Ash: Difference between revisions

From Linguifex
Jump to navigation Jump to search
No edit summary
(176 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 2: Line 2:
|image = Ahba.svg
|image = Ahba.svg
|imagesize = 100px
|imagesize = 100px
|imagecaption = [[Verse:Ash/Onnawasta|Onnawasta]] emblem of [[Verse:Ash/Appa|Appa]]
|name = Ash
|name = Ash
|nativename = ''ahgaa''
|nativename = ''ạ̉hgaa''
|pronunciation = [ˈʔɑħˌqɑː]
|pronunciation = [ˈʔɑħˌqɑː]
|creator = [[User:Prinsessa|Ava Skoog]]
|creator = [[User:Prinsessa|Ava Skoog]]
Line 12: Line 13:
==Introduction==
==Introduction==


'''Ash''' (''ahgaa'', lit. "seaspeak", IPA [ˈʔɑħˌqɑː]) is the anglicised name of a language mostly spoken around coastal areas, notably the town of Appa (''ahba''). Its speakers are familiar with technological advancements such as nautical vessels and steam locomotives.
'''Ash''' (''ạ̉hgaa'', lit. "seaspeak", IPA [ˈʔɑħˌqɑː]) is the anglicised name of a language mostly spoken around coastal areas, notably the town of [[Verse:Ash/Appa|Appa]] (''ảhba''). Its speakers are familiar with technological advancements such as nautical vessels and steam locomotives.


The language is mildly synthetic to polysynthetic, largely based around agglutination with fusional elements. There is a great focus on verbs, nominals being mostly uninflected, and significant pro-drop tendencies and a general focus around deixis rather than pronominal distinctions. The word order is heavily SOV.
The language is synthetic, largely based around agglutination with fusional elements. There is a great focus on verbs, nominals being mostly uninflected, and significant pro-drop tendencies and a general focus around deixis rather than pronominal distinctions. The word order is heavily SOV.


==Phonology==
==Phonology==
Line 24: Line 25:
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
! Vocalic
! Vocalic
| {{IPA|/ai~ju~w/}}
| {{IPA|/a i~j u~w/}}
|-
|-
! Plosive
! Plosive
Line 33: Line 34:
|-
|-
! Glottal
! Glottal
| {{IPA|/h/}}
| {{IPA|/ʔ~h/}}
|-
|-
! Nasal
! Nasal
Line 39: Line 40:
|}
|}


The reasoning for this rather unusual classification is down to phonotactic patterning: these five groups all behave somewhat differently and serve as a more useful distinction than point of articulation when describing the phonology of Ash. The pair or triplet given for each phoneme refers to an alternation between various allophonic realisations despite the relatively low number of underlying sounds, an important feature of the language that makes the variation richer on the surface. For instance, long vowels (romanised by doubling the vowel) and nasal vowels (romanised using a tilde) are not analysed as phonemic.
The reasoning for this rather unusual classification is down to phonotactic patterning: these five groups all behave somewhat differently and serve as a more useful distinction than point of articulation when describing the phonology of Ash. The pair given for each phoneme refers to an alternation between various allophonic realisations despite the relatively low number of underlying sounds, an important feature of the language that makes the variation richer on the surface. For instance, long vowels (romanised by doubling the vowel) and nasal vowels (romanised using a tilde) are not analysed as phonemic.


===Romanisation===
===Romanisation===


The romanisation strikes a balance between representing phonemes versus surface realisations and uses the following seventeen letters as well as the apostrophe to mark syllabic consonants:
The romanisation strikes a balance between representing phonemes versus surface realisations and uses the following letters:


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
| a
| a
| ã
| e
| e
| ẽ
| y
| y
| o
| o
| õ
| w
| w
| b
| b
Line 63: Line 61:
| n
| n
| ŋ
| ŋ
| ʼ
|}
|}
Tilde (e.g. '''ã''') is used to mark nasalisation. Hook above (e.g. '''ả''') denotes a word-initial glottal stop. Dot below (e.g. '''ạ''') signifies otherwise ambiguous stress. An apostrophe ('''’''') is placed before a syllabic consonant.


An example of a word with its archiphonemic, phonemic and surface transcriptions as well as romanisation:
An example of a word with its archiphonemic, phonemic and surface transcriptions as well as romanisation:


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
| {{IPA|//ˈwat.ha.ka//}}
| {{IPA|//.Vʔˈuʔ.t͡si//}}
| → {{IPA|/ˈwah.ta.ka/}}
| → {{IPA|/ʔiʔˈwuʔ.t͡si/}}
| → {{IPA|[ˈʔɔ̯ɑħ.t̠ɐ.ʁɐ]}}
| → {{IPA|[ˈʔe̞ʍˈʍo̞ʔ.ȶ͡ɕɪ]}}
| → ''oahdaga'' "during the day"
| → ''ẻhhodse'' "hungry"
|}
|}


Line 95: Line 94:
===Prosody and stress===
===Prosody and stress===


Prefixes are always unstressed. Following the last stressed syllable an iambic pattern of secondary stress on every other underlyingly light syllable follows unless an underlyingly heavy syllable intervenes, resetting the pattern. In addition, unless at the end of a word, stressed syllables are forced to be heavy either by lengthening of the vowel or reduplication of the next syllable's onset consonant if they are not already underlyingly so.
Prefixes are always unstressed. Following the last stressed syllable an iambic pattern of secondary stress on every other underlyingly light syllable follows unless an underlyingly heavy syllable intervenes, resetting the pattern. In addition, stressed syllables are forced to be heavy either by lengthening of the vowel or reduplication of the next syllable's onset consonant if they are not already underlyingly so.


===Phonological processes===
===Clusters===


Depending on the underlying nature of a cluster, various processes take place either on a phonemic (phoneme alternation) or on a phonetic (surface allophony) level. For example, {{IPA|/t/}} merges with {{IPA|/t͡s/}} on the ''phonemic'' level before {{IPA|/i~j/}} or a plosive or an affricate, but alternates with {{IPA|[ð]}} on the ''phonetic'' level between vowels.
Depending on the underlying nature of a cluster, various processes take place either on a phonemic (phoneme alternation) or on a phonetic (surface allophony) level. For example, {{IPA|/t/}} merges with {{IPA|/t͡s/}} on the ''phonemic'' level before {{IPA|/i~j/}} or a plosive or an affricate as well as word-finally, but alternates with {{IPA|[ð]}} on the ''phonetic'' level between vowels.


* A nasal or fricative geminates before a glide, assimilating to and eliding it in the process.
* A nasal or fricative geminates before a glide, assimilating to and eliding it in the process.
* All plosives alternate phonemically with fricatives or affricates before another plosive or an affricate.
* All plosives alternate phonemically with fricatives or affricates before another plosive or an affricate.
* /h~ʔ/ (and plosives before nasals) is a fricative before vowels/glides and plosives but a glottal stop before nasals and affricates.
* {{IPA|/h~ʔ/}} is a fricative before vowels/glides and plosives but a glottal stop before nasals (as is the case for plosives) and affricates.
* Affricates are fricatives intervocalically, before other plosives or affricates, word-finally and before nasals (which are prestopped).
* Affricates are deäffricated intervocalically, before other plosives or affricates, word-finally and before nasals (which are prestopped).
* Sibilant palatalisation cascades bidirectionally through clusters; sibilants are also palatalised after {{IPA|/i/}} word-finally and cluster-initially.


