Antarctican/Verbs

In the Antarctican language, there are no adjectives. Instead of adjectives meaning "red", "old" or "tall", there are verbs meaning "to be red", "to be old", "to be tall" etc. So instead of saying "the tall tree", you would say "the tree that is tall".

These verbs are clearly marked for transitivity (e.g. a different verb is used in the sentence "The door opened" compared to the sentence "I opened the door", and also inflect for whether they are putting focus on themselves or on nouns in the sentence (done via changing the end of the root). They also take infixes to indicate pronominal objects and voice changes (which is conflated with aspect marking). As well as this, they take prefixes to indicate pronominal subjects (which is conflated with tense marking).

Focus

Verbs have a root form, from which various other base forms are derived. The two most important of these base forms are the verb-focus base and the noun-focus base. Below is a list of verb roots with their corresponding verb-focus and noun-focus bases:

 

doleegi /doleːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

doleeju /doleːɟu/ - to drag, intransitive, verb-focus

`tùlòoezi /ʱtuʱlɘʱːzi/ – to drag, intransitive, noun-focus

 

`ròedu /ʱʁɘdu/ - red, root

`ròedla /ʱʁɘʱdɮa/ - red, verb-focus

`ròedù /ʱʁɘʱduʱ/ - red, noun-focus

 

'kiraeypyi /kiʁɛipʲi/ - to become scraped, root

'kiraeypyu /kiʁɛipʲu/ - to become scraped, verb-focus

'kiraypùe /kiʁa;ipɨʱ/ - to become scraped, noun-focus

 

Verb-Focus Base

This is used to put focus on the verb ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_(linguistics) ) i.e. when the most important "new" information that is being communicated to the listener is the action being done in the verb, rather than the nouns that are doing it or it is being done to. How it is formed from the root is regular, but the rules are somewhat complex and depend on whether the last syllable of the base begins with a soft or hard consonant:

Final Consonant is Soft

If the final consonant (not including any placeless nasal /ɴ/) is soft, infix -iq-/iʔ/ immediately after it e.g.

 

hlõ /ɬɔ/ - to perform, root

hli-õ /ɬiʔɔ/ - to perform, verb-focus

 

However, many vowels shift when this happens e.g.

 

éypyii /ʔeiˤpʲiː/ - to spit out, root

éypyi-eey /ʔeiˤpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, verb-focus

 

inyelee /ʔiɲeleː/ - to pierce, root

inyeli-aa /ʔiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, verb-focus

 

kiveluun /kiɥeluːɴ/ - to die, root

kiveli-ewn /kiɥeliʔeuɴ/ - to die, verb-focus

 

These vowel shifts are all in a roughly anti-clockwise directions around the vowel space. The shifts are listed below:

i /i/ -> e /e/

ii /iː/ -> ey /ei/

e /e/ -> a /a/

ee /eː/ -> aa /aː/

a /a/ -> u /u/

aa /aː/ -> uu /uː/

u /u/ -> i /i/

uu /uː/ -> ew /eu/

ey /ei/ -> ay /ai/

eey /eːi/ -> aay /aːi/

ay /ai/ -> uy /ui/

aay /aːi/ -> uuy /uːi/

uy /ui/ -> ii /iː/

ew /eu/ -> aw /au/

eew /eːu/ -> aaw /aːu/

aw /au/ -> ow /ou/

aaw /aːu/ -> oow /oːu/

 

Final Consonant is Hard

If the final consonant (not including any placeless nasal /ɴ/) is hard, change it to be soft e.g.

 

yuentorõ /jɨɴtoʁɔ/ - to introduce oneself, root

yuentolõ /jɨɴtolɔ/ - to introduce oneself, verb-focus

 

However, many vowels shift when this happens e.g.

