Antarctican/Verbs

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In the Antarctican language, there are no adjectives. Instead of adjectives meaning "red", "old" or "tall", there are verbs meaning "to be red", "to be old", "to be tall" etc. So instead of saying "the tall tree", you would say "the tree that is tall".

These verbs are clearly marked for transitivity (e.g. a different verb is used in the sentence "The door opened" compared to the sentence "I opened the door", and also inflect for whether they are putting focus on themselves or on nouns in the sentence (done via changing the end of the root). They also take infixes to indicate pronominal objects and voice changes (which is conflated with aspect marking). As well as this, they take prefixes to indicate pronominal subjects (which is conflated with tense marking).

Focus

Verbs have a root form, from which various other base forms are derived. The two most important of these base forms are the verb-focus base and the noun-focus base. Below is a list of verb roots with their corresponding verb-focus and noun-focus bases:

 

doleegi /doleːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

doleeju /doleːɟu/ - to drag, intransitive, verb-focus

`tùlòoezi /tuɦlɘɦːzi/ – to drag, intransitive, noun-focus

 

`ròedu /ʁɘdu/ - red, root

`ròedla /ʁɘɦdɮa/ - red, verb-focus

`ròedù /ʁɘɦduɦ/ - red, noun-focus

 

'kiraeypyi /kiʁɛipʲi/ - to become scraped, root

'kiraeypyu /kiʁɛipʲu/ - to become scraped, verb-focus

'kiraypùe /kiʁa;ipɨɦ/ - to become scraped, noun-focus

 

Verb-Focus Base

This is used to put focus on the verb ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_(linguistics) ) i.e. when the most important "new" information that is being communicated to the listener is the action being done in the verb, rather than the nouns that are doing it or it is being done to. How it is formed from the root is regular, but the rules are somewhat complex and depend on whether the last syllable of the base begins with a soft or hard consonant:

Final Consonant is Soft

If the final consonant (not including any placeless nasal /ɴ/) is soft, infix -iq-/iʔ/ immediately after it e.g.

 

hlõ /ɬɔ/ - to perform, root

hli-õ /ɬiʔɔ/ - to perform, verb-focus

 

However, many vowels shift when this happens e.g.

 

éypyii /ʔeiʔpʲiː/ - to spit out, root

éypyi-eey /ʔeiʔpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, verb-focus

 

inyelee /ʔiɲeleː/ - to pierce, root

inyeli-aa /ʔiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, verb-focus

 

kiveluun /kiɥeluːɴ/ - to die, root

kiveli-ewn /kiɥeliʔeuɴ/ - to die, verb-focus

 

These vowel shifts are all in a roughly anti-clockwise directions around the vowel space. The shifts are listed below:

i /i/ -> e /e/

ii /iː/ -> ey /ei/

e /e/ -> a /a/

ee /eː/ -> aa /aː/

a /a/ -> u /u/

aa /aː/ -> uu /uː/

u /u/ -> i /i/

uu /uː/ -> ew /eu/

ey /ei/ -> ay /ai/

eey /eːi/ -> aay /aːi/

ay /ai/ -> uy /ui/

aay /aːi/ -> uuy /uːi/

uy /ui/ -> ii /iː/

ew /eu/ -> aw /au/

eew /eːu/ -> aaw /aːu/

aw /au/ -> ow /ou/

aaw /aːu/ -> oow /oːu/

 

Final Consonant is Hard

If the final consonant (not including any placeless nasal /ɴ/) is hard, change it to be soft e.g.

 

yuentorõ /jɨɴtoʁɔ/ - to introduce oneself, root

yuentolõ /jɨɴtolɔ/ - to introduce oneself, verb-focus

 

However, many vowels shift when this happens e.g.