<div style="float: left">
<div style="float: left">
Line 113: Line 113:
|-
|-
! {{IPA|//N-//}}
! {{IPA|//N-//}}
| [ɲ.ɲ]
| {{IPA|[ɲ.ɲ]}}
| [m.m]
| {{IPA|[m.m]}}
|-
|-
! {{IPA|//h-//}}
! {{IPA|//h-//}}
| [ç.ç]
| {{IPA|[ç.ç]}}
| [ʍ.ʍ]
| {{IPA|[ʍ.ʍ]}}
|-
|-
! {{IPA|//t͡s-//}}
! {{IPA|//t͡s-//}}
| [ɕ.ɕ]
| {{IPA|[ɕ.ɕ]}}
| [s̠.s̠]
| {{IPA|[s̠.s̠]}}
|-
|-
! {{IPA|//t͡ɬ-//}}
! {{IPA|//t͡ɬ-//}}
|colspan="2"| <center>[ɬ.ɬ]</center>
| {{IPA|[ʎ.ʎ]}}
| {{IPA|[ɫ.ɫ]}}
|}
|}
</div>
</div>
Line 134: Line 135:
|-
|-
! {{IPA|//p-//}}
! {{IPA|//p-//}}
|rowspan="2"| /h.P/ [ħ.P]
|rowspan="2"| {{IPA|/h.P/ [ħ.P]}}
|-
|-
! {{IPA|//k-//}}
! {{IPA|//k-//}}
|-
|-
! {{IPA|//t-//}}
! {{IPA|//t-//}}
| /t͡s.P/ [s̠.P~ɕ.P]
| {{IPA|/t͡s.P/ [s̠.P~ɕ.P]}}
|}
|}
</div>
</div>
Line 150: Line 151:
|-
|-
! {{IPA|//h-//}}
! {{IPA|//h-//}}
| [ħ.P]
| {{IPA|[ħ.P]}}
| [ʔ.P͡F]
| {{IPA|[ʔ.P͡F]}}
| /ʔ.ᴰN/
| {{IPA|/ʔ.ᴮN/}}
|}
|}
</div>
</div>
Line 161: Line 162:
|-
|-
! {{IPA|//p-//}}
! {{IPA|//p-//}}
| [ʔ.ᵇm]
| {{IPA|[ʔ.ᵇm]}}
|-
|-
! {{IPA|//t-//}}
! {{IPA|//t-//}}
| [ʔ.ᵈn̠~ʔ.ᶡɲ]
| {{IPA|[ʔ.ᵈn̠~ʔ.ᶡɲ]}}
|-
|-
! {{IPA|//k-//}}
! {{IPA|//k-//}}
| [ʔ.ᶢŋ]
| {{IPA|[ʔ.ᶢŋ]}}
|}
|}
</div>
</div>
<div style="clear: both"></div>
<div style="clear: both"></div>
===Laterals===
The lateral affricate {{IPA|/t͡ɬ/}} patterns phonotactically just like the sibilant affricate {{IPA|/t͡s/}} but is not always produced as a fricative, but sometimes also as an approximant. In contexts where the affrication remains, regardless of voicing, so does the frication, i.e. {{IPA|[t͡ɬ~d͡ɮ]}}. In leniting contexts the realisation depends on the environment, remaining a fricative {{IPA|[ɬ]}} in a voiceless environment while defaulting to a pure lateral approximant {{IPA|[l]}} in a voiced one, but when geminated by the absorption of a following palatal glide it assimilates to it as {{IPA|[ʎ̥]}}.
===Syllabification===
In unstressed prefixes, colourless or epenthetic vowels may drop out in favour of syllabification of an adjacent fricative or nasal. This is represented in the romanisation by an apostrophe '''’''' placed before the non-vocalic consonant letter.
An example is the inalienable possession prefix ''n-'' becoming ''’n-''. Some word stems have inherent consonantal prefixes that get resolved the same way: ''n-doo-'' "(fire) smoke" becomes ''’ndoo-'' in the absence of a prefix, and ''ảd’ndoo-'' when the direct marker ''ảh-'' is added.


==Morphology==
==Morphology==
Line 181: Line 192:


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="4" |
| colspan="3" |
! colspan="5" | Stem
! colspan="5" | Stem
| colspan="3" |
| colspan="2" |
|-
|-
| Deixis
| Deixis
| TV
| Agency
| Preverbs
| Incorp.
| Incorp.
| Class.
| '''Root'''
| '''Root'''
| Der.
| Deriv.
| State
| State
| Mood
| Mood
| Inv.
| Involv.
| Converb.
| Converb.
|}
|}
TV refers to transitive-volitional marking, as the two categories are entwined.


====Stems====
====Stems====


Each verb has a set of primary stems formed more or less predictably from a combination of affixes. The first stem, the stative (or active, if there is no stative) indicative, is used as the lemma when citing words, such as ''oada'' "to shine":
Each verb has a set of primary stems formed more or less predictably from a combination of affixes. The first stem, the stative (or active, if there is no stative) indicative, is used as the lemma when citing words, such as ''oada'' "to shine", also a good example of the versatile morphophonology:


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 208: Line 215:
! Stative
! Stative
! Active
! Active
! Transitional
! Inchoative
! Terminative
|-
|-
! Indicative
! Indicative
| '''''oada'''''
| '''''oada'''''
{{IPA|[ˈɔ̯ɑː.ðɐ]}}
| ''oahda''
| ''oahda''
{{IPA|[ˈɔ̯ɑħ.t̠ɐ]}}
| ''oadna''
| ''oadna''
{{IPA|[ˈɔ̯ɑʔ.ᵈn̠ɐ]}}
| ''oasda''
{{IPA|[ˈɔ̯ɑs̠.t̠ɐ]}}
|-
|-
! Optative
! Optative
| ''oase''
| ''oese''
| ''oadse''
{{IPA|[ˈʊːɪ̯.ʑɪ]}}
| ''oadne''
| ''oedse''
{{IPA|[ˈo̞e̞̯ʔ.ȶ͡ɕɪ]}}
| ''oedne''
{{IPA|[ˈo̞e̞̯ʔ.ᶡɲɪ]}}
| ''oesde''
{{IPA|[ˈʊɪ̯ɕ.ȶ͡ɕɪ]}}
|}
|}


All of these terms are to an extent ad hoc. Some verbs are inherently stative or active and do not have two distinct stems. The transitional is often used in a perfective sense as opposed to the imperfective or habitual active or stative.
All of these terms are to an extent ad hoc. Some verbs are inherently stative or active and do not have two distinct stems. The inchoative and terminative are often used in a perfective sense as opposed to the imperfective or habitual active or stative.


====Derived verbs====
====Derived verbs====


Derivational suffixes can be used to extend the root and create a new set of stems, such as the causative ''-j-'', the potential ''-d-'' and the frequentative ''-(d)s-'', which can themselves, depending on the word, be stative or active (all derived verbs are inherently one or the other or both and do not display the allomorphy of basic verbs), transitional and so on. These are some of the words derived from ''oo'' "consume":
Derivational suffixes can be used to extend the root and create a new set of stems, such as the causative ''-j-'' or the frequentative ''-(d)s-'', which can themselves, depending on the word, be stative or active (all derived verbs are inherently one or the other or both and do not display the allomorphy of basic verbs), inchoative, terminative and so on. These are some of the words derived from ''oo'' "consume":


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 231: Line 249:
! Stative
! Stative
! Active
! Active
! Transitional
! Inchoative
! Terminative
|-
|-
! Basic
! Basic
| colspan="2" | <center>'''''oo''''' "eat"</center>
| colspan="2" | <center>'''''oo'''''</center>
| ''oona''
| ''oona''
| ''ooda''
|-
|-
! Causative
! Causative
| colspan="2" | <center>''oyya'' "feed"</center>
| colspan="2" | <center>''oyya''</center>
| ''oena''
| ''oena''
|-
| ''oeda''
! Potential
| colspan="2" | <center>''ooda'' "edible"</center>
| ''odna''
|-
|-
! Frequentative
! Frequentative
| colspan="2" | <center>''odsa'' "gorge"</center>
| colspan="2" | <center>''odsa''</center>
| ''osdna''
| ''osna''
| ''osda''
|}
|}
Sometimes stems appear connected through no longer productive processes, such as ''ʼmmohwa'' "cook", related also to ''oo''.


===Nominals===
===Nominals===


Nominals are mostly unmarked; the main kind of affixation, while resembling case marking, results in converbialisation, thus changing the class of the word. Nominals can however be marked for possession (obligatory on inalienably possessed nominal) or be incorporated into a verb (in which case inalienably possessed nominal do lose their possessive marker).
Nominals are mostly unmarked. A handful of inherited inalienably possessed nominals are however obligatorily marked with a prefix or that disappears during incorporation into a verb. This possessive prefix ''n-'' can be preceded by a deictic prefix. Here are the possessed forms of ''mõõ'' "head; hair", an inalienably possessed nominal:
 
The possessive prefix ''n-'' can be preceded by a deictic prefix. Here are the possessed forms of ''mõõ'' "head; hair; top", an inalienably possessed nominal:


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 263: Line 277:
! Distal
! Distal
|-
|-
| ''ʼmmõõ''
| ''’mmõõ''
| ''emmõõ''
| ''emmõõ''
| ''ommõõ''
| ''ommõõ''
|}
|}


Any phrase can be nominalised using a classificatory topic marker (see below).
Any phrase can be nominalised using a classificatory topic marker (see below). When marked for the locative (see also below), these can be used to connect possessum to possessor.


===Converbs===
===Converbs===
Line 278: Line 292:
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
!
!
! Suffix
! Long
! Short
! Example
! Example
|-
|-
! Locative
! Locative
| ''-da''
| ''-da''
| ''mehda'' "by the fire"
| ''-s''
| ''’nsooda'' "where they live; by the house; at home"
|-
|-
! Durative
! Durative
| ''-ga''
| ''-wo'', ''-go''
| ''oadnaga'' "in the morning"
| ''-h''
| ''oadnah'' "when it gets bright; in the morning"
|-
|-
! Benefactive
! Benefactive
| ''-ba''
| ''-wa'', ''-ba''
| ''eeba'' "in order to see"
| ''-o''
| ''eawa'' "in order to see"
|-
! Semblative
| ''-ya''
| ''-e''
| ''ảyya'' "sea-like; blue; green"
|}
|}
The shorter forms are used unstressed vowels and in a few irregular instances, and are for example always used with the reduced forms of locative verbs (e.g. ''ảhba las'' "in Appa"); irregular instances include the contractions ''eas'' "here" and ''eah'' "now".


===Deixis===
===Deixis===
Line 311: Line 336:
|}
|}


Deixis occurs in the form of isolated nominals ''ee'' and ''oo'' as well as verbal and possessive prefixes ''e-'' and ''o-''. Neutral deixis sometimes surfaces epenthetically as ''a-'' due to phonotactic constraints, but is not underlyingly explicitly marked.
Deixis occurs in the form of isolated nominals ''ea'' and ''oa'' (reduced from ''eyya'' and ''owwa'' still used for emphasis), generally shortened and tending to blend into the next word, often as {{IPA|[-ɛ(ː~ˑ)-]~[-e̞(ː)ɪ̯]~[-e̞j-]}} and {{IPA|[-ɔ(ː~ˑ)-]~[-o̞(ː)ʊ̯]~[-o̞w-]}}, but also with the glide assimilating, leading to forms such as {{IPA|[-ɪw-]}} and {{IPA|[-ʊj-]}}. In verbs with some form of agency marker, the prefixes irregularly assimilate to it, retaining the initial glottal stop but displacing the vowel, e.g. ''*e--'' becomes ''-''.