 

nangarew /naŋaʁeu/ - to flow, root

nangaluu /naŋaluː/ - to flow, verb-focus

 

'kirami /ˤkiʁami/ - to swell up, root

'kiramyu /ˤkiʁamʲu/ - to swell up, verb-focus

 

imuepu /ʔimɨpu/ - to sit down, root

imuepya /ʔimɨpʲa/ - to sit down, verb-focus

 

These vowel changes are often the reverse of what happens if the final vowel of the stem is a soft consonant. The vowel shifts are all roughly clockwise around the vowel space, and are listed below:

i /i/ -> u /u/

u /u/ -> a /a/

uu /uː/ -> aa /aː/

a /a/ -> e /e/

aa /aː/ -> ee /eː/

e /e/ -> i /i/ * For some words only, see below.

ee /eː/ -> ii /iː/

ii /iː/ -> uy /ui/

uy /ui/ -> ay /ai/

uuy /uːi/ -> aay /aːi/

ay /ai/ -> ey /ei/

aay /aːi/ -> eey /eːi/

ey /ei/ -> ii /iː/

eey /eːi/ -> ii /iː/

ow /ou/ -> aw /au/

oow /oːu/ -> aaw /aːu/

aw /au/ -> ew /eu/

aaw /aːu/ -> eew /eːu/

ew /eu/ -> uu /uː/

eew /eːu/ -> uu /uː/

 

Vowel Phonation Changes

A few verb stems that end in a hard consonant and e /e/ behave differently. If the consonant is an obstruent and the vowel is short, has modal voice and not followed by -n /ɴ/, then the syllable is deleted and voice put onto the preceding syllable(s). This voice is breathy if the deleted obstruent was voiced, and tense if it was voiceless e.g.

 

nuetoze /nɨtoze/ - to be fed on, root

nitù /nituʱ/ - to be fed on, verb-focus

siboete /sibɘte/ - to all be present, root

sipáe /sipɛˤ/ - to all be present, verb-focus (remember that Antarctican does not like voiced obstruents before vowels with breathy voice).

 

The breathy voice “spreads” backwards through the word, changing vowel phonation with it, until it hits a voiceless obstruent or prestopped nasal e.g.

 

madoze /madoze/ - to give birth, intransitive, root

`màotù /ʱmɜʱtuʱ/ - to give birth, intransitive, verb-focus

 

nyiibe /ɲiːbe/ - to snow, root

`nyùue /ʱɲɨːʱ/ - to snow, verb-focus

 

san-gize /saɴgize/ - to bleed, root

sàon-gùe /sɜʱɴgɨʱ/ - to bleed, verb-focus

 

Tense voice "spreads" backwards in a similar way, except that it passes through voiceless stops and not through voiced stops, fricatives, or prestopped nasals e.g.

daraeke /daʁɛke/ - to cover, root

tárá /taˤʁaˤ/ - to cover, verb-focus

 

Noun-Focus Base

This is used to put focus on the (non-topicalised) noun(s) in the sentence.

 

Regular Formation

The default way of forming it is by putting breathy voice on the final vowel of the base, and changing the vowel quality in the same way as normal e.g.

 

éypyii /ʔeiʔpʲiː/ - to spit out, root

éypyùey /ʔeiˤpʲɨiʱ/ - to spit out, noun-focus

 

This breathy voice “spreads” to the left until it hits a voiceless obstruent or a prestopped nasal e.g.

 

gowpeyee /goupejeː/ - to suffer a setback, root

gowpòeyòoe /goupɘʱjɘːʱ/ - to suffer a setback, noun-focus

 

inyelee /ʔiɲeleː/ - to pierce, root

ùenyòelòoe /ʔɨʱɲɘʱleː/ - to pierce, noun-focus

 

kiveluun /kiɥeluːɴ/ - to die, root

kùevòelùun /kɨʱɥɘʱluːɴʱ/ - to die, noun-focus

 

Remember that Antarctican only permits voiced obstruents, prestopped nasals, and fricatives other than /s/, before vowels with modal voice. So if this vowel phonation change would produce such a forbidden sequence, then the consonant changes e.g.