 

nangarew /naŋaʁeu/ - to flow, root

nangaluu /naŋaluː/ - to flow, verb-focus

 

'kirami /kiʁami/ - to swell up, root

'kiramyu /kiʁamʲu/ - to swell up, verb-focus

 

imuepu /ʔimɨpu/ - to sit down, root

imuepya /ʔimɨpʲa/ - to sit down, verb-focus

 

These vowel changes are often the reverse of what happens if the final vowel of the stem is a soft consonant. The vowel shifts are all roughly clockwise around the vowel space, and are listed below:

i /i/ -> u /u/

u /u/ -> a /a/

uu /uː/ -> aa /aː/

a /a/ -> e /e/

aa /aː/ -> ee /eː/

e /e/ -> i /i/ * For some words only, see below.

ee /eː/ -> ii /iː/

ii /iː/ -> uy /ui/

uy /ui/ -> ay /ai/

uuy /uːi/ -> aay /aːi/

ay /ai/ -> ey /ei/

aay /aːi/ -> eey /eːi/

ey /ei/ -> ii /iː/

eey /eːi/ -> ii /iː/

ow /ou/ -> aw /au/

oow /oːu/ -> aaw /aːu/

aw /au/ -> ew /eu/

aaw /aːu/ -> eew /eːu/

ew /eu/ -> uu /uː/

eew /eːu/ -> uu /uː/

 

Vowel Phonation Changes

A few verb stems that end in a hard consonant and e /e/ behave differently. If the consonant is an obstruent and the vowel is short, has modal voice and not followed by -n /ɴ/, then the syllable is deleted and voice put onto the preceding syllable(s). This voice is breathy if the deleted obstruent was voiced, and tense if it was voiceless e.g.

 

nuetoze /nɨtoze/ - to be fed on, root

nitù /nituɦ/ - to be fed on, verb-focus


siboete /sibɘte/ - to all be present, root

sipáe /sipɛʔ/ - to all be present, verb-focus (remember that Antarctican does not like voiced obstruents before vowels with breathy voice).

 

The breathy voice “spreads” backwards through the word, changing vowel phonation with it, until it hits a voiceless obstruent or prestopped nasal e.g.

 

madoze /madoze/ - to give birth, intransitive, root

`màotù /mɜɦtuɦ/ - to give birth, intransitive, verb-focus

 

nyiibe /ɲiːbe/ - to snow, root

`nyùue /ɲɨːɦ/ - to snow, verb-focus

 

san-gize /saɴgize/ - to bleed, root

sàon-gùe /sɜɦɴgɨɦ/ - to bleed, verb-focus

 

Tense voice "spreads" backwards in a similar way, except that it passes through voiceless stops and not through voiced stops, fricatives, or prestopped nasals e.g.


daraeke /daʁɛke/ - to cover, root

tárá /taʔʁaʔ/ - to cover, verb-focus

 


Noun-Focus Base

This is used to put focus on the (non-topicalised) noun(s) in the sentence.

 

Regular Formation

The default way of forming it is by putting breathy voice on the final vowel of the base, and changing the vowel quality in the same way as normal e.g.

 

éypyii /ʔeiʔpʲiː/ - to spit out, root

éypyùey /ʔeiʔpʲɨiɦ/ - to spit out, noun-focus

 

This breathy voice “spreads” to the left until it hits a voiceless obstruent or a prestopped nasal e.g.

 

gowpeyee /goupejeː/ - to suffer a setback, root

gowpòeyòoe /goupɘɦjɘːɦ/ - to suffer a setback, noun-focus

 

inyelee /ʔiɲeleː/ - to pierce, root

ùenyòelòoe /ʔɨɦɲɘɦleː/ - to pierce, noun-focus

 

kiveluun /kiɥeluːɴ/ - to die, root

kùevòelùun /kɨɦɥɘɦluːɴɦ/ - to die, noun-focus

 

Remember that Antarctican only permits voiced obstruents, prestopped nasals, and fricatives other than /s/, before vowels with modal voice. So if this vowel phonation change would produce such a forbidden sequence, then the consonant changes e.g.