===Conjunct and disjunct verbs===
===Conjunct and disjunct verbs===
Line 336: Line 361:
|-
|-
! Conjunct
! Conjunct
| ''(ee go) oada<u>s</u>''<br />"I am pale"
| ''(ea go) oada<u>s</u>''<br />"I am pale"
| -
| -
| ''(ee go) oada<u>s</u> no?''<br />"are you pale?"
| ''(ea go) oada<u>s</u> no''<br />"are you pale?"
| -
| -
|-
|-
! Disjunct
! Disjunct
| ''(ee go) oada''<br />"you are pale"
| ''(ea go) oada''<br />"you are pale"
| ''(oo go) oada''<br />"they are pale"
| ''(oa go) oada''<br />"they are pale"
| ''(ee go) oada no?''<br />"am I pale?"
| ''(ea go) oada no''<br />"am I pale?"
| ''(oo go) oada no?''<br />"are they pale?"
| ''(oa go) oada no''<br />"are they pale?"
|}
|}


Line 365: Line 390:
|-
|-
! Conjunct
! Conjunct
| ''(ee go) ahhee<u>s</u>''<br />"I look at you"
| ''(ea go) ảhhea<u>s</u>''<br />"I look at you"
| ''(ee go) assee<u>s</u>''<br />"you look at me"
| ''(ea go) ảssea<u>s</u>''<br />"you look at me"
| ''(oo go) ahhee<u>s</u>''<br />"I look at them"
| ''(oa go) ảhhea<u>s</u>''<br />"I look at them"
| ''(oo go) assee<u>s</u>''<br />"they look at me"
| ''(oa go) ảssea<u>s</u>''<br />"they look at me"
|-
|-
! Disjunct
! Disjunct
| ''(ee go) ahhee''<br />"you look at them"
| ''(ea go) ảhhea''<br />"you look at them"
| ''(ee go) assee''<br />"they look at you"
| ''(ea go) ảssea''<br />"they look at you"
| ''(oo go) ahhee''<br />"they<sub>1</sub> look at them<sub>2</sub>"
| ''(oa go) ảhhea''<br />"they<sub>1</sub> look at them<sub>2</sub>"
| ''(oo go) assee''<br />"they<sub>2</sub> look at them<sub>1</sub>"
| ''(oa go) ảssea''<br />"they<sub>2</sub> look at them<sub>1</sub>"
|}
|}


Line 386: Line 411:
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | Proximal
! colspan="2" | Proximal
! Distal
|-
|-
! Conjunct source
! Conjunct source
! Disjunct source
! Disjunct source
! Disjunct source
|-
|-
! Conjunct target
! Conjunct target
| ''(ee go) oada<u>s</u> (ee go) ogaa<u>s</u>''<br />"I said I am pale"
| ''(ea go) oada<u>s</u> (ea go) ogaa<u>s</u>''<br />"I said I am pale"
| ''(ee go) oada<u>s</u> (ee go) ogaa''<br />"you said you are pale"
| ''(ea go) oada<u>s</u> (ea go) ogaa''<br />"you said you are pale"
| ''(oo go) oada<u>s</u> (oo go) ogaa''<br />"they<sub>1</sub> said they<sub>1</sub> are pale"
|-
|-
! Disjunct target
! Disjunct target
| ''(ee go) oada (ee go) ogaa<u>s</u>''<br />"I said you are pale"
| ''(ea go) oada (ea go) ogaa<u>s</u>''<br />"I said you are pale"
| ''(ee go) oada (ee go) ogaa''<br />"you said I am pale"
| ''(ea go) oada (ea go) ogaa''<br />"you said I am pale"
| ''(oo go) oada (oo go) ogaa''<br />"they<sub>1</sub> said they<sub>2</sub> are pale"
|}
|}
When the source is proximal the target can also be distal in which case it is always disjunct and refers to a third person.


====Indirect involvement====
====Indirect involvement====
Line 410: Line 429:


{{gloss
{{gloss
|phrase=emmõõ bo ao ehbadsas
|phrase=emmõõ bo ảo ẻhbadsas
|IPA=[ʔɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbo̞ ˈʔɑːʊ̯ je̞ħˈpɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠]
|IPA=[ɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbo̞ ˈʔɑːʊ̯ ʔe̞ħˈpɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠]
|gloss=PROX-POSS-head TOP:CRESC ao PROX-TV-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ
|gloss=PROX-INAL-head=TOP:CRESC ao PROX-DIR-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ
|translation=Ao is braiding my hair
|translation=Ao is braiding my hair
}}
}}
Line 424: Line 443:
===Valency===
===Valency===


====Transitivity and inversion====
====Agency====


Transitivity is explicitly marked and through an inversion marker on the verb the roles of agent and patient can be swapped without a change in word order, the purpose of which is topicalisation, leaving the topic in the subject position. The subject requires a topical marker, the details of which will be explained in detail in the section on locative verbs.
Transitivity and volition are tied up in a single grammatical category termed agency. Direct agency is explicitly marked and through an inversion marker on the verb the roles of agent and patient can be swapped without a change in word order, the purpose of which is topicalisation, leaving the topic in the subject position. The subject requires a topical marker, the details of which will be explained in detail in the section on locative verbs.


{|
{|


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=ao go bahba e<u>hh</u>ee
|phrase=ảo go bahba <u>hh</u>ea
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʷʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ je̞çˈçi̯eː]
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ ʔe̞çˈçɛːɑ̯]
|gloss=ao TOP:ACT dog PROX-<u>TV</u>-see.ACT.IND
|gloss=ao=TOP:ACT dog PROX-<u>DIR</u>-see.ACT.IND
|translation=Ao is looking at the dog
|translation=Ao is looking at the dog
}}
}}


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=ao go bahba e<u>ss</u>ee
|phrase=ảo go bahba <u>ss</u>ea
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʷʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ jɪɕˈɕi̯eː]
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ ʔɪɕˈɕɛːɑ̯]
|gloss=ao TOP:ACT dog PROX-<u>INV</u>-see.ACT.IND
|gloss=ao=TOP:ACT dog PROX-<u>INV</u>-see.ACT.IND
|translation=Ao is being watched by the dog
|translation=Ao is being watched by the dog
}}
}}
Line 451: Line 470:


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=ehhees
|phrase=ẻhheas
|IPA=[ʔe̞çˈçi̯eːsɕ]
|IPA=[ʔe̞çˈçɛːɑ̯ɕ]
|gloss=PROX-TV-see.ACT.IND-CONJ
|gloss=PROX-DIR-see.ACT.IND-CONJ
|translation=I am looking at them
|translation=I am looking at them
}}
}}


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=essees
|phrase=ẻsseas
|IPA=[ʔɪɕˈɕi̯eːsɕ]
|IPA=[ʔɪɕˈɕɛːɑ̯ɕ]
|gloss=PROX-INV-see.ACT.IND-CONJ
|gloss=PROX-INV-see.ACT.IND-CONJ
|translation=they are looking at me
|translation=they are looking at me
Line 473: Line 492:


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=oadnaga aesããs
|phrase=oadnah ảesããs
|IPA=[ˈʔɔ̯ɑʔ.ᵈn̠ɐ.ʁɐ ʔɐɪ̯ˈz̠ɑ̃ːs̠]
|IPA=[ˈʔɔ̯ɑʔ.ᵈn̠ɐħ ħɐɪ̯ˈz̠ɑ̃ːs̠]
|gloss=shine.TRANS.IND-CVB:DUR REFL.PROX-LOC:LIQ.STAT/ACT.IND-CONJ
|gloss=shine.INCH.IND-CVB:DUR REFL.PROX-LOC:LIQ.STAT/ACT.IND-CONJ
|translation=I wash in the morning
|translation=I wash in the morning
}}
}}


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=oadnaga ao go aosãã ma
|phrase=oadnah ảo go ảosãã ma
|IPA=[ˈʔɔ̯ɑʔ.ᵈn̠ɐ.ʁɐ ʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʷo̞ ʔɐʊ̯ˈz̠ɑ̃ː‿mɐ]
|IPA=[ˈʔɔ̯ɑʔ.ᵈn̠ɐħ ħɑːʊ̯‿ɣo̞ ʔɐʊ̯ˈz̠ɑ̃ː‿mɐ]
|gloss=shine.TRANS.IND-CVB:DUR ao TOP:ACT REFL.DIST-LOC:LIQ.STAT/ACT.IND NEG
|gloss=shine.INCH.IND-CVB:DUR ao=TOP:ACT REFL.DIST-LOC:LIQ.STAT/ACT.IND NEG
|translation=Ao doesn't wash in the morning
|translation=Ao doesn't wash in the morning
}}
}}
Line 493: Line 512:


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=emmõõ bo ee ehbadsas
|phrase=emmõõ bo ea ảhbadsas
|IPA=[ʔɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbʊ ˈje̞j‿je̞ħˈpɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠]
|IPA=[ɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbʊ ˈjɛˑ ʔe̞ħˈpɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠]
|gloss=PROX-POSS-head TOP:CRESC PROX PROX-TV-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ
|gloss=PROX-INAL-head=TOP:CRESC PROX PROX-DIR-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ
|translation=you are braiding my hair
|translation=you are braiding my hair
}}
}}


