640
edits
Antarctican: Difference between revisions
Added section on how focus marking in verb morphology interacts with topicalisation in syntax
m (Changed 2PS Past Subject Prefix from ka- to nyin-) |
(Added section on how focus marking in verb morphology interacts with topicalisation in syntax) |
||
| Line 1,825: | Line 1,825: | ||
die, root | die, root | ||
kùevèlùun /kɨɦɥɘɦ | kùevèlùun /kɨɦɥɘɦluːɴɦ/ | ||
- to die, noun-focus | - to die, noun-focus | ||
| Line 2,637: | Line 2,637: | ||
Note that sentence can only have one topic, so if the object of a transitive sentence is topicalised, then the subject cannot be (and must therefore stay in the ergative case). Hence utterances like "wùeru sowdla amielaykùe" are ungrammatical. | Note that sentence can only have one topic, so if the object of a transitive sentence is topicalised, then the subject cannot be (and must therefore stay in the ergative case). Hence utterances like "wùeru sowdla amielaykùe" are ungrammatical. | ||
===Interaction with Focus Marking=== | |||
====Intransitive Verbs==== | |||
If the subject of an intransitive verb is topicalised (i.e. put before the verb), then that verb cannot take the noun-focus form. So the sentence below is ungrammatical: | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
| sowdla || kùevèlùun | |||
|- | |||
| sɔudɮa || kɨɦɥɘɦluːɴɦ | |||
|- | |||
| soldier.ABS || die.NFCS | |||
|} | |||
The soldier died (ungrammatical) | |||
To make it grammatical, either the verb must take the verb focus form e.g. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
| sowdla || kivieli-iewn | |||
|- | |||
| sɔudɮa || kiɥeliʔeuɴ | |||
|- | |||
| soldier.ABS || die.VFCS | |||
|} | |||
The soldier died. | |||
Or the noun can be de-topicalised (i.e. placed after the verb) e.g. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
| kùevèlùun || sowdla | |||
|- | |||
| kɨɦɥɘɦluːɴɦ || sɔudɮa | |||
|- | |||
| die.NFCS || soldier.ABS | |||
|} | |||
A soldier died. | |||
There are no restrictions on topicalisation with verb-focus intransitive verbs. | |||
====Transitive Verbs==== | |||
However, using a transitive verb in the verb focus form requires that either the subject or the object is topicalised. So the following utterance is ungrammatical: | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
| sowdlan || amielaychu || wùerù | |||
|- | |||
| sɔudɮaɴ || ʔamelɛicu || wɨɦʁuɦ | |||
|- | |||
| soldier-ERG || hunt.VFCS || frog.ABS | |||
|} | |||
A soldier is hunting frogs. (ungrammatical). | |||
To make it grammatical, there are several options. The first is to put the verb into the noun-focus form e.g. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
| sowdlan || amielaykùe || wùerù | |||
|- | |||
| sɔudɮaɴ || ʔamelɛikɨɦ || wɨɦʁuɦ | |||
|- | |||
| soldier-ERG || hunt.NFCS || frog.ABS | |||
|} | |||
A soldier is hunting frogs. | |||
Or the object can be topicalised (by moving it to the front of the sentence) e.g. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
| wùerù || sowdlan || amielaychu | |||
|- | |||
| wɨɦʁuɦ || sɔudɮaɴ || ʔamelɛicu | |||
|- | |||
| frog.ABS || soldier-ERG || hunt.VFCS | |||
|} | |||
The frogs are being hunted by a soldier. | |||
Or the subject can be topicalised (by changing it into the absolutive case from the ergative) e.g. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
| sowdla || amielaychu || wùerù | |||
|- | |||
| sɔudɮaɴ || ʔamelɛicu || wɨɦʁuɦ | |||
|- | |||
| soldier.ABS || hunt.NFCS || frog.ABS | |||
|} | |||
The soldier is hunting frogs. | |||
[[Category:Languages]][[Category:Conlangs]] | [[Category:Languages]][[Category:Conlangs]] | ||