 

hlõ /ɬɔ/ - to perform, root

lào /lɜʱ/ - to perform, noun-focus

 

These changes do not affect phonation spreading though, as we can see from:

 

madoze /madoze/ - to give birth, intransitive, root

`màotùsòe /ʱmɜʱtuʱsɘʱ/ - to give birth, intransitive, noun-focus

 

nyiibe /ɲiːbe/ - to snow, root

`nyùeypòe /ʱɲɨipɘʱ/ - to snow, noun-focus

 

san-gize /saɴgize/ - to bleed, root

sàonkùesòe /sɜɴʱkɨʱsɜʱ/ - to bleed, noun-focus

 

When a consonant such as a voiceless obstruent or prestopped nasal blocks the phonation spreading, if the vowel preceding it is /ɨ/ or /ɘ/ with modal voice (or a diphthong beginning with one), then fronts to /i/ or /e/ respectively e.g.

 

yuentorõ /jɨɴtoʁɔ/ - to introduce oneself, root

yintùrào /jiɴtuʱʁɜʱ/ - to introduce oneself, noun-focus

 

imuepu /ʔimɨpu/ - to sit down, root

imipù /ʔimipuʱ/ - to sit down, noun-focus

 

nuetoze /nitoze/ - to be fed on, root

nitùsòe /nituʱsɘʱ/ - to be fed on, noun-focus

 

poensaa /pɘɴsaː/ - to be lost in deep thought, root

pensàao /peɴsɜːʱ/ - to be lost in deep thought, noun-focus

 

If the vowel is /ɛ/, or a diphthong starting with /ɛ/, before the blocking consonant, then it lowers to /a/ e.g.

'kiraeypi /kiʁɛipi/ - to become scraped, root

'kiraypùe /kiʁaipɨʱ/ - to become scraped, noun-focus

 

Final Syllable Replacement

In addition to this, some verbs lose their final syllable, which is replaced with –zi e.g.

 

doleegi /doleːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

tùlòoezi /tuʱlɘːʱzi/ – to drag, intransitive, noun-focus (-gùe has been replaced with -zi).

 

bilidli /bilidɮi/ - to make it across, root

pùelùezi /pɨʱlɨʱzi/ - to make it across, noun-focus

 

This process happens under well defined conditions. Both of the last two syllables of the verb root must have modal voice. Also the final vowel must be a short /i/ and not followed by a nasal vowel. The consonant immediately before this must be a voiced obstruent. And, in the proto-language, the verb root must have had pitch-accent on any syllable other than the final one.

 

Restrictive / Non-Restrictive Modifiers

When verbs / adjectives are used as modifiers, the verb-focus form is used when the modifier is non restrictive ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictiveness ), and the noun-focus form is used when the modifier is restrictive e.g. from the work teyláae /teilɛˤː/ - shirt, we can say:

teyláae `ròedla /teilɛːˤ ʱʁɘʱdɮa/ – a red shirt (non-restrictive)

teyláae `ròedù /teilɛːˤ ʱʁɘʱduʱ/ – the red shirt (restrictive)

Verbalisation

Antarctican has a very productive process for to convert a noun N into an intransitive verb root meaning “to become N” / “to be N / to do what N does”. How this is done depends on the voicing of the last vowel of the absolutive form of the noun

 

Last Vowel of Abs. Form has Modal Voice

In this case, the verb root is identical to the absolutive form e.g.

 

zive /ziɥe/ - boat, absolutive

zive /ziɥe/ - to be a boat, verb root

 

buraza /buʁaza/ - brother, absolutive

buraza /buʁaza/ - to be a brother, verb root

 

yuenpiluy - /jɨɴpilui/ - employee, absolutive

yuenpiluy - /jɨɴpilui/ - employee, verb root

 

Other Cases

However, if the final vowel of the absolutive form has tense or breathy voice, the verb stem is formed from the ergative form of the noun, minus any final –n e.g.