 

hlõ /ɬɔ/ - to perform, root

lào /lɜɦ/ - to perform, noun-focus

 

These changes do not affect phonation spreading though, as we can see from:

 

madoze /madoze/ - to give birth, intransitive, root

`màotùsòe /mɜɦtuɦsɘɦ/ - to give birth, intransitive, noun-focus

 

nyiibe /ɲiːbe/ - to snow, root

`nyùeypòe /ɲɨipɘɦ/ - to snow, noun-focus

 

san-gize /saɴgize/ - to bleed, root

sàonkùesòe /sɜɴɦkɨɦsɜɦ/ - to bleed, noun-focus

 

When a consonant such as a voiceless obstruent or prestopped nasal blocks the phonation spreading, if the vowel preceding it is /ɨ/ or /ɘ/ with modal voice (or a diphthong beginning with one), then fronts to /i/ or /e/ respectively e.g.

 

yuentorõ /jɨɴtoʁɔ/ - to introduce oneself, root

yintùrào /jiɴtuɦʁɜɦ/ - to introduce oneself, noun-focus

 

imuepu /ʔimɨpu/ - to sit down, root

imipù /ʔimipuɦ/ - to sit down, noun-focus

 

nuetoze /nitoze/ - to be fed on, root

nitùsòe /nituɦsɘɦ/ - to be fed on, noun-focus

 

poensaa /pɘɴsaː/ - to be lost in deep thought, root

pensàao /peɴsɜːɦ/ - to be lost in deep thought, noun-focus

 

If the vowel is /ɛ/, or a diphthong starting with /ɛ/, before the blocking consonant, then it lowers to /a/ e.g.

'kiraeypi /kiʁɛipi/ - to become scraped, root

'kiraypùe /kiʁaipɨɦ/ - to become scraped, noun-focus

 

Final Syllable Replacement

In addition to this, some verbs lose their final syllable, which is replaced with –zi e.g.

 

doleegi /doleːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

tùlòoezi /tuɦlɘːɦzi/ – to drag, intransitive, noun-focus (-gùe has been replaced with -zi).

 

bilidli /bilidɮi/ - to make it across, root

pùelùezi /pɨɦlɨɦzi/ - to make it across, noun-focus

 

This process happens under well defined conditions. Both of the last two syllables of the verb root must have modal voice. Also the final vowel must be a short /i/ and not followed by a nasal vowel. The consonant immediately before this must be a voiced obstruent. And, in the proto-language, the verb root must have had pitch-accent on any syllable other than the final one.

 

Restrictive / Non-Restrictive Modifiers

When verbs / adjectives are used as modifiers, the verb-focus form is used when the modifier is non restrictive ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictiveness ), and the noun-focus form is used when the modifier is restrictive e.g. from the work teyláae /teilɛʔː/ - shirt, we can say:

teyláae `ròedla /teilɛːʔ ʁɘɦdɮa/ – a red shirt (non-restrictive)

teyláae `ròedù /teilɛːʔ ʁɘɦduɦ/ – the red shirt (restrictive)


Verbalisation

Antarctican has a very productive process for to convert a noun N into an intransitive verb root meaning “to become N” / “to be N / to do what N does”. How this is done depends on the voicing of the last vowel of the absolutive form of the noun

 

Last Vowel of Abs. Form has Modal Voice

In this case, the verb root is identical to the absolutive form e.g.

 

zive /ziɥe/ - boat, absolutive

zive /ziɥe/ - to be a boat, verb root

 

buraza /buʁaza/ - brother, absolutive

buraza /buʁaza/ - to be a brother, verb root

 

yuenpiluy - /jɨɴpilui/ - employee, absolutive

yuenpiluy - /jɨɴpilui/ - employee, verb root

 

Other Cases

However, if the final vowel of the absolutive form has tense or breathy voice, the verb stem is formed from the ergative form of the noun, minus any final –n e.g.

