User:IlL/Sketchbook
Diachronics lab
Pluractionality ≈ antipassive!
Demonstrative/definite affix > construct state: PL-clam-those [of the] man > PL-clam-CONST man
Classifiers are in onstruct state
this CL NOUN > the.GENDER NOUN
apposition NOUN-1SG NOUN > CL-1SG NOUN > of_i-1SG NOUN_i
PREP-3SG NOUN > CASE.SG-NOUN
CONJ VERB NOUN > PREP NOUN
evidential-marking "because"
Witcanese
Wetcanese is a mainly agglutinative, head-final language.
- Kòtih wanaih kèpwanchè.
- 1SG.GEN-ERG mother-ERG 1SG.ABS-hate-WIT
- My mother used to hate me.
Phonology
Wetcanese has a simple syllable structure relative to most European languages. Permissible syllable shapes are V, CV, VC, CVC, CGV, and CGVC where G is a glide.
Grammar
Nouns
| Noun Declension | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number→ Case↓ |
Singular | Plural | ||
| Absolutive | -0 | -w, -u | ||
| Ergative | -ih | -wih | ||
| Dative | -af | -waf | ||
| Locative | -him | -uhim, -whim | ||
| Ablative | -chay | -uchay, -wchay | ||
| Comitative | -yã | -uyã, -wyã | ||
| Instrumental | -run | -urun, -wrun | ||
| Essive | -hòg | -uhòg, -whòg | ||
| Genitive | -t- (see Genitive declension) | |||
Adjectives and Genitives
Adjectives (including genitives) agree with the noun in case and number. Adjectives take the same endings as nouns. However, many adjectives are genitive adjectives formed form nouns, corresponding to the adjectival suffix in other languages.
| Genitive Declension | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number→ Case↓ |
Singular | Plural | ||
| Absolutive | -t | -tèw | ||
| Ergative | -tih | -twih | ||
| Dative | -taf | -twaf | ||
| Locative | -thim | -tuhim | ||
| Ablative | -tchay | -tuchay | ||
| Comitative | -tyã | -tuyã | ||
| Instrumental | -tèrun | -turun | ||
| Essive | -thòg | -tuhòg | ||
| Genitive | -tèt- | |||
Verbs
Verbs in Wetcanese have no tense or aspect inflection; instead, there is evidentiality and mood which can do double duty as certain tenses The irrealis is the default, unmarked mood/evidentiality, serving the role of the infinitive or the future in other languages.
| Wetcanese mood/evidentiality affixes | |
|---|---|
| irrealis | -Ø |
| witness | -chè |
| emphatic | -kòd |
| jurative | -tèmuh |
| quotative | -sha |
| mirative | -quh |
| hearsay | -ot |
| inferential | -eq |
| assumptive | -rwè |
| optative | -mes |
| imperative | -wõ |
| potential | -hiw |
| desiderative | -pãs |
| admonitive | -ay |
| permissive | -hyè |
- Phátu nukuchè...
- When did I last see it... (lit. When it was_located-I saw...)
The mirative marks new information that the speaker is witnessing. It often corresponds to present tense. In narratives it is used to exhort the listener for attention.
- Qayòlih milám hugaquh.
- Hey, the demon's chasing the dog!/Behold, the demon chased the dog.
The quotative is used for information from third-party sources deemed to be authoritative. As such it is the evidential most often encountered in narratives.
- Qayòlih milám hugasha.
- The demon chased the dog. (narrative)
The admonitive is used in prohibitions and warnings, and for negative purpose clauses.
- Phi qhashãsay
- Do not wander around
- ha ãbè mòsipay
- lest this be forgotten
Wetcanese makes use of verbal affixes, instead of intonation (like English) or word order (as in some European languages and Celtic/Hebrew), in order to focus a constituent.
| Focus prefixes | |
|---|---|
| absolutive | ne- |
| ergative | hin- |
| beneficiary | mac- |
| instrument | qo- |
| location | ya- |
| source | hòt- |
| goal | up- |
| time | al- |
TAM session
| Aspect-mood clitics | |
|---|---|
| *d- | aorist |
| prospective | |
| inceptive | |
| continuative | |
| pausative | |
| resumptive | |
| cessative | |
| retrospective | |
| Person-tense clitics | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number→ Person↓ |
Singulative | Generic/Partitive | Plurative | |||||
| Present | ||||||||
| 1 | *na- | *xa- (exclusive); *ŋe- (inclusive) | ||||||
| 2 | *sa- | |||||||
| 3 | *zə- | *cə- | *za- | |||||
| Past | ||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||
| Future | ||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||
| Jussive | ||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||
| Person enclitics | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number→ Person↓ |
Singulative | Generic/Partitive | Plurative | |||||
| 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||
Nominal declension
| Declension | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number→ | Generic | Partitive | Singulative | Plurative | ||||||||||||
| Definiteness→ | Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | ||||||||||
| Unpossessed | ||||||||||||||||
| 1sg | ||||||||||||||||
| 2sg | ||||||||||||||||
| 3sg.animate | ||||||||||||||||
| 3sg.inanimate | ||||||||||||||||
| 1ex | ||||||||||||||||
| 1in | ||||||||||||||||
| 2pl | ||||||||||||||||
| 3pl.animate | ||||||||||||||||
| 3pl.inanimate | ||||||||||||||||
| Impersonal | ||||||||||||||||
| Partitive | ||||||||||||||||
No idea if this will work
| Conjugation | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | ||||||||
| Active participle | ||||||||
| Antipassive participle | ||||||||
| Number→ Person↓ |
Singulative | Collective/Partitive | Plurative | |||||
| Aorist | ||||||||
| Active voice | ||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||
| Passive voice | ||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||
| Antipassive voice | ||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||
| Imperfect | ||||||||
| Active voice | ||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||
| Passive voice | ||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||
| Antipassive voice | ||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||
| Imperative | ||||||||
| Active voice | ||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||
- plân tròung or tròung plân
/pˤán ʈʉ̌u̯ŋ/ or /ʈʉ̌u̯ŋ pˤán/
plân tròung/tròung plân
teacher house/house teacher
The teacher's house - plân mā tròung or tròung mā plân
/pˤán ma̤ ʈʉ̌u̯ŋ/ or /ʈʉ̌u̯ŋ ma̤ pˤán/
plân mā tròung/tròung mā plân
teacher INV house/house INV teacher
The teacher of the house - plân mā srâlk tròung
/pˤán ma̤ kˤī ʂákˤ ʈʉ̌u̯ŋ/
plân mā srâkl tròung
teacher INV pure house
The house of the teacher of purity - plân mā kli srâlk tròung
/pˤán ma̤ kˤī ʂákˤ ʈʉ̌u̯ŋ/
plân mā kli srâkl tròung
teacher INV DELIM pure house
The teacher of the house of purity