 

ùylòen /ʔuiʱlɜɴʱ/ - island, absolutive

oylendun /ʔoileɴdun/ - island, ergative

oylendu /ʔoileɴdu/ - to be an island, verb root

 

péy /peiˤ/ - book, absolutive

péykin /peiˤkiɴ/ - book, ergative

péyki /peiˤki/ - to be a book, verb root

 

támá /taˤmaˤ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

damaesin /damɛsiɴ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, ergative

damaesi /damɛsi/ - to be a victim of a scam / swindle, verb root

 

màao /mɜʱː/ - betel nut, absolutive

pmaagin /pmaːgiɴ/ - betel nut, ergative

pmaagi /pmaːgi/ - to be a betel nut, verb stem

 

`pùelùe /ʱpɨʱlɨʱ/ - bridge, absolutive

bilidlin /bilidɮiɴ/ - bridge, ergative

bilidli /bilidɮi/ - to be bridge / to make it across, verb stem

 

`pàoy /ʱpɜiʱ/ - baby, absolutive

baybyin /baibʲiɴ/ - baby, ergative

baybyi /baibʲi/ - to be a baby, verb stem

 

pàoy /pɜiʱ/ - page, absolutive

paydlin /paidɮiɴ/ - page, ergative

paydli /paidɮi/ - to be a page, verb stem

Transitivity

 

Whether a verb is transitive or intransitive Transitivity^[*] is very important in Antarctican syntax. Unlike English, where a verb such as "drag" can either be used transitively (as in the sentence "He was dragging his pants along the ground"), or intransitively (as in the sentence "His pants were dragging along the ground"), Antarctican uses distinct verb roots for each case e.g.

 

doleeju /doleːɟu/ - to drag, intransitive, verb-focus (as in "his pants were dragging along the ground")

dleeju /dɮeːɟu/ - to drag, transitive, verb-focus (as in "he was dragging his pants along the ground")

 

`tùlòoezi /ʱtuʱlɘʱːzi/ – to drag, intransitive, noun-focus

`tlòoezi /ʱtɬɘʱːzi/– to drag, transitive, noun-focus

 

Very commonly, transitive roots are formed from intransitive roots by deletion of the first vowel and the second consonant. And if, out of the first and second consonants, one was soft and the other hard, the first consonant is changed to agree in hardness / softness with the second (deleted) consonant e.g.

 

doleegi /doleːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

dleegi /dɮeːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

 

shinari /çinaʁi/ - to twist, intransitive, root

hari /χaʁi/ - to twist, transitive, root

 

The transitive roots are then inflected for focus e.g.

 

shinari /çinaʁi/ - to twist, intransitive, root

shinali /çinali/ - to twist, intransitive, verb-focus

yùenàorùe /jɨʱnɜʱʁɨʱ/ - to twist, intransitive, noun-focus

 

hari /χaʁi/ - to twist, transitive, root

hali /χali/ - to twist, transitive, verb-focus

ràorùe /ʁɜʱʁɨʱ/ - to twist, transitive, noun-focus

Voice and Object Marking

Grammatical voice is very important in Antarctican. It is conflated with pronominal object marking, both only affecting transitive verbs and usually using infixes that come immediately after the first consonant of the verb base. As with elsewhere in the language, these are not differentiated for number, although there is an inclusive and exclusive “us”.

Infixation

This is the default way of marking pronominal objects and grammatical voice. In each case there are two forms of the infix, one that contains a hard consonant that is used with verbs beginning with hard consonants, and another that contains a soft consonant that is used with verbs beginning with soft consonants. Note that there is no infix to mark 3rd person objects. Instead the antipassive voice is used. The infixes are listed below in pairs, with the hard version coming first and then the soft version.

Infixes for Voice and Object Pronouns

	Hard Form	Soft Form
1PS Exclusive	em	imy
1PS Inclusive	as	ehl
2PS	õs	õhl
who	ar	el
what	ab	eby
Reflexive	er	il
Perfective Antipassive	ut / ów(tq)s (see below)	atl
Imperfective Antipassive	am	emy
Superordinate	át(q)	áet(q)l

These come immediately after the first consonant of the verb base e.g.

damaehlu /damɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle, verb-focus

dõsamaehlu /dɔsamɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle you, verb-focus

damaehlu /damɛɬu/ - to scam, verb-focus

demamaehlu /demɛɬu/ - to scam me / us (not including you), verb-focus

All of the usual rules about phonation spreading apply e.g.

pyùu /pʲuːʱ/ - to purify, noun-focus

pyùemyùu /pʲɨʱmpʲuːʱ/ - to purify me / us (not including you, noun-focus

pyòelùu /pʲɘʱluːʱ/ - to purify who, noun-focus

The infixes with non-back vowels and voiceless consonants also undergo vowel mutation if the following vowel has modal voice. This is the exact same as has been described before for noun and verb prefixes e.g.