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=emmõõ bo ee eebadsas
|phrase=emmõõ bo ea ẻebadsas
|IPA=[ʔɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbʊ ˈje̞j‿je̞ɪ̯ˈβɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠]
|IPA=[ɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbʊ ˈjɛˑ ʔe̞ɪ̯ˈβɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠]
|gloss=PROX-POSS-head TOP:CRESC PROX PROX-REFL.PROX-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ
|gloss=PROX-INAL-head=TOP:CRESC PROX PROX-REFL.PROX-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ
|translation=I am braiding my hair
|translation=I am braiding my hair
}}
}}
Line 513: Line 532:


{{gloss
{{gloss
|phrase=ao go bahba od<u>sãmm</u>oyya
|phrase=ảo go bahba ỏd<u>s</u>oyya
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʷʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ wo̞ʔˈt̠͡s̠ɑ̃mˌmʊj.jɐ]
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ wo̞ʔˈt̠͡s̠ʊj.jɐ]
|gloss=ao TOP:ACT dog DIST-TV-<u>water</u>-consume.CAUS.IND
|gloss=ao=TOP:ACT dog DIST-DIR-<u>water</u>-consume.CAUS.IND
|translation=Ao was giving the dog water to drink
|translation=Ao was giving the dog water to drink
}}
}}
Line 524: Line 543:


{{gloss
{{gloss
|phrase=ao go bahba mee<u>da</u> odsãmmoyya
|phrase=ảo go bahba mea<u>da</u> odsoyya
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʷʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ ˈmi̯eː.ðɐ wo̞ʔˈt̠͡s̠ɑ̃mˌmʊj.jɐ]
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ ˈmɛːɑ̯.ðɐ wo̞ʔˈt̠͡s̠ʊj.jɐ]
|gloss=ao TOP:ACT dog fire-<u>CVB:LOC</u> DIST-TV-water-consume.CAUS.IND
|gloss=ao=TOP:ACT dog fire-<u>CVB:LOC</u> DIST-DIR-water-consume.CAUS.IND
|translation=Ao was giving the dog water to drink by the fire
|translation=Ao was giving the dog water to drink by the fire
}}
}}
Line 540: Line 559:
|-
|-
! Animate
! Animate
| ''bahba go ahhoo''<br />"dogs eat it"
| ''bahba go ảhhea''<br />"dogs watch it"
| ''bahba go assoo''<br />"dogs are eaten"
| ''bahba go ảssea''<br />"dogs are watched"
|-
|-
! Inanimate
! Inanimate
| ''sãã sa ahhoo''<br />"water is drunk"
| ''sãã sa ảhhea''<br />"water is watched"
| ''*sãã sa assoo''<br />(ungrammatical)
| ''*sãã sa ảssea''<br />(ungrammatical)
|}
|}


===Topicalisation===
===Topicalisation===


New non-verbal information is focused by fronting, i.e. introducing the word or phrase earlier in the sentence. This means that the order of subject and object might shift in order to focus on the object. When the object is inanimate inversion is not possible nor necessary, while for an animate object it is. The nominal in focus will also receive a topic marker, explained in detail in the section on locative verbs.
New non-verbal information is focused by fronting, i.e. introducing the word or phrase earlier in the sentence. This means that the order of subject and object might shift in order to focus on the object. When the object is inanimate inversion is not possible nor necessary, while for an animate object it is. The nominal in focus also receives a topic marker, explained in detail in the section on locative verbs.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 558: Line 577:
|-
|-
! Animate
! Animate
| ''ao go <u>bahba</u> ohhee''<br />"Ao was looking at the dog"
| ''ảo go <u>bahba</u> ỏhhea''<br />"Ao was looking at the dog"
| ''<u>bahba go</u> ao ossee''<br />"it was the dog Ao was looking at"
| ''<u>bahba go</u> ảo ỏssea''<br />"it was the dog Ao was looking at"
|-
|-
! Inanimate
! Inanimate
| ''ao go <u>sãã</u> ohhoo''<br />"Ao was drinking water"
| ''ảo go <u>sãã</u> ỏhhoo''<br />"Ao was drinking water"
| ''<u>sãã sa</u> ao ohhoo''<br />"it was water Ao was drinking"
| ''<u>sãã sa</u> ảo ỏhhoo''<br />"it was water Ao was drinking"
|}
|}


Line 571: Line 590:


{{gloss
{{gloss
|phrase=[oo oahdaga bahba go ossoena]<sub>1</sub> [ee oahdaga esseenas]<sub>2</sub>
|phrase=[owahdah bahba go ỏssoeda]<sub>1</sub> [ewahdah ẻsseanas]<sub>2</sub>
|IPA=[ˈʔo̞w‿ˈwɔ̯ɑħ.t̠ɐ.ʁɐ ˈβɑħ.pɐ‿ɣʷo̞ wʊs̠ˈs̠ʊːɪ̯.n̠ɐ ˈje̞w‿ˈwɔ̯ɑħ.t̠ɐ.ʁɐ jɪɕˈɕi̯eː.n̠ɐs̠]
|IPA=[o̞ˈwɑħ.t̠ɐħ ˈpɑħ.pɐ‿ɣo̞ ʔʊs̠ˈs̠ʊːɪ̯.ðɐ jɪˈwɑħ.t̠ɐ.wo̞ħ ħɪɕˈɕɛːɑ̯.n̠ɐs̠]
|gloss=[DIST shine.ACT.IND-CVB:DUR dog DIST-INV-consume.CAUS.TRANS.IND]<sub>1</sub> [PROX shine.ACT.IND-CVB:DUR PROX-INV-see.TRANS.IND-CONJ]<sub>2</sub>
|gloss=[DIST shine.ACT.IND-CVB:DUR dog DIST-INV-consume.CAUS.TERM.IND]<sub>1</sub> [PROX shine.ACT.IND-CVB:DUR PROX-INV-see.INCH.IND-CONJ]<sub>2</sub>
|translation=[today I saw]<sub>2</sub> [the dog that (you) fed yesterday]<sub>1</sub>
|translation=[today I saw]<sub>2</sub> [the dog that (you) fed yesterday]<sub>1</sub>
}}
}}
Line 580: Line 599:


{{gloss
{{gloss
|phrase=bahba go oada esseenas no?
|phrase=oasya bahba go ẻsseanas no
|IPA=[ˈbɑħ.pɐ‿ɣʷo̞ ˈwɔ̯ɑː.ðɐ jɪɕˈɕi̯eː.n̠ɐz̠‿ᵈn̠ʊ]
|IPA=[ˈɔ̯ɑɕ.ɕɐ ˈβɑħ.pɐ‿ɣo̞ ʔɪɕˈɕɛːɑ̯.n̠ɐz̠‿ᵈn̠ʊ]
|gloss=dog TOP:ACT shine.STAT.IND PROX-INV-see.TRANS.IND-CONJ Q
|gloss=dog=TOP:ACT shine.STAT.IND PROX-INV-see.INCH.IND-CONJ Q
|translation=have you seen the white dog?
|translation=have you seen the white dog?
}}
}}
Line 602: Line 621:
| ''ebadsa''<br />"weaving"
| ''ebadsa''<br />"weaving"
| ''ebadsa ma''<br />"not weaving"
| ''ebadsa ma''<br />"not weaving"
| ''ebadsa no?''<br />"weaving?"
| ''ebadsa no''<br />"weaving?"
| ''ebadsa yo''<br />"(really) weaving!"
| ''ebadsa yo''<br />"(really) weaving!"
|}
|}
Line 622: Line 641:
==Locative verbs==
==Locative verbs==


An important part of Ash grammar is an extensive set of so called locative verbs which are used almost like a noun classification system and cover location, motion and related concepts while providing specific information about the referent at hand, such as specifying whether liquid is involved.
An important part of Ash grammar is an extensive set of so called locative verbs which are used almost like a noun classification system and cover location, motion and related concepts while providing specific information about the referent at hand, such as specifying whether liquid is involved. These also have reduced clitic forms used as topic markers.


