Nouns are inflected for number and case. The numbers are singular and plural and the cases include nominative (Nom), accusative (Acc), dative (Dat), genitive (Gen), partitive (Par), instrumental (Ins), and locative (Loc); there may be more. Each noun has either animate (Ani) or inanimate (Ina) gender.
All noun stems end in consonants. Those ending in glide consonants form their plurals by adding [ək] while those ending in other consonants form theirs by adding [əj].
| Tag | Suffix | Case |
|---|---|---|
| -Nom | -ɑ | Nominative |
| -Acc | -ɛ | Accusative |
| -Dat | -əl | Dative |
| -Gen | -uj | Genitive |
| -Par | -ɛç | Partitive |
| -Ins | -ər | Instrumental |
| -Loc | -u | Locative |
Finite verbs are inflected for voice, mood, and aspect. Participles are inflected for voice, animacy, number and case. The voices are active (Act) and passive (Pas) for finite verbs and direct (Dir) and inverse (Inv) for participles. All verb roots end in consonants.
Participles agree with the possibly implied noun in gender, number, and case.
The moods are realis (Ind), irrealis (Irr), and imperative (Imp). The aspects are perfect or retrospective (Ret) and non-perfect (Nop).
| Voice | Aspect | Realis | Irrealis | Imperative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Non-perfect | -i | -ə | -ɛ |
| Active | Perfect | -ijɑ | -əjɑ | -ɛjɑ |
| Passive | Non-perfect | -u | -0 | -ɑ |
| Passive | Perfect | -ujɑ | -jɑ | -ɑjɑ |
The optative (contrafactual) is formed by placing an irrealis form of the auxiliary [ɢɑχ] after the root-stem.
Finite verbs also take enclitic person and number pronouns. Type A pronouns are used on irrealis stems while type B pronouns are used on realis stems. Imperative stems have special 2nd person endings (0 for -2S and -n for -2P).
| Singular | Plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tag | A | B | Tag | A | B |
| 1S | sɛq | sɛ | 1P | sɛn | sɛj |
| - | - | - | NP | tin | tij |
| 2S | ruq | ru | 2P | run | ruj |
| 3S | mɑq | mɑ | 3P | mɑn | mɑj |
| U | xəq | xə | - | - | - |
The order of clause components is SOPV and Modifier-Head, except that relative clauses might follow their heads. Participles follow their objects and adverbs follow the relevent oblique phrase and/or precede the verb.
The nominative, accusative, and locative of glide-stem nouns fall together; otherwise, nouns are basically unchanged except that dorsal-final nouns have fronted and non-fronted stems.
| Tag | C-Stem | V-Stem | Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| -Nom | -ɑ | -0 | Nominative |
| -Acc | -ɛ | -0 | Accusative |
| -Dat | -l̩ | Dative | |
| -Gen | -wi: | Genitive | |
| -Par | -ɛʃ | Partitive | |
| -Ins | -r̩ | Instrumental | |
| -Loc | -u | -0 | Locative |
Verbs are basically unchanged except that dorsal-final roots have fronted and non-fronted stems. The enclitic subject pronouns have become suffixes.
| Voice | Aspect | Realis | Irrealis | Imperative | Optative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sing. | Plur. | |||||
| Active | Non-perfect | -i | -ə | -ɛ | -ɛn | -ɑħə |
| Passive | Non-perfect | -u | -0 | -ɑ | -ɑn | -ɑħ |
| Active | Perfect | -i: | -əi | -ɛi | -ɛin | -ɑħəi |
| Passive | Perfect | -wi: | -jɑ | -ɑi | -ɑin | -ɑħjɑ |
| Singular | Plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tag | A | B | Tag | A | B |
| 1S | -sɛʔ | -sɛ | 1P | -sɛn | -sɛi |
| - | - | - | NP | -tin | -ti: |
| 2S | -ruʔ | -ru | 2P | -run | -rwi: |
| 3S | -mɑʔ | -mɑ | 3P | -mɑn | -mɑi |
| U | -xəʔ | -xə | - | - | - |
Heavy participial clauses have become postposed. Some postposed adverbs and participles have become case suffixes and/or verb prefixes.
The nominative, accusative, and locative of all nouns have fallen together, forming the absolutive case (Abs). The instrumental case is now used for agents and is therefore relabeled the ergative case (Erg). New instrumental, locative, and ablative case suffixes are formed from enclitic adverbs or participles. Vowel-stem declensions develop.
| Tag | C-Stem | V-Stem | Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| -Abs | -ə | -0 | Absolutive |
| -Erg | -a | -r | Ergative |
| -Dat | -u | -l | Dative |
| -Gen | -i: | -wi: | Genitive |
| -Par | -ɛʃ | -ɛʃ | Partitive |
| -Ins | -hɑt | -hɑt | Instrumental |
| -Loc | -le: | -le: | Locative |
| -Abl | -po: | -po: | Ablative |
The active and passive non-perfect realis forms have fallen together in the plural, along with the active non-perfect irrealis and the non-perfect imperative singular. The imperative and irrealis active perfect forms develop the same stem vowel. The active and passive perfect realis forms have fallen together for certain kinds of roots.
| Voice | Aspect | Realis | Irrealis | Imperative | Optative | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sing. | Plur. | Sing. | Plur. | ||||
| Active | Non-perfect | -i * | -ə | -ə * | -ə | -ɛn | -ɑ: |
| Passive | Non-perfect | -u | -0 | -ɑn * | |||
| Active | Perfect | -i: | -e: | -e: | -e:n | -ɑhe: | |
| Passive | Perfect | -(w)i: | -(j)ə | -ɑi * | -ɑin * | -ɑ:jɑ | |
The active or passive perfect irrealis becomes jussive???
| Singular | Plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tag | A | B | Tag | A | B |
| 1S | -sɛ | -s | 1P | -sɛn | -se: |
| - | - | - | NP | -tin | -ti: |
| 2S | -ru | -r | 2P | -run | -ri: |
| 3S | -mɑ | -m | 3P | -mɑn | -mɑi |
| U | -xə | -x | - | - | - |
The passive constructions tend to replace the active constructions, except in the imperative, where the passive constructions fall out of use.
| Tag | C-Stem | V-Stem | Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| -Abs | -(o) | -0 | Absolutive |
| -Erg | -a | -r | Ergative |
| -Dat | -u | -l | Dative |
| -Gen | -i | -wi | Genitive |
| -Par | -ɛʃ | -ɛʃ | Partitive |
| -Ins | -ha | -ha | Instrumental |
| -Loc | -le | -le | Locative |
| -Abl | -po | -po | Ablative |
| Tense | Indicative | Future | Jussive | Imperative | Optative | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sing. | Plur. | Sing. | Plur. | Sing. | Plur. | |||
| Non-past | -u | -o | -0 | -ɔ | -o | -o * | -ɛn | -a |
| -ɛ * | -e * | -e | ||||||
| Past | -i | - | - | - | -ahe | |||
| -aja * | ||||||||
The future and optative take ending set A. The indicative and jussive take ending set B. The imperative takes no endings.
| Singular | Plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tag | A | B | Tag | A | B |
| 1S | -so | -s | 1P | -sɛn | -si |
| - | - | - | NP | -tin | -ti |
| 2S | -ro | -r | 2P | -run | -ri |
| 3S | -mo | -n | 3P | -man | -me |
| U | -xo | -x | - | - | - |
page started: 2013.Feb.19 Tue
current date: 2013.Feb.20 Wed
content and form originated by qiihoskeh
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