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Kalyahekwe: Difference between revisions
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*There are minor differences between Northwestern and Southern dialects, where the initial ''"e"'' usually becomes ''"ya"'' in Eihtoomis and Šonoowis, but is always ''"e"'' in Teimyois. | *There are minor differences between Northwestern and Southern dialects, where the initial ''"e"'' usually becomes ''"ya"'' in Eihtoomis and Šonoowis, but is always ''"e"'' in Teimyois. | ||
These pronouns act like separate words, but in some Northern dialects they can be used with verbs as prefixes instead of person markers. These pronouns can also attach prefixes, that would change their meaning, for example: ''nökweð'' "where (is it)?" (''n-ökw-eð'', where ''"n-"'' is a spatial prefix and ''"ökw-"'' is an interrogative prefix). They can also act as separate sentences, for instance: ''nökweðan'' "where are they?", which does not require any additional verbs, unlike a similar construction in English. | These pronouns act like separate words, but in some Northern dialects they can be used with verbs as prefixes instead of person markers. These pronouns can also attach prefixes, that would change their meaning, for example: ''nökweð'' "where (is it)?" (''n-ökw-eð'', where ''"n-"'' is a spatial prefix and ''"ökw-"'' is an interrogative prefix). They can also act as separate sentences, for instance: ''nökweðan'' "where are they?", which does not require any additional verbs, unlike a similar construction in English. | ||
==Syntax== | |||
The basic transitive sentence is of the form SVO (subject-verb-object), which is typical for the Eastern Plains languages, but other order forms are also possible. Both subject and object noun phrases may be omitted from a sentence, if this information can be inferred from the context. Full noun phrases are often only used in the beginning of a conversation or later for emphasis. | |||
===Direction=== | |||
[[w:Direct–inverse alignment|Direction]] of the agent-patient relationship is often obvious from person markers on verbs, but it is double marked on nouns (as obviation) and on verbs (as a direct or inverse marker) and these two markings must agree. If a proximant noun is an agent, than the direct marker is used, but if an obviate noun is an agent instead, the inverse marker is attached to the verb right after its root. The direct marker is usually either ''"-e-"'' or zero, while the inverse marker is ''"-a-"''. These markers are only used when both subject and object markers are in the 3rd person. If a subject is inanimate or of lower animacy than its object, the inverse marker is always used. For example, ''yeeniit'' "they sees him/her" has a direct marker "∅", but ''yeenali'' "he/she sees them" with an inverse marker "-a". | |||
===Incorporation=== | |||
Some intransitive verb contain a transitive verb stem and an incorporated nominal root as a prefix. This is not compulsory and not all nouns can be incorporated (most can, however). Such verbs would thus have a narrower meaning and denote habitual action. Not only nouns can be incorporated, though they is certainly the most common type. For example, ''ilyoð hayiðeeleh'' "the horse is scaring him/her", which means there is a particular horse nearby, while ''hilyosiðeeli'' "he/she is scared of horses (occassionally and right now too)". There is a second option: ''hilyoðeiðeeli'' "he/she is scared of horses" with a habitual marker ''"-aa-"'' (''-aayi-''>''-aai-''>''-ei-''), and the meaning is the same, but it specifies, that the action is constant. | |||
===Locative particles=== | |||
Kalyah has four locative suffixes, similar to locative cases in some languages, but these suffixes are not real cases. These suffixes are: ''-iin/-niin'' which can be translated as "here" or "near", ''-(w)aah'' which has a basic meaning of position ("on", "at", "in"), ''-(a)mo'' "towards", "in front of it", "along" and ''-aahk'' which has distributive meaning ("among", "part of"). An example can be ''kookesaah'' "on my shoulders" (from ''ookes'' "shoulder"), or ''eihtomo'' "along the river" (from ''eihto'' "river", hence ''eihtoomis'' "which is along rivers" - one of the four main dialects of Kalyah). | |||
==Vocabulary== | ==Vocabulary== | ||
The following table shows words in Teimyois and corresponding words in a selection of other dialects. From it a number of similarities and some differences can be seen. Most differences are phonological and some are lexical. Their grammar operates more or less in exactly the same way, so if one person knows sound correspondences between the dialects, it is easy for them to understand speakers of those dialects. Verbs can sometimes have different conjugation patterns, but usually it does not create any major problem when it comes to intelligibility. In the following table, each verb is given with a third person singular subject, and if a verb is transitive, with a third person object or objects, nouns are given in their singular form. | The following table shows words in Teimyois and corresponding words in a selection of other dialects. From it a number of similarities and some differences can be seen. Most differences are phonological and some are lexical. Their grammar operates more or less in exactly the same way, so if one person knows sound correspondences between the dialects, it is easy for them to understand speakers of those dialects. Verbs can sometimes have different conjugation patterns, but usually it does not create any major problem when it comes to intelligibility. In the following table, each verb is given with a third person singular subject, and if a verb is transitive, with a third person object or objects, nouns are given in their singular form. | ||