Minhast
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| Minhast | |
|---|---|
| Minhast | |
| Pronunciation | [/'min.hɑst/] |
| Created by | – |
| Native to | Minhay |
| Native speakers | 26,232,430 (2005) |
Language Isolate
| |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Republic of Minhay |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | min |
Introduction
Minhast (Minhast min kirim lit. "Minhast-speak), the national language of Minhai, is spoken by nearly 25 million people. Approximately 1 million speakers live in expatriate communities throughout the globe, with the largest concentrations residing in the U.S., Xayda, Mexico, the Middle East, Kallaxwān and Canada. Significant numbers also exist in Southeast Asia and Norhern Europe.
Minhast is divided into two major dialects. Upper Minhast, which is centered in the highlands of Kilmay Rī, Ešked (Ekšed), and Attum Attar; the northeastern coastal prefectures of Iskamharat and Perim-Sin; and the National Capital Region, consisting of Āš-min-Gāl, Ankussūr, Huruk, Nammadīn, and Kered. Lower Minhast is spoken mainly in the southeastern coastal prefectures of Neskud, Yaxparim, Senzil, and Rēgum. The two dialects differ chiefly in phonetics and the lexicon, with Lower Minhast containing loanwords from neighboring languages (e.g. Golahat). Otherwise, the two dialects are mutually intelligible. Nevertheless, it is Upper Minhast that is the standardized form of the language, used in government, commerce, and the media.
Additionally, the two dialects are divided into several smaller dialects. The major subdialects of Upper Minhast include the Salmon Speakers of the "Gaššarat" (Northeastern Coast), the Dog Speakers of the "Hisašarum" (Northeaster Plains), the Horse Speakers of the "Gannasia" (Middle Plains), and the Knife Speakers (Plateau Prefecture). Lower Minhast consists of the Gull Speakers (Senzil and Rēgum Prefectures), the Osprey Speakers (Kings' Bay), and the Stone Speakers of the southernmost prefectures (Neskud and Yaxparim).
Word order is SOV. In simple sentence, this word order is free, although the verb rarely deviates from its clause-final position. Deviation from the unmarked SOV word order is used for discourse purposes; an argument that is to be focused is fronted to the head of the clause. For compound and complex sentences, the verb is obligatorily fixed in clause-final position, but the other arguments of the clause, core, oblique, and sentential complements, still display free word order.
The following grammatical sketch is a description primarily of the National Capital Region variant of Upper Minhast, the standard dialect used for government, commerce, and media; examples from other Minhast dialects, or from Old or Classical Minhast will be noted as appropriate.
Phonology
Phonemic Inventory
The following chart contains the consonants in the Minhast phonology. The Minhast Latinized alphabet is derived from the Americanist system and is used throughout this article. Where Americanist and IPA symbols diverge, the IPA version is indicated by the IPA syllable surrounded by two forward slashes. Allophones which are not represented in the standard orthography are indicated by the appropriate IPA symbol surrounded by the forward slashes, which are in turn surrounded by parentheses, e.g. "(/tʃ/)".
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | Laryngeal | Pharyngeal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||||
| Plosive | p b | t d | k g | |||||
| Fricative | f | s z | ʃ ƹ | χ | ʔ | h | ħ | |
| Affricates | t͡ʃ d͡ʒ | |||||||
| Approximants | w | j | ||||||
| Trill | r | |||||||
| Lateral Approximant | l |
| Short | Long | Devoiced |
| a | ā | (ạ) |
| e | ē | (ẹ) |
| i | ī | (ị) |
| u | ū | (ụ) |
Syllabic Structure and Phonemic Interactions
Minhast words are subject to complex morphophonemic changes resulting from interactions with other morphemes occurring in the word. The verb is particularly complex in the various sound changes that may occur as a result of noun incorporation as well as the aggluginative processes involved in conjugation or other inflectional processes. These phonemic changes can be broken down according to the following classifications:
- Assimilation
- Metathesis
- Syncope
- Epenthesis
- Voicing/Devoicing
These complex morphophonemic interactions operate according to the general phonological principals outlined below:
- No syllable can have a consonant cluster of more than two consonants. Syncope can be applied only if a biconsonantal cluster is formed, and the vowel is not a part of a heavy syllable (i.e. the vowel is long, or it occurs in a VCC sequence).
- No Minhast word can have an initial consonant cluster. After any initial consonant cluster results from one or more of the possible morphophonemic alternations described below, an epenthetic is automatically appended to the head of the word to form the permissible iCC- pattern.
- An epenthetic vowel is always inserted between two syllables if combining the syllables results in a triconsonantal cluster. The default epenthetic vowel is , but the other 3 vowels may also be used, depending on multiple factors (e.g. vowel harmony, an underlying quiescent initial vowel as part of the attached morpheme, etc.)
