the verb can be used for four of the five common uses of the perfect discussed above, specifically all but the experiential perfect. Examples of the four possible uses are presented in (25).
(25) a. Resultative:
kà gūsē ándì
kà gūs- -ē ándì
Sbj:3.m go.out prf Andi
‘He has left Andi (and has not returned).’
b. Universal:
kà súlē máŋgò wàlèɟì kúr
kà súl- -ē móŋgò wālō -ɟì kúr
Sbj:3.m sit prf Mongo year poss:3.m ten
‘He has lived in Mongo for ten years (and lives there now).’
c. Recent past:
kà kólē sòndé kāj
kà kól- -ē sòndé kājē
Sbj:3.m go prf now here
‘He has just left this moment.’
d. Present state:
rámà ātːē màlpì
rámà ǎt:- -ē màlpì
Rama remain prf Melfi
‘Rama has stayed in Melfi (and is there now).’
French: Il est resté à Melfi.
Lovestrand states that “what is labeled the ‘existential’ or ‘experiential’ perfect is not expressed with the Perfect, but instead with the Perfective marker.” An example is presented in (26).
(26) kì kólá ātː:á ānː:áŋ ɲɟàménà
kiˋ kól- -à ātː:á ānː:áŋ ɲɟamena
Sbj:2.s go pfv time how.many N’Djamena
'How many times have you been to N’Djamena?’
The perfect in Baraïn, in all four of its uses, entails that the situation is still true or the result state still holds at the time of speaking. Semelfactives, which do not have a result state, cannot be expressed in the perfect:
(27) a. kà ás:ːá tā ātː:á pańiŋ́
kà ás:- -à tā ātː:á pańiŋ́
Sbj:3.m cough pfv prtcl time one
‘He coughed once.’
b. #kà asː:e ātː:á pańiŋ́
kà ás:- -ē ātː:á pańiŋ́
Sbj:3.m cough prf time one
The requirement that the result state still hold true at the time of speaking is illustrated in (28a). If the same event is described in the perfective, as in (28b), it implies that the result state is no longer true.
(28) a. kà kólá wò kà láawē
kà kól- -à wò kà láaw- -ē
Sbj:3.m go pfv and S:3.m return prf
‘He left but he has returned (and is still here).’
b. kà kólá wò kà láawá tā
kà kól- -à wò kà láaw- -à tā
Sbj:3.m go pfv and S:3.m return pfv prtcl
‘He left and he returned (but he is not here now).’
Events which result in a permanent change of state, like those in (29a) and (30a), must normally be expressed in the perfect. If these events are described in the perfective, as in (29b) and (30b), it implies that some extraordinary event has taken place to undo the result state of the described event.
(29) a. át:ù tōklē
átː:á -ɟù tǒkl- -ē
arm poss:1sg remove prf
‘My arm was removed.’
b. át:ù tòklá tā
át:á -ɟù tǒkl- -à tā
arm poss:1sg remove pfv prtcl
‘My arm was removed once (but somebody reattached it).’
(30) a. kà mótē
kà mót- -ē
Sbj:3.m die prf
‘He died.
b. ?kà mótá
kà mót- -à
Sbj:3.m die pfv
‘He was dead (but is miraculously no longer dead).’
The inference illustrated in (29–30), by which the perfective signals that the result state is no longer true, seems to be an implicature triggered by the speaker’s choice not to use the perfect, where that would be possible. This inference does not arise in all contexts. For example, verbs describing main-line events in a narrative sequence can occur in the perfective without any implication that the result state is no longer true. In contrast, the requirement that the result state of an event in the perfect hold true at the time of speaking is an entailment which cannot be cancelled, as demonstrated in (31b).
(31) a. kà mótá tā wò kà ɲīrē
kà mót- -à tā wò kà ɲīr -ē
Sbj:3.m die pfv prtcl and Sbj:3.m resurrect prf
‘He died, but he has been resurrected.’
b. #kà mótē wò kà ɲīrē
kà mót- -ē wò kà ɲīr -ē
Sbj:3.m die prf and Sbj:3.m resurrect prf
(intended: ‘He has died, but he has been resurrected.’)