 

ùylòen /ʔuiɦlɜɴɦ/ - island, absolutive

oylendun /ʔoileɴdun/ - island, ergative

oylendu /ʔoileɴdu/ - to be an island, verb root

 

péy /peiʔ/ - book, absolutive

péykin /peiʔkiɴ/ - book, ergative

péyki /peiʔki/ - to be a book, verb root

 

támá /taʔmaʔ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

damaesin /damɛsiɴ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, ergative

damaesi /damɛsi/ - to be a victim of a scam / swindle, verb root

 

màao /mɜɦː/ - betel nut, absolutive

pmaagin /pmaːgiɴ/ - betel nut, ergative

pmaagi /pmaːgi/ - to be a betel nut, verb stem

 

`pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

bilidlin /bilidɮiɴ/ - bridge, ergative

bilidli /bilidɮi/ - to be bridge / to make it across, verb stem

 

`pàoy /pɜiɦ/ - baby, absolutive

baybyin /baibʲiɴ/ - baby, ergative

baybyi /baibʲi/ - to be a baby, verb stem

 

pàoy /pɜiɦ/ - page, absolutive

paydlin /paidɮiɴ/ - page, ergative

paydli /paidɮi/ - to be a page, verb stem

Transitivity

 

Whether a verb is transitive or intransitive Transitivity[*] is very important in Antarctican syntax. Unlike English, where a verb such as "drag" can either be used transitively (as in the sentence "He was dragging his pants along the ground"), or intransitively (as in the sentence "His pants were dragging along the ground"), Antarctican uses distinct verb roots for each case e.g.

 

doleeju /doleːɟu/ - to drag, intransitive, verb-focus (as in "his pants were dragging along the ground")

dleeju /dɮeːɟu/ - to drag, transitive, verb-focus (as in "he was dragging his pants along the ground")

 

`tùlòoezi /tuɦlɘɦːzi/ – to drag, intransitive, noun-focus

`tlòoezi /tɬɘɦːzi/– to drag, transitive, noun-focus

 

Very commonly, transitive roots are formed from intransitive roots by deletion of the first vowel and the second consonant. And if, out of the first and second consonants, one was soft and the other hard, the first consonant is changed to agree in hardness / softness with the second (deleted) consonant e.g.

 

doleegi /doleːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

dleegi /dɮeːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

 

shinari /çinaʁi/ - to twist, intransitive, root

hari /χaʁi/ - to twist, transitive, root

 

The transitive roots are then inflected for focus e.g.

 

shinari /çinaʁi/ - to twist, intransitive, root

shinali /çinali/ - to twist, intransitive, verb-focus

yùenàorùe /jɨɦnɜɦʁɨɦ/ - to twist, intransitive, noun-focus

 

hari /χaʁi/ - to twist, transitive, root

hali /χali/ - to twist, transitive, verb-focus

ràorùe /ʁɜɦʁɨɦ/ - to twist, transitive, noun-focus


Voice and Object Marking

Grammatical voice is very important in Antarctican. It is conflated with pronominal object marking, both only affecting transitive verbs and usually using infixes that come immediately after the first consonant of the verb base. As with elsewhere in the language, these are not differentiated for number, although there is an inclusive and exclusive “us”.

Infixation

This is the default way of marking pronominal objects and grammatical voice. In each case there are two forms of the infix, one that contains a hard consonant that is used with verbs beginning with hard consonants, and another that contains a soft consonant that is used with verbs beginning with soft consonants. Note that there is no infix to mark 3rd person objects. Instead the antipassive voice is used. The infixes are listed below in pairs, with the hard version coming first and then the soft version.

Infixes for Voice and Object Pronouns
Hard Form Soft Form
1PS Exclusive em imy
1PS Inclusive as ehl
2PS õs õhl
who ar el
what ab eby
Reflexive er il
Perfective Antipassive ut / ów(tq)s (see below) atl
Imperfective Antipassive am emy
Superordinate át(q) áet(q)l


These come immediately after the first consonant of the verb base e.g.


damaehlu /damɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle, verb-focus

dõsamaehlu /dɔsamɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle you, verb-focus


damaehlu /damɛɬu/ - to scam, verb-focus

demamaehlu /demɛɬu/ - to scam me / us (not including you), verb-focus


All of the usual rules about phonation spreading apply e.g.