- Minhast has a strong tendency to form intermedial clusters, either or , providing that Rules #1-#3 are observed. If necessary, an epenthetic vowel may be added before or after the syllable to create these syllabic patterns, e.g. e.g. kanut-maris-kar- >> -kant-(u)-maris-kar
- The tendency to form intermedial consonant clusters creates complex assimilation interactions that nevertheless are predictable and almost always regular. These interactions are illustrated in Table X below:
Final Consonant Initial Consonant f p b k x g t d s š z l r m n h w y f ff pp pp fk fx fk ft ft fs ff fs fl fr fm fn ff fw fy p pp pp pp pk xp pk pt pt ps ħp ps pl pr pm pn ħp pw py b pp pp bb pk xp mg pt mb ps ħp ps bl br mb mb ħp bw by k kf kp kp kk kk kk kt kt ks ħk ks kl kr km kn ħk kw ky x xf xp xp kk xx gg xt xt ss šš ss xl xr xm xn xx xw xy g kf kp gb kk kk gg kt gd ks ħk zg lg gr gm gn ħk gw gy t ft pt pt kt xt kt tt tt st št st tt rt mt nt ħt wt šš d ft pt bb kt xt gd tt dd st ħt zd ld rd mb nd ħt dw dy s sp sp sp sk xs sk st st ss šš ss sl ss sm sn ħs sw šš š šf šp šp šk šš šk št št ss šš ss šl šš šm šn ħš šw šš z sp sp zb sk ss zg st zd ss šš zz zl zz zm zn ħs zw zy l lf pp lb kk xl lg tt ld sl šl zl ll rr lm,mm nn ħl lw yy r rf rp rb rk rx rg rt rd, dd rs, ss rš, šš zz ll rn, nn rm, mm nn rħ, ħr rw ry m mf mp mb nk xn mg mt md ns šm nz ml mr mm nn mh ww my n mf mp mb nk xn mg, ng nt nd ss šš nz ll rr mm nn nh nw ny,yy h ff ħp ħp ħk xx ħk ħt ħt ħs ħš ħs ħl ħr ħm ħn ħħ ħw ħy - Vowels are classified according to a "weak-strong" gradient, where the "strong" vowels are more resistant to syncope than neighboring "weak(er)" vowels. All long vowels are by definition "strong", so the weak-strong gradient really applies to short vowels: Table X: Vowel Gradients In Order of Increasing Strength
- The shape of a -CVCVC- syllable may contract either to a -CCVC- or -CVCC- pattern, depending on the strength gradients of the vowels with respect to one another. The -CaCaC- syllable pattern is the only one that does not contract. Syllables consisting of the same vowels may appear in either -CCVC- or -CVCC- patterns; the pattern they resolve to is influenced by interactions from surrounding syllables. These contractions are summarized in Table X:
Initial Pattern Final Contraction -CaCaC- (no change) -CaCuC-, -CaCeC-, -CaCiC- -CaCC- -CuCaC-, -CeCaC-, -CiCaC-, -CCaC- -CuCuC-, -CuCeC-, -CuCiC- -CuCC- -CuCuC-, CeCuC-, -CiCuC- -CCuC- -CeCeC-, -CeCiC- -CeCC- -CeCeC-, -CiCeC- -CCeC- -CiCiC- -CCiC-, -CiCC- - A verb root or an incorporated noun tends to lose one or more vowels to form at least one biconsonant cluster. The vowel that is lost depends on its strength gradient in relation to the noun of the neighboring syllable.
- With the exception of pattern -CaCa-, when two adjoining syllables have vowels within the same gradient, vocalic syncope resolves to CVCC.
- The pattern (C)VVCC always resolves to (C)VCC
- Compared to nominal and verbal roots, inflectional morphemes (e.g. theme, aspect, tense, person, etc) are resistant to syncope because this may lead to the inflectional morpheme to be changed beyond recognition. For example,-šp-irak- he informed (him) (lit. "he caused him to know") does not resolve to -šip-rak-, even though this would prevent the impermissible CCV pattern from occurring. Instead, an epenthetic vowel is added before the causative affix to prevent this impermissible consonant cluster from occurring.
- Although inflectional morphemes do not experience syncope, they still may experience phonological changes in the form of metathesis and devoicing.
- Vowel devoicing occurs in CVħC, CVxC, CVsC, or CVC syllables, where C is any of the unvoiced consonants listed in Table X.
- Two consecutive syllables with the pattern CVħCVħ resolves to CVCCVħ, due to the difficulty of pronouncing the allophone in two consecutive closed syllables. Additionally, the vowel in the previous syllable may be devoiced if its adjacent consonants are voiceless, as in Example A, where the verb root vowel -a- which occurs the voiceless consonants -k- and -h- devoices to -ạ-. Note also the epenthetic vowel -i- appearing between the verb root and the 1st person incl. pl. affix ,-ħk- e.g.: nattiħkemkaraban >> *naħtiħkemaraban >> *naħt-hkem-ar-ab-an "We were (being) annoying" (lit.: annoying-we.and.you-[past]-[ imperf.]-[intrans]) nekạħtikemaraban >> *nekạħtịħkemaraban >> *nekạħt-ħkem-ar-ab-an "I was avoiding..."
- Dissimilation occurs in CVC-patterns involving š-Vš, resolving to s-Vš. A prime example is the number "twenty", e.g.*šan-šentāz >> *san-šentāz > > saššentāz
- Dissimilation occurs in CVC-patterns involving mVm, resolving to nVm.
Nouns
Gender, Number, and Case Marking
1) Gender: All nouns have an intrinsic gender; interestingly, some nouns may have multiple genders, each gender conveying different meanings; these should be considered separate lexical entities. However, nouns are not inflected or marked by gender affixes or clitics. Instead, cross-reference affixes in the verb identify the gender of the nouns that serve as core arguments of a clause; in contrast, oblique argument, however, do not receive any marking. Thus, gender of each noun must be memorized in order to choose the correct verbal affix, or to identify the gender of a noun serving as an oblique argument.