These are some of those verbs:
These are some of those verbs:


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
! Lemma
! Locative
! Topic
! Gloss
! Gloss
! Semantic range
! Semantic range
|-
|-
| ''laa''
| ''laa''
| ''la''
| :STAT
| :STAT
| General stative (indefinite or permanent)
| General stative (indefinite or permanent)
|-
|-
| ''goo''
| ''goo''
| ''go''
| :ACT
| :ACT
| General active (temporary or dynamic)
| General active (temporary or dynamic)
|-
|-
| ''sãã''
| ''sãã''
| ''sa''
| :LIQ
| :LIQ
| Water and other liquids
| Water and other liquids
|-
|-
| ''see''
| ''see''
| ''se''
| :AER
| :AER
| Air and weather
| Air and weather
|-
|-
| ''boo''
| ''boo''
| ''bo''
| :CRESC
| :CRESC
| Growth (hair, plants et c.)
| Growth (hair, plants et c.)
|-
|-
| ''doo''
| ''doo''
| ''do''
| :PART
| :PART
| Particles (powder, sand, dust, smoke, spores et c.)
| Particles (powder, sand, dust, smoke, spores et c.)
|-
|-
| ''mee''
| ''mea''
| ''me''
| :PYR
| :PYR
| Fire (by extension core or centre)
| Fire (by extension core or centre)
|-
| ''baa''
| ''ba''
| :MAN
| Hand and instrumental (things held; implements and tools)
|}
|}


Line 667: Line 699:


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=՚mmõõ bo
|phrase=ʼmmõõ bo
|IPA=[ʔm̩ˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbʊ]
|IPA=[m̩ˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbʊ]
|gloss=POSS-head TOP:CRESC
|gloss=POSS-head=TOP:CRESC
|translation=hair (on the head)
|translation=hair (on the head)
}}
}}


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=՚mmõõ la
|phrase=ʼmmõõ la
|IPA=[ʔm̩ˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ⁿd͡ɮɐ]
|IPA=[m̩ˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ⁿd͡ɮɐ]
|gloss=POSS-head TOP:STAT
|gloss=POSS-head=TOP:STAT
|translation=head (on the body)
|translation=head (on the body)
}}
|{{gloss
|phrase=՚mmõõ go
|IPA=[ʔm̩ˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵑɡʷʊ]
|gloss=POSS-head TOP:ACT
|translation=head (detached from the body)
}}
}}


|}
|}


Used this way they nonetheless remain verbs with the accompanying syntactic implications. Since they create subclauses, a nominal specified for category with a locative verb cannot be used in object position and so will always precede any agent. However, since this is in line with the normal rule of topicalisation by fronting, it has no actual implications on the syntax.
Used this way they nonetheless remain verbs with the accompanying syntactic implications. Since they create subclauses, a nominal specified for category with a locative verb cannot be used in object position and so will always precede any agent. However, since this is in line with the normal rule of topicalisation by fronting, it has no actual implications for the syntax.


{{gloss
{{gloss
|phrase=emmõõ bo ao ehbadsas
|phrase=emmõõ bo ảo ẻhbadsas
|IPA=[ʔɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbo̞ ˈʔɑːʊ̯ je̞ħˈpɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠]
|IPA=[ɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbo̞ ˈʔɑːo̞ ʔe̞ħˈpɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠]
|gloss=PROX-POSS-head TOP:CRESC ao PROX-TV-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ
|gloss=PROX-INAL-head=TOP:CRESC ao PROX-DIR-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ
|translation=Ao is braiding my hair
|translation=Ao is braiding my hair
}}
}}
Unstressed locatives also apply to the pronominal-like nominals ''ee'' "this", ''oo'' "that", ''nõõ'' "what" and ''maa'' "none".


===Conjunction===
===Conjunction===
Line 705: Line 728:


{{gloss
{{gloss
|phrase=ao go bahba go ooda egoo
|phrase=ảo go bahba go oas egoo
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʷʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ‿ɣʷo̞ ˈwu̯oː.ðɐ jɪˈɣʷu̯oː]
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ‿ɣo̞ ˈwɔˑʑ ɪˈɣu̯oː]
|gloss=ao TOP:ACT dog TOP:ACT DIST-LOC PROX-CVB:LOC:ACT.STAT/ACT.IND
|gloss=ao=TOP:ACT dog=TOP:ACT DIST-CVB:LOC PROX-CVB:LOC:ACT.STAT/ACT.IND
|translation=Ao and the dog are over there
|translation=Ao and the dog are over there
}}
}}
===Specification===
To denote motion, an andative ("going") or venitive ("coming") prefix is placed into the verbal classifier slot.
{|
|{{gloss
|phrase=ao go ՚lgoo
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʷo̞ ʔɬ̠̩ˈkʷu̯oː]
|gloss=ao TOP:ACT AND-LOC:ACT.STAT/ACT.IND
|translation=Ao moves (away)
}}
|{{gloss
|phrase=ao go ՚ŋgoo
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʷo̞ ʔŋ̩ˈɡʷu̯oː]
|gloss=ao TOP:ACT VEN-LOC:ACT.STAT/ACT.IND
|translation=Ao moves (hither)
}}
|}
The preverb slot can be used to specify manner, location or direction.
{|
|{{gloss
|phrase=ao go negoo
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʷʊ ɲɪˈɣʷu̯oː]
|gloss=ao TOP:ACT SUB-LOC:ACT.STAT/ACT.IND
|translation=Ao is below
}}
|{{gloss
|phrase=ao go nelgoo
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʷʊ ɲɪɬˈkʷu̯oː]
|gloss=ao TOP:ACT SUB-MOT-LOC:ACT.STAT/ACT.IND
|translation=Ao moves down
}}
|}


===Use with converbs===
===Use with converbs===
Line 760: Line 741:


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=ahda sãã
|phrase=ảo sas sãã
|IPA=[ˈʔɑħ.t̠ɐ ˈz̠ɑ̃ː]
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿z̠ɐz̠ ˈd̠͡z̠ɑ̃ː]
|gloss=sea-CVB:LOC LOC:LIQ.STAT/ACT.IND
|gloss=sea=TOP:LIQ-CVB:LOC LOC:LIQ.STAT/ACT.IND
|translation=(be) in the ocean; at sea
|translation=(be) in the ocean; at sea
}}
}}


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=ahda laa
|phrase=ảo sas laa
|IPA=[ˈʔɑħ.t̠ɐ ˈɮɑː]
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿z̠ɐz̠ ˈd͡ɮɑ̃ː]
|gloss=sea-CVB:LOC LOC:STAT.STAT/ACT.IND
|gloss=sea=TOP:LIQ-CVB:LOC LOC:STAT.STAT/ACT.IND
|translation=(be) by the sea
|translation=(be) by the sea
}}
}}
Line 775: Line 756:
|}
|}


==Pragmatics and conventions==
===Possession===
 
Being a verb-heavy language, Ash often lacks direct nominal counterparts to nouns in more analytic languages, instead expressing many common (and uncommon) concepts descriptively through its rich morphological and derivational verb system rather than assigning nominal lexemes to them (although this also happens), one key factor again being the locative verbs.
 
{|
 
|{{gloss
|phrase=nendsãndsada
|IPA=[ɲᶡɪn̠ˈd̠͡z̠ɑ̃n̠.d̠͡z̠ɐ.ðɐ]
|gloss=SUB-VEN-LOC:LIQ.FREQ.IND-CVB:LOC
|translation=by the (bottom of the) waterfall<br />(lit. "where water comes gushing down")
}}
 
|{{gloss
|phrase=neldsãndsada
|IPA=[ɲᶡɪɬ.t̠͡s̠ɑ̃n̠.d̠͡z̠ɐ.ðɐ]
|gloss=SUB-AND-LOC:LIQ.FREQ.IND-CVB:LOC
|translation=by the (top of the) waterfall<br />(lit. "where water goes gushing down")
}}
 
|}


As this example demonstrates, there is no one lexicalised nominal for the concept of a waterfall, but a fitting verb is used depending on the context. Nonetheless the phrase is possible to nominalise if grammatically necessary and sometimes this does result in lexicalisation.
Unstressed locative verbs marked with the locative converbialiser ''-s'' serve to mark the possessor of a possessum.


{{gloss
{{gloss
|phrase=<u>dodsa</u> go nõŋgo oŋgoone?
|phrase=ảo gos ʼmmõõ la
|IPA=[ˈd̠o̞ʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐ‿ɣʷʊ ˈn̠õ̞ŋ.ɡʷo̞ wʊŋˈɡʷu̯oː.ɲɪ]
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʊ‿z̠m̩ˈmũ̯õː‿ⁿd͡ɮɐ]
|gloss=<u>smoke.FREQ.IND</u> TOP:ACT Q-CVB:DUR DIST-VEN-LOC:ACT.TRANS.OPT
|gloss=ao=TOP:ACT-CVB:LOC INAL-head=TOP:STAT
|translation=when does the <u>train</u> arrive?
|translation=Ao's head (lit. "head at Ao")
}}
}}


In such cases there may be a clear-cut distinction between such lexicalisations and productive formations.
==Pragmatics and conventions==


===Modality===
===Modality===
Line 815: Line 776:


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=ewoes
|phrase=ẻhhodses
|IPA=[ʔɪˈwʊːɪ̯ɕ]
|IPA=[ʔe̞ʍˈʍo̞ʔ.ȶ͡ɕɪɕ]
|gloss=PROX-consume.ACT.OPT-CONJ
|gloss=PROX-DIR-consume.FREQ.ACT.OPT-CONJ
|translation=I want/need to eat; I am hungry
|translation=I want/need to eat; I am hungry
}}
}}