damaehlu /damɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle, verb-focus

daesamaehlu /dɛsamɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle us (including you), verb-focus

deramaehlu /deʁamɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle oneself, verb-focus

If the first vowel of the verb base has breathy or tense voice, and the infix inserted would contain /ɬ/ (which can only occur before modal voice vowels), then it becomes /l/ and /tɬ/ respectively. However it still blocks the spread of the voicing e.g.

pyùu /pʲuːʱ/ - to purify, noun-focus

pyolùu /pʲɔluːʱ/ - to purify you, noun-focus

pyelùu /pʲeluːʱ/ - to purify ourselves (including you), noun-focus

The last example this is distinct from pyòelùu /pʲɘʱluːʱ/ - to purify who, noun-focus, which has breathy voice spreading onto the infix.

Note that, for the purposes of the syntax, using any of these infixes turns a transitive verb into an intransitive verb. This means that the subject of such an infixed verb can no longer take ergative case e.g.

• yuenpiluy - /jɨɴpilui/ - employee, absolutive
• yuenpiloy /jɨɴpiloi/ - employee, ergative
• sõwdla - /sɔudɮ/ - soldier, absolutive
• damasùe - /damas#616;ʱ/ - to scam / swindle, noun-focus

yuenpiloy	damasùe	sõwdla
jɨɴpiloi	damas#616;ʱ	sɨudɮ

An employee scammed a soldier

Above, we can see that the word for "employee" is in the ergative case, and must come before the verb. However, when the object is a pronoun, the word for "employee" must take the absolutive case e.g.

yuenpiluy	daesamasùe
jɨɴpilui	dɛsamas#616;ʱ
employee-ABS	<1PS.INC.OBJ>scam-NFCS

An employee scammed us (including you)

Antarctican also permits the subjects of intransitive verbs to come after the verb, so the following sentence is also grammatical (and perhaps more common):

daesamasùe	yuenpiluy
dɛsamas#616;ʱ	jɨɴpilui
<1PS.INC.OBJ>scam-NFCS	employee-ABS

An employee scammed us (including you)

Antipassive Voice

Antarctican has extremely productive antipassivisation (Antipassive_voice^[*]). There are two infixes, which depend on whether the verb has perfective or imperfective aspect.

Perfective Antipassive

This is used for when the action described by the verb is not viewed as having any internal structure (Perfective_aspect^[*]). It can be used for past, present or future actions e.g.

duetamasùe	yuenpiluy
dɨtamas#616;ʱ	jɨɴpilui
<PFV.AP>scam-NFCS	employee-ABS

An employee scammed / will scam (someone who does not need to be mentioned here).

However, remember that alveolar stops (e.g. /t/) can never occur before /i/ and /ʎ/ (with any phonation), nor before tense voice /eˤ/ and /ɘˤ/, nor before diphthongs starting with these. If a verb begins with a hard consonant followed by one of these vowels, a different infix is used, normally -óws- e.g.

inyeli-aa /ʔiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, verb-focus

ówsinyeli-aa /ʔouˤsiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, verb-focus, perfective antipassive

kiveliqewn /kiɥeliʔeuɴ/ - to die, verb-focus

kówsiveli-ewn /kouˤsiɥeliʔeuɴ/ - to die, verb-focus, perfective antipassive

However, if the first vowel of the verb root had tense voice, the ejective -tqs- is used instead e.g.

'kátla /ˤkaˤtɬa/ - to make someone's acquaintance, verb focus

'kówtqsátla /ˤkouˤtsʼaˤtɬa/ - to make someone's acquaintance, verb-focus, perfective antipassive

éypyi-eey /ʔeiˤpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, verb-focus

ówtqséypyi-eey /ʔouˤtsʼeiˤpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, verb-focus, perfective antipassive

Imperfective Antipassive

This is used for ongoing, habitual and repeated action (Imperfective_aspect^[*]).

damamasùe	yuenpiluy
damamas#616;ʱ	jɨɴpilui
<IMPV.AP>scam-NFCS	employee-ABS

An employee is / was / will be scamming (someone who does not need to be mentioned here).

