| Ring A next: | Jarda |
| Ring A previous: | iljena |
The child is panicked. He says to me: “At twilight the fox will come to the village!” He doesn’t know the truth is that the fox went into its burrow.
“Will the fox be hungry? Will it look in the hole in the tree, which is easy to get into for a fox that lives in a burrow?” says the child, “I don’t want the fox to eat Thomas!”
I ask, “Is Thomas in good health?”
The child says that Thomas often finds water in the hole in the tree.
I ask, “Is Thomas a bird?”
The child says he has the idea that his grandparent’s spirit inhabits the bird. His father’s father’s name was Thomas. Grandfather had a damaged left arm, and the bird has a damaged left wing.
This is why the child wants the fox not to eat the bird.
The child is afraid. He says to me: in the evening the fox will come to the village!
He doesn't know that actually the fox is in its burrow.
Will the fox be hungry? Will it look in the hole in the tree? The fox lives in a burrow, truly it can get into the hole! I don't want the fox eating Thomas!! - says the child.
Is Thomas healthy? - I say.
The child says, that Thomas often finds water in the hole in the tree.
Is Thomas a bird? - I say.
The child says, that grandfather's spirit entered the bird. The child's paternal grandfather was called "Thomas". The grandfather was injured in the left arm, and the bird is injured in the left wing.
Therefore the child doesn't want the fox eating the bird.
The following letters should appear as described:
Latin small letter open e: ɛ
Latin small letter open e with acute accent: ɛ́
a with acute: á
e with acute: é
i with acute: í
o with acute: ó
u with acute: ú
y with acute: ý
Latin small letter l with belt: ɬ (lateral fricative)
nipɛ́mip coruléripe. ac tépe tach: alómadi viɛ́lacum khíp kicílvevn!
katɛ́rɛnpe, kɛ tyáli khíp modífiadisopn.
khíp kigóklen? sénetic na-latɛ́mdisopn kicirlóken? khíp modífiac kílipn, tyáli sénetic círasapn! tómasic khípmo pelóbamic kadipáripa! — tach nipɛ́mip tépe.
tómas týlicisokipn? — tach tépa.
nipɛ́mip tépe, kɛ tómas latɛ́mno séneticum liɛ́lic minúrapn.
tómas tírrdesokipn? — tach tépa.
nipɛ́mip tépe, kɛ aɬánno tyléaty tírrdec tecíravn. aɬán nipɛ́mipno “tómas” telahutévte. aɬán tevahrofejákave, te tírrde varaleajákapn.
káɬir nipɛ́mip tírrdec khípmo pelóbamic kadipáripe.
| 1st p. s. | first person singular |
| 3rd p. p. | third person plural |
| 3rd p. s. m. | third person singular, male |
| 3rd p. s. n. | third person singular, neuter |
| adj. | adjective |
| adp. | adposition |
| adv. | adverb |
| conj. | conjunction |
| deriv. | derivational affix |
| n. | noun |
| part. | particle |
| pron. | pronoun |
| suff. | suffix |
| v. | verb |
| a | pron. | 1st p. s. (I) |
| aléa | n. | wing |
| alóma | n. | evening; the early part of the night |
| aɬán | n. | one's same-sex parent's same-sex parent |
| c | part. | accusative case ending |
| cirló | v. | to look into the interior of something |
| coruléri | v. | to feel fear |
| cum, icum | adp. | in |
| cílve | v. | come, approach, arrive |
| círa | v. | come into, go into, enter |
| di | adp. | at, to (locative) |
| dipári | v. | to want, to desire |
| e | part. | perfective aspect (after consonants) |
| e | pron. | 3rd p. s. m. (he) |
| gól | v. | to hunger, be hungry |
| ic | part. | accusative case ending |
| icum, cum | adp. | in |
| ip | part. | imperfective aspect (after consonants) |
| jáka | deriv. | be injured in the body part to which it is suffixed |
| k | infix, suff. | interrogative particle |
| ka | part. | negation prefix |
| khíp | n. | fox |
| ki | part. | future tense (before consonants) |
| káɬir | adv. | therefore |
| kíli | v. | to dwell, inhabit |
| kɛ | adv. | "that" (head of sub. clause) |
| lahuté | v. | to call (someone something) |
| latɛ́m | n. | tree |
| liɛ́l | n. | water |
| lóba | v. | to eat |
| m | part. | end of gerundive circumfix |
| mi | part. | habitual/frequent derivational prefix |
| mo | part. | agentive suffix |
| modífia | n. | burrow, diggings |
| n | pron. | 3rd p. s. n. (it) |
| na | part. | relativizing prefix |