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=ewoe no
|phrase=ẻhhodses no
|IPA=[ʔɪˈwʊːɪ̯‿n̠ʊ]
|IPA=[ʔe̞ʍˈʍo̞ʔ.ȶ͡ɕɪʑ‿ᵈn̠ʊ]
|gloss=PROX-consume.ACT.OPT Q
|gloss=PROX-DIR-consume.FREQ.ACT.OPT-CONJ=Q
|translation=perhaps I should eat something
|translation=perhaps I should eat something
}}
}}


|{{gloss
|{{gloss
|phrase=bahba go ewoe no
|phrase=bahba go ẻhhodse no
|IPA=[ˈbɑħ.pɐ‿ɣʷʊ jɪˈwʊːɪ̯‿n̠ʊ]
|IPA=[ˈbɑħ.pɐ‿ɣo̞ ʔe̞ʍˈʍo̞ʔ.ȶ͡ɕɪ‿n̠ʊ]
|gloss=dog TOP:ACT PROX-consume.ACT.OPT Q
|gloss=dog=TOP:ACT PROX-DIR-consume.FREQ.ACT.OPT=Q
|translation=maybe the dog is hungry
|translation=maybe the dog is hungry
}}
|}
===Domestic vocabulary===
The verb ''soo'' carries many meanings related to the home. An important part of its usage is the focus on the host rather than the guest when describing a visit.
{{gloss
|phrase=ao go ahbada esdsoes
|IPA=[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʷo̞ ˈʔɑħ.pɐ.ðɐ jɪɕˈȶ͡ɕʊːɪ̯ɕ]
|gloss=ao TOP:ACT appa-CVB:LOC PROX-INV-LOC:DOM.STAT/ACT.OPT-CONJ
|translation=I'm on my way to visit Ao in Appa
}}
Nonetheless it refers to the referent's own home when used intransitively.
{|
|{{gloss
|phrase=sooda
|IPA=[ˈd̠͡z̠u̯oː.ðɐ]
|gloss=LOC:DOM.STAT/ACT.IND-CVB:LOC
|translation=(at) home
}}
|{{gloss
|phrase=sooga
|IPA=[ˈd̠͡z̠u̯oː.ʁɐ]
|gloss=LOC:DOM.STAT/ACT.IND-CVB:DUR
|translation=[when ](at) home
}}
|{{gloss
|phrase=ahbada esoonas
|IPA=[ˈʔɑħ.pɐ.ðɐ jɪˈz̠u̯oː.n̠ɐs̠]
|gloss=appa-LOC PROX-LOC:DOM.TRANS.IND-CONJ
|translation=I've moved to Appa
}}
}}


Line 877: Line 800:
===Colour terms===
===Colour terms===


While most descriptive attributes are expressed through stative verbs, colours are expressed through comparative converbs, likening the appearance of the referent to something else, such as ''mee'' "fire" → ''meyya'' "red; yellow; orange; brown" or ''ao'' "sea" → ''ayya'' "blue; green". These are combined with locative verbs.
Colours are mainly expressed through semblative converbs, likening the appearance of the referent to something else, such as ''mee'' "fire" → ''meyya'' "red; yellow; orange; brown" or ''ảo'' "sea" → ''ảyya'' "blue; green".


{{gloss
{{gloss
|phrase=meyya bahba go
|phrase=meyya bahba go
|IPA=[ˈmᵇe̞j.jɐ ˈβɑħ.pɐ‿ɣʷʊ]
|IPA=[ˈme̞j.jɐ ˈβɑħ.pɐ‿ɣʊ]
|gloss=fire-CVB:SEMB dog TOP:ACT
|gloss=fire-CVB:SEMB dog=TOP:ACT
|translation=a brown dog
|translation=a brown dog
}}
}}
The exceptions are brightness and darkness which are still expressed through stative verbs, which can also be combined with the comparative converb to specify the hue.
{|
|{{gloss
|phrase=bahba go oada
|IPA=[ˈbɑħ.pɐ‿ɣʷo̞ ˈwɔ̯ɑː.ðɐ]
|gloss=dog TOP:ACT shine.STAT.IND
|translation=a white dog
}}
|{{gloss
|phrase=meyya bahba go oada
|IPA=[ˈmᵇe̞j.jɐ ˈβɑħ.pɐ‿ɣʷo̞ ˈwɔ̯ɑː.ðɐ]
|gloss=fire-SEMB dog TOP:ACT shine.STAT.IND
|translation=a light brown dog
}}
|}


[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Languages]]

Revision as of 21:31, 11 January 2020

Ash
ạ̉hgaa
Ahba.svg
Onnawasta emblem of Appa
Pronunciation[[Help:IPA|ˈʔɑħˌqɑː]]
Created byAva Skoog
?
  • Ash
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Introduction

Ash (ạ̉hgaa, lit. "seaspeak", IPA [ˈʔɑħˌqɑː]) is the anglicised name of a language mostly spoken around coastal areas, notably the town of Appa (ảhba). Its speakers are familiar with technological advancements such as nautical vessels and steam locomotives.

The language is synthetic, largely based around agglutination with fusional elements. There is a great focus on verbs, nominals being mostly uninflected, and significant pro-drop tendencies and a general focus around deixis rather than pronominal distinctions. The word order is heavily SOV.

Phonology

Phonemes

Due to the small number of underlying sounds in Ash and their high degree of allophonicity, a simple listing of phonemes according to phonotactic patterning is more suitable than a traditional consonant table and vowel trapezium.

Vocalic /a i~j u~w/
Plosive /p~β t~ð k~ɣ/
Affricate /t͡ɬ~ɬ t͡s~s/
Glottal /ʔ~h/
Nasal /m~˜ n~˜ ŋ~˜/

The reasoning for this rather unusual classification is down to phonotactic patterning: these five groups all behave somewhat differently and serve as a more useful distinction than point of articulation when describing the phonology of Ash. The pair given for each phoneme refers to an alternation between various allophonic realisations despite the relatively low number of underlying sounds, an important feature of the language that makes the variation richer on the surface. For instance, long vowels (romanised by doubling the vowel) and nasal vowels (romanised using a tilde) are not analysed as phonemic.

Romanisation

The romanisation strikes a balance between representing phonemes versus surface realisations and uses the following letters:

a e y o w b d g l s h m n ŋ

Tilde (e.g. ã) is used to mark nasalisation. Hook above (e.g. ) denotes a word-initial glottal stop. Dot below (e.g. ) signifies otherwise ambiguous stress. An apostrophe () is placed before a syllabic consonant.

An example of a word with its archiphonemic, phonemic and surface transcriptions as well as romanisation:

//iʔ.Vʔˈuʔ.t͡si// /ʔiʔˈwuʔ.t͡si/ [ˈʔe̞ʍˈʍo̞ʔ.ȶ͡ɕɪ] ẻhhodse "hungry"

Syllable structure

A cluster cannot exceed two consonants and must be of one of the following configurations:

CC Both consonants are the same
FP Fricative followed by plosive
NP Nasal followed by plosive
PN~FN Plosive or fricative followed by nasal

Prosody and stress

Prefixes are always unstressed. Following the last stressed syllable an iambic pattern of secondary stress on every other underlyingly light syllable follows unless an underlyingly heavy syllable intervenes, resetting the pattern. In addition, stressed syllables are forced to be heavy either by lengthening of the vowel or reduplication of the next syllable's onset consonant if they are not already underlyingly so.

Clusters

Depending on the underlying nature of a cluster, various processes take place either on a phonemic (phoneme alternation) or on a phonetic (surface allophony) level. For example, /t/ merges with /t͡s/ on the phonemic level before /i~j/ or a plosive or an affricate as well as word-finally, but alternates with [ð] on the phonetic level between vowels.

  • A nasal or fricative geminates before a glide, assimilating to and eliding it in the process.
  • All plosives alternate phonemically with fricatives or affricates before another plosive or an affricate.
  • /h~ʔ/ is a fricative before vowels/glides and plosives but a glottal stop before nasals (as is the case for plosives) and affricates.
  • Affricates are deäffricated intervocalically, before other plosives or affricates, word-finally and before nasals (which are prestopped).
  • Sibilant palatalisation cascades bidirectionally through clusters; sibilants are also palatalised after /i/ word-finally and cluster-initially.
/-j/ /-w/
//N-// [ɲ.ɲ] [m.m]
//h-// [ç.ç] [ʍ.ʍ]
//t͡s-// [ɕ.ɕ] [s̠.s̠]
//t͡ɬ-// [ʎ.ʎ] [ɫ.ɫ]
//-P//
//p-// /h.P/ [ħ.P]
//k-//
//t-// /t͡s.P/ [s̠.P~ɕ.P]
//-P// //-P͡F// //-N//
//h-// [ħ.P] [ʔ.P͡F] /ʔ.ᴮN/
//-N//
//p-// [ʔ.ᵇm]
//t-// [ʔ.ᵈn̠~ʔ.ᶡɲ]
//k-// [ʔ.ᶢŋ]

Laterals

The lateral affricate /t͡ɬ/ patterns phonotactically just like the sibilant affricate /t͡s/ but is not always produced as a fricative, but sometimes also as an approximant. In contexts where the affrication remains, regardless of voicing, so does the frication, i.e. [t͡ɬ~d͡ɮ]. In leniting contexts the realisation depends on the environment, remaining a fricative [ɬ] in a voiceless environment while defaulting to a pure lateral approximant [l] in a voiced one, but when geminated by the absorption of a following palatal glide it assimilates to it as [ʎ̥].

Syllabification

In unstressed prefixes, colourless or epenthetic vowels may drop out in favour of syllabification of an adjacent fricative or nasal. This is represented in the romanisation by an apostrophe placed before the non-vocalic consonant letter.

An example is the inalienable possession prefix n- becoming ’n-. Some word stems have inherent consonantal prefixes that get resolved the same way: n-doo- "(fire) smoke" becomes ’ndoo- in the absence of a prefix, and ảd’ndoo- when the direct marker ảh- is added.

Morphology

Ash does not mark words for number, person or case. With regards to syntactic patterning, only three significant word classes can be posited: verbs, nominals and converbs. Nonetheless there is a degree of mobility between them.