2) Number: Nouns do not inflect for number. Verbal cross-reference affixes (see section below on verbal Pronominal Affixes) can mark number on Ergative and Absolutive noun phrases, but do not provide any information about number for non-core NPs. Speakers must rely on context or use numbers in a min construction using the formula [number + min + NP], e.g. “šānī min redad” (i.e. “two man”) to mark plurality; otherwise the default number is singular.
3) Case: Although nouns are not overtly marked for gender or number by inflection or clitics, they do take case marking clitics that attach to the end of the noun or noun phrase. There are two core nominal arguments: the Absolutive which receives zero marking, and the Ergative clitic =de. The Genitive derives from the same =de clitic as the Ergative, and in most declension tables are thus listed as the Ergative-Genitive case. However, there are several allomorphs which are explained in the section “Allomorphs of the Ergative-Genitive” where the Ergative and the Genitive diverge in shape.
| Resulting Form | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preceding Phoneme(s) | Ergative | Genitive | Genitive + Ergative | |
| (V)V, g, z | =de | =de | =de | |
| l,r, n | =de | =t | =te | |
| f, p,k, x, s, š,h | =te | =t | =te | |
| m | =be | =t | =te | |
| b | =mbe | =pt | =pte | |
| d | =e | =te,=tide | =te,=tide | |
| t | =te, =tide | =te | =te,=tide | |
| C1C2 | =e,=ide | =e | =e | |
| nk, ng | =ide | =ide | =ide | |
| CC | =e,=ide | =ide | =e,=ide | |
Additionally, there are seven basic Oblique case clitics to non-core NP arguments, plus a few others that are rare or have fallen out of use, such as the Inessive =kīr/=kir. Most of the Oblique clitics have two forms, one form with a short medial vowel, and the other with a long medial vowel. Use of both forms are acceptable, but native speakers tend to use the clitics with short vowels when the clitic is preceded by a long vowel, while the converse is true for the clitics forms with long vowels.
| Case | Postposition |
|---|---|
| Dative | =(a)ran |
| Benefactive | =nī, =ni |
| Ablative | =yār, =yar |
| Locative | =kī, =ki |
| Instrumental | =pār, =par |
| Commitative | =kān,=kan |
| Malefactive | =daħ, =dāš |
Noun Classes
Nouns are divided into three classes based on the syllabic pattern of the final syllable of the noun. The Class I nouns (also known as “Strong Stem” nouns) are those whose Absolutive forms end in a single consonant, or a short vowel. Additions of a short-vowel clitic do not change the noun stem's final vowel. The rules of vowel apocopation, however, still apply.
Class II nouns are divided into three subtypes, with Absolutive forms ending with the glides -ea, -ia, or -ua. Class II nouns undergo a morphophonemic process whereby the final -a of the noun stem is dropped and the preceding vowel is automatically lengthened when either a short or a long-vowel case clitic is attached to the noun stem. Additionally, during noun incorporation the entire glide is elided. Examples are as follows for marua, yarea, and simmia, meaning “the 'star' Venus”, “young girl”, and “moonless night”, respectively.
Class III nouns all terminate with either a consonant cluster or gemminate consonnants. If the following clitic that attaches to it has a quiescent vowel, such as the Dative clitic =(a)ran, the quiescent vowel resurfaces to prevent an impermissible CCC pattern, or the epenthetic vowels -i- or -e- is inserted. An additional feature is that these nouns will select the long-vowel forms of case clitics if they do exist.
These nouns are contrasted against the Class I noun gal (“horse”).
| Absolutive | Pre-clitic Form | Incorporated Form | Examples | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class I | gal | gal= |
-gal- |
galde, galyār | horse |
| Class II | marua | marū= |
-mar- |
marūde, marūpar | the "star" Venus |
| yarea | yarē= |
-yar- |
yarēde, yarēran | young girl | |
| simmia | simmī= |
-simm- |
simmīde, simmīkan | moonless night | |
| Class III | asr | asr-, asre- |
-asr- |
asride, asrenī | |
| niss | niss-,nisse- |
-niss- |
nisside, nissekī |
Interrogative Pronouns
| English | Minhast |
|---|---|
| Who | šikk, darad |
| What | bak |
| Which | ādan min; * ādam |
| When | sippan, sippamey |
| Why | širekka, bakran |
| Where at | nakkī |
| Where to, whither | nakran |
| Where from, whence | nakyar |
| At which location | nakkīdān |
| From which location | nakkīdanyār |
| To which location | nakkīdarran |
| How many/how much | bitakku |
Quantifiers
| Quantifier | Substantive | Attributive |
|---|---|---|
| All | rea | rem, suppī min, sumpī min |
| Most | šie | šim |
| Some | rem | azarim, ikyem, wakkī min |
| Many | san | sam |
| Both | šani | šanim |
| Each | uššumī | uššumīm |
