Legend: Definitions, Terms, <Text>, [IPA], -Tags-, and "Glosses".
A phrase is either a pronoun or a noun phrase. Each noun phrase is either an adverbial phrase or a markable phrase, depending on the type of head noun. Markable phrases are used as possessors and argument phrases. Argument phrases are used as subjects and objects. Pronouns are always markable.
A noun phrase may contain a determiner, a quantity word, any number of participles, and a noun acting as head, appearing in that order; only the head noun is required. If the head noun is an adverbial noun, it's not marked for case or number and the phrase is adverbial; otherwise the phrase is markable. A markable phrase also has the attribute of gender (animate or inanimate) as well, determined by the head noun of the phrase.
| sī čof xēnat lāpis | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| sī | čof | xan<ya>t | lep-ī-s |
| Prox | "2" | angry<Don> | man-P-Erg |
| "these 2 angry men" | |||
Non-referential markable phrases lack determiners and quantity words. A referential markable phrase with no determiner is anaphoric or otherwise definite.
The demonstratives are used both spatially and metaphorically. There are 2 ways that the demonstratives can constrast; which one applies depends on the context.
| Tag | Name | Contrast 1 | Contrast 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prox | Proximal | 1st person | Inclusive person |
| Medi | Medial | 2nd person | 3rd person (non-remote) |
| Dist | Distal | 3rd person | 3rd person remote |
Certain adverbs may appear in phrases immediately preceding content words, such as the scalar degree and precision adverbs (covered in the Scalar Syntax chapter). In addition, the time-when adverb ? "now" may be used immediately before a verb to indicate absolute present tense for that verb.
The phrase may be preceded by a possessor phrase in the genitive case instead of containing a determiner.
| līpan tar hešān yemmī | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| lep-a-n | tar | hoš<yā>n | yemm-ī |
| man-S-Gen | "3" | sleep<Rec> | cat-P |
| "the man's 3 sleeping cats" | |||
The partitive, ordinal, and superlative constructions have similar syntax. They all select a part from a whole, albeit by different criteria. The whole is denoted by a preceding phrase in the genitive case which is either plural or representing a mass quantity.
The superlative selects according to a set-wide comparison with respect to some scalar quality, represented by a superlative nominal derived from the scalar verb. The ordinal selects according to position in some kind of sequence, represented by an ordinal number, which is also a nominal. In both cases, a quantity word specifying the cardinality of the part may immediately precede the superlative or ordinal word.
The partitive doesn't specify the criteria; here, the part is represented by the quantity word, which is required.
One of the participle's arguments is relativized and doesn't appear; the other may precede the participle, although limited to either a proclitic pronoun or the combining form of a noun.
Assuming that the verb root is bivalent, the participle is active if the agent is relativized, in which case the other argument is the patient. Otherwise, the participle is passive (the patient is relativized) and the other argument is either the agent or an instrument.
If the non-relativized argument of a participle doesn't appear, its value is unspecified, unlike the object of a finite verb.
An action nominal may be preceded by the combining form of a noun representing the patient. The referentiality and number of the patient are marked on the action nominal. The genitive possessor may be used to represent the agent.
Phrases can be conjoined. All but the last phrase in the sequence takes one of the phrase conjunction particles (aggregate or alternate).
A clause contains, at minimum, a verb form. It may also contain argument phrases, adverbial phrases, postpositional phrases, and adverbs. The arguments of the verb are the subject, which takes the ergative case and has the more agent-like role, and the object, which takes the absolutive case and has the more patient-like role. The absolutive case is also used for the objects of postpositions.
The least marked order is:
TemporalAdverb Agent PostpositionalPhrase Patient Verb
As in the following:
| līpas yemma von čamūsa norī'a. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| lep-a-s | yemm-a | von | čam<ū>s-a | nor<ī>'-a |
| man-S-Erg | cat-S | Dat | eat<Thm>-S | give<Inan>-Aor |
| "The man gave food to the cat." | ||||
However, the following places a definite patient before an indefinite agent:
| yemma vī tar lāpis mīnehar. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yemm-a | vī | tar | lep-ī-s | men<e>h-a-r |
| cat-S | Ind | "3" | man-P-Erg | see<Anim>-Aor-3P |
| "3 men saw the cat." | ||||
Arguments often appear as phrases or as proclitic pronouns, but may be omitted.
The free personal pronouns in the absolutive and ergative cases, along with the reflexive pronoun in the absolutive case are used for contrastive focus.
An identity clause indicates whether the referents of 2 phrases are the same, with one phrase acting as the ergative agent and the other the absolutive patient. The head of the clause is an active form of the positive or negative identity copula (lē and nō, respectively). Note that either both phrases are non-referential or both phrases are referential.