Verbs

The bulk of all inflection goes on verbs, making them morphemic anchors fundamental to almost any utterance in the language. The general verb template is as follows:

Stem
Deixis Agency Incorp. Root Deriv. State Mood Involv. Converb.

Stems

Each verb has a set of primary stems formed more or less predictably from a combination of affixes. The first stem, the stative (or active, if there is no stative) indicative, is used as the lemma when citing words, such as oada "to shine", also a good example of the versatile morphophonology:

Stative Active Inchoative Terminative
Indicative oada

[ˈɔ̯ɑː.ðɐ]

oahda

[ˈɔ̯ɑħ.t̠ɐ]

oadna

[ˈɔ̯ɑʔ.ᵈn̠ɐ]

oasda

[ˈɔ̯ɑs̠.t̠ɐ]

Optative oese

[ˈʊːɪ̯.ʑɪ]

oedse

[ˈo̞e̞̯ʔ.ȶ͡ɕɪ]

oedne

[ˈo̞e̞̯ʔ.ᶡɲɪ]

oesde

[ˈʊɪ̯ɕ.ȶ͡ɕɪ]

All of these terms are to an extent ad hoc. Some verbs are inherently stative or active and do not have two distinct stems. The inchoative and terminative are often used in a perfective sense as opposed to the imperfective or habitual active or stative.

Derived verbs

Derivational suffixes can be used to extend the root and create a new set of stems, such as the causative -j- or the frequentative -(d)s-, which can themselves, depending on the word, be stative or active (all derived verbs are inherently one or the other or both and do not display the allomorphy of basic verbs), inchoative, terminative and so on. These are some of the words derived from oo "consume":

Stative Active Inchoative Terminative
Basic
oo
oona ooda
Causative
oyya
oena oeda
Frequentative
odsa
osna osda

Nominals

Nominals are mostly unmarked. A handful of inherited inalienably possessed nominals are however obligatorily marked with a prefix or that disappears during incorporation into a verb. This possessive prefix n- can be preceded by a deictic prefix. Here are the possessed forms of mõõ "head; hair", an inalienably possessed nominal:

Neutral Proximal Distal
’mmõõ emmõõ ommõõ

Any phrase can be nominalised using a classificatory topic marker (see below). When marked for the locative (see also below), these can be used to connect possessum to possessor.

Converbs

Converbs are used to denote a place, time or manner. Their formation sometimes resembles case marking or conjunctions or adverbs.

Some prominent converbialising suffixes:

Long Short Example
Locative -da -s ’nsooda "where they live; by the house; at home"
Durative -wo, -go -h oadnah "when it gets bright; in the morning"
Benefactive -wa, -ba -o eawa "in order to see"
Semblative -ya -e ảyya "sea-like; blue; green"

The shorter forms are used unstressed vowels and in a few irregular instances, and are for example always used with the reduced forms of locative verbs (e.g. ảhba las "in Appa"); irregular instances include the contractions eas "here" and eah "now".

Deixis

The language lacks true pronouns and due to its pro-drop tendencies commonly avoids alternatives as well. One thing that does get marked is deixis: whether something is close to or far away from the speaker or a previous referent; unspecified deixis is also possible. On nominals deixis is generally spatial while on verbs it is temporal (proximal working roughly as a present tense and distal as a non-present one); converbial deixis can be either depending on the characteristics of the converb in question.

The deictic stems are as follows:

Neutral Ø- (unmarked)
Proximal e-
Distal o-

Deixis occurs in the form of isolated nominals ea and oa (reduced from eyya and owwa still used for emphasis), generally shortened and tending to blend into the next word, often as [-ɛ(ː~ˑ)-]~[-e̞(ː)ɪ̯]~[-e̞j-] and [-ɔ(ː~ˑ)-]~[-o̞(ː)ʊ̯]~[-o̞w-], but also with the glide assimilating, leading to forms such as [-ɪw-] and [-ʊj-]. In verbs with some form of agency marker, the prefixes irregularly assimilate to it, retaining the initial glottal stop but displacing the vowel, e.g. *e-ả- becomes ẻ-.

Conjunct and disjunct verbs

While Ash lacks a set of first, second and third person pronouns, a system of so called conjunct versus disjunct verb forms can be used in combination with transitivity markers and deixis in order to more or less unambiguously cover the same ground. This concept is also known in the literature as assertor's involvement marking, which might give the reader a clearer idea of the concept: verbs are marked for whether the one making an assertion is involved in the action (conjunct) or not (disjunct).

In simple statements the assertor defaults to the speaker (i.e. first person) but in questions to the addressee (second person). In reported speech the assertor defaults to the source of the quote and may therefore also take on a third person role. First and second person roles are associated with proximal deixis while third person is associated with distal deixis or an explicit nominal.

Conjunct is marked by the suffix -s and disjunct is unmarked.

Simple intransitives

In simple statements proximal deixis combined with a conjunct verb denotes a first person, while combined with a disjunct verb it denotes a second person, whereas in questions this is flipped. Distal deixis or an explicit nominal denotes a third person in both cases. Note that there is no number distinction and so for example first person can imply both "I" and "we" but for the sake of space only one translation is given for each example.

Declarative Interrogative
Proximal Distal Proximal Distal
Conjunct (ea go) oadas
"I am pale"
- (ea go) oadas no
"are you pale?"
-
Disjunct (ea go) oada
"you are pale"
(oa go) oada
"they are pale"
(ea go) oada no
"am I pale?"
(oa go) oada no
"are they pale?"

Simple transitives

Simple transitive clauses work much the same way but the choice between a direct transitive or inverse transitive marker affects the meaning as well and is the only way to differentiate between agent and patient roles when the referents are first and second person.

Declarative
Proximal Distal
Direct Inverse Direct Inverse
Conjunct (ea go) ảhheas
"I look at you"
(ea go) ảsseas
"you look at me"
(oa go) ảhheas
"I look at them"
(oa go) ảsseas
"they look at me"
Disjunct (ea go) ảhhea
"you look at them"
(ea go) ảssea
"they look at you"
(oa go) ảhhea
"they1 look at them2"
(oa go) ảssea
"they2 look at them1"

The interrogative patterns the same way except for the first and second person again being flipped. As the last two examples show, the choice of transitivity marker can also serve as a proximate-obviative distinction.

Reported speech

In quotations the conjunct versus disjunct distinction instead focuses on the source of the quote, but only in the subclause. Again this may serve as a proximate-obviative distinction. This means that it is possible to mark distal referents as conjunct in such subclauses.

 Proximal
Conjunct source Disjunct source
Conjunct target (ea go) oadas (ea go) ogaas
"I said I am pale"
(ea go) oadas (ea go) ogaa
"you said you are pale"
Disjunct target (ea go) oada (ea go) ogaas
"I said you are pale"
(ea go) oada (ea go) ogaa
"you said I am pale"

Indirect involvement

As the conjunct form denotes merely whether the assertor is somehow involved in the action, the assertor need not necessarily be the agent. A conjunct form would still be used to denote first person involvement as a patient in some statements.

emmõõ bo ảo ẻhbadsas
[ɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbo̞ ˈʔɑːʊ̯ ʔe̞ħˈpɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠]
PROX-INAL-head=TOP:CRESC ao PROX-DIR-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ
Ao is braiding my hair

Despite a third person being the agent of the action, the focus is on the first person (the assertor) and the verb is therefore conjunct.

Syntax

The word order is fairly strictly SOV, with converbs generally preceding the nominals followed by the verb.

Valency

Agency

Transitivity and volition are tied up in a single grammatical category termed agency. Direct agency is explicitly marked and through an inversion marker on the verb the roles of agent and patient can be swapped without a change in word order, the purpose of which is topicalisation, leaving the topic in the subject position. The subject requires a topical marker, the details of which will be explained in detail in the section on locative verbs.

ảo go bahba ẻhhea
[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ ʔe̞çˈçɛːɑ̯]
ao=TOP:ACT dog PROX-DIR-see.ACT.IND
Ao is looking at the dog
ảo go bahba ẻssea
[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ ʔɪɕˈɕɛːɑ̯]
ao=TOP:ACT dog PROX-INV-see.ACT.IND
Ao is being watched by the dog

Inversion is especially important when the subject is being omitted as person markers do not exist.

ẻhheas
[ʔe̞çˈçɛːɑ̯ɕ]
PROX-DIR-see.ACT.IND-CONJ
I am looking at them
ẻsseas
[ʔɪɕˈɕɛːɑ̯ɕ]
PROX-INV-see.ACT.IND-CONJ
they are looking at me

Reflexivity

A verb can also be made reflexive by using a deictic marker in the transitivity slot, meaning a distinction is made between proximal and distal reflexivity, corresponding to the spatial deixis of nominals rather than the normally temporal deixis of verbs.

oadnah ảesããs
[ˈʔɔ̯ɑʔ.ᵈn̠ɐħ ħɐɪ̯ˈz̠ɑ̃ːs̠]
shine.INCH.IND-CVB:DUR REFL.PROX-LOC:LIQ.STAT/ACT.IND-CONJ
I wash in the morning
oadnah ảo go ảosãã ma
[ˈʔɔ̯ɑʔ.ᵈn̠ɐħ ħɑːʊ̯‿ɣo̞ ʔɐʊ̯ˈz̠ɑ̃ː‿mɐ]
shine.INCH.IND-CVB:DUR ao=TOP:ACT REFL.DIST-LOC:LIQ.STAT/ACT.IND NEG
Ao doesn't wash in the morning

Reflexivity can be used to disambiguate between cases when the first and second person implications of the proximal deixis would otherwise collapse or as a proximate-obviative distinction.

emmõõ bo ea ảhbadsas
[ɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbʊ ˈjɛˑ ʔe̞ħˈpɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠]
PROX-INAL-head=TOP:CRESC PROX PROX-DIR-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ
you are braiding my hair
emmõõ bo ea ẻebadsas
[ɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbʊ ˈjɛˑ ʔe̞ɪ̯ˈβɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠]
PROX-INAL-head=TOP:CRESC PROX PROX-REFL.PROX-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ
I am braiding my hair

Incorporation

There is a limit on two unmarked nominal arguments of a verb. There are two ways to introduce more arguments, one of which is to incorporate the third nominal into the verb.

