Thangha': Difference between revisions

681 bytes added ,  3 January 2016
(→‎Questions: Wh-Phrases)
(→‎Wh-Phrases: "whose")
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/cəⁿ ʎəʔˈxʷiː/ [ceⁿ ʎʏˈxːʷyː] / [ceⁿ ʎʏˈɸːyː] / [ceⁿ ʎɪˈɸːiː] - "why" (literally "what reason")
/cəⁿ ʎəʔˈxʷiː/ [ceⁿ ʎʏˈxːʷyː] / [ceⁿ ʎʏˈɸːyː] / [ceⁿ ʎɪˈɸːiː] - "why" (literally "what reason")
Thangha' has two ways to ask questions where English would use "whose", depending on whether the possession is alienable or inalienable. In the case of inalienable possession, /cəⁿ/ takes the genitive prefix /naⁿ-/, becoming /naⁿ-ˈcəⁿ/, and coming after the noun it possesses e.g.
/ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ naⁿ-ˈcəⁿ/
[ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ næŋˈceⁿ]
bone.ABS GEN-what
Whose bone? (in their body)
In the case of alienable possession, /cəⁿ/ takes the ergative suffix /-ɟa/, becoming /ˈcaⁿ-ɟa/, and coming before the noun it possesses e.g.
/ˈcaⁿ-ɟa ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/
[ˈcæɲɟæ ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]
what-ERG bone
Whose bone? (in their possession)