Hantza/Verbs

Verb template

Hantza verbs obey a position class template; their affixes are added to the stem in a specific order. The table below illustrates this template:

Person prefixes			Other prefixes				Stem	Suffixes
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
object	direct object	indirect object	deontic	secondary aspect	primary aspect	copula	stem	applicative	evidentiality	negative

Despite the large number of slots, it is impossible for all eleven to be occupied by a single conjugated verb and highly unusual for only one to be left vacant.

An extreme example, where seven of the eleven slots are occupied, would be the translation of the English "apparently he may not give it to you". This is provided below.

opokutzubetakampò
/opokuˌt͡suˈbetakampoʔ/
[ɔ.pɔ.kʊ̈.ˌt͡sʊ̈.ˈbe.tɐ.kɐ.mpɔʔ]
o-	-po-	-ku-	-Ø-	-ti-	-tu-	-Ø-	-beta-	-kap-	-mò
1SG	3SG.IN	2SG	Ø	IRR	FUT	Ø	give	REP	NEG

This eight-syllable word also illustrates the morphophonological processes of assimilation (-ti- + -tu- = -tzu-) and metathesis (-kap- + -mò = -kampò).

Person marking

Verbs in Hantza have polypersonal agreement; they are conjugated for subject, direct object and indirect object. Since all the information required is provided on the verb Hantza is a pro-drop language. In addition to the nine grammatical persons marked for by possession prefixes, verbs may be conjugation for the reflexive and reciprocal. Neither the reflexive nor the reciprocal may occur in the subject position and the reciprocal cannot occur with a singular subject. In the list provided below the first prefix is used preconsonantly, the second prevocalically. Note that regressive phonological changes triggered by the verb stem that effect an alteration in the mode prefixes may in turn alter the person prefixes.

• First person singular: o-, w-
• First person plural: as-, azz-
• Second person singular: ku-, kw-
• Second person plural: ra-, r-
• Third person animate singular: tzi-, tz-
• Third person animate plural: ang-, ang-
• Third person inanimate: po-, pw-
• Obviative: ma-, m-
• Indefinite: bi-, biy-
• Reflexive: -an-, -an-
• Reciprocal -e-, -y-

Mode

Grammatical tense is not a significant category in Hantza verbs (though there is an overt morphological future/non-future distinction). Verbs are instead aspect and mood heavy. This conflation of tense, aspect and mood is termed "mode" in Hantza; there are thirteen such modes. These are divided into three categories. Categories I and II can co-occur with one another but category III prefixes cannot occur with any other mode prefixes and all person marking is optional. Category I prefixes denote "primary aspect", category II "secondary aspect" and category III "deontic". The first prefix provided below is used preconsonantly, the second prevocalically

Category I - primary aspect:

• Imperfective: unmarked
• Iterative: -nini-, -nin-
• Delimitative: reduplication of following syllable
• Perfective: -la-, -l-
• Retrospective: -of-, -of-
• Future: -tu-, -tw-

Category II - secondary aspect:

• Inchoative: -ki-, -ky-
• Cessative: -ò-, -ok-
• Irrealis: -ti-, -ty-

Category III - deontic:

• Optative: -ngo-, -ng-
• Cohortative: -mi-, -miy-
• Imperative: unmarked
• Jussive: -bè-, -bek-

Most commonly, the only category I mode used in relation the future tense is the future itself. However, in actual usage others may be used, often the retrospective.

Category I

The imperfective is the most common aspect used with the present tense. However, it certainly is not limited to it. The imperfective is used to denotes an action or state without a fixed or well defined temporal boundary and, in contrast to the perfective, makes no comment on telicity or completedness of the action. It is often used with unfinished, continuous or repetitive actions.

The iterative is used to denote and emphasise the repetition of the action, especially a continuously repeated action.

The delimitative is used to present an action that occurs for a limited and often defined amount of time. It may be used in reference to the present tense but it is more usually used in the past tense. In the present it most often has the sense of "just doing X".