ảo go bahba ỏdsoyya
[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ wo̞ʔˈt̠͡s̠ʊj.jɐ]
ao=TOP:ACT dog DIST-DIR-water-consume.CAUS.IND
Ao was giving the dog water to drink

Converbialisation

The other method is to completely remove the valency of the nominal by turning it into a converb, which is why this process sometimes resembles case marking.

ảo go bahba meada odsoyya
[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ ˈmɛːɑ̯.ðɐ wo̞ʔˈt̠͡s̠ʊj.jɐ]
ao=TOP:ACT dog fire-CVB:LOC DIST-DIR-water-consume.CAUS.IND
Ao was giving the dog water to drink by the fire

Animacy

While there is no explicit marking for animacy, an underlying hierarchy ranging roughly from natural forces at the top to people and animals in the middle and inanimates at the bottom governs certain parts of the grammar. The main aspect of this hierarchy is that inanimate referents cannot act as agents which affects how transitive and inverse marking is interpreted in their presence.

Transitive Inverse
Animate bahba go ảhhea
"dogs watch it"
bahba go ảssea
"dogs are watched"
Inanimate sãã sa ảhhea
"water is watched"
*sãã sa ảssea
(ungrammatical)

Topicalisation

New non-verbal information is focused by fronting, i.e. introducing the word or phrase earlier in the sentence. This means that the order of subject and object might shift in order to focus on the object. When the object is inanimate inversion is not possible nor necessary, while for an animate object it is. The nominal in focus also receives a topic marker, explained in detail in the section on locative verbs.

Normal Fronted
Animate ảo go bahba ỏhhea
"Ao was looking at the dog"
bahba go ảo ỏssea
"it was the dog Ao was looking at"
Inanimate ảo go sãã ỏhhoo
"Ao was drinking water"
sãã sa ảo ỏhhoo
"it was water Ao was drinking"

Subclauses

Relativisation is done simply by chaining phrases one after another, with no special marking. Subclauses go before main clauses, in which the deictic context is centered around the subject of the subclause.

[owahdah bahba go ỏssoeda]1 [ewahdah ẻsseanas]2
[o̞ˈwɑħ.t̠ɐħ ˈpɑħ.pɐ‿ɣo̞ ʔʊs̠ˈs̠ʊːɪ̯.ðɐ jɪˈwɑħ.t̠ɐ.wo̞ħ ħɪɕˈɕɛːɑ̯.n̠ɐs̠]
[DIST shine.ACT.IND-CVB:DUR dog DIST-INV-consume.CAUS.TERM.IND]1 [PROX shine.ACT.IND-CVB:DUR PROX-INV-see.INCH.IND-CONJ]2
[today I saw]2 [the dog that (you) fed yesterday]1

This is also how stative verbs are used to assign qualities to nominals.

oasya bahba go ẻsseanas no
[ˈɔ̯ɑɕ.ɕɐ ˈβɑħ.pɐ‿ɣo̞ ʔɪɕˈɕɛːɑ̯.n̠ɐz̠‿ᵈn̠ʊ]
dog=TOP:ACT shine.STAT.IND PROX-INV-see.INCH.IND-CONJ Q
have you seen the white dog?

Unstressed words

In addition to unstressed locative verbs used as topicalising classifiers (see below) there are a few other words that can be unstressed to serve various purposes, mostly after verbs.

Modality

Perhaps the most grammatically significant are ma for negation and no for interrogation. There is also yo for emphasis.

Declarative Negative Interrogative Emphatic
ebadsa
"weaving"
ebadsa ma
"not weaving"
ebadsa no
"weaving?"
ebadsa yo
"(really) weaving!"

Evidentiality

Reduced forms of some verbs can function as evidential markers, such as e for observation and ga for hearsay.

Declarative Observational Quotative
ebadsa
"weaving"
ebadsa e
"(evidently) weaving"
ebadsa ga
"(allegedly) weaving"

Locative verbs

An important part of Ash grammar is an extensive set of so called locative verbs which are used almost like a noun classification system and cover location, motion and related concepts while providing specific information about the referent at hand, such as specifying whether liquid is involved. These also have reduced clitic forms used as topic markers.

These are some of those verbs:

Locative Topic Gloss Semantic range
laa la :STAT General stative (indefinite or permanent)
goo go :ACT General active (temporary or dynamic)
sãã sa :LIQ Water and other liquids
see se :AER Air and weather
boo bo :CRESC Growth (hair, plants et c.)
doo do :PART Particles (powder, sand, dust, smoke, spores et c.)
mea me :PYR Fire (by extension core or centre)
baa ba :MAN Hand and instrumental (things held; implements and tools)

Classificatory topicalisation

An unstressed locative verb is required as a topical marker following a fronted nominal, resembling a particle. The choice of verb functions much like a noun class classifier and can be used to differentiate between various meanings of a single nominal lexeme.

ʼmmõõ bo
[m̩ˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbʊ]
POSS-head=TOP:CRESC
hair (on the head)
ʼmmõõ la
[m̩ˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ⁿd͡ɮɐ]
POSS-head=TOP:STAT
head (on the body)

Used this way they nonetheless remain verbs with the accompanying syntactic implications. Since they create subclauses, a nominal specified for category with a locative verb cannot be used in object position and so will always precede any agent. However, since this is in line with the normal rule of topicalisation by fronting, it has no actual implications for the syntax.

emmõõ bo ảo ẻhbadsas
[ɪmˈmũ̯õ̞ː‿ᵐbo̞ ˈʔɑːo̞ ʔe̞ħˈpɑʔ.t̠͡s̠ɐs̠]
PROX-INAL-head=TOP:CRESC ao PROX-DIR-hand.FREQ.IND-CONJ
Ao is braiding my hair

Conjunction

In addition to serving as a topical marker, an unstressed locative verb can also be used as a nominal conjunction. As subject and object are never both topically marked, a series of topicalised nominals serves as a single noun phrase in the fronted subject position.

ảo go bahba go oas egoo
[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʊ ˈβɑħ.pɐ‿ɣo̞ ˈwɔˑʑ ɪˈɣu̯oː]
ao=TOP:ACT dog=TOP:ACT DIST-CVB:LOC PROX-CVB:LOC:ACT.STAT/ACT.IND
Ao and the dog are over there

Use with converbs

Converbial location is generic and locative verbs can be used to specify the meaning.

ảo sas sãã
[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿z̠ɐz̠ ˈd̠͡z̠ɑ̃ː]
sea=TOP:LIQ-CVB:LOC LOC:LIQ.STAT/ACT.IND
(be) in the ocean; at sea
ảo sas laa
[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿z̠ɐz̠ ˈd͡ɮɑ̃ː]
sea=TOP:LIQ-CVB:LOC LOC:STAT.STAT/ACT.IND
(be) by the sea

Possession

Unstressed locative verbs marked with the locative converbialiser -s serve to mark the possessor of a possessum.

ảo gos ʼmmõõ la
[ˈʔɑːʊ̯‿ɣʊ‿z̠m̩ˈmũ̯õː‿ⁿd͡ɮɐ]
ao=TOP:ACT-CVB:LOC INAL-head=TOP:STAT
Ao's head (lit. "head at Ao")

Pragmatics and conventions

Modality

Wants, needs, desires and possibilities are often just expressed through morphological means in Ash, such as optatives, potentials and interrogatives.

ẻhhodses
[ʔe̞ʍˈʍo̞ʔ.ȶ͡ɕɪɕ]
PROX-DIR-consume.FREQ.ACT.OPT-CONJ
I want/need to eat; I am hungry
ẻhhodses no
[ʔe̞ʍˈʍo̞ʔ.ȶ͡ɕɪʑ‿ᵈn̠ʊ]
PROX-DIR-consume.FREQ.ACT.OPT-CONJ=Q
perhaps I should eat something
bahba go ẻhhodse no
[ˈbɑħ.pɐ‿ɣo̞ ʔe̞ʍˈʍo̞ʔ.ȶ͡ɕɪ‿n̠ʊ]
dog=TOP:ACT PROX-DIR-consume.FREQ.ACT.OPT=Q
maybe the dog is hungry

Colour terms

Colours are mainly expressed through semblative converbs, likening the appearance of the referent to something else, such as mee "fire" → meyya "red; yellow; orange; brown" or ảo "sea" → ảyya "blue; green".

meyya bahba go
[ˈme̞j.jɐ ˈβɑħ.pɐ‿ɣʊ]
fire-CVB:SEMB dog=TOP:ACT
a brown dog