| Few | kattua | kattum |
| Another/Other | xani, nexāni | xanim, nexāni min |
Pronominal Forms
| Independant Forms | Bound Forms | |||
| Person - Number - Gender | Ergative | Absolutive | Oblique | Stative |
| 1st Sg. | yakte | yak | yak- | -ek |
| 2nd Sg. | tahte | taħ | tah-,taħ- | -taħ |
| 3rd Masculine - Common Sg. | kūde | kua | kū- | -na |
| 3rd Feminine Sg. | lēde- | lea | lē-, ley- | -lea |
| 3rd Neuter Animate Sg. | šemet | šea | šē-, šey- | -šea |
| 3rd Neuter Inanimate Sg. | mēde | mea | mē-,mey- | -mea |
| 1st Plural Inclusive | hakemt(e) | hak | hak- | -hakkem |
| 1st Pl Exclusive | nemt(e) | nem | nem- | -nem |
| 2nd Pl. | taħtemt(e) | taħtem | -taħtem | -taħtem- |
| 3rd Masc./Common Pl | kemt(e) | kem | kem- | -kem |
| 3rd Fem. Pl. | wext(e) | wexī, weššī | wex- | (n/a) |
| 3rd Neut. Anim. Pl. | sešt(e) | seš | sešš(i)- | -sseš |
| 3rd Neut. Inanim Pl. | maħt(e) | maħ | mah-, maħ- | -maħ |
Demonstratives
| Pronominal Demonstrative Forms | Independent | Attributive | Clitic | Comments | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolutive | Ergative | Absolutive | Ergative | |||
| Proximal | sap | sapte | sapim, sap min | =sap | =sapte | this one, near the speaker |
| Medio-proximal | nax | naxt(e) | naxtim | =nax | =naxt(e) | this/that one near the listener |
| Distal | waššī | wašt(e) | waššim | =waš | =wašt(e) | far from both speaker and listener |
| Invisible | kiryit | kirte | kiryit min | =kirit | =kiryit | |
Numbers
Cardinal and ordinal numbers are one of the [two/XX] groups of true adjectives in the Minhast language. Minhast employs a vegisimal, i.e. base-20, counting system. Numeric expressions involve binding the number and modified noun in a specific construct involving the ligature: Both cardinal and ordinal numbers can take possessive pronominal suffixes (see Part III "Syntax - Possession" for discussion of possessive constructs), which then convey "X number of..." in the case of cardinal numbers, and "the Xth one of/among..." for ordinals, e.g.:
Meneħnemš nasxēreħ iŋkunnuħnemaran "Four of us went out there into the forest."
Menhakkem nasxēreħ iŋkunnuħkēmaran "The fourth one among them went into the forest."
The numbers 1-10 even have intransitive verbal forms, meaning "There were X number of us/you/them." The cardinal, ordinal, and verbal forms are summarized below:
| Number | Cardinal | Ordinal | Verbal |
|---|---|---|---|
| one | šūmi | sanannūx, manx | -šūmi-an |
| two | šānī | šānāx | -šān-an- |
| three | duxt | duxtāx | -duxut-an, -duxt-an |
| four | meneħ | menhāx | -mene-an, -menh-an |
| five | kaħtam | kaħtamāx | -katam-an |
| six | silix | silxāx | -silix-an, -silx-an |
| seven | gelix | gilxāx | -gelix-an, -gelx-an |
| eight | mun | munāx | -mun-an |
| nine | karun | karnāx | -karun-an, -karn-an |
| ten | tazem | tazmāx | -tazem-an, -tazm-an |
| eleven | šiktāz | šiktezāx | ---- |
| twelve | sen | senāx | ---- |
| thirteen | halk | halkāx | ---- |
| fourteen | duggalk | duggalxāx | ---- |
| fifteen | āš | āšāx | ---- |
| sixteen | neš | nešāx | ---- |
| seventeen | manšat | manšatāx | ---- |
| eighteen | zenat | zenatāx | ---- |
| nineteen | zelkark | zelkarkāx | ---- |
| twenty | šentāz | šentezāx | ---- |
| twenty-one | šentāz-u-šum | šentāz-u-manāx | ---- |
| twenty-two | šentāz-u-šan | šentāz-u-šanāx | ---- |
| twenty-three | šentāz-u-duxt | šentāz-u-duxtāx | ---- |
| thirty | šentāz-u-tazem | šentāz-u-tazmāx | ---- |
| forty | saššentāz | saššentezāx | ---- |
| fifty | saššentāz-u-tazem | saššentāz-u-tazmāx | ---- |
| sixty | duššentāz | duššentezāx | ---- |
| seventy | duššentāz-u-tazem | duššentezāx-u-tazmāx | ---- |
| eighty | meneštazem | meneštazmāx | ---- |
| ninety | meneštazem-u-tazem | meneštazmāx-u-tazmāx | ---- |
| one hundred | gādi | gādyāx | ---- |
| one thousand | gaggādi | gaggadyāx | ---- |
Ligatures
The Ligature "Min" and Allophones
| Preceding Phoneme | Final Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| f,g,h,k,m,p,r,s,š,(w),y,z | min | |
| (V)V | =m | Long vowels are retracted to short vowels |
| b,d | =mbin | Preceding -b is metethasized, -d is elided |
| l,n | =mmin | Preceding -l, -n are elided |
Verbs
Minhast possesses a complex grammar, demonstrated in particular by the elaborate polysynthetic morphology of its verbal system. The Minhast verb inflects not only for tense and aspect, but can inflect to indicate mood, modality, causation, potentiality, intensity, and other functions. The verb also possesses a well-developed set of pronominal affixes used to cross-reference the core arguments of a clause. These affixes indicate both gender and number of the nouns they cross-reference, an essential function as Minhast nouns themselves do not have any markings to indicate these two classifications.