pyùu /pʲuːɦ/ - to purify, noun-focus

pyùemyùu /pʲɨɦmpʲuːɦ/ - to purify me / us (not including you, noun-focus

pyòelùu /pʲɘɦluːɦ/ - to purify who, noun-focus


The infixes with non-back vowels and voiceless consonants also undergo vowel mutation if the following vowel has modal voice. This is the exact same as has been described before for noun and verb prefixes e.g.


damaehlu /damɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle, verb-focus

daesamaehlu /dɛsamɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle us (including you), verb-focus

deramaehlu /deʁamɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle oneself, verb-focus


If the first vowel of the verb base has breathy or tense voice, and the infix inserted would contain /ɬ/ (which can only occur before modal voice vowels), then it becomes /l/ and /tɬ/ respectively. However it still blocks the spread of the voicing e.g.


pyùu /pʲuːɦ/ - to purify, noun-focus

pyolùu /pʲɔluːɦ/ - to purify you, noun-focus

pyelùu /pʲeluːɦ/ - to purify ourselves (including you), noun-focus


The last example this is distinct from pyòelùu /pʲɘɦluːɦ/ - to purify who, noun-focus, which has breathy voice spreading onto the infix.

Note that, for the purposes of the syntax, using any of these infixes turns a transitive verb into an intransitive verb. This means that the subject of such an infixed verb can no longer take ergative case e.g.


  • yuenpiluy - /jɨɴpilui/ - employee, absolutive
  • yuenpiloy /jɨɴpiloi/ - employee, ergative
  • sõwdla - /sɔudɮ/ - soldier, absolutive
  • damasùe - /damas#616;ɦ/ - to scam / swindle, noun-focus


yuenpiloy damasùe sõwdla
jɨɴpiloi damas#616;ɦ sɨudɮ

An employee scammed a soldier


Above, we can see that the word for "employee" is in the ergative case, and must come before the verb. However, when the object is a pronoun, the word for "employee" must take the absolutive case e.g.


yuenpiluy daesamasùe
jɨɴpilui dɛsamas#616;ɦ
employee-ABS <1PS.INC.OBJ>scam-NFCS

An employee scammed us (including you)


Antarctican also permits the subjects of intransitive verbs to come after the verb, so the following sentence is also grammatical (and perhaps more common):


daesamasùe yuenpiluy
dɛsamas#616;ɦ jɨɴpilui
<1PS.INC.OBJ>scam-NFCS employee-ABS

An employee scammed us (including you)


Antipassive Voice


Antarctican has extremely productive antipassivisation (Antipassive_voice[*]). There are two infixes, which depend on whether the verb has perfective or imperfective aspect.


Perfective Antipassive

This is used for when the action described by the verb is not viewed as having any internal structure (Perfective_aspect[*]). It can be used for past, present or future actions e.g.

duetamasùe yuenpiluy
dɨtamas#616;ɦ jɨɴpilui
<PFV.AP>scam-NFCS employee-ABS

An employee scammed / will scam (someone who does not need to be mentioned here).


However, remember that alveolar stops (e.g. /t/) can never occur before /i/ and /ʎ/ (with any phonation), nor before tense voice /eʔ/ and /ɘʔ/, nor before diphthongs starting with these. If a verb begins with a hard consonant followed by one of these vowels, a different infix is used, normally -óws- e.g.


inyeli-aa /ʔiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, verb-focus

ówsinyeli-aa /ʔouʔsiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, verb-focus, perfective antipassive


kiveliqewn /kiɥeliʔeuɴ/ - to die, verb-focus

kówsiveli-ewn /kouʔsiɥeliʔeuɴ/ - to die, verb-focus, perfective antipassive


siséychu /siseiʔcu/ - to stab, verb focus

sówsiséychu /souʔsiseiʔcu/ - to stab, verb focus, perfective antipassive


However, if the first vowel of the verb root had tense voice, the ejective -tqs- is used instead e.g.