A definition clause indicates whether the referent of its subject phrase is a subset of the referent of its complement phrase. The subject phrase is ergative while the complement phrase is absolutive. The head of the clause is an active form of the positive or negative definition copula (rī and pō, respectively) with the subject as agent and the complement as patient. Complements are normally non-referential.
An existence clause indicates whether the referent of its single absolutive argument exists. The head of the clause is a passive form of the positive or negative definition copula (rī and pō, respectively).
The kinds of complete sentences are the basic sentence, the conditional sentence, and the satisfactive sentence. Basic and conditional sentences may be commands, statements, content questions, or polar questions; satisfactive sentences are usually statements, although polar questions are possible.
Each basic sentence is a sequence of clauses or clause chain consisting of, at minimum, a final clause. This may be preceded by any number of coordinate clauses. Any final or coordinate clause may be preceded by (and therefore be the host or matrix of) a number of subordinate clauses. Subordinate clauses function as complement clauses, as relative clauses, and as adjunct clauses.
A conditional sentence consists of a condition followed by a conclusion. The conclusion is a basic sentence; the condition is a similar clause chain except that its final clause has the form of a statement terminated by the particle ? If. If the conditional sentence is contrary-to-fact, both final clauses have contrafactual modality; otherwise, neither do.
A satisfactive sentence consists of a satisfactive subordinate clause followed by a conditional or basic sentence.
These conjunctions are clause-terminating particles which include the coordinating conjunctions and the subordinating conjunctions. These particles are summarized in the following table:
| Word | Tag | Name | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| ? | Seq | Sequential Conjunction | Coordinate |
| ? | Sim | Simultaneous Conjunction | |
| ? | Dis | Disjunction | |
| ? | Tmp | Temporal Adjunct | Subordinate |
The coordinating conjunctions specify logical conjunction or disjunction and, if the former, whether the situation denoted by the clause occurs before or at the same time as that of the next final or coordinate clause.
A relative clause is an internally-headed subordinate clause replacing an argument or possessor phrase in the matrix clause to which it's preposed. That phrase is replaced in the matrix clause by the correlative pronoun yo (Cor). The head phrase within the relative clause contains the relative determiner hō (Rel). Only one relative clause can appear for a given matrix clause.
There are no headless relative clauses (i.e. those modifying null noun phrases); a form of the pronoun IRP is used as the head phrase for indefinite relative clauses.
A complement clause is a subordinate clause acting as the object of the following matrix clause. Unlike a relative clause (which represents a set of entities), a complement clause denotes a situation. The head of the matrix clause must be a verb of a type that permits situational objects.
Modal auxiliaries exist in complementary pairs, denoting necessity and possibility. There are 4 pairs here: epistemic, deontic, volitive, and natural. Epistemic necessity (EN) and possibility (EP) appear as post-final particles; the others are verbs appearing in matrix clauses.
Other auxiliary verbs include the conative (Con), denoting an attempted action.
Negation is accomplished by placing pō, which is an impersonal negative form of the copula, after the verb.
In a compound tense construction, the matrix verb is an impersonal form of the copula specifying past or future tense; it may be positive or negative. The complement verb must have a marked aspect which is either progressive, habitual, perfect, or prospective. If the aspect is unmarked, the aoristic and prospective forms of the complement verb are used instead of adding the copula.
All other subordinate clauses are adjuncts. The adjuncts that are indicated by conjunctions include temporal relations, purpose, means, and cause. Unmarked adjuncts, such as the standard of comparison, are used as well, substituting for certain embedded constructions in other languages, such as secondary predicates.
The aspect of the subordinate verb in a temporal adjunct clause determines the temporal relationship between the subordinate clause and its host clause. The following table shows the relations between the time of the adjunct situation and the time of the host situation.
| Tag | Aspect | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| Aor | Aoristic | adjunct during host |
| Stative | host during adjunct | |
| Prg | Progressive | |
| Prf | Perfect | host after adjunct |
| Pro | Prospective | host before adjunct |
Each verb root or stem has an action type; the basic usage of each follows:
Noun roots and stems can be said to have a 5th action type, inherent.
Aspects specify the stage that the situation is at with respect to a temporal point of reference determined by the context the verb appears in.
In a final clause, the aspect marking can effectively specify absolute tense, with the aoristic being past and the prospective being future; the others specify their respective aspects in a present context.
In a coordinate clause, the aspect must be either habitual or unmarked, except that telic verbs should be marked aoristic unless the matrix time is absolute present.
In a subordinate clause, the aspect marking may function as relative tense, with the perfect being past and the prospective being future; the others specify their respective aspects in a relatively present context. The exception is that if the matrix time is absolute present, the aoristic has an absolute past or future interpretation, depending on the matrix verb.
The aspect of a participle may also function as relative tense.
page started: 2016.Aug.02 Tue
current date: 2016.Aug.10 Wed
content and form originated by qiihoskeh
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