Additionally, the verb can carry out three other operations, that of noun incorporation, antipassivation, and applicative formation, used by speakers for discourse purposes such as backgrounding previously established information and for changing the argument structure of the phrase for the purposes of focusing on a particular argument, ensuring that priviledged noun phrases retain their core status, or to employ rhetorical devices. This polysynthetic characteristic can lead to very long verbs that can express an entire sentence. To demonstrate, the English phrase, "You did not even try to get them to reconsider the matter with this evidence" requires only three words in Minhast: "Keman yattah, tašnišpipsaryentinasummatittaharu", meaning literally "To them the evidence, not-try-cause-return-look.at-yet-matter-with-it.you-did." The verb "tašnišpipsaryentinasummatittaharu", which is an individual sentence in its own right, can be parsed to its individual morphemes, yielding "ta-šn-šp-b-sar-yenti-nasum-mat-tittah-ar-u" (neg.-conative-causative-resumptive-look.at-yet- matter-instr.applicative-3rd.inanim.sg.patient/2nd.sg.agent-past-transitive).
Transitivity is determined by the number of core arguments, that is Agent or Patient/Goal. Minhast verbs do not necessarily map to traditional (i.e. Indo-European) notions of transitivity. As an example, the English sentence, "He jumped on the table" is grammatically intransitive. Available to the Minhast verb are both intransitive and transitive mappings: "Zekyaškī nirriekaran" , which is grammatically intransitive, with zekyaš=kī an oblique argument. The same meaning can be expressed transitively when the verb's valence is altered when the locative applicative affix (i)-n(i)- is applied: Zekyaš in-nirrieku.
Types
1) Adjectival 2) State 3) Impersonal 4) Phenomonological 5) Event
Verb Template
1) Negators, Precatives 2) Theme 1 Affixes 3) Applicatives 4) Theme 2 Affixes 5) Verb Stem: Verb-like Derivational Affixes, Root, Noun-like Derivational Affixes, Incorporated Noun 6) Social-Distributional Affixes 7) Pronominal Cross-Reference Affixes 8) Tense-Aspect Markers 9) Post-TA Markers (includes transitivizer, detransitivizer, and nominalizer affixes) 10) Terminals (clause operator affixes, irrealis markers)
Theme 1 Affixes
| Theme | Affix | Meaning | Additional Notes |
| Expective | -naš- | supposed to, expected to | |
| Desiderative | -šak- | to desire, wish | Other affixes that may occur in this slot are "-xp-" (to enjoy), "-nisp-" (to hate), -"ruxt-" (to like), etc. |
| Conative | -šn- | try | |
| Abilitative | -mar- | can, to be able to | |
| Approximative | -ntar- | almost | Denotes an action that was or is nearly to be carried out. |
| Potentive | -nitt(a)- | might, possibly | |
| Causative | -šp- | to cause, bring about | When used with the Privative, become the Negative Causative |
| Resumptive | -b- | again | |
| Intensive | -nt(a)- | very, extremely | |
| Privative | -mašn- | to undo | Reverses a state or action. When used with the Causative, it means "to cause to not be/do something" |
| Necessitive | -(y)yat- | to be necessary | |
| Continuative | -xt- | to continue | |
| Cessative | -kš- | to cease | Indicates the cessation of an action or state |
| Iterative | -xr- | to do several times | |
| Reactive | -knak- | to do the same action back to another (e.g. she hit him back) | This affix occurs only with semantically transitive verb roots |
| Excessive | -(ha)pm(a)- | very, extremely, too much |
Applicative Affixes
The Applicative Affixes are used to change the argument structure of a clause by increasing its valency, or by changing an oblique NP to core status as an Absolutive argument. The process of using an Applicative affix is often called "Applicative Formation", although other linguists prefer to use the term "Applicative Voice". This article will use the term "Applicative Formation" to emphasize that the argument structure of the clause is being changed by use of the Applicative affix.
| Applicative | Affix |
| Dative | -dut-, -utt- |
| Benefactive | -rak- |
| Instrumental | -mat- |
| Locative | -n-, -naħk- |
| Commitative | -ngar- |
| Ablative | -raħk- |
| Malefactive | -nusk- |
Theme 2 Affixes
| Mode | Affix |
| Habitual | -asm- |
| Inchoative | -saxt- |
| Inceptive | -nd- |
| Inverse Volitional | -kah- |
| Partial Control | -šk(e)- |
The Verb Stem
Verb Root
Incorporated Noun
Restrictions on incorporated nouns: they can only be noun stems; case and other markers are not allowed. Morphophenemic operations may occur as a result of the incorporation process. These operations may be seen in Phonemic Inventory.