Superordinate Voice

Like the antipassive, this also reduces a transitive verb's valency (the number of arguments it has, see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valency_(linguistics)) by one, and requires that its subject take the absolutive case. However, it requires some other verb to come afterwards to be subordinate to it e.g.

• wonnye /woɴɲe/ - to want (something), verb-focus
• 'wátonnye /ˤwaˤtoɴɲe/ - to want (to do something / something to happen), verb-focus

• chi-iin /ciʔiːɴ/ - to fear (something), verb-focus
• cháetli-iin /cɛˤtɬiʔiːɴ/ - to fear (that something will happen), verb-focus

So using the nouns below:

• yuenpiluy - /jɨɴpilui/ - employee, absolutive
• yuenpiloy /jɨɴpiloi/ - employee, ergative
• sõwdla - /sɔudɮ/ - soldier, absolutive
• sõwdlan - /sɔudɮɴ/ - soldier, ergative
• nayba /naiba/ - neighbour, absolutive
• nayban /naibaɴ/ - neighbour, ergative
• tõn /tɔɴ/ - change (as in coins, money), absolutive
• tãn /tɒɴ/ - change, ergative

We can say:

yuenpiloy	wonnye	tõn
jɨɴpiloi	woɴɲe	tɔɴ
employee-ERG	want-VFCS	change-ABS

An employee wants change.

yuenpiluy	'wátonnye	sõwdla	damasùe
jɨɴpilui	ˤwaˤtoɴɲe	sɔudɮa	damasɨʱ
employee-ABS	<SPR>want-VFCS	soldier-ABS	scam-NFCS

An employee wants to scam a soldier.

Note that in the second sentence, the case for the word "employee" has changed from ergative to absolutive. And since Antarctican allows nouns in the absolutive case to also come after the verb, the following sentences would also be grammatical, and all mean roughly the same thing:

wátonnye yuenpiloy sowdla damasùe

yuenpiloy wátonnye damasùe sõwdla

wátonnye yuenpiloy damasùe sõwdla

Similarly, using the verb meaning "to fear", we can say:

yuenpiloy	chi-iin	sõwdla
jɨɴpiloi	ciʔiːɴ	sɔudɮa
employee-ERG	fear-VFCS	soldier-ABS

The employee fears the soldier

yuenpiloy	'cháetli-iin	sõwdla	damasùe
jɨɴpiloi	ˤcɛtɬiʔiːɴ	sɔudɮa	damasɨʱ
employee-ERG	<SPR>fear-VFCS	soldier-ABS	scam-NFCS

The employee fears he will scam / has scammed the soldier.

The words in this sentence can be ordered in the same fashion as before.

yuenpiloy	'cháetliqiin	sõwdlan	damasùe
jɨɴpiloi	ˤcɛtɬiʔiːɴ	sɔudɮaɴ	damasɨʱ
employee-ERG	<SPR>fear-VFCS	soldier-ERG	scam-NFCS

The employee fears the soldier will scam / has scammed him.

Here, while the word for "employee" can come after the verb meaning "to fear", the word for "soldier", cannot, since it takes the ergative case (as it is the subject of the transitive verb damasù meaning "to scam").

Reciprocal Voice

One other voice that needs to be mentioned here is the reciprocal voice. This carries to meaning of "to do to each other / one another". It is formed by reduplicating the first syllable of the verb base e.g.

wonnye /woɴɲe/ - to want, verb focus

wowonnye /wowoɴɲe/ - to want each other, verb focus

darakòe /daʁakɘʱ/ - to cover, noun-focus

dadarakòe /dadaʁakɘʱ/ - to cover each other, noun-focus

shuetinju /çɨtiɴɟu/ - to count, verb focus

shueshuetinju /çɨçɨtiɴɟu/ - to count each other, verb focus

However, the reduplicated syllable cannot contain a long vowel, a diphthong, or the placeless nasal /ɴ/. If the first syllable of the verb base contains any of these, then it is truncated e.g.

ziitlàoji /ziːtɬɜʱɟi/ - to know (a person), verb-focus

ziziitlàoji /ziziːtɬɜʱɟi/ - to know each other, verb-focus

yinwùumùe /jiɴwuːʱmɨ/ - to turn in, noun-focus

yiyinwùumùe /jijiɴwuːʱmɨ/ - to turn each other in, noun-focus

kaaeykyu /kɛːi&k#690;u/ - to sell, verb-focus

kaekaaeykyu /kɛkɛːikʲu/ - to sell each other, verb-focus

The reduplicated syllable has whatever floating phonation is at the start of the word e.g.

