Verse:Mwail/Old Gloob: Difference between revisions

Line 2,875: Line 2,875:
====Proximate/obviative affixes====
====Proximate/obviative affixes====
The 3rd person, or proximate, object marks foreground or central referents, usually the first one or the most animate/possessing one mentioned soon after it. while the 4th person, or obviative, object refers to background or peripheral referents. The third person and the fourth person combine as 3+4=3, and when parts of a proximate plural is taken out, the first noun phrase to be taken out is the new 3rd person.
The 3rd person, or proximate, object marks foreground or central referents, usually the first one or the most animate/possessing one mentioned soon after it. while the 4th person, or obviative, object refers to background or peripheral referents. The third person and the fourth person combine as 3+4=3, and when parts of a proximate plural is taken out, the first noun phrase to be taken out is the new 3rd person.
:'''''Hezūŋasré Kolnosimáttmē ie Ŋirchâ ne jégléch ħēdāthénne, mežî ramlēsré né žlómalkámth kanílsnuku skőtálg zîm ŋídâ nai nassams{{blue|ŧû}}.'''''
:''The North Wind and the Sun disputed as to which was the most powerful and agreed that he should be declared the victor who could first strip a way-faring man of his clothes.''
Because the traveler (''skőtálg'') is an obviate referent, his clothes are referred to as ''nassams{{blue|ŧû}}'', with the fourth person possessor, not nassams{{blue|û}}, which would refer to "the North Wind's clothes".


The span governed by a discourse topic varies widely among writers; while earlier writers maintained a strict distinction between proximate and obviative reference in narrating events, later writers preferred a much shorter span, often only a single sentence, thereby reducing the scope of the obviative system to that of a topic-focus system.
The span governed by a discourse topic varies widely among writers; while earlier writers maintained a strict distinction between proximate and obviative reference in narrating events, later writers preferred a much shorter span, often only a single sentence, thereby reducing the scope of the obviative system to that of a topic-focus system.