Prepronominal Affixes
| Class | Affix | Additional Notes |
| Reflexive | -šar- | |
| Reflexive-Benefactive | -sakšar- | |
| Reciprocal | -šattar-,-šatt- | This affix requires plural actor affixes |
| Reciprocal-Benefactive | -sakšatt- | This affix requires plural actor affixes |
| Assistive | -fk- | This affix requires plural actor affixes |
| Assistive-Benefactive | -fkast- | This affix requires plural actor affixes |
| Associative | -mmak- | This affix requires plural actor affixes |
| Associative-Benefactive | -mmakast- | This affix requires plural actor affixes |
| Adversarial | -dus(s)art/dust- | This affix requires plural actor affixes |
| Pretensive-Assitive | -fkuš- | This affix requires plural actor affixes |
| Pretensive-Associative | -tušt-, -tuštim- | This affix requires plural actor affixes |
| Pretensive-Benefactive | -(a)mtuš- | This affix requires plural actor affixes |
| Pretensive-Benefactive | -(a)mtuš- | This affix requires plural actor affixes |
| Dative-Reflexive | -sab- | |
| Dative-Reciprocal | -saššab-,-sašp- | This affix requires plural actor affixes |
| Distributive | -tar- | The Distributive refers to an action or state across each Patient, and is usually translated as "each". The Distributive may also in some verbs indicate that the verbal event is spread out spatially across a surface, or temporally across different segments of time (e.g. "each day"). The Distributive does not refer to the Ergative argument of transitive clauses or the Subject of intransitive clauses; for these cases, the appropriate Quantifier adjective/noun is used. |
| Partitive | -nesr-,-ness- | Conveys that only a portion of the argument(s) is involved in the verbal event or state, sometimes translated as "some". The Partitive does not refer to the Ergative argument of transitive clauses; for that, the appropriate Quantifier adjective/noun is used. |
Pronominal Affixes
Portmanteau Pronominal for the Transitive Verb
The pronominal affixes present one of the greatest challenges to the students of the Minhast language due to their inherent complexity in structure and morphosyntax. These affixes serve important functions to the core arguments they coreference, such as indicating syntactic roles, gender, animacy, and number. These affixes, along with the role affixes, also serve to identify the verb as transitive or intransitive. For the transitive verb, the pronominal affixes present greater complexities than those of the intransitive verb - the transitive affixes, representing both the ergative and absolutive arguments of the clause, are portmanteau affixes; although some patterns can be discerned from this fusion of the segments representing the ergative and absolutive components, the transitive pronominal affixes are mostly irregular and have to be memorized individually. As expected, the affixes may change shape due to the sound changes created by adjacent morphemes. However, many of these sound changes deviate from the normal assimilation patterns described earlier in Chapter X "Phonology". The pronominal affixes distinguish three genders, masculine, feminine, and neuter. The neuters are further differentiated into animate and inanimate; the masculine and feminine genders are inherently animate and thus require no special marking. These affixes also indicate singular and plural numbers. Both the masculine and the feminine 3rd person plurals have merged into one common gender, while the gender for animate and inanimate neuter nouns are still distinguished.
Due to the complexity of the transitive pronominal affixes, their full forms are summarized in Table X below:
| Patient (Singular) | ||||||
| Agent | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 3rd masc. sg. | 3rd fem. sg. | 3rd neut. anim sg. | 3rd neut. inanim. sg. |
| 1st Sg. | ---- | -tak- | -(e)k- | -kk- | -k- | -tirk- |
| 2nd Sg | -ktah- | ---- | -tah- | -lettah- | -tah- | -tittah- |
| 3rd Masc. Sg | -knen- | -nten- | -nn-, -Ø- | -lenn- | -enn- | -tirenn- |
| 3rd Fem. Sg | -kl- | -tal- | -l- | -ll- | -l- | -till- |
| 3rd Neut. Anim. Sg | -k- | -t- | -Ø- | -Ø- | -s- | -t- |
| 3rd Neut. Inanim. Sg | -km- | -tam- | -m- | -mm- | -m- | -timm- |
| 1st Pl. Incl. | ---- | ---- | -hak- | -hlak- | -k- | -tirhak- |
| 1st Pl. Excl. | ---- | -ntem- | -nn- | -lennem- | -ennem- | -tinnem- |
| 2nd Pl. | -aktahm- | ---- | -mt- | -lettem- | -ettem- | -tittem- |
| 3rd Pl. Common | -ekken- | -takken- | -nk- | -lekken- | -seššen- | -tikken- |
| 3rd Pl. Neut. Anim. | -aksen- | -tasn- | -sn- | -less- | -sess- | -tiss- |
| 3rd Pl. Neut. Inanim. | -akmah- | -tammah- | -mah- | -(a)mmah- | -mah- | -timmah- |
| Patient (Plural) | ||||||
| Agent | 1st plural incl. | 1st plural excl. | 2nd plural common | 3rd plural common | 3rd plural neut. anim | 3rd plural neut. inanim. |
| 1st Sg. | ---- | ---- | -mtek- | -kenk- | -sek- | -mak- |
| 2nd Sg | -hektah- | -nimtah- | ---- | -kemtah- | -sat- | -mattah- |
| 3rd Masc. Sg | -hakn- | -nenn- | -tenn- | -kenn- | -sen- | -mann- |
| 3rd Fem. Sg | -hall- | -nell- | -tall- | -kell- | -sel- | -mall- |
| 3rd Neut. Anim. Sg | -hak- | -nem | -tahm- | -kem- | -sm- | -ma- |
| 3rd Neut. Inanim. Sg | -hakm- | -nemm- | -tamm- | -kemm- | -semm- | -namm- |
| 1st Pl. Incl. | ---- | ---- | ---- | -kemhak- | -sak- | -makkak- |