| nipɛ́mip | n. | child |
| no | adp. | of |
| núra | v. | look for, search |
| yinúra | v. | to find |
| minúra | v. | to habitually look for *or* find |
| p | part. | imperfective aspect (after vowels) |
| pe- -m | part. | gerundive circumfix |
| sa | deriv. | potential of verb |
| so | deriv. | to be X |
| sénet | n. | a hollow, shallow hole |
| tach | adv. | quotative adverb "thus", introduces or follows direct quotation |
| te | conj. | and |
| te | part. | past tense (before consonants) |
| te | pron. | 3rd p. p. (they) |
| tyléaty | n. | spirit |
| tyáli | adv. | truly |
| té | v. | to say (something) |
| tírrde | n. | bird |
| tómas | proper name | |
| týlici | adj. | healthy |
| tɛ́rɛn | v. | know |
| v | part. | perfective aspect (after vowels) |
| vahrófe | n. | left hand |
| var | part. | derivational prefix meaning the lefthand side |
| viɛ́la | n. | village, small town |
| 1s | first person singular verb ending |
| 3p | third person plural verb ending |
| 3s.m | third person singular male verb ending |
| 3s.n | third person singular neuter verb ending |
| ACC | accusative case |
| ADJ | adjective |
| ADP | adposition |
| ADV | adverb |
| AGT | agentive case |
| CONJ | conjunction |
| DERIV | derivational morpheme |
| FT | future tense |
| GEN | genitive case |
| GER | gerundive circumfix |
| IMPF | imperfective aspect |
| N | noun |
| NEG | negation |
| PF | perfective aspect |
| PT | past tense |
| Q | question (interrogative) affix |
| REL | relative clause |
| V | verb |
| nipɛ́mip | coruléri | -p | -e |
| N | V | -IMPF | -3s.m |
| a | -c | té | -p | -e | tach | alóma | -di | viɛ́la | -cum | khíp | ki- | cílve | -v | -n |
| 1s | -ACC | V | -IMPF | -3s.m | ADV | N | -ADP | N | -ADP | N | FT- | V | -PF | -3s.n |
| ka- | tɛ́rɛn | -p | -e | kɛ | tyáli | khíp | modífia | -di | -so | -p | -n |
| NEG- | V | -IMPF | -3s.m | REL | ADV | N | N | -ADP | -DERIV | -IMPF | -3s.n |
| khíp | ki- | gó[k]l | -e | -n |
| N | FT- | V[Q] | -PF | -3s.n |
| sénet | -ic | na- | latɛ́m | -di | -so | -p | -n | ki- | cirló | -k | -e | -n |
| N | -ACC | REL- | N | -ADP | -DERIV | -IMPF | -3s.n | FT- | V | -Q | -PF | -3s.n |
| khíp | modífia | -c | kíli | -p | -n | tyáli | sénet | -ic | círa | -sa | -p | -n |
| N | N | -ACC | V | -IMPF | -3s.n | ADV | N | -ACC | V | -DERIV | -IMPF | -3s.n |
| tómas | -ic | khíp | -mo | pe- | lóba | -m | -ic | ka- | dipári | -p | -a |
| N | -ACC | N | -AGT | GER- | V | -GER | -ACC | NEG- | V | -IMPF | -1s |
| tach | nipɛ́mip | té | -p | -e |
| ADV | N | V | -IMPF | -3s.m |
| tómas | týlici | -so | -k | -ip | -n | tach | té | -p | -a |
| N | ADJ | -DERIV | -Q | -IMPF | -3s.n | ADV | V | -IMPF | -1s |
| nipɛ́mip | té | -p | -e |
| N | V | -IMPF | -3s.m |
| kɛ | tómas | latɛ́m | -no | sénet | -icum | liɛ́l | -ic | mi- | núra | -p | -n |
| REL | N | N | -GEN | N | -ADP | N | -ACC | DEIV- | V | -IMPF | -3s.n |
| tómas | tírrde | -so | -k | -ip | -n | tach | té | -p | -a |
| N | N | -DERIV | -Q | -IMPF | -3s.n | ADV | V | -IMPF | -1s |
| nipɛ́mip | té | -p | -e | kɛ | aɬán | -no | tyléaty | tírrde | -c | te- | círa | -v | -n |
| N | V | -IMPF | -3s.m | REL | N | -GEN | N | N | -ACC | PT- | V | -PF | -3s.n |
| aɬán | nipɛ́mip | -no | tómas | te- | lahuté | -v | -te |
| N | N | -GEN | N | PT- | V | -PF | -3p |
| aɬán | te- | vahrofe | -jáka | -v | -e | te | tírrde | var- | alea | -jáka | -p | -n |
| N | PT- | V | -DERIV | -PF | -3s.m | CONJ | N | DERIV- | N | -DERIV | -IMPF | -3s.n |
| káɬir | nipɛ́mip | tírrde | -c | khíp | -mo | pe- | lóba | -m | -ic | ka- | dipári | -p | -e |
| ADV | N | N | -ACC | N | -AGT | GER- | V | -GER | -ACC | NEG- | V | -IMPF | -3s.m |
Some of the grammar, like conjunctions and the relations between clauses, is very similar to English. Adjectives do not agree in case, number or postpositions with the noun. The major differences in word order are that merɛ́chi features postpositional phrases (just like prepositional only backwards), that adjectives (and all other modifiers except the article) follow the noun, and that word order is SOV in declarative sentences.