'kátla /ˤkaˤtɬa/ - to make someone's acquaintance, verb focus

'kákátla /ˤkaˤkaˤtɬa/ - to make each other's acquaintance, verb focus

This may not be the same phonation as is on the first syllable of the word e.g.

'kamyu /ˤkamʲu/ - to inflate (someone's ego), verb-focus

'kákamyu /ˤkaˤkamʲu/ - to inflate each other('s ego), verb-focus

'kaypùe /ˤkaipɨʱ/ - to scrape, noun-focus

'kákaypùe /ˤkaˤkaipɨʱ/ - to scrape each other, noun-focus

Any changes to vowel quality that happen because of vowel phonation changes, also happen here e.g.

'puytlù /ˤpuitɬuʱ/ - to pick a fight, noun-focus

'póyputlu /ˤpoiˤpuitɬuʱ/ - to pick a fight with each other, noun-focus

As well as all the other regular vowel quality changes that happen when a noun takes a prefix e.g.

hali /χali/ - to twist, transitive, verb-focus

haehali /χɛχali/ - to twist, transitive, verb-focus

As with reciprocal possession, a few verbs have irregular forms in the reciprocal voice e.g.

ràorùe /ʁɜʱʁɨʱ/ - to twist, transitive, noun-focus

haràorùe /χaʁɜʱʁɨʱ/ - to twist each other, transitive, noun-focus

Generally, if a noun has an irregular reciprocal possessive form, then any verbs derived from it will also have irregular reciprocal voice forms e.g.

wùeròen /wɨʱʀɘɴʱ/ - friend, absolutive

fiwùeròen /fiwɨʱʀɘɴʱ/ - friends (of each other), absolutive

wòenzi /wɘɴʱ/ - to befriend, noun-focus

fiwòenzi /fiwɘɴʱ/ - to befriend each other, noun-focus

These irregularities happen for the same reason in reciprocal verbs as they do in reciprocal nouns, namely because there is an underlying initial consonant that changes form to something else because it is before a vowel with breathy voice or tense voice (which prohibit some consonants from coming before it). However, if there is modal floating phonation, then the underlying forms can resurface in the reduplication.

Pronominal Subject Prefixes

Instead of using pronouns to indicate subject, Antarctican uses prefixes on verbs. Which prefix is used depends on the tense of the verb (normally unmarked). They do not inflect for number. They are listed in the table below:

	Past	Present	Future
1PS Exclusive	uy	omyi	ow
1PS Inclusive	chi	we	wi
2PS	nyin	ya	yu
3PS	day	de	daw
Who / What	wu	hew	ri

Note that, for habitual actions in the present, the past tense is used. Also the present tense is used for imminent actions in the future (where English might use "about to").

Emphatic Forms

All of the pronomnial affixes have emphatic forms that are generated by lengthening the vowel e.g.

chisàon-gùe /cisɜʱɴgɨʱ/ you bleed, verb-focus

chiisàon-gùe /ciːsɜʱɴgɨʱ/ you (emphatic) bleed, verb-focus

However, the emphatic forms cannot be used with noun-focus forms, so while chisàonkùesòe /cisɜɴʱkɨʱsɜʱ/ - to bleed, noun-focus is grammatical, chiisàonkùesòe /ciːsɜɴʱkɨʱsɜʱ/ would not be.

This lengthening can also be used on infixes marking objects e.g.

pyõhli-uu /pʲɔɬiʔuː/ - purify you, verb focus

pyõohli-uu /pʲɔːɬiʔuː/ - purify you (emphatic), verb focus