| 1st Pl. Excl. | ---- | ---- | -tamme- | -kemmi- | -sn- | -manne- |
| 2nd Pl. Common | ---- | -nittam- | ---- | -kettamm- | -suttam- | -mattam- |
| 3rd Pl. Common | -hakkem- | -nikkem- | -takkem- | -ikkem- | -skem-,-skum- | -makkem- |
| 3rd Pl. Neut. Anim. | -haks- | -niss- | -tass- | -kess | -suss- | -mass- |
| 3rd Pl. Neut. Inanim. | -hakmah- | -nemmah- | -tammah- | -kemmah- | -smah- | -nammah- |
In comparison to the transitive pronominal affixes, the affixes for the intransitive verb are much simpler. There forms are listed below in Table X:
Absolutive Pronominal Affixes for the Intransitive Verb
| Person | Absolutive |
| 1st Sg. | -k- |
| 2nd Sg. | -ta- |
| 3rd Masculine - Common Sg. | -Ø- |
| 3rd Feminine Sg. | -l- |
| 3rd Neuter Animate Sg. | -Ø-, -š- |
| 3rd Neuter Inanimate Sg. | -m- |
| 1st Plural Inclusive | -hak |
| 1st Pl Exclusive | -mm- |
| 2nd Pl. | -tam- |
| 3rd Common Pl. | -km- |
| 3rd Neut. Anim. Pl. | -i- |
| 3rd Neut. Inanim Pl. | -mah-, -ma- |
Tense-Aspect (TA) Affixes
| Tense | Affix | Additional Notes |
| Remote Past | -šar- | The Remote Past usually encompasses periods of decades or longer |
| Past | -ar- | |
| Present | -Ø- | Also encompasses the immediate past. |
| Immediate Future | -ne-, -nes- | |
| Future | -(a)satt- |
| Aspect | Affix |
| Imperfect | -(a)b- |
| Perfect | -Ø- |
| Partial Completion | -knakt- |
Post-TA Affixes
The Post-TA affixes serve to mark the verb's transitivity. The Detransitivizer combines with other affixes, such as the Reflexive, Reciprocal, and the Antipassive. It occurs oftentimes when NI has taken place, provided that the totality of the verb's valence operations did not promote a former Absolutive argument to Ergative case, which may happen if the Applicative affixes and/or the Causative surface, as in Redadde kaslub dutittaħšitipraru ("The man gave the dog some meat", lit: The man the dog he.meat.gave.towards).
| Class | Affix | Notes |
| Detransitivizer | -an-, -ēn-, -en + C- | The latter two forms are non-pausal forms for when the preceding vowel is e or -ē. Otherwise, the combination -ean occurs if the verb is sentence-final and no other affix follows. |
| Transitivizer | -u- | |
| Antipassive | -pi- |
Terminative Affixes
These occupy the final position of the verb complex. The most frequently encountered affix is the General Subordinative affix -mā.
| Function | Affix | Notes | |
| General Subordinative | -mā |
English translation: "then; that". This suffix is used primarily to link Sequential clauses. It also interacts with other verbal affixes in clause combining operations to form conditionals, complements, and other clause types. | |
| Purposive | -nimmā | in order to | |
| Direct Quotative | -namā | English: "Thus (x) says/said". Marks the following clause as direct speech. | |
| Indirect Quotative | -tamā | English: "(s/he) said that". Marks the following clause as indirect speech. | |
| Consequential Affix | -dur-, -dūr- | Indicates the clause is a direct result of the preceding clause | |
| Unexpected | -kil- | Indicates the verb is a sudden, unexpected event or state. | |
| Unexpected Negative Exclamatory Affix | -kilmakš- | Indicates the verb is a sudden, unexpected event or state, with strong negative connotations or disapproval. | |
| Unexpected Positive Exclamatory Affix | -kilwāš- | Indicates the verb is a sudden, unexpected event or state, with strong positive connotations or surprised delight | |
| Irrealis Affix | -š- | This affix marks the VP as an unrealized and/or hypothetical state or event. In addition to its usage in interrogative sentences, this affix, combined with the Consequential affix and certain sentential particles to form hypothetical and conterfactual clauses. This affix tends to elide any consonant before it. The Irrealis co-occurs with certain affixes, such as the Desiderative and allied forms, the Conative, the Inclinative, and the Future tenses. | |
| Nominalizer | -naft- |
Particles
Existentials
| Form | Basic | Past Tense | Immediate Future | Immediate Future |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | matti min, mattim | mattarim | mattanem | massatum |
| Negative | hambin | hambarin | hambanem | hambatine |
Conjunctions
| Affix | Meaning | Additional Comments |
|---|---|---|
| suttu/sut, =s + [NP]=suttu | and | [additional comments] |
| kan | but | [additional comments] |
| xan, xandaš | or | [additional comments] |
Deictics
| Type | Basic Form | Preposed "wa=" Form |
|---|---|---|
| Proximal | sappu | wassappu |
| Medio-Proximal | naš | wannaši |
| Distal | wašia | wassaše |
| Invisible | hūrit | wahūrit |
Modals
| Neutral | Dubitative | Comments | |||
| Independent | Verbal Clitic | Independent | Verbal Clitic | ||
| Hearsay | (wak)kaš | =(n)niš | (wat)tassumš | =(š)šix | it is said |
| Scriptive | (was)suriš | =ssumš | (wat)tupiš | '=supnimaš | it is written |
| Conjectural | (wan)nay | =sippaš | (wayy)utaš | =taš | perhaps |
| Exclamatory | ayye | =š | ayye | =š | "You don't say! Really!" |
Syntax
Wa Constructions
| Position | Format |
|---|---|
| Preposed | [Adjunct/NP] + wa=[Clause] |
| Postposed | [Clause]wa=[Adjunct/NP] |
The Preposed Wa-Construction performs the following functions:
- To introduce a topic, e.g. Nammakt wassikkur asmurīyaku >> Nammakt wa=sikkur asm-rīyak-Ø-u, i.e. As for Namakt, he hates Sikkur.