The perfective is used to present an event as having well defined boundaries in time, that is a completed whole. This contrasts directly with the imperfective. This only occurs in the past tense.

The retrospective presents an event or state as having occurred in the past relative to the rest of the discourse. It is used in conjunction with other verbs in different modes.

The future quite simply conveys that an event is yet to occur or that a state is yet to be.

Category II

• Inchoative
• Cessative
• Irrealis

Category III

• Optative
• Cohortative
• Imperative
• Jussive

Copula

In Hantza there is no verb that corresponds directly to the English "to be".

A common way of expressing the verb "to be" in Hantza is by using the particle ifa.

When talking being in the sense of location the irregular verb ABCDEFG is used. This may be translated variously as "to be", "to stay", "to remain", "to become" or "to get". Alternatively the verb for "to lie" or "to stand" may be used - as may a reflexive version of "to find".

A noun can also be turned into a verb that means "to be X" by adding the copular prefix -ta- to the root noun. The relevant prefixes marking person and mode are then added. This strategy is only used when the subject of the noun is not being modified by anything adjective-like. In such cases the normal copular construction is used.

Possession

Nor is there a verb "to have".

Statives

Stative verbs include predicative adjectives.

Transitivity and valency

Hantza is extremely strict in regard to a given verb's transitivity and valency and its required prefixes.

Mediopassive

See also: Transitivity and valency

Is this necessary?

There is a mediopassive voice which is formed by an infix inserted in the verb stem. As the name suggests, the mediopassive is used to convey both passive and middle voice meanings and nuances.

The syllable -is- is inserted after the first consonant of the root verb.

Uses:

• To construct a "normal" passive (from an English perspective) - object promoted to subject, subject turned into prepositional phrase (the passive without a prepositional phrase is constructed using an indefinite prefix as the subject and the object remains in the object position)
• "The bread is baking" - transitive verb - here the object prefix is omitted
• "Aquí se habla español" - used with the indefinite subject prefix
• Anticausative: "the window broke"
• Autobenefactive: to add a sense of benefaction for the subject of a transitive verb when used together with the reflexive?
• To add an intensive or semantic nuance, "to be a mother" (active) vs "to molly-coddle" (mediopassive); "to shine" (active) vs "to shine brightly" (mediopassive)

Polarity

Negatives are formed by the suffix -mò.

Applicative

Applicative suffixes are used to incorporate an oblique argument or an adjunct to a core argument of the verb. This also affects the person marking on the verb.

There are multiple applicatives in Hantza: instrumental, comitative, locative, benefactive and, less commonly, malefactive.

Applicatives are primarily used to shift the focus onto the oblique argument. This is especially common when, in narrative context, certain characters are being kept at the centre of the discourse.

Evidentiality

Evidentiality is marked on the verb by suffixation.

The division of evidentials is similar to that of the South American languages Aymara and Quechua; there exists a three way distinction. The first version provided is used post-consonantally, the second post-vocalically:

• Witness: -am-, -am-
• Inferential: -ang-, -ng-
• Reportative: -ikap-, -kap-

Verbs of motion

Verbs of motion may take one of several prefixes which specify the direction of motion.ríí- trans-locative: movement away from focus

• trans-locative: movement away from focus
• cis-locative: motion towards the focus
• downwards motion; diminution, deflation (with perfective "single round trip")
• upwards motion; expansion, inflation; develop (with negative "not quite")
• back and forth, to and fro, cyclical motion
• movement from one place in many direction; asunder, apart
• movement from many directions to one place; concrete purpose
• circum-locative: motion around the focus
• movement behind/in front + side excursion
• exhaustive action, to repletion, to satiation
• to the extreme; to excess, out of control, over

Verbs of motion are often used idiomatically and in proverbs.

Lexical-periphrastic pairs

Some verbs, whose meanings are almost synonymous, come in pairs. One of these verbs expresses the concept with a separate lexical item, the second periphrastically. These also convey differing semantic nuances. The typical case quote is tzunka "to kill" and tima darki nim "to execute" (literally "to send to death", cf. "to put to death").