The other major difference is the agglutinative verb complex, described further down.
Clitic suffixes indicate noun case and a wide range of adpositional meanings. The agent or subject is unmarked for case, although the agentive suffix -mo ("by") is used to show the demoted agent of a nominalized verb. Other common postposition clitics include -(i)c for accusative, -no for the genitive and -di for the locative. Many postpositional phrase-words can be further derived into verbs via the derivational suffix -so.
Subordinate clauses are headed by "kɛ": "I know that you understand" would be "tɛ́rɛnpa, kɛ símopda". This is the strategy used for indirect quotation of speech. For direct quotation, the quoted speech is offset from the speech verb by the word "tach", meaning "thus": "He said, 'I know'" would be "tetéve tach: tɛ́rɛnpa" or "tɛ́rɛnpa - tach tetéve".
Verbs take an optional negative prefix, an optional tense or mood prefix, optional derivational prefixes and suffixes (such as the causative, passive, inceptive, potentiative, and equative), a mandatory aspect suffix, and a mandatory pronoun/agreement suffix. If no tense or mood prefix appears, the verb is in present tense.
Example:
| kakitínidepa | ||||
| ka- | ki- | tínide | -p | -a |
| NEG | FT | remember | IMP | 1P.SG |
| "I will not remember" | ||||
Perfective aspect is used for simple past actions; imperfective is used in the past tense to show that someone habitually used to do something, or was doing it for some time; the present tense usually uses the imperfective.
Interrogatives are marked with the infix "-k-", which follows the stressed vowel (or in verbs derived with -so "to be", a suffixed -k follows -so).
Tense prefixes:
| ki-, k- | future |
| te-, t- | past |
Aspect suffixes:
| -p, -ip, -n | imperfective |
| -v, -e | perfective |
Pronouns can appear as verb suffixes, in which case they agree with or are the subject of the verb, or they can appear elsewhere as independent words with a case or postpositional suffix. If the sentence appears to have no subject, the subject is the pronoun on the verb. Otherwise, the subject will be the noun without a case suffix or postposition, and will agree with the pronoun on the verb.
Derivational affixes are used heavily in verb formation. Affixes are accretive; they build upon those already attached to the word. Examples using the abilitative suffix -sa and the passive suffix -fá:
| hála | - to do | - eg. I do it |
| hálasa | - to be able to do | - eg. I can do it |
| halafá | - to be done | - eg. It is done |
| halafása | - to be able to be done | - eg. It can be done |
Note that some derivational affixes remove the accent from its original syllable and take it for themselves.
merɛ́chi has a passive participle formed with the suffix -(e)fi, and an active participle formed with the suffix -(í)pi. There is also a gerund form, which sometimes acts as a participle as well, consisting of a circumfix (a prefix p- or pe-, plus a suffix -m or -im):
| aníle | - to sing |
| panílem | - singing |
| shír | - to grow |
| peshírim | - growing |
This gerund can be used in place of simple subordinate clauses, retaining its object with the accusative suffix and its subject with an agentive suffix added. When used thus, the gerund usually takes an accusative suffix.
| tírrde káshic lóbavn | - a bird eats a nut |
| tírrdemo káshic pelóbamic ɛ́lna | - I see the bird eating a nut |
page started: 2018.Jan.27 Sat
current date: 2018.Feb.15 Thu
content originated by Amanda Babcock Furrow
form originated by qiihoskeh
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