- To bind evidential and modal particles to a clause, e.g. Kaš wassuyyeknapār harran >> Kaš wa=suyyekna=pār ha-ar-an, i.e. It is said, dubiously, that he came with good intentions (came with good intentions == came using a [good] heart).
- To bind existential particles to clauses for creating transitive clauses with an unknown agent, e.g. Matti waħħurkintesnattuš >> *Matti wa=ħurk-nten-satt-u=š, i.e. There is someone who will hurt you (lit: There is a who/something which will hurt you).
- To bind deixis adverbs to their head clause, e.g. Sappu wamminhast kirmennemu >> Sappu wa=Minhast kirim-ennem-u We speak Minhast here.
- To form the absolute negation structure with the negation particle hatā' and the verb of the bound clause in the negative (essentially creating a double negative), e.g. Hatā' watteškīkaš >> Hatā' wa=ta-eški-ek-an=š, i.e. I will absolutely not follow.
- To bind stranded nominals that arise due to verbal valence operations, especially when these operations would create double Dative (i.e. double indirect objects), which are ungrammatical in Minhast, e.g. Nismien wappiyānaran Anyar yakte raħkittekaru >> Nismien wa=piyān=aran Anyar yak=de rak-hitt-ek-ar-u → PN.ABS CONN=piano=DAT PN.ABS 1S=ERG BEN.APPL-give-3S.ABS+1S.ERG-PAST-TRANS, i.e. I gave on behalf of Anyar a piano to Nismien. Here, piyan is a direct object, but it is marked with the Dative clitic =aran because it is indefinite4, and Anyar is a derived Absolutive via AF using the Benefactive Applicative affix -rak-. The sentence *Nismien=aran piyān=aran Anyar yak=de rak-hitt-ek-ar-u is ungrammatical
- To create idiomatic expressions, e.g. Hambim bak uwašnaru5 >> hambin bak wa=ušn-ar-u, i.e. It is no business of yours...that he hit him (lit. There is no what [that] he hit him), Hambin wattahittahaš >> hambin wa=ta-hitt-tah-an=š, i.e It doesn't belong to you, it's not yours for the taking (lit. There is no and not you shall take).
The Postposed Wa-Construction performs the following functions:
- To mark the conclusive NP of a ditransitive clause, e.g. Išpiħyinnaru wakkarkarabawā >> šp-iħy-nn-ar-u wa=karkarabawā, i.e. We selected him as war captain (lit. we raised him high, a great water buffalo)
- To bind the preceding clause to the Reason particle mīn, e.g. Ušnekaru naħtaraban wammīn >> ušn-ek-ar-u naħt-ar-ab-an wa=mīn, i.e. I hit him - he was annoying, that's why
- To allow inversion of an Interrogative pronoun/particle to final position, e.g. Kalluttaharaš wabbāk? >> kallut-tah-ar-an=š wa=bāk? i.e You ate what?
- To provide an alternative to Preposed Wa- constructions in binding evidential and modal particles to their head clause, e.g. Suyyeknapār harran wattušmat >> Suyyekna=pār ha-ar-an wattušmat, i.e. He (supposedly) came with good intentions, it is said (came with good intentions == came using a [good] heart).
- Like Preposed-Wa structures, to bind deixis adverbs to their head clause, e.g. Minhast kirmennemu wassappu >> Minhast kirim-ennem-u wa=sappu, i.e. We speak Minhast here.
Although both the Preposed and Postposed-Wa structures bind adjuncts to clauses, an important determiner for the speaker in selecting which structure to use is the issue of scope. The Preposed-Wa structure has narrow scope, and governs only its adjunct and the clause immediately following it, whereas the Postposed-Wa structure has wide scope, governing not just its adjunct and the clause immediately preceding it; its scope governs all the clauses of a sentence. This difference is why the majority of evidential and modal particles are sentence-final; evidentials and modals are in the majority of cases used to cover the speaker's beliefs and attitudes and trustworthiness of the source, which applies to whole statements, but rarely for just individual segments of a given statement. Another important difference is that the Preposed-Wa structure can be preceded by a verb marked with =mā or other subordinating clitic. This means that the number of Preposed-Wa structures can occur for each and every clause in a sentence. Such is not the case with Postposed-Wa structures; only one Postposed-Wa structure can occur for a given sentence.
Vocabulary
Main article in Minhast Vocabulary
Texts
Main article in Minhast Texts
External Websites
The Minhast language is mirrored at these other sites
The Minhast Language Page: http://www.freewebs.com/nickcamporillo/
Minhast - Geopoeia: http://www.geopoeia.net/wiki/Minhast
Minhast - Frathwiki: http://www.frathwiki.com/minhast