'kátla /kaʔtɬa/ - to make someone's acquaintance, verb focus

'kówtqsátla /kouʔtsʼaʔtɬa/ - to make someone's acquaintance, verb-focus, perfective antipassive


éypyi-eey /ʔeiʔpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, verb-focus

ówtqséypyi-eey /ʔouʔtsʼeiʔpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, verb-focus, perfective antipassive


Imperfective Antipassive

This is used for ongoing, habitual and repeated action (Imperfective_aspect[*]).


damamasùe yuenpiluy
damamas#616;ɦ jɨɴpilui
<IMPV.AP>scam-NFCS employee-ABS

An employee is / was / will be scamming (someone who does not need to be mentioned here).


Superordinate Voice

Like the antipassive, this also reduces a transitive verb's valency (the number of arguments it has, see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valency_(linguistics)) by one, and requires that its subject take the absolutive case. However, it requires some other verb to come afterwards to be subordinate to it e.g.


  • wonnye /woɴɲe/ - to want (something), verb-focus
  • wátonnye /waʔtoɴɲe/ - to want (to do something / something to happen), verb-focus


  • chi-iin /ciʔiːɴ/ - to fear (something), verb-focus
  • cháetli-iin /cɛtɬiʔiːɴ/ - to fear (that something will happen), verb-focus


So using the nouns below:

  • yuenpiluy - /jɨɴpilui/ - employee, absolutive
  • yuenpiloy /jɨɴpiloi/ - employee, ergative
  • sõwdla - /sɔudɮ/ - soldier, absolutive
  • sõwdlan - /sɔudɮɴ/ - soldier, ergative
  • nayba /naiba/ - neighbour, absolutive
  • nayban /naibaɴ/ - neighbour, ergative
  • tõn /tɔɴ/ - change (as in coins, money), absolutive
  • tãn /tɒɴ/ - change, ergative


We can say:

yuenpiloy wonnye tõn
jɨɴpiloi woɴɲe tɔɴ
employee-ERG want-VFCS change-ABS

An employee wants change.


yuenpiluy 'wátonnye sõwdla damasùe
jɨɴpilui waʔtoɴɲe sɔudɮa damasɨɦ
employee-ABS <SPR>want-VFCS soldier-ABS scam-NFCS

An employee wants to scam a soldier.


Note that in the second sentence, the case for the word "employee" has changed from ergative to absolutive. And since Antarctican allows nouns in the absolutive case to also come after the verb, the following sentences would also be grammatical, and all mean roughly the same thing:


wátonnye yuenpiloy sowdla damasùe

yuenpiloy wátonnye damasùe sõwdla

wátonnye yuenpiloy damasùe sõwdla


Similarly, using the verb meaning "to fear", we can say:

yuenpiloy chi-iin sõwdla
jɨɴpiloi ciʔiːɴ sɔudɮa
employee-ERG fear-VFCS soldier-ABS

The employee fears the soldier

yuenpiloy 'cháetli-iin sõwdla damasùe
jɨɴpiloi cɛtɬiʔiːɴ sɔudɮa damasɨɦ
employee-ERG <SPR>fear-VFCS soldier-ABS scam-NFCS

The employee fears he will scam / has scammed the soldier.


The words in this sentence can be ordered in the same fashion as before.

yuenpiloy 'cháetliqiin sõwdlan damasùe
jɨɴpiloi cɛtɬiʔiːɴ sɔudɮaɴ damasɨɦ
employee-ERG <SPR>fear-VFCS soldier-ERG scam-NFCS

The employee fears the soldier will scam / has scammed him.


Here, while the word for "employee" can come after the verb meaning "to fear", the word for "soldier", cannot, since it takes the ergative case (as it is the subject of the transitive verb damasù meaning "to scam").


Vowel Replacement

All Antarctican verbs use infixation to mark 1st person exclusive objects, whom, what (as a direct object), reflexive objects, the imperfective antipassive, and the superordinate voice. However, there is a subset of verbs that use vowel replacement to mark 1st person inclusive objects, 2nd person objects, and the perfective antipassive.

