Tũka: Difference between revisions

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==Syntax==
==Syntax==
===Modes===
Tũka has two "modes": the '''agglutinative''' and '''isolating''' mode.
====Isolating====
The isolating mode is the most commonly used mode in Tũka. It is a mode where information such as grammatical number, noun case and/or verb tense are represented by independent particles, like ''i'' or ''ũ''. By default, most of the information on here(excluding the section on the agglutinative mode) is in isolating mode, including the section on constituent order and grammatical number, as well as noun case and verb tense.
====Agglutinative====
The agglutinative mode is when instead of noun case and verb tense being inferred through preceding particles, such as ''i'' or ''lu'', verb tense and noun case are inferred via suffixes to the verb or noun in question. This is less used than the isolating mode, but it can still be used and is often used to characterise a polite way of talking. Thus, it is often called the equivalent of a "polite register" in Tũka.
Agglutinative nouns and verbs mostly put (what would be) the particle in the isolating mode after the word as a suffix, e.g. in isolating: ''i lã''(I) becomes ''lãi'' or simply ''lã''. Additionally, though the normal constituent order does not change from SOV, the constituent order in imperative sentences, which is VSO in isolating mode, becomes SVO in agglutinative mode instead.
The agglutinative mode also includes more noun cases: the '''dative''', '''genitive''' and '''locative'''.
{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"
|+ Agglutinative suffixes for genitive, dative & locative
|-
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | !! colspan=3 | Case
|-
! Genitive !! Dative !! Locative
|-
! rowspan=3 | Number
! Singular
| ''-il'' || ''-yã'' || ''-ĩtu''
|-
! Dual
| ''-inh'' || ''-kaho'' || ''-kien''
|-
! Plural
| ''-iln'' || ''-ũan'' || ''-pã''
|}
===Gender===
===Gender===
Tũka has five grammatical genders: '''masculine'''-'''feminine'''-'''neuter''' for people, and '''animate'''-'''inanimate''' for non-human things, though animate-inanimate is usually used to denote if something is alive or dead respectively. If a noun has a masculine, feminine or neuter gender, then it is assumed to be a live human. If the human is dead, in an attempt to not dehumanise the dead person, the word ''tlapi''(basically meaning "unfortunately dead") is used. The word ''tlapi'' is ungendered, so its inflection does not change regardless of who is being talked about.
Tũka has five grammatical genders: '''masculine'''-'''feminine'''-'''neuter''' for people, and '''animate'''-'''inanimate''' for non-human things, though animate-inanimate is usually used to denote if something is alive or dead respectively. If a noun has a masculine, feminine or neuter gender, then it is assumed to be a live human. If the human is dead, in an attempt to not dehumanise the dead person, the word ''tlapi''(basically meaning "unfortunately dead") is used. The word ''tlapi'' is ungendered, so its inflection does not change regardless of who is being talked about.
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For non-human things with no clear gender(yes, including animals, grammatical gender in Tũka does not necessarily correspond with sex), the genders '''inanimate''' or '''animate''' are used. Although inanimate and animate technically only mean things that do or do not move naturally, animacy in Tũka is mostly used to refer to alive or dead things, with the animacy of the adjective sometimes semantically affecting the word, e.g. ''lumũ taht''(lit. ''inanimate leaf'') means "autumn leaf", as autumn leaves are usually categorised by their yellow-orange colour that signifies death.
For non-human things with no clear gender(yes, including animals, grammatical gender in Tũka does not necessarily correspond with sex), the genders '''inanimate''' or '''animate''' are used. Although inanimate and animate technically only mean things that do or do not move naturally, animacy in Tũka is mostly used to refer to alive or dead things, with the animacy of the adjective sometimes semantically affecting the word, e.g. ''lumũ taht''(lit. ''inanimate leaf'') means "autumn leaf", as autumn leaves are usually categorised by their yellow-orange colour that signifies death.
===Number===
===Number===
Unlike in English, where only singular and plural declensions exist, Tũka uses three declensions: '''singular''', '''dual''' and '''plural''', in this case "plural" meaning three or more of an item, and all words have to be distinguished by a number particle, such as ''i tũka''("Tũka language"), lit. {{sc|sg}}.{{sc|nom}}, though ''i'' is only in nominative. In accusative, ''u'' is used and in absolutive ''ie'' is used.
Unlike in English, where only singular and plural declensions exist, Tũka uses three declensions: '''singular''', '''dual''' and '''plural''', in this case "plural" meaning three or more of an item, and all words have to be distinguished by a number particle, such as ''i tũka''("Tũka language"), lit. {{sc|sg}}.{{sc|nom}}, though ''i'' is only in nominative.
{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"
{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"
|+ Tũka grammatical number particles
|+ Tũka grammatical number particles
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! Singular !! Dual !! Plural
! Singular !! Dual !! Plural
|-
|-
! rowspan=4 | Case
! rowspan=5 | Case
|-
|-
! Nominative
! Nominative
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| ''u'' || ''ũ'' || ''nu''
| ''u'' || ''ũ'' || ''nu''
|-
|-
! Absolutive
! Genitive
| ''ie'' || ''ã'' || ''lu''
| ''ie'' || ''ã'' || ''lu''
|-
! Dative
| ''o'' || ''ou'' || ''no''
|}
|}
====Examples====
====Examples====