These are verbs where either a) the first vowel is short, modally voiced /i/, the second vowel has breathy voice, and there is no nasal intervening (plain nasals, prestopped nasals, and the placeless nasal /ɴ/ all count) or b) the first vowel is short, modally voiced /ʎ/, which is immediately followed by a voiceless obstruent, without /ɴ/ intervening or c) the first vowel is short, modally voiced /ʎ/, which is immediately followed by an approximant and then a vowel with breathy voice, without /ɴ/ intervening

The vowel replacements depend on whether the verb begins with a hard or soft consonant, but are regular (and have tense voice) and given in the table below:


Vowel Replacements for Voice and Object Pronouns
Hard Form Soft Form
1PS Inclusive á áe
2PS áo áo
Perfective Antipassive N/A use the -éys- infix instead ów


For example:


siséychu /siseiʔcu/ - to stab, verb focus

sáséychu /saʔseiʔcu/ - to stab us (including you), verb focus

sáoséychu /sɜʔseiʔcu/ - to stab you, verb focus


Note that the perfective antipassive form is created using the infix -éys- i.e. séysiséychu /seiʔsiseiʔcu/ - to stab, verb focus, perfective antipassive. It is only with verbs starting with soft consonants that vowel replacement is used.


Also note that, for the other persons and voices, infixation is used e.g.

semiséychu /semiseiʔcu/ - to stab me / us (not including you), verb focus

seriséychu /seʁiseiʔcu/ - to stab oneself, verb focus

sariséychu /saʁiseiʔcu/ - to stab who, verb focus

sabiséychu /sabiseiʔcu/ - to stab what, verb focus

samiséychu /samiseiʔcu/ - to stab, verb focus, imperfective antipassive


More examples:


kiràomùe /kiʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite, verb focus

kimyiràomùe /kimʲiʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite me / us (not including you), verb focus

'káràomùe /kaʔʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite us (including you), verb focus

'káoràomùe /kɜʔʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite you, verb focus

keriràomùe /keʁiʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite oneself, verb focus

kariràomùe /kaʁiʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite who, verb focus

kabiràomùe /kabiʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite what, verb focus

'kówràomùe /kouʔʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite, verb focus, perfective antipassive

kamiràomùe /kamiʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite, verb focus, imperfective antipassive


shuetinju /çɨtiɴɟu/ - to count, verb focus

shimyuetinju /çimʲɨtiɴɟu/ - to count me / us (not including you), verb focus

yáetinju /jɛʔtiɴɟu/ - to count us (including you), verb focus

yáotinju /jɜʔtiɴɟu/ - to count you, verb focus

shiluetinju /çilɨtiɴɟu/ - to count oneself, verb focus

sheluetinju /çelɨtiɴɟu/ - to count who, verb focus

shebyuetinju /çebʲɨtiɴɟu/ - to count what, verb focus

yówtinju /jouʔtiɴɟu/ - to count, verb focus, perfective antipassive

shemyuetinju /çemʲɨtiɴɟu/ - to count, verb focus, imperfective antipassive


(The /ç/ is lenited to /j/ when the vowel is replaced, since Antarctican does not like words starting with fricatives other than /s/ if the next vowel has tense voice.


Reciprocal Voice

One other voice that needs to be mentioned here is the reciprocal voice. This carries to meaning of "to do to each other / one another". It is formed by reduplicating the first syllable of the verb base e.g.


wonnye /woɴɲe/ - to want, verb focus

wowonnye /wowoɴɲe/ - to want each other, verb focus


darakòe /daʁakɘɦ/ - to cover, noun-focus

dadarakòe /dadaʁakɘɦ/ - to cover each other, noun-focus


shuetinju /çɨtiɴɟu/ - to count, verb focus

shueshuetinju /çɨçɨtiɴɟu/ - to count each other, verb focus


However, the reduplicated syllable cannot contain a long vowel, a diphthong, or the placeless nasal /ɴ/. If the first syllable of the verb base contains any of these, then it is truncated e.g.


ziitlàoji /ziːtɬɜɦɟi/ - to know (a person), verb-focus

ziziitlàoji /ziziːtɬɜɦɟi/ - to know each other, verb-focus


yinwùumùe /jiɴwuːɦmɨ/ - to turn in, noun-focus

yiyinwùumùe /jijiɴwuːɦmɨ/ - to turn each other in, noun-focus


kaaeykyu /kɛːi&k#690;u/ - to sell, verb-focus

kaekaaeykyu /kɛkɛːikʲu/ - to sell each other, verb-focus


The reduplicated syllable has whatever floating phonation is at the start of the word e.g.


'kátla /kaʔtɬa/ - to make someone's acquaintance, verb focus

'kákátla /kaʔkaʔtɬa/ - to make each other's acquaintance, verb focus


This may not be the same phonation as is on the first syllable of the word e.g.


'kamyu /kamʲu/ - to inflate (someone's ego), verb-focus

'kákamyu /kaʔkamʲu/ - to inflate each other('s ego), verb-focus


'kaypùe /kaipɨɦ/ - to scrape, noun-focus

'kákaypùe /kaʔkaipɨɦ/ - to scrape each other, noun-focus


Any changes to vowel quality that happen because of vowel phonation changes, also happen here e.g.


'puytlù /puitɬuɦ/ - to pick a fight, noun-focus

'póyputlu /poiʔpuitɬuɦ/ - to pick a fight with each other, noun-focus


As well as all the other regular vowel quality changes that happen when a noun takes a prefix e.g.


hali /χali/ - to twist, transitive, verb-focus

haehali /χɛχali/ - to twist, transitive, verb-focus


As with reciprocal possession, a few verbs have irregular forms in the reciprocal voice e.g.


ràorùe /ʁɜɦʁɨɦ/ - to twist, transitive, noun-focus

haràorùe /χaʁɜɦʁɨɦ/ - to twist each other, transitive, noun-focus


Generally, if a noun has an irregular reciprocal possessive form, then any verbs derived from it will also have irregular reciprocal voice forms e.g.


wùeròen /wɨɦʀɘɴɦ/ - friend, absolutive

fiwùeròen /fiwɨɦʀɘɴɦ/ - friends (of each other), absolutive


wòenzi /wɘɴɦ/ - to befriend, noun-focus

fiwòenzi /fiwɘɴɦ/ - to befriend each other, noun-focus


These irregularities happen for the same reason in reciprocal verbs as they do in reciprocal nouns, namely because there is an underlying initial consonant that changes form to something else because it is before a vowel with breathy voice or tense voice (which prohibit some consonants from coming before it). However, if there is modal floating phonation, then the underlying forms can resurface in the reduplication.


Pronominal Subject Prefixes

Instead of using pronouns to indicate subject, Antarctican uses prefixes on verbs. Which prefix is used depends on the tense of the verb (normally unmarked). They do not inflect for number. They are listed in the table below:


Past Present Future
1PS Exclusive uy omyi ow
1PS Inclusive chi we wi
2PS nyin ya yu
3PS day de daw
Who / What wu hew ri


Note that, for habitual actions in the present, the past tense is used. Also the present tense is used for imminent actions in the future (where English might use "about to").


Emphatic Forms

All of the pronomnial affixes have emphatic forms that are generated by lengthening the vowel e.g.


chisàon-gùe /cisɜɦɴgɨɦ/ you bleed, verb-focus

chiisàon-gùe /ciːsɜɦɴgɨɦ/ you (emphatic) bleed, verb-focus


However, the emphatic forms cannot be used with noun-focus forms, so while chisàonkùesòe /cisɜɴɦkɨɦsɜɦ/ - to bleed, noun-focus is grammatical, chiisàonkùesòe /ciːsɜɴɦkɨɦsɜɦ/ would not be.


This lengthening can also be used on infixes marking objects e.g.


pyõhli-uu /pʲɔɬiʔuː/ - purify you, verb focus

pyõohli-uu /pʲɔːɬiʔuː/ - purify you (emphatic), verb focus


If an object would be formed by vowel replacement (instead of an infix), then the emphatic form is created by lengthening the first vowel e.g.


siséychu /siseiʔcu/ - to stab, verb focus

sáoséychu /sɜʔseiʔcu/ - to stab you, verb focus

sáaoséychu /sɜːʔseiʔcu/ - to stab